There are plenty of things to note about California (I’m sure), but since I spend most of my time either at work or by myself, these three things really jump out at me. Here are my current observations on 3 things that have a great impact on my life.

Roads
Definitely different here. Besides the traffic that we’ve all heard about there are some notable things about the roads:

The street with two names

It is very common here for a street to have two names depending on where you are on it. So, you may (will) come to an intersection where turning right is marked (unclearly - see below) with one street name and turning left is marked with another. Honestly, I think this is dumb, not-to-mention confusing.

Two car pool lanes and one bike lane

Traffic is a big deal here, so much so that some roads have TWO carpool lanes. I currently live right off of the Lawrence Expressway which has two such lanes. Get this, though, one is on the far left (as you might expect) and the other is on the far RIGHT. So, if you make a right onto the Lawrence Exp., you need to quickly move out of the right lane and into the middle during rush hour or receive a hefty ticket.

Many roads also have bicycle lanes. This is a good thing as many more people seem to use bicycles as a primary means of transportation than in the suburbs of NY. In fact, several people on my floor at work ride regularly and some of my coworkers do it several times a week - Yahoo even has onsite bike repair. As inspiring as it sounds, though, I’m not quite there yet….

It’s a Bad Sign

Road signage in CA stinks compared to NY. The signs are way too small and put in unusual places. I guess they’re really not terrible but they fall short compared to LI. On Long Island, I’m convinced you could probably find your way around by just using the signs. Here in California, I think the signs really serve more as hints rather than true markers of roads and turns. There are definitely points while driving that you are not exactly sure what road you are turning onto due to the unusual placement of the sign. And as I just said, they’re way too small.

Forks and U-turns

I’ve never seen so many roads that fork nor have I seen so many opportunities (or encouragements, depending on how you look at it) for U-turns. I feel good about this, however, because I now know that I’m not the only person who doesn’t know where he’s going.

I’ll sum my driving experience as:

“I spend alot of time making U-turns because I missed the fork in the road due to the fact that I couldn’t read the signs and therefore couldn’t move over to the appropriate lane in time due to carpool restrictions just find out that I’m on the wrong road because it is called something else in the other direction.”

TV

Nothing to see here, keep moving. Really. TV seems especially lousy here. The local news is particularly bad. Good thing for Yahoo News. Seriously, I resorted to watching it like TV. I just fire up the video player and let it go. Less commericals, too. Right now I’m watching an Intro to Computer Science course put up by De Anza College which is the highlight of TV around here. I guess there really is no reason to watch TV, though, as the weather is pretty awesome for the most part.

Food

Of course, I like to eat and the food here is pretty damn good. What really did surprise me was how hot the people here like the food - they mean business! I always considered myself a fan of hot food but I’ve been put to shame by the California folks. I went to Wing Stop the other day and ordered a 10 pack of the Atomic, their hottest flavor. Man, it was HOT!!!! I actually had to rinse my mouth out in the bathroom the sauce was so hot. It started off quite subtle but quickly became a raging flame. I’ll definitely have to try it again.

Until then, I’ll stick to URL’s. URL’s is the main cafeteria on campus which has deli, grill, Mexican, Indian, Chinese and salad bar, plus assorted packaged food and snacks. Each building has a cafe which will have one or two of these but you go to URL’s if you want the grand selection.

California is definitely lacking in donuts, however, and it is not worth eating a bagel here. The pizza is edible only because they seem to load it up with lots of toppings, otherwise, it is just bread, sauce and cheese. Any New Yorker knows that’s not pizza.

My First Day at Yahoo!
Orientation
My first day of work at Yahoo - of course I want to arrive early, right? Well, so did the other 100 people starting that day (yes, really, 100). Why were so many people starting that day? New Hire Orientation also includes interns and June 18th was the first day for many of them - otherwise the orientation would came in around 40. Why does it matter? Because my paperwork got lost in the tons of interns - that’s why! I had to go through some hassle and didn’t my ID (which lets you get around at Yahoo) that day and I was pretty bummed. Thankfully, my boss met me for lunch and took me to see my cube (BTW, it is pretty freakin’ nice!) and see the team again. Other than that, orientation was fine. I met some cool people in the different depts that I still see and talk to around campus. There were lots of handouts and lots to remember - I’m still sifting through it all.

Terry Semel steps down
As you probably heard on the news, Terry Semel, (former) CEO of Yahoo stepped down to be replaced by Jerry Yang and Susan Decker. The announcement was made on June 18th, which I mentioned above was my first day at Yahoo. During our orientation the SVP of HR actually came in and gave us the news *before* it was public. I really found this a pretty sincere gesture on their part - they considered us “new folks”. That made up for some of the misery I experienced the first day.

Orientation continued on day two of my first week and was specifically geared toward technical folks. We got an overview about how things are done at Yahoo and were to find more information. We also received our laptops. All the misery I experienced on day one was erased when I received my MacBook Pro. We had a choice between a Mac and a PC and I’m so glad I went with the Mac. In short, it is awesome. Highlights include “just works” wireless, a glossy screen (which I read some bad reviews on, but I like it so far) and the backlit keyboard. Trust me - get one.

