So, I don’t really have any idea what this is about, but Jonathan has discovered a Fanta Shokata website, where you can caption groovy little foreign language movie clips. His first volley was this one, followed closely by this. I countered here. Have at you, Jonathan!

I got an email from Microsoft today indicating that they wouldn’t be extending me a job offer.

The Good: While the job looked like it would have for the most part provided a reasonable work/life balance, they do experience periods of “crunch” — a fairly common phenomena in the gaming industry where everyone works extraordinarily long hours, sometimes up to 100 a week, to meet a deadline. This aspect of the job gave me serious qualms, and in retrospect, it appears that I’ve been awfully fortunate to have pretty much avoided it during my time at Origin.

Microsoft also indicated that I interviewed well, and that they’d potentially be interested in me for other positions, though I don’t think they have many in Austin. In spite of being one of the more grueling interviews I’ve been through, they were also some of the best at keeping things friendly and comfortable and treating one as an individual, rather than a faceless supplicant — somewhat of a surprise at a company with that many people.

The Difficult: I have been fortunate/blessed during my career as a programmer to have almost never been through an interview that didn’t result in a job. To have now gone through two fairly extensive interview processes and been passed on for both of them during the past weeks is a humbling and difficult experience, even knowing that’s far more normative than what I’ve experienced in the past. I’ve located a few more positions that I think might be a good fit, but not very many that I’m actually excited about yet.

Fortunately, I’ve a good ways to go before my severance is exhausted, but I’m feeling more and more ready to be working again. While the leisure time is great, it would be easier to relax knowing that there’s a plan for its conclusion.

Though our camera was swiped while at the beach, Scott Wade, friend, drummer and Photoshop jockey, got some good shots of many of the sculptures from this past weekend’s competition. Here are a couple that give a good sense of the size and range of these amazing, ephemeral artworks.

This one for Chris:

Recent research suggests that surgeons who play video games complete their laparoscopic surgeries faster and more accurately than non-game-players. So, when choosing a surgeon, be sure to ask him for references, for his CV, and for his high score roster.

Last Tuesday we dropped by Texas State’s Firehouse Studio to do a bit more recording. From that session comes What She Sees In Me, another tune written by our friend Wilbon Davis. While there are a couple of things about the recording I’m not 100% happy with, it’s a solid job overall, and I’m really glad to have this, one of my favorite Wilbon songs, available for listening.

In order to help us keep a better handle on what the kids are exposed to, as well as to limit the temptation for us adults to plop down in front of something mindless, our TV is only connected to DVD and VHS players — no cable or broadcast television for us. We do enjoy movies a fair bit, however, and have been regular patrons of our local video store. There are two things about that solution, however, that have left us wanting: 1. There are always lots of mainstream titles, but more obscure documentaries or independent releases are tough to come by. 2. Late fees are the bane of our existence.

Enter Netflix. We subscribed with them for a while a couple of years ago, and were generally quite happy with them. Their subscription terms have changed a bit since we were last on board, so that we can only get three movies at a time, instead of four. However, they now have a service center in Austin, which means that turnaround time on movies is typically a day or two, rather than the three to four it used to be. Additionally, they’ve added the feature I most wanted: the ability to make a note of a movie that’s in theaters to be added to your queue when it becomes available on DVD.

So far, I’m quite liking the service, and am glad to have an option that allows us to get around to returning the movies whenever we feel like it. Thanks, Netflix!

This past weekend encompassed two wonderful events: Barry & Catherine‘s wedding, and Texas Sandfest 2004.

The former was held in San Antonio, and was rather remarkable. They had a tremendous number of people turn out to support them as they begin life together. That support was made very concrete during the course of the ceremony, as the officiating pastors opened up the microphone for anyone who cared to come up and speak in support of the couple. The reminisces, prayers, and well-wishing were a wonderful addition to the ceremony. We only got to speak to the couple briefly at the reception afterwards, but they seemed every bit as happy and excited as one would expect. (This may have had something to do with the fact that they’re getting to take a rather extended honeymoon in Thailand — one of the potential advantages of putting off marriage until one is a bit more firmly established in life!) It was also a treat for me to get to see many of the old guard from Trinity Baptist Church, the first institution of that sort I attended willingly. (“Daddy, you know everyone!” was the surprised reaction from my kids.)

Sandfest was even more fun than usual, as Meara came with us this year, both to get a dose of Texas coast life and to help out with the kiddos. We didn’t get to do much actual building this year, as by the time the wedding had (mostly) finished up and we were able to get down to Port Aransas, the awards for the amateur competition were already being distributed. (Our San Marcos Suns acquitted themselves handsomely, as usual.) The band played Saturday night, and we spent the day on Sunday playing in the ocean and building sand edifices at tide’s edge. Liam and Emily both did some body surfing for the first time, and we rented a boogie board on which the kids could perch while Kathy and I raced through the shallows towing them as fast as we could run. The only disappointing aspect of the trip was that our camera vanished while we were on the beach, leaving us bereft of photos for both the beach and the wedding.

