/life/Google: Level Four!
Yay! I indeed got a second "phone-screen." The fellow slept in, and thus
was late. This was fine with me -- it sort of counterbalanced my repeated
trouble with converting time zones.
The second screen was quite broad -- DNS, TCP/IP, sort algorithms with constrained RAM, sockets, SSH, etc. There was one bit where I wish I had been quicker to notice a really slick solution, but in general it went very well, and I think I picked up all of his hints basically immediately.
Sue-the-HR-person just called to let me know that they'd like to fly me down to California. Two trips to the US in the next month, after a five-year moratorium.
The tentative schedule is the weekend of January 7th-8th-9th, but we'll see.
That's pretty exciting.
Continuing on the unrelated-photo theme.
Comments
Julia wrote
yahoooo!!!!
(i mean...goooooglleeee!!!)
congradulations. :) hehe.
jesse wrote
Very cool. Congrats.
WH wrote
it looks like you've negotiated the (Nintendo) google levels successfully enough to be transported down the sewer pipe to battle more end-level bosses. make sure you find the secret box with the vine to go to the world with all the coins.
vintage poor man's nintendo rendition.
Bonne Chance.
/life/Google: Level Three?
I was much
more relaxed for the second level. I avoided talking about the interview
all morning, which helped my nerves. I SNAFUed the time-zone conversion, and
made an ass of myself by suggesting that the call was late, but it ended up
not being too big of a deal. The HR people seem sincerely friendly. I
guess that's their job, so it's hard to know, but it seems so.
I have soft confirmation that I "passed" and there will be further interviewing, but I'll wait until I get more firm confirmation.
The fellow that was interviewing me described the position that I was being interviewed for -- which I didn't actually know details of up 'til then -- and then asked me to write the merge() function in a merge sort. He used this as a platform for discussing testing, debugging, robustness, runtime, etc. Initially, I made a small error, but caught it when he asked if I thought it was correct. In retrospect, there are no major details that I feel I missed, though I never actually tested the solution I wrote.
The work sounds interesting; different in style from what I've done, but fun and interesting and engaging.
Also, snow is pretty.
Comments
Cathy wrote
Rob,
Your blog is very wonky - letters falling off the side, phrases at the ending of one line repeated at the beginning of the next. I did, however, manage to glean that things seem to be going well on the google front. Good on you.
Julia wrote
Rob's blog is perfectly fine. Unfortunately, you are wonky.
jesse wrote
Glad someone who's related made that comment. I think it has something to do with the browser, not with the person. But what do I know.
/life/Google: Level Two
So I beat the first boss in the Google Game. He asked some nitty gritty
tech questions, which I felt like I was bombing at the time, but in
retrospect I think I did fairly well.
He thought they had no junior spots in Dublin, and was asking about going to the US. I pushed for a senior spot, which is what I actually applied to (only because there were no junior spots), but that would be a rather large stretch of my qualifications.
He called back a little later, and it turns out they do have junior spots. With that as retrospective, the discussion had gone fairly well.
Probably the most interesting thing was that they definitely dug the UW math degree.
Tomorrow I meet the level two end-boss, a techy who's going to "grill" me for 45 minutes. I'm looking forward to it, though it's always a grueling experience to have someone finding the edges of your knowledge; if they do it right, you'll get nearly as much wrong as right, which makes it hard to judge how you've done. That last time I faced a similar situation, it was for a job I didn't want, so it'll be rather more stressful this time.
Clare gets here tonight! Yay!
Also, flowers are pretty.
Comments
jesse wrote
Cool. Here's hoping for a Dublin job. Don't work in the States!
Rob wrote
They asked about a possible training period in the states. I think that's moot now that there's junior spots in Dublin, though. I'd go there as long as I was sure it was a fixed-term, I think. Not if they start trying to finger-print me, though.
/life/Google Discussion
I got a job interview with Google! Yay!
Please click here
to see the logo that I would have attached to this entry to continue the
image-run, but don't have permission to use.
Instead, I've put in one of my favourite photos from Finland.
The interview is actually a "discussion," which I rather like. I presume that means it's the first stage in a multi-stage process. I'm looking forward to it, though.
