I just got off the phone with Volt... it looks like I don't start work until the 28th... apparently due to the status of the project I am working on, Microsoft needs to have the background check done 2 business days before I start... and they require all contract positions to start on a Monday. So I am still not working until May 28th... I guess I still have to work at Labor Ready for another week... this sucks.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Later,
SteveO
Friday, May 18, 2007
More Random Stuff...
Well, today is supposed to be my last week day before I start work on Monday... I guess everything depends on if my background check came back yet... As soon as that does, then I'll be ready to work.
Other than that, I'm just kinda sitting around the house listening to lounge-radio.com while I lounge around the house. I took Jaani for a walk earlier, and now I'm kinda bored. I picked up a book the other day called Testing Computer Software. Everyone at Microsoft seemed to recommend that, and this one book written by a guy at Microsoft specifically for Software Testers hired by Volt. I haven't gotten that one yet... they expressed a priority on this one... which so far seems to just be a refresher on a lot of the stuff I did while making my own programs. finding/testing function limits... what happens when you knowingly go outside the limits... and writing reports to summarize the errors. So far I feel really confident that I will already know what I'm doing when I start. So I'm happy.
I thought this was a really cool picture, because the city looks awesome in it, and if you don't already know who you're looking at, you can't tell. This was actually taken... some time right after we got back to Seattle... like within a couple days. I think the picture I put up yesterday was close, but taken out at the point of Alki, where this one is a little closer to the city, so the camera picked up all the lights better. It is one of my best night time pictures of a city.
This is my pet caterpillar... at least one of the dozen of them outside... it seems that at any point in time you can see a bunch of them outside... I've seen a lot of them the past couple weeks... I almost think it might be some type of tent caterpillar, but I'm really not sure... Wikipedia failed me on this one... I think... Monarch maybe? I'm not really sure ...
Anyway, I guess the only other thing I've been doing all day is editing Wikipedia. I've been working on the Wikiversity Software Testing Site, which the previous person who was writing it had put almost nothing on there, at least I started putting the kind of things that would lead someone to learn things... if not teach them something really basic. I always made fun of people who write text books... I'm picky about books I will say are good, but that doesn't really mean that I can write a good text book. That is the lesson I am learning. Although I do like the idea that I might actually teach someone something.
Anyway... I'm going back to reading more... Here is another picture:
this one is the pike market near at dusk. Taken from the intersection of Pike ST and 1st AVE. You can't see because this was taken on kind of a cloudy day, but the Olympic Mountains are in the background. Off to the left across the water you can see about where I took the night time picture of Seattle. The camera is looking west in this picture.
Later,
SteveO
Other than that, I'm just kinda sitting around the house listening to lounge-radio.com while I lounge around the house. I took Jaani for a walk earlier, and now I'm kinda bored. I picked up a book the other day called Testing Computer Software. Everyone at Microsoft seemed to recommend that, and this one book written by a guy at Microsoft specifically for Software Testers hired by Volt. I haven't gotten that one yet... they expressed a priority on this one... which so far seems to just be a refresher on a lot of the stuff I did while making my own programs. finding/testing function limits... what happens when you knowingly go outside the limits... and writing reports to summarize the errors. So far I feel really confident that I will already know what I'm doing when I start. So I'm happy.
I thought this was a really cool picture, because the city looks awesome in it, and if you don't already know who you're looking at, you can't tell. This was actually taken... some time right after we got back to Seattle... like within a couple days. I think the picture I put up yesterday was close, but taken out at the point of Alki, where this one is a little closer to the city, so the camera picked up all the lights better. It is one of my best night time pictures of a city.
This is my pet caterpillar... at least one of the dozen of them outside... it seems that at any point in time you can see a bunch of them outside... I've seen a lot of them the past couple weeks... I almost think it might be some type of tent caterpillar, but I'm really not sure... Wikipedia failed me on this one... I think... Monarch maybe? I'm not really sure ...
Anyway, I guess the only other thing I've been doing all day is editing Wikipedia. I've been working on the Wikiversity Software Testing Site, which the previous person who was writing it had put almost nothing on there, at least I started putting the kind of things that would lead someone to learn things... if not teach them something really basic. I always made fun of people who write text books... I'm picky about books I will say are good, but that doesn't really mean that I can write a good text book. That is the lesson I am learning. Although I do like the idea that I might actually teach someone something.
