life
Will Faught
January 2009
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Things have been busy and it’s been hard to find the time to blog. In case you haven’t heard the news, Microsoft laid off 1,400 employees today, 800 of them in the Redmond area. The layoffs reflect the worsening economy and were announced in conjunction with the quarterly financial report released today, which showed that profits are down compared to the same quarter last year.
layoffs life microsoft redmond reflections work
2 minutes
Since I moved to Seattle, I’ve wanted to reduce my Coke consumption so that I could sleep better and earlier, and because it’s not healthy. I broke down while at the store last night and bought some Coke. I drank three cans’ worth in a glass with ice—and it was good—starting at 9:30 PM, so I was hopped up on caffeine for the rest of the evening, and I didn’t get ready for bed until about 2:30 AM.
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2 minutes
Apricot-Glazed Pork Roast: A Tragedy
My parents gave me a really good book of crock pot recipes for Christmas, and I thought I’d try one out Wednesday night. I went to the store for the ingredients the night before, and woke up extra early the next morning to put it together. I didn’t have a proper lid for my crock pot then, but I had a heavy metal one that was the right size, so I figured it’d work just as well.
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1 minute
I flew from Seattle to Sacramento on Saturday, December 20. I reserved a flat-rate taxi ride from my apartment to the airport, and it started to snow as I approached the airport terminal. When I later glanced out a terminal window, the tarmac was carpeted with snow, and more was still falling. Earlier flights were delayed, but fortunately my flight was delayed only thirty minutes, so I grabbed a beer. We boarded without further delays, but we didn’t depart until hours later.
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3 minutes
December 2008
My parents threw me a graduation party while I was home for Thanksgiving. It was either do it then or never. They invited lots of family friends in the area, and I invited Heather. My parents assembled lots of tasty hors d’oeuvres and wines and played music and we all stood and sat and chatted and snacked and sipped away the evening. There must have been twenty people there at one point.
food graduation life neighboors parents party stories thanksgiving wine
1 minute
I started my holiday vacation this evening! Well, actually I started it around 1 PM since I couldn’t drive to work or work remotely and I realized the latter about then. So I effectively had two extra days of vacation, yesterday and today, but they didn’t really feel like vacation since I felt so bad for being an idiot and not setting up my work computers to accept remote connections in advance.
1 minute
It really came down today. I woke up bleary-eyed and tired, got up later than I meant to, and got ready. I didn’t even glance outside until I was all set to go. I tried logging onto my Microsoft mail remotely to see if there was any mention of canceling work, but the mail servers were so impacted that the web pages wouldn’t load. For a while I didn’t know whether I should try to go or not, so I decided to try and see if I could even leave if I wanted to.
life microsoft seattle smart card snow stories weather work
2 minutes
The IKEA stuff I bought is so eager to become faulty that it started before I even finished setting it up. The dresser I bought was horribly damaged as it was delivered to my apartment, the screws for my dining table — despite my best efforts and aching hands — don’t fit their holes, and a finished surface of my dining table is cracked. I’ll have to return both items. I’m questioning now whether I should let them keep their stuff and go elsewhere for furniture.
apartment crack dining table dresser furniture ikea life reflections screws stories
1 minute
Microsoft put me in touch with Angela in Seattle, a rental provider, who helped me find an apartment. (Actually, Microsoft put me in touch with Susan on the east coast, who put me in touch with Angela. Every relocation service that Microsoft provides uses multiple levels of agents who contract the person beneath them, the last person contracted being the one I end up meeting face-to-face. When I was shipping my belongings from Grass Valley to Seattle, I met the driver Boe, who was contracted by Ronnie, who was contracted by Joey, who was contracted by Chanda, who was contracted by Microsoft.
apartment building housing life microsoft properties renting search seattle stories tour
3 minutes
I’d heard good things about the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle as a place to live, especially for my first year here, so I decided to venture into the city to check it out. I read a little about it and decided to visit Volunteer Park first, which seems to be near the north end of the neighborhood. The park was quite large and green and had an old water tower, a reservoir, an Asian history museum, and a conservatory.