That's all I'll say, because I imagine they may read my blog at some point, (Hi Google!) and anything further would seem (or be) manipulative.
In other news, a random person emailed me to say she liked my photos, and recommend a book in the same vein as Culture Jam. That's neat.
I got my Tetanus/Diphtheria/Polio vaccinations updated. Clare and Julia both got vaccinations in the last two days, too. Weird. (This is mostly blogged so in 10 years I can google/wayback to find out when they were updated.)
Work is good -- the end is in sight, so it's busy. Going to Toronto for the weekend. Ottawa is slippery. I've fallen once a day, never badly. Food time.
Comments
Julia wrote
clare, did you get a rash from your vaccinations? looking forward to meeting you. hope my rash clears up by then.
Andrew wrote
Sorry I couldn't get out to see you this weekend. Exam tonight (saturday) and another one monday, so I need to study a lot tomorrow. Yay for logic. It's messed up.
Cathy wrote
Don't you all know vaccines are the debil? Just stay home, and none of that will be necesary. That's my plan, anyway. You wouldn't catch me going to Thailand, or any other foreign country. Not me. Uh uh. No way.
/life/Hot Eighty-nine Nine
I was annoyed by their long-running, manipulative "$25,000 Fugitive" radio contest. But their music was often okay.
I was vexed when they lied on the air about their non-involvement in a website that "leaked" clues for that contest, while it shared the IP address of their website. But their selection, though repetitive, was still passable.
I was frustrated by another, similar radio contest, involving a "shopping spree", so I eased up on my listening.
I was mildly disenchanted when they told me that their target market was 18-24 year old females. But still, there were some songs I liked. Although they weren't changing much.
But I am utterly floored by their latest stunt: "Breast Christmas Ever". I don't even know where to begin. When I heard the first bit of the ad, I assumed it was a fundraiser for breast cancer. But no, no, they're giving away a breast augmentation to "that A-cup" in your life who "needs" it.
"Hot 89-9 will turn one woman's chest into the one she's always dreamed of... but could not afford - a world class breast enhancement - due to the generous contribution of Ottawa's own Doctor Lloyd Van Wyck....
[I]n 89 words or less, tell us why you, your best friend, co-worker, or even family member deserves the gift that keeps on giving, and tell us why they are the most deserving of the 'Breast Christmas Ever.' It'll be a "NOT SO SILENT NIGHT" if you're the lucky winner."
The female D.J. remarked that the "augmentation" could be any kind you want, be it an "enhancement" or a "reduction." At least she's trying, but I think she doesn't know what augmentation means.
I hovered through the CRTC website, but I don't think this is a place for government intervention. Complaints directly to Hot 89.9 seem warranted, though.
I don't think breast augmentations should be banned. I don't think radios should be overly regulated in terms of their contests. But the advertising, the contest, the whole thing, will generate vastly more misery and self-consciousness than it will ever repair. This kind of violent pursuit of beauty is unhealthy and that a radio station would reinforce it so directly surprises me. People who are seek to live comfortably, happily and confidently in their natural bodies have that effort undermined by something like this, and for that reason, I think Hot 89.9 should take this contest off the air.
I've stopped listening.
Comments
Josh wrote
Uh... I don't think this *is* public radio.
This falls pretty clearly under free speech.
If you have a beef, it should probably be with the doctor offering the services. Try the Canadian Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (http://www.csaps.ca/).
Rob wrote
"Public" as in publicly broadcast. I don't know why I used that word, though, it's dumb. Removed.
Yes, it's definitely free speech. But it's still badness. I categorically think this should be allowed, but that's different from thinking it should be done.
-Rob
Will wrote
Rob,
If there is a market for it, why not ? If their Richard Branson style of over-the-top marketing and outrageous media attention doesn't work, then they'll go under. I think that they've done a good job analyzing their niche market. They are strumming the right cords and getting free media attention from everyone else (including you). To reconfigure Jean Drapeau's quote "Elections are not won with prayers" to "Consumers are not won with prayers" I think plays well.
Rob wrote
Sure. *I* don't think it should be done, but if they want to, they should be allowed to. They're losing my listening, that's all. I'm not suggesting operation outside the free market; indeed, I'm suggesting that people should stop listening, which is exactly the free market.