Anyway... I'm going back to reading more... Here is another picture:
this one is the pike market near at dusk. Taken from the intersection of Pike ST and 1st AVE. You can't see because this was taken on kind of a cloudy day, but the Olympic Mountains are in the background. Off to the left across the water you can see about where I took the night time picture of Seattle. The camera is looking west in this picture.Later,
SteveO
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The rest of my home...
Well, last night I took some pictures of the inside... I thought I'd take some of what you can see from the outside. I guess I want to start though with the rest of the inside that I didn't take pictures of yet...
This is the infamous hallway which was not until recently pictured. There is a small coat closet on the left just before you go into the hallway, the bathroom is streight ahead, my room is to the right, and Evelyn's room is to the left. It really isn't all that exciting to see really, I guess it's just a little hall. it has a linen closet in it... just to the right of the bathroom door. it has... who really cares... you can see the kitchen table to the right, and my bass to the left. ok. next picture.
The next picture is one of my room. I just finished all my laundry related stuff today, and cleaned up to show my room at it's best. You can see this is Jaani's room too. Ev can't stand his snoring, so we sleep on the futon. you can also see my maze rug. it is kinda cool... I had to get it because it is the one thing from Ikea I've been saying I really want for like 2 & 1/2 years now. if you look carefully you can see the strap from one of the many backpacks I have crammed under my futon. Jaani is trying to kill the bear that I got Ev at the pistons VS Sonics game last December... he knows... good Jaani. Good Jaani.
Next we have my futon (again) but this time it is cleaned up. everything you can see (except the alarm clock) is from Ikea. The blanket is awesome! I recommend that anyone just splurge and spend the $60 bucks. It's so nice and huge! it's ridiculous, but it's so nice and soft and warm and yea... you want one. I spend a bit of time here reading. I guess I could use a reading lamp like the one I wish I brought from Michigan... it was so nice... and someone so stupid wouldn't let me bring it... grrr. anyway...
Here is another picture from last night... but I cleaned it up a little more today... I wonder if you can even really tell at all... but anyway... this is my replacement for a dresser. It works great, and I don't even have to get up to think about what I want to wear... unless it's in the closet... that's a different story, but I don't like to talk about that... but I can show you!
This is my closet. it has all my nice clothes, pants, underwear... that kind of stuff... it also has all my tools, and a water heater. You can see I never clean the little book shelf next to my bed... I have my drum... and my S.Y.R.U.P. commemorative 1st show thing on the wall. nothing all too exciting I suppose... also think I'm going to skip the bathroom... it's small... hardly has enough room... and we bought a shower head on a hose with adjustable settings and stuff... so lets start looking out the windows.
We have four windows to look out of. This is my bedroom window. I sit and watch for people to steal my car... then fall a sleep because nothing ever happens. You can't really see any of the Mexicans... but there are a lot of them here in the hood. outside the gate, you can see them all lining up by the white van that sells corn out of the back. Business is so good at the van that they actually put gold rims on it not that long ago. Everybody gathers out there about 4PM, and I've seen them there as late as 10PM. Although I think the van lady got arrested not that long ago... she hasn't been out there the past couple of days... I actually kinda wanted to try the food... and see if they have anything else other than corn on the cob on a stick.
This is the kitchen window. You can see my car off to the right, and some van (which might get towed today) next to it... people aren't too friendly about people taking there spot... most people just honk a couple of times, then call security or go up to the rental office... usually within about a half hour the car is towed. If the car weren't there, you could actually see the front gate to the apartment complex through the two buildings across the lot from me.
This is out the back side of the apartment. This is Evelyn's window. You can see the back of a strip mall down the hill, and you can also see the view shown out the sliding door. If you look closely you can see the hole that was cut in the fence... they fixed it with some wire not that long ago... it's kinda nice because people don't walk through our back yard as much at night... but at the same time, that would have been the best place for evelyn to cut across to Highway 99 to catch the bus in the morning... I also showed her a way that she can walk through the apartments and avoid all of the people who stair at her and yell out the window at her... I'm not sure that she took my advice though... I hope it doesn't get her hurt.
This is my awesome view of the public storage facility. James kept his stuff about half way down the first row there, and I sat and watched it from my window... at least when ever it looked like someone went near it. Jaani likes to pee on that rock just to the right of the fence post... and people occasionally walk there dog by... Jaani sits at attention until a dog sniffs his rock; then he barks at the dog... he must guard his rock at all cost. but it really doesn't go anywhere... and once he barks, no dog will dare pee on it. One time I told him his rock was in danger, and he actually ran to the door and started barking... I wonder if he actually knew what I was saying, or if he saw the other dog sniffing.
