Chapter 4: Rails and Roller Coasters

Last week marked my long-awaited return to school - IGN style. Yep, it was time for tech training. The entire week's schedule was packed full of 1-2 hour long meetings, during which IGN's engineers stuffed our brains full of information on everything from git to Scala to Ruby on Rails and everything in-between.

All of the sessions were great introductions to the many different parts composing the well-oiled machine that is IGN's tech stack, but many of us found the presentations somewhat frustrating as well. Why? Well, it certainly wasn't the fault of the engineers presenting the material, nor the material itself. The problem was purely a matter of our engineering instinct! As engineers, non-interactive presentations are sometimes difficult to sit through, because many of us just want to dive in and try things out for ourselves. That's why two workshops in particular stood out to me: the PHP workshop lead by Steve and the Ruby on Rails demonstration by Akash. Both of these were heavy on both information and interactivity and made for some of the most interesting sessions of the program so far. Honorable mention goes to Manish for his presentations on Object-Oriented Design, Java, and JVM. His talks were entertaining, informative, and a lot of fun to participate in.

We still have a few more sessions to go, but by next Thursday our projects and teams will be permanently assigned for the duration of the program. After that, we'll be able to start working together towards the goal of making IGN a better site, and a better gaming community. Personally, I can't wait.

During my time at IGN, I've also been fortunate enough to meet some awesome people in IPL, Editorial, and Video Production. Though I am a software engineer first and foremost, it is just as important for me to learn as much as possible about how I can become a better games journalist while I'm here, as well. Unsurprisingly, the golden rule of the gaming industry that I learned while covering E3 and PAX also applies here at IGN:

Games Journalism Golden Rule: "Ask and ye (might) receive." 

In other words, don't assume you're "too insignificant" to ask for anything. People who don't speak up will most certainly get ignored, because there are plenty of people that will gladly speak up in their place. If you want something, you have to ask for it - even if you're afraid the answer might be "no". More often than not, the answer will be "yes", and even if it does end up being "no", at least you can say you made an effort, right? For example: I'm meeting with a senior member of IGN's editorial staff next week to go over some of my written work - and all I had to do was ask! In addition, it appears I may soon have the opportunity to play a game live on one of IGN's live broadcasts along with the game's developers in Japan...yikes!! I couldn't be happier with getting an opportunity to learn from some amazing people - both in engineering and editorial contexts.

The week capped off with a company-sponsored trip to California's Great America in order to celebrate IGN Evolution's launch (which, to be perfectly honest, Code-Foo had no part in whatsoever - but that didn't stop Engineering from inviting us along). When I first heard that we were going to "Great America", I was confused. Up until now, the only "Great America" theme park that I knew was Six Flags Great America near my hometown of Chicago, but in the words of Yoda: "There is another..."

This amusement park was a bit smaller than a Six Flags variant, but was still focused tightly around its famous set of coasters. Unfortunately, I'm not really a roller coaster guy. In fact, to say that "I'm not a roller coaster guy" is actually a bit of an understatement. The things terrify me. I'm ashamed to say this, but the fear actually stems from riding Disney World's Splash Mountain when I was 11 years old. Weak, I know. Luckily for me, there were a few members of the IGN Engineering Team who shared my feelings on roller coasters, so I was able to have some really interesting conversations while everyone else was standing in long lines to get tossed about and turned upside-down. I'd take conversation over stomach queasiness any day of the week. I did ride a couple of attractions at the park, and ended up soaking wet for the privilege. Overall, a great day thanks to IGN Engineering.

Although I do really enjoy being based in San Francisco, there are a couple things about the city that don't really make sense to me. Begin RANT:

Why is it such a pain in the ass to buy basic goods here? When I walked into a Walgreens for the first time here, much to my dismay, many items such as laundry detergent, shampoo, deodorant, and certain kinds of food were behind lock-and-key cases similar to what "normal" stores use to secure electronics. This means that, yes, you have to flag down a store employee if you want to purchase any one of those items. It's obnoxious.

Also, there's Whole Foods - the grocery store closest to where many of us ended up staying - also has the highest prices for groceries that I've ever seen. Unfortunately it is also some of the best grocery store food I've ever had, which leaves me at a bit of a conundrum. It costs as much to buy a meal at Whole Foods as it does to go to a restaurant, but Whole Foods is much, much closer. I feel dirty when I buy anything from them, though, given their insane markups. Sadly, the place is always busy, and the prices are high because they can get away with it.

End RANT. And, since I've ran out of things to say (for now), end article.

