Photos from the 2009 Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon

On Saturday, my wife ran in the Rock and Roll Marathon in downtown Seattle. I roamed around and took pictures of Qwest and Safeco fields and snapped a few of the race itself. Bib numbers I captured (where I could read them) are: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 1275, 1347, 1350, 1356, [...]

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My universe rebalances

Do you ever get the feeling that when things are going too well, something has to give?
I think sometimes the universe decides it needs to humble you, remind you just how thin the thread is from which we all hang. Months of comparative ease and happiness demand a balance.
Yesterday, we were rebalanced. Now, I realize [...]

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On the importance of having a good haircut

Note to future self: Don’t get haircut the week before important events take place.
After my last day of work at GeoEye, I went to get my haircut at a nearby salon. I asked for it a little shorter. Between the time I gave this brief instruction, and the time she lifted her hands to [...]

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Goodbye Google Ads

Given that I’m now working for its major competitor, I’ve decided to take down the Google ads from this site. I hope this leads to less clutter and intrusiveness. My goal for this site has been (and still is) for it to be self-sustaining, and I hope it can continue to be through Amazon referrals.
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Would you rather…

be able to read minds (anyone’s around you. Selectively. You aren’t forced.)
- OR -
be the smartest person in the world (in any field, you’re a genius)
…a question my wife and I pondered as we cleaned the house the other day…
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Tags: Humor

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Top 10 Things To Do My First Week at Microsoft

Wear my Google t-shirt.
Set my homepage to www.google.com
Continually ask, “Have you met BillG? Where’s BillG? When can I see BillG?”
Show off my bright blue iPod Nano
“Upgrade” my workstation to Windows XP
Then just format it and install Ubuntu
Randomly shout “Yahoo!” as I walk through [...]

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Microsoft Interview Experience - Summary

Some people (I’m looking at you reddit), have complained about the length of my interview story. So sorry. I wanted to document the entire experience, for myself as well as others, so I included a lot of detail. I know a lot of people enjoy it. There are plenty of shorter experiences out there, so [...]

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My Interview Experience at Microsoft

(If the thought of reading more than 4,500 words makes you hyperventilate, please go instead to my summary)
Please also read my Clarification on Why Study for an Interview

My Microsoft Background
Before I go into the specifics of the interview experience, I want to explain my background with Microsoft.
When I was just starting college, I got into [...]

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Volunteers for Change Fairfax, VA

Leticia has been interested in getting us involved more in the community so she’s been hunting around for local service opportunities. She finally found a great program in our area that I thought I’d share for anybody looking for volunteer experiences in the DC metro region.
Fairfax City runs a division called Volunteer Fairfax that provides [...]

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Formational Experiences

When I was 9, I started playing with GW-BASIC by typing in programs found in the old kid’s 3-2-1 Contact magazine. This soon progressed to QBASIC, where I mostly made cool graphics with lines and circles.
(click for larger image)
QBASIC is not included in Windows anymore, but you can still get it.
 
(click for larger image)
I had [...]

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