Thursday Thirteen #21 - Contests and New Blogs

Here's the latest scoop on contests and a few new blog announcements!

1. First and foremost, check out my very first contest for HP Photo Books. I have six to giveaway, so chances are good for picking up one!
   


2. I failed to get many votes for the FuelMyBlog MyBowlAd contest, but then MyBowlAd completely backed out of the trip to Hollywood and hate clubs started forming. FuelMyBlog also issued an apology even though they were not at fault.
   


3. Speaking of FuelMyBlog, I've been entering their captioning contests and actually won for this picture with the caption "Hello? We said a paisley tie-dyed theme, not solids. But since you came with your peace sign pendant I suppose you're still in." Unfortunately, the something random from Kevin Dixie's cupboard escaped from the envelope on the trip across the Atlantic.
   


4. And for this picture, I got second place with the caption "'I didn't know it was a vibrating microscope!' exclaimed Dr. Bluebottle." A blue Nalgene bottle just happened to be sitting on my desk when I wrote that one.


5. I won this cute dog from Mommy Community's Scavenger Hunt for this post. Adam is modeling it next to a pumpkin that he carved completely by himself. Since I was the only legitimate entry, it was a shoe-in. Just goes to show you that you should always enter because you never know.


6. I won the Blogrush contest at Contest Blogger, getting a month-long link on their homepage. So far so good on Blogrush as I can see some traffic coming from them.
   


7. I got the wildcard prize for a $25 Amazon gift certificate at Super Fundraiser's Back to School writing contest for Inside the PTO Secret Society. I'm not sure why a people would vote for a post with typos for a writing contest, but I guess that's not for me to say! At least I got a few other votes besides my own.
   


8. I didn't win the V-moda Headphones, but I was secretly hoping that I wouldn't since they since came out with a newer version with an iPhone clicker control.
   


9. Here the results of the Where the heck is my contest? poll:
   
   What should I do with my $100 Apple Store Credit (see map)

   Run a blog contest for an iPod Shuffle:
   (0%)
   Use it to repair my current iPod (if they allow it!):
   (0%)
   Put is towards a new iPod Classic ($249):
   (75%)
   Buy myself the Vmoda earphones if I don't win the contest (this is really not a choice because I will win!):
   (0%)
   Save it for the next generation iPod:
   (25%)
   Just save it as it doesn't expire:
   (0%)

   
   I've been squeaking by on my old iPod in the car and using the iPhone more and more outside of the car so no iPod Classic is needed. Besides, the iPod Classics have been getting bad reviews and poor sales. So even though the results of my poll say otherwise, I will hopefully pick up a pair of those new V-moda headphones before my next business trip to California next week. I'm attending another leadership training session with experiential techniques, yippee! If you missed those posts, check out beautiful Rancho Capistrano, Peanut Butter River and Gone Fishing.


10. I also didn't win the Nintendo DS Lite from Bob Meets World back in June, but grandma graciously bought one for Adam's birthday. Now I'll have to snag one for myself so I can race Mario Kart with him.
    


11. So with all this contest mania cluttering up my blog, I decided to give it a life of its own in a brand new blog, contest bytes. I even entered three different iPod Nano contests in one day. Check it out!


12. Speaking of new blogs, I also gave my iPhone its own blog as well at iPhone bytes and have been secretly posting to it for months.
    


13. And let's not forget about my neglected group dream blog, geek sleep. I have a few drafts waiting for me there as well. So many blogs, so little time!

Wordless Wednesday - Spongebob, Ariel and a Cat?

Don't forget to check out my HP Photo Books contest. Happy Halloween!

HP Photo Books contest

HP Photo Books are a fun, easy way to create customized, professional quality photo books at home with an inkjet printer. They come in two sizes, 5"x7" and 8.5"x11", in multiple colors. They are professional looking two-toned linen books which come with 12 sheets of HP Photo Paper and software. You just bend the binding back to replace or rearrange pages and add mementos as you like.

It is great for scrapbookers (which I definitely am not), or photo enthusiasts (which I definitely am). My last photo book before HP was created at Snapfish of our Disney vacation. Now I can "do it myself" at home and have total control.

I've got six(!!) HP Photo Books to give away, three in each size. To enter, here are the rules:

1. Write a post about this contest which includes this line with links:
   Angela at mommy bytes is giving away six HP Photo Books.
   
   
2. In your post, suggest a photo book theme and include a picture if you like.
   
3. Post a comment here with a link to your blog post and which size book you would prefer.
4. If you don't have contact information listed on your blog or profile, please contact me as well.
   
