I’ve noticed a lot of media coverage lately about people who have been fired because of stuff they posted on personal blogs. My mom has even taken to calling me to warn me about the dangers of blogging, though her fears are mainly focused on the opportunities blogging may present for stalkers and rapists.
People Magazine (shut up -- my roommate buys it) recently ran an article about terminations prompted by blogging. The rag reported that these three bloggers have all lost their jobs over their blogs:
Diary of a dYsFuNcTioNaL Flight Attendant
plaxoed!
Jolie in NYC
The plaxoed! guy was fired from Google, which is particularly shocking considering the fact that Google owns Blogger.com. However, if you do a Google search you can also find cases of employees getting fired for blog content at Microsoft and Friendster. It’s kind of crazy how common it is.
I have limited the amount that I discuss my job and company on this blog, though I do think my job would make for a lot of interesting blog material. I suspect that the only way blogging will get me in to trouble is by keeping me up nights, making me hit that snooze alarm one too many times in the mornings.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Class is fine
Many of you have been asking how my first week of classes has gone. I’ve been a little slow on the correspondence this week, but it’s been fine. A little boring, even. Classes are less intimidating than I thought they’d be. Things have started at a slow and easy-to-understand pace. That may change soon, but for the time it’s nice to not feel completely overwhelmed.
The coolest thing is that going to business school is like buying a whole pack of instant friends (perhaps similar to Greek life as an undergrad?). Everyone is so gregarious by nature that it’s almost overwhelming -- especially when you’re joking around with someone over a beer and then you realize that they’re a Vice President at Wells Fargo. It's intimidating! Then again, I tend to forget just how many of my non-MBA friends have also built up super impressive careers while still young (you know who you
are -- there are a lot of you).
The coolest thing is that going to business school is like buying a whole pack of instant friends (perhaps similar to Greek life as an undergrad?). Everyone is so gregarious by nature that it’s almost overwhelming -- especially when you’re joking around with someone over a beer and then you realize that they’re a Vice President at Wells Fargo. It's intimidating! Then again, I tend to forget just how many of my non-MBA friends have also built up super impressive careers while still young (you know who you
are -- there are a lot of you).
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
The last straw
When I saw this photo, I was embarrassed for Britney. I understand that the discomfort of pregnancy can lead you to make some odd choices, but I can't come up with any possible reason to wear this bathing suit (not to mention wearing it while extremely pregnant).
However, this photo has also made me embarrassed to admit that I ever liked Britney. And I did like Britney. She used to be so young, so peppy, so unstoppable... It's all been downhill since that Federline came on the scene. This is it, though. For me, this bikini is the last straw. She has crossed a line. There will be no revisiting the shiny, magnetic success of her late teens. There is no hope left for Britney Spears.
You're dead to me, Britney.
However, this photo has also made me embarrassed to admit that I ever liked Britney. And I did like Britney. She used to be so young, so peppy, so unstoppable... It's all been downhill since that Federline came on the scene. This is it, though. For me, this bikini is the last straw. She has crossed a line. There will be no revisiting the shiny, magnetic success of her late teens. There is no hope left for Britney Spears.
You're dead to me, Britney.
Linda speaks
My friends were in a scary car crash over the weekend. Visit the Jo-tel for a picture of the wreckage. It's terrifying to think that they were in that thing!
Here's Linda's exclusive story, in coverage you won't find on the Jo-tel*:
"Shark, Matt, Patsy and I got in a very serious car accident on the way up to Shasta. Around 11:30 on Thursday night we were driving in a rented PT Cruiser about an hour south of Redding. A roll of rubber something-or-others appeared in the road and there wasn't time to swerve to avoid it. When we went over it, it blew out the front left tire so we went up on our two right tires, then slammed back down on our two left tires, then the car fishtailed severely going about 75 mph, then we flipped left and rolled through the median oleander 2-3 times and ended up upside down about a foot away from the oncoming southbound fast lane traffic full of semis and sh*t. When we finally stopped rolling/flipping/whatever and stopped, it was dead quiet for a second and then Patsy yelled 'GET OUT!' and we all scrambled to undo our seatbelts above our heads and crawl out of the broken windows and run b/c we thought the car was going to explode. Very dramatic. The paramedics came and strapped us to those boards with collars and took us to the ER to get us all x-rayed up and stuff. Then at almost 3:00 in the morning (Patsy and I with no shoes b/c they flew off in the crash) we stumbled to the Days Inn and slept for a few hours until Reid came down from Redding the next morning and picked us up. We drove to the tow company, looked at the F*CKED UP CAR, got our stuff out of the car, and went to Shasta and had a totally totally fun time for the rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The car accident worked well on the lake: You're floating, you want a beer, you yell out, 'somebody throw me a beer.' If they don't respond, you yell back, Will Ferrell/belligerent/Harry Carey style, 'I was in a SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENT!' Same thing when calling a bed, last hamburger, etc.
