If you visit London , there are plenty of attractions during daylight. London’s nightlife clearly beat Paris hands on !! You have to see a West End show . Even tough Mamma Mia! worldwide is staged in Brazilian, Japanese, Korean, French or Italian … I prefer to stick to the English version because the lyrics stay to the original. And somehow dubbed version sound strange at least in French. So if you’re in London or Broadway, take the chance to see this show.

The show is at the Prince of Wales Theatre , close Piccadilly Circus station , nearby to Soho area. Plenty of restaurants to dine before or after.

We booked the seatings in the stalls for 81 pounds per person . My seat was left to a group of three Swede blondes , country of ABBA. Like me they prefer the English version. Here is what the Prince of Wales interior look

during the pause

The plot is about Sophie preparing her wedding on a Greek Island. She wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but doesn’t know who he is.  Sophie discovers her mother ‘s diary and finds intimate dates with three men. Sophie believes that one of these men is her father and, three months prior to the wedding, sends each an invitation to her wedding writing in the name of her mother, Donna, without letting the unsuspecting latter know.

Unfortunately cameras are not allowed during performance. The actors were the same in the following photos.

Sophie and her three possible fathers : Sam , Bill, Harry ( left to right )

Sophie on her bachelor party

The play came after the songs. The story is written around the ABBA songs.  My favorites are : ”Mamma Mia” , “Dancing Queen“, “Our Last Summer“.

Tanya

It’s definitely worth to watch it if you’re in London. The actors are great singers & dancers and it’s packed with energy. Great entertainment!! For more information about tickets  go to their website

The next day, I saw “The Wizard of Oz” , I enjoyed it but the same excitement as Mamma Mia! .

Afterward I re-watched the film. The live show was much more lively & funny. The song sequence, text script are the same .  I remember at the end the funny dialogue.
Sophie: ” I don’t care if you slept with hundreds of men .  You’re my mum”
Donna: ” I haven’t slept with hundreds of men”

Sounds like Greece would be great destination.

The year 2011 , I switched to a job which brings me closer to my goals. I travelled to 5 countries. In my  twenty-eight year , I have some resolutions :

• turn some of my Post-it ideas into products available on the App store or Android market. Something useful to me and users.  Of course have direct feedback from them.
• develop some skills. I love reading on personal development . But I also started to follow Stanford CS193P course on iOS development.
• try to improve my Mandarin speaking and writing. That will be a big one.
• travel cities I’ve never been to and blog about interesting facts in a short format not really à la Anthony Bourdain style. But trying the “off the beaten path” spots. Learn a few words in the visited country.

After reading Matt Mullenweg’s blog , I made a donation for fundraising clean water in Africa. Here is what I wrote in the comment

Happy Birthday Matt ! January 12 is my birthday and I’m turning 28 too.
Once I met you in WordCamp Paris, I asked what inspired you to create WordPress at such a young age. It was passion. Ever since you’re my ideal entrepreneur (would love to travel around the world and meet fans) that’s why I’m supporting your charity. For my birthday, I’m buying this gift.

Chacune des solutions  en dessous noté de 1 à 3 a été testé. 1 et 2 ne marchent jamais.
Passez directement au 3 qui a débloqué mon smartphone . Mais il existe des variantes car le menu a changé depuis vendredi 13 janvier . 

1) Espace client Orange

Je me connecte avec mon numéro de tel et mot de passe recu par SMS ( hé je consulte pas mon compte Orange ). Je rentre mon IMEI à 15 chiffres identiques en tapant *#06# ou en regardant derrière la batterie. Une fenêtre me dit :

Ce numéro d‘IMEI n‘est pas reconnu par Orange.

2) Composer 740

L’espace client ne passe pas. Je compose le 740, un serveur vocal, depuis mon mobile avec personnalisation Orange avec sa carte SIM Orange. Je suis les étapes en écoutant le serveur vocal. Raccourci tapez : touche 2 Autre que mes numéros favoris , touche 6 Désimlockage.  Je recois un SMS qui est la 1ère étape sur 4.