This is the back porch. I actually have two folding chairs... I should have put them out for the picture, but I guess I don't have a table yet. I like to sit out here and just vegetate every once and a while. Listen to traffic on 99... watch the planes fly over head... I think they are about the same distance up as when they fly over mom and dad's house. Jaani has a log... it's log, it's log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood. it's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good! at least when it comes to holding Jaani from running after people, or going within throwing distance of those kids that like to provoke him, then throw stuff of the balcony at him... I also came to the conclusion that 40 feet was too long of a leash for Jaani... at least around here... so I wrapped it around the log a few times to take up some slack. On the left side, you can see my storage closet.
Here is what the inside of my little tiny storage closet looks like... You can see my bike is too big to keep the wheel on it when it's in there... and the handle bars of my bike have to be at almost a 45 degree angle for me to fit it in there... but it still fits... you can also see my two chairs... they actually are the same chairs I bought when I came out to Seattle last time, but I somehow don't think I'm going to loose these ones. The funny thing about this little closet is that I didn't have a key for it the first month I lived here. When we moved in, we found out the lock (on the apartment) was broken, and we had to have it changed, but they didn't change the lock on the storage closet. Well, they had some trouble getting in, but eventually they found the old key, and changed the lock to match the one on the apartment. all said and done, I'm confident nobody will break in and steal my bike.
I guess that is the tour of my apartment. I'll have to get some pictures from around Seattle up here soon, but for now, enjoy this view of Seattle at night, taken from Alki.
So... that's all I wrote. talk to you all some time. Stay out of trouble.
Later,
SteveO
This is the infamous hallway which was not until recently pictured. There is a small coat closet on the left just before you go into the hallway, the bathroom is streight ahead, my room is to the right, and Evelyn's room is to the left. It really isn't all that exciting to see really, I guess it's just a little hall. it has a linen closet in it... just to the right of the bathroom door. it has... who really cares... you can see the kitchen table to the right, and my bass to the left. ok. next picture.
The next picture is one of my room. I just finished all my laundry related stuff today, and cleaned up to show my room at it's best. You can see this is Jaani's room too. Ev can't stand his snoring, so we sleep on the futon. you can also see my maze rug. it is kinda cool... I had to get it because it is the one thing from Ikea I've been saying I really want for like 2 & 1/2 years now. if you look carefully you can see the strap from one of the many backpacks I have crammed under my futon. Jaani is trying to kill the bear that I got Ev at the pistons VS Sonics game last December... he knows... good Jaani. Good Jaani.
Next we have my futon (again) but this time it is cleaned up. everything you can see (except the alarm clock) is from Ikea. The blanket is awesome! I recommend that anyone just splurge and spend the $60 bucks. It's so nice and huge! it's ridiculous, but it's so nice and soft and warm and yea... you want one. I spend a bit of time here reading. I guess I could use a reading lamp like the one I wish I brought from Michigan... it was so nice... and someone so stupid wouldn't let me bring it... grrr. anyway...
Here is another picture from last night... but I cleaned it up a little more today... I wonder if you can even really tell at all... but anyway... this is my replacement for a dresser. It works great, and I don't even have to get up to think about what I want to wear... unless it's in the closet... that's a different story, but I don't like to talk about that... but I can show you!
This is my closet. it has all my nice clothes, pants, underwear... that kind of stuff... it also has all my tools, and a water heater. You can see I never clean the little book shelf next to my bed... I have my drum... and my S.Y.R.U.P. commemorative 1st show thing on the wall. nothing all too exciting I suppose... also think I'm going to skip the bathroom... it's small... hardly has enough room... and we bought a shower head on a hose with adjustable settings and stuff... so lets start looking out the windows.
We have four windows to look out of. This is my bedroom window. I sit and watch for people to steal my car... then fall a sleep because nothing ever happens. You can't really see any of the Mexicans... but there are a lot of them here in the hood. outside the gate, you can see them all lining up by the white van that sells corn out of the back. Business is so good at the van that they actually put gold rims on it not that long ago. Everybody gathers out there about 4PM, and I've seen them there as late as 10PM. Although I think the van lady got arrested not that long ago... she hasn't been out there the past couple of days... I actually kinda wanted to try the food... and see if they have anything else other than corn on the cob on a stick.
This is the kitchen window. You can see my car off to the right, and some van (which might get towed today) next to it... people aren't too friendly about people taking there spot... most people just honk a couple of times, then call security or go up to the rental office... usually within about a half hour the car is towed. If the car weren't there, you could actually see the front gate to the apartment complex through the two buildings across the lot from me.
