Learning to Dance in the Rain

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This week (hopefully) we will welcome to our family a little girl.  We don’t know what she looks like yet, how much she weighs (hopefully not as much as her brother did…ouch!), or what she will accomplish in her life.  However, we do know one thing for sure…she is a daughter of God and has something to offer this world no one else can.  Even though we don’t yet know her, we love her, and are so happy she will be joining us.  

Check out what the National Center for Policy Analysis has to say about one of our society’s latest fads:

Synopsis

While the earth has warmed between 0.3 and 0.6 degrees Celsius and carbon dioxide (CO₂), has increased more than 30 percent over the last 150 years, scientists still debate the extent to which human activity is the cause of global warming. NCPA scholars believe that while the causes and consequences of the earth’s current warming trend is still unknown, the cost of actions to substantially reduce CO₂ emissions would be quite high and result in economic decline, accelerated environmental destruction, and do little or nothing to prevent global warming regardless of its cause.

Read the rest at the NCPA web site: Global Warming

Read the entire article, it’s great.  Choice snippets below.

"…If Global Warming didn’t exist, the left would have to invent it. In fact, they did. … A February 18, 2008, story in the London Daily Express notes that Arctic ice levels, which had shrunk from 13 million to 4 million sq. km., between January and October 2007, are now almost back to their original levels. In the meantime, according to the paper, "Figures show that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than is usual for the time of year."

"Every newborn baby in Australia represents a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions for an average of 80 years, not simply by breathing but by the profligate consumption of resources typical of our society," Walters writes. The left is incapable of viewing individuals as anything other than polluters, never as producers or innovators — let alone seeing them in spiritual terms, as manifestations of God’s goodness. "

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

Isn’t it amazing how the birth of someone so small can have such an impact on our lives and hearts that we are never ever the same? We began this year making preparations for the arrival of our little boy. We read books, took a class, and made several stops at BabiesRUs so that we would know how to handle every eventuality…On March 9th, Luke Mitchell arrived with his big blue eyes and an unquenchable thirst for adventure, and we found that you just have to take one day at a time. Now as we near the end of the year and his 9th month, we are amazed at how much we all have grown! I have learned how to multitask like never before, Andrew has learned to get by on minimal sleep, and Luke has learned to move about, hide things under the oven, unroll the toilet roll, and steal our hearts every time he smiles and says “Mama”.

Even though the miles have separated us from family, we were fortunate enough to make visits to Colorado, California, Utah and Portland. The Relate Institute, whom Andrew used to work for, invited him back to a retreat, partly funding our trip to Utah in June, allowing us to spend time with Andrew’s sister, and most of my family. It was really fun to see all of the Mackrory cousins together and see, not only a confirmation of our quality gene pool, but how they have all changed in just a year. Scout camp took Andrew to Puget Sound for a week so I skipped off to Colorado with Luke so Grandma and Grandpa Mackrory could spoil us. Just as the cold was setting in here, we went off down to Southern California so Luke could meet his Grandma Arnott (and GREAT Grandma too!). It was so nice to see the sun, all day, everyday, for a FEW days, and we managed to sneak in a visit to the temple, an hour at the beach, and a ride through the orange groves! We just got back from spending Thanksgiving with Andrew’s sister (the Webbs) in Portland, and despite the illnesses that inflicted half the party, it was so nice to see them and be with family again.

At the end of the summer, our church ward boundaries were redefined and we became part of a new ward. We left behind a lot of friends, but found that there are much more young families with whom we can relate, and Luke has the benefit of extra playmates at the back of Sunday School. We are currently doing a Christmas assignment and Andrew is sharing the teaching of Gospel Doctrine.

I became my own boss just before Luke was born (and then he became boss..), and in August, Andrew got a promotion. He really enjoys the team he works with at Microsoft and keeps very busy with the Homeowners Association. I love being at home with my little boy and having time to do crafty things when Luke takes a nap longer than an hour, a truly rare phenomenon.

Next year we plan to join my parents in going to South Africa for 2 weeks. Hopefully I can get my US citizenship in time to get a passport… It will be so fun to show Andrew and Luke a part of my childhood and see my Grandparents as well. We’re sure there will be reasons too to return to Colorado and California and we look forward to spending anytime we can with family. It has been hard to be living so far away from everyone but hopefully the internet and telephone will keep us feeling connected.

We hope that this letter finds you happy and healthy. As we celebrate all that is Christmas, the trees, the treats, and the trimmings, may your family feel the love and the change that can come from the birth of one tiny baby so many years ago. When you look to Him, your heart and life will never be the same.

