:-) your commute?

It's been 25 years since Scott E. Fahlman at Carnegie Mellon University created the emoticon that is used today in all forms of electronic media....the "Smiley Face." You can read the whole article here.

:-)

I'm personally partial to this version of the emotion:

:)

And feel free to call me lazy because I do not want to add the hyphen "-." I like it simple.

Another article caught my attention today regarding American drivers being secretly in love with their commutes. The editorial from RockyMountainNews.com cites that drivers enjoy the "climate-controlled" environment where they can listen to their music, "read" a book, and get away from the world where collectively commuters spent 4.2 billion hours in 2005. Wow.

At some level I get it because I once joined the thousands of people driving into downtown Seattle to work at my last office job. Depending on my mood, I could listen to mellow Marc Cohn or crank up Def Leppard to take me back to the 80s and get out some aggression. However, I hated watching my fuel consumption in miles per gallon dwindle as I was only going 5 miles an hour or nothing depending on the weather. That part I don't miss.

Now since I work from home, there are days when I do not even drive my car and that's all right. It just makes me more :-) and appreciative when I do get to cruise along listening to my favorite band, Barenaked Ladies, no wait, Sheryl Crow, no wait, Michael Buble, whose song "Everything" is guaranteed to put a :-) on your face.

So, happy birthday "Smiley Face" and tip of the hat to Scott for bringing a little bit of joy to our emails.

Word Up - Schweitzer Mountain Resort

I just did a road trip recently up to northern Idaho to do some biking and hiking. We ended up staying in Sandpoint a couple days, so I took the opportunity to go up to Schweitzer Mountain Resort and scope it out. Here are some of my impressions about that area and about Schweitzer.

Sandpoint - the town
First off, beautiful surroundings and tons of recreational opportunities. It borders a big lake, Lake Pend Oreille, the biggest lake in Idaho. So if you're into any kind of water sports, they're definitely all here. There's a 1.76 mile long bridge that crosses the lake to get into town, pretty spectacular entry into the town. The lake is surrounded by forested hills. There are miles and miles of paved bike paths, and tons of hiking to be done all around the area. Sandpoint is small - almost 9000 residents. It's got a hip little main street with some cool cafes and stores, a little art house theater and a local brew pub. It reminds me what some of the other mountain towns I've lived in used to be like. Sandpoint is growing, that's for sure, but it's still got that laid back 'real' feel to it.

Schweitzer - the mountain
Schweitzer is out of town about 10 miles on a paved road - quick to get to. It's a privately owned ski resort and it feels like it - in a good way. Yes, there is a 'mountain village' and condos etc. up there, but it definitely has a non-corporate vibe about it. The HR office is right on the mountain with its back deck looking out at the runs. I talked with Scott, the HR Director, about what the winters and the skiing/riding are like there. As far as snow goes, he said they're in the Pacific Northwest flow but the snow they get is def. drier than say in the Sierras or the Cascades, but not as dry as UT/CO snow. He said the snow is generally consistent and it's common that they get 2 - 6 inches of snow fall every few days throughout the winter. And here is the really great thing - rarely are their lift lines. On average they serve 3000 skiers a day - that's one skier per acre! That adds up to a lot of runs that you can take in a short amount of time. This makes the skiing break you get really worth it.
They have all the typical ski resort jobs available, and although they don't provide housing, I checked the local newspaper and the rents in town are reasonable, especially for roommate situations. Much more so than in the bigger ski resort towns. The mountain also offers free shuttle service several times a day - so you can park at the base and take the shuttle back and forth to work.

Summing up
To me, Schweitzer still seems like a hidden jewel. If you want a place to work this winter where you can really get time on the snow, this place is worth a serious look. And after the winter is over, with so much hiking and biking and lake fun to be had, you may just end up staying!