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Not too long ago the Foo Fighters released their Greatest Hits CD. It’s a compilation of all of the singles that have been released since the band’s inception, along with 2 new tracks and the acoustic version of Everlong that has been playing on KROQ here in LA since Dave Grohl decided to record it acoustically (for Kevin & Bean if I recall correctly). If you are familiar with their music, you will no doubt recognize most every song on this CD.

As many people know, the Foos are my favorite band. I bought the CD/DVD combo as soon as it came out like I usually do when their albums come out. I took it home, unwrapped it, and flipped through the liner notes as I let the CD play. The entirety of the book was all pictures spanning the band’s career until present, except for one page at the end. That final page was a reflection by Grohl not only on the band, but on his first experimental recordings and how those recordings helped shape them into the band they are today. It’s an awesome reflection and I recommend everyone buy a physical copy of the CD just to read it. Seriously.

I remember when I first heard the Foo Fighters. Actually, I saw them first. On MTV in 1997. I don’t know where they were, but they played on a rooftop of some sort. I believe it was above the sign of Radio City Music Hall in NYC. They played Monkey Wrench live, and I distinctly remember myself saying “wow, this song is awesome” right as the song hit that short bit of silence after the intro.

I didn’t know who they were that day, but I remember one day after seeing the video for the song. The distinctive red room is what I remember the most.

For a while after that I stopped paying attention to them. I knew about Monkey Wrench but it wasn’t until later that year when I got a tape from a fellow band member (thanks Dale!) that had an assortment of rock music. I had borrowed the tape for some project I was working on. The tape had the Green Day song, Time of Your Life, which I was using and was followed by Up in Arms. I often let the tape play into Up in Arms, and one day I discovered that Monkey Wrench was right after it. And then came My Hero. Those were tracks 6,7, and 8 off of The Colour and the Shape, and I didn’t even know it! I probably wore out that tape replaying those 3 songs over and over.

I got to college in 1999 and it wasn’t really until that summer that I had really started to enjoy rock music more and more. I got to the dorms and my roommate at the time passed me a copy of the Foo Fighters latest album at the time, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. I had heard Breakout, but it was Generator that immediately hooked me. After that, I had to get all the Foo Fighters I could find. I knew from then they would be my favorite band.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege to see them in concert 4 times, including one of their performances at the Pantages in Hollywood during their acoustic tour. It’s hard to believe they’ve already released their Greatest Hits album, as it’s never felt as if they needed to do one. It’s never felt like they were done.

One of the final thoughts Grohl has in the liner notes is the following: “I don’t think we’ve written our greatest songs yet. But that door is always open.”

I don’t think they have yet either and I look forward to what is next.

-m

P.S. I am rusty at writing and it probably shows. Hopefully I can get around to writing more and getting my thoughts down in a better fashion.

Yes, I have not completely abandoned this thing!

Life has been one crazy blur this past year, and all I can do is roll with the punches. So, I’ve decided to mix things up a bit – add a little flair by changing themes, and write with (possibly) proper punctuation.

So we’re just about 1/3rd into 2009 and I think my new outlook for the year has helped get through a lot of things. Pip and I had talked prior to him moving to the east coast, and one of the things that I know we’ve both been taken to doing is not saying I can’t/won’t to things that we are looking to achieve, but rather how can I. We’ve stopped subscribing to the thinking that we can’t have what we want in life. We’ve decided that you just have to figure out ways to get it. While not entirely practical at times, it does provide us both with a new attitude – a persistence that is often hard to come by is often created in mysterious ways when we contemplate ways to achieve.

I wish I could say that adopting this attitude has made life easier. On the contrary, it makes things more difficult! But also makes the ending that much sweeter.

It reminds me of one of my most difficult classes at UCI: ICS 186a – Computer Graphics. I’m was no math whiz, nor was I a particularly great programmer, so that class was a struggle from start to finish. I wasn’t really used to that. The understanding in most classes came fairly clear after a few questions and studying for a couple hours a week. This class was hard! I had never spent so much time studying, being in the library, being in the lab, and programming like mad. At the end of the class our professor, Gopi, said to us that each new assignment and test was purposely meant to be hard. He never expected any of us to be exceptional at anything, but what he wanted to do was the following: for everything he assigned us, he purposely extended the difficulty just outside of what we thought was our max. By making us strive for more each time he was able to push us to better understanding of the material and forced us to set higher standards on ourselves. At each step of the way we each achieved something we thought was beyond our reach.