• Etape 1 Je rentre une adresse email
• Etape 2 numéro IMEI
• Etape 3 patientez environ 15 min
• Etape 4 Message : “Orange Désimlockage – Etape 4 sur 4: Ce mobile n’a pas été acquis avec cette ligne . Il ne peut être désimlocké automatiquement. Service Client au 3970″

La blague !?! Ce mobile est brandé Orange avec sa carte SIM Orange ( qui est le numéro de ligne ) . Et l’espace client dit que l‘IMEI est pas reconnu par Orange. Euh Allo , c’est vous Orange qui m’avez donné ce smartphone et la SIM. Soyez pas de mauvaise foi en rejetant la faute sur le constructeur.

3) Composer 3970

Munissez-vous du numéro client et IMEI sinon c’est retour case départ. Attention l’attente est gratuite au 3970, mais la conversation est décompté du forfait. Le service 3970 est ouvert de 8h à 20h du lundi au samedi. La finalité est d’arriver à joindre un conseiller qui va demander: numéro client , IMEI  et le reste que normalement tout le monde connait :
- Numéro de la ligne
- Nom de la personne ayant souscrit à la ligne
- Sa date de naissance
- Son adresse postale
- son adresse email (facultatif)

Dans sa stratégie de rétention , Orange a changé le process . Il y a des variantes à tenter . Garder en tête le but c’est d’avoir un conseiller Orange.

3.1 Ca passe pour moi

Raccourci tapez : touche 2 autre que mes numéros favoris , touche 7 Désimlockage . Ca va passer en boucle tapez plusieurs fois sur 7.  J’ai attendu 9 minutes, et enfin je tombe sur une conseillère . On me donne un code à 8 chiffres. A l’insertion d’une carte SIM non Orange, je devrais entrer ces 8 chiffres pour débloquer le mobile. Ce que j’ai fais après et ca marche. Avant de raccrocher je demande à la conseillère : “Vous savez où je vais aller ?” , j’entend “OUI” en rigolant.

3.2 Nouveau Menu

j’ai lu cette  variante ( lire le 1er message de Cyberclic )

Appelez le 3970 avec un autre téléphone que le votre
Indiquez le numéro de la ligne que vous souhaitez desimlocker
Faites le choix 6
Faites le choix 9
Patientez avant d’être mis en relation avec un conseiller Orange

3.3 Simuler une résiliation

Il parait que le 3970 a changé de menu depuis vendredi 13 janvier. Solution rapportée par Marinn

Finalement j’ai “simulé” une résiliation de forfait afin d’être en ligne avec un conseiller, qui m’a dit que j’ai bien fait de procéder ainsi  Il était même très sympathique et était mort de rire quand je lui ai demandé s’il se doutait de la raison de ce désimlockage … Alors j’ai enfin eu ce que je voulais et merci pour ce topic !

Bon courage aux prochains !

Conclusion

Passez directement à l’étape 3. Incompréhensible que les moyens automatiques mis en place ne fonctionnent pas. Au départ , je pensais être une rare exception. A la lecture de ce forum http://forum.lesmobiles.com/orange/imei-non-reconnu-desimlockage-t74803-160.html .  Les clients possesseurs d’un iPhone4 , iPhone 4S, BlackBerry , …  tout le monde rencontre ces difficultés. C’est ça la stratégie rétention des clients chez Orange. Sans parler de leur surcouche sur Android qui ralentit tout et leurs applis inutiles dont ils espèrent facturer “les pigeons”.

Je vais passer chez Free mobile à cause d’un ras-le-bol des pratiques d’un cartel . Sur leur site pour connaitre votre RIO ( nécessaire pour le portage de l’ancien numéro ) il suffit d’appeler le 3179 quelque soit l’opérateur . Serveur vocal qui dicte le RIO et en plus je reçois un SMS avec le RIO. C’est simple en moins de 60 secondes. Pourquoi le désimlockage n’est pas aussi simple que ça ?