We all walked away with only bruises and cuts and some neckaches. Very very lucky. Also very lucky we were all stone cold sober because the car looked like a party on wheels with several broken booze bottles (for Shasta). The whole scene stunk like burning rubber and metal and dirt and pavement.
Wear your seatbelts! They save lives!"
*Yes, I'm trying to bump up my Google rating.
Here's Linda's exclusive story, in coverage you won't find on the Jo-tel*:
"Shark, Matt, Patsy and I got in a very serious car accident on the way up to Shasta. Around 11:30 on Thursday night we were driving in a rented PT Cruiser about an hour south of Redding. A roll of rubber something-or-others appeared in the road and there wasn't time to swerve to avoid it. When we went over it, it blew out the front left tire so we went up on our two right tires, then slammed back down on our two left tires, then the car fishtailed severely going about 75 mph, then we flipped left and rolled through the median oleander 2-3 times and ended up upside down about a foot away from the oncoming southbound fast lane traffic full of semis and sh*t. When we finally stopped rolling/flipping/whatever and stopped, it was dead quiet for a second and then Patsy yelled 'GET OUT!' and we all scrambled to undo our seatbelts above our heads and crawl out of the broken windows and run b/c we thought the car was going to explode. Very dramatic. The paramedics came and strapped us to those boards with collars and took us to the ER to get us all x-rayed up and stuff. Then at almost 3:00 in the morning (Patsy and I with no shoes b/c they flew off in the crash) we stumbled to the Days Inn and slept for a few hours until Reid came down from Redding the next morning and picked us up. We drove to the tow company, looked at the F*CKED UP CAR, got our stuff out of the car, and went to Shasta and had a totally totally fun time for the rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The car accident worked well on the lake: You're floating, you want a beer, you yell out, 'somebody throw me a beer.' If they don't respond, you yell back, Will Ferrell/belligerent/Harry Carey style, 'I was in a SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENT!' Same thing when calling a bed, last hamburger, etc.
We all walked away with only bruises and cuts and some neckaches. Very very lucky. Also very lucky we were all stone cold sober because the car looked like a party on wheels with several broken booze bottles (for Shasta). The whole scene stunk like burning rubber and metal and dirt and pavement.
Wear your seatbelts! They save lives!"
*Yes, I'm trying to bump up my Google rating.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Was it all a lie?
I couldn't help but notice that in my class tonight (my first class at Haas) there were three students taking notes on iBooks. Was it all a lie? Could I have stuck with my Mac?
I do know that there are at least two key course websites that I can't access correctly without a PC, so I'm not going to start feeling betrayed, yet. The Macs in class were just enough to raise my suspicions.
I do know that there are at least two key course websites that I can't access correctly without a PC, so I'm not going to start feeling betrayed, yet. The Macs in class were just enough to raise my suspicions.
Sunday, August 07, 2005
RB notices surge in hits
The number of visits to RBlog doubled in July. I wonder why? Ignoring popular request, I didn't write about boobs. I didn't tell anyone new about the site. Is it possible that the travails of calculus class were more interesting than I think?
Also, if you enter "RBlog" for a Google search these day, this site turns up on page five of the results. A vast improvement from the the last time I tried. Unfortunately, a search for "Rebecca Browning blog" has less than desirable results. Many of the pages that pop up are actually referencing me (for better or worse), but this one doesn't appear. The Jo-tel does, though, on page one. Way to show me up, Jo-tel.
Also, if you enter "RBlog" for a Google search these day, this site turns up on page five of the results. A vast improvement from the the last time I tried. Unfortunately, a search for "Rebecca Browning blog" has less than desirable results. Many of the pages that pop up are actually referencing me (for better or worse), but this one doesn't appear. The Jo-tel does, though, on page one. Way to show me up, Jo-tel.
