IT: Social Networking For Contact Info?

I recently got a new phone and it is pretty cool, but that's not what I'm going to write about. After getting this new phone I now have two problems:

1. Nobody knows my new number.
2. I don't have other people's numbers in my phone.

There are ways to solve problem #2 including backing up my other phone's SIM card and loading the details onto my new phone or manually entering all of the contact details. There are also ways to solve #1, including emailing everyone I think might be interested and giving them my new number or just using a 'need to know' approach, where I give it out to people that ask or perhaps posting my new details on Facebook.

With my new phone I can sync my Outlook contacts, which is pretty cool but it is not quite all I need. With Facebook I can access my friend's contact details and they can change them and I automatically get the updates. Unfortunately getting the information back out of Facebook for offline use seems to be frowned upon. It seems like I need a combination of the two systems.

So this is what I would really love:

• My friends can enter their contact details and choose to share them with me.
• I can access their details online, but they also get synced to my devices including my PC and phone so I don't need to be connected to view them.
• Whenever I do get connected on whichever device my contacts get synced.

What I'm thinking is that I should own my information and be able to update it in a single place but it should be able to be used by any of my friends. It should not be necessary for each of my friends to duplicate my efforts to update my contact information.

Is there such a system available?

IT: Farecast for travel planning

Recently at work I found out that Live has a cool new Beta product called Farecast. It incorporates technology from a company that Microsoft acquired earlier this year.

Disclaimer: Since I work for Microsoft I guess I'm supposed to say this is a cool site, but I think it is anyway. Feel free to ignore my biased opinion and just give it a try for yourself. Unfortunately it is mainly covering continental US now, not the rest of the world.

Probably the thing that I am most interested in is the 'Flights' component. There you can select your home airport and one or more destinations, choose how long you want to stay and what your time window is and search for matching results. Farecast prepares a graph like the one below. The intention is to give you an idea of when the cheapest time to fly might be. The table below the graph indicates whether airfares are likely to go up or down. Unfortunately if you've been following US airline news recently you'll already know the answer to that question, but it is handy nonetheless.

It looks like it is better to leave for Chicago in earlier rather than later in June. By the way, airfares are going up.

Many of the options are configurable including the length of stay, the exact airport, etc. etc.

The hotels section could also be useful, especially since it includes an option to compare against Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire, Orbitz and hotels.com. I've used some of these discount sites before, but not all at once in the search for the best hotel rate. Hopefully this means I'll really be able to get the best bargain rate for a decent hotel.

In the picture below I'm looking for hotels in San Francisco (I should go visit N & P). Here the hotels are color-coded by whether or not they are significantly discounted from their regular rate.

Hotels in San Francisco. Hey, hotel #8 is a bargain (unfortunately it is still $161 / night though).

Salem: Train Day

A couple of weeks ago we took the train to Salem (Oregon, not to be confused with the place where the Salem Witch Trials were held). We went on the train because we had a two-for-one offer and we wanted to see how train travel was in the US. We chose to travel to Salem because it is the capital of Oregon and we wanted to see another city.

We happened to take the train on National Train Day, which just meant we were given a nice sticker. We made pretty good use of public transport that day, catching a 6:00 am bus from near our place into the city and then taking the 7:30 train to Portland, where we caught a bus to Salem, arriving by 12:45 pm or so.

Getting off the train in Portland. For Portland to Salem we caught a bus for about 45 miles.

The train station in Salem, which is between Eugene and Portland.

When we arrived in Salem we took a stroll around the city. Willamette University has a very pretty campus that was worth walking around.

Willamette University. According to a local, you have to say Willamette so that it rhymes with dammit.

A Fraternity.

Eaton Hall, retro style.

We also toured around the Capitol Building, which is where they make the laws for Oregon State. It is actually the third version of the building and was built after the other 2 burnt down.

G doing her Incredible Hulk impersonation with the ruins from a previous Capitol Building.

The Capitol Building. The golden guy at the top has a pretty impressive axe.

The city of Salem has about 150,000 people so it is pretty small but it still has plenty of things to see and shopping areas to check out.

G posing near Pringle Park.

Pringle Park.

Waiting for the 6:40 am train back to Seattle. What a quick trip.

Games: TrackMania Nations Forever

If you like PC racing games, you might be interested in a game that has recently been released for free download. TrackMania Nations Forever is similar to Stunts, which I played many years ago.

Getting some serious air. I'm playing as the Spanish car on the left.

UPDATE: Now I've improved my car:

Camping: Daroga State Park, Wenatchee

Last weekend G and I went for a trip across the cascades mountain range to what they call the dry side of the cascades. Apparently all the moisture coming from the ocean gets trapped on the other side of the mountain range, causing lots of rain in Seattle. On this side it is actually pretty dry as you'll see.

It was pretty surprising to see that there was still a lot of snow as we went through Snoqualmie Pass and the trip back through Steven's Pass was spectacular. I'll probably put some photos up a little later showing this part of the trip, but G has already posted some if you're interested.