This is why I didn't go to the CRTC -- it's not the right tool for the job.
If their market is there, that's fine. But I think a lot of their market, when made to stop and think about it, would say things that are in contradiction with this "reality radio" contest.
Lying on the air is a bit more clear, if much less significant. I don't think that should be allowed, whether there is a "market" or not.
-Rob
Rob wrote
(For the record, I think there there are good reasons "why not", but I don't think that I can make an argument that will convince anyone. It's also easy to respond to the argument I would make with cries of "prude!" which I don't think is accurate -- it's much less about the "breast" and more about the "enhancement" to me.)
Rob wrote
There's significantly more discussion of this at Tony's blog.
Kim wrote
Most women are very sensitive about their bodies. Why would a radio station promote breast enhancement as a Christmas present?? It’s just encouraging another insecurity in [some] females.
~Kim, listens to Ciss 92
jesse wrote
Clear Channel is in the news.
jesse wrote
Ack. Blog ate my link.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&tab=nn&ie=UTF-8&q=clear+channel+breast&btnG=Search+News
/stuff/Blackspot Sneakers
So I've been trying to slog through the
introduction of what I imagine is a grad-level philosophy book with a fascinating title (Order
Without Rules - Critical Theory and the Logic of Conversation by David Bogen). I gave up for now, as it makes lots
of references to concepts, people and writings that I don't know, and I just finished Free
Culture by Lawrence Lessig, which is rather dry reading as well.
Hence,
last night I picked up Culture Jam, by
Kalle Lasn, which I bought at the same time as the philosophy book several years ago. The few pages I read were
exciting, though they still ignored the "why" of the situation described, about our path towards a fully marketed world.
Today, I got my Blackspot Sneakers. They were laced funny so I spent some time figuring out the essence of shoe-lacing. After having a satisfactory lacing on one shoe I put it on and started composing this entry. I decided it wasn't right to comment on the shoes until I had laced both and worn them a bit.
Hence: My first reaction is one of satisfaction. The shoes fit, which is good because there's no returns possible. They are comfortable enough -- in a shoe store, looking for a running shoe, they would pass muster but I'd probably try on others.
I'm no expert in these matters, but the materials
and stitching seem to be of extremely high quality. The shoe feels very solid. One gets the vague impression that
these shoes are built with what would survive of 80 year techniques and materials under modern health, safety,
environmental and labour practices.
Oh, and the point: with each pair of shoes, you get a share in the company. This is a nice gesture, though for me I buy them simply because they're what I want, made how I want, not because of fierce alignment with a movement. At the bottom of the letter is a signature. I saw the distinctive name, and struggled to place it, until I looked at the spine of the brutally unfolded book beside my bed: Kalle Lasn
Comments
jimbo wrote
yow, that is truly a brutal unfolding. a torturous spread of spreads. stop it! the books don't torture you! love your printed pals!
/life/A day of protestations
I like protests. Obviously I think they're an important part of democracy, but my enjoyment of them is not particularly intellectual; I just like them. They're big fun parties. They have a sense of unity that you don't get very often in our society.
I took a half-day off, and headed downtown at about 1pm. On my way, I stopped at home, picked up an extra sweater, and dropped of some unnecessaries. My camera battery was charged, and off I went.
As I got into downtown, it was pretty empty.
I came up Rideau, and hit a barricade lined with cops. Basically the whole
Rideau Center was blocked off to traffic, though I think pedestrians could go
inside. I went around the building, and after asking a few people with
placards, ended up near the main throng of protests as they were nearly at
parliament hill.
I've read enough horror stories about people
suddenly being arrested that I'm pretty tentative about joining these marches.
But it seemed to be pretty calm and peaceful and fun, so I started walking
alongside, snapping photos as I went. There were certainly lots of clever
(and not-so-clever) posters and banners, but you can check out the gallery yourself.
The march hung around the
Hill for a while, then headed off towards the barricades. There was a fellow
on top of a truck with very long hair who seemed to think he was a rapper. He
rapped. He also said "we" were going over the barricades. He was right;
without much difficulty, the first layer of barricades were crossed. It was
fairly clear that this had been expected; the second layer was a criss-cross
mesh of fencing, rather than the single layer that had just been trampled.
