Patrick Whalen's Web Diary
Friday, March 12, 2004. Destination: CIW Professional.
5:30 a.m. Nothing was sticking. The material from the computer book was not staying inside my head. Some of the formulas from my math studies were not sticking either. I'm going to start doing what I should have been doing already: Write it for the world to see; then review it.I'll begin with a few of the UNIX commands:
cat myfile The contents of the file are printed to the screen. It is similar to the type command in DOS.
cat myfile > anotherfile a) If anotherfile already exists, the contents of myfile overwrite it. Then the new contents of anotherfile are displayed on the screen. b) If anotherfile does not already exist, it is created. The contents are, at least for now, the same as the contents of myfile.
cat > myfileYou are creating a new text file. Type until you are done. Then press Enter. Then press Ctrl-D.
cat myfile >> anotherfile The contents of myfile are added to the tail end of anotherfile.
9:45 p.m. I'd like to prepare for the Site Designer exam, but I'm too broke to pay for exam fees. Maybe I'll take the Kaplan diagnostic test next month. It is a mock GRE. If my score is high enough, I may be able to teach a GRE preparation course.
There is so much I want to learn, but there are only 24 hours in a day. In my case, the question now is what not to study. For now I'll divide my studies among three or four subjects; then I may find where my best talents lie.
Saturday, March 13, 2004. Gift Certificate.
3:00 p.m. I have about $54.00 worth of credit coming from a bookstore in a neighboring town. That will pay most of the cost of the CIW Site Designer Certification Bible. My Foundations instructor has at least a slight preference for the Site Designer Bible over the Sybex textbook.I entered the bookstore and placed my order. The Site Designer Bible (hereafter referred to as SDB) costs $60.00 plus sales tax. Under ordinary circumstances I would have purchased a used or discounted copy from Amazon.com, but then I could not have used my bookstore credit.
Before I took the Foundations exam, I had taken the prep course. This time I am studying on my own. I predict that I ahsll score higher than most people who have taken the Site Designer course.
Preparation will begin tomorrow; you are welcome to come along for the ride.
Sunday, March 14, 2004. Litterbugs Bring Lottery Money.
7:00 a.m. Motorists are pigs. They throw beer cans out of the car while driving. All along Route 343, near Dover Plains, New York, beer cans lie along the road. Last week, after my morning run, I picked up several of them and put them into a bag. After redeeming them for a nickel apiece at the supermarket, I paid 50 cents for a daily lottery ticket. That night the ticket was good for a $40.00 prize. As far as I'm concerned the litterbugs can give me lottery money anytime.This morning I am at it again, picking up the beer cans. Maybe they will bring me something again.
9:00 p.m. Exam preparation was only for a half hour. Math is the long-term priority, and passing the certification exam won't lead to a job anyway. About 400 people (or whatever number) with experience would be competing against me for each position. I'll have to go for the gusto and create my own job.
Before I dig into the SDB, I'll review some material from CIW Foundations for Dummies. Some of the material in the latter (e.g., Cascading Style Sheets) is on the Site Designer Exam also.
6:00 p.m. Lisa, my former co-worker called. We spoke for the first time in several years. I told her I'm flat broke; she said I could send a resumé.
Monday, March 15, 2004. See It on the Screen
The Foundations Exam and the Site Designer Exam each ask about Cascading Style Sheets. The difference is that the Site Designer Exam asks about it in greater depth.I'm practicing an inline style here. That's why you see pink for this section of the page.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004. Letter to Cathy.
By writing Cathy a letter, I articulated my plans for 2004.Dear Cathy,
Have a fun-filled St. Patrick's Day. I'll celebrate it quietly with nothing stronger than Welch's grape juice because I'm practicing brain bombardment. I've added NADH to my brain arsenal; the results have been impressive.
On this day of my Irish namesake, I announce the end of all time-consuming searches for salaried employment. I have made more from redeeming soda cans than I have made from mailing a few hundred resumés. It is time to take the self-employment route; the handwriting is on the wall regarding the search for a regular job. If something falls into my lap, however, I'll take it.
I used a $50 gift certificate to order a $60 textbook: The CIW Site Designer Certification Bible. Eventually I'll take the CIW Site Designer Exam, to upgrade my credentials from CIW Associate to CIW Professional. Then I'll try to talk my family into letting me have office space in one of their buildings. I'd like to develop web sites for people.
Today I'll spend some time working as a self-employed bottle-and-can redeemer. Last week the litterbugs left a few beer cans for me on the ground. I picked them up, redeemed them at the supermarket, and bought a ticket in the New York daily lottery. That night the ticket came up for a $40 win.
In some ways I feel better, even though I'm horribly broke: I'll no longer spend hundreds of hours on a job search that will fail to bring me a nickel.
Love,
Brain Exploder
P.S. I spend at least an hour a day studying math. My goal is a math Ph.D. by age 70. Wish me luck.
Sunday, March 20, 2004. Calling St. Jude.