Branded
During the orientation, each time a member of the faculty, staff, or the dean would talk about the Berkeley MBA, they would refer to it as the "Haas brand." For instance, in the speech promoting the career center and career counseling resources, instead of saying that the director's experience coaching Fortune 500 executives really adds to the value of the education at Haas, as I might phrase things, it was said that his experience "is helping to build the Haas brand." When the dean talked about Berkeley's overall reputation, he commented that the "Berkeley brand" is synonomous with being number one, thus he finds it unnacceptable that Haas is only sixth in the nation this year among business schools.
It left me feeling a little bit like a Nabisco cookie.
I am the product and the consumer all in one.
It left me feeling a little bit like a Nabisco cookie.
I am the product and the consumer all in one.
Engineers are taking over the world
Orientation is over. I just survived 41 straight hours of continually having the following conversation, or one of a few variant versions.
Me: "Hi there! I'm Rebecca."
Classmate: "Hi, Rebecca. I'm __________. It's nice to meet you."
[handshake]
Me: "It's good to meet you, too. Are you nights or weekends?
Classmate: "I'm nights. Tuesday/Thursday."
Me: "Oh. [shoulder shrug and smile] I'm Monday/Wednesday. Too bad. So, what do you do?
Classmate: "I'm a ________________________*."
[*Plug in your choice of title from the list below (they're a real, representative sampling):
Software Design Engineer
Database Operations Delivery Manager
Assistant Professor of Naval Science
Technical Marketing Engineer
Consulate General of Spain
Hardware Design Engineer
Senior Financial Analyst
Advance Micro Devices Design Engineer II
Toxicologist
Technical Marketing Engineer
Chief of Pediatric Heart Surgery and Surgical Director
Engineering Manager
Engineering Program Manager and CDMA System Architect
Applications Engineer
Vice President of Engineering
Senior Manager, Software Engineering
Me: "Really? Well, I certainly have met a lot of engineers this weekend... [polite, forced laughter]"
Me: "Hi there! I'm Rebecca."
Classmate: "Hi, Rebecca. I'm __________. It's nice to meet you."
[handshake]
Me: "It's good to meet you, too. Are you nights or weekends?
Classmate: "I'm nights. Tuesday/Thursday."
Me: "Oh. [shoulder shrug and smile] I'm Monday/Wednesday. Too bad. So, what do you do?
Classmate: "I'm a ________________________*."
[*Plug in your choice of title from the list below (they're a real, representative sampling):
Software Design Engineer
Database Operations Delivery Manager
Assistant Professor of Naval Science
Technical Marketing Engineer
Consulate General of Spain
Hardware Design Engineer
Senior Financial Analyst
Advance Micro Devices Design Engineer II
Toxicologist
Technical Marketing Engineer
Chief of Pediatric Heart Surgery and Surgical Director
Engineering Manager
Engineering Program Manager and CDMA System Architect
Applications Engineer
Vice President of Engineering
Senior Manager, Software Engineering
Me: "Really? Well, I certainly have met a lot of engineers this weekend... [polite, forced laughter]"
Thursday, August 04, 2005
YEEEEEEEEEEEHAW!!
This message just came in an email from my calculus instructor:
"Your final grade is 'B' and you may drop any concern about it now. Congratulations!
I am very confident in your abilities to be successful in your future studies, including those that are related to math. Good luck to you, and feel free to contact me if there is any help in math neded."
So, I guess that means the plastic surgery I was thinking of getting with the student loan money is off.
Anybody want to go get a drink?
"Your final grade is 'B' and you may drop any concern about it now. Congratulations!
I am very confident in your abilities to be successful in your future studies, including those that are related to math. Good luck to you, and feel free to contact me if there is any help in math neded."
So, I guess that means the plastic surgery I was thinking of getting with the student loan money is off.
Anybody want to go get a drink?
RB launches a new blog
I've been putting together a new blog over the past few days. The Bucky Blog is a gift to Clare and Ross -- to celebrate their first pregancy. I wanted them to have a place where friends and family around the world could check in and find out how things are going with Bucky. I'm now pressuring Clare to get a digital camara, so we can watch her expanding belly and other baby preparations. Hopefully, that will happen soon.
You can visit The Bucky Blog at http://www.thebuckyblog.blogspot.com. Please keep the comments relatively clean, though. Grandparents-to-be might be visiting the site.
You can visit The Bucky Blog at http://www.thebuckyblog.blogspot.com. Please keep the comments relatively clean, though. Grandparents-to-be might be visiting the site.