Je vous invite à poster dans les commentaires vos (més)aventures avec le type de smartphone, le type de forfait et si vous êtes chez un autre opérateur.

1. Prague castle (Pražský hrad) is the biggest ancient castle according to the Guinness book. Built in AD 879, the main castle itself is not as big as Versailles , Buckingham palace, Bangkok Grand Palace.  What they call Prague castle is the area ( 7.28 hectares ) surrounding it : St. Vitus Cathedral, Vladislav Hall, golden lane …. The neighbourhood Hradčany is composed of shop souvenirs , churchs, palace …
2. Czechs drink the most beers per capita ( nearly 160 litres annual). Is it because local beer is cheap ( one pint costs 30czk ) and of good quality ? Maybe but not only. Ordering water in restaurant is more expensive than beer, so people generally tend to choose beer over water.
3. Czech cuisine loves meat (pork by excellence ) and beer . In fact, it’s hard to find food for vegans.  Even Anthony Bourdain is begging for vegetables . My favorite dessert : Trdelnik a rolled pastry caramelized over charcoal . My Czech friend told me , Trdelnik just started a few years ago in touristy spots. The pastry originates from Transylvania under the name Kürtőskalács in hungarian.

   

4. Tipping is expected  in restaurants. But you have to know how to do it. In most culture , clients leave some money on the table after the server gives back the change. Czechs  round up , so the server gets directly the tip into his/her pocket.
5. The subway system is really deep. The escalator at Náměstí Míru station is about 100 metres long and is the longest escalator in Europe. The communists were worried that Prague might be targeted so they built the subway deep underground to doubly serve as a nuclear bomb shelter.
6. Avoid Taxis. First the city is walkable. Second taxi drivers are rip off. According to my Czech friend, some used to be prisoners and others are related to mafia. If you don’t have enough cash , they will force you to redraw at the automatic teller machine.
7. The christmas market is the best I’ve seen.  But nothing really beats the atmosphere here in the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí ). Shops with mulled wine , ham, Trdelnik again . Though this year 2011 , it didn’t snow . That’s what a Christmas market should be.
   

Sensitive subject

Last and most interesting, I met an expat in Prague. What he’s doing for a living ? Porn films : behind and in front of camera . Prague is second city after Budapest for making porn production . Men do love Czech female look . The country is open minded. As a former Soviet Union member , the cost of living is lower than western counterparts.

For more photos check my album http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosray/sets/72157628722439523/with/6662869763/

1. Le chateau de Prague (Pražský hrad) est le plus grand au monde. Il s’agit d’une cité médiévale composée boutiques, monuments et bien sur du chateau, et palais.
2. Les Tchèques sont plus grands consommateurs de bière au monde par tête . L’une des raisons , la bière local est bon marché et de bonne qualité. L’eau dans le restaurant coûte plus cher que la bière , les gens ont naturellement tendance à choisir la bière.
3. La cuisine Tchèque a très peu de plats végétariens. La plupart ont de la viande (porc par excellence ) .  Mon préféré : le Trdelnik est une patisserie enroulée sur une broche et glacé de sucre.
   
4. Le pourboire est attendu dans les restaurants. Mais la plupart ne savent pas comment s’y prendre ( enfin rien n’est indiqué dans le Lonely Planet pour Prague ) . Les Nord Américains laissent le pourboire sur la table après que le serveur a rendu la monnaie. Les Tchèques au moment de payer arrondissent la note au dessus , la serveuse empoche directement le surplus comme pourboire.

Question délicate

Prague est la 2ème ville pour la production de films pornos après Budapest . Le physique des filles plait beaucoup aux consommateurs . Le pays est ouvert . Les salaires sont plus bas qu’en Europe Occidental .

Last year around November 2010 , a technical recruiter from Google contacted me, he was scouting on any networks . At least I looked good on the paper. But what about the real stuff ? I did not respond because I heard rumors about their interview and had other priorities.

