entrepreneur, preference for data. msft/expe/startups. harvard, stanford, cmu. mba, mscs (ai), applied math
Seattle
Joined April 2008
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Hey @WhistlerBlckcmb I really enjoy your resort!
But I don't think I've encountered a more confusing online purchase experience than simply trying to buy a 3-day pass during a holiday period.
Your site makes it incredibly hard to simply purchase lift passes in advance, especially when lodging is already set, and whether dates are inside or outside of a "blackout" date. I should be able to say: I'd like these days, for X adults/kids, add to cart, agree to some liability stuff, and buy. Instead you let people get through these steps and then say "whoops, you need lodging to continue." No, I don't.
Further, you're expecting random users to know whether Whistler is considered an included "Canadian Rockies" resort or not, which requires opening up a new tab and querying the net, etc. Crazy!
With the high expense of lift passes, I think some concerted effort on your site for those of us just buying day passes for a given date range should be drop-dead simple. I should just be able to Apple Pay the thing and be done with it (yes, with some liability waiver acknowledgement, etc.)
Try it from a mobile device.
You should be able to do all of this, with confidence, in 3 minutes, while driving up to your resort.
Two mind-blowing, practical recent uses of AI:
1) My daughter has a couple college radio shows which tend to occur on unpredictable schedules, and their station doesn't record or archive them. We are also in different timezones and I sometimes miss her shows.
>> Enter AI. Claude helped me build a MacOS shell utility which looks at the show calendar and schedules an automatic recording of the show, so I can catch it later that day. Took 20 mins to make; now I won't miss a show! Priceless.
2) I've built many side projects over the years (e.g., during COVID, I built a tribute-style app for people to record video tributes for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I also built a voter-candidate matchmaker for a few recent Seattle and NYC elections.) For now, those projects are dormant.
But wow, Azure resources that you spin up sure can cost a lot of money!
>> Enter AI. Working with Claude interactively and giving it azure login permissions temporarily, it was able to tell me which Azure resources haven't been used in 60 days, so I can delete them. It also helped me group them into more logical naming structures while not taking down production apps. Now saving more than $600/mo on resources I should have cleaned up long ago.
stevemur retweeted
The fact that pensions are included EVEN THOUGH the current limits don’t impact them is precisely what creates the suspicion that the limits will be lowered.
This is not a counterpoint. It is the point! #waleg
Foes of the tax argue public pensions are at risk of being taxed. But no one gets a $1 million pension, and labor leaders say it's a scare tactic. seattletimes.com/seattle-new…
stevemur retweeted
See also: how the supreme court functions in WA state.
For your ballot, remember this handy acronym for a more Constitutional set of jurists: LOBES:
Larson.
O’Donnell.
Bloom.
Edwards.
Stevens (NOT Stephens.)
h/t @stevemur
stevemur retweeted
Mark Elster, owner of Seattle-based firm AOME Architects, says: "Our revenue has declined by over 50% in a matter of months."
Wow. Vote Yes on I-645 to repeal the illegal income tax.
Dear haters, yes, architects are losing BIG business becuase of the "millionaires tax." They are laying people off, and some are closing shop.
Mark Elster, owner of Seattle-based firm AOME Architects, says: "Our revenue has declined by over 50% in a matter of months."
My beyond-obvious take: Only wealthy people hire architects to design homes. Turns out, "trickle down" economics does, in fact, "trickle down."
100%, and it already is.
Seattle Children’s CEO Christopher Longhurst said a limit on charitable deductions in Washington’s new millionaires tax could discourage some large gifts to nonprofits, including donations that help the hospital care for children whose families cannot afford treatment.
komonews.com/news/local/seat…
stevemur retweeted
I have 5 clients, this year that have left Washington for Arizona/Nevada.....why?
They save $5,000,000 or more for their estate, if they die in a different location. Why?
Washington's Estate tax is so high.
Now ask yourselves. Do we benefit by these people leaving the state with the tax base they have created?
Leaders matter. Sane policies matter. It’s not a money problem, it’s a policy problem.
“No, you cannot do that here” is a critical part the social contract.
Britain’s IRS is reportedly issuing letters to wealthy taxpayers to request one on one meetings, and list all assets.
From today’s Sunday Times
History feels like separate stories, and teachers generally relay them that way.
But the planet beats on one timeline. I’ve always been fascinated by “when this happened, this also happened.”
What do you make of this? Not all civilizations, nor civilizational values, are equal. We can respect all — or most, or have a default respect and curiosity — while also recognizing that some essential values and traditions and economic/justice systems accelerate progress, and others can impede it.
If you’ve never played the game “Civilization,” I’d encourage you to try.
It really makes it clear that some research paths and priorities can lead to accelerated progress, and others can hold it back. Investments by governments in things like roads and fast transport and education (no, I mean good education — science and basic research and literacy etc) can actually be a great investment, while others can -decelerate- a civilization.
This should be a non-controversial point. But today, it seems to be.
None of this means we need to be closed-minded.