I am the Mike Garrison born in Seattle, aeronautical engineer, mountain climber, driving enthusiast, son of Dave and Margaret, brother of Anne, father of none, etc. Don't be confused by the low-quality imitations flooding the market these days.
Email address:
mikegarrison@alum.mit.edu
This address
forwards to both home and work. I get a lot of spam, so if I don't know you, be sure to have a descriptive subject
line.
I'm a member of the Washington Alpine Club. The club hosts a webguide I have written to scrambles in the Seattle area. On that website you can find a list of climbs I have done in the past few years.
In 2001 I bought a silver Honda S2000 roadster. Yes, thank you, it is as fun to drive as it looks like it would be. In early 2006 I bought a red Honda Element (that thing that sort of looks like a cross between a minivan and a mini-SUV). This was to replace my red 1991 CRX (which, in turn, replaced my yellow 1989 CRX, which was rear-ended in early 2001). I use the Element as a spare car when I am working on the S2000 or when I have prepped it for a track day. I also use the Element to haul stuff around or drive up to trailheads. These are all tasks I used to use the CRX for. While the CRX was great at being both useful and fun to drive, I have now specialized those tasks. (The CRX was sold in June 2006. This was the first car I have ever sold, not counting cars totalled out by the insurance company.)
In the fall of 2006 I made the big decision to destroy the S2000 as a street car. I pulled out much of the interior, removed the convertible top, installed a hard top, and had a roll bar welded in. It's still street legal, but it's now a full-time track car. I even have a trailer I can haul it around on, but I don't have a haul vehicle. Instead, my dad has come with me several times, and we use his F250 to haul the car to and from the track.
Cars I have owned: 1981 Civic (totalled), 1989 CRX (totalled), 1991 CRX (sold), 2002 S2000 (still have), 2005 Element (still have). Yes, all Hondas.
In November 2002 I took the S2000 up to Mission Raceway Park, in Mission BC. My hosts for the day, the BMW Club of BC, took some nifty pictures. And here's one of me at Laguna Seca in 2003.
In late Dec 2004 I did a bunch of off-season work on my car and wrote up several "how-to" guides.
In May 2007 I took a trip to Napoli. In March 2008, I went to Bordeaux. That was fun too. Both were business trips but I managed to do some sightseeing on the weekends.
In 2008, I took a trip with my dad to Sears Point and Laguna Seca. Here are some photos. Some in-car video can be found on YouTube under the name garrisonmike.
More recently, my job has led to more international travel. I've been to Firenze, Geneva (twice), Toulouse, and Bonn. On my first trip to Geneva I extended my stay for another week and traveled around Switzerland. (Facebook note)
Another thing that is new for me is joining the MIT Educational Council. What this means is that I interview prospective students, and pass on my evaluation of them to the MIT admissions office.
