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October 28, 2006
F1R57 P057
I was going to be patient and wait to get back to Edmonton before I picked up my new comp, but my youthful indiscretion took hold...
October 26, 2006
Waiting for Lost
Nice. Lilly was one of the questions on Jeopardy. Not only that, they mentioned Cialis as well.October 17, 2006
The Party
The Pre-Reno Party turned out rather well. Thanks to everyone who could make it out. Amidst the hilarity, there was:- Amazing feats of strength - Terri is officially the strongest woman I know, single handedly lifting up person after person.
- Strip poker - Contrary to what my pictures would indicate, the wrong person lost. No offense intended, Adam. You'll always be my brother.
- The human pyramid - Followed with Winnie taking the most spectacular spill that I've seen in a very long time.
I've also had the worst customer service I've experienced from a scientific company. Out of the numerous calls I've made, I've only had two positive experiences. In one of the less positive ones, in searching for a price for a part, I was transferred twice. The first time from a woman who firstly snapped that she could only help me if I had a part number, which I didn't have unfortunately because I couldn't find it on the website. She transferred me to the parts department, who could not help as it wasn't that particular person's product. So he, in turn, transferred me to the PF2D specialist. He promptly hung up on me after telling me the part number so that I wasn't able to transfer back to the pricing woman.
My latest annoyance is that I just found out that they charge $30 for a Beckman tech to e-mail me a PDF version of a product's instruction manual. This actually ends up costing them money in the long run - think of the number of relatively minor service calls that could be avoided if people had a manual around to answer simple questions. Less service calls equals less staff paid to handle the existing call volume. Not like it matters to them though, customer service seems to be the last thing on their mind.
Finally, in the world of my television, Heroes is turning out to be a wicked show. I was a little turned off initially because of the corny dialogue, cheesy flying effects and Ali Larter's special power of having multiple personalities. It's really winning me over with every subsequent episode though because of Ali Larter herself, the interesting ways the characters are using the powers, the special effects that they use for Hiro's time stopping power and how badass Hiro looks as a time travelling teleporting ninja from the future. Yatta! (やった!)
Labels: Events, Media, Pharma, Work
October 13, 2006
Happy Friday the 13th
In my first week on the job, I've managed to learn a few things.The Beckman HPLC pump has a stainless steel head that contains its pressure sensor. This head also has space for inlet and outlet check valves and their associated covers, which screw directly into the head. The covers of these valves are essentially identical, same threading, same 1/2" bolt. The one key difference is the size of the inlet and outlet tubes, which necessitate different sized holes in the tops of the covers. As a result they can't be reversed and used as such. I've also learned that it can be embarrassing for someone who has worked on HPLCs for years to not pay attention to these differences. This embarrassment can run rather deep, especially because the pump has also taught me what galling is and subsequently that the price of Beckman parts is similar to those of Agilent.
---
On the subway this morning, I identified that I have a particular mental model for how hiring works in a large company. After a stringent review process, an appropriate candidate is selected. From there, an offer is extended. With this offer the company should have appropriate leeway to negotiate to reasonable and realistic terms that are acceptable to both parties. A couple thousand dollars more a year, a few days extra vacation, a small signing bonus - to a large company these should be irrelevant if they're reasonable and realistic. These concessions mean a lot to an individual but are truly nothing to a large company. The increased job satisfaction and dedication to the position inspired by these small acts will benefit the company even more than the relatively insignificant dollar figure associated with them. Additionally, from a purely financial perspective, the company has already invested time and effort to narrow it down to the candidate. It could cost even more than the cost of concessions to either negotiate with the next best candidate on the list (who did not initially get the offer for specific reasons) or to go through the entire hiring process again. At the very core of my model is that companies should have respect for the individuals that work for them. With this respect, companies can end up with the hearts and minds of the best people possible, leading to an improved likelihood of success.
This mental model has served to be an interesting counterpoint in my mind as I've developed some cynicism in my dealings with a particular company. More about this later.
Oh, and we're moving forward with the keg for the Pre-Reno Party this Saturday. If you're in the GTA and interested, you're more than welcome to show. Just let me know.
"the next logical purchase would be a claw though"
jfung! pointed me towards this.I want it.
Labels: Swag
October 11, 2006
Must Rest Post Post
This is freaking cool.I had a slightly restless night, mustering only 2 1/2 hours of sleep. The first day of the job turned out rather well. I really like the company and the people. There's a lot of potential in the company and I'm pleased that I can contribute to it at such an early stage.
If you're interested in what the guts of my floppy screened laptop look like, you need go no futher than here.
