Burning The Candle At Both Ends (In A Good Way)

So I had a phone interview with a different group within NI today. It was pretty general stuff and seemed to go fairly well. The dev teams don't actually hire from Texas State, but I guess if you know the right people on the inside they'll look past that.

It sounds like these guys will try to sit in on a couple of my interviews when I go in on the 7th. Maybe I can get multiple job offers out of NI. That wouldn't suck!

Let's All Go To The Movies

Well TV may be pretty much shot until the fall (new episodes of The Office on April 10th!), but movies are here to save the day! Here's a look at some good stuff coming this year:

Be Kind Rewind (Feb. 22)


Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22)


WALL-E (June 27)


The Dark Knight (July 18)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Aug. 15)

Also, there is plenty to be excited about beyond this year:

• Next year's Wolverine has much potential as it promises to tap into Wolvie's more savage past.
• And news is out the Tim Burton is not only remaking Alice in Wonderland for Disney, but he will also be putting out a full-length version of Frankenweenie after that.
• Oh, and there's that little film Transformers 2 coming soon.
• And the freaking Hobbit movie!!!
  

Redundancy In Action

So I had another interview today. Basically, I interviewed where I already work for the job I already have. It was for the position I've been serving in for about the last year, but this would make me a salaried employee and all that. Assuming I get it. I don't really plan on being at ACC after graduation anyway, so the whole thing is just one big "whatever" as far as I'm concerned. If I already had an offer from somewhere else I wouldn't have even bothered to interview.

So there you have it...

It's Friday Again...

My newest article is now posted on RotoTimes for your reading pleasure. You can also read it on Fanball.com if you so choose. I won't go to much into why it is in both places. Just suffice it to say that both sites are owned by the same company and they are in the process of merging them, along with a couple others. You should be able to count on finding my stuff at either location.

This is probably the last time I'll post a direct link to my articles. Just know that you can find my new one every Friday until the end of the Finals.

The Road Goes Ever On And On

So I heard back from National Instruments today and apparently I did "really well" on the technical evaluation. So now I go back in a few weeks and spend a whole Friday interviewing with managers and touring the place and stuff like that. There will also be dinner and "entertainment" involved. I'll have to do some advanced scouting to make sure I don't end up at some random bar with a bunch of happy-go-lucky 22-year olds.

I'm guessing that I will almost definitely get an offer from them at this point, but I'm still going to be applying to other places in the meantime. IBM and Google are both hiring here, so I'm gonna look into that and see what else is out there.

Just Because I Can

If you don't get a kick out of this I don't know what to tell you...

I Gotta Say It Was A Good Day

So, I just got back from taking my technical evaluation at National Instruments and I think it went pretty well. At this point, judging how things have gone so far, I'd be pretty surprised if I didn't end up working there after graduation. Of course I may have actually tanked it and I'll end up working at Best Buy.

Also, my first article is now up at RotoTimes (read it here). I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty excited by this. It's nice to be recognized for doing something you enjoy. Hopefully I can make a good impression and land a regular gig doing this.

Overdressed and ready to rock!

So I had my preliminary interview with NI (National Instruments) today. It went pretty well, and I am going back in for a technical evaluation on Friday. I have to say that everything I have read and heard about NI has me really excited about the prospect of working there. They actually seem to treat people like people. This is a place that ever since I started back to school I have targeted as somewhere that I would want to work at and on some level it is very satisfying to have finally come to that point in the process.

And to make things even better... researching NI also led me to this:


Oh yes, it will be mine!

Onward and Upward

So I have an interview for a position in the IT Department at National Instruments tomorrow. Should be interesting. Apparently this is less of a technical screening and more to see if I am a good "fit" for a job at NI. Hopefully it goes well, it would be nice to start to have some options in place for what to do after graduation. NI is actually somewhere I have been targeting to work at for a while. I know a lot of people who work(ed) there and they've all had great things to say about it. I mean, it really seems like they know how to take care of their people.

Anyway, your fingers may now resume their crossed position.

Dyslexia: The Silent Killer!

Apparently there are some people out there that can't see the difference between "Should the Penguins trade Crosby?" and "The Penguins should trade Crosby!" Because of this I managed to ruffle a few feathers this week with a post on TOFTT that I wrote. My response; people need to lighten up and get a grip.

The exposure was welcome though:

People need to learn to drive!

I couldn't even tell you how many times I almost got run over on the way to work today. People really can't drive here. I-35 is like one giant, super-long death trap.

This is on top of all the idiot drivers I see driving down to San Marcos twice a week. If I live to see my 31st birthday it will be something of a miracle.

It's Put Up Or Shut Up Time...

So I have long touted my knack for fantasy sports and love to, when I'm in the right mood, brag about how I "know so much more" than all the so-called fantasy experts out there. Well, now it's time for me to put somebody else's money where my mouth is.