Michael Migliacio
@angstygaijin

Chapter 3: Double-Double Toil and Trouble

That was a really, really dumb idea.

San Francisco tourists take note:  do not, under any circumstances, stuff your face at In-n-Out at Fisherman's Wharf and then attempt to bike over the Golden Gate Bridge.  What they fail to tell you at the bike rental places is exactly just how much of your journey is going to be traversing steep hills.  In a state of "burger bloat", those hills become a whole lot taller, and a whole lot steeper.

This weekend, following our introductory week at IGN (which was amazing, but there wasn't much technology talk just yet), we decided to embark on another journey: this time to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, to eat at In-n-Out and see the sights.  It would have been a really great day...if I had taken into account just how overrated In-n-Out was going to be, and settled for something a bit more...stomach-friendly...prior to setting out on that several mile long biking excursion over the big bridge.

First of all, Californians, I have to ask:  "Really?"

After hearing for YEARS of how incredible In-n-Out burgers are, this is really the best you could do?  I mean, yes, the customization options are nice.  The ingredients are fresh.  I'll give them credit where credit is due.  But the overall burger experience?  I'm sorry to say, but it's pretty much the same as Five Guys.  The ingredients are a little different, but the burger doesn't live up to the massive amount of hype the chain managed to generate for itself over the years.  I consider it an extreme disappointment when the best item on my order of a Double-Double Animal Style burger, fries, and chocolate-vanilla shake wasn't the burger, nor the fries, but the shake.  THE SHAKE.  I'm sorry In-n-Out, but you fail.

About 10 minutes into the bike ride we hit a gigantic hill.  I shifted gears and started the climb.  I succeeded in scaling the hill without getting off my bike, but I quickly ran out of breath.  In hindsight, I should have just walked up it and then I wouldn't have been so far behind the rest of the trip, but you know what they say about hindsight.  Then the second hill showed up.  Then the third.  By the time we hit the bridge, I felt like I was about to keel over.  I've never loathed a burger so much in my life as that In-n-Out Double-Double Animal Style I consumed prior to taking this trip.  After spending several weeks in Japan eating nutritious food and walking a few miles a day, I thought I would be fit enough to handle the bike ride....

I knew I was in trouble the second I saw the first hill, but then came the second.  Then the third.  As we biked closer and closer to the Golden Gate Bridge, the wind picked up, making it harder to maintain a steady pace.   It got so bad that I had a hard time biking across flat areas as well.  Just as we arrived at the Golden Gate and were about to cross, we were greeted with a sign stating that bicyclists had to cross via the OTHER side of the bridge.  What did that mean?  Scaling yet another hill to reach the bike path.

I'm happy to say that despite how difficult the ride was, and how much more difficult I made it for myself by devouring all that fast food prior to departing, I did manage to get all the way across the Golden Gate and then back to Fisherman's Wharf (mostly) intact.    The trip across the bridge held some absolutely incredible views of the city, the bay, and the surrounding areas.  To this day I'm surprised just how beautiful the area actually is, despite being a crowded, densely-packed urban area.  After turning in our bikes, we finished up with dinner at Boudin's, apparently one of the pioneering bakeries of San Francisco sourdough bread.  I also learned for the first time that San Francisco is known for a specific recipe of clam chowder (usually served in sourdough bread bowls).  This particular variant of clam chowder is a bit fishier than the New England variety and contains fewer "extra" ingredients (i.e. vegetables).  The chowder was decent, but the bread was delicious.  Getting back to our lodgings via MUNI was also a piece of cake.  I love how convenient the public transportation system can be.

Tomorrow begins our journey in earnest, as the IGN engineers begin teaching us the ins and outs of their codebase and the technologies powering it.  We've been preparing, we're pumped up, and now it's time to show what we can do.

Michael Migliacio
@angstygaijin

Chapter 2: The Patchwork City

 Before arriving at IGN, we all had to arrive in San Francisco.  For many of us, that was an adventure in itself. Luckily, IGN set us up with a group on Yammer that allowed us to introduce ourselves to each other - and, more importantly, organize housing for everyone needing it.  For those not "in the know", the Bay Area is currently oblivious to the housing depreciation experienced by much of the rest of the country due to the explosive technology market.  Yep. Thanks, social and mobile development! Because of the ever-increasing demand for lodging, the rent (especially for short-term residents) is just TOO DAMN HIGH.  Many of the 'Foo Crew, including myself, came from lands far, far away - so even after a ton of research, the idea of finding affordable housing anywhere close to IGN's headquarters seemed like an impossible dream.