This is out the back side of the apartment. This is Evelyn's window. You can see the back of a strip mall down the hill, and you can also see the view shown out the sliding door. If you look closely you can see the hole that was cut in the fence... they fixed it with some wire not that long ago... it's kinda nice because people don't walk through our back yard as much at night... but at the same time, that would have been the best place for evelyn to cut across to Highway 99 to catch the bus in the morning... I also showed her a way that she can walk through the apartments and avoid all of the people who stair at her and yell out the window at her... I'm not sure that she took my advice though... I hope it doesn't get her hurt.
This is my awesome view of the public storage facility. James kept his stuff about half way down the first row there, and I sat and watched it from my window... at least when ever it looked like someone went near it. Jaani likes to pee on that rock just to the right of the fence post... and people occasionally walk there dog by... Jaani sits at attention until a dog sniffs his rock; then he barks at the dog... he must guard his rock at all cost. but it really doesn't go anywhere... and once he barks, no dog will dare pee on it. One time I told him his rock was in danger, and he actually ran to the door and started barking... I wonder if he actually knew what I was saying, or if he saw the other dog sniffing.
This is the back porch. I actually have two folding chairs... I should have put them out for the picture, but I guess I don't have a table yet. I like to sit out here and just vegetate every once and a while. Listen to traffic on 99... watch the planes fly over head... I think they are about the same distance up as when they fly over mom and dad's house. Jaani has a log... it's log, it's log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood. it's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good! at least when it comes to holding Jaani from running after people, or going within throwing distance of those kids that like to provoke him, then throw stuff of the balcony at him... I also came to the conclusion that 40 feet was too long of a leash for Jaani... at least around here... so I wrapped it around the log a few times to take up some slack. On the left side, you can see my storage closet.
Here is what the inside of my little tiny storage closet looks like... You can see my bike is too big to keep the wheel on it when it's in there... and the handle bars of my bike have to be at almost a 45 degree angle for me to fit it in there... but it still fits... you can also see my two chairs... they actually are the same chairs I bought when I came out to Seattle last time, but I somehow don't think I'm going to loose these ones. The funny thing about this little closet is that I didn't have a key for it the first month I lived here. When we moved in, we found out the lock (on the apartment) was broken, and we had to have it changed, but they didn't change the lock on the storage closet. Well, they had some trouble getting in, but eventually they found the old key, and changed the lock to match the one on the apartment. all said and done, I'm confident nobody will break in and steal my bike.I guess that is the tour of my apartment. I'll have to get some pictures from around Seattle up here soon, but for now, enjoy this view of Seattle at night, taken from Alki.
So... that's all I wrote. talk to you all some time. Stay out of trouble.
Later,
SteveO
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Pictures of home
So, due to the request of mom, I decided to have a little pictorial tour of the apartment. It's not all that clean right now, but I guess that's the idea of a random photo shoot... to see what things are like when I am not planning on taking pictures. I must admit though that the place is a little messier than usual, but I have been too busy to clean... and god forbid my roommate lift a finger... but anyway... here is my place.
I guess I'll start with what you see when you walk in the front door (and look to the right)... We have Jaani's bed in front of the fire place because we really don't need a fire place in the summer. You can also see my $20 coffee table from Ikea. You will see that as you look around my apartment almost everything is from the as is section of Ikea. You can also see the tea set that Al got me from Taiwan... by basses are to the right... the TV which we never really watch... and yea... that's about it.
Next is the opposite wall of the living area. The leather couches that Evelyn's mom gave us are really nice... everybody loves to sleep on them. You cal also see my computer desk and lamp I got from Ikea... together they were almost $40, but I think it was worth it. I put the Jamacan guy on the wall over the computer... I hope we don't have an Earthquake and the head falls on my computer... that would suck. You can also see that I haven't gotten that far on the mat that I was knitting for Jaani... (the nifty knitter is under the table)
A close up of my computer shows where I spend as much of my time at home as possible. We have a wireless network range extender to allow me to connect to my neighbor's internet connection... shh don't tell. I just got the keyboard a couple days ago. It sure beats typing on the laptop, plus it has 2 USB ports on it so I can plug my mouse into the keyboard... and slide the tray with both of them under my desk. I guess the best part, and the best deal I've gotten so far, is the keyboard; which I payed 89 cents for at Boeing Surplus... I guess I should say Al payed 89 cents for... seeing how he had to use his employee discount to get that price.
