Ten Forward

Bill Gates' Last Day at Microsoft

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:08:16 GMT

I started working at Microsoft just under seven years ago. My seven year anniversary will be on July 9th of this year. It has always been an honor and privelage to work at Microsoft. This is mostly because I have been honored to work for a truly brilliant and good man: Bill Gates.

Today was Bill's last full day as a Microsoft employee. The company produced a send-off meeting for the employees to express their gratitude towards him. Since the facility could only hold about 900 people, a raffle was held to see who could attend. Anyone else had to watch it on their computers. I was lucky enough to be chosen, and I took it very seriously. Seating began at 8:45, but I wanted to make sure I had a great seat. I was there at 7:15. There were still about two dozen people in front of me.

I ended up getting a front row seat and had an excellent view. I was about 15 feet away from Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. To my right was a "Who's Who?" of Microsoft. Melinda Gates (Bill's wife), their children, Ray Ozzie, Lissa Brummel, Kevin Turner, Jeff Raikes, Chris Liddell, and other VIPs were right within my view. It was extremely cool to be there and quite an honor.

I hear that I even made it on TV for the web cast given my front row seat. Now i'll have to watch it to see.

Bill - thanks so much for the opportunity to work at one of the best companies in the world. I really do love my job.

A new look

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 05:26:38 GMT

I was asked to make my blog a bit simpler so it would load faster. Here you go world! :)

This is why i'm not a liberal

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:05:15 GMT

Virgin Airlines is spending millions and millions of dollars worth of capital in order to develop a space tourism industry. This is absolutely amazing. The fact that a company is willing to take on the burdens of R&D, manufacturing, insurance and profitability risk, etc to build this industry. Tickets will not be cheap. They will start at 100,000 English Pounds (Yikes!). If you can afford it, I'm sure it is worth it though.

That's the thing - if you can afford it. Virgin has every right to charge this given the risk they take in building this industry. However, look at one of the comments by some idiotic liberal bloke concerning the service.

"When will the price come down? Will welfare clients be discriminated against because of the cost. If you want to keep inner city high schools from dropping out, would free flights for them help lower the drop put rate?"

Apparently high prices "discriminate" against those who cannot afford them. With that logic I should be able to go out and buy a Mercedes right now for a buck because my current salary does not give me enough capital to afford that. I realize that this is just one random voice, but wow - this sense of entitlement just annoys the hell out of me.

Update - forgot to include the URL: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23433757-details/Book+a+space+now+on+out+of+this+world+tourist+flight/article.do

Six months of marriage

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 23:09:28 GMT

That really went by quickly. Life is definately going well for me. Suzanne and I are truly blessed.

Thanks Suzanne for marrying me! :)

Where are all the new Star Treks?

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 19:10:11 GMT

My Windows Vista Ultimate machine just started recording Deep Space Nine off of the Spike Network. It is the episode where Sisko goes crazy trying to find Edington (after he was betrayed by him).

Windows says that the original air date of this episode was 1997. Ten years ago. Wow.

While I don't think that I will ever get tired of watching DS9 (especially seasons 4-7), I would like some new Star Trek. I think it is time. Enterprise, overall, was a disappointment. I did not watch it past season 1. Fire Rick Berman - keep him as far away from it as possible, but let's get it done people! :)

Looking forward to the next few weeks

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:30:45 GMT

I've found myself listening to Christmas music these days. Using a Zune Pass makes listening to new and random music so easy. I usually roll my eyes and despise people celebrating Christmas early. However this year I find myself really looking forward to December 25th. Part of this is that my work on the Zune project will be seeing the first real fruits as people get Zunes underneath their Christmas trees. That will be really cool.

However, I think that the real reason is that this is my first Christmas with Suzanne as my wife, not just my girlfriend or fiance. It's our first Christmas as a family. It's cool. :)

Metallica

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:18:59 GMT

I forgot how theraputic listening to Metallica can be when you're pissed off.

First experience with the connector

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:49:30 GMT

Today is my first experience using the Microsoft Connector. Microsoft now provides its employees with their own shuttle system. It leaves my area 5 times each morning and comes back 5 times as well. The coolest part is that it also has built in wireless access and A/C power adapters!

The bus is currently half full. We are in route to the 2nd stop (there are only 2 stops before getting to Redmond) to pick up the other half. So far things are pretty good, except the seats are a it cramped. I think a Tablet PC would be much better suited here.

Connect on!

UAW does its part to kill Michigan economy

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:29:50 GMT

The UAW just walked out of GM. This is great news for people who hate Michigan. So, it's horrible news for me.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070924/BUSINESS01/70924034&theme=AUTOTALKS072007

Lies, Darn Lies, and Statistics

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:05:02 GMT

I haven't gotten political in a while, so here we go.

Michael Moore released his movie "Sicko a few months ago. Moore asserts that a program like the kind in Canada should be implented in the United States. Pundits have criticized Moore pointing out the long wait times in countries like Britain and Canada. To fight these assertions, Moore listed some statistics on his web site. They are listed here.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/canadian-waiting-room/facts-figures/

The thing is that these stats come straight from the Canadian government. Shouldn't Moore be just as skeptical of information from that government as he is of the USA's? The stat that I find most amusing is "70 to 80 percent of Canadians feel their wait times are acceptable."

Somehow I doubt that lie, err, stat.

