The Google Dance

I'm back in Mountain View this week, and just when I thought things at Google were ho-hum, along comes the Google Dance out of nowhere.

The Google Dance isn't really a dance; it's just a big party that is named after a phenomenon known to search ranking experts by that name. The party is scheduled to coincide with a Search Strategies conference that is held in the area. Everyone at the conference (and there are thousands) is invited to the Dance. Also, many of Google's Mountain View employees attend. So it's a really, really enormous party. I mean, it is huge even by Google standards.

The first clue that something big was going on was that preparations began yesterday. First, they cleared away all of the outdoor tables early in the day; after dinner, they cleared out all of the tables in the main cafe (Charlie's) as well. They had dozens of technicians and stevedore-types putting up lights, speakers, big-screen TVs, awnings, etc. There were electrical cords as thick as your wrists snaking everywhere. Towards the end of the day they brought in a row of porta-potties, which was a clue that the event, whatever it was, was going to include non-googlers. (After all, our bathrooms might contain trade secrets. :-) ) I left at 10pm last night and they still had crews there working.

Today they started filling Charlie's cafe usual eating space with video games a la Dave & Buster's. They also closed Charlie's and No-Name for lunch. Presumably all of the chefs in both cafes were consumed with prepping for the party the entire day. They put in a row of candy bins like a candy store.

Outside, they put row upon row of tables loaded down with chafing dishes under the awnings. There were several pool tables, couches, and big-screen TVs in the center of the courtyard. There was a dunk tank ("dunk the google guy"), multiple beer stations, a karaoke tent (with video so that your embarrassment can be archived for the ages), even a station with nothing but milk shakes and root beer floats. Kirk and I did a quick calculation and decided that they had about 500 gallons of root beer in 2-liter bottles stacked up out there.

At 6pm, people began lining up for t-shirts. The lines was hundreds of yards long but moved with the typical google efficiency -- I'd say I spent only 5 minutes in line. Food didn't start serving until 7pm. I was starving so I raided a mini-kitchen for a salad. When the food finally showed up, it wasn't anything special -- hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork (which was super salty), corn-on-the-cob (which was mushy), strawberry shortcake. I guess it's the best you can do when you're cooking for 5-10,000 people. Luckily there was no shortage of milk shakes.

Anyway, I left fairly early because I had to head over to Tushar's house to pick up my bike. Tomorrow morning I intend to do the Alpine Loop again. But at least I can say I've been to the Google Dance!

Here are some links to prior years' Dances. It should be obvious from the link names how to find this year's, once it gets put online.

2006
2005

Oh, one more thing...

Figures that right after I say I'm going to stop blogging regularly, I do two posts within 12 hours of each other. But a co-worker pointed me at this blog entry that really sums up what's great about being a software developer at Google. If you find yourself getting bogged down in the software development methodology introduction, skip ahead to "THE GOOD KIND". It's a really nice description of what makes Google a unique place to work.

Announcing: less frequent posts from now on

I think I'm going to stop blogging on a regular basis, instead blogging only if something different or extraordinary happens. There just isn't enough happening on a daily basis, and blogging meals is getting old. But let's look back on all the Googley experiences I've had in the last four weeks:

• I went through new employee orientation
• I pigged out at as many cafes as I could find (net: 2 pounds gained)
• I stayed in the corporate apartments
  
• I commuted to the 'plex by bike a few times
• I attended talks by celebrities like Floyd Landis and Ron Paul
• I tried out the fitness center
• I tried out the lap pools
• I tried out the laundry room :-(
• I got a chair massage in Boulder
• I got a free table massage in Mountain View :-D
  
• I played pool, foosball, ping-pong, and free video games!
• I discovered that one of my old bosses works here
• I met some famous computer scientists who work here
  
• I attended a TGIF
• I changed projects in my first month!
• I videoconferenced between Boulder and Mountain View
• I got a bus pass and rode the HOP
• I did some great bike rides in the Santa Cruz mountains
• I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge

Some people have asked why I don't talk more about work. Well, the purpose of the blog is to convey the gestalt of working at Google, the stuff that isn't work. Besides, if I told you what I was working on, I'd have to kill you. (Attention: Homeland Security: this is a joke! Ha-ha!) Who am I kidding! I work for Google! They own Blogger! I'd probably just finish hitting the "publish" button on my post and they'd intercept it and cleanse it of all unapproved content.

