I have an old COROS and picked it precisely because it's not much more than damn good running watch with a battery that lasts for weeks. It's definitely not necessary for road running, but I needed it for unfamiliar trail running routes.
Yeah, that's what I wanted it for. I trail run 80+% of the time, and use my clock + google maps to figure out my avg min/mile on road workouts. In general, though, these fitness devices are onerous privacy invading devices. If I get one, I'd never wear it anytime other than when actively running.
That's awesome. So you basically allow implicit creation of off-spreadsheet named cells (sub-cells, in a sense, as they're only locally available). Very useful.
Donating technical skills with a market rate of a couple hundred bucks an hour can add up much more quickly than donating cash in many cases. And it doesn't have to be a massive investment - in a few hours you can make a much more manageable and better looking website for a lot of organizations that can't afford to pay for one.
How many organizations need primarily computer work, though? All of the orgs I work with need either to buy specific items, or people with specific trade skills, not more software.
People on HN like to say "Software is eating the world" but when I look at my city, none of the biggest problems I see are going to be solved by more software.
Your software skills only have "a market rate of a couple hundred bucks an hour" because companies like Amazon and Facebook and Google are paying that. You're in a bubble. Small companies and non-profits aren't paying that. Mega-corporations can pay that only because they have massive scale. If one software developer can produce value for a million users, that person is worth a ton of money to the company. The non-profit in your backyard does not share that attribute. Your FAANG salary is not in any way relevant to them.
Finally, every programmer knows there's no such thing as resolving all maintenance "in a few hours". Software maintenance is a never-ending task. Take something that wasn't computerized, and computerize it, and now you've simplified one task for that volunteer org, while creating a new recurring cost for them. (You've taken a visible cost that anyone can help with, and turned it into an invisible cost that requires an expensive specialist.) I've seen countless cases where an org said "We got this new software (for cheap/free) that will help us!", and then 2 months later they're trying to get support, and the person who set it up is long gone.
Please, just give money, and let the organization decide how to use it. They aren't stupid. They know how to hire software people, when that is their most pressing need. Usually it isn't.
How does it add up much more quickly? Even if there's no time necessary for me to get up to speed on their situation, etc., donating my salary for those hours is not only at least even with donating my time (since they could hire out), but unless my skills are the absolute highest priority thing they need in the organization, cash would be better because it allows them to get that highest priority thing.
I know an individual from Microsoft who's managers were kind enough to allow him a 6 month absence to hike the PCT. He thru hiked it this Summer and is now back on our team, as productive as ever.
I'm sure this situation isn't exclusive to Microsoft. If you're valued as an employee and want to do something like this, make your wishes known to your management and see if they're willing to work with you. If you never ask, the answer is always no.
Well, there's Microsoft, and then there's my wife... But seriously, I've been thinking about walking from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass for a couple of years now, so maybe this summer is the time.
Its not exclusive to MS, like you said if you're valued as an employee, ask.
I work for a pretty small security company doing assessments (penetration testing, vulnerability research and stuff). I loved the job and really didn't want to lose it but was willing to.
The first year I asked, I basically just said, I love working here but I'm going to go hike this trail for 6 months and hopefully they'd work with me.
Then I asked for it again the next year, again willing to leave but didn't have to.
Finally, I took some time with my boss and had a discussion around continuing that work pattern into the future and how I can make it easier for them (notice periods, time of year to take off and such)
I completely agree with your last statement, if you never ask, the answer is always no. One of my coworkers when I returned the first time actually asked me how I asked because he wanted to do the PCT.
