If you haven't had a chance to read The Story of Sergey Brin and want some insight (aha! that word again) into Google culture, you ought to read it. It's a bit long, but you learn about how his youth and parentage shaped his vision for what Google is today. Having read it, I now have a somewhat better understanding of how the company works.

One thing that stood out to me was despite all the trouble he and his family had early in his life, he had people around him who knew what he needed to know to become what he is today, and to make sure he was educated that way. I guess I've said this before, but I wish I'd had that type of guidance.

I have a phone screen with the big G in a couple of days. However, it's not for a position I actually applied for. Also, the position isn't posted online, and the recruiter didn't tell me anything about the job requirements. So I don't have a practical way to prepare (*again*). The position I applied for was in network protocol development, which I have prepared more for (and also done more work in) recently.