capitol hill clouds conservatory flowers leaves life museum pictures plants reservoir seattle space needle stories sunset volunteer park water tower
2 minutes
November 2008
I need to find a permanent place to live soon because Microsoft stops paying for my temporary housing on December 3. For a long time I thought I would look for a place to live in Eastside, probably Bellevue, because I don’t want to deal with the traffic crossing the Lake Washington bridges and I would be closer to work. Lately, after having worked for a couple weeks now, I realize that if I live in Eastside, it’s not as likely that I’ll have the energy or time to drive to Seattle to explore the city, which I really want to do.
apartments bellevue buses capitol hill commute eastside housing lake washington life microsoft permanent reflections seattle temporary traffic
2 minutes
Last week I thought I would cook something that would yield enough leftovers for the week. My cookbooks are still in storage, so I found a simple tuna casserole recipe online that only took about half an hour to make. I later discovered, after hearing it bang around in my car’s trunk for a few days, that I had left out one of the two cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup called for by the recipe when putting the dish together.
casserole cooking dinner food garbage disposal kitchen life onion sink smell stories tuna
2 minutes
I visited Aunt Deb and Uncle Ron last weekend at their home in Sequim, WA. It was so great to see them again; it had been a while since the last time. I got to take the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston across the sound on the way. The deep blue water was flat and still, and the sky was a lighter blue and dappled with thin, wispy clouds. Some seagulls that were following the ferry at about the same speed were flying just above the top deck where I stood.
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2 minutes
There’s a condition that afflicts many innocent, hard-working people around the world every day. Its victims suffer from light sensitivity, disorientation, lethargy, sleep deprivation, and depression. There is no cure, but some drugs temporarily alleviate its symptoms. Many people manage to live somewhat normal lives through proper treatment. I’m referring, of course, to waking up before 9 AM, which I had to do all this week and expect to continue doing until my body gives out.
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2 minutes
One reason I hesitated to move to Washington was because most of my friends and family are in California. I started college not knowing anyone, but joining a fraternity facilitated making friends and filled my schedule. Once again I’m faced with starting over, and I wonder if Microsoft will play that role of friend maker and schedule filler. I moved up here expecting only to know my aunt and uncle, who live in Sequim (pronounced squim for some reason); Dan, who was in my fraternity and works here full time now; and Tom, with whom I worked on a school project and who works at Microsoft too.
dan ellis friends life microsoft networking reflections stories tom bouldin
2 minutes
I drove to downtown Seattle yesterday to check out the Space Needle and the surrounding Seattle Center. I got the sense from my past visits here that natives don’t really do this kind of stuff, so I thought I should get it out of the way before I’m totally submerged in life here and would be too embarrassed to do it. The Needle is quite tall, which gave me a nice view of the sound and the cityscape below.
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1 minute
My apartment has a TV and cable, so I was able to watch the CNN and Daily Show coverage on Election Day. I had to watch it by myself, but I talked with Mom on the phone between McCain’s concession speech and Obama’s acceptance speech and talked with and texted Heather later in the night. I was so happy that Obama won! I couldn’t stop smiling. I was surprised at and pleased with how gracious McCain’s speech was, although I guess it’s no surprise he’d want to end on a good note, since he’ll have to work with Obama as a senator.
america cnn daily show election life mccain mom obama reflections south park
2 minutes
I moved to Seattle! Yes, it finally happened. No, the thesis isn’t done; I’ll have to fly back when it’s done to defend it. Seattle couldn’t wait any longer. I would have written about this sooner, but I’ve felt so tired in the evenings since I moved here. Moving is always such a chore. Thankfully Microsoft made the move very easy by shipping my belongings and car here, providing temporary housing and a rental car, and connecting me with a rental agent in the area.