But in July 2011, I saw a job update that may interest me. One was from Google  Paris, where I’m living. As far as I know , a software engineer position at Google in Paris is rare they only have marketing. (though today they just had a new office opening ) . Grabbed myself  ” You’re going to regret it , Ray for the next 10 years if you let this occasion slip” . Some friends say it’s just a company, no myth behind.

Before you send a resume

I got many job offers previously without reading a how to write your resume, preparation at a job interview. But still for me Google is another beast. I purchased “the google resume” by Gayle Laakmann McDowell. In fact I learnt some truths : when you write about past experiences put quantifiable accomplishments . Had I known before, I’d have done it for previous positions.

This post is also interesting in this regard http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing3.html

Interview 1 phone screen

Well I admit, I almost did nothing during the day the resume was sent and the first contact from Google staff: 2 weeks passed. I should have studied. Someone from Zurich arranged for time schedule on 20 minutes phone interview. We agreed on  November 4 Friday “In Paris, your resume was turned down. I’m a recruiter in EMEA, based in Zurich”. Turned down Paris, the place I applied to. Zurich it’s even better . I saw the cost of living   , the pay is more than double and cost of living is not as high. That’s worth it.

She said she saw on my resume “automatic testing” . They have open positions on the Chrome team for automatic test . Google Zurich is the biggest office and the main engineering force in Europe. Not what I was expecting. Rather than saying “yes” to enter the boat and hope to land later on the dream job. I stayed true to myself :
“As great as Google is, I’m not really interested in Chrome. Don’t you have exciting projects on mobile Android, Maps .. ?”
- Don’t worry . If you want I can forward your CV to London, it’s the main mobile expertise in Europe.
Yes great. She answered several questions and presented the company in general.

Interview 2

After the weekend I received an email from London.

With her agenda, we agree for an phone interview Thrusday 10 November.  I booked a room conference at my work place. Day d , just a few minutes before some dumbass take my room.
- Did you check on Outlook the planning ?
- yeah but we need it now . So who is on the phone ?
- it’s a girl. ( white lie ; can’t say it ‘s for a job interview )
- well you don’t have the priority.

Don’t be afraid to postpone for your phone call. The recruiter will understand it. Luckily November 11 is a day off in France . We chatted what interest me and the open positions.
- So we have a smallish mobile team for Youtube. with her Eastern European accent .  Because technology changes fast , we are looking for people who can adapt fast and have a strong core understanding. You will write on google docs. The code you write must be compilable. Are you comfortable with Big O notation, algorithms and data structure ?  You’ll get these at the technical interview.
- Oh actually the recruiting is so fast. I wanted to buy more time to study. I practiced on “Cracking the coding interview” by Gayle Laakmann.
- OOOHHH so you already prepared yourself. Do you know people at Google ?
- Not personally , Jon Skeet answered some of my questions. And I bought Reto Meier ‘s book . I mentioned both because they’re working in London so she may know them.
- AH GOOD, I will give you some resources where you can prepare for the interview.
An hour later, she sent a list of topics the engineer might ask.

Technical warm up

For this one, I took 2 weeks of revision. Most topics are common place in Computer Science program : singly/doubly linked list , sorting and searching …
Others I maybe knew : trees & graphs , red-black tree,  stacks & queues … Others I never heard of such as NP-complete .

Or the infamous “estimate how many  golf balls can fit inside a bus school ?” . Not hard once you know how to deal with Fermi problem .
I practiced the problems for a few hours before sleeping. By practice I mean : coded in developer tool & tested it , wrote the same code on paper, wrote on google docs.
The syntax highlighting , code completion make life easier . It’s like comparing write Chinese with pinyin on the keyboard, and handwrite the Chinese characters on the whiteboard.

I didn’t have  to sign any NDA . I was emailing some friends about the content of google interview with gmail . Hope big brother is not watching , they don’t care .

Interview 3 : real stuff

The day Monday 28 November at 10 am UK time. The engineer was late by at least half an hour.
- So I want you to check whether a #@## puzzle is correct or not ?
- what kind of puzzle ?
-  #@## puzzle .
- Can’t you just write your question ?