My First Week at Yahoo!
The remainder of the week was filled with meetings, training (alot of training classes at Yahoo, some of which you are required to take), geek stuff and fun. Yahoo emphasizes working in teams therefore you end up working with people quite often - you’re really not at your desk very much at all. My group participates in a technique called “Swarming” in which a bunch of developers are in a room (conference rooms at Yahoo are scarce given the philosophy of the company to have people work in teams) with a predefined list of tasks and they work together on that list until it is done. It’s actually a fun way to program as it is very relaxed yet very focused. Look out for new changes to the News Property very soon.

This past weekend
This past weekend was filled with apt hunting for me. We found a nice place in Santa Clara which is in a happenin’ area and is a reasonable commute to work. Elissa and I decided that we wanted to live someplace “nice” right off the bat given the last few years of living through renovations in our house. All new appliances, granite countertops, two bathrooms and two balconies, all overlooking the courtyard. The back of the complex backs up against a park so I’m sure we’ll be taking Evan their often. Plus, it is 10-15 minutes away from downtown San Jose so we’ve the children’s museum and plenty to do there, too.

My other highlight of the weekend included a trip to Jack-in-the-Box. These used to be on Long Island up until the early 80’s. Like Carl’s Jr., I never had it before so I thought it was a good opporunity to try. I had the Sirloin Burger, with cheddar and grilled onions (JITB’s gimmick it to let you pick your cheese and the type of onionis that you would like on your burger) with Fries. Not bad at all! I think I like JITB better than Carl’s Jr., although the Carl’s Jr. restaurant was definitely cleaner.

I also had an incident with my rental car in which I thought the woman in rental returns was going to kill me, but I’ll save that story for another day.

A few days before I left NY…
I got poison ivy. I went to the doctor before I left NY and had been taking prescription medicine for it, but I’ve since ran out and it still itches. Don’t worry, it’s not contagious, but damn, it itches.

All told, it has been a fun week. I miss my family and really can’t wait until they get here. At the same time, it is probably a good think that they’re not here right now as it as let me become adjusted to my new job and get to know my coworkers. What? Want to be my coworker or even work with me? We’re hiring. Tell ‘em Tom sent ya.

It has been an interesting first week here in CA. There’s alot to adjust to: new area, new job, new computer (Mac, baby!), new life (temporarily, my family isnt here with me and I miss them dearly) plus the time difference. This is part one of two of my first week here in CA:

My First Weekend in CA

First Night
The flight was great - 6pm EST, Jet Blue, second row, aisle seat. There was a quiet guy sitting in the window seat with no one in between us. I didn’t even mind that we left JFK an hour late. I guess people realize that leaving from JFK is a hassle because the schedule seemed to have this delay built-in as I arrived in San Jose “on schedule”. I just took the time to relax, watch some TV (Fox 5 NY - the Simpson at 6:30 right through Seinfeld at 11 EST, with some channel surfing during the Primetime stuff) and did some light computer work. I got off of the plane about 11:45pm EST.

Got my luggage and rental car with no problem. Now, here’s where the fun begins. I’m staying at the Availon Silicon Valley and needed to pick up my keys. Since the office at the complex was closed I am instructed to find my keys in a “secret” location. Well, they did a great job of hiding these keys because I spent almost two hours looking for them and turned up empty handed. After a discussion with my relocation agent, the security team at the complex and the corporate housing folks, not to mention locking my car inside the gate of the complex, it was decided that I should just get hotel for the night and pick up my keys the following day. Fine, except for two things:

1. It is now about 11pm PST, so to me, it is 2am
2. I really don’t know where I am - where am I going to find a hotel?

OK, not to worry, I know how to get back to the airport and actually feel confident that I can get myself back to the hotel I stayed at in San Jose back in April. So, I get myself back there and the parking lot is packed - this doesn’t look good for me. Sure enough - no availability. It is now 12am PST and I’m not feeling well. The person at the desk sends me around the corner to a dumpy, but decent place and I wake the woman at the front desk and she gives me their last room. Luckily, I had no where to be on Friday morning so I could sleep in and hang out.

Man, what a night!

Apt Living
The weekend was uneventful. I unpacked, did some food shopping and drove around a whole bunch. I may have looked at a few apartments but nothing too seriously. The place I’m staying is really nice now that I can see it in the daytime. To this day I still haven’t gone in the pool but I am using the fitness center. Got to make up for all of that White Castle I was eating before I left.

Carl’s Jr. and Deluxe Burger
The highlight of the weekend was definitely going to the Carl’s Jr. across the street and believe me, it wasn’t too exciting. I would compare the food to Wendy’s quality. Oh, and I also went to a townie burger joint on Saturday in San Jose. The burger at Carl’s Jr. was better than Deluxe Burger’s but I can’t say the same for fries.


