Okay, I'm through with back-dating blog posts. Here's what happened in the last week and a half:
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Scavenger Hunt (last Wednesday): we interns were paid to go to San Francisco and compete against each other in a scavenger hunt. There was some mention of team-building or something....
So we ended up running around San Francisco, solving clues and having a blast. In the end, our group got second place. The people in first place beat us by a measly 2 points; if only our entire group had jumped into the bay at the end, we could have tied it. (The scavenger hunt wasn't really that intense. Jumping into the bay was an overboard solution to a certain clue which would have given us the points — who could deny us the points after that effort? — unless one of our members got hypothermia or drowned, in which case we'd probably have lost points. We're not allowed to discuss the hunt, so I can't say what the clue was.)
What did we win? T-shirts: the most valuable prizes known to googlers.
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Mark's Farewell (Friday): he is lost to us now. This night was very fun, but I think a good deal of it will remain un-journaled. My Mom reads my blog.
Goodbye, Mark. It was great knowing you, and the world is a darker place without you. (No, he's not dead. The world is located at 1600 Ampitheatre Parkway, didn't you know?)
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Pimps 'n Hoes Party (Saturday): the NASA interns who live in the building next to mine know how to have fun! Unfortunately, when I packed my clothes for California I forgot to include all my pimp paraphernalia. I made do with a tie and danced the night away.
This was funny because it was so entirely random: I had gotten home and was just about to go to bed, when I found out I could be a pimp instead....
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Computer History Museum (Sunday): there's a museum with ancient computers in Mountain View. It's completely free, and it's rather fun to look at the gargantuan machines.
One of the most interesting artifacts was a single steel drum about ten inches in diameter. It is the largest known remnant of one of the ten Colossus computers. The (accurate) story goes: in WWII, the Allies needed a way to crack the codes produced by german Enigma machines. Some very smart minds succeeded by devising these incredible Colossus computers. Once the war was over, Winston Churchill ordered that all the Colossus computers be destroyed into
pieces no bigger than a man's hand
. I guess he figured there are some things man is not meant to meddle with. Fast-forward to today....Another interesting artifact was an old Google server rack, like the one they have in the lobby of one of the buildings here. Those racks, old as they are, pack quite a wallop of computing power.
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Muse (Tuesday): Muse is a band which I like. They're a bit like Radiohead, and quite enjoyable. This concert was opened by two truly horrible bands (I think the lead singer of the first even insulted the audience and its lack of enthusiasm at the end. He said,
Enjoy Muse. You've earned it, right?
)Muse itself was great, and I managed to work my way through the mob (and moshing) until I was only two bodies away from the stage. Very sweaty work, and a lot of fun.
Ahh, all caught up! No more blog guilt for me.