I prefer the Eastern European accent than the thick native English speaker accent . He sent me a link . Oh I understood : a sudoku puzzle. I barely know the rules. I asked:
- So what are the constraints ? Each number from 1 to 9  is unique on each row and column . Other contraints ?
He gave me a hint each 3*3 small grid contains a unique number from 1 to 9.

Obviously the grid is a two-dimensional array of integers. I wrote the method to check uniqueness on the row. Idem on the column.
No impression of conversation, I was stressed to have silence during my writing.

At the end , he asked what I didn’t do . I answered :
- Check the extreme case values : what the puzzle contains negative numbers or greater than 9.
- check the size of the puzzle .
He seemed satisfied to hear these answers.

After this, in retrospect I found more efficient & shorter ways to solve the problem. Though I don’t think I can do it in 30 minutes .
But in the privacy I could do it much more efficiently. Not my lucky day.

45 minutes is short. But if you think what about you can accomplish during this time frame.
In the afternoon, I went to work. My manager scheduled a meeting at 5pm to know my work progress, I had 3 hours of work so 4*45 minutes. I was as productive as having worked 8 hours this day.

Next

A week after, the london recruiter contacted me. On the phone she said : ” Sorry about the delay, the software engineer was …  But we decided not to go further . We can’t thank you enough for your interest in Google’s careers and unique culture; we hope you will remain enthusiastic about our company.”

Anyway I would not like to work Mr Sudoku , not my fit . But I feel energized by the smartness of engineering at Google. You really feel the engineer driven  culture. But still felt it was more about luck.
You’re tested on a small set of knowledge . It’s more about to have encountered the type problem before you’re asked. Brain teaser like : “Why are man holes round ?” , if you read it once, you know the answer . Otherwise it’s almost impossible to answer it or it takes much longer.

No creativity tested, they don’t value design skills . Steve Jobs would not get even a job at Google  if he passed the standard interview . Come on, his inventions are leading the industry. His presentations make fans excited. Does he know Cocoa API  and Big O notation ? No.

I have the feeling they don’t care much about what you did previously. The sudoku guy admitted he didn’t read my resume.  It leaves many holes in the recruiting process . It’s more relevant to test a candidate on the field he/she will be working on. Ask a marketing person on sorting algorithms tells a lot about the ability to perform, huh ?  Anyway I’m glad I went through the interview. At least I know how to prepare for the next interviews either Google or others.

And to demystify their eliteness, the folk who speak at conferences & publish books only represent a very small minority .

Wisdom

In working environnement no one needs to know about the fancy algorithms . In real life, most IT professionals have a buzzword  of keywords in their resume . But very few know how to implement themselves. It’s just magical. And the truth some bozo have these words in conversation and CVs, but never applied them. They’re the kind of people who talk about cloud computing because they have iCloud devices but never understand the most basic of distributed systems.

And worst in the entreprise IT world , managers have the reasoning the outcome of project is proportional to the number of people involved. The more people you have, the more things can be done. Especially on consulting side where more people equals charge the customer more  ==  more money.

Quote People who Get Things Done but are not Smart will do stupid things, seemingly without thinking about them, and somebody else will have to come clean up their mess later. This makes them net liabilities to the company because not only do they fail to contribute, but they soak up good people’s time.

Writing code is not just interpret the requirements, but the talent to implement and ship a product. There are some fields where an individual can accomplish more than a group of people. Take football for example , anyone can kick the ball , a few can score a goal, much fewer can score against pro players . Lionel Messi , one the top football player, will score better than ten random people picked in the street. So the number of players is more important than individual talent ?

Anyway I feel better to invest time in learning the fundamentals because they still stay true over time . While technologies get depreciated pretty quickly, 1-2 years . Android 1 came out in 2008. Android 4.0 was released in 2011. A lot is not backward compatible, a lot new features arrived.

At least I have six months  to prepare ( if I don’t have a better opportunity before ) , instead of 2 weeks . I hope you enjoy this reading. Feel free to reply.