But again, I jest. Okay, I'll let you in on a little secret: the purpose of my new project is to

Back in Boulder

Well I'm back in Boulder this week, and the most exciting thing that's happened so far is that I got my RTD bus pass. This is a freebie that you get for being a downtown employee -- the city doesn't want you to drive to work and take up parking spaces that shoppers might need, so they buy you a bus pass. The day after I got the pass, I took the HOP shuttle from work to the Y at lunch. It worked out very smoothly. The HOP comes about every 5-7 minutes during peak hours, but you can cut your waiting time even more than that by using a very cool site called nextbus.com, which tracks the buses in real time using GPS technology! Okay, so that was pretty cool and a lot of people in the office didn't know about it so I got to be one of those people who spams everybody and says, "check this out"!

The food this week is not as good as it was the last time I was here. Kind of disappointing.

The other thing that's going on is that they are about to set up about 16 new desks. There really isn't enough room for them, and our facilities guy Dan can't wait until we get to the new building. Of course, the new building was originally planned to last for years but at the rate we're growing they will have to start looking for the next new building as soon as we move!

Dash out of MV

Haven't update the blog in a few days, but you haven't missed much.

Last Friday, I had Indian food at Charlie's for lunch. (Lamb Sag, Lentils, Cucumber salad) Later that afternoon I went to my first real TGIF, where Larry and Sergei take on all comers in a live Q&A session. While I commend them for remaining so accessible, most of the questions are inane and aren't worthy of my, let alone their, attention. I was hoping to get my Noogler beanie but alas there were no extras. So I resorted to filing a trouble ticket and they are going to send me a beanie via interoffice mail!

On Friday the decision was made that I would change projects to something that is more aligned with my peculiar skill set. My ex-boss said no hard feelings, but get your bike out of our visitor seating area. I checked with the area where my new co-workers sit, but there was no spare space to stash it. I packed it back in its box, resigned to either (a) stashing it under a stairwell somewhere (where it probably would be mistaken for a bomb) or (b) taking it home with me on the plane. Then my new mentor & tech lead, Tushar, said I could keep it in his backyard shed! So we made a quick run to his place after work, on my way to the airport.

Luckily I had booked a late flight so I had no problem getting there on time. Unfortunately, the flight was even later, and as a result I didn't get home until 2am colorado time. It took me all weekend to catch up on my sleep -- I must be getting old!

The Alpine Loop

This morning I finally succeeded in riding the Alpine Rd Loop! Right-click on the link to open a google map of the route in another window and follow along with the description. (You have to imagine the two ends of the route being connected by a squiggly dirt road that google maps doesn't know about.)

I got out of bed shortly after 6 and was on the road at 7:20. I began the ride from the Enid Pearson open space parking lot on Arastradero Rd just west of Page Mill (marked on the map). I then proceeded counter-clockwise around the loop. The weather was cloudy, but I could tell that it was fog that had rolled in from the ocean and that it would eventually clear.

The first leg of the ride, up to the "start" symbol on the map, is a gradual climb. Alpine Rd runs along a creek bed, it's very lush and beautiful. Past the intersection with Portola Rd, Alpine is only 1 lane wide but I didn't see a single car on it. This leg of the ride ends at a gate, and took about 40 minutes. At this point the fog had lifted and it was brilliant sunshine in a blue sky.

Beyond the gate, it's a dirt road comparable in width to the Switzerland Trail in Boulder County. It's just wide enough for a car if you don't mind scraping the vegetation on both sides. The road is dirt, rutted by the rain but not rocky, so a mountain bike isn't really required. The grade starts out about the same as the paved road. However, there is a point at which the dirt road is closed by a landslide and there is a detour trail around it. That trail is about twice the width of a hiking trail and still fairly smooth, but is so steep in parts that I had to walk some of it. Eventually you pop out on Page Mill Rd very close to the top. This took about another 30 minutes.