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6 minutes
October 2008
I was reinstalling Windows for a friend the other day. After the installation, I upgraded everything. Service Pack 2 was giving me some trouble because every time I tried to install it, Windows would freeze half way through. I tried it two or three times before I decided to bring up the Task Manager to watch the processor load as the installer worked. Poof! Like a charm, the problem disappeared. Cooincidence?
freezing life reflections service pack task manager windows
1 minute
For a while I’ve thought that creating artificial intelligence would be straightforward. Regardless of whether the nature of human intelligence will ever be understood, eventually every detail of the physiology of the human brain will be discovered and known. Computers can know the current state of every atom in a brain and compute its next state, thereby simulating the brain. Computers don’t need to understand human intelligence to simulate it, they need only to simulate a brain, and intelligence will arise from that.
artificial intelligence computation computers concurrency ideas life reflections turing machines
2 minutes
Choice quotations: What hackers and painters have in common is that they’re both makers. Along with composers, architects, and writers, what hackers and painters are trying to do is make good things. They’re not doing research per se, though if in the course of trying to make good things they discover some new technique, so much the better. Now I realize I was mistaken. Hackers need to understand the theory of computation about as much as painters need to understand paint chemistry.
computation hackers hacking life painters paul graham quotations science
4 minutes
I first heard the song Name Of The Game by Crystal Method in the movie Tropic Thunder. It’s an awesome song and it’s great to play on a loop because the end and beginning meld together pretty well. I’m jamming to it right now.
announcements crystal method life loop name of the game song
1 minute
My cat has been sneezing frequently for the past week or so. Is that a problem? Any cat experts out there? Damn, I thought sneeze was spelled “sneaze.”
1 minute
I saw the movie Blindness this evening with Heather. The characters were believable, the pacing was good, the plot was somewhat unoriginal and obvious, and there were a couple great effects, although the whiteout effect is overused. It’s quite good overall. The main character annoyed me in the wards where she didn’t use her sight more to her advantage. How about just taking the gun from the leader when he’s not looking?
blindness life movie reflections review
2 minutes
September 2008
Recently a paragraph I had written was described as a “grievous offender.” It’s such a colorful phrase that I’m not even shamed by it.
feedback grievous life offender reflections thesis
1 minute
I’m very intrigued by alpha and beta versions of video games. It’s fascinating to see early incarnations of the final product. It’s like discovering a secret world, the backstage of the game world, that few actually witness. Granted, most of it is rough draft quality and incomplete, but it’s always interesting to see what might have been. You can find tons of screen shots and videos of alpha and beta versions of one of my favorite games, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.
alpha beta ideas life reality video games zelda
2 minutes
This Life Brought To You By Toyota
I went with Heather to Discovery Kingdom (formerly Marine World) in Vallejo last weekend. We had a lot of fun. They have several roller coasters in addition to the animal displays and shows that make for an entertaining time. I was surprised at how commercialized it was, though. There were ads everywhere you looked. It seemed like everything was sponsored or brought to us by companies other than Six Flags. They even interrupted the whale show for a thirty second Toyota commercial to play on the jumbo video screen!
animals commercials discovery kingdom life marine world reflections roller coasters six flags sponsors toyota vallejo
1 minute
Human Works As Phallic Symbols
From time to time I hear people characterize human works as phallic symbols, as if the single unifying motivation for the (assumed) men who created these things were their penises. Do people really buy into that kind of Freudian analysis? The more reasonable explanation, in my opinion, is that things worth constructing, like buildings, tools, and monuments, occupy volume and thus take up space, stand above ground, and are probably tall.
freud human life phallic phallus reflections symbolism symbols works
1 minute
Every word in a title should be capitalized. It’s an acceptable form of capitalization and it’s super easy to remember. I don’t understand why most people don’t do it that way. Otherwise you have to memorize all these exceptions for which words can and can’t be capitalized. Who can remember all of that? What about “in,” “to,” or “on?” It’s just not obvious. It’s like putting a comma after the second-to-last item in a list.
