| Author | Post |
|---|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 7 February 2012 04:10 am |
|
Ok, kind of an average day. I did make progress on learning Spring. I got a 2.5 project to work in 3.1. It took some doing, but I'm starting to get somewhere. The tricky part is, i'm learning from a 2.5 book, so I hope I don't waste a lot of time.
My change for my app finally got accepted. I'm going to do a $100 voucher google-add campaign, but it's going to be $2.00 a click. Are you kidding? I only make $2.50 revenue on a sale. What a joke. Goolge must be *raking* it in, good Lord.
I want to add audio to the iPhone app now that the STS piece got through. There should also be a larger audience because I lowered the target system to 3.0, which means pretty much every iPhone out there.
I did 3 sets of exercise this morning instead of just one. But those diet pill don't seem to be working - I'm as hungry as ever, if not more so. I'll just have to do it on willpower alone.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 7 February 2012 04:44 am |
|
I didn't realize you were taking diet pills. And they haven't helped? Oh boy, yeah, forget 'em. It may not seem like it, but I'm actually anti-taking-anything.
$2.00 per click seems awfully steep, expecially if it is not tied to a sale. Good grief, that's a lot of money. 
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 7 February 2012 02:48 pm |
|
Hey Mols - I think they're a pretty mild form of diet pill. It's called "Glucomannan" or "Kanjac Root". My tennis buddy took them and lost some weight, although I don't know how much it has to do with that. Anyway, I did a little checking here's what it says: "Glucomannan absorbs large quantities of water, helping to give weight-loss candidates a feeling of fullness and thus reducing their appetite for more food." It's an herbal supplement, and it's cheap 5 bucks a bottle plus shipping for $5. It doesn't have any side effects except gastrointestinal annoyance, none of which I've experienced. Oh, yeah, you could die from an intestinal blockage. I guess that's rare enough that they allow it to be sold otc.
I finally got up while it was still dark - around 6, I think. Anyway it was dark. So, I got in 3 hours worth of guitar. I started in on the Justin's foundation 3 series. I also practiced Wish you were here for 15 minutes, and then "Patience" for about an hour. Patience is kind of long song, and I wanted to get down exactly where he starts singing to go along with the chords. It's much better now that it was sunday. I still want to refine it a bit, there are some parts where it varies where he jumps in. I also could refine the strumming pattern. There's also the solo, but forget that.
i was 166.5 this morning. I want to get some cardio in tonight.
|
Hiker
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 7 February 2012 04:22 pm |
|
| Too bad about the pills....this would be so much easier if there was a pill to take...for me it needs to be one to make me stop craving sweets. I guess the only way thing we can do is, like you said, will power.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 7 February 2012 08:25 pm |
|
Yeah, Hiker. It doesn't look like there's any magic pill that's going to work for us. Sad but true.
Woah. I just spent about two or three hours reviewing a lesson from Stanford's iPhone course. It was all code for an hour, and I I'm thinking about going the consulting route with iPhone/iPad programming, because there's a better chance to work from home. I get the flexible schedule, it's all about delivering the goods, that's it. Less security, but the economy's good. It's tough to leave Java behind - it's good for long, stable contracts.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 8 February 2012 09:41 pm |
|
jackbenimble wrote: Oh, yeah, you could die from an intestinal blockage. I guess that's rare enough that they allow it to be sold otc.
Yeah. It would suck to be "that guy" though...I know this likely won't appeal to you but I honestly do eat large green salads because it is a lot of bulk with very little calories and fills me up too. I know guys don't really care for salads typically...
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 9 February 2012 12:21 am |
|
That's strange. I posted a reply, and it showed up as a blank. I must have fat-fingered something.
Anyway, a couple of good things happened today. First, my daughter called to figure what she should to for a project for this advanced tech-writing course. It turns out they are actually focusing on learning software instead of writing. For example, they're learning html/css and building web pages, which will be *great* for her to know. She's actually built up the web page a fair amount already. I'm so happy about that.