And it had bubble-heads behind it.
The protesters were about 99.9% peaceful. Apparently the front-line cops had both gasoline and paint thrown at them, which I find reprehensible. And, according to some young teenage girls -- who insisted they were the peaceful kind of protester -- a couple guys tried to hop the real barricade, resulting in pepper spray and billy club action.
There were dozens of
messages in the posters, banners clothes, stickers, costumes and graffiti:
anti-war, anti-missile-defence, comparisons of Bush with Hitler, and the like.
A very prominent theme was a demand to arrest or try Bush for war crimes.
Many people seemed to take that very seriously, which is interesting.
Once darkness settled, there was a candle-light vigil on
parliament hill. After that, a few small fires were lit, and a couple of
American flags were burned. By the time I got back to the fence, it had been
reduced to one layer, and the bubble-heads were gone, replaced by some Toronto
cops. There was a mother, chastising the cops that it had been 12 minutes
since they said the fence would be opened in 10, but the mood was still
friendly.
The hardest thing for me about the protests is that I wasn't entirely sure why I was there; I certainly don't like Bush's policies, but he's not my president. I decided I was there to keep the pressure on him, and make sure the world continues to know that his policies are not popular.
I
was happy with what I saw. Having a helicopter
hovering just over a crowd, with three-layer fencing and cops in full riot
gear is oppressive; this is what was going on as the motorcade went by. It
makes you feel like rebelling. It made me angry. The snipers on the
rooftops also made me angry, though in retrospect I'm not completely sure
they were snipers.
The police seemed effective at defusing situations, holding the right lines, inventing lines to let go of so the protesters could have their rebelliousness sated. To the extent that this was a grand manipulation, it's distressing; both "sides" are getting more and more refined in their strategieis, tactics, and roles that when the day comes when people really protest something, as they did in Seattle, it will be fearsome indeed.
Comments
Josh wrote
Two comments:
1) Why are helicopters and riot police oppressive?
2) Seattle happened because the authorities weren't prepared. That's not likely to happen again. It almost happened in Quebec, but not really. Since then it hasn't even come close - the big meetings are being held in remote areas (like the Alberta G8 summit) or with much stronger temporary restrictions on freedom of movement near the site (like the GOP convention in New York). The protests that aren't centered around a meeting (like the big anti-war marches in London, etc.) haven't gotten as violent 'cause there's no particular place for the protesters to direct the violence. In those cases, the police aren't protecting anything in particular, they're mostly there to keep the peace in a more general sense, so they can keep clashes to a minimum fairly easily.
Rob wrote
1) I don't know. They just are. The noise, the sense that you're suddenly not allowed to do something that you could do yesterday, for a reason that you don't agree with, or for no good reason at all. The sense that the response is overkill, and absurd, and part of a worldview that you don't hold.
2) I think Seattle happened in part because people weren't prepared, and so the protest(er)s got their foot in the door. But it wouldn't have taken *that* much coordination and people-mass yesterday to overwhelm the situation. If there was a big crowd to follow that, it could have gone bad.
The size and coordination of the people correlates with the severity of their views. When ordinary people feel a crunch, it can still get pretty bad.
-Rob
Josh wrote
Hmmm... I'm not sure, but I think you're probably under-estimating the planning that goes on here. My guess would be that there was enough force there to contain pretty much anything that the number of protesters present could have done.
And in reference to Seattle, I don't think it was so much that the protesters got 'their foot in the door' - my understanding was that the police there was overwheled by the sheer number of peaceful protesters and reacted badly which set off a bad chain reaction (i.e: it wasn't the case that there was a large-scale plan to hold a violent protest and the underprepared police gave that a chance to happen).
Rob wrote
Maybe. I actually don't remember reading that much about the early stages of those protests.
There's definitely an evolution, though; protesters learn police tactics, and vice versa. And things like gas masks become available at a reasonable price.
I think if every protester there decided they wanted into Chateau Laurier, the cops could not have held them back without fatalities.
-Rob
Paul wrote
Hey Rob, gotta check this out, thought this was funny:
http://www.world-cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/11/30/bush.arrest/index.html
david wellhauser wrote
That Peaceter Bunny is something else eh?
david