capitalization commas english life lists reflections titles
1 minute
Wordpress Question And Feature Request
I don’t understand the difference between categories and tags. Why can’t I just have tags? Having categories makes me try to come up with two dozen descriptive things that I could possibly write about. Tags I can come up with as I go. Also, where’s the automatic upgrade feature? Selective copying is not cool.
categories life reflections tags upgrading wordpress
1 minute
Windows has a way of getting under my skin that no other operating system can. It has a unique blend of interface freezing, printer problems, entropy, and slowdown. It drives me crazy. Actually, on the interface freezing, I’ve noticed that most major OS interfaces experience slow down. Is it so hard to give precedence to windows, widgets, and the mouse? Gah. I’m actually surprised more people haven’t caught onto the fact that life on Mac OS is simpler.
life operating system problems reflections slow windows
1 minute
August 2008
It’s been so great to be home these past few weeks. Before I came here I was working on my thesis every day, worrying about it, stressed out, cranky, crazy. That’s no way to live. For the first couple weeks back I didn’t really think about the work much and it was heaven. I can’t believe how much stress can take over your life and make you miserable. I should probably look into ways of dealing with my stress, because I was not going about it in a healthy way.
home life reflections stress thesis
2 minutes
Ah! It’s good to be done with that. It was such a burden, having that hanging over my head. Kind of like the ring of power, except not really cool, or gold. Looking back, I can’t believe how long it took to write. Sadly, there’s still more to do, too. I’m waiting to get feedback from my adviser, after which I’ll probably have to make some changes. I still have to finish up a coding project that goes along with the thesis document, but hopefully that won’t be too much more work.
announcements friends life slo summer thesis
1 minute
July 2008
Ikkyu, the Zen master, was very clever even as a boy. His teacher had a precious teacup, a rare antique. Ikkyu happened to break this cup and was greatly perplexed. Hearing the footsteps of his teacher, he held the pieces of the cup behind him. When the master appeared, Ikkyu asked: “Why do people have to die?” “This is natural,” explained the older man. “Everything has to die and has just so long to live.
1 minute
The Most Valuable Thing In The World
Sozan, a Chinese Zen master, was asked by a student: “What is the most valuable thing in the world?” The master replied: “The head of a dead cat.” “Why is the head of a dead cat the most valuable thing in the world?” inquired the student. Sozan replied: “Because no one can name its price.” From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.
1 minute
Apple Boss: Hey font guy, are you done yet so we can fire you? Apple Font Guy: Err…no! I still have to do the…um…Braille font! Yeah, and the…um…Cherokee font! I’ll get back to you.
apple braille cherokee fonts life reflections
1 minute
I’m going to puke if I read about “the cloud” or “cloud computing” one more time. It’s become popular in the past half year but it doesn’t describe anything new. Sometimes the computer tech industry has more ridiculous fads than fashion.
cloud computing fad life reflections
1 minute
I went to the Pismo fireworks show for the Fourth of July with Esther. I had never been before, but our timing was perfect. It was pretty cool, there were tons of people there, on the street near Splash and on the beach on either side of the pier. The place was pretty well lighted and there was plenty of space to sit on the beach. The fireworks were launched from the end of the pier and they seemed to explode pretty close to the ground.
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1 minute
June 2008
The SLO heat wave has thankfully faded away. I think it’s safe to remove my lemonade IV drip now. I don’t think I could have taken another day of 100+ degree heat. It’s terrible when it’s so hot you sweat without even moving. I envy Hawaiians, you can get away with walking around in your swim suit in public all day long without drawing strange looks. I’ve always favored hot weather over cold, but I guess it’s true that it’s easier to overcome cold than heat.
camping heat wave hot life reflections
1 minute
I’ve started learning a theorem proving tool to help me with my thesis. It’s called Coq, which has got to be the most unfortunate name I can think of. I think the creators are French, and coq means cock, as in rooster, in French. Why rooster? I have no idea. Why does anyone name anything what they do? I wonder which seemingly-innocent English words mean something equally awkward in other languages?