Last night the ice on my Take 5 numbers finally broke. I am not surprised that the breaking of the ice occurred on the first day of spring. The payout was $21.50. That will be working capital for my next few days of lottery play.St. Jude must have put in the good word. For my viewers who are not Catholic, I should mention that St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes. In today's job market, I regard a job offer as more of a lost cause than a lottery win.
Thursday, March 25, 2004. Overactive Bladder vs. Ph.D. Plans
Today I was in Manhattan to take a mock GRE. It was a diagnostic test that the Kaplan people had made.I thought that I would have to take nothing more than the math section, since that is what I wanted to teach. Unfortunately, I had to take the verbal section as well. Halfway through the test, I blanked out as I stared at one of the dullest passages of reading comprehension that I have ever seen. "What am I doing here?" I thought to myself. As for the analytical writing section, I refused to take it (see below).
Here are my complaints about the GRE:
- It is unfair to older examinees. When a three-hour exam allows only one 10-minute break to go to the bathroom (during which almost everyone is hurrying to get there), it becomes a contest to see whose bladder is the strongest. I just can't hold my urine that long.
- With an M.A. in English and two books to my credit, I don't see why teaching assistants working part time for ETS should grade my essays. I have the credentials to grade theirs.
- Computer-adaptive tests, as they are called, allow no turning back. The examinee must answer the question (and cannot change it!) before moving on. You cannot skip it and return to it later.
Maybe I'll take the two remaining exams that I need to take before becoming a Master Site Designer. The problem is that I'd still be Mr. Whalen instead of Dr. Whalen.
Sunday, March 28, 2004. Lottery Prayers Pick Up Steam.
Last night 730 came up in the daily lottery; I won $250. If I had bet a full dollar (instead of 50 cents) on the number, my winnings would have been $500. The litterbugs were good to me.Monday, April 5, 2004. Computer Books for My Lifetime.
Life isn't long enough to study everything we'd like to study; sometimes we have to decide what not to study. There are two categories of computer books that will never be part of my lifetime: 1) Books that do not interest me; 2) Books that do interest me, but which would take time away from books that interest me more. In the first category, I would put Visual Basic; it just doesn't interest me, and that's that. In the second category, I would put Oracle; it interests me, but not enough to divert me from my other studies.There are three categories of computer books that will be part of my lifetime: 1) Books that I shall seldom (if ever) need to revisit (e.g., C for Dummies, Volume One); 2) Books that I'll often revisit, but only in certain chapters (e.g., Inside MS-DOS 6.2); 3) Books that I'll reread from cover to cover and learn inside out; e.g,, CIW Foundations. The books in Category 1 are temporarily part of my lifetime; the books in Categories 2 and 3 are permanently part of my lifetime.
Sunday May 2, 2004. Beginning of End of Jinx?
This weekend I earned $50 doing temporary work. I have also begun discussions with a law firm about building a web site for them. Maybe the jinx on my employment and finances is near an end.Friday, September 4, 2005. If You Are Ever in Manhattan.
I miss Manhattan. What other city, anywhere in the world, offers such a great variety of ethnic restaurants?Yesterday I was in Manhattan again. After taking care of some other business, I had lunch at a tiny Turkish restaurant on 238 East 24th Street. Now called 101, it is the former Marti Kebab (which I mistakenly referred to in Brain Bombardment as Marli Kebab).
The restaurant has only six or seven tables; most of its business is from delivery. The atmosphere, although simple, is good enough to be called "restaurant atmosphere"; e.g., cloth napkins and tablecloths instead of paper ones. The service is friendly, informal, and accommodating.
The restaurant does not have a liquor license, but you may bring your own wine or beer.
The main courses are, for the most part, simply prepared from fresh ingredients. Since I have my own vegetable garden in Dutchess County, I bring my own vegetables to the restaurant. This time I brought my home-grown tomatoes and a huge green pepper.
I ordered grilled salmon, which came with rice and a salad. The salad was the best part of the meal, because my pepper and one of my tomatoes were in it.
A friend from Brooklyn would have accompanied me, but she was recovering from minor surgery. I hope that she will be with me when I am in Manhattan again.
August 17, 2006: Back on Track?
The reader can see that I have not written anything on this page since last year. In another few weeks, I'll be going into Manhattan again. I may even play in a chess tournament for the first time in three years. Fortunately, I have found a strong human opponent to practice against.February 10, 2007: Outlook is Bleak.
The unemployment curse continues. It has become an example of Catch 22. Employers are unwilling to hire me, because I haven't worked in so long; but the reason I haven't worked in so long is that they won't hire me! Obtaining full-time employment seems out of the question; a part-time job may be the answer if I can find it.February 12, 2007: Finally some hope.
My chess book publisher called. They informed me that chessville.com is interested in reviewing my chess book. This could be my lucky break.January 16, 2008: Will Revisit Manhattan.
I'm back in action with this diary again. Next week I'll be in Manhattan and will probably have lunch at the Turkish restaurant again. It has changed hands a few times in the past few years. First it changed its name to 101; then it remained 101 under different ownership. Now it is called Limon (the French word for lemon) even though it is still Turkish cuisine. I have been there once under the current management and enjoyed it very much.Back Home
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