5. Contest ends November 15th at midnight.
6. Open to US and Canada shipping addresses only.
   
7. Winners will be chosen by random draw (technically a sweepstakes, not a contest).

Good luck! For those of you who can't wait, you can purchase HP Photo Books at the HP Store and use this 20% discount coupon.

Photo Hunters - Pink

Here's Dova pretty in pink on a pink piggy.

Wordless Wednesday - Go Sox!

Image from The Boston Globe Store

Toy Recalls Aren't All Bad

Recently, there have been a rash of recalls for lead-tainted toys from China. There has been a huge backlash and boycott against products from China, which I don't necessarily agree with. The mob mentality where French Fries must be called Freedom Fries is totally ridiculous. Assuming that ALL Chinese toys are filled with lead is equally asinine. Sure, Chinese toys are cheap and usually low quality, but most toys are only "temporary" in that they will eventually be given away or donated and don't need to saved to pass down through the generations. Perhaps I am recalling my own bad experience as a baby with a wooden high chair. The babies of my parents' friends had nice cushioned plastic high chairs while I had a hard flat wooden one because it was solid wood and better quality. I didn't care about quality, it was too hard! And it never got saved for my kids (perhaps because of my reaction - could this be why I like cheap plastic toys?). Ironically, Dova seems to prefer sitting on our flat wooden stools without the cushion, but I digress...

I agree that most Chinese toys are crap, but they give joy and sometimes education to my kids, and as such, have a place in my household. I'm not defending products from China because I am Chinese. I certainly don't condone the corruption in their society and the labor conditions in their factories. However, refraining from buying a few cheap toys will not be changing that. These recalls, on the other hand, may have more of an impact. Recalls cost quite a bit in replacement and public relations costs, as well as a hit to consumer confidence (even me to a certain extent). Eventually, they will force companies to more closely regulate manufacturing processes in China. Sure, they are a pain for consumers, but in the end, products will become safer.


On a personal note, I had an extremely positive experience with a Thomas the Tank Engine recall from RC Corporation. I was surprised to see that these classic wooden trains (OK, not everything I buy is plastic) were involved in a recall. Usually with these recalls, I never see any products that we own being affected. This time, we actually owned one of the larger items, the Smelting Yard. You could put in these transparent blocks, "melt" them, and they would pop out and "glow" red for a few seconds. We shipped it off using USPS Parcel Post, costing us over $7. I promptly heard that they received the package and were sending a replacement product with a bonus train plus a check to cover our shipping costs. A few weeks later, the glowing pieces that I had returned with the smelting yard were returned as they were not part of the recall (my guess is the red paint on the roof of the building). A few weeks after that, we received a new product, the Recycling Center, plus a train we didn't own yet (which is amazing since we have like a hundred of them). This was even better than receiving the exact same product because my kids were already tired of the first toy and now they had a brand new toy. By the way, it is really cool because it "sorts" glass, cans and paper into the appropriate bin. Finally, I received a reimbursement check of $10.20 for the postage, so I actually made money on the deal. Through the whole process, RC Corporation was extremely courteous and good about keeping in contact through email and post.


Images from The Science Shop

Friday Fun

I had so much fun with the last batch of JibJab videos, I couldn't resist doing the latest Night of the Living Democrats (at least now I get to see all the work I did to rubberband our mouths):

Over the summer when the Simpsons movie came out, I Simpsonized myself at the The Simpsons Movie site and the Burger King site.



And lastly, for good measure, I South Park'ed myself:

Photo Hunters - Practical

Practical joke that is!! One of these instrument from my former company was on a FedEx plane that exploded so it was heavily investigated by the TSA (eventually found not to be at fault). This is one is a serious of photos from the "Hall of Dead Instruments" which you can find here:


Hall of Dead Instruments

From Victim, To Bully, To Protector

Adam is always running to get on the bus, so I was lucky to catch this action shot of him (hmm, why isn't the kid catcher open? he is way below the line of sight of the driver). A few weeks ago, we heard about an incident on the bus and it was nearly impossible to get the straight story. He came home complaining about a girl on the bus who kept hitting him and it really hurt. Doug was furious that such behavior wasn't stopped by the bus driver. Adam claimed that he kept asking her to stop and she kept pounding him. Doug told him to make sure he tells the bus driver next time and threatened to call the bus company if anything like this happened again.

