Microsoft Exchange is now available to the masses. Hotmail just turned on Exchange ActiveSync support for mobile devices today, bringing all the goodness of email, contacts and calendar sync to Windows Mobile, iOS, Palm and Nokia smartphones. I deleted the old Hotmail account (POP!) off my phone and added it as an Exchange service and all of a sudden, I have proper read-status sync and all my contacts available on my phone.

What’s even better is the Outlook Hotmail Connector for Office 2010 supports contact and calendar sync (in addition to email), so everything’s synced without ever needing to plug in a cable to my computer. As more of these mobile-oriented services light up over the next couple months, my anticipation for Windows Phone 7 builds.

With the wonderful summer weather here in the Pacific Northwest, I set out to Mount Rainier to hike the Skyline Trail with a Waterloo friend. It was my second time at Mount Rainier, but my first to Paradise, on the southern side of the mountain. Last year during my internship, I went to Sunrise (north of the mountain), but never got any good shots of the mountain, as the sun was behind it nearly the entire way. This time, with the sun at my back, I got better results.

I expected a lot of people, due to the weather, but I didn’t realize it was also a free parks weekend, drawing even more. The parking lots at Paradise and the surrounding area were completely swamped, but we happened upon a van pulling out just as we were trolling the area. Lucky us. Skyline is a very popular trail, noted by many to be the easy-moderate trail to hike at Rainier. As a result, we were sharing the paths (and slippery snow) with quite a few hikers, both casual, like us, and more serious ones, perhaps headed up toward Camp Muir and eventually the summit.

The trail ascends approximately 1700ft from the upper Paradise lot (we started at the lower) to Panorama Point, which is where we turned around. The Lower Skyline trail was completely covered in snow, and the Upper looked like it would take us quite a ways around and it was nearing evening. Total hiking time was close to 3 hours, but I stopped numerous times for photos. The trail takes you pretty close to the mountain proper, and is probably one of the reasons why Camp Muir, a popular mid-camp for summiting, is an extension from the Skyline trail. Nisqually Glacier seemed nearly within touching distance at some points along the trail.

It was an absolutely beautiful day, with Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens visible on the horizon. If you looked hard, you could also see the outline of Mount Hood, far in the distance. Although very hot at the foot of the climb, at 7000ft it was much cooler, with a welcome breeze to help cool us. Snow patches dotted the trail and melting snow made for interesting leaps across impromptu creeks in the path.

A few photos are attached below – more over on my Flickr.

So after fumbling around for the first couple weeks, I’m starting to become more comfortable with this whole independent thing. I just needed a kick in the pants and a change of mindset, provided to me quite serendipitously.

This past Thursday, as I wrung my hands in agony, waiting for technical difficulties to be sorted out during the internet install at my apartment, missing meetings I had booked, I was pretty sure I was screwing up not two weeks into the job. Dealing with situations on my own and being responsible for all my actions (or inactions) are definitely key components to making it in the real world. The minute the tech was done, I rushed back to the office, just in time for a Program Manager specification writing ‘bootcamp’, where I hoped to wash away my time management sins from earlier in the day.

It was during that seminar that the eye-opening line came, “Nobody Knows the Answer.”

Alright, so it was in the context of designing a feature area, but I think the lesson holds true for life. Nobody really knows the answer. Guidance is one thing, but looking for someone to hold your hand, while you walk along the path of life, is not the best idea. Those uncertainties I’ve had? Others have them too. Don’t expect others to know what’s best. Do the research, and make a decision. That’s my advice to myself.

Speaking with some friends, both at work and outside, I’m beginning to realize I’m not the only one mucking my way through.

As a newcomer to the United States, I quickly discovered how difficult it is to operate without any credit. Apartments want a larger deposit, banks won’t (easily) give you credit cards, and car financing or leases are next to impossible at reasonable rates.

So, I purposely scoped out manufacturers with foreign professionals programs, of which Volkswagen’s was most front and center. With plenty of details available online, I could prepare just about everything in advance. With paperwork in hand, the process was fairly painless. With the lease incentives for the 2010 Passat CC’s, I snagged one for a fairly reasonable price. It’s a Sport, 2.0T DSG (automatic), in Island Gray (coincidentally, my former home and high school respectively!).

The exterior looks nice, the ride is smooth and the interior is great for the price. The 2.0T engine provides a good amount of power, with a nice meaty torque band, due to the turbocharger, but it’s not a tire-scorcher. I can slide in an SD card with my music, pair up my phone to the Bluetooth and I’d be all set for a nice long drive, which likely won’t happen for a week or two, unfortunately. So far, there are two concerns: there’s a bit of a rattle in the dash at a certain engine/road noise frequency, and due to the shape of the vehicle, the rear window provides terrible visibility. I’ll get them to look at the former problem at the initial break-in servicing. I’ve only had it for a week (still have the temporary vehicle license!); there will be more thoughts on the car as I drive it more.

Above is a 3-shot HDR, taken near Issaquah, WA. The light was a bit harsh, with many reflections off the car. The following shots are also 3-shot (+/- 1EV) HDRs, but I didn’t do anything terribly aggressive with them – I simply wanted to flatten the exposure a bit.