She was calling about a project. The prof wants them to do a project and write about it, with the emphasis on implementation. She needed 3 options so I suggested some type of intro tutorial to javascript/jQuery, a simple database-driven web-page done in PHP (my favorite) or some type of text-based game written in Python (she took a course in Python last semester). All of these are good options.
Oh, yeah, they are learning Photoshop and Dreamweaver as well. So, it's just a great class. I hope she can find a job.
Also, my wife got an offer to work as a teacher on weekends in a Japanese school. They had asked her before, but she turned them down. Now, she's saying yes. It's not much, maybe 5k a year, but, hey, it's 5k. Less taxes.
I made a change of pace and worked out at planet fitness this morning. I need to get to 155. Or, at least 160. I'm tired of the bloated, malnourished baby expanded stomach like you see on starving kids in Africa. (sorry, that's insensitive). I was 165.5 after the workout. I got inspired by Mol's 5K last night and got the heart rate up more then I have been recently. I also saw M there. He told me the reason the diet pills weren't working was because you have to take them with a full glass of water, 10 minutes before you eat. I tried it, but still haven't noticed any difference.
I'm going through the Stanford course on iPhone again. Well, I got through like six lesson before, so I've repeated a few. But, it's a good review.
I also found out that the archives are available for the jQuery instructional course held by a local meetup, so I can go over those.
I send my friend B (who I'm trying to teach javascript to) an email a couple of day ago about where he is with the javascript book, but he basically doesn't do anything unless I go over there and sit with him. I think it's pretty overwhelming for him. I'm going to give it one or two more tries.
I went to bed at like 9:30 or 10 last night, and got up at 3:30 and played guitar till like seven. I've started on Justin's foundation 3. I also wrote this little prototype of a song that came to me in a dream, or as I was falling asleep last night. I put some chords to it. It's kind of like a gospel tune. Very simple, 3 chords, like they mostly all are.
I'm getting better at "Wish you were here" and "Patience". Especially wish you were here. I'm trying to get through the whole song, from memory, without a mistake. I also have written out the words and the chords to Patience so the words match exactly where the chords are.
My wife is going to an opera show with one of her friends from the singing group she's in. The thing is, all of her friends are classically trained singers and musicians. They all love opera and classical, and well, I'm just not into it. I try on occasion but we're talking about different worlds. So, she will go to operas with other people, or live transmissions from the Met held in movie theaters, usually by herself. They are long and brutal, I've been to a couple. I can appreciate it in short spurts - five minutes or so - but I think if you learn something from an early age, you really get to love it.
I'm thinking of making a chart on here of my weight. Maybe posting something up here will give me some motivation.
Last edited on 9 February 2012 11:29 pm by jackbenimble
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 10 February 2012 09:57 pm |
|
So, I was 166.5 this morning, but 164.5 just before lunch. I did some calisthenics etc.
I added an HTML5 certificate to my resume - it just means I read a book and did the exercises - sent it off to a recruiter. I'm starting to ramp up the job search again. I'm shooting for a contract, though. I'm not up for the whole full-time thing again - yet. Another month, two at the max, though, and I'll be talking to everybody.
There are just so many technologies out there. There are always more to learn.
Well, for sure I'm going to be focusing on javascript/jQuery and jQuery mobile. Just because there is a good group for them that I'm in and it's just something that doesn't take much time. I also know Groovy on Grails, which is particularly good for contracts. But I prefer Spring/Spring MVC. But there are a lot of guys who know that already. Then, I could refocus on iOS. I also want to learn photoshop. I've got the software for it now.
Sigh. It's kind of overwhelming. Well - at least I like doing it.
I just came back from the gym. Had a nice workout. I've been kind of coasting. The mistake I've been making is that I've been assuming that just because I'm in the 166-167 range, I'm ok. It's not really the case. I really am still overweight. The mirror doesn't lie - it's all in the belly. I really could stand to lose 10 lbs.
The problem with tennis is a few things. First, it takes time - it usually goes for a couple of hours or more. Secondly, it's tough on my body. I'm always sore after playing. The hardcourts are the problem there.