When I got home and heard the story, I was less enraged than Doug and a little more skeptical of Adam's story. I asked him whether he did something to this girl which caused her to hit him. He said that he took a toy away from her. What?!? And then we heard that this girl is only in Kindergarten. Now we started to worry that he was a big First Grade bully. After yelling and screaming at him why he would do such a thing, he just cowered with lots of I-don't-knows.

A few hours later, I asked him again why he took the toy away from this girl. He finally told us that a second girl asked to borrow her toy and the first girl agreed and then changed her mind and wouldn't give it to her. Adam felt it wasn't fair so he grabbed the toy away to give to the second girl. Ah, so now the picture becomes clearer. He was just trying to protect the second girl from the unfair treatment from the fist-rearing psycho girl. So we eventually told him that he should not butt into other people's business and to stay far far away from this girl. I knew in my heart that Adam is not a bully and rarely a victim (except for the time a kid put rocks in his ears and we had to take him to the emergency room), so it was heartwarming to finally find out that his intentions were noble and good.

iTunes Store vs. Amazon MP3

I love my iPod and iTunes, but I am extremely wary about purchasing music from the iTunes Store. Like everyone, I hate DRM and would rather hunt elsewhere to buy an MP3. I've been able to strip all my iTunes purchased songs using QTFairUse6 but that's a pain. For classical music, I usually buy the CD so I don't get the watered down bitrate. But my CD shelves are getting a full and I've found that I never listen to anything but my iPod anymore.

Until now, I never had a one-stop place to look DRM-free MP3s. I'm sure Amazon has had their MP3 store for ages, but I just assumed it was just as pricey as iTunes (yes I am so cheap that I think $0.99 per song is pricey). But when I got this email from them detailing their store offerings, I took a another look.

Amazon MP3 offers Earth's biggest selection of a la carte, DRM-free MP3 music downloads. With over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels, Amazon MP3 complements Amazon.com's existing selection of over 1 million CDs to offer customers more selection of physical and digital music than any other retailer.

Every song and album on Amazon MP3 is available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software. This means that Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads using any hardware device, organize their music using any music management application, and burn songs to CDs.

Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1 million of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents. The top 100 best-selling songs are 89 cents, unless marked otherwise. Most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. The top 100 best-selling albums are $8.99 or less, unless marked otherwise.

Every song on Amazon MP3 is encoded at 256 kilobits per second, which gives customers high audio quality at a manageable file size.

Even though Apple has just announced that they are dropping their DRM-free price to $0.99, that extra 10 cents that Amazon offers will definitely send me there. It's a 10% discount after all and every penny counts.

And to test their breadth of selection, I searched for a version of Finzi's Eclogue for Piano and Strings where iTunes only has had an album-only version (edit - just checked, now they have a $0.99 version as well). Now I can finally enjoy this 10 minute long piece for $0.99. And you can as well!

Thursday Thirteen #20 - Myths about Breast Cancer

Thirteen common myths and fears about breast cancer.

1. You only get breast cancer if you have a family history. Although having a family history can increase your risk, 80% to 85% of women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. Even if no one in your family has ever been diagnosed, you should not skip your yearly mammogram starting at age 40.
   
2. I'm too young to worry about breast cancer. The disease is more common in post-menopausal women, but 25% of women with breast cancer are younger than 50. At the same time, you're never too old to get breast cancer. If you feel a lump at any age, have it checked out.
3. If I'm diagnosed with breast cancer, it means I'm going to die. When caught early, up to 98 percent of women survive at least five years. The 10-year survival rate is 85% to 90%.
   
4. If I make it five years as a survivor, my breast cancer won't return. Breast cancer can recur at any time, although it is more likely to happen within the first 5 to 10 years: 75% of women who will get a recurrence see it within 6 years, and 25% recur in the 10 years after that.
   
5. Chemotherapy will make me nauseated and I will be vomiting all the time. In the last 10 years, new drugs have become available that can almost completely control nausea.
6. If I have a breast lump, it's cancer. Some lumps could be cysts or a benign tumors. All lumps should be checked thoroughly.
7. Herbal remedies and dietary supplements can help treat breast cancer. No herbal remedy, dietary supplement or alternative therapy has been scientifically proven to treat breast cancer. Further, doctors do not know how these alternative medicines may interact with established medicines.
8. I eat a healthy diet, which will make me immune to breast cancer. Diet does play a role in cancer development, but not by itself. No one food or vitamin will prevent breast cancer. At the same time, no one food is responsible for causing cancer.
   
