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Jim Adams Fan Club Goes International

                           

I think he just happened to be wearing this to work that day. Oh Jim....

WFO: Jason Dorsey

                         

Mr. Dorsey had some fun last week. With the record-setting heat and beautiful blue skies experiences here in the Seattle area, he found himself a change of venue. He sent a brief message with the following pictures:

It is too beautiful a day to be in the office so I am WFO today.  (Working from Outside)

If you need to reach me you can call me on my cell at 425-749-1086 or just “step out” to my office. 

Anyone is welcome to join me for a fun work environment.

Gotta go.  The sunshine and breeze are calling me.

                         

                         

                         

                         

                         

A few minutes later, Jason found himself with a friend (albeit less productive than Mr. Dorsey, who was actually working).

                         

Hmmm....sounds like evil to me

                           

A friend forwarded the following email and screen shots. Amazing that Google can skate by with things like this, and yet Microsoft would be raked over the coals. You'd think the EU would be all over this one. Here's the email body:

Y’know, if WE were to do stuff like this, we’d probably get SUED…

I got this alert after seeing a pop-up telling me “a program is attempting to change your default search settings away from Google”.  Really?  A program?  Actually, that was ME changing it after discovering that for some reason MY default choice was mysteriously switched from Live Search to Google in IE, but as far as Google is concerned I’m not a user but merely a lowly program (why am I having a Tron flashback all of a sudden?).  Maybe it’s just me, but this seems a little heavy-handed. 

I wonder if the folks at Yahoo have been seeing THIS alert lately…

                           

Surface Computing

I laugh out loud every time I watch this. "Instead of using one of today's more popular compact devices to get directions to where you're going, why not use a device the size of a small car to do the same job?" Ha! I love this parody.

Ninjas Killed My Family

I have a friend in Learning and Development who apparently has way too much time on his hands today, but he came up with this hilarious fake ad, and I have to give him props for it. I actually laughed out loud in the cafeteria while sitting alone, and people looked at me funny.

Welcome to Your New Office

                       

What do I always tell you people? That's right, DON'T GO ON VACATION. Nothing good ever comes out of it. So what did I do? I took a week of vacation (and only checked email a couple dozen times), and my team lashed out. Ryan was the main instigator, but apparently they were all in on it. In Ryan's own words:

What can be said?  His turn was coming.  How could we let the opportunity to prank the one that has been known as the “king of pranks” get away with taking a vacation unscathed?  Because of the reputation that was built by our fearless leader, it had to be something great.  Something to be remembered.  Something for all to see and appreciate.  The one that tops them all!  So a plan was devised – we were either going to move him to a new office, or “compress” his office – meaning, take all of his stuff and fit it as tight of a corner as possible, utilizing the fine art of stacking.  The best use of all of the space – floor to ceiling would be needed.  But alas – another idea was presented – Why not give him an office with a view?  So it was decided that cbuck was deserving of the sky bridge, the one that connects RTC B4 and RTC B5.

                    

                         (what it looked like this morning)

The plan was put into place, and Operation: Dinner Out, paying homage to the movie Spy Game, was planned.  We used the code name in case he was expecting something and checking our shared calendars.  Sunday evening the move took place.  The goal was to move as much as practical out of his office and into the sky bridge.  All said and done, his 2 desk sections, phone, speakers, docking station, monitor, printer, file cabinet, refrigerator, bookshelf – with books, mug, and a Cure poster (for a homely feel) were moved.  While this was going on, you could hear the security cameras taking pictures, and I imagined somewhere in a dark room, Microsoft security was watching and that a visit would be coming shortly.

The best was yet to come – Monday morning as cbuck arrives, he enters his office to find it empty, and is helped along by his trusty friend – Dwight Schrute to help him find his new office.  After a good 5-10 minutes of looking, and walking the 3^rd floor, as the clues directed, he was unable to locate his office.  After a helpful hint from members of the BOSS team, he was able to find his new “workspace”.  The unfortunate lack of power in the sky bridge will require his move back to normal office life sooner than he would have hoped, but at least for a day, he will have the largest, most spacious office, with the best view in all of RTC!

-Ryan

New Cafeteria Options

                                

MSW has some interesting articles this morning, and I thought I'd share the MSCT2k8-relevant content with all of our external readers (reprinted sans permission)

You spoke, we listened. New combo plates are sure to satisfy.

April 1, 2008
By Jared Subway

Sea Urchin Cola (twice the caffeine of Mountain Dew), pictured right. 

In a continuing effort to provide employees exactly what they want no matter how much it costs, Microsoft is rolling out a revamped lunch menu with a series of cool new options designed to address the complicated dietary whims of even the most finicky Microsoft employee.

“We challenged ourselves to think outside the box, beyond traditional food-pairing options,” said CIO (Culinary Imagination Officer) Bertha V. Waistline. “Once we let go of our normal thinking on what goes well with what, the brilliant ideas just started flowing in.”