Just going to the gym is more efficient. I can listen to tunes, watch espn or the news, get up a good sweat, and be done. I'm in control. I would really like to get to 155. I already feel a little bit better, just from having worked out. I'm down below 165 after a workout. I already like that.
I'm going to B's Sunday. I don't know if I mentioned this already, but he's actually done a chapter by himself. Wow. He also has some kind of delivery part time job, it's a little cash in his pocket. I don't really know how he's making it.
I got up late, darn it. I played guitar for like 3 hours anyway. There's just not enough time in the day. And I"m not even working!
Last edited on 10 February 2012 09:59 pm by jackbenimble
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 10 February 2012 10:59 pm |
|
I know what you mean about not enough hours in the day...you have a certain number of interests and it seems like you just can't keep up with any of them as well as you'd like. What was that book, the 4-hour work week, or something?
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 11 February 2012 12:23 am |
|
mollymoo24 wrote:
I know what you mean about not enough hours in the day...you have a certain number of interests and it seems like you just can't keep up with any of them as well as you'd like. What was that book, the 4-hour work week, or something?
Yeah, the 4-hour workweek. Well, Mols, you make a good point about having too many interests. I can't seem to focus in on just one or two. Everything always kind of splinters out. I really need to fight to simplify my life. To understand - and be content with - the fact that I can't do it all. That's for sure, anyway. I've kind of let the Japanese slip by the wayside. But, I can have a conversation in it, read a bit. I really enjoy guitar. There's no way I drop that. But, I can cut back on it. Get it back down to an hour a day. Let time work its magic.
I really need to focus more on getting in shape. And getting a job. And work on learning one technology at a time. Drop the tennis, or maybe just once a week. It's too hard on my body. Strange to say, but true. I play with a 75 year old guy! Still, I have to listen to my body. He is a physical marvel. Me, not so much, it seems. And get more spiritual. Have some open space in my life. For God. I just have this spiritual gap that if I could only heal it, or fill it, I would be ok. All this frenetic activity might just be a by-product of having lost my religion. I dunno. I've tried to make a comeback, but it never seems to work. It's tough to come back when you were as locked into it as I was when I was kid, even as a young man.
For now, I jneed to focus on myself - like you are. Focus on getting in better shape. Focus on getting a tenable, stable financial situation, at a job I like with people I like where the time demands aren't overly much. For the time being, focus on learning to speak to my resume, and to speak better - less ums and aws. And focus on learning just one technology at a time, on my own. More review and depth, and reflection. Less plunging into new things constantly. Yeah, I need to reflect more on things. Glimmer lessons from my experiences.
So, something like this:
1. 1 hour fitness - work out an hour a day. Get to 155.
2. 1 hour spiritual - An hour of meditation and stretching and reflection.
3. 1 hour guitar. One hour, that's it, stop.
4. 2 hours - review the resume, practice interview answers.
5. 2 hours - job search/renew old contacts.
6. 1 hour reading up on interviews that I know the most about - enterprise applications.
7. 1 hour about Spring.
8. 1 hour on jQuery.
7. 1 One hour a day goofing off, having fun, watching tv, playing around.
8. Go out once a month to enjoy live music somewhere.
That's a fairly undemanding schedule of 10 hours a day.
Out of the picture for now - tennis. iOS programming.
That's the best I can do for now. I'm going to come back to this list periodically, to see how I'm doing. It's going to be hard to cut down on the guitar! I'm going to have to work on that one.
Ok, right now, I'm going to something important to get on the resume - Spring. Just do a conversion from a web project I've already done to Spring. Then put it on the net. Yeah - that's the ticket :)
Thanks for pointing that out Mols. I needed that.
Last edited on 11 February 2012 12:33 am by jackbenimble
|
Hiker
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 11 February 2012 01:44 am |
|
Wow Jack that is a pretty ambitious list if you ask me. I think it's great you have so many interests. It sure keeps you busy.