We camped in a place east of Wenatchee called Daroga State Park (named after three guys that started an orchard here before it was sold to the state). When we arrived and we were told that the unpowered camping sites (17 available) were over on the island. To get to the island you pack your stuff into a cart and wheel it over.

G wheeling our stuff on the island. I also took turns with the wheeling, honest.

I found the terrain to be pretty similar to back home in Australia. Below you can see that unlike the other side of the cascades which is green and covered with trees, this side is pretty barren. It would be great to go back in apple season though, since there were many many orchards around here.

Unpowered sites are on an island. Fortunately for us, we were the only people camping there so we had the island to ourselves!

Setting up camp. You're only allowed to pitch your tent on the sandy site provided for it.

Campsites in Daroga State Park were $14 / night for up to 8 people in one car. I thought the place was pretty nice, although it was close enough to a main road to hear trucks and traffic especially during the day. The nice vista was also spoiled by some serious power lines that cut through the powered camping area. Walking past you could actually hear the hum of electricity in the wires which was a little unnerving.

Brr, chilly. I called G a wimp when I took this photo, then I tried it myself and it was really icy in the water. Perhaps it would be OK in a few months.

Posing in front of our island (well for one night anyway).

Nice views.

The campsite had some pretty decent facilities including hot showers, BBQs, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts and a small swimming area.

Seattle: Bonza Bash 08

Last year I missed out on the Bonza Bash when it was held at the Space Needle. This year it is being held at the Seattle Aquarium and I'm really looking forward to going along tonight. I've even heard talk of lamingtons (not lemmingtons as my US friends thought when I first told them) and other Aussie cuisine.

Canada: Vancouver

In mid-March G and I took a trip to Vancouver, Canada since she was playing netball there. It was my first trip to BC and I was keen to go and check it out after hearing a lot of great things.

First we had to go and chat with the locals. Nice mountie uniform Mr stuffed moose. G claims she is still taller if you remove the hat.

The library building was impressive.

We hired bikes (~$35 for two for 4 hours) and rode around Stanley Park, which has great views of the city. Note that G sensibly brought gloves along. I didn't even think to bring gloves but I soon realized my mistake as we looked out to the snow-capped mountains. Fortunately we didn't get any real rain that day.

Looking back to Canada Place from Stanley Park. It was oh-so-cloudy.

A fueling station for the many seaplanes that were landing very often, surrounded by high-rise buildings.

The docks.

First we rode our bikes and then we played on the swings in the park. We were feeling very young again.

After touring the city I was impressed but not quite to the level that I was expecting. Sure, there were folks wandering around with snow-boards presumably on their way up to Whistler. There were high-rise buildings, spectacular views, seaplanes landing regularly and of course Stanley Park, but somehow I was expecting more.

It was pretty bizarre being able to drive our own car into a different country (including switching back to the much-more-familiar kilometres and metres), although this also meant waiting around at the border. The wait to get from the US into Canada was about 20 minutes on Friday night, while the wait on the way back into the US on Sunday afternoon was almost 1 hour.

I suspect I'll have to go back in summer to really evaluate my feelings for Vancouver, but for now I think the option of heading south to Portland (without the annoying border crossing) trumps the trip up north to Vancouver.

USA: Tax x 2

Well I must be particularly lucky because it is tax time again. Unfortunately I had to complete an Australian tax return in September and US taxes are due in mid April. Fortunately I have a little help with the US taxes, but here are a few things I didn't think about before I left Australia. This is probably only useful information for recent Aussie expats or those considering moving to the US from Australia:

• The US tax year is Jan - Dec, with returns due the following April. This can make it hard to get the relevant records about Australian income (which is taxable in the US).
• Australian superannuation is taxable in the US. That's right, even though you don't pay tax on it in Australia; you can't withdraw it when you go overseas and you'll probably never be able to get that tax back, every year that you're in the US you will need to declare Australian superannuation to the IRS and you will be taxed on it.
• Many relocation expenses will be taxable, including expenses incurred moving your stuff overseas. This can add up to many thousands of extra dollars of income that you have to pay tax on.
• US 'residents' in the tax sense of the word need to declare all foreign accounts to the treasury if the total in the accounts is more than $10,000. Even if you don't earn any income and the money has never been in the US, treasury wants to know about it. There are strict penalties (up to $100,000) for not providing the information.
• Australian residents can make the Australian side of their tax situation easier if they are intending to leave the country for more than 2 years. It is possible to declare yourself a non-resident for tax purposes and you just pay tax in Australia on Australian-sourced income (things like bank interest, etc.).

That's just a few of things I encountered. As you might expect dealing with taxes in two countries simultaneously is not trivial and you should get professional advice about your particular situation.

Seattle: Magnuson Park & Green Lake Park

The day before the recent snowfall was a rare glorious winter's day in Seattle. It was sunny with barely a cloud in the sky so we took advantage of the fine weather and visited 3 parks:

Golden Gardens Park, which has a beach. Note the guy paddling out on a surfboard while standing up. There's no waves here folks.