A sampling of the new items follows:

Entrées
• Turkey and Brussels Sprouts Calzone
• Mongolian Lasagna
• Goat Bacon ‘n Chips with Tossed Mango Salad
• Honey-Glazed, Almond Encrusted Oysters with Canteloupe
• Soy Nut Butter and Paprika Corn Muffins

Drinks
• Double Tall Non-Fat Whipped Salmon Mocha Latte—for extra foam, add 25 cents
• Sea Urchin Cola (twice the caffeine of Mountain Dew)
• Possum Extract Protein Shake

Desserts
• Shredded Pork Yogurt Parfait
• General Tso’s Pudding
• Philly Cheese Steak Pie with Strawberry Glaze

*Special Monthly Featured Item
• Sautéed Rotisserie Snickers Bar au Gratin and Steamed Bluegrass with an Espresso-Ginger Reduction

The Ugly Sumo Ceremony

                               

These past few months have been hard: we've switched over to a more agile development methodology, moving from a 4-6 month release schedule to 2-3 weeks. We've gone through a couple minor reorgs in the past 6 months. And delays in internal and essential tool development schedules have made a steadily increasing workload more difficult to manage. So what do we do to help out the troops? That's right, we throw together a couple morale videos!

It began with AdSupport:

Video: Job Shadowing

 

Having finished the first video, of course we had to expand to BizOps:

Video: Living In Fear

 

In recognition of the stellar performances in these videos, at our all-hands meeting this past Monday we handed out the coveted Ugly Sumo award to Francis Yung, for his breakout performance in the BizOps video. Officially (in the press releases), the award was presented for "Best Dramatic Performance / Over-Acting in an OSG Team Morale Video, To The Best Of Our Knowledge." The Ugly Sumo, pictured atop this post, is a prestigious quarterly award within the BOAS organization, with varying qualifications. The first award was handed out for most unread technical books displayed on a desk (nice going Liz!), and the most recent winner was recognized for his fire alarm gaffe, forcing the entire building out onto the street until the fire department showed up to ensure no lives were lost, and to allow us back into the building (alright Joseph!). Thanks Mike for pulling together these videos for us!

And here are the Ugly Sumo nominees:

Video: Ugly Sumo Award

Hey Genius, It's Swag-erific!

                       

Everyone loves getting free junk. I am no exception to this rule. Of course, the hardest part about putting yourself on the receiving end of the free-crap-gravy-train is "effort," i.e. you need to ask for stuff. Or reach out and grab it (no, I am not advocating stealing). For example, I was at a  conference in NY last fall, and a co-worker was not shy about roaming the floor, grabbing one or two items from each and every vendor with a booth. The guy had no shame, and filled up the little tote they handed out to all participants. The following day, he repeated this activity. Who needs 4 or 5 mousepads, 3 cartons of squeeze toys, and 2 yo-yo's with flashing lights? Absolutely nobody. But you're missing the point: they're free! I was out in NY a couple weeks back and remarked to this friends that his cube was amazingly free of clutter. "Where is all your junk?"  He replied "Oh, I gave it all away. It's all junk, so no need to hang on to it."

Free is the magic number behind all great deals. Free food just tastes better (I think there are scientific studies that prove this), and free stuff sure beats paying for stuff. I once asked a room of people, somewhat randomly, whether anyone had a gas barbecue they didn't want any more. I didn't have one, I wanted one, and I didn't want to pay for it. So I figured I'd ask around -- but I never thought I'd get a bite on my first try. Someone said "Sure, I've got one you can have." I picked it up that weekend, and used it for about 6 months until, one fateful afternoon, the whole thing caught on fire and semi-melted down in my backyard. But who cares? It was free. A minor annoyance. Only slightly scorched lawn.

So when I caught wind of some interesting swag being put out there by the Hey-Genius college recruiting team, I had to get in on that deal. A little box of soap with funny text? A deck of cards highlighting different roles/technologies at Microsoft? A Microsoft-branded electronic Sudoku game?

An email was strategically placed, confirmation quickly received, and swag was sent interoffice. And it all goes with my Hey-Genius! t-shirt. What a bargain! (of course, it helps that I am an active participant in they Hey-Genius online forums)

Oh Joel, Say It Isn't So

                         

Alas, one of the founders of the Microsoft Cafeteria Tour is leaving the herd, venturing into uncharted waters, leaving the ranch, abandoning his friends, skipping breakfast, retiring his colours, riding into the sunset. That's right, Joel Oleson of SharePoint fame is leaving Microsoft to build his SharePoint empire. It seems like only yesterday that we co-presented at TechReady4. And it was not too long ago on a cold, wet, slightly snowy day we tried to get a moving van up your still unfinished driveway without having the van slide down the ice and into a swelling stream. Good times.

And who could forget those fun moments from past Cafeteria Tour events, such as the time we watched Doug suck down what appeared to be (from our perspective) some kind of cold oatmeal/possible monkey brain concoction? (eww, Doug, eww) Or the time we wolfed down large quantities of "the man" hot sauce, and to which I mocked you and Mike for dainty portions which led to me shoving an entire spoonful into my mouth, only to experience great pain moments later, much to your delight?

But most of all, I will remember you for your stories of the wild North American Midget Yeti which you claimed to have captured via cell phone audio, but which nobody else could discern from your crappy recording. But you attempted to recreate the sound, to much hilarity (captured on video) - and then we secretly mocked you for weeks and weeks. Ah yes, I suggest that the humour we find through the mocking of others is the sweetest.

Joel, with you gone, who will visit cafeterias in distant lands, but then never take pictures or share those stories with our MSCT readers? And who will rarely make time for lunch for friends, and then reply to email lunch invites days later when nobody else is available? And most importantly, who will pursue the dream and track down all of the segway drivers on campus, interviewing each of them? Ok, Microspotting.com has that one, but still....

Joel, good luck with your next gig!