9. My mammogram was normal, so I don't have to worry about breast cancer. While mammography does catch the vast majority of breast cancers, it is only one screening tool. Women should also have a breast exam done by their health care provider each year. It's important to get a mammogram every year. Doctors will look at previous years' mammograms to assess changes in the breast over time.
10. If I have a breast biopsy, the surgeon might continue to remove my entire breast. Many years ago, surgeons would remove a suspicious mass, biopsy it on the spot and proceed to mastectomy if it showed signs of cancer. Today, you will sign an informed consent form that explains exactly what procedure will be performed before the biopsy operation.
    
11. If a breast lump is painful, it's not cancer. Although lumps that are painful are generally not cancerous, in some cases they can be. Any lump should be thoroughly checked by a doctor.
12. Radiation therapy is dangerous and will burn my heart, ribs and lungs. Current radiation techniques are safe and effective for treating breast cancer, with few complications. Methods used today minimize exposure to the heart, ribs and lungs.
13. Participating in a clinical trial is good for others but not for me. In all clinical trials, the minimum any woman would receive is standard treatment. In some trials, participants receive a new drug or a new way to use an old drug. In others, patient participation may be as simple as having an extra tube of blood drawn or answering a survey. Studies have shown women who participate in clinical trials do better in the long run than those who do not.
    

Source University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Wordless Wednesday - Adam's Lego Star Wars creation

Super Fundraiser Vote

Here's my vote for the Super Fundraiser's writing contest:

• Inside the PTO Secret Society by Angela - that's me of course
• The Seven Wonders of the World by Rachelle - a heartwarming story reminiscing about school days
  
• Back to School and Beat those Bullies by Nigel - a good primer on bullies. Definitely something I will keep in mind now that my kids are school age.

Check out these posts and as well as the other contestants at Super Fundraiser and vote on your favorites.

The Google Interview

Image from Wicked Local.

A couple years ago, there were some HR trolls or maybe some some resume bots that figured out that I went to MIT and that I was a software engineer from my blog (yes, this one). A recruiter from Google emailed me asking me whether I'd be interested in a position at Google. Um yes, isn't that every software developer's dream? That initial contact didn't amount to anything as there was no local office, but they called again recently when an office opened in Cambridge, MA. My initial phone interviews went great where I kibitzed with the HR recruiter. But they sniffed me out as a faker during the technical phone interview. It's not that I don't know how to program, but having no formal education (let's just say MIT's first programming class 6.001 made me swear never to be a SW engineer), I sometimes leave some of the nitty gritty technical details to magic. Since the software application I'm currently developing for work looks great and works beautifully, this is all I need! I have Google for the rest.

I had heard many about many interesting recruiting techniques that Google uses to get the best and the brightest. One of them is the billboard for Solve the Equation, Get an Interview.


Yup, way over my head too. Another is the Google Labs Aptitude Test which is a half-serious spoof with questions like "In your opinion, what is the most beautiful math equation ever derived?" Geek alert!

Most of my technical interview went pretty well as we got along fabulously. The coding sample wasn't too bad, although I was not extremely creative with my answer (reverse the order of the elements of a array in place). Luckily, I dodged questions about pointers since I've only done C# in the last two years and feigned forgetfulness (nothing the feign there, it was never my strong suit). But then I got tougher questions like how would you design a smart pointer interface. Yikes! She seemed happy with my answer, although she corrected me in that the interface must track the number of instances (seems obvious after the fact). I was encouraged when she asked if I could go extra time beyond our allotted hour. The she asked how I would design an assertion class, to which I responded that I use exceptions and not assertions in .NET. I think that was the WRONG answer. I could hear the BZZT! buzzer going off in her head.

Since we got along so well, near the end of the interview I confided in her that I have had really tough technical interviews in the past such as with SolidWorks, where they asked questions about vector geometry as well as programming. She responded that at Google, they need people able to solve those kinds problems as well. Oops (reminder to self, never be so chatty and self-deprecating during interviews in an attempt to be funny). Suddenly the interview was rushing to a close and I knew I had flunked. Needless to say, I received the email with "After carefully reviewing your experience and qualifications, we have determined that there is not a fit for a position," a few days later. I kicked myself for weeks afterwards on some of my answers during the interview.