It's over
I had my calculus final last night and I'm feeling pretty good about it. There was only one question that I absolutely couldn't solve (damn that implicit differentiation!). I may have solved others incorrectly, though. I figure any extra credit I earned on the problems we did in class last week can make up for those points that I lost.
I was the last person to finish the test. Since it was just the two of us, my instructor starting asking me a bunch of questions about when I start at Haas and what my classes will be. When I told him that my first class is Monday night, he smiled at me and said, "So you don't really have the option to fail here, do you?" He also told me that I'll have to figure out implicit differentiation for microeconomics, my first course.
On my way out of the room, he patted me on the backpack and said, "Don't worry. You'll start on Monday."
I was the last person to finish the test. Since it was just the two of us, my instructor starting asking me a bunch of questions about when I start at Haas and what my classes will be. When I told him that my first class is Monday night, he smiled at me and said, "So you don't really have the option to fail here, do you?" He also told me that I'll have to figure out implicit differentiation for microeconomics, my first course.
On my way out of the room, he patted me on the backpack and said, "Don't worry. You'll start on Monday."
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Posting from a PC
For the first time ever, I am posting to RBlog from the Inspiron. The keyboard is so compact it's almost difficult to type. I guess I'll get used to it. Also, RBlog doesn't look as nice on a PC. The fonts and things don't come out as fancy. Actually, they come out super ugly and kinda hard to read. Maybe I should change them. How many of you have been reading RBlog from a PC all this time? Did you ever find yourself hating the fonts?
Also, the connection seems much slower than on my Mac. That shouldn't be true, right? It's the same wireless service.
I need to stop hitting this weird other mouse button. Ack!
Sometimes I don't think I deal with change very well.
Also, the connection seems much slower than on my Mac. That shouldn't be true, right? It's the same wireless service.
I need to stop hitting this weird other mouse button. Ack!
Sometimes I don't think I deal with change very well.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Yes, I am a sixth grader
How funny are these directions that came with a picture-hanging hook that I ordered from Pottery Barn?!
"For safety and ease of mounting, installation is recommended using two people.
Mounting Instructions:
1. Hold mounting plate at desired location. With a pencil, mark on the wall inside of each screw hole. These marks will be used to determine the location of your mounting hardware.
2. Stud mounting is always best, so try to position over a stud if possible. Use a stud finder to locate a stud in desired location..."
Yes, these instructions actually made me giggle. Yes, it has been a long day.
"For safety and ease of mounting, installation is recommended using two people.
Mounting Instructions:
1. Hold mounting plate at desired location. With a pencil, mark on the wall inside of each screw hole. These marks will be used to determine the location of your mounting hardware.
2. Stud mounting is always best, so try to position over a stud if possible. Use a stud finder to locate a stud in desired location..."
Yes, these instructions actually made me giggle. Yes, it has been a long day.
Career counseling
I need to figure out a job I could get where I would be doing similar work to what I do now, with similarly cool, creative people, but that pays much better and is a little higher profile. I'm open to suggestions. Anyone?
Anyone?
Please, no painfully predictable jokes in the comments box.
Anyone?
Please, no painfully predictable jokes in the comments box.
A math lesson from Clare
Clare recently wrote me this as a part of a larger discussion about when she'll stop barfing:
"Here's a little math for you -- pregnancy is really forty weeks, not nine months, so when you divide forty by three you get 13.33 weeks a trimester. If you divide nine months by three it's three months a trimester. But, technically a month is 4.28 weeks. Multiply that by nine and it only equals 38.57 weeks. Really a pregnancy is longer than people think . . .and I'm not really even sure what week I'm in."
I wonder if there's a calculus function with a derivative that predicts the baby's gestation and weight. They seem to be able to figure out everything else with calculus. Maybe the pregnancy function could involve the magical, natural number e.
"Here's a little math for you -- pregnancy is really forty weeks, not nine months, so when you divide forty by three you get 13.33 weeks a trimester. If you divide nine months by three it's three months a trimester. But, technically a month is 4.28 weeks. Multiply that by nine and it only equals 38.57 weeks. Really a pregnancy is longer than people think . . .and I'm not really even sure what week I'm in."
I wonder if there's a calculus function with a derivative that predicts the baby's gestation and weight. They seem to be able to figure out everything else with calculus. Maybe the pregnancy function could involve the magical, natural number e.
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