When you move back behind the couches (at least the love seat) you can see the kitchen area. We have the navigational chart table from (at least as I know it) the Valley View house. I have the back bench from the Astro on one side and two chairs we got from Ikea on the other... when they have two more in the as is section I'll probably put the bench back in the van... but for now I suppose it helps to improve fuel economy. I also got the book shelf from Ikea's as is section, but the black table legs I got were new. I figured that $20 for four legs wasn't too bad. Off to the far right you can see my purple computer, which I'm waiting until I can set up a nice desk to put it on before I get it running again. Finally, you can see the bar that we have leading to the kitchen.
I guess the angle is really funny in this picture, but this is the other side of that bar I just wrote about. It is a sort of small counter on both sides of the stove, but I guess it is just about enough room to work nicely. We needed a cutting board, so I broke down and bought one, but that doesn't mean I don't still want the one from Michigan!!!! I only hope that soon it will really come in the mail. *nudge* *nudge* (mom)
This picture is the view of the other counter in the kitchen from on top of the microwave. we actually keep the clean dishes on the dish rack... I think we used our dish washer (directly under the dish rack) once. I put all of my magnets on the fridge. you can see my blue thermos on the counter there... it was new... but I didn't want a used one... it wasn't that much. The window in the picture looks out into the parking lot. I can see the car next to mine from here, or lean forward to see mine.
Next we actually go through the hall way that is not pictured to my room. Basically you just missed the bathroom, linen closet, and Evelyn's room. If you turn around from the picture of the kitchen, you would see the hallway. My bed is a mess... it's a futon from Ikea. I like it because the mattress is this nice foam, and the bed frame is cheap to replace in the event that it breaks (which is what usually happens.) Other than that, I have the book shelf I brought with me to Seattle, and a little dresser that I got in the as is section for about $15. The futon was the most expensive thing I got... I splurged and spent about $360 from my tax return on it... but it is so much better than what I was looking at on craigs list, plus... it beats the floor. I figure a good night sleep is key when you have to get up at 5AM to get under paid to do way too much work... (good thing that is ending)
And the last picture for the day is the other side of my room. This is a great way to increase closet space. The rolling closet thing was like $20 and it is made of almost all metal (except for the plastic wheels that you can replace with the free Ikea parts bin.) I also have two of those $6 closet organizers giving me the space to fold most of my clothes, but still hang some stuff on it... I have a closet, but I am hanging all of my nice stuff, and most of my pants/shorts are up on the shelf above the bar in the closet. to the right you can see my vacuum cleaner... I got it from Sears for... umm... I can't really remember... I know it wasn't too much, but it was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I guess it's better to have something with a ten year warranty. All the way to the left, you can see a window which looks directly out to my car.
That's it for now... I just want to note that my new camera is so much better than my old one. If you click on one of the pictures, it will bring up the full size image that the camera takes... it is great! plus everything seems clear. Thanks mom, it was a really good birthday/going away present!
Later,
SteveO
I guess I'll start with what you see when you walk in the front door (and look to the right)... We have Jaani's bed in front of the fire place because we really don't need a fire place in the summer. You can also see my $20 coffee table from Ikea. You will see that as you look around my apartment almost everything is from the as is section of Ikea. You can also see the tea set that Al got me from Taiwan... by basses are to the right... the TV which we never really watch... and yea... that's about it.
Next is the opposite wall of the living area. The leather couches that Evelyn's mom gave us are really nice... everybody loves to sleep on them. You cal also see my computer desk and lamp I got from Ikea... together they were almost $40, but I think it was worth it. I put the Jamacan guy on the wall over the computer... I hope we don't have an Earthquake and the head falls on my computer... that would suck. You can also see that I haven't gotten that far on the mat that I was knitting for Jaani... (the nifty knitter is under the table)
A close up of my computer shows where I spend as much of my time at home as possible. We have a wireless network range extender to allow me to connect to my neighbor's internet connection... shh don't tell. I just got the keyboard a couple days ago. It sure beats typing on the laptop, plus it has 2 USB ports on it so I can plug my mouse into the keyboard... and slide the tray with both of them under my desk. I guess the best part, and the best deal I've gotten so far, is the keyboard; which I payed 89 cents for at Boeing Surplus... I guess I should say Al payed 89 cents for... seeing how he had to use his employee discount to get that price.
When you move back behind the couches (at least the love seat) you can see the kitchen area. We have the navigational chart table from (at least as I know it) the Valley View house. I have the back bench from the Astro on one side and two chairs we got from Ikea on the other... when they have two more in the as is section I'll probably put the bench back in the van... but for now I suppose it helps to improve fuel economy. I also got the book shelf from Ikea's as is section, but the black table legs I got were new. I figured that $20 for four legs wasn't too bad. Off to the far right you can see my purple computer, which I'm waiting until I can set up a nice desk to put it on before I get it running again. Finally, you can see the bar that we have leading to the kitchen.