Luckily, due in no small part to efforts by a couple of semi-local Code-Foo participants (@kirbdee and @kikin81, thank you), ten of us managed to secure housing together at a hostel-like startup community just a few blocks away from IGN.  Though the living conditions aren't the greatest, they're adequate. We're provided with a warm bed, showers, a place to store our stuff, and a respectably fast Internet connection (as long as everyone doesn't attempt to pile on simultaneously - which, unfortunately, does happen fairly often - especially at night).

After our initial meet-and-greet, we set out on what would become the first of many travel adventures that would await us over the next few weeks.  Many members of the group were excited to see the sights of Chinatown and chomp down on some delicious, authentic Chinese food.  So, we plugged in the location of Chinatown into our mobile devices and set off walking.  Little did we know, there was one painfully obvious oversight: cell phone navigation systems like Google Maps do NOT take height into account when mapping out routes.  Under normal circumstances, this isn't really a problem.  But these weren't normal circumstances:  this was San Francisco.  Google Maps managed to lead us straight to the foot of what seemed to be one of the Bay Area's tallest populated hills.  It became really obvious that all the non-tourists sure knew what they were doing a lot more than we did, because as we began our slow, excruciating ascent, the sidewalks emptied completely.   Looking down into the urban jungle just a few blocks away, the streets were packed with people milling about.  But on the hill?  Just us.

Oops.

After scaling the concrete mountain, we descended on Chinatown.

One thing I absolutely love about San Francisco is that it appears to be a physical embodiment of America's melting-pot blending of cultures.  Every section of the city has a flavor and attitude all its own.  It's like a "Patchwork City" - a city built by people of different racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds, all interwoven together into a mass of controlled chaos.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  It's refreshing, in fact.

The food in Chinatown was indeed delicious, as well as authentic.

During this entire experience, we ended up finding out a lot about each other.  Which technologies we preferred, where we came from, what we wanted out of the program, and more.  It's going to be a fun few weeks.


Michael Migliacio
@angstygaijin

Chapter 1: A New Journey

Today is the longest day of my life, and yet...I'm writing.

Not that today is a bad day - far from it.  It's just that I'm running on pure adrenaline at this point.  Today consisted of a painful 3:00 AM wakeup call and farewell to the love of my life, followed by a 90-minute drive to the airport and a 4 hour flight to the West Coast which I spent crunched between two passengers larger and heavier than myself.  I should be really, really angry right now, but I'm not.  I'm currently sipping an iced chai latte in a coffee shop in San Francisco, California, just a few blocks away from the place that will become my home for the next few weeks.

So what's a semi-small-town coder like myself doing in the largest tech hub in the world?  Well, the answer is complicated.  To make the story short and sweet, I'm going to be performing web development duties on a contract with one of the largest video gaming sites in the world.  Truth be told I've surprised myself a lot over the last few years, ending up working with people and companies that I never could have imagined.  A lot of these relationships I've built relate to what I've always wanted to do when growing up.  I suppose that's a good thing, then, because I'm a big kid at heart.   I'm here in San Francisco to kick ass, take names, code like hell, and (if time allows, of course), play a ton of video games.

The title of this blog is read "Senmon Baka Saisei", and it refers symbolically to expanding one's horizons and shedding corporate mandates.  It refers to the outdated methodologies that many large companies use to keep their software engineers in check.  Many times, large companies have explicit clauses in their contracts preventing engineers from exploring technologies on their own, contributing to open source software, or taking credit for any sort of work accomplished outside of the workplace.  For those engineers working in very specific areas of technology, these policies are often equivalent to career suicide.  Because of one of these policies - along with my own attitude, which I admit can be stubborn at times -  I ended up learning far more after leaving a large corporate job than I did while actually working one.  I'm not saying I'll never return to a large corporate workplace, as it had its own set of advantages that smaller companies do not enjoy - but right now I'm still hungry for knowledge, and this opportunity in San Francisco is primed to deliver just that.

San Francisco is a really interesting place.  The city is vibrant and full of life.  Economic differences between residents are more pronounced than any place I've ever seen, but they aren't hostile to one another - at least not explicitly, as far as I can tell.  Given the fact I was hauling around a bunch of luggage I was expecting to get harassed as I tried to find my way around, but it didn't happen.  I feel really small here - just like a musician who just moved to the big city to fulfill a life-long dream to score a record contract. 

San Francisco is my New York, and my laptop is my guitar.  This is my story.