A step back

I want to digress from serious topics and document a wonderful waterfall in the Cascade mountain range.

Otter Falls slides over a 300 foot granite ridge in the Taylor River drainage which is located in the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie recreation area. This area is one of the gems of Seattle - a wilderness area located 35 miles East of downtown. The trail gradually climbs over 4.5 miles towards the falls. The side-trial to the base of Otter Falls is not maintained and unmarked, but it's not difficult to find.

I opted to ride a mountain bike to the waterfall, which cuts down the time required for the trip. It's a fun ride, but the loose rock makes a some sections very technical. I strongly recommend a day trip to this area, wander out of the city and enjoy a peaceful day in the wilderness.

A strange view on taxes

I am currently reading the book "Under the Banner of Heaven" by John Krakaur. I have read about half of the book which I have found interesting.

The author profiles a number of fundamentalist Mormon's and one transcription jumped out in regards to paying property taxes on his families land:

"His fathers property...owned free and clear. 'By paying property taxes, you are basically telling the government that they're the ones who really own the property, because you give them the right to take it from you if you don't pay your taxes.'"

I do not agree with the approach described above, but it does raise an interesting philosophical question. Do individuals own land or does the government own the land where your dwelling resides? With this line of thought, one could argue tax payments are hidden forms of rent. I suppose this is taking the theory a bit to the extreme, but still an interesting point.

The tide has turned...

I have good news for my loyal readers - Charlotte has changed her staunch position about this blog. She now approves, and is supportive of the blog.

This will open up new doors in my blog - more to come.

NY Times Select-ing a different news service

Over the past few weeks the NY Times online has moved to a subscription service for components of the online paper. The service has advantages, it allows users to research archives from over the past 15 years. The services is wrapped into a $50 annual fee for users who don't subscribe to the print edition.

The major change revolves around the lack of access to world renowned columnists. The interesting and influential columns often shed light on our backwards world and this source of information should be available to all readers. I imagine the columnist are not excited about the change because the number of people reading their articles has decreased dramatically.

The NY Times, and most traditional news papers, are encountering difficult financial challenges. The NY Times recently announced layoffs due to a decrease in traditional advertising revenues. The question yet to be answered is if the new market shift will be adopted by other large media organizations.