I'm pretty much settled on getting a MacBook Pro as a replacement. Any concerns I might have had have been allayed (Thanks, Liam). The only thing now is whether or not I can hold out to go back to Edmonton to get it. Having to continually prop up the screen is slightly a pain, but if I can suffer it, I can save the 8% provincial sales tax I would otherwise have to pay.
October 06, 2006
October Events and Reflections
Some people have asked me what my stats were for MBA apps. I don't really believe my stats really did anything for getting me into school but for interests sake, here we go.I am the most average person you can think of. A reasonable GPA from a good Canadian University, pretty good GMAT score, 3 years post undergrad work experience in Pharma. I've done some significant work in small business while I was going through school and I have some volunteer experience and other activities. Other than the small business work though, very average.
Given these stats, I was pretty amazed when I made it on and eventually off of the waitlist for London Business School. I took some time to think about it though. I think my stats were essentially the minimum height requirement for the ride. After that, there were two things that really made the difference for me. The first is the fit of the school. Visiting London, it just felt right. I had never really been in a place where everyone had such amazing and diverse backgrounds yet shared the same drives and motivations. I was also impressed with the lack of pretension from everyone I met. It was an immediate fit for me. The second part after seeing that I fit was perseverance. I hope I wasn't annoying to the Adcomm, but I made sure - with every "we haven't been able to move you off of the waitlist yet" letter - that I continued to express my interest.
London Business School is right for me and I'm proud to be a future alumnus.
Events and happenings:
It's Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and my World Famous Turkey is making an appearance. It'll be nice to share a nice meal with a bunch of Edmonton expat friends.
Aside from the random holes in the wall, the newly cleaned furnace and the smooth-as-sandpaper plastering, the project will be entertaining again on the 14th for the Pre-Reno Party. If you're interested in coming and you're in Toronto, please let me know. Our parties have basically become 6-degree-of-separation things.
Come Tuesday, say hello to the newest consultant in pharma startups. I'm pretty excited as I have the opportunity to build a lab from the ground up. The company seems to be a mover and shaker as it's been growing at an impressive clip and has secured an impressive amount of funding.
Finally, GO OILERS GO. I'm impressed with how good the team looked in the season opener. Let's keep that going, boys.
Labels: MBA
Oilers win!
An excellent start to the season.2 nothing baby!
Yaah! Sykora!Oiler and Canadian Pride
I love how the the fans at Rexall are still singing the national anthem loud enough for Paul to stop and let them take over.I Can Have It All, Now I'm Dancing For My Life
Hockey is back and I'm 20 minutes away from watching the Oilers obliterate the Flames.October 03, 2006
Toshiba Satellite A20, I Hardly Knew Ye
Old Faithful is on his last legs.He's served me well for the past 5 years and has even survived a couple of medical problems. Battery that only held a charge for 20 minutes - Replaced through eBay. Hard drive that sounded like it was filled with minature cats, all angry for being trapped inside - Swapped with data intact.
(Aside: The hard drive is a story in itself. One day, the computer started making these terrible screeching noises. Me, being the gifted computer guy that I am, thought nothing of it. I asked some of the IT guys at work about it the next day and they informed me that I would be lucky if I ever saw my data again. Freaking out, I ran to Future Shop that evening and purchased an external USB hard drive to copy everything important off.
When I got home, I tried starting it up and it wouldn't boot. I tried again. It still wouldn't boot. The rest of the evening was spent shaking, banging and tilting to try to get to my beloved Windows screen. I even went so far as to put the thing in the freezer for a bit - I recall hearing something that Moyse said his friend did to recover HDs - but to no avail.
In my final act of frustration, I threw the drive on the ground as hard as I could.
I plugged it in and BAM! It started properly! I copied off everything I valued. To minimize my spend, I even ended up returning the external drive to Future Shop when everything was said and done... End Aside)
Now, though, I've run into something I can't easily fix. Like a geriatric missing his little blue pills, Old Faithful's screen has gone floppy. The post that the screen's hinge connects to has snapped. I'd ideally replace it, but after removing 30 screws and looking inside, I can see that the post actually attaches to the a metal framework that goes throughout the entire computer. I'd have to hunt down and replace that entire piece. Bah.
I figure it's time for a new laptop anyway. The only issue I have now is that I'm sadly behind the times as to what to upgrade to. At the time I got this computer, my research told me that Toshiba was the way to go because of its reliability. Now I don't know where things stand.
My requirements are pretty simple. I use my computer for very basic things - word processing, surfing the net, spreadsheets, etc. I'd like something reliable, smaller and with a long battery life. I'm not big on the games, but I do do graphics work from time to time.
What should I get? I'm even open to switching to a MacBook (like all the cool kids are doing). My only concern with that is that I may not be able to use all the PC the software that I am accustomed to. Then again, I don't have a clue about Apple computers beyond the IIe.
Someone help, please?