Tune in next time kids for details about my orientation and all of the hijinks that ensued….

So, it has been almost 2 years since I’ve updated my blog and man, a lot has happened. I’m sure I’ll fill in the details at some point, but in short:

Lots more to follow, but I just thought I’d give you guys a heads up.

Yeah, it probably doesn’t look any different to you, but the new blog is up. Comments are still off, and I’m sure there will be tweaking to do, but it’s working. I was previously using an old version of b2, and have just moved to Wordpress.

Yes, like you really care. SuperGroovy.

Seriously, I hope to actually write alot more, and have even implemented the categories (although I’m not convinced they are actually working at the moment).

It has been a long time since I’ve posted, and probably wouldn’t even be posting today, except that I’m not feeling well and really don’t feel like doing anything else at the moment.

I got up this morning and felt lousy. I managed to get myself to work, but left within about a 1/2 hour. I had this incredible pressure on my head, as if I was wearing a helmet that was way too tight. Despite the temperature, I was FREEZING and actually had a cup of hot chocolate when I got to work. No good - still felt lousy, so I headed home. Really not the time for me to be sick, but some things just can’t be helped.

So, what’s new with me? Plenty. My friends PJ and Janise just left, as they were staying with us for the weekend. I really enjoy their company, and it is always good to see them. They’re both doing well, which is great, and they always provide alot of laughs when they are here. I bet they are sitting in the car right now on their way back to Michigan. They’re also taking PJ’s father’s cat, so I bet that ride is quite interesting about now….

The house is still standing, as I always say. We got a new garage door, which is cool, but unfortunately, I messed up the lawn with too much/too little fertilizer (who knew). Next year, I think we’ll get a landscaping service - I don’t really know what I’m doing, and really don’t have the time to correct my dumb mistakes, you know?

Last week was the LISTnet Linux event which I had personally done alot of planning for. It has been well received by the business community, and I’m really happy that I’ve been a part of it. Bringing Linux to organizations is paramount to its growth as a truly reliable, mission-critical platform, and organizations are using the SIG to find out more about Linux for themselves, which is the absolute goal. We also “keep it real” by securing high-level executives from major companies to speak, which lets the business community know that this is not a sales pitch, but an informative session. The next meeting will be sometime in the Fall, I imagine.

LIPHP is going well too, with our last talk on AJAX. We’re getting good turnout, and more importantly, deeper technical discussions, which shows a larger adoption for the technology. Although many disagree with the term, I believe the AJAX technology is going to be a big boone for web applications, as it brings them one step closer to conventional applications. It amazes me almost daily how much the web has touched our lives in terms of information disemination and productivity, and with technologies like AJAX changing the usual Submit->Redraw paradigm, web technology will only flourish. Admittedly, being a social person, ultimately, technology only interests me in terms of connectivity between HUMANS, so I likely to believe that this will all happen.

I’ve started a project on Sourceforge for my db_2_pdo class (no files uploaded yet) for those of us who want to use PEAR classes and the PDO extension. I think we are the only ones that have hit this problem, but it is a big one. I won’t say that this class will solve all of your problems, but it makes everything work. As soon as I get off my butt and upload it, you can have a peek.

I just finished up a summer course at LIU in Robotics. It was alot of fun, and I consider myself a better person for taking it, as it addressed physical design (something I don’t get to look at often) as well as software design. It was a smart move academically to take the summer course too, as it is one less course I need to take later. I graduate May 2006, and I can’t wait. I enjoy school and learning, but I have other things that have been neglected because of it, so I’m looking forward to picking those up again. Either way, I have a two month break from it, and I’ll enjoy every minute of it!

I’ve created a Flickr account and put a bunch of pictures on it. They are digital photos that were either taken by me or a friend - they are mostly of my wedding. If you haven’t checked out flickr, please do, it is quite cool. Thanks to the MDHuman for introducing it to me.

So, I’ve already shared the news with many of you that my wife is pregnant. It’s our first child, we’re both very excited about it. I’m also scared as heck about it. Being responsible for something that is completely helpless is unfathomable to me. I’m spending alot of time these days thinking about what I want to convey to my child for personal growth. I want to give them the world, but don’t want to spoil them, either. Get this - the due date? December 25th. Merry Xmas to me!

This week is going to be crazy for me. We have an upcoming release at the end of the month, so we’re all trying to get it all done. I do my share of complaining, but late-night coding sessions are fun occassionally. As I said earlier, technology interests me in terms of people, and there are few greater feelings than to know that you’ve created something that others use daily, AND a, ctually enjoy using. That is a big reward, and one I’m looking forward to collecting come launchtime.

It is also going to be lonely in the house, as my wife is going to LA for the week for training. I’m a little nervous about her being on the plane, but the doctor says its OK. I’m sure my diet will be going to hell this week!

So, that’s about it for me right now. Still not feeling the best, but at least I accomplished something today….