Evil Doctor PorkChop: Personal

It's been a little rainy here lately...

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 01:43:57 GMT

To get an idea of just how rainy, compare the latest photo of Snoqualmie Falls with my usual photo. There's just an incredible amount of water coming through. You can get a bigger view of this picture and others at http://www.snoqualmiefalls.com

After seeing people's houses being swept away on TV, I'm thankful I live on high ground. KING5 has good coverage of the situation online at http://www.king5.com.

Technorati tags: Washington Flooding, Snoqualmie Falls, Snoqualmie, KING5

I'm with Ed on this one.

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 05:53:25 GMT

I know I usually post on Project Server but the stuff being proposed by my government is just utterly infuriating. Isn't this the sort of thing we are supposed to be fighting against in other areas of the world? Are we so afraid that we are willing to sacrifice our freedoms so easily? I wish more people in Washington DC were asking these questions. Ed Bott has a great post on this: http://www.edbott.com/weblog/?p=1354

Good Luck Gretchen and Zoe!

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 06:58:31 GMT

If you are a long time reader of the Microsoft Jobs Blog, you may have heard that Gretchen Ledgard, the last of the original blog founders had left Microsoft. She and Zoe Goldring had started the Jobsblog as the "Moon Gals" and had provided a very human face to the Microsoft recruiting area. Specifically, they targeted experienced professionals who wanted to work for Microsoft. They wrote on topics of interest and they fielded and answered questions honestly.

The Jobsblog was the first blog I ever read and I was hooked. I liked the fact that they focused on a particular area and owned it. You knew you would leave their pages knowing more. That blog inspired me to begin blogging and provided me with a standard to which to aspire.

The Jobsblog was also an incredibly valuable resource that I used during my experience with Microsoft Recruitment. I was able to meet Gretchen after my interview loop where we talked about the whole experience. It was a very much needed conversation after some tough interviews. She also gave me a Channel 9 guy which sits on my monitor these days.

Today I found out that Gretchen and Zoe have started a new company called JobSyntax to help employers and software engineers in the recruitment process. They are leveraging their JobsBlog experience to make the recruitment process more open. I think their forum will prove to be a very interesting resource as people ask questions that they may feel uncomfortable asking a corporate recruiter.

If you are in the job market, check it out! I wish the best of luck to them as they will be missed here in Redmond.

Gretchen Ledgard Zoe Goldring JobSyntax Jobsblog Microsoft Recruiting

Sucking Down? How about just being a decent human being?

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 12:04:18 GMT

I was reading Guy Kawaski's post on Sucking Down and I'm thinking the whole time, don't most people know this. Then again, after seeing some of the behavior I've seen in my cross country flights, I have to wonder.

It seems like a number have forgotten how to be a decent human being to others. To everyone, not just the senior managers or those who appear to be important.

Having grown up in a small Southern US town, it was alway common courtesy to greet someone and ask them how they are doing at the start of any interaction. Perhaps, because I remember the days before ATMs and such, that I still view the person across the counter as a person. I still ask people as I greet them how they are doing and most of the time, the other person looks surprised. Somehow the question has become unexpected.

Try it the next time you are at the Post Office, the airport or even McDonalds. You might be surprised by what develops.

I find if you are nicer to people, they tend to be nicer to you. Even if you don't get better service, access, deals, etc, at least the interaction was much more pleasant. Isn't that worth something?

It's over by the Starbucks...

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 07:55:05 GMT

Here in Seattle, saying something is "over by the Starbucks" has got to be the most useless bit of information you can get. Starbucks is EVERYWHERE.

Now here's an idea.

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 22:18:00 GMT

When I got on my last flight yesterday, they offered everyone on the plane water as they came aboard. This was due to expected turbulence on the flight. Frankly, they ought to do this on every flight. I would be happy and they would have less work.

Gee, where did that come from?

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 07:12:19 GMT

Wow, today has been a phenomenal day at LSU. We had Career Day today at my Alma Mater and we had people lined up to talk to us for the entire event! I'm not sure how many there were but I'm glad they all came.

Several were very enthusiastic about Microsoft and what we do. It was heartening to see this level of interest as you read a lot of MSFT bashing online.

After dinner at Brunet's, I went driving around the campus to unwind a bit. I can't believe how much the campus has changed.

My old dorm, Power Hall, is gone. In it's place is a shiny new activity center bearing the name of Nora Neill Power, surrounded by student apartments. Yes, I lived in the only men's dorm in the nation named after a Dean of Women. I felt like a piece of me just died. I spent two years there, one as a freshman and one as a Resident Assistant. Some of my favorite memories from college were had there.

My old apartment is now a gated community, very weird. Many parts of the north part of campus are being bulldozed and "renewed". I also can't believe they built so many apartments in areas that used to flood regularly. It pains me to see that Co-op Bookstore and Chelsea's got thrown out of their location so that a new apartment tower could be built.

Also, visitations to Sports, Murphy's, Deaf Valley Shell, the Colonel's Club and most surprisingly, the Bayou, can no longer be had. The old Nosebleed section of Tiger Stadium has been replaced with a brand new Nosebleed section, all done during the offseason. Mike the Tiger also has some spiffy new digs. However, Louie's, the Varsity, the Chimes, the Caterie and Georges still stand! It's nice to see some survivors!

After living in Baton Rouge for 12 years, it's sort of weird visiting and see the changes. However, some things never change. The Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade is quickly approaching and has grown. The parade is well known by locals for it's irreverant and bawdy humor. In keeping with tradition, this year's theme is FEMAture Evacuation, honoring our government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

More later, I'm going have some King Cake!