I guess the angle is really funny in this picture, but this is the other side of that bar I just wrote about. It is a sort of small counter on both sides of the stove, but I guess it is just about enough room to work nicely. We needed a cutting board, so I broke down and bought one, but that doesn't mean I don't still want the one from Michigan!!!! I only hope that soon it will really come in the mail. *nudge* *nudge* (mom)
This picture is the view of the other counter in the kitchen from on top of the microwave. we actually keep the clean dishes on the dish rack... I think we used our dish washer (directly under the dish rack) once. I put all of my magnets on the fridge. you can see my blue thermos on the counter there... it was new... but I didn't want a used one... it wasn't that much. The window in the picture looks out into the parking lot. I can see the car next to mine from here, or lean forward to see mine.
Next we actually go through the hall way that is not pictured to my room. Basically you just missed the bathroom, linen closet, and Evelyn's room. If you turn around from the picture of the kitchen, you would see the hallway. My bed is a mess... it's a futon from Ikea. I like it because the mattress is this nice foam, and the bed frame is cheap to replace in the event that it breaks (which is what usually happens.) Other than that, I have the book shelf I brought with me to Seattle, and a little dresser that I got in the as is section for about $15. The futon was the most expensive thing I got... I splurged and spent about $360 from my tax return on it... but it is so much better than what I was looking at on craigs list, plus... it beats the floor. I figure a good night sleep is key when you have to get up at 5AM to get under paid to do way too much work... (good thing that is ending)
And the last picture for the day is the other side of my room. This is a great way to increase closet space. The rolling closet thing was like $20 and it is made of almost all metal (except for the plastic wheels that you can replace with the free Ikea parts bin.) I also have two of those $6 closet organizers giving me the space to fold most of my clothes, but still hang some stuff on it... I have a closet, but I am hanging all of my nice stuff, and most of my pants/shorts are up on the shelf above the bar in the closet. to the right you can see my vacuum cleaner... I got it from Sears for... umm... I can't really remember... I know it wasn't too much, but it was a little more than I wanted to spend, but I guess it's better to have something with a ten year warranty. All the way to the left, you can see a window which looks directly out to my car.
So, I guess next time I'll have to take a picture of the closet, and my awesome view of the public storage facility from my back portch. next time I'll have to share some pictures from out side, but for now I'll leave you with this picture of Jaani in the wild up at the top of Mt Si.
That's it for now... I just want to note that my new camera is so much better than my old one. If you click on one of the pictures, it will bring up the full size image that the camera takes... it is great! plus everything seems clear. Thanks mom, it was a really good birthday/going away present!
Later,
SteveO
Monday, May 14, 2007
I now work for the enemy. :)
So... last week on Thursday I had an Interview up in Redmond, and it turns out that I did something right!
I got a call for Volt today informing me that I have a position at Microsoft working as a Test Associate 2. this means they thought that I was better than the TA1 job I applied for! So... after talking with me, my new manager decided that despite having no testing experience I was very sharp, and have no trouble getting up to speed if I ""Hit the ground running!"
So, I'm excited... and while it's not software development it is testing.
Anyway... Right now all I know is that I have orientation tomorrow morning at 8AM in Redmond, and I am working on testing the Xbox live components of Halo 3. but it is really exciting.
Aside from that, this past weekend I actually celebrated my birthday, and went to the Ave (which is actually a Way up in the U-district) and we went bar hopping as a way to welcome all the MSU guys out here, while celebrating my birthday, and wishing James a good trip to Cali for business. We ended up at 7 different bars over the night, plus toured the campus a little just to give us all a break from the beer for a bit.
Over all, it's been a pretty good week despite rising tension between myself and a certain B**** of a room-mate I have. Yesterday I got yelled at for: making my own plans for dinner, she left her bedroom door open and the dog pissed on her freshly cleaned laundry, I didn't keep the pee smelling laundry hamper in my room when I went to sleep, and I said that none of these things were my fault... big fight... she gets all embarrassed because she talks her way into a corner that makes her look bad, I take the opportunity to tell her how much of a stupid B**** she is... good night.
anyway... I'm not letting it get to me... tomorrow I will have a real excuse so that she won't be able to argue and call me an A** hole for not driving her to work, because I myself must go to Redmond for an interview at a job that pays me more than she makes. it seems lately she has been telling me that it isn't important for me to go to Labor Ready because it doesn't pay a lot of money... and I keep telling her that it does matter because there is no way in hell she will have all of rent for next month without my half (I, on the other hand, am completely prepared and even expecting her to be a total B**** and try to screw me over by moving out before the 1st.) She keeps threatening to move out and not stay here until next month. I talked to the rental office, and they said that if she does that, then they will only charge her for breach of contract if I agree to a different lease. which won't bother me at all... the apartments here are nice, it's just that some of the residents are kinda shady and lower class. but I'm not really worried about them breaking in as much as some sort of confrontation happening that gets dangerous... but so far so good.
all right, that's my story for now...