I actaully was thinking of something you said about how sometimes you just wake up and have music in your head you need to get down. I have no musical talent whatsoever but I have noticed I often wake up with songs in my head...not my own but something I have heard. There must be something about sleeping that triggers that part of the brain I think. Wish I was like you and heard original music but still it is kind of neat to find myself kind of singing in the middle of the night. Wierd.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 11 February 2012 02:54 am |
|
Hey Hiker,
Yeah, it's strange how the subconscious works. I think it's more receptive to the creative part of us. The strange thing is how it's always either when your on the edge of sleep, or just feeling out of the rut or out of your normal way of thinking. If I'm on a plain or a train, or if I have a fever, it's nearly constant. I remember, one night I had food poisoning, in Thailand actually, I was sick as a dog. I just waited it out in my hotel bed, not budging, listening to rock and roll all night long. It was pretty cool, really interesting, almost like a drug trip.
Speaking of music, I was just listening to "I'm a lonely boy" by the Black keys, which must be popular because it's getting a lot of airplay. What a great song. I would love to get out somewhere and be dancing to that tune, what a blast.
Here it is again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_426RiwST8
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 11 February 2012 07:52 pm |
|
Ok, I got off to a good start today. I was up at 5:30 and cut down on the time of some of the drills in guitar, so I kept it to two hours. Then, I got on the line with tracfone and got my wife's new phone up and running. It's pretty nice - it has web, email, a qwerty keypad. Nice little phone. The best part is, she will be able to receive calls on it - the last one was really just useless. Also, she just pays like 6 bucks a month to keep it in service - she never really uses it or anything.
Then, I got to the gym and had a nice workout and did an hour on the elliptical. Still, my weight when I got back - the old 164.5. This getting down to 155 is going to be *real* challenge. That fat has been there for so long, it doesn't have any idea about going anywhere.
Actually, it was pretty cool at the gym, there were a couple of infomercials on about exercise videos. One was specifically aimed at women tightening up their buns, so you can imagine the number of shots of women's behinds in little bikinis they showed. Phew, that was sweet.
Then, there was another one which was based on a salsa-type exercise video that they said burns up to 1000 calories an hour. It looked like fun. You learn all these little dance moves, and you're working out to music, so the time flies. It seems like a great idea. But, after I spent $600 bucks on the Chuck Norris machine, which I never use, I decided to never spend money on any exercise equipment or videos, ever.
After that, TV was boring so I switched to the FM radio. The one I'm listening to more these days is 92.9, which is a nice mixture of the old and the new (new to me at least, from Pink Floyd and the Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, etc. to the Black Keys, a group I never heard and forget (song called Devine? I dunno), and 90s/2k groups like Coldplay, Kings of Leon, Nickelback, the Foo Fighters, an so forth. It's fun because it's not quite as hardcore as my other go to stations, 97.7 which leans toward metal, and 100.7 which is pure classic rock.
I've had Pandora set to a Pink Floyd based station and it's playing Tom Petty, Beatles, Floyd, Zepplin, Stones, Who, like that. That's ok, too.
I've been catching up on jQuery, setting up the completed exercises in a web page that I've posted. I'm done with chapter 7 now. 8 more to go.
I'll be going over to B's tomorrow to work with him on getting his jQuery exercises posted. I'm excited for him. He did a chapter by himself. I hope he takes a shine to it. My ultimate goal is to get him to do a web page for the group for parents of autistic children that he belongs to. Now that would look good on a resume. I'm also going to an HTML5 meeting tomorrow, I want to review a little bit for that.
Oh, yeah, I decided to only eat 1/2 the salad my wife made for me for lunch. It's hours later and I'm still not hungry. Usually I just tell myself I'll eat 1/2, but then I just end up finishing. So, she suggested, well, take 1/2 on put it back in the fridge. Great idea! Worked like a charm. Obvious in retrospect.
So, uh, my wife is at the movies watching a live transmission from the met of an opera that lasts for *six hours*!!! There is no possibility I could ever attend such a thing, but for her it is like heaven. Then tonight she plans to watch Abby Road on Masterpiece theater. So she's having a nice day.
