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It Happened to Me

Hail Satan! (or: Day 1 at Microsoft)

Bart Simpson chalkboard gag: "The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with 'Hail Satan'"

Many cultures have “big players” that form part of their collective demonology, symbols that are reviled, yet envied at the same time. Small-town folks in the U.S. point to New York City and Los Angeles as bad places filled with bad people who get a disproportionate share of the pie; small-town Canada does the same with Toronto. For indie musicians and filmmakers, the reviled and envied demon is Hollywood. In the world of software, the world in which I work, it’s Microsoft.

And as of this morning, they’re my employer. Hail Satan!

Truth be told, I’m pleased to be working on a team with a lot of smart people, some of whom were already my friends. I’m also happy to be employed again, and for a company that’s going to give me the chance to reach more people than ever before. I’m also thankful for the new company-issued laptop, which has a working up-arrow key!

(My personal laptop’s up-arrow key doesn’t work, and I’ve come to appreciate how important the up-arrow key is. If you haven’t yet done so today, go to your computer right now, look at your arrow keys straight on and tell them how much you love and appreciate them!)

Ahem.

The next few months on my tech blog, Global Nerdy are going to be interesting ones. Part of my new job as a Developer Advisor (a.k.a. Developer Evangelist) is to blog, and since my tech blog already has a decent-sized audience, it’s the best onhline vehicle for my work.

I’d like to point a couple of new articles on Global Nerdy about the new job, and for the most part, they’re layperson-friendly.

Company Man (or: The New Job)

Microsoft logo with an accordion

In case you haven’t yet read Company Man (or: The New Job), it’s the article in which I announced to the world that I’ve accepted a position at Microsoft.

California Bound (or: I’m Going to PDC2008)

Cast from the original "90210" with Steve Ballmer's head on Luke Perry's body.

Next up is California Bound (or: I’m Going to PDC2008), the techiest of the articles I’ll point to here. It’s about my flying down to Los Angeles next week to attend Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference.

The Journey Begins

Anakin Skywalker leaves home as his mother, Shmi Skywalker, watches.

Finally, there’s The Journey Begins, which covers what I plan to do for my first few months at Microsoft.

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Uncategorized

Flavour of the Day

"Butt. Finger Blast" ice cream
Photo courtesy of ImagePoop.com.

Categories
It Happened to Me

And Now, the New Job

Archimedes and his lever
An apt metaphor for the new job.

As promised, I am announcing my new job today. But not here: you’ll have to go to Global Nerdy to find out what it is.

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Uncategorized

Terminated, Part 10: It’s Contagious!

Hazmat suit (head / mask detail)

Ever since I announced that I’d been laid off, I’ve had a lot of kind offers from people who wanted to take me out for a beer. I was IM’ing with one of those people yesterday.

“Sorry to hear about the job,” he said. “Did you get my email offering to take you out for a beer sometime? I was wondering if it ended up in your spam folder.”

“Thanks, and yeah, I got your mail,” I replied. “Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I’ve been busy with interviews, and I’ve accepted an offer. I’ll announce it on the blog on Friday.”

“Cool,” he said, and we both went back to work.

About ten minutes later, he IM’d me again.

“Holy crap. You’re not going to believe this. I just got laid off.”

“What?”

“I got called into ‘the meeting’, and they started talking about my severance.”

“Just after we were talking about me getting laid off?”

“Yeah. Weird, huh?”

“You know what? I will now buy you that beer.”

The timing of our conversation and his getting laid off were incredibly weird. It’s one of those things that makes you wonder if you’re not really alive, but just a character in a novel whose author has a mild sadistic streak.

Perhaps the new job will help me help him.

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In the News

What’s Up with “Senator McTongue”?

Take a look at these photos taken after last night’s presidential debate. What’s up with McCain and his tongue? Dry cough? Hairballs? The next step in his public metamorphosis into Grampa Simpson?

Three photos at the debate where John McCain is sticking out his tongue "Bill the Cat" style
Photos courtesy of Miss Fipi Lele.

Categories
In the News

Titanic’s Last Living Survivor Selling Mementoes to Pay Her Nursing Home Fees

Millvina Dean, last living survivor of the Titanic
Millvina Dean, last living survivor of the Titanic.

Millvina Dean, age 96, hopes to raise 3,000 pounds to help cover the costs of living in a nursing home. She’s doing this by selling her mementoes from the aftermath of the Titanic, which include a hundred-year-old suitcase full of clothes given to her family after they arrived in New York. Her family took the Titanic to emigrate from the U.K. to Kansas; her mother and brother also survived, but her father did not.

Categories
It Happened to Me

Changes are Coming

Highway sign reading "Changes: Next exit"

The new look on my tech blog, Global Nerdy, is just the tip of the iceberg. Big changes are in store for both the blog and its author, Yours Truly. It’ll all be made clear in a post tomorrow, which will include an update on my employment situation.