The one thing that I did get out of this experience was a glimpse into the life of a Google employee. I had been fascinated by their culture (and gourmet meals) ever since seeing the Time magazine photo essay Life in the Googleplex. My interviewer was a woman who has worked at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA for 18 months and previously worked at AOL in Virginia. She was a technical leader and seemed quite ambitious. She lived very close to the office and worked long hours although not everyone is expected to (obviously no kids). The group sizes at Google are small, around 2-3 people, and the reporting structure is very flat. They use Agile, Extreme, Scrum and/or Test-driven processes depending on the group's preference. They test their own programs against the Google framework, which is like NUnit, and release products whenever they are ready. It sounded like a really cool, flexible environment, but I'm not sure how this old fogey would stand up to all the young whipper snappers who can name the first 10 digit prime found in consecutive digits of e.

Photo Hunters - Smelly

Dova and Adam thought the petting area of Long Island's Wild Animal Farm was too smelly. Eventually Dova got over it and petted a deer but Adam stayed put and refused to participate.

Wordless Wednesday - Ebony gets ready for Halloween

Photo Hunters - Curvy

Here's a two-fer, a curvy picture for Photo Hunters and a baby bump picture for 5 Minutes for Mom. I'm too late for the contest, but I'm still joining the cyber baby shower party. Adam is posing with me showing off his "baby" in his belly. I was two weeks from delivering Dova. At this point, the doctor said she was about to pop anytime as I was already 3 cm dilated. But she held on through her due date (Christmas Day) and was induced the next day. Two weeks before this, the ultrasound showed that she was only about 25th percentile in size, at about 5.25 pounds, so I gave myself license to eat like crazy the last month. I had been on a "watch your carbs" diet because Adam was so large (9 lb. 8 oz.). She was born at 90th percentile at 8 lb. 11 oz. so either I did a great job eating or they really don't know what they're talking about with those ultrasounds (I think the latter). Either way, we are blessed with two healthy solid kids thanks to that huge baby oven.

The mug, the picture frame and my phone

It could be a title for an eclectic movie such as The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover. I had once suggested this movie to Doug and a friend long ago because Helen Mirren starred in it. The movie was so disgusting and vile, they forever banned me from picking out movies. But I digress. This photo is actually a contest entry for Mommy Community's Scavenger Hunt contest. Check out the cool stuffed dog prize.

Adam expertly took this picture of Dova and myself. My parents gave me this mug as a Christmas gift when I was in high school and is still my favorite. The picture frame was bought for Adam so he could have a family portrait in his room. Of course we've never updated the picture to include his sister. And you all know about my beloved iPhone...

Speaking of the iPhone, here's a quick update. I've been using the iPhone on my bike rides and it is working really well. I can use the side volume buttons to adjust the volume (they removed these buttons from the iPod Touch), and I also use the microphone clicker on the cord to pause. It's not very easy to select new tracks while riding, so I usually find an hour long podcast to listen to (usually WNYC Radio Lab, This American Life or Story Salon). Plus I have the added bonus of having my cell phone with me in case I get a flat or have an accident, etc. My ancient 27x1-1/2 tubes have been hard to find in regular stores so I've gone without a spare for the last season (shame on me!). We're coming close to foliage season here and I'm looking forward to biking through the leaves.

Go Pink!

If you're on RSS, come visit me as I've gone pink in October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You can too! And guys, don't roll your eyes, because it does affect men as well. Check out PinkForOctober.org for other sites going pink this month.

Thursday Thirteen #19 - Join the Gal to Gal Virtual Walk

Here are some great reasons to join Gal to Gal Virtual Walk to improve the lives of those diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer.

1. It takes only 3 minutes to log onto www.galtogalwalk.org and create your virtual walker to join this journey.
2. Only a $3 minimum donation to join the walk.
3. There is no real walking required!
   
4. There are no sponsors required!
   
5. Their goal is to register 1 million walkers over the month of October to raise funds for Stage IV breast cancer patients through the Gal to Gal Foundation.
6. Celebrities such as Martha Stewart and Lynn Redgrave are already walking.
   
7. On Monday, October 1st (the first day of breast cancer awareness month) we began our journey in Boston in honor of Robin Bloksberg who passed away at 45 after losing her brave battle to Stage IV - leaving behind a wonderful husband and a six year old daughter.
8. Today we are walking in Baltimore MD and will visit 31 cities in total along the way.
   
9. We cross the "finish line" on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in memory of Janis Armstrong - who even during the final months of her life - helped craft the Gal to Gal Foundation's mission statement.
10. For this journey there are no "blue" or "red" states but only "PINK" ones.
11. The fact is, as Carrie Dederich has said - "breast cancer is an equal opportunity destroyer."
12. Also check out Design-her Gals stationery and gift products.
13. Join us and spread the word!
    

Wordless Wednesday - Our LOLcat

Here's our cat Wysiwyg.