I went on another field trip, this time to California, where I visited 'Softies at three different Bay Area offices. First up: Palo Alto, where I visited the Danger -- makers of my beloved Sidekick, and recent Microsoft acquisition.

The geek in question: Carolyn Bierman

The job title: Program Manager II, Entertainment & Devices Division.

How long did you work for Danger before the company was acquired by Microsoft?
I was employee #17, and have been with Danger for eight years. I was an engineer for five of those years, and then after a three month sabbatical to ride my motorcycle around the country, I started doing program management.

You know how if your Sidekick gets run over by a bus, you can buy a new one and download all the information off the Danger servers? That's the service I've been working on with Danger for the past three years -- and now I'm doing something very similar for Microsoft.

So you went from working for a company of about 300, to now working for a company of over 80,000. Did you have an identity crisis when Danger got acquired?
It really sank in just a couple weeks ago, when I went up to the Company Meeting. It was a odd to be stuck in traffic on the way to Safeco Field and be like, "These are all my coworkers." And then to sit in the stadium and look around … these are all my coworkers?!

Later on that trip up to Redmond, I was sitting in a breakroom and Steve Ballmer walked by. It was this weird celebrity sighting. Like Paris Hilton!

...But sweatier! So, now that you work for the Empire, have you been taking advantage of the benefits?
The Microsoft benefits have definitely been a pleasant surprise. When we did the New Employee Orientation, they talked about medical and health benefits. Obviously that's cool. And there's the Non-profit Matching benefit. That's awesome.

But it seems like every day I find some new benefit! I play in a co-ed mixed-league ice hockey team, and Microsoft will reimburse a portion of team registration fees as a way of promoting an active lifestyle for employees. I thought that was pretty darn amazing.

Speaking of active lifestyle, you mentioned riding your motorcycle across the country? Tell me more!
Biking is my thing. I do a lot of long distance touring and off-roading. My cross-country trip in 2005 I took two weeks to go from California to Wisconsin and back by myself. This past year I took six weeks off and rode from here to Key West, Florida for my wedding anniversary. My husband met me out there, we rode together to Wisconsin, and then back to California. That was about 9000 miles!

Do you use any of your distance riding skills in your Program Management?
When I’m planning a motorcycle trip, I sit down with my maps and books and say, "OK, I have two weeks to get from San Francisco to Key West. What’s the best route that will get me there on time but is still a fun and interesting ride?"

PMing is really the same way. One of my programs right now is service deployment, which is all about getting code from point A through point B to point C by a deadline and while maintaining a level of quality.

One catchphrase of motorcycling is “it’s the journey, not the destination,” and that’s true for PMing as well. You have to keep your eye on shipping, just like most people can’t travel without eventually having to be somewhere, but you can still have a great time getting there.

So, was it scary getting acquired?
It certainly was shocking! I had no idea it was coming. I showed up to work, parked my motorcycle outside, and as I was getting my gear off I noticed balloons and signs saying "Congratulations, Danger!" And I'm like "What? We didn't ship a device, did we?" One of my coworkers who's a total practical joker, was walking by and I was like, "Sean, what the hell is this all about?" And he says with a total straight face, "Didn't you hear? We got bought by Microsoft!"

I was like, "No -- really. Tell me what's going on." I don't read my email over the weekend, so I thought he was just doing the best practical joke ever. It's funny, because my husband worked at Apple for 15 years -- we've always been an Apple household. After the company meeting a couple weeks ago, I mentioned to my husband, "Some of those demos at the company meeting were pretty cool..." and he said, "You drank the Koolaid!" And I was like, "I'M A PC!"

You know, my response to the whole "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" thing is PSHAW: the real geeks don't choose. We use everything!
That was the biggest surprise for my friends when Danger got acquired -- they were like, "What are you going to do? You're a Mac person!" I said "Uh, I use a Mac laptop at Microsoft." My friends were shocked! I run Vista on it, and it's got 4 gigs of ram. The dual boot Mac/Vista combo is awesome.

Danger! Danger! Links ahead:

• Carolyn's personal site: bluepoof.com
• Danger: danger.com
• Danger's Sidekick: sidekick.com
• Ice hockey links: ncwhl.com, iceoasis.com
• Best motorcycle forum ever: sport-touring.net
• The coolest place to hang out in the Bay Area: techshop.ws
• Electric Six's "Danger! High Voltage" video