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July 28, 2006
Putting a Face with a Name
During my job hunt, I mentioned Mary Bresticker - the headhunter at Binc who was trying to place me at Microsoft. After spending a significant amount of time on the phone with her, and learning that she had friends in the Port Angeles area, I suggested that if she called the next time she was in the neighborhood, we could meet for lunch/dinner/coffee to attach a face with the name and voice.
Much to my (pleasant) surprise she took me up on it - and Laurie, Nise and I met Mary and Adam at Bainbridge Bakers last weekend for coffee and light nibbles.
It was great to finally meet her in person, and hopefully we'll have the chance to get together again - either on her next trip North or our next trip South.
Posted by dberger at 10:24 PM | Comments (1)
A little over a month on the job
Had a chat with Jeremy yesterday - he's the closest thing there is to a "manager" of the Steam dev. team. Smart guy - worked for much of his professional career at Microsoft on various stuff, most recently MSN Messenger (which is sorta ironic, since that's the team at Microsoft that Mary was trying to place me with. Seems the lead on the team I interviewed with was a Luke to Jeremy's Yoda, or something like that.)
Anyway, about that conversation...
Continue reading "A little over a month on the job"
Posted by dberger at 10:10 PM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2006
Recent (Random) Addictions
If It's What You Want by Granian
Oh, and pretty much every track on Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 by Jackson Browne
Posted by dberger at 3:24 PM | Comments (3)
July 18, 2006
Working for a Company People Don't Hate
Late last week, at an EA event, "we" announced some products that will ship with HL2-Episode 2 (Portal, and Team Fortress 2, to be precise). (I say "we" 'cause I haven't done anything to contribute to those products, so it feels like glory hounding to strongly associate myself with them.)
The reaction from the gaming press and community have been really strong.
And, unlike my last employer, it's been strongly positive.
Continue reading "Working for a Company People Don't Hate"
Posted by dberger at 11:02 AM | Comments (1)
July 17, 2006
Weekend Recap
Executive Summary: Busy, busy, busy.
Saturday morning we caught a mid-morning boat into Seattle and headed for the 4th Ave Costco to return the camera and pick up an appetizer to bring to our ultimate destination. From there, we hit 5 N to Snohomish (which I found very reminiscent of the California Central Valley) to join Scott and Amanda (and Zoe, and Will) for their "last trip across the border before they move" hosted by some friends.
We hung out, chatted, ate, drank, and basically enjoyed ourselves. I stepped out in the middle of the party to call my dad and wish him a happy birthday, and all was basically good with the world.
Continue reading "Weekend Recap"
Posted by dberger at 9:22 AM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2006
A Case of (Way) Too Much Camera
After much discussion, we decided to return the really cool camera I bought Dawnise and replace it with one that's slightly less cool, but overall way more appropriate and useful for the person and purpose.
Continue reading "A Case of (Way) Too Much Camera"
Posted by dberger at 9:18 PM | Comments (1)
July 13, 2006
80's Cheese
I'm in my office, lost in thought, when I realize my legs are going a mile a minute, and I'm rocking along to Falco's "Vienna Calling."
Damn song's infectious :)
"If early '80s pop smelled of cheese, Falco was Gouda. This guy put the eesy in cheesy. And every couple weeks I have to shave the mold off my Falco 3 album."
- www.80smusiclyrics.com
Later I'll rant about how refreshing it is to be able to get lost in thought again, as opposed to just lost in thrash...
Posted by dberger at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2006
An Unexpected Delay
Our landscaping project has been moving along at something between a snail and sloths' pace.
Yesterday it slowed down.
Continue reading "An Unexpected Delay"
Posted by dberger at 9:01 AM | Comments (0)
A New Expensive Hobby
There's a high likelihood that Dawnise will be taking a trip to S. Africa in September. A friend of ours here in Seattle (Janinne) was born in Cape Town, and invited Dawnise to accompany her on a trip back home.
Dawnise is hesitant (I won't be able to go, mostly because I don't have the vacation time accrued, and also because we have a high-maintenance cat to worry about), but I'm keen that she not skip this experience.
Did I mention that Janinne's brother apparently runs a safari company, and that the trip is planned to include some form of actual African Safari? I mean sheesh, what kind of friend would I be if I let Dawnise skip that?
Continue reading "A New Expensive Hobby"
Posted by dberger at 7:09 AM | Comments (3)
July 11, 2006
It's a Brick
My new "notebook" arrived today. It's gonna stay @ home, I can tell already. It's too big and heavy to carry back and forth, and the power supply alone is the size of a small country. At least it solves my remote access problem (hell of an expensive Remote Desktop client, I must say).
Just wish our IT guy had asked before he placed the order...
Grumble, grumble.
Posted by dberger at 3:23 PM | Comments (1)
July 5, 2006
Oops
A couple weeks ago I sent a note to our IT guy that listed about 5 notebooks I was trying to choose between asking for any opinions/feedback.
I got nothing, and today, when I told him I had decided on the Asus W3J, he informed me that on Monday he placed an order for the Acer TravelMate 8200.
The TravelMate looks ok, but it's way lots (like almost 2 lbs) heavier than the W3J.
Guess I should have been more explicit in my message.
Oh well.
Posted by dberger at 4:11 PM | Comments (0)
Imperfect Sound Forever
This article is an interesting, albeit long, read for any lurking audiophiles out there.
Posted by dberger at 10:16 AM | Comments (1)
Happy Independence Day
It's easy to forget that the 4th of July has significance, that it's not just an excuse to take the day off work, eat too much, and indulge our predilection for pyrotechnics.
Dawnise and I went into downtown Winslow for the "grand old 4th" - which basically consisted of a street fair that was, as Brad put it, "like a Renaissance fair without any of the style" and a parade that boasted the "biggest inflatable eagle in the pacific northwest."
Continue reading "Happy Independence Day"
Posted by dberger at 9:20 AM | Comments (1)