Green Lake Park, which was very busy. Lots of folks out powerwalking, jogging, cycling etc.

Magnuson Park, which is where the Winter Pineapple Classic is run. There are nice views out to snow-capped peaks when it isn't cloudy.

Microsoft: Campus in Winter (snow)

I've taken a few photos of the campus in autumn earlier and I've also taken photos of the snow around the Seattle region. Well last week it snowed and I also walked around the campus and took a few photos.

My earlier excitement about snow was tarnished a little when I almost didn't make it home because of the snow. I left work a little later than I should have and by then the snow had settled on the road that I take up a hill to get home. My 2 wheel drive was slipping and wheel-spinning as we crawled up the hill (and it took me almost 2 hours to get home). Next time I'll know to head home early if it starts snowing.

The roads were pretty much chaos for the next day but after that the snow was just a nice addition to the picturesque scenery. It has been cold enough that even today when I went out running there was still a covering of snow in the forest. So anyway, to the photos.

Welcome to Microsoft.

Icy trees.

It was a nice sunny day after the snow.

On Wednesday there was still plenty of snow left over. This was taken on the Microsoft sports fields in the morning.

Some crazy folks went out at lunchtime and decided to play a game I haven't seen much since I've been here. That's right, they were playing touch rugby on the snow-covered fields.

OK, I admit it, I'm still a snow tourist. We'll see if the novelty wears off with a few more falls. BTW, I took some of these photos with G's nice camera and some with my partly broken camera. Can you tell which are which?

Sport: Ice Hockey

I've been looking forward to seeing an ice hockey game for a while now. Just before Christmas I went along to see the Seattle Thunderbirds play against the Everett Silvertips.

Let's play. T-birds are in white.

We managed to get some seats pretty close to the ice since the T-birds aren't in the top ice hockey league. I was still really impressed by how fast the game moved and how exciting it was to watch. There was plenty of fast skating, collisions and skaters being bundled into the boards. I was happy to be behind glass and netting as the puck skidded across the ice and thudded into the glass boards.

A minor scuffle is quickly broken up by the umpires. A real fight broke out in the final third.

At the start of the match G was disappointed that it wasn't as rough as some of the games she has seen back home. This gradually changed and in the final third I think she was a little worried to see a fight break out.

Facing off.

It was all very theatrical. The gloves and helmets came off and the Rocky music started playing on the stadium speakers (seriously). The two guys socked it out for a minute or two and then they made their separate ways to their separate penalty boxes. The announcer read a string of penalties including 10 minutes for fighting and then they left the ice because they weren't playing any more.

Skating.

In the end the Thunderbirds were victorious, overcoming the Silvertips 3-0. One minor negative at the start of the evening (and the reason why you only see my slightly blurry photos), was that G wasn't allowed to take her camera in. We were stopped and searched at Key Arena (standard procedure for anyone with a bag) and the lady saw G's camera and said that a 3 inch lens was the maximum. She sent her back to the car to put her camera away!

Sure, G does take good photos, but her camera isn't even an SLR. We were hardly going to have professional-quality photos and we certainly weren't going to sell any.

Watchful keeper. The poor guy let in 3 goals that night.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! For our first year in Seattle we decided to go downtown to the iconic Space Needle for the celebrations. There were plenty of people out looking to celebrate at a decent gathering around the Key Arena just under the Space Needle.

We didn't quite know what to expect from the show so the fireworks were good enough for us. The crowd however seemed a little confused by several pauses and there also wasn't really a great countdown to midnight. It turns out there were problems with the program that was supposed to sync up the fireworks with music.

Some poor person had to manually press buttons as best they could to put on a show for people. Since we were sitting in the free seats we were fine with that, but I imagine the folks that went up to the space needle observation deck (for about $125) or to the restaurant at the top (for about $250) would have been a little miffed.

We were lucky enough to see a few photos of the Sydney fireworks and once again they outdid themselves. Welcome to 2008.

Leavenworth: Christmas Tree Lighting

Every year Leavenworth, WA has a festival including a Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. We took a bus trip and it turned out to be a wise idea because it snowed for most of the trip and the roads were pretty icy. There were also many busloads of people visiting for the Christmas festivities.

Leavenworth is a city that transformed itself in the 1960s to try to attract tourists and save its faltering economy. The entire town has been remodeled to appear like an alpine Bavarian village.

Bavarian Starbucks, one of the first stops for many tourists.

The main street including the Nut Cracker Museum.

G with a rare imported Pretzel Tree.

It was cold and snowy in Leavenworth.

The main street, including a massive line for the quirky Hat Shop (more later).

Hey, that isn't Bavarian! That's right, its the Australian Store. It had Tim Tams, Weetbix, Akubras and a few things I hadn't even seen before in Australia. It was all way too expensive for us cheap Aussies so we didn't buy anything.

After the tree lighting, all the stores in the village turned on their lights for a pretty effect.

G borrowed a quirky Christmas jester hat from J who shopped at the Hat Shop.