This has always been an important lesson in my life, one I try to carry each day that I push myself to better myself. This month has been a particularly difficult one at work, and each day has been like that quarter in my graphics class – pushing to reach that which is just outside my reach, then coming back the next day to do it again. I think once this is all said and done I’ll look back and see what kind of strides I made in understanding my job and technology as a whole. It’s been difficult, and at times fun.

For now though, I’d like to get some sleep.

-m

Sorry folks, haven’t had internet at home in a while. Hope to be back online soon!

-m

Manny Pacquiao proved himself in the ring this past Saturday by taking down Oscar De La Hoya. The consensus among most analysts was that De La Hoya was the bigger, stronger man and would knock him out. Pac-man proved otherwise, and almost drew the KO himself.

I watched the fight with family, and it was a really fun time. Watching the fight from start to finish, Pacquiao definitely carried himself with class and style, and I think represented us very well.

One of the first things Pip and I noticed was Pac-man entering the ring with a smile on his face. No mean looks or stares, but a smile, a gratefulness to be an elite fighter and thankful for being able to compete at the level he is at.

At the end of the fight, during the post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, Manny remained humble. He beat the odds and was able to stay cool and collected, and never tried to push himself up or be big headed.

And of course during the fight, he showed his speed, tenacity, and great boxing ability.

All together, Manny depicted us as a culture that is gracious, hard working, fun loving, and not pompous. I’d like to thank Pac-man for being entertaining and being a great representative of our culture. Here’s to the next fight!

-m

it’s hard to believe that i’ve been here for almost 10 years already… man how time flies! here are some of the things i will miss about the place when i’m gone:

• food places:
  • pho bac
  • philly’s best
  • sushi riki
  • tenko
  • the taco factory (tustin)
  • lee’s sandwiches
  • wahoo’s
  • trabuco oaks steakhouse
• Diedrich’s coffee (they have the best cappuccinos in the OC dammit!)
• being so close to in-n-out/costco/pinkberry
• the bike trails
• all of the awesome parks and tennis courts
• hi-time wines
• the irvine spectrum, especially watching movie openings there!
• UCI!
• my friends who live here (but don’t think i won’t visit!)
• my 949 phone number that was so easy to remember
• being so close to Jim’s Music… i will always shop for my instruments there
• 50 mph speed limits
• bevmo!
• the goathill tavern and the anthill pub

on the flip side, there will be things i will not miss:

• the racial/economical/etc profiling that i’ve experienced
• everything closing at 9pm
• the commute to work
• the high prices
• that neighbor that tries to open my door unannounced
• worrying about whether or not i will have a place to live next year

exciting things coming in the future! no time to fear change i say!

-m

so it’s been a while, and while i left off with Obama’s speech, i have been trying to keep up. i didn’t get a great chance to see McCain’s speech at the RNC, so i couldn’t really give my thoughts on it…

after several weeks though, i have to say that it seems like it won’t really matter who wins. both seem to have some plans which benefit some and not others. and meanwhile, both voted for the bailout plan. i easily would have picked the one who opposed it.

now, as the election is coming soon, i’ve been thinking long and hard about who to vote for. i’ve decided that i will do something a bit unconventional and write in a vote.

many people, my dad included, have said that it’s a waste of a vote. i don’t see it that way. the right to vote gives us the right to pick someone who sides with our views, even if they are not part of the “mainstream.” so why not pick someone, instead of taking a “lesser of two evils” path or some path that puts you in a position to only choose between two. i KNOW that who i vote for will not win, but it doesn’t matter: what matters is that i got to vote for who i wanted and i am able to voice that opinion. not many people outside (and inside) the U.S. have that chance!

so please, even if you don’t like either of the main candidates, go out and vote for someone. the right to vote is a beautiful thing, please take advantage and speak your mind!

-m

thursday was a pretty exciting night: Barack Obama officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president, and gave a wonderful, moving speech. if you picked up the the twitter feeds that night, people were going crazy about it.

now i will admit that i was unable to see the entire speech due to my DVR getting a bit messed up about 3/4 into the speech. i tried to watch it on cnn.com and youtube, but only got bits and pieces. however, from what i had heard, i still find myself a bit skeptical.

this isn’t skeptical in the sort of i am not going to vote for him kind of way… i like his charisma and he delivered his speech with conviction and eloquence. so it’s not that i didn’t like his speech.

what really makes me skeptical is the content. now, i suppose i should preface this by saying that i do realize presidential candidates like to promise things they can’t really deliver, so maybe i have a right to be skeptical. it seemed like throughout his speech, i kept asking myself “how does he plan to accomplish that?” cutting taxes. pulling troops out of iraq. rebuilding social security. HOW?!?!

he seems to have a plan, and i’m sure that John McCain has a plan too. i’d like to know what it is, and i hope that by the time November rolls around, we’ll all have a better understanding of their plan.

maybe the national conventions are too early to expect plans. i hope it is, because i don’t want to feel like i’ll be wasting a vote this year. i’d like to know how each person plans to uphold their promises, specifically with getting their ideas passed through the senate.

btw, having Governer Palin of Alaska as McCain’s running mate. wow, great move. politically, it helped steal the spotlight from Obama a day earlier than expected. but, we all know it’s strictly a political move for votes.

anyways, i don’t really talk politics all that often, but it just got me thinking is all. i guess i’ll have to write something similar after McCain’s speech next week.