Happy December, everyone.  We looked at the window, and what did we see?  Snow-covered rooftops looking at me!

A friend of a friend emailed me to ask about how I liked working at Microsoft.  This was my response.  I include it here because I think his questions are quite common for someone considering working here.

Disclaimer: I will attempt to answer your questions to the best of my
ability.  The facts I give you will be based on my own experience and
memory.  No guarantee from Microsoft is expressed or implied by the
content of this email.

 

I’m in my last year at BYU (Information Systems major), and now is the time for me to start looking at jobs. I have another friend, who has a friend working at MS who personally knows the recruiter for the West. He’s going to have her contact me.

That’s a good idea.  Get to know your recruiter.  The one I worked with was fun and very friendly. 

 

I was hoping you could tell me a bit of how it’s been for you at MS? Do they overwork recent grads? I have heard they overwork them and burn them out in a few years, then drop them and replace ‘em with another recent grad. True? Could just be all the conspiracy theories. J

That wreaks of conspiracy theory. 🙂 Yes they hire grads, yes  some will leave, and yes more will be hired in a few years as they do every year.  Do they overwork them?  Not unfairly, to be sure.  On the contrary, I get the sense that they very much value the grads (and everyone) they hire. 

I just attended a techfair hosted specifically for interns and new college hires where Steve Ballmer spoke.  He said that their approach to new hires matches their approach with new technology: Work with it, even for years, until it rocks!

Now as far as overworking in general, … but I’ll save this for your next question.

 

How’s work life? Do you bring lots of work home with you? Late days? 50 hours weeks (or more)?

First of all, it very much depends on the team you work for, from what I’m told.  Second of all, ask your recruiter what Microsoft means about the “work-life balance”.  It’s very impressive.  Microsoft’s goal is to get their employees working 40 hour weeks.  And in some teams they have achieved it.  In other teams, like those affiliated with Vista, they are working much harder, from what I hear.  I wanted to work on Vista (or thought I did) when I applied, but one of my interviewing managers corrected me (and I’m grateful).  Vista will be awesome, but right now those development teams are working overtime.

My team is awesome.  I work approximately 40 hour weeks.  Sometimes slightly more or less.  If I need to come in late or leave early on a given day, I can just do that without even talking to my manager first.  They trust you here to use your judgment, and they just want you to get your work done.  Pretty much you can set your own hours as long as they cover the meetings you need to attend.

Traffic is bad.  I choose to take the bus so I can pursue my own interests while in traffic rather than just drive a car.  It takes a little longer (sometimes — other times it seems faster), but at least I can use my time productively.  Including travel (from where I live) I’m probably away from home nearly 50 hours per week.

As far as taking work home with me.  heh heh.  I love my job.  I asked my manager for a laptop, explaining that I’d like to be able to do work from home if I can’t sleep or whatever.  He said no.  But get the reason: because “when you’re home, you should be home.  You shouldn’t have to work at home.” 

 

Has anything disappointed you – meaning, were you expecting/promised something you didn’t get?

The biggest disappointment wasn’t that big.  It was simply that in the application form for my interviews, MS asked me what the minimum salary I would require to work there is.  They merely matched (ever-so-slightly overshot) that minimum.  But see the answer to your later question for more on this.

Microsoft has no “fountain of knowledge”.  You have to work out solutions to problems here just like any other programming job.  I guess I should have known that.

 

Has anything exceeded your expectations?

The weather is very enjoyable (we like the rain, though in the summer it hardly rains).  We’re the only state that’s regularly under 100 degrees last I checked. 

I was struck during my on-campus interviews with how friendly everyone was here.  That feeling has only increased.  The mutual respect among employees is unlike anything I’ve experienced.  People here “take ownership” of your questions; they find solutions for you if you ask rather than just say “I dunno” and/or point you in another direction.  Of course that doesn’t happen 100% of the time, but it makes me feel like I’m at a grocery store where employees are always waiting to help you find something.  Except they’re your coworkers.

 

Are people being ethical where you work? I hope so. J

Absolutely.  Entirely.  Microsoft has a strong ethical and legal guidelines handbook and they push it hard down all employees (I think annually).  There are private reporting mechanisms for when anyone (including your superiors) do something you think is unethical, including protection against the “whistle blower”.  I’ve never had any reason to wonder about anyone’s behavior here though.

