Open House

I was out at Monolith last night for their industry meet-n-greet. The offices there are really nice, and the place looks like it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun to work at. I'm really f'n stoked about the whole thing. It was awesome to get to socialize with a few of my new coworkers before actually starting the new job. So, on Monday I go in, get the "official" tour and then sit down and get to learning my new responsibilities. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be excited about "responsibilities". Go figure.

Auf Wiedersehen!

So I'm about to head to my farewell lunch at the Celtic Bayou. I suppose that I oughta check with the folks at my old job to make sure that it's still on for today -- I'd hate to drive out to Redmond and find out that they've rescheduled or something. It's gonna be nice to see everyone again. It's very strange to think that I won't be working at Nintendo anymore, after 5 years with the same department. It's very weird to be leaving the first job that I really wanted at one point. I had a lot of fun there, and loved the people that I worked with. It's sad to say goodbye, but opportunity knocks, and it's time to continue pursuit of the dream. I hope nobody cries. :)

More details.

It took me a little while to sit down and get to writing this. I'll explain why momentarily, but first, let me start from the beginning... On Monday I accepted a job offer from Monolith to work as a QA Lead. Immediately after accepting, I tendered my resignation to Nintendo, giving them my two weeks notice, knowing full well that Nintendo was likely to throw me out on my ear. I spoke with my boss who, after looking into Nintendo's response, asked me to stay for the remainder of the week and help out, and then take a week off before starting the new job. I then contacted Monolith and set myself up with a May 1st start date. Come Tuesday, Nintendo's HR department has determined that Monolith is enough of a competitor that I need to go home, so I finish my lunch, pack up my shit and go.

So I wound up with almost 2 weeks off, which is great -- although it still remains to be seen if I get paid for both weeks. My boss set up a "farewell" lunch for Monday, so I get a chance to see everyone and I imagine that I'll find out the final word at that point.

What have I been doing with my days off so far, you might ask? I played through F.E.A.R. over the last couple of days, since I'll be working on the sequel. I also downloaded the public level design tools, so I can get a sense of how to work with their editor and be able to create some basic maps for testing.

I also finished reading Perdido Street Station, which was an incredible novel -- truly amazing use of language, and quite the story to boot. I'm also flying through Kurzweil's book, which is chock full of utterly fantastic concepts and predictions for the next 20-30 years of technological evolution. I watched Outfoxed, a documentary about Rupert Murdoch and Faux News, detailing the workings of the right-wing propaganda machine, and its undue influence on modern journalism in addition to its political leverage.

My roommate Cliff is supposed to be back in town today, so I may have to go pick him up off the boat, and Danny is also getting back today, with Speaker Speaker playing an all-ages show in Redmond tonight, which is penciled in on the calendar as well. I'll have to see if I can drag Cliff out there, but he'll very likely be too tired for that sort of thing.

Now that I've got the lawn mowed and it's raining again, I suppose I should also take care of a few things around the house, like cleaning up my freaking desk, where I've been living for the last few days. Especially since I'm liable to make camp here for the next week as well. After that, I'm going to try and hit my story hard.

Free Time

Depending on how things go down today, I might have some free time this week to get a bit of writing done. It's very possible I might have the rest of the week off work, so hopefully I'll be able to make some significant progress on my story. Details to follow...

Case study #1 - Subject: Luke

The other day I started taking a series of nootropic dietary supplements. I had read about Piracetam quite a while ago, and was intrugued by the number of studies done reporting positive effects with practically no downside whatsoever. For some reason, the thought occurred to me the other day that I'd never actually looked into them particularly thoroughly, and I began my investigation anew with the additional resources that the last 10 years of technological advance has made available. Over the last couple of weeks, I read about ten or fifteen different studies regarding the effects of the -racetam group of chemicals, and any number of other subjective accounts of persons using these compounds outside of a clinical study. I was impressed by the body of research, and the apparent benefits and safety of use, so I began taking 1500mg daily of Aniracetam (which is an analogue of Piracetam that is effective at a lower dose and is also fat-soluable, requiring fewer pills) last Thursday, and then due to the reported synergistic effects of it, added a blended supplement containing Choline, Phosphatidylserine, Acetyl L-Carnitine, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Glutamine and Taurine, all which have positive effect on either brain-specific biochemistry or simply improve cellular action throughout the body. So what does this all mean?