-m

thanks to the people at smashingmagazine.com, i’m now utilizing a new theme! it’s pretty nice and i’m trying to use some of the newer wordpress features, but there are some quirks. i do say though, i like being able to rotate themes every so often, so i’m glad there are a ton out there for wordpress.

so the DNC is this week and the RNC is next week, and i think i’m still a bit iffy on who i’ll vote for. no matter, as that’s not what i’m here to ponder.

we’re at a time in history when we as a nation can deviate from the status quo and make history: we can elect a non-caucasion male president. the democrats are presenting us an opportunity to do so. heck, they gave us 2! we could have seen the first woman president or the first black president!

now to be fair, we shouldn’t go electing them just to make history. you should make your own decision whether the democratic nominee or the republican nominee fits your views. heck, you might even want to write someone in! point is, i wouldn’t want Barack Obama elected solely on the basis of making history. i think it’s fair enough that either candidate should win based on what people believe they will stand up for.

in lieu of that, i also believe that this may be a very difficult and tumultuous election. i think there may still be enough people out there who are still uncomfortable with people of different ethnicities being a leader… there are still folks who were around when the country was still segregated, and so there may still be lingering attitudes about different ethnicities. at the same time, i think there are a lot of young people who think that instilling change in the presidential office means that they now have a voice that is not overshadowed by their parents’ generation. that requires, of course, for those of my generation to get off our lazy asses and vote (remember Paris Hilton not voting 4 years ago after pimping the Vote or Die campaign?).

and so it seems that this year’s election will mean many things to many people, and i hope to see some record number of voters. there is, however, that small thing called history that we have going against us: typically it’s the older generation that votes and the younger generation stays apathetic. but there is evidence to the contrary, and so i will do my part.

i haven’t decided who i wanted to vote for yet because neither candidate completely supports a few issues that are important to me. if i had my choice, it would’ve been Dr. Ron Paul and Mike Gravel running, but that’s just me. sucks that the GOP pulled that shadiness for the primaries in CA (having to register as Rep in order to vote in their primary), i honestly think there was a large sector of CA that would’ve swayed the majority of the delegate votes to Ron Paul (especially in Orange County and in the Silicon Valley). but, that’s long and gone and we’ll just go with what we got.

i hope the US is ready for change… i hope the young people vote and i hope something wonderful happens when the new pres get’s his act going.

here’s to a new presidential era!

-m

for some reason i keep thinking about stuff that i want to post, but i just never write down any notes or remember when i sit in front of my computer. maybe i should get a moleskine.

i know for sure the one thing i wanted to say was that i am so lucky, and so thankful, for being able to do the things that i can do. it took a lot of hard work, and of course some luck, to have been able to get to where i am in life and to have the kind of things that i do: the people, the job, the friends. the stuff, toys and extras, are kinda nice, but it’s really the deeper things that take the most work to achieve and earn.

every now and again i am reminded that i need to be sure to acknowledge people and the things that have conspired to get me here. thank you for everything!

i think far too often we forget to thank our lucky stars and take in what is around us in this world. most especially, we tend to take things for granted. i think everyone is susceptible to it, but i don’t think everyone recognizes that they do take things for granted until, as the saying goes, those things are gone.

so, please take some time to be thankful for what and who are in your life. remember to stop and acknowledge their presence and impact on your life, remind yourself to do so every once in a while.

thanks and love.

