Sunday, October 31, 2004

No posts in the past few days, I must be having a good time. I have many projects to do now that I don't have to study, but I spent my first free moments not doing them.

Sunday night is movie night. Not to say I don't watch movies other times, but it's mandatory on Sunday. Tonight was Scarface. I was ashamed to say that I have never seen that movie, and that it took me this long to see it, but now I have. What a great film.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

I got absolutely no work done today. It felt good.

I noticed that Netflix decreased their monthly price to $17.99 and figured it was time to join the revolution. I quickly checked Blockbusters mail subscription ($17.49 plus two in-store rentals), which is what I went with. I did find NumberSlate intriging, though. Maybe I'll check it out once I give Blockbuster a try.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

I can't tell you how relieved I am to have the test over. I think I passed, but don't want to jinx it. So now that the test is over, I have to make up for lost time. Hopefully, I will have a few more interesting things to say than before. In any case, my brain is still mush ... not only from taking the test, but from enjoying a few too many brews as well.

Monday, October 25, 2004

I have thousands of pages memorized and less than 10 hours left to study before my test on Wednesday. My prediction is that by Wednesday night I won't be able to remember my name.

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Ho hum, another day of studying. Although someone brought in a Razor scooter to work, which led to some interesting study breaks. Fortunately, the weekend security guards didn't have one and couldn't catch us.

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Well, the Karate test is over. I'm sore, bruised, and beaten. Did I mention bruised ... and sore? It was definitely a test to remember. I did the best I could under the pressure and circumstances. Now onto the next test. Unfortunately, the next one is graded on a curve, so I have to perform better than others. Anyway, I'm way too tired to continue tonight.

Friday, October 22, 2004

I won't bore you with the details of my night, because there are many. Just kidding, there is one detail and it's called study. I am anxious for my tests to be done. In about 12 hours the Karate test starts and 106 for the actuarial ... but who's counting.

Thursday, October 21, 2004

I worked out for about 2 hours cramming for the Karate test on Saturday. It's going to be interesting to say the least.

Also, my boss came back from a weeks vacation, which means I'm going to have to learn PHP on my own time now.

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Much of the same today. I’ve started studying in the exam room because I heard there was an article that claimed those who studied in the same room as the exam room (or one that looked the same) versus those who did not, scored much higher. It had something to do with making the room comfortable and less stressful during the exam, or associating things in the room with answers.

I think it’s because the students taped the answers under the table, or coded the answers on the table and walls.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Karate test is this Saturday and actuarial exam is the following Wednesday. Oddly, I'm not nervous for either ... yet. It is down to cramming time, which I think I've got experience in.

The wireless network is almost back to normal. I've got all computers up and running, except for my laptop, which is running linux. I do like these kinds of problems though. If only I didn't have to study, I could devote all my efforts to learning linux ... which I guess is studying anyway.

Monday, October 18, 2004

I can't believe I missed each post during the weekend. It actually went by fast, which is usually the case the last two weeks before an exam. I spend months studying wanting the test to come, but then the last two weeks I wish I had more time.

Friday, October 15, 2004

It's Friday and that means ... study time! My life is grand.

Well, I got at least one computer to find the wireless network, and it happens to be the one that started this whole thing. It turns out that the configured laptop IP was not in sync with what the router was expecting. And when I tried to manually reset the router, it got confused. Anyway, after connecting to the router via old fashion cat5, the wireless seems to be working... although my linuxbox can't connect after enabling WEP.

Thursday, October 14, 2004

I didn’t get to post last night due to network problems. I tried to connect a new laptop with built in wireless. At one point I had my wireless laptop and the new one next to each, with mine working. After some random clicks, neither could connect. In fact, our desktop computer wouldn’t connect, which is also wireless. I’m going to have to try rebooting the router and see what happens next.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Don’t you hate when products try to become too smart or have too many functions in an attempt to make you life more convenient? I see this mostly in Microsoft products. For example, VBA has been pretty much steady since version 5, but there are features that are so complex and have to be set up just right for everything to work. Sometimes I’m guilty of this as well. When I build an application, I assume the user is a complete idiot, and that I must code a feature to automate every conceivable possibility. But when I use an application like that, I tend to do a lot of manual overriding to get the result I’m looking for. Well, I noticed this with the copy machine at work. It probably costs about as much as my car, but it takes more work trying to figure it out than just using the crappy one right next to it. In fact, I modded the new one to be nothing more than a common stapler and a paper clip holder.

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Today is a good day. If you don't know, I have two Maxima's and I've been trying to sell the crapier one for about three months. Well, I met the kid, got the cash, paid off the loan, and watched him drive away in it.

I did have to ask him for a ride back to work, perhaps I should have thought that through a little more.

Monday, October 11, 2004

I noticed that when your boss takes the day off, not only does his work not get done, but mine doesn't either. I spent the first half learning how to code in Blogger, the second half messing up the blog, and the third half catching up on the internet.

I also learned a new trick in Access. You use a Crosstab query to build a "spreadsheet" view. But if your data is similar to a Crosstab and you need to do a "reverse" Crosstab, you can use a simple Union query. I guess you had to be there.

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Refer to previous post for today's activities, less the working out. Perhaps this blog project wasn't such a good idea. It documents how anti-adventerous my life is. Hopefully I'm saving up my energy for after my exam...

Saturday, October 09, 2004

Ahhh, another great day. I worked out, studied, and watched a movie. Will it never end?

Friday, October 08, 2004

I don't think I'll ever understand the opposite sex. I probably shouldn't go into details in case the opposite sex stumbles across this blog. Suffice it to say, I've reconfirmed my attitude towards big picture thinking. You shouldn't get worked up about trivial or, more importantly, inferences. In the end, it just doesn't matter.

Thursday, October 07, 2004

I found out today that my boss and his boss are leaving the department. This of course leads to many questions; what is the reporting structure, where do our projects come from, will there really be nobody checking up on me, what web sites aren't blocked for me to surf all day.

But for now, I must sleep. I worked out for 3 hours tonight and am already sore. At least it's Friday tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Went to a local bar tonight, which definitely qualifies as "not studying". A friend, who decided to join the military, came in from out of town. Worthy cause as I see it. And to top it off, I saw a frickin' MONKEY walking around the lake! A picture would have made this a much better post.
So, how do you prepare for many important events, knowing there isn't enough time to do so? I guess you have three options.

1. Do all of them at the minimum requirements
2. Do your best at some, failing at others
3. Go into berserk mode like Wolverine and take no prisoners

I just keep telling myself it's only til the end of October.
October is usually a stressful month. I've been taking actuarial exams for several years now. There are nine of them, starting out with basic college courses and ending with advanced actuarial concepts. I'm sitting for Exam 6 now, which is at the end of October. Also, I've been practicing Soo Bahk Do for a few years. There are 10 belts before black belt, and I have two more to go. I have a test for the next at the end of October. Needless to say, I've been studying for both pretty hard...

Although, I did manage to find an undisclosed amount of hours to pass Red Dead Revolver this weekend.
Ah, the first post. Like most of my projects, I never know what's going to happen until I begin. So, here is the beginning.