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Nov 9/07

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 2:42 pm
by Reist
Yo! I'm heading out right now to go to Banff for the long weekend with my family. It should be a good time, if a bit cold. I sort of wish the drive was longer though - I like long road trips.

QOTD: What's the closest fun vacation spot near you? It could be a theme park, a national park or other things you think are fun.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:11 pm
by fluffy
Yay, things at work have settled down and I'm back on software architecture, where I'm supposed to be. We're also looking to hire a QA manager (PM me if you're interested!) so hopefully this situation won't happen again in the future.

qotd:Oh man, San Francisco has so much stuff, and then of course California as a whole has so much more. Of course everyone knows Disneyland and most people know the San Diego zoo, but those are way down South. Closer to SF there's Santa Cruz, which is like a theme park on its own right. San Francisco proper has so many touristy spots like Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge (and the stuff on the other side of it) and the gigantic fuel oil spill!

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:29 pm
by Lord of Oats
Don't forget about Alcatraz!

Um, what does a QA manager do and what are the qualifications?

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:30 pm
by HeuristicsInc
Washington DC is like a huge vacation spot for lots of people.
QA == Quality Assurance and it is probably a very boring job :)
-bill

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:43 pm
by jack
santa cruz beach boardwalk. a 10 minute walk.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:58 pm
by Hoblit
qotd: St. Petersburg! Oh yeah, you can travel across the bay to see PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL with the nationally renowned Tampa Bay Devil Rays! Who doesn't love Raysball! (ME)

Seriously, Orlando is an hour and a half away and you can find a million ways to spend an s-ton of money on all sorts of thrills. I love Universal Studios and it's Halloween Horror nights.

I can drive through traffic an hour west and be at Clearwater Beach.

I don't have a favorite Vacation spot..but I do like to get up to the ATL whenever I can. JB, still got your guitar stand buddy.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 4:20 pm
by Caravan Ray
Hoblit wrote: Who doesn't love Raysball!
:shock: keep your hands to yourself, Tiger

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 4:28 pm
by fluffy
Lord of Oats wrote:Don't forget about Alcatraz!

Um, what does a QA manager do and what are the qualifications?
If you don't know already then you're probably not qualified, sorry.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 4:30 pm
by Billy's Little Trip
QOTD:
I'm in Orange County, CA and I can pretty much find fun quick vacation spots all around me. I love just getting a room at one of the nice hotels on the beach and take a two or three day weekend. Relax, write, surf, eat, drink, and fraternize with the locals.

Another quick get away I love is going to San Diego for the weekend. San Diego Zoo, Sea World, etc. Plus right behind Sea World is a huge harbor for wakeboarding, waverunner...ing, etc. It's really cool because you can ride your waverunners around, then leave the harbor out to the ocean and play in the surf jumping swells. San Diego has some great Blues clubs too, so the night life is great. I'm pretty sure that if I ever move out of the OC, I'll move to Yaygo.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 5:48 pm
by Lord of Oats
fluffy wrote:If you don't know already then you're probably not qualified, sorry.
Yes, I figured as much, myself. It's not like I'm trying to apply for it. I'm not in a position to move across the country for a job right now, anyway. I'm just curious. I'm exploring career options on an extremely general level, not trying to pursue jobs way out of my league.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:06 pm
by fluffy
In that case, a QA manager (specifically software QA manager) works to identify potential problems in software. They devise a test plan which (ideally) tests all parts of the system and how they work together, manage testers who then run the tests, identify the problems, and work with the engineers to get them fixed. They are not necessarily a programmer (actually, in my experience, non-programmers generally make better QA managers than programmers) but they do need to understand how software works. In a lot of ways, a QA manager is sort of like a programmer in reverse - where a programmer puts a system together, a QA manager tries to take it apart.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:39 pm
by jack
one of the greatest bands i've ever seen play live (ween) is playing at the santa cruz civic center tonight. and yes, i am going.

ta! :)

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:46 pm
by Billy's Little Trip
I keep waiting for Ween to get down to the OC. I've seen them once before and they have a good show.

Re: Nov 9/07

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:51 pm
by roymond
Reïst wrote:Yo! I'm heading out right now to go to Banff for the long weekend with my family.
Banff is amazing. Always loved it there.

Montauk is a great place for vacation. It's the other end of this Long Island I live on.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 8:21 pm
by Heather. Redmon.
As far as Minnesota is concerned, I hear Duluth is a great vacation spot, for it's beauty, out doorsy-ness and Lake Superior, but I've never been. I also hear that the Boundary Waters are wonderful, but again, I've never been. Also, Chicago is not that far away.

I just bought 4 round trip tickets to fabulous Sacramento, CA for our Christmas trip. Actually, we're flying in to San Francisco and renting a car for the 2ish hour drive to Sac. My Sister and her husband and my aunt, uncle and cousin all live in Sacramento. My parents are flying down from Seattle (actually Arlington, north of Everett) and my grandma will be there from Simi Valley. My sister just had a baby (her first) last month, so we will get to see baby Hannah for the first time too! I'm excited! But, holy crap, plane tickets are expensive! We are pretty poor right now, so my parents have offered to help us out with the cost. They are nice and will do anything to see the kids. :) Since we're so far away, my family rarely gets to see us.

We had our first snow today, but it didn't stick. I'm not ready for winter yet. I work in a high rise building in downtown Minneapolis, so it's really strange seeing it snow from the sky, especially for a California girl.

All the management in the office have been at a conference since Wednesday, so I've pretty much been running the show. Yeah, I didn't get that promotion to supervisor that I had applied for in the summer (grrr) but they take advantage of me when they're gone. I was on all of their Out of Office messages as a point of contact. It's been a crazy week.

I'm kicking back drinking a well deserved Newcastle and also partaking in another, um, thing as well. Phil's at work and the kids are in bed, so it's just me.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:23 pm
by roymond
Ah, the pleasures of a quiet rainy evening.

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 5:18 am
by Paco Del Stinko
Hoblit wrote:the nationally renowned Tampa Bay Devil Rays
They just dropped the 'Devil' from their name. Now it's just the Tampa Rays. You probably still want to keep your hands to yourself, though.

It tried to snow here yesterday but came down as sloppy rain. That's alright by me and I don't mind if the snow shovel keeps hanging in the garage.

QOTD - I live 2 miles in from the beach but it's nothing really spectacular. Although it is like paradise to our French Canadian friends in the summer.

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 11:09 am
by Hoblit
Paco Del Stinko wrote:
Hoblit wrote:the nationally renowned Tampa Bay Devil Rays

1.They just dropped the 'Devil' from their name. Now it's just the Tampa Rays. You probably still want to keep your hands to yourself, though.

2.It tried to snow here yesterday but came down as sloppy rain. That's alright by me and I don't mind if the snow shovel keeps hanging in the garage.
1. I had heard something vaguely on the news about new uniforms, that must have been why. By the way it will be the Tampa <b>Bay</b> Rays. They don't play in Tampa. Just goes to show you what a big deal of news it is around here that I didn't even know about the name change. Thanks for the heads up!

2. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it tried to snow and I'm sorry it rained.

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2007 3:14 pm
by fodroy
qotd: The closest cool thing to Muncie is probably Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. Which is not really that close.