Now we’re home and back about the business of schooling, job-hunting, and the raising of children.

We have a new addition to the household. Emily has been cultivating a farm girl persona for quite a while, part of which has been a steady, low-grade lobby for a chicken of her own, going as far as to check out and devour a book from the library on the care and feeding thereof. It should come as no surprise, then, that after a recent trip to our local hardware store she came home with a $0.99 ball of fluff named Gregory.

Gregory, a naked-neck chicken, has begun to imprint on Emily, and will cheerfully race around the house after her. The other children are, naturally enough, insanely jealous of this latest addition, and have shown a renewed interest in caring for their guinea pigs since I informed them that would be a good way to demonstrate the sort of responsibility that’s required to get a chicken of one’s own.

We’re still a bit unclear on what our local zoning laws have to say about keeping a chicken or two in one’s backyard, but hopefully if we keep it discreet, it won’t become an issue. (Though it would almost be worth it to get to tell potential employers about my criminal possession of a chicken.)

Today I interviewed at Microsoft. For five hours. Straight. Six if you count the time they took figuring out that someone had bollixed up the time zones, and they weren’t really expecting me for another hour. (I spent that hour listening to books on tape by the river, so it doesn’t really count, but I’m milking it for storytelling purposes.)

I went into the interview a bit dubious about the prospect of working for Microsoft. As a long-time Apple fan, Microsoft has often played the role of The Archvillain in my daily computing drama. Additionally, one runs the risk of getting lost in a company of that size — not a fate I want for myself.

The division of Microsoft I interviewed with is Digital Anvil, their Austin game studio, which has Freelancer and Brute Force to their credit. They currently employ about 65 people, which would mean the chance of getting lost in the shuffle is minimal. They’re also in downtown Austin, rather than the northwest side where Origin was located, so working there would mean a shorter commute and working in easy walking distance of Fadó and Alamo Drafthouse.

I quite liked the people I met during the interview process. Though the interview process was pretty long and left me tired out afterward, I think I did reasonably well. I wrote code on several whiteboards, marveled at how many ex-Origin people worked there, ate mexican food, developed QA plans for pencils, ogled their hardware, and talked about games a lot. They told me to expect to hear something with regard to a decision in the next two weeks or so.

On another curious note, the University appears to have created a new job requisition which exactly matches the earlier one for which I applied and was turned down. I’m a bit baffled as to what’s going on on that end, but guess I’ll shoot off an email or two and see if I can scare up any more information.

It’s been a busy few days around here. Trying to make the most of our remaining insurance, we’ve all had trips to the dentist. Seeing our coltish boy sprawled across the dentist’s chair with the aged dentist explaining what each of the pieces of equipment does was easily the most Norman Rockwell moment I’ve encountered in a while. I also went in for an eye exam and new pair of glasses. Men, take note: your wives may want input into the selection of eyewear, for as Barry so succinctly put it last night as we were discussing the issue, “you only have to look through them — they have to look at them.”

I took Liam and Abby out for their big days out with Daddy. Liam and I went to Kidzville, Chuck E. Cheese, and Natural Bridge Caverns. These particular caverns are still some of my favorite, as they have some of the most spectacular formations I’ve seen, courtesy of the Edward’s Aquifer. Liam was a bit concerned about descending into the bowels of the earth at first, but warmed to the venture once the initial perilous drop was passed. For our outing, Maggie and I ate breakfast on the square, went to storytime at the library, took a long walk down by the river, and caught Scooby Doo 2, which was every bit as good as I expected. (Which is to say not at all.)

Ben gave me a call earlier in the week to ask if I wanted to go to a Spurs game with him, courtesy of one of his suppliers at work. We enjoyed their Thursday night victory over the Pistons from the 11th row. While I had a nice time, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend the time with Ben, I feel that my quota for deafening sporting event attendance has been filled for the next two years.

Last night Kathy and I attended Austin Lyric Opera’s production of The Flying Dutchman with Barry and Catherine, themselves a mere eight days from their wedding. (Getting to go to the show was my birthday present for this year.) It was interesting to see one of Wagner’s earlier works, which don’t display as much of the characteristic use of leitmotif as one generally associates with the composer. The production was quite well-done, and we enjoyed the show and a Thai dinner beforehand a great deal. We topped off the evening by stopping in to visit Jason Young and his wife. Jason is a good friend of Barry’s who I’d met on-line, but never in person. What a treat to spend the evening in such company!

Finally, as my first two weeks of unemployment come to an end, I’m about to get serious about my job hunt. The University job for which I’d been holding high hopes failed to pan out. Since I haven’t found much else locally that would fit the bill, it looks like I’ll likely be driving up to Austin again. I have an interview with Microsoft on Monday for their Austin game studio, and will probably start exploring the more traditional web application/database developer stuff in earnest too. More on that as it happens.