Well, I've decided that I'm going to go off to Panera and work on my Spring project. I figured out how to get the hibernate template wizard working last night. I'm thinking of just doing a conversion of my PHP Kanji project to spring. It would be a way to get spring onto my resume - especially if I get it hosted.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 11 February 2012 11:08 pm |
|
I'm glad the wife is having a nice day for herself...definitely not my cup of tea, either, but at least she doesn't expect you to come along! And she'll probably be in a good mood, that's a plus.
I'm glad you had something at the gym to keep you motivated, those videos. Well, at least you're honest. Heck, they'd probably shame me into working out a little bit harder, myself.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 12 February 2012 12:17 am |
|
| Hah. Yes, the videos were good. Actually, the music really made the time go by. I was keeping time, trying to figure out the strumming rhythm. That's actually really hard to do, a lot of the time. The music goes pretty fast, and it changes around a lot of the time. Justin keeps pushing for it, though, so I'm going to keep trying.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 13 February 2012 02:50 am |
|
Well, it was a kind of a wasted day for me. I went to a tech meeting in the morning, but I'm questioning if it's the best use of my time. Then, I went to B's house to show him how to get his web pages uploaded to a free site. Man, I really hate working with Vista. Windows XP was much better. Plus, somehow he had lost all his files. I have no idea what happened. Well, it will be a good review for him to key it in. But, I did most of the "driving" - doing the work at the keyboard - because it was freezing in his house and I wanted to get going. Today was one of the coldest days of what's been a really mild winter. I hope he gets it.
Then I came home, ate, and spent the rest of the evening on the Patriots blog site. What!!! I did it. I was just kind of beat from all the driving, no motivation. Tomorrows a new day. I'll do my taxes tomorrow.
I did practice comfortably numb for about an hour. That was good. I also practiced a little wish you were here. I find if I go nice and slow, I make less mistakes, and hear it better.
I've only had one meal today - udon & chicken plus a tangerine. That's it, probably 600 or 700 calories? And some honey with my tea at Panera, and also some milk with my teas at home. I had several teas, so there are some calories there. I'm going to say, 1000. But no exercise, so, I probably didn't lose anything. This morning I weighed 164.5. I'm wanting to see 163 showing up on the scale real soon.
My wife is watching the season finale of Abbey Road on Masterpiece theater. I told her I wanted to watch Desperate Housewives, but she nixed it. I didn't really want to see it, I just wanted to mess with her a little bit. She didn't get uptight, which is a good thing.
Ok, off to bed! I'll have plenty of energy in the a.m.Last edited on 13 February 2012 02:52 am by jackbenimble
|
Hiker
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 13 February 2012 10:38 am |
|
Hey Jack, boy that sounds like awful few calories, I would be starving.
I am 100% with you on Vista, I have it on one computer and I hate, hate, hate it. It is too expensive to bother changing but I use the computer with XP whenever I can. I really tried to get used to it but after 6 months of total frustration I gave up and decided I would never like it. Fortunatly it's only on my laptop which I don't use all that much.
Nice job on those calories.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 13 February 2012 01:10 pm |
|
Yeah, Vista is the worst. When I do a file, save as it doesn't let me save the name of the file? I don't get how it works. the path is now delineated by little arrows or somethign instead "/". And the heirarchy folders - when I use ftp, I have to go to users, myname, documents, then log for the directory. But if I go through explorer, the order is different. Like, myname is on top, then appss, but it's expanded, and I have to collapse it to find the documents. It's more complicated than that. And it never shows the path right, I never know where I am.
Ok, well, I got up, and I skipped my guitar exercises to just work on comfortably numb and wish you were here. I soloed a bit along with the solo part of comfortably numb, not the way they do, just how I like it. I I would wait a second or two after he started his riff, and then come in with my own. I like that technique.
I didn't get up till seven, even though I went to bed early. My wife came to bed and she was in a good mood, so...plus I had to record a couple of music riffs which I don't know if I can do anything with
Right now, I'm going to go to the gym. Then, it's about making more entries in my spring blog and getting a resume-able project working with spring. Oh, wait, I'm doing taxes today. Well, first off go the gym.
