During the course of development for a game, teams will receive extra help from people parachuted in to provide extra muscle to get a title to completion. Such assistance is usually much appreciated. A few weeks ago, a new front end engineer joined our team to help our overburdened front end and interface area. Let's call the new engineer Jim.
Jim was working with us nicely but then yesterday I realized I hadn't seen him for a few days. I didn't have time to think anything more of that but it did strike me as odd. Then today, Jeff, who usually sat next to Jim said, "Has anyone seen Jim? He went to get lunch a few days ago and never came back."
That was certainly interesting. I didn't know Jim had left under some odd circumstances. No one knew anything more than that. His jacket was still on his chair so he hadn't taken all his stuff. I quickly fired off an e-mail to my manager who might know more. In another weird circumstance, my manager didn't answer my e-mail but I know he read it and he answered my e-mails after that one. Strange.
Where is this guy? There is one engineer that Jim worked closely with and I'm not sure he was there when we noticed Jim was gone. I'm going to ask him tomorrow morning if Jim said to him where he was going.
Long time readers of this dog and pony show will know I harbour a deep fascination with zombie lore and the oft-discussed zombie apocalypse. With such subjects being part of pop culture, I've often thought about the survival aspects of these scenarios.
I've come to the conclusion that preparing for a zombie apocalypse is very much the same as preparing for any emergency, including those ones that are firmly grounded in reality. Consider for example what I believe you'd need to help survive world ending zombie outbreak. You'd need food, water, clothing, fortified shelter, portable power, first aid kits, portable radios, and last but not least, weapons. When looking at those items, how far-fetched is it really to have any of those things on hand right now? I would even argue having a few weapons around on an emergency basis isn't even that bad.
So, while a lot of people think and talk about what would be required to survive a fictional disaster, how many of us really put everything into action? I admit, I haven't. Zombies or not, I feel like I'm poorly prepared for any disaster situation. I barely have enough bottled water to last two maybe three days. I certainly don't have enough food stocked up beyond perhaps two days.
I believe it takes some "fictional sugar" to make people think about emergency preparedness in a serious manner, then that's ok. To that end, there's even an organization called "Zombie Hunters" that deals with zombies in a tongue-in-cheek manner but takes emergency preparedness in a more serious tone. It's a great way to get people to be more prepared about disasters in the real world.
In the next few weeks, I pledge to become more prepared for all situations. It may start off with just buying more bottled water and dried foods but that's a good start.
In my opinion, the best party game last year was clearly Rock Band. A game that even non-gamers were willing to try, it fueled a resurgence of the music industry.
Now, not even a year later, Harmonix has returned with Rock Band 2, which promises to make us rock even harder. The game was released on Sunday and I'm waiting for the EA store to receive their shipment of RB 2.
To whet our appetites, please enjoy the video above which features "Livin' on a Prayer" drums on expert, which really was a cheap excuse for me to get Bon Jovi music in this post.
Lisa, our talented and cheerful receptionist at Black Box has been promoted to a new position with EA. In light of this good news for Lisa, we'll be needing someone to step into her old role. If you have or know someone that has good organizational skills, are friendly, and enjoying working in a casual and creative atmosphere, feel free to contact me.
I also must mention that while in some other companies, a receptionist might seem like a temp or dead-end position, at EA Black Box and EA Canada, there are clear paths to higher positions within the company. The next logical step is production coordinator and from there, many options exist. I personally know someone who was a production coordinator and is now a producer on the NHL development team.
In a previous post, I detailed the real estate listing that appeared to show a picture of a genuine stripper pole right in the middle of a condo's living room. I was interested in the condo beyond just the pole but it certainly did add to my desire to see the place, plus its owner.
Today, my realtor arranged for us to see the apartment. It was weird in that the listing realtor did not meet us there. My own realtor managed to get the keys to the place even though someone was already living there.
We went up to the place and knocked on the door. No one answered so my realtor took the keys and unlocked the door and went in. It was clearly being lived in. Also, music was playing from an unseen source. Whoever was living there had cleared out for us, knowing we'd be arriving. The whole thing seemed a bit odd, so my realtor told me to be quick about having a look.
I can confirm with my own eyes there is indeed a brass stripper pole right where it is in the picture. With the various fingerprints up and down the pole, I could also tell it has been used in the past. At this point, I really, really wanted to meet the tenant and/or the owner but neither was to be seen.
The rest of the apartment itself is quite nice with a very large den, attractive kitchen, and decent hardwood floors. The sucky part is that the view nothing to write home about. The living room window faces a side street and part of a main thoroughfare, none of which are spectacular things to look at. It also didn't have a storage locker which might account for the random piles clothing, objects, and knick-knacks lying around.
The question of the day for me is whether or not the pole comes with the apartment. If it's simply a portable pole that can be packed away easily, I suppose the answer would be no. An ok apartment nonetheless but I don't think I'll be making an offer.
