Social Nutworks

First off - I wish I had some testicular joke to make regarding the name of this post. “Social Nutwork” makes me giggle, because I’m mature like that.

Anyway, if you’ve read this blog for the last few years, you’ll probably recall my sneering at social network sites. First it was Facebook, which I was reluctant to join about five years ago but eventually gave in. Last year I finally signed up for Twitter after calling it stupid and lame and pointless. Well, it is - but I actually like it a lot more than Facebook. So much so that I’m going to do another month off from Facebook in February, and if I don’t miss it (I didn’t last time I took a monthlong Facebook fast) I’m deleting my profile from it.

A lot of people complain when Facebook changes stuff, and there’s a big change in their stuff coming very soon. I’ve never really cared or been bothered by Facebook’s changes. I just don’t get a lot of benefit out of using it. My main excuse for staying on was so that I’d get invites to events, but then I realized I have no friends that invite me to events. I haven’t posted photos on Facebook in more than a year, and any messaging could just be done through email. Chatting is already taken care of via MSN and Google Chat, and typically I don’t use those unless I’m at work.

So that leaves Twitter. Basically, it takes the photo-sharing and status updates of Facebook and removes the implicit need for responses or acknowledgement from it all. You write 140-character updates or (though I haven’t done it yet) post a photo. Or share a link. No one can click a “like” button, there’s no page of biographical information required - there’s just people writing stuff, most of the time. Additionally, I can follow pretend girlfriends from Hollywood or the professional tennis circuit, or comedians. None of their stuff is directed at me, of course, and even though I occasionally try, I’ll never actually get a Twitter response from them. But again, that’s not the main focus of Twitter. You put your sentence or two out there, and if someone likes it, they can do so without you ever knowing. It’s not irony, but the fact that I looked down on Twitter so much until I signed up for it, and am now on the cusp of quitting Facebook, wasn’t expected.

New Year, New Project

The start of the 2012 work year meant it was time to switch from SSX to NHL development teams. I really, really enjoyed working on SSX, and didn’t know (and still don’t really know) what to expect from NHL. The biggest change, a week in, is that the pressure and looming deadlines of SSX have been replaced by some very easy-going early development scheduling on NHL. In a somewhat odd twist, I’m now sitting in practically the same spot I was in when I left EA five years ago. No more panoramic window seat for me - although that also means I may not need to fire up the portable heater anymore either.

On the weekend I went to see the Muppets movie with my ladyfriend, as it was one of the few holiday movies I was looking forward to. The generally positive reviews were right; it’s a fun G-rated comedy, one that refreshingly is free of cynicism and dick jokes but still ‘mature’ enough to not treat kids or adults like idiots. I’m not really sure it’ll lead to bigger and better things for the Muppet gang though. The movie’s plot is basically that the old Muppets are completely outside of modern pop culture, beyond irrelevant, and they come together to try to prove they still ‘have it’. But in real life, is there much left for the Muppets? They’re not getting their old show back. Despite making buckets of money off this movie, I don’t think Disney knows what to do with them. Oh well, it was a fun movie and worth it for a bit of nostalgia anyway.

Forward-Looking Statements: Mayan Calendar Doomsday Edition

I didn’t do any predictions for 2011 - although looking back, my predictions for 2009 should have been put on hold. It was then that I predicted Steve Jobs’ death, Carole James stepping down as leader of the NDP, along with a bunch of other hogwash I didn’t quite get right. So, for perhaps some fun, here are my bold predictions for the 2012, year the Mayans make the world end.

1. Stock market crash. It’ll be like 2008, except it’ll force less people into poverty because pretty much everyone whose lives went down the shitter last time the economies of the world fell apart are still in the shitter. Policy hacks in the US and Canada will run out of options, since they have no tools left to manipulate our consumer class. End result: people stop spending money on stuff.

2. Related to the above, housing markets in Vancouver and Toronto stall and start falling. I’ve always been on the side of believing in a bubble bursting, but I’ll temper it a bit, just for a laugh. Condo development all but stops. Market is flooded by investors trying to sell while they can still break even. Many, many people take a hit when they realize buying a $600,000 500-square-foot condo wasn’t actually a good idea.

