Another part of the “Do you like Iraq (Barbecue)” painting. From the left, you can see Italy, Spain, France, Scandinavia, and Great Britain on the first skewer, then Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia on the next skewer, then Argentina and Australia sitting on ice. You can see how this part relates to the previous part by looking at the relative positions of Betty Boop.

Apparently, Friday is the designated “Let’s go out to lunch” day at the new job. So most of us went to a coney island place a few blocks away and had tasty if fattening food. I didn’t know about the tradition, so I had brought my lunch, but what the heck. I can put the sandwiches in the fridge and eat them later.

I also got a company cellphone, a company RSA token for VPNning in to work, and a company bus pass. Next week, I’ll be taking the bus in to work every day, which should be interesting. I have an iPod, I’ll bring a paperback, I won’t be bored on the trip. I also have a definite report on 3 distinct software alternatives we can use for a project. #1 is fastest, but it may be unsupported in another year. #2 is slightly slower, but should be supported for a longer time frame. #3 is not ready for prime time. So we’re probably stuck with #1. Ah well.

Went to dinner with a number of friends yesterday, and had a large amount of good sushi. Heard a bunch of stuff about the old company and what’s going on there. Apparently, the former CEO of the company is now suing the company. It sounds like a mess, and the only people who will win anything in the end will probably be the lawyers, but it was interesting to hear. I also heard an all-too-familiar story of good technical people being hamstrung by spectacularly incompetent management.

The Plan(tm) for today is to get together with Juan and Zach and go up to Prescott. We’ll all be carpooling, so we’ll use less gas, and I’ve never been up there. There may have been a plan for Sunday too, but I don’t know if I can participate in that. I have to do laundry, go grocery shopping, and clean the condo at some point.