-m

i’m an avid reader of coding horror and the author, Jeff Atwood, is an advocate of programmers (and professionals in general i believe) to not only practice their art, but to write about it as well. so, i thought i’d share some stuff about being an interviewer. note: this is my view and pertains mostly to the IT field, so your mileage may vary

i guess i should preface this by saying that finding someone you want to interview is very tough in and of itself. for me, it seems like 80% of the work really. sifting thru resumes and cover letters and, often, emails with only attachments. i don’t know if there is some sort of predefined etiquette nowadays on applying for jobs thru email (how many jobs are applied for nowadays, especially if the job is posted on craigslist), but this is how i would like to see them:

first off there is the whole notion of cover letters. i believe it is acceptable for the actual content of the email to be your cover letter. if you don’t use it as your cover letter, then attach it, but say something in the email. many emails i received just had the position as the subject (perfectly acceptable), but just left their cover letter and resumes as attachment with no sort of greeting or introduction. just say: Hello Sir/Madam, my name is blah blah and I’m applying for your position. Attached is my cover letter and resume. Thank you.

now onto the cover letter… those are quite tricky really. the cover letter shouldn’t be too long, and it shouldn’t be too short. maybe 3 paragraphs are good enough, and it should be well written! no misspellings please! i would do the following: first paragraph – introduce yourself, say your name, the position you are applying for and maybe how you found the posting. second paragraph – say why you feel you are qualified for the position. reference some of your past experience (or schooling, if you’re new to the field). last paragraph – summarize! remind the reader that what you wrote shows that you fit the position. and for kicks, i would say that it’s a good idea to thank the reader for taking the time to read the cover letter AND consider the resume.

so now the good stuff: the resume. i’m not really going to say much here other than the following – do a google search on building and refining a resume. there should be more than enough information out there to help you get a decent-looking resume. have your peers look at it and give feedback. and for godssake, PLEASE NO TYPOS. typo = didn’t take enough time to carefully prepare it.

make sure that when you send your email, that you have your resume (and optionally your cover letter) attached, and note what format the resume is in.

no here’s the scenario: i’ve READ your email, LOOKED at your cover letter, and GLANCED at your resume. see what i’ve done? at each point i’m paying less and less attention, but still enough to notice your mistakes. please be careful with those things.

so let’s say i want to bring you in for an interview. great! some places have time to give you a phone call, i typically don’t so i’ll send an email. try and respond quickly, the same day if possible even if it’s later in the evening. make sure you have directions and a phone number to call just in case. show up 10-15 minutes early. and, make sure you know what you have applied for and are prepared to be asked questions pertaining to skills required for the position. make sure you have questions to ask. be nice, relax, be honest, and don’t BS. i much rather a person say “I don’t know” than try to fumble thru a question i’ve given.

ok, so that is my advice so far. now for some insight from the round of interviews we’ve done in the last few months.

it’s very different interviewing people for a programmer position than it is for a systems position. maybe it’s because i don’t really know the kind of questions to ask a systems person, as i’ve never interviewed for a systems position before. so it’s more difficult for me to figure out whether a person would be well-suited for the systems position than to figure out whether a person is good for the programming position.

kimmel holds this notion that you can tell if you’ll want a person within the first handful of seconds in the interview. i was skeptical at first, but after going through a good number, i think his notion does hold true, at least for us.

in our interviews i am usually the one asking the technical questions. i like to start off with a programming problem that’s pretty basic: a simple loop, some control statements (if/else), and some basic math. i don’t even require it to be in any specific language, and i usually give the option of pseudo-code or even just writing out the steps in an ordered list. this is usually the deal breaker for me because it’s an easy problem that should not baffle any decent programmer. i am often worried about how i phrase this question to candidates, and i’m not sure if the low passing rate on this problem is due to my inability to ask the question clearly, or the candidates inability to solve the problem. very few people ask any sort of question for clarification, so i tend to think the latter. additionally, very few people take the option to pseudo-code it.

if you haven’t gotten close to the answer, then i’ll usually just throw some other easy questions out for the heck of it. i try to give the benefit of the doubt and give another chance on the follow-up questions, but, usually, i’ve already decided i’ve had enough. i’ll then just run thru the normal set of questions i ask everyone, not trying to dig deeper. then we’ll end the interview soon after.

now, this has worked really well for interviewing the programmers. the systems folks, all i can really do is try to judge their skills by what they tell me they’ve done. i also like to ask them the programming question, as it shows me that that person can describe the steps to solving an issue we might have with the systems (or, alternatively, describing data flows in the network, interconnectivity with systems, etc). but still, interviewing systems people has been super tough regardless.

from there it’s pretty easy to make a decision on whether we want you or not. kimmel and i are usually pretty good about letting people know about our decisions, but some other companies aren’t so be aware.

i guess i didn’t really cover what i usually look for in a candidate huh? first off, they need to cover the requisites for the position. second, they have to show interest in the position and the company. third, both kimmel and i like to make sure the person will fit in with the team. we have a very eclectic team, and we all hold super high standards about each other, so it’s important we get someone who fits in well.

so that is my experience as an interviewer thus far. i’m sure this whole thing will get refined as i go further in my career, but for now this is how i see it. if anyone has questions, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email.

-m