3. Vancouver Canucks lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Coach is fired. One of their star players is traded.

4. Hollywood continues to run out of ideas and greenlights remakes/origin stories of Howard the Duck, Adventures in Babysitting, Leonard 6, Police Academy, Booty Call, Highlander, and/or Dick Tracey.

5. Apple brings out another iPhone! Yay!

6. Pizza Hut introduces the Crustless Pizza! It’s sauce, cheese, and toppings piled inside a waxed cardboard box and baked. You eat it with a giant spork. KFC introduces the Birdy Bowl!, a boneless chicken torso stuffed with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and popcorn chicken. Taco Bell introduces the Tornado Taco Supreme!, a bean and beef burrito tossed in a blender and served in a warm tortilla bowl.

7. The disappearing bee population re-appears without warning, and those bees are angry. ANGRY, ANGRY BEES. Be prepared.

8. Barack Obama is re-elected, but during the campaign, Obama challenges Mitt Romney to a game of basketball. Obama does some rope-a-dope style “playing down” to Romney’s level. The score is close when, in the closing seconds, Obama dunks on Romney’s head, and proclaims “Mitt, you ain’t got shit”. It becomes the greatest presidential election diss since “Ulysses Loves Sissies”.

9. The Olympics in London are a complete disaster. That is, until Kate Middleton jumps in the diving pool and it turns into scene from The Party.

10. Kim Jong-Il was never really dead! He’s discovered in Paris wearing a beret, sporting a pencil-thin moustache, and teaching mid-level university courses on the works of  Simone de Beauvoir.

What to do

When I started this blog almost six years ago I didn’t really have a plan. It was something to do instead of maintaining a portfolio site (which still exists, but is hidden from prying eyes) and would need minimal effort. For most of that time I managed to blog a couple times a week. This year - admittedly a year with a lot of change - I’ve blogged far less often. Sometimes I wish I had the dedication that Erwin Tang has to his blog, posting often about anything and everything, even if it’s wang flies or KFC.

I think it’s a general trend of not using the internet much in my private (ie. non-work) time. I rarely use Facebook, and despite continually threatening to quit it, still haven’t. A new year’s resolution may be to finally pull the plug on that. I signed up for Twitter, and use it slightly more often, but not extensively. Another reason for not blogging enough is that day-to-day life is pretty routine. I get up, I eat, I go to work, I come home, I fart a whole bunch, I bug my wife, and I eat some more. Sometimes I play video games. It’s not a whole lot to blog about. I could write about current events and my take on them, but meh. Lately I just don’t care. Life is Life, nah nah nah na-nah. I think the secret of life is just to try not to hurt anyone, eat some cheese, and have a little fun along the way. What happens with global warming and taxes and arctic sovereignty and so on is peripheral.

What I’m getting at is: I’m not retiring the blog. It’ll continue. Maybe I’ll find the dedication to do it more than once every two weeks - in fact if I did perhaps I’d get more than two people reading it. If I ever follow through on some of my crazy ideas involving waffle-sellin’ or book-writin’ or ornament-makin’, the blog would be a great storytelling medium. Right now I just don’t have a ton of stories to tell.

Now, please enjoy this YouTube trailer for a great new series!

Remember, Remember, something something November

After a fairly stressful summer and autumn, this month has finally given The House of Farts Knights some happier and better times. Just before Remembrance Day, I sold our ‘family heirloom’ VW Bug to a very nice couple in Maple Ridge. It was a little bittersweet, since I was happy to have sold it before winter kicked in but also a tiny bit sad to finally see it go. But it’s done now, and it’s a huge weight off my shoulders. Not long after that, my ladyfriend and I both got great news on the job front: she’s landed a gig at Teavana, a successful boutique tea store from the USA that’s opening their first flagship store in Park Royal next month; the same day I signed a contract extension at EA that should keep me gainfully employed through to June 2012. This also means I’ll qualify for medical benefits in February, which I have to admit is something we missed terribly when we didn’t have it.