Last edited on 13 February 2012 01:12 pm by jackbenimble
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 14 February 2012 03:27 am |
|
Well, today, after I got back from the gym, I weighed 163.0. So, I was going to try to do the same thing I did yesterday, which was stick with one meal. But, I sat down to do taxes and started getting dizzy, so I had a little tiny salad with 3 or 4 pieces of chicken, 1/2 a hard-boiled egg and a few pieces of lettuce. Later on, I had a tangerine and a few slices of sharp cheese. For dinner, I had about five or six chunks chicken parm - no pasta. I think I had a few more slices of sharp cheese. And a bunch of teas with milk. all told, I'll give it about 2k calories. Not enough to lose weight on, really. But, I will give it another shot tomorrow.
Taxes were a hassle. There were a couple of tax implications about being unemployed that I didn't realize - like it limits your IRA contributions. We had already put the max in, last year, so we had to pull most of it out and will have to pay a taxes plus a penalty on any profit earned - on this years return no less, even though the profit will have been made in 2012.
I really don't get why you should be limited in your IRA contributions by having a low income. Are poor people not allowed to save for retirement if they are thrifty? It doesn't make sense. Maybe they're trying to discourage unreported income? I don't know why there should be any limit - that was cash we had saved up.
Also, on something unrelated, we had pulled money out of our Roth IRA with the intention to pay off the mortgage, but changed our mind and put it back in. Since we only withdrew the principal, it's not a taxable event - we already paid taxes on it - but for technical reasons the company can't report it like that. In the end Tax Act handled it properly, I think, but it took a few calls to Vanguard to work it all out.
The good news is that taxes are pretty much done, pending the p/l statement from Vangaurd. And, we get a refund from the Fed and only owe about a thousand to the state, so really it's roughly zero. But, I don't think the mortgage / property tax deduction helped, and the standardized deduction was actually greater than the itemized deductions. I wonder if I can carry it into next year or something?
Anyway, I was beat after that and took a solid nap of about an hour. Then, after dinner and all, I helped my wife fix the tea container - the fastener was broken and she was grumpy at me about it. But, I got it fixed.
Then, finally she went off to bed. For valentines day, I was planning to do a graphic of a heart using HTML5 canvas. But, it's a little bit of learning curve and mathy and I didn't really have the ambition. I ended up going to one of those make your own card sites. I didn't get quite the element of satisfaction out of it, but I did draw a picture of a heart with an arrow through it on the back. I don't know what I'll get for a gift - she doesn't want me to spend any money, and I already used up the free chocolate discount at Godiva. Maybe I'll get her a new 15 inch MacBook pro. Err.
Last edited on 14 February 2012 03:32 am by jackbenimble
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 14 February 2012 07:54 am |
|
Yeah Jack, I'm not sure why there's a limit on the IRA contributions except that essentially would be using your savings like a "carryover"on previously earned income. Taxes are a bummer. Anyway, that's one thing out of the way!
And, XP over Vista for sure, but ever since my newer machine came with Win 7 Professional, I have had no issues with it. None. It's a vast improvement.
Man, good luck with the Valentine's Day thing. I know it's not the money, it is the thought that counts. I tried googling a few ideas, there are lots of suggestions out there.
Happy Valentine's Day Jack!  
Last edited on 14 February 2012 07:57 am by mollymoo24
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 15 February 2012 02:13 am |
|
Well, I spent another late night on the Pat's board - up till 3 - and then had a nightmare - and then a dream about 4 or 5 guys playing various instruments. i.e., trumpet guitar etc., while drumming with the other hand, which might explain why the kept dropping the their respective drumsticks. I got up a couple of times to record the songs - the one those guys were playing was kind of like "wipeout", the other one a kind of thing maybe Whitney Houston could have made sound good. So, I didn't get up till like 7:30 or 8. Then I played "Comfortably Numb" till about 9. There's a certain piece where there's a walk-down from a G to a B minor where I kind mess up the rhythm. I started practicing tapping my foot on every other beat, and I think it helped a little.
Then I went to the gym and did cals and the elliptical. I'm definitely giving more effort and sweating more on the elliptical these days in my push toward 155.