I've signed a deal to write a weekly NHL fantasy column running from Feb. 1 until the end of the Stanley Cup Finals for RotoTimes.com. This came pretty much out of nowhere for me but is a welcome challenge/diversion. Their new managing editor had been scouring the web looking for writers to put on his fantasy hockey staff to kick off new coverage starting Feb. 1, and he liked what he saw over on Taking One For The Team (my hockey blog) and asked if I was interested. After trading some e-mails and a brief phone call the deal was sealed and the official contract arrived in my inbox on Friday. So I am now the newest Associate Editor for RotoTimes.com!

My editor (I get a kick out of saying that) says that there is an opportunity for a longer term and better paying gig with RotoTimes if things go well this season. Apparently the company that owns the site owns some TV and radio stations so there is possible exposure there in some way. He has also indicated that he wants to get them to do a full print NHL Fantasy Draft Guide this summer, so I could get to write for that if they decide to do it. Could be cool.

Overall I'm just looking at this as a chance to get some more exposure and maybe increase my TOFTT audience. It would also be really cool to have a nice side-career as a fantasy writer. The modest amount I'm getting paid to do this is really just a bonus to me. I probably would have done this for free since it's not much of a departure from what I was writing for TOFTT anyway, except now someone's paying me for it. It's pretty much a win-win no matter what happens as far as I'm concerned. Anyhoo, I'll try to post updates on how things are going here, and I'll link to my articles both here and at TOFTT, so they shouldn't be hard to find if you want to read them. Though I wouldn't blame you if you don't. Fantasy hockey isn't exactly the "cool kids table".

I Hope You Like The New Look

So I set up a new template for this blog. Let me know what you think of it (just leave a comment).

This is the first step in resurrecting this blog. I have a lot going on right now, and some of it's pretty exciting. So stay tuned for more (hopefully soon!)...

4 out of 5 Yarbroughs Endorse Super Mario Galaxy

Well, Super Mario Galaxy fever has officially infested the house. Everyone except Landon is racing to save Princess Peach from Bowser ASAP! In a shocking turn of events, Christa is the most obsessed with the game. I thought she wouldn't like it at all with all the crazy 3D camera action, but she's hooked. I think she just has a soft spot for short, chubby, Italian plumbers. What can you do?

We Have Liftoff

So I finally started playing Super Mario Galaxy last night. So far it's pretty freaking sweet. Just another reminder that Nintendo is still way better at making video games than anyone else.

Not to be outdone, Kaylee Wii bowled a 178 yesterday. We're quite the "athletic" family!

2008 is off to a good start...

The Winter Classic was AWESOME and I bowled a 205 on the Wii yesterday (played a strong 9 holes in golf too). 2008 could turn out to be alright.

Fall Grades Are In...

• Operating Systems - C
• Object-Oriented Design and Implementation - A
• Intro to Advanced Math - C
• Technical Writing - B
• Beginning Golf - A

So there you have it. All in all it is pretty much what I was expecting. The math class I took ending up being pretty brutal. I would guess that there were as many people who didn't pass it as those who did. The B in Technical Writing is a bit of a burn, but that Prof was such a loon that who knows what was going through her head when she was grading my final. Having a couple retards who couldn't drag their butts to class in my presentation group ended up costing me too. Bottom line; this semester was all about surviving. It dropped my overall Texas State GPA from 3.44 to 3.24, but I should be able to finish strong in the Spring and get the you know what out of there. No offense San Marcos...

Not that you'd be able to notice...

Barring something major I won't be posting here again until this semester ends. See title...

24 Is Out For Redmption...

Apparently Tony Almeida is immortal. And not a very nice guy...

See, I Told You I'm Alive...

I can't believe how long I have gone without posting on here. Well, actually I totally can. I have been pretty swamped lately between school, work, and the usual day-to-day nonsense of life. To go along with that, pretty much any energy to blog that I've been able to muster has gone into TOFTT which has also suffered some the last couple of weeks unfortunately. I should probably try to find a couple more contributors for there, but I have other things concerning that blog that I need to tend to first.

I can happily say that I picked up a XBox 360 a couple weeks ago thanks to some sucker on craigslist who was moving and didn't want to take it with him. I had been more than prepared to hold off on picking up a new console until I was done with school, but then this came along:


All I will say is that NHL 08 is well worth investing in a new console for. It's pretty much hands down the best hockey game ever. If FIFA 08 can fall somewhere between the quality of FIFA 07 on the PS2 and NHL 08 on the 360 I will be a very happy man.

As far as school goes, this semester shouldn't be too bad. My Operating Systems class is pretty hard but everything else seems to be more than manageable. At this point, passing OS and A's in everything else would suit me just fine. Then just 3 more CS classes in the spring and I'm done! I think things are really going to start happening fast, which is both a good and a bad thing. As always though, I'll get it all done and move on to the next thing that comes along.