I quit my job and am going to Google

[yesthattom]

I’ve been telling friends privately about this, but now I can officially announce it.

Yes, the rumors are true. My last day with Cibernet is Monday, Nov 28.

I’ve accepted a job at the NYC office of Google in their System Reliability Engineering group, which is a fancy name for the group that runs the applications that you see: gmail.com, www.google.com, maps.google.com, and so on. This group has a 3-month training program that everyone has to go through, so I’ll be in sunny Mountain View, California most of this winter. After that, I’ll be commuting to their NYC building.

Comments

[seasings.livejournal.com]

Congrats!

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[wotw]

So are you now the person to whom I should direct my complaint
about gmail?

[rainbear.livejournal.com]

I might suggest you wait for him to go through training, come back, and get settled in on the new job before pelting him with complaints ;-)

[awfief.livejournal.com]

what's your complaint? (curious, as a gmail user myself)

[wotw]

I have a major complaint and a minor one. The major complaint has
caused me to stop using gmail. The minor complaint might or might
not be enough to get me to stop using it, but since the major
complaint doesn't seem to be getting fixed, I haven't had to think
about that.

Major complaint: I use Google to post to Usenet. The default email
address that goes on the top of my posts is something very similar to
DeleteFirstFourWordsWillo@xxx.com . This works, obviously, to catch
spam.

However, whenever I log into gmail, the default email address for my
Usenet postings is automatically changed to my gmail address. I can
change it back, but a) that's a pain and b) I often forget to, since
nothing pops up and says "WARNING: If you post to Google, we plan
to put your gmail address on it and thereby give that address out
to all the spammers."

This is absolutely infuriating. I have my settings exactly the
way I want them for Usenet. Why should checking my gmail cause
those settings to change?

Minor complaint: There is no way to download your email in mbox
format. Since I have fifteen years of email archived in mbox
files, and since I have cobbled together a collection of tools for
effectively grepping those files, I want to store all my mail in
this format for the rest of eternity. But Google makes it
essentially impossible.

[arfur]

Minor: pop+fetchmail? works for me.

[awfief.livejournal.com]

Interesting. For the major complaint, I bet you could send feedback to google to be able to choose your default address.

I would actually feel that the first complaint is minor, and the 2nd major, but I guess gmail's search engine is good enough?

[lordlnyc.livejournal.com]

Congrats! and Good Luck!

-Larry-

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

congrats!

[composerjk.livejournal.com]

congratulations on the new job. you'll not be far during your training.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Yup! Hopefully I'll have at least some time to hang out :-)

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

Congrats. Not, mind you, that there was any doubt about them hiring you. :)

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (I had a lot of doubt! I'm glad you have more confidence in me!)

--Tom
P.S. I wish you'd be a co-worker there!

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

Dude, they give your book to all new sysadmin hires. Just because they have a corporate culture which dictates holding a poker face as they pull an interview train on every candidate doesn't mean 2+2 suddenly != 4. :)

And, well, feel free to drop a good word to anyone in a position to make that decision once you get there. :)

Congrats!

[kingfox.livejournal.com]

[softlywhispered.livejournal.com]

YAY Congratulations. Though.. Gee... wintering in Mountain View, California... Gee... Must suck. NOT. How are the photos coming? I'm anxious to see them.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

I've been so busy it's crazy. Hopefully I'll get to it before I leave for Thanksgiving (3 days in Chicago)

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

Woah. That's got to be interesting - I wonder how much you'll be able to talk about the nuts and bolts of the job, what with NDA's and all ;)

It sounds like you're happy about the new job, congratulations!

[jasra]

Congrats!

[gerardp.livejournal.com]

Congrats, Tom!

[pyrzqxgl.livejournal.com]

Congrats again! Do you know nooks from soc.bi? He works at Google Mountain View.

[rem]

Congratulations!

[lothie.livejournal.com]

Again, congrats!

[pure-agnostic.livejournal.com]

Way to go!

[xthread.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the new Death Star.

[burritob.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! I think I'll go put in my order for "Time Management for System Administrators" as a celebratory gesture :)

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Congrats!

[indifferenthues.livejournal.com]

amazing to think we'll actually "know" someone who is part of the indispensable "google"

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, Tom!

[krabbe.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the fold....

I'll be in the head office the week before LISA, and then at LISA - Long Island Ice Tea?

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Sure!

[shakal.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

as well you already know:

[subwayfaire.livejournal.com]

Hooray!

I have it on authority that they're thrilled to have you.

[tcb.livejournal.com]

congrats!

[missionista.livejournal.com]

Fantastic!

[chukspace.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!