Page Mill, it turns out, is not one long descent -- there's a fair bit of uphill when you're going downhill. Usually the uphill is right around a blind corner, so you are braking when you hit it! Also on the descent I had a sweeping vista of the valley and it was still fogbound! It turns out that the fog hadn't really lifted, I had simply climbed above it! I actually had to put my vest back on because I started getting cold. It took another 30 minute to descend on Page Mill. I was done riding at 9am and was at work by about 9:20. Whew!

By the time I got there it was too late to get a hot breakfast. I stopped by the Slice Cafe and they had some french toast that was too dense to eat. But they also had some delicious heavy breads and cakes. All of it was gluten free. I think the secret is the banana puree. They were moist and not crumbly. One was banana and goji-berry (I don't know what these are but they seem to put 'em in all kinds of stuff around here) and another was dark chocolate - heavenly!

For lunch I went to a new place (suggested by Tushar): Cafe 7:

• Grilled Ribeye Steak with Roasted Shallot Port Wine Reduction ****
  
• Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes **1/2
  
• Thai Basil Broth with Shell Fish *****
  
• Mango Lassi w/coconut macaroon ***
  
• Butter brickle ice cream w/toffe bits and choco chips
  

The cafe seems like every other google cafe except for two things: it has a sushi bar (although I don't eat the stuff) and it has a soft-serve ice cream machine with plenty of mix-ins!

For dinner I went back to American Table, because they were doing some special event in Charlie's. It's still "food of the northeast" (read: Italian) week:

• Sautéed Grilled Sausages ****
  
• Pan Seared Snapper **
  
• Pasta Fazool **
  
• Red and White Summer Spinach ***
  
• Grilled Chicken and Bacon Pizza Mushroom, White Cheddar, Fontina Cheese, Cream Sauce *****

I was planning to make the snapper my main course but I was very disappointed with it -- it seemed to have a fried breading over it -- not my idea of pan-seared! The sausages were good but I just took a little taste of them. The real standout of this meal was the pizza -- just looking at that ingredient list can stop your heart in its tracks! And it had a taste to match!

Last night I had my first Google-provided massage. A full hour at no cost to me. Not the best massage I've ever had, but the price was right!

For breakfast today I headed over to Cafe Moma for a good old fashioned american-style breakfast:

• Scrambled eggs
• Buttermilk pancake with organic (of course) maple syrup
• Bacon - 3 (three) strips!

Question: how can maple syrup be organic or not? It comes from trees, right? Are these trees cultivated, with pesticides and so forth? I kind of doubt it.

Lunch @ Charlie's:

• Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin ****
• Spiced Chunky Apple Sauce ***
• Glazed Sweet Potato Wedges ***
• Greek salad
• Peach & blackberry dessert crepe **

That's two bacon meals in a row!

Dinner @ American Table:

• Italian Wedding Soup ****1/2
  
• Chicken Marsala ****
• Ratatouille ***
• Pluot Fig Shortcake ***1/2

This meal was a mixed bag. The Chicken Marsala was chicken marsala, no surprise there. The Ratatouille, I felt, could have been more flavorful. But the Italian Wedding Soup, which was a clear stock with sausage meatballs in it, and a garnish of orzo and parsley, was quite yummy -- I went back for a second bowl.

After dinner I discovered that there is a video arcade containing all sorts of classic games that are 100% free right behind American Table. So I burned up 30 minutes playing Defender, which is my all-time favorite.

Since this blog entry isn't very exciting, I saved the best for last (I've been sitting on this one for a few days). Somebody is conducting an experiment in the elasticity of junk food demand over in the other building. There is a vending machine over there that has a variety of stuff (that you can't get in the mini-kitchens) at wildly inappropriate prices. For example:

• Pacific Gold beef or turkey jerky (the good stuff): 10 cents
• Candy bars: 70 cents
• Really good candy bars (85% dark): $1.50
• Famous Amos cookies: $4.55

No kidding! According to a co-worker, this vending machine may have begun as an April Fool's joke and it never ended. I of course bought some turkey jerky for a dime. I came back the next day and all the jerky (in fact, all 10 cent items) was sold out. Not a single bag of Famous A. had sold, however. So apparently junk food demand is quite elastic.

This place is totally wacky. You never know what to expect.