In fact, although the outside feeling about Microsoft seems to be negative in many circles, being on the inside during some of these “scandals” like the multi-hundred-million-dollar fine from the European Commission against Microsoft for protocol documentation has allowed me to hear their side of the story and realize that Microsoft really is trying hard to comply with all laws and overall good citizens.  It seems to me that bad/inflammatory news sells, and Microsoft has made a very popular target of late.  But I feel good being inside Microsoft knowing that I work for a company that is full of employees who are real people who are just trying to do their job the best they can.

 

I’d appreciate comments. I’m wanting a good job after I graduate, like everyone is.

I would suggest you apply multiple places.  If you get an offer from Microsoft, other offers will give you a reference of comparison so you can see how great Microsoft’s offer is. 

The employee benefits offered by Microsoft truly are “second to none”, as their HR goal states.  I can’t begin to enumerate them.  If you can fathom it, Microsoft probably offers it.  I’ll just list a few: having a baby is free, finding a baby is significantly paid for (adoption), not having a baby is free (various modes of temporary or permanent birth control), non-profit org donation (in $$ or time) matching, free day care for kids on days you work but your kids don’t go to school, 401K matching, employee stock purchase plan, target performance bonuses of 10% and can be up to 20% of annual salary, annual pay raises (that barely keep up with inflation), life insurance, $0 deductibles and copays for doctors visits and medications, 2 weeks paid vacation that you can carry over up to one year (and this increases with time; I have a coworker with what… 5 weeks?!), 8 more paid holidays, 2 floating holidays (you pick the days), 10 paid sick days (that you can use if anyone in your immediate family is sick), 4 weeks of paternity/maternity leave when you have each baby., free health club membership and significant discounts for your spouse, tons of discounts and great treatment from local businesses, paid for tuition for continuing your education (at least a significant portion, if not fully)…  are you beginning to get the idea?  Oh! And the health insurance applies to your whole family and does not come out of your paycheck. 

I know exact pay isn’t appropriate to share, but did you get what you hoped for? Do they pay competitively for where you are?

Notwithstanding my earlier comment about salary, I feel that Microsoft has treated me fairly.  Inputting my skills and geographic area into salary.com produced a pay range within which my salary from Microsoft fits.  And the process for promotions and pay raises  is clearly laid out for all employees to read. 

When comparing offers, be sure to go to web sites that give you standard costs of living for the areas you’d work for each offer you get.  A condo in the Puget Sound area of Washington (where main campus is and the surrounding areas) costs twice as much as a medium-sized house in Provo.  That should factor in to tell you that you can’t compare salaries like apples-to-apples.  Also, the state of WA doesn’t charge income tax.  You still have federal income tax of course.

 

Thanks a ton for your help and insights.

You’re welcome.  I hope you found them useful.

So I watched a prescreen viewing of Superman Returns today. It was alright. The scenes were definitely intense and some thrilling. The scenery and people are much more modern (much more than five years) than they were in the first movies (I only saw Superman I and II). Cell phones and the Internet are popular.  

Unfortunately, so is the family decay. (possible spoiler follows)

Lois Lane has a live-in boyfriend, and they have a kid together. It gets worse. Everyone explains to Superman, including Lois, that “five years is a long time”, and things change. Superman came back to Earth expecting Lois to still be in love with him. She explained with a torn heart that five years is a long time, and she had no idea whether he was coming back.

Well, it turns out that the young kid is Superman’s instead of her Lois’ live-in boyfriend. Hmm… doing the math, I calculate that Lois didn’t wait five years for Superman before hooking up. In fact, she didn’t wait a month. If Lois had a kid by Superman and thought it was Richard’s (her live-in boyfriend), things must have developed awfully fast when Superman disappeared.

It’s a shame how an otherwise great movie can be tainted by modern society’s degrading values.

So we got a ferret to join us in our little condo that we found on Craigs List.  Although it has had its scent glands removed, and the cage is freshly cleaned, the smell very quickly overtook our home, and we are looking for some family who is already accustomed to pets and their smell to take this sweet ferret home with them.

Lessons learned:

1. Visit a potential pet in its current environment before officially adopting it. (i.e. don’t have it delivered sight unseen).
2. Ask for a grace period in which you can return it.
3. Don’t get a pet when you have just a little space for it, where the smell can build up.

I suppose I should mention that I am the primary developer behind the RELATE Institute web site.  It utilizes C#, ASP.NET, XSLT, XSL-FO.  It is divided into several class libraries and an ASP.NET web front-end.  A significant class library behind the site is about to be open-sourced so I can work on it even after I leave to work for Microsoft.  Almost all the lessons that I post on my JMPInline blog comes from my developing RELATE.