Molly (Sixteen Candles) by Sponge

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:57:08 GMT

I recently re-discovered the band "Sponge" through the use of my Zune Pass, and furthermore their song Molly (Sixteen Candles).

Man I love this song. It brings back a wave of memories of high school (mostly late nights working on stage crew). Detroit bands rock.

You can download the album here: http://music.msn.com/music/launchzune.aspx?artist=Sponge&album=Rotting%20Pinata

What do I do now?

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:56:32 GMT

I've been using Facebook for about a week now. I have roughly 70 people in my friends list with a few more in the queue waiting for approval. My gut tells me that this is cool, and that the application has merit.

However, I still can't figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do with m Facebook account? Facebook needs a client so that you can communicate in real time with your contacts. It needs an IM program.

Troopers

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:06:55 GMT

It's just been way too long since I've seen this.

Merging Technology and Education

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:30:06 GMT

Professor Soloway was one of the best professors I had at the University of Michigan. I liked him because of his passion and his ability to see how technology can change people's lives. His class (software engineering) was infinately more valuable to me than any computer science theory I studied.

This interview is well worth your time. By the way, Professor Soloway is also on Facebook. :)

ROFLMAO

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:42:55 GMT

No explanation needed.

Why Microsoft Should Buy Facebook

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:20:20 GMT

I give up. I surrender. Ug, I finally did it.

I actually signed in to my Facebook page and added a number of friends.

I have been resisting this for a long time. I hate social networking sites. I don't disagree with the concept. I actually think that they are fairly cool. However, I hate that I have to be members to all of them. LinkedIn, Facebook, Windows Live Contacts, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo Messenger - ug! I dont have that much time, and I hate having all those accounts.

However, given Facebook's recent surge in popularity, I dont think I have any choice. Therefore, I offer a modest proposal. Microsoft should buy Facebook. They should not do this for any real strategic or business related reason. They should do it to make my life easier, so that I can log in to Facebook right from Windows Live Messenger and receive gleams whenever a friend changes something. It really does make sense.

Anywho, feel free to add me as a friend.

Anyone out there want to take bets on how long I can resist setting up an avatar on Second Life?

Chinese Government Outlaws Reincarnation

Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:30:02 GMT

In one of the most bizarre stories I've read in quite a long time, the government of China has outlawed the people of Tibet from reincarnating. This seems to be a system of control aimed at limiting the influence of religion in their society. The Catholic Church is similarly regulated in China, leading to an underground movement.

This is just weird though.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article2194682.ece

Very cool JibJab

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 21:43:44 GMT

I just saw this off of MSN Videos. It's a really good job and is even handed all around.

Star Spangled Banner |Funny Jokes at JibJab

I'm Helping. You Should Too!

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 21:54:03 GMT

This is Why I Rock

Thu, 17 May 2007 22:38:14 GMT

This ad is a great explanation of why I joined the Zune team. I haven't been this excited about the product that I work on in quite some time.

Video: Zune TV Spot

Photo Album: Our new home

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:38:00 GMT

Our new home

Future location of the Waligora homestead!

Our lot from the driveway

Quadrant will build you a home in 54 working days. Here's how they do it.

A front-left view of our home's model

A front-right view of our home's model

The garage of our home's model

The front porch of our home's model

An outside electrical outlet on the front porch

View from the front door showing the living room and family room behind the half wall.

More Photos...

Photo Album: Freddy and Hut

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:35:13 GMT

Freddy and Hut

My Boys' Hard Life

Hut Contemplating Existence

Freddy's Busy Saturday

Hayppy Freddy

Happy Hut

1147em

Photo Album: Theta Tau

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:10:15 GMT

Theta Tau

My College Friends

Jim's Freaking Me Out!

Bested by Charley's

Jim and My Honey

Photo Album: Our New Home - Day 6

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:35:33 GMT

Our New Home - Day 6

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More Photos...

Photo Album: 20/20 Results

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 02:22:27 GMT

20/20 Results

Before

After

Custom List: Friendly Spaces

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 03:23:14 GMT

Friendly Spaces

NateG's Realm
Nate's Space
AJ's Tree Friendly Publishing Company
AJ's Space
Insidious' World
Michael's Space
Spacedock
Joe's Space
The Monster
Mon's Space

Custom List: Favorite Websites

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 07:34:34 GMT

Favorite Websites

The Detroit Free Press
My hometown newspaper
Sound Politics
Great blog for Washington state politics
PartyPoker
My #1 hobby
Polipundit
My favorite political blog
The Drudge Report
The best place for news in the world
Brain Terminal
Another great political web site

Book List: Book List

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 04:50:01 GMT

George Orwell: 1984
Everyone should read this
Shakespeare: Hamlet
My favorite play
John Mongan and Noah Suojanen: Programming Interviews Exposed
Better read this before interviewing at Microsoft!
Doyle Brunson: Super System
The Bible of Poker - Read it before going to Vegas
Glenford J. Myers: The Art of Software Testing
It's as old as me, but the information is far from obsolete!
K & R: The C Programming Language
The (very brief) bible of C - written by the guys who invented it
Bjarne Stroustrup: The C++ Programming Language
The bible of C++ - written by the principal author of the language
Fred Brooks: The Mythical Man-Month
Everyone in the software industry should read this
Bill O'Reilly: The O'Reilly Factor
Enter the No-Spin Zone!