Later,
SteveO
I got a call for Volt today informing me that I have a position at Microsoft working as a Test Associate 2. this means they thought that I was better than the TA1 job I applied for! So... after talking with me, my new manager decided that despite having no testing experience I was very sharp, and have no trouble getting up to speed if I ""Hit the ground running!"
So, I'm excited... and while it's not software development it is testing.
Anyway... Right now all I know is that I have orientation tomorrow morning at 8AM in Redmond, and I am working on testing the Xbox live components of Halo 3. but it is really exciting.
Aside from that, this past weekend I actually celebrated my birthday, and went to the Ave (which is actually a Way up in the U-district) and we went bar hopping as a way to welcome all the MSU guys out here, while celebrating my birthday, and wishing James a good trip to Cali for business. We ended up at 7 different bars over the night, plus toured the campus a little just to give us all a break from the beer for a bit.
Over all, it's been a pretty good week despite rising tension between myself and a certain B**** of a room-mate I have. Yesterday I got yelled at for: making my own plans for dinner, she left her bedroom door open and the dog pissed on her freshly cleaned laundry, I didn't keep the pee smelling laundry hamper in my room when I went to sleep, and I said that none of these things were my fault... big fight... she gets all embarrassed because she talks her way into a corner that makes her look bad, I take the opportunity to tell her how much of a stupid B**** she is... good night.
anyway... I'm not letting it get to me... tomorrow I will have a real excuse so that she won't be able to argue and call me an A** hole for not driving her to work, because I myself must go to Redmond for an interview at a job that pays me more than she makes. it seems lately she has been telling me that it isn't important for me to go to Labor Ready because it doesn't pay a lot of money... and I keep telling her that it does matter because there is no way in hell she will have all of rent for next month without my half (I, on the other hand, am completely prepared and even expecting her to be a total B**** and try to screw me over by moving out before the 1st.) She keeps threatening to move out and not stay here until next month. I talked to the rental office, and they said that if she does that, then they will only charge her for breach of contract if I agree to a different lease. which won't bother me at all... the apartments here are nice, it's just that some of the residents are kinda shady and lower class. but I'm not really worried about them breaking in as much as some sort of confrontation happening that gets dangerous... but so far so good.
all right, that's my story for now...
Later,
SteveO
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Email forward from about 2001
There was a writer who wanted to create important literature. He wanted to write words that would be read by many people. He wanted to write words that would make people laugh, words that would make them cry, words that would make them angry, words that would make them shake their heads in sorrow. He found the job he was looking for. He now writes error messages for Microsoft.
He he... I just read this in a book I'm reading about debugging strategies for .NET developers. I thought is was priceless.
another good anonymous quote was:
Did you hear about the programmer who drowned at the beach? There was a full complement of marines near by, but none of them offered to help since they couldn't understand why the programmer was shouting "F1, F1!"
ah... techie humor
Other than reading today, I was also watching a documentary called "Why we Fight" that I rented from Blockbuster. It shines an interesting light on the role of the CIA, arms manufacturers, think thanks, and how they all come together.
Think about this for example: the production of the B2 bomber employs at least 100 people from each state. This means that if the B2 bomber isn't made anymore, a politician will lose 500 or more votes in each state. One vote for the person who loses their job, and all of that person's family. This means that in order to keep the public happy, a politician has to keep making a B2 bomber...
The documentary had a representative from Boeing state the number of people in each state employed by the B2 bomber... it also had a California senator from 2003 state that for every job lost, a politician loses five votes...
So, my thought is, if you purchase a bomber, you need to use it in order to justify the cost of purchasing a bomber. You can't make a bomber without knowing that it will be sold. You can't use a bomber without making bombs, and then the bomb has to be used... this means you have to go to war in order to use the bomb. Bush did say that we didn't go to Iraq because of 911... So why did we go into Iraq?
