A lot of people ask me what it's like to work at Google. Instead of using the same old words like "it's a lot of fun", here's a little snippet from the Google Talk
There's only so much silly putty you can play with before you start finding globs of red goo under your fingernails, in your keyboard and caked into the carpet. You realize, then, that's it's time to find new toys.
Of all toys, are there any more Googley than Legos? Not only does the color scheme for lego bricks match Google's own red, yellow, green and blue, but legos were also used in the initial Google computers. Even the Google booth at the lego theme.
So, software engineers Bob Day, Sean Egan and I set off for the Lego Store in Bellevue, WA. Yes, that's right - an entire store dedicated to legos - and it's every bit as good as it sounds.
Naturally, we head straight for the moving parts: wheels, axles, hinges, and doors. We emerge one hour later, armed with a large pre-packaged set of assorted legos (for the basics), and two hand-picked cups (for the moving parts and specialty items).
Back in our office, Sean and I debate what to build and decide on a Google logo constructed entirely out of legos. The tricky part here is creating the curvature of uppercase and lowercase G's. I get to work on the two G's while Sean focuses on the two O's, the L and the E. A few clicks and snaps later, we're almost there:
One minor detail: for a proper Google logo, the lower case 'G' needs to hang below the rest of the characters. There's just one way to solve this: elevate the rest of the letters (and put a lego man beneath it, just for fun).
What was next on our list? Google Talk! You see, a Googler's work is never done...