Snowman Studios
I have just finished working on possibly the hardest programming test I've ever taken. There were 3 questions that I couldn't even start (for lack of either tools or knowledge), and two more that I could not come up with a solution for. It was definitely the best test given by a potential employer.
Most of the ones I've been given from companies that didn't hire me were 2 hours long, timed, and only involved fairly basic questions that
anyone with a CS degree should be able to finish within 3 hours (and that I would finish just in time). On the other hand, this one can be given to a Jr. Programmer or Sr. Programmer and still work well as a measuring stick.
I do not know if
this is a hoax of some sort or not, but either way it is rather creepy.
Further following my tradition of Sunday posts, here is your weekly update.
Although I am still employed, I have begun my job search. I don't intend to let it get in the way of my current responsibilities, but I feel the time has come for me to start conducting one at a reasonable pace. We'll see where it takes me. The main requirements are:
- Interesting job
- Decent pay and benefits
- San Diego area
I don't want to move to another region as I don't want to leave my friends here. That, and San Diego has grown on me.
Yesterday I helped some friends move from an apartment to the campus grad student / married couples housing. We had 7 people with 2 pickup trucks, 2 SUVs, a large rented moving truck, and a mini cooper to transport the stuff from the old place to the new one. It went fairly smoothly despite a couple of spills, and we were done in 4 hours.
I'm thinking of getting back into updating my website because I've had an urge to post reviews to video and computer games. It wouldn't be any attempt to review all games, but just a place to put my opinion on the games I've played.
Last Thursday I went up to LA to visit Di and Esther. We drove around and went to a Chinese restaurant. The biggest downer was that it took me 3 1/2 hours to get up there through some really bad traffic. On the other side, it was very clear when I drove home at midnight.
Saturday I went and did my common thing of going and helping with the fire victims. In the morning I was digging a trench and in the afternoon I was re-tasked with helping with a shed (since I was sick recently, the guy incharge didn't want me to work too hard).
Today I took my PS2 to the office. This way I will be able to play GT4 during my lunch break.
I got a call from my mom around 4:30. She had hit a cat. Upon further inspection, the cat was dead and had no collar or tags. Since there was little more that she could do, she called me and asked if it would be considered a hit and run to leave. As sad as the event is (I've owned two cats that have been hit by cars, confirmed atleast), there's not much more that she could do and I advised her as such.
Today was the first day I went to aikido in over a month. Surprisingly, my endurance lasted.
Tonight I watched Return of the Jedi with some friends. The host recently purchased the box set and had been doing showings. As we watched through, I was shown how painfully bad some of the graphical work done in the late 90s was (during the re-release). Then, the end was horrendous. The music during the celebration changed from this celebratory music to this blandness. As this played, they showed the other key places that have appeared in the 6 movies, all celebrating the defeat of the empire. Now, if this wasn't bad enough, there was the shot of the three jedi spirits. They edited out the actor who played Aniken originally, and inserted the guy who's playing it in 2 and 3.
I shall cherish my VHS copies of Star Wars in their un-ravaged form for years to come. Except... tapes wear out. Is it worth spending hundreds of dollars on proper equipment to perserve the only true Star Wars in digital form? I think so.
Modern medicine amazes me sometimes by it's potency. On the other hand, the various diseases and injuries that it has to contend with are quite devastating. In the span of two hours, I went from feeling tired (since I had just woken up) to being in unable to leave my room. Three hours later, I could wait no longer and left for the hospital. After arriving at the ER, it took about an hour of just laying there in a bed hooked up to an IV and medication before I was feeling close to normal.
Thursday and Friday were rest days. I had a splitting headache Thursday and hardly any energy. I programmed for about 45 minutes (to get some bug fixes in). Friday I went in for a couple of hours, and then came home to rest more. The energy it took to drive 30 minutes, "work" for about an hour (really it was more discussion stuff with a hint of programming), then drive home left me exhausted. This was also the first day my hunger came back (by this point I hadn't eaten a real meal since Tuesday, lunch time).
Now I'm mostly in good shape, although I am still a little low on energy and am not eating too much. I should be able to go back to work this coming week. My boss has been very caring through this, and has been encouraging me to take care of myself and rest instead of trying to rush back to work.
Somewhat Random:Last Sunday's message was on Revelations 3:14-22 (Laodicea). The imagery that stuck in my head was hot and cold vs luke warm. A lot of the discussions (including at small group) involved the imagery of cold, refreshing water and hot, southing water. On Wednesday, in my thirst I could only think of refreshing, cold water. But once I was in the hospital bed and they had the IV hooked up, the room temperature water flowing quickly into me was making me cold, so I asked for a blanket. I don't know if they keep the blankets heated or what, but it was very nice and warm, like the other imagery.
So I got sick today. The symptoms were the same as those from a certain incident that landed me in Searle overnight, only much much stronger.
I recently got cell phones for both of my parents. Unfortunately, my mom's was turned off and my dad was in class and then had a doctor's appointment. So as things got worse and worse (i.e. I got more dehydrated), I called a neighbor and asked him for a lift to the near by hospital. Three hours later, I had recieved some medication and took in 2 liters of water (saleen solution) via IV. Now I'm back on my feet, although definately weaker.
I almost think it's sad (on my part) that I can walk into a hospital when they ask "so on a scale of 1-10, how much do you hurt" I can say "10, it feels just like something before, only far far worse." Also, they told me to take it easy for a couple days. Unfortunately, there is a release coming out on Friday and there are a couple of bugs I want to fix before things go bad with the client's data.