I think the problem is that not enough Americans care about what we are doing to realize the lessons learned by the Roman Empire... in order to control a world wide empire you need a standing army (which we have)... President George Washington claimed that a large standing army would destroy the Ideals which he wanted to uphold...
Eisenhower had a good speech:
...In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist... We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizen can compel the proper meshing the of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.
-President Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address
anyway... that's my thought.
oh, and on the productive side of things today, I finally spoke with someone at Volt about positions at Microsoft that I could have a chance at being hired for. Wish me luck!
Later,
SteveO
He he... I just read this in a book I'm reading about debugging strategies for .NET developers. I thought is was priceless.
another good anonymous quote was:
Did you hear about the programmer who drowned at the beach? There was a full complement of marines near by, but none of them offered to help since they couldn't understand why the programmer was shouting "F1, F1!"
ah... techie humor
Other than reading today, I was also watching a documentary called "Why we Fight" that I rented from Blockbuster. It shines an interesting light on the role of the CIA, arms manufacturers, think thanks, and how they all come together.
Think about this for example: the production of the B2 bomber employs at least 100 people from each state. This means that if the B2 bomber isn't made anymore, a politician will lose 500 or more votes in each state. One vote for the person who loses their job, and all of that person's family. This means that in order to keep the public happy, a politician has to keep making a B2 bomber...
The documentary had a representative from Boeing state the number of people in each state employed by the B2 bomber... it also had a California senator from 2003 state that for every job lost, a politician loses five votes...
So, my thought is, if you purchase a bomber, you need to use it in order to justify the cost of purchasing a bomber. You can't make a bomber without knowing that it will be sold. You can't use a bomber without making bombs, and then the bomb has to be used... this means you have to go to war in order to use the bomb. Bush did say that we didn't go to Iraq because of 911... So why did we go into Iraq?
I think the problem is that not enough Americans care about what we are doing to realize the lessons learned by the Roman Empire... in order to control a world wide empire you need a standing army (which we have)... President George Washington claimed that a large standing army would destroy the Ideals which he wanted to uphold...
Eisenhower had a good speech:
...In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist... We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizen can compel the proper meshing the of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.
-President Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address
anyway... that's my thought.
oh, and on the productive side of things today, I finally spoke with someone at Volt about positions at Microsoft that I could have a chance at being hired for. Wish me luck!
Later,
SteveO
Monday, May 7, 2007
Getting settled...
well, We've been moved in for a while now.
we finally started to get settled down with everything we need. we have a comfortable little apartment with all the things we need.
Evelyn and I broke up. which kinda needed to happen... and her boyfriend just broke up with her... haha... she is all upset about it now, and I can hardly stop myself from telling her I told you so. she is starting work tomorrow. she still depends on me for just about everything, but I guess she will figure things out really quick once I get a job where I have to be there on time every day...
anyway... I've been working for Labor Ready. they do temporary manual labor jobs. it doesn't pay very well, but it will keep at least a little money in my pocket until I get a real job.
I enjoy being back in Seattle. today was sunny all day long. I just had to drive up to green lake to take Jaani for a walk. it was fun.
Ev and I are getting along pretty well. I am pretty sure that I'll be able to put up with her for the rest of the lease.
If I can find a good job, I was thinking about the possibility of buying a house in Bremerton (at the end of the lease.) it's a ways out of town, but for $140 a month I can get a pass to take the ferry and bus system to work and stuff. it would be neat. plus it's a nice place to live.
anyway, that's all for now.
Later,
SteveO
we finally started to get settled down with everything we need. we have a comfortable little apartment with all the things we need.
Evelyn and I broke up. which kinda needed to happen... and her boyfriend just broke up with her... haha... she is all upset about it now, and I can hardly stop myself from telling her I told you so. she is starting work tomorrow. she still depends on me for just about everything, but I guess she will figure things out really quick once I get a job where I have to be there on time every day...
anyway... I've been working for Labor Ready. they do temporary manual labor jobs. it doesn't pay very well, but it will keep at least a little money in my pocket until I get a real job.
I enjoy being back in Seattle. today was sunny all day long. I just had to drive up to green lake to take Jaani for a walk. it was fun.
Ev and I are getting along pretty well. I am pretty sure that I'll be able to put up with her for the rest of the lease.
If I can find a good job, I was thinking about the possibility of buying a house in Bremerton (at the end of the lease.) it's a ways out of town, but for $140 a month I can get a pass to take the ferry and bus system to work and stuff. it would be neat. plus it's a nice place to live.
anyway, that's all for now.
Later,
SteveO
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