Last week I got a call from Suzuki Canada, in response to a complaint I filed with them (and with Transport Canada) regarding our car. Long story short, our airbag system became ‘compromised’ when its passenger seat sensor failed. A diagnostic visit to the shop revealed replacing the seat would cost close to $1200. So, following some advice from a Lemon-Aid car guide, I wrote a letter to Suzuki asking for a goodwill repair, free of charge. I really expected it to be brushed off or put through the usual customer service gauntlet, but to my surprise a fellow at Suzuki called me and told me that yes, they would replace the $900 seat for free. I’d be on the hook for labour, but I was pleased, especially since this problem happened right after our warranty ended.

Lastly, while not really directly affecting me, the BC Lions have advanced to play in next weekend’s Grey Cup. This was a team that won one game out of their first seven. I distinctly remember telling anyone who would listen just how bad the Lions were, and how mathematically impossible it would be for them to turn their season around. Well, they won ten of their next eleven, finished first in the league, and are essentially the odds on favourite to win the Cup on their home turf. I don’t have Grey Cup tickets this time around ($125 and up, per seat? No thanks) but I did get to see them destroy the Edmonton Eskimos last weekend in their home playoff game. I’m pleased - of all the seven other CFL teams, I hate Edmonton the most.

So with the month almost at a close, this really has to go on record as one of the best months of the year. If there’s a downside to anything, it’s that I’ll be moving from SSX to NHL next week at work. I really enjoyed working on SSX, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy NHL too. You can check out the latest promotional trailer for it below. Warning: it’s tricky.

What it’s Like Where I Used to be

As someone who returned to a workplace that I basically started my ‘career’ at, I get asked a lot what it’s like being at Electronic Arts after almost five years away. My story and opinions are probably markedly different than some of my colleagues who also left EA, either through layoffs or by choice.

First, I think a clear distinction between myself and others who left EA is that I didn’t harbour a lot of ill will toward the company. Obviously I didn’t love it there when I left - otherwise I would have stayed until the inevitable “seasonal rolloffs” - but I don’t think I ever vowed never to return. Maybe I did, and time has just glossed over that part of my memory. There were things I wasn’t pleased with, mostly revolving around career progression and pay. Now that I work contract to contract, the career progression thing is pretty much moot. And pay, well, I don’t give it that much thought anymore. I think I’m earning what’s fair for my level of expertise. Besides, as Notorious B.I.G. said, mo’ money mo’ problems.

So I came back to EA knowing a few things. One: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. I worked at four different companies in my absence. Two of those jobs came to an end by choice and the other two by layoff. Every company has its good and bad aspects, and some of both are the same no matter where I worked. It’s the crux of having a job. Nothing is ever perfect. And you know what? EA isn’t perfect either, but its shortcomings are made up for by the amenities like a huge gym on site, chiropractors and massage therapists available, better-than-average cafeteria food, and free parking. Not to mention I’m working on a project that I’ve wanted to work on for years and my peers/coworkers are awesome. I also haven’t had to work more than about 48 hours in a “bad” week, something that on my first tour of duty would have been unheard of.

I’d say the biggest difference at EA is how openly people there question their future. It’s understandable, with the studio bearing the brunt of layoffs twice a year since 2008. Whereas last time I worked there, people and projects were lined up and headcount was filled before pre-production, this time projects that aren’t yearly sports titles are on a “wait and see” timeline. Basically the continuation of any franchises that aren’t guaranteed slam-dunks depend on their performance once released. Thus there’s a fair amount of hand-wringing among employees wondering if or when the axe will fall. As mentioned, having gone through it twice, I’m neither cynical about it anymore nor do I really care. It’s out of my hands; all I can do is show up and put in a good effort whether my job ends tomorrow or four months from now.

Overall though: I like it. I feel comfortable there. The team I’m on seems to be on the right path and has enough experience to see that the game won’t fail. I have a panoramic corner window seat. The coffee’s decent. I get to borrow and play games or read magazines for free. Sometimes I play floor hockey at the gym. Yeah, I wouldn’t say no to a permanent position, but I’m going to be like The Dude on this one. And The Dude abides.