From a subjective standpoint, I've been feeling more alert and have had improved clarity of thought, even in the morning prior to my first cup of coffee. I've noticed positive effects on nights when I didn't get enough sleep, waking up without the "foggy mind" normally associated with insufficient rest. I also found that I was clearer and more alert when drinking -- I went out on Friday night and had a couple more than maybe I should have, and was surprised at my mental acuity throughout the evening. This even continued through the morning, where I was feeling fairly hung-over, but again, without the brain haze that I'd become accustomed to in similar circumstances.

In addition, it seems that my comprehension and retention have improved in regards to reading. Previously, I was having a hard time with a couple of scientific non-fiction books: The Ancestor's Tale and The Singularity Is Near by Richard Dawkins and Ray Kurzweil, respectively. I've found that I'm able to plow through them as if they were novels now, without having to stop and consider what I'd just read nearly as often. Overall, I'm impressed. It's claimed that the full effect of the compound isn't felt for 30-60 days, so if it continues to sharpen my mind over the next month, I'll let you know right here.

Luke's Pale Ale

has completed stage 1 of the brewing process. Kevin wanted to get a batch of beer going this week, and so a Tuesday evening turned into a fairly late night, but it was a lot of fun. Now the fermentation process begins, and we wait. Apparently, after a few days in the primary fermenter, we move the beer to the secondary system and then it goes another week or so, and then into the keg. I'm excited to see how it turns out, but for the moment, I just need to turn in.

Damn Camera Phone

Every once in awhile, Nintendo will have a band from the Fusion Tour out to our campus to perform. Yesterday, Grammy award nominee Fall Out Boy showed up to play a brief acoustic set. That's gotta be a high point in their career -- coming out to Redmond in the middle of your tour to play a corporate lunchroom. I imagine that most bands would be less than thrilled, and for a group of young guys from Chicago that played at the Grammys last year, being told to keep it down and refrain from swearing (which they mentioned as being a struggle) while playing to a bunch of geeks eating lunch had to have been a total thrill.

I wanted to post some pictures, since I found the whole scenario so amusing, but I wasn't really close enough to get good shots, and the camera in my phone isn't all that great. Sorry.

How appropriate.

Your Theme Song is Back in Black by AC/DC

"Back in black, I hit the sack, I've been too long, I'm glad to be back" Things sometimes get really crazy for you, and sometimes you have to get away from all the chaos. But each time you stage your comeback, it's even better than the last!

What's Your Theme Song?

I'm wide awake,

Okay, so I've found a few links that I find essential at the moment:

For those of you living in NYC, maybe you've seen these LED Throwies at some point recently. I'm inspired!

This lecture given by Ray Kurzweil is a little over half an hour long, but if you're interested in future studies, buckle your seatbelt.

And for a brief chuckle, check out this song from The Party Party.

It's morning...

Wow. It's been awhile. I've been off my game as far as blogging and writing are concerned. The last couple of weeks have been a little hectic, what with the new roommate, projects at work (as well as other "work related" things that I'll not write about just yet), and my latest gaming obsession Oblivion. By the way, if you're considering playing Oblivion, keep in mind that this is a seriously hardware-intensive game. Don't even think about it unless you have a fairly high-end video card.

I was hoping to go out to Neumo's last night to see the Crystal Skulls, but I'm either coming down with a head cold, or I'm developing allergies for the first time ever. Instead, I went to bed early with the air filter on, and felt fine when I woke up, lending credence to the allergy theory. I guess I'll have to pick up some antihistamine and see if that helps.

And I thought it would be higher.

You Are 72% Evil

You are very evil. And you're too evil to care. Those who love you probably also fear you. A lot.

How Evil Are You?