coq english french life reflections thesis
1 minute
I saw The Incredible Hulk tonight and it was pretty much what I expected: light on story, heavy on action. The action scenes looked great, especially the scene on a campus. The end action scene looked too CGI-ish and I kept noticing it. I was looking forward to seeing another movie with Edward Norton in it since he’s usually good (Fight Club!), but he seemed kind of wasted on this movie.
domain names edward norton life movie reflections the incredible hulk
1 minute
Battlestar Galactica is the best TV show I watch right now. It never fails to entertain. God I love that show. The mid-season finale had an incredible ending. I think it’s a better show than Lost, even though I consider Lost my favorite show. BSG is a remake of a TV show made decades ago, but they completely transformed it. The writing is incredible. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
battlestar galactica finale life reflections show tv
1 minute
From Structure And Interpretation Of Computer Programs: In a similar way, we can regard the evaluator as a very special machine that takes as input a description of a machine. Given this input, the evaluator configures itself to emulate the machine described. For example, if we feed our evaluator the definition of factorial, the evaluator will be able to compute factorials. From this perspective, our evaluator is seen to be a universal machine.
life lisp reflections universal machine
1 minute
I can’t believe graduation came and went already, it all happened so fast. I was so focused on my thesis work that I barely lifted my head to watch the date approach. It’s weird to go through the ceremony and celebrate with friends and family knowing that I’m not really done, that there’s more work to do. But I feel close, I think there’s only a few weeks left before I’m done.
graduation kung fu panda life michelle lee movie reflections
1 minute
April 2008
Some people like to work on their computers with the lights off, and I can’t for the life of me understand why or come to like it. You can’t very well see the keyboard, your desk, or anything really. You have to squint into a bright light bulb for hours at a time, which I’ve heard isn’t good for your eyes, and it doesn’t seem to actually make the monitor easier to look at.
dark life lights office reflections
1 minute
When a TV show loses an actor or actress, the writers have to replace their character with a new one and make sure it’s all consistent with the plot. This takes valuable time away from what could have otherwise been a kick-ass space battle. I’d be too impatient to artfully work around a change in cast. I wonder if you could get away with doing a half-assed job of replacing the actor or actress but essentially keep the character the same.
actor actress kick-ass space battle life plot reflections tv
1 minute
The State Of Operating Systems
Today’s operating systems are horribly out of date. They all follow the same process and file descriptor model and never really change. They may add new services or interfaces over time, but never do their core program semantics change enough to break backwards compatibility. They all follow the process and file descriptor model, where processes are conceptually functions that map input values to output values and file descriptors conceptually compose functions by connecting function outputs to function inputs (also known as filtering).
1 minute
It’s a shame how much software is rewritten all the time. Incompatibilities of language, interface, and execution platform and the proprietary nature of most software development seem to have doomed us to forever reinvent the software wheel. The number of linked list implementations out there must be staggering. In a perfect world, someone would decide a linked list would be a nice thing and implement it, and then everyone else would use that one implementation from then on.
incompatibility interoperability life modularity reflections reuse software
1 minute
Damn this San Luis Obispo weather! It’s always stabbing me in the back. It was supposed to be 65 degrees today, it’s actually 61 degrees right now, but I’m hot as hell in these pants, shoes, and long-sleeved shirt. I can’t win.
cold hot life reflections uncomfortable weather
1 minute
March 2008
I bought the Nintendo Wii game Super Mario Galaxy when it was released and I’ve almost finished it (ten stars left to get). It’s a superb game, with beautifully-executed graphics, sound, game play, and level design (IGN gave it 9.7/10). It’s the best game on Wii right now and I’d recommend it to anyone who liked other Mario games or wants to see the Wii controls done right. However, it does have a couple faults.
camera level design life nintendo reflections review super mario galaxy wii
3 minutes