Then I came home, showered and weighed 163. For lunch, I had 1.5 scrambled eggs with some cheese and apple. Say, 4 or 500 cals. Then I reworded my resume to emphasize how my work impacted the company, not just what I did, then applied for a consulting job on dice.
MB called for tennis, so I said I could play 1 hour, no more. It was a good workout, and when I got home I was down to 161.5.
All h*ll broke lose, though, when I got back and logged in, as my gmail account was hacked yesterday, and the guy spammed anyone I've ever written an email to with a blank pdf with a virus in it. So, I was dealing with the aftermath of that. I figured out what the virus was, and I'd like to send out a blanket message letting people know what happened. The spam is just phrased and setup oddly enough that you could believe I was trying to send a pdf and somehow sent a blank one.
But, how to I do what the hacker did and make a blanket email? I know he used Imap to download it to his system. He must have a script to grab the addresses out of the email client database. That's what I don't have.
Anyway, I exchanged email with a few people I haven't talked to for a while. So, at least that was good.
For dinner, I had salmon, rice with raisins and salad. Say 1000 or 1200 calories? Call it 1500 for the day, if I can get to sleep without eating anything else.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 15 February 2012 02:13 am |
|
Well, I spent another late night on the Pat's board - up till 3 - and then had a nightmare - and then a dream about 4 or 5 guys playing various instruments. i.e., trumpet guitar etc., while drumming with the other hand, which might explain why the kept dropping the their respective drumsticks. I got up a couple of times to record the songs - the one those guys were playing was kind of like "wipeout", the other one a kind of thing maybe Whitney Houston could have made sound good. So, I didn't get up till like 7:30 or 8. Then I played "Comfortably Numb" till about 9. There's a certain piece where there's a walk-down from a G to a B minor where I kind mess up the rhythm. I started practicing tapping my foot on every other beat, and I think it helped a little.
Then I went to the gym and did cals and the elliptical. I'm definitely giving more effort and sweating more on the elliptical these days in my push toward 155.
Then I came home, showered and weighed 163. For lunch, I had 1.5 scrambled eggs with some cheese and apple. Say, 4 or 500 cals. Then I reworded my resume to emphasize how my work impacted the company, not just what I did, then applied for a consulting job on dice.
MB called for tennis, so I said I could play 1 hour, no more. It was a good workout, and when I got home I was down to 161.5.
All h*ll broke lose, though, when I got back and logged in, as my gmail account was hacked yesterday, and the guy spammed anyone I've ever written an email to with a blank pdf with a virus in it. So, I was dealing with the aftermath of that. I figured out what the virus was, and I'd like to send out a blanket message letting people know what happened. The spam is just phrased and setup oddly enough that you could believe I was trying to send a pdf and somehow sent a blank one.
But, how to I do what the hacker did and make a blanket email? I know he used Imap to download it to his system. He must have a script to grab the addresses out of the email client database. That's what I don't have.
Anyway, I exchanged email with a few people I haven't talked to for a while. So, at least that was good.
For dinner, I had salmon, rice with raisins and salad. Say 1000 or 1200 calories? Call it 1500 for the day, if I can get to sleep without eating anything else.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 16 February 2012 04:07 am |
|
Good Lord - another day without getting any tech work done. Well, at least I got out to a tech meetup. I'm still explaining to people what they got in an email from me was a spammed (and obsolete) virus. Actually, I did renew some old contacts, especially at my last company, whom I haven't talked to for a while. Also, at he meetup I ran into a guy who went to Harvard night school with me. We had a long, geek chat. It's fun to geek out every once in a while.
I didn't workout except for calisthenics today. I had a salad with raisins and six chunks of chicken for lunch and a snack - say, 500 or 700 cals. I had 3 slices of pizza and a 150 cal trail-nuts bar for dinner. Say 900 cals for the pizza, so, a total 1150. Add that to the salad and call it 1800 cals. Oh, yeah - I had a handful of rasins. Another 100. Call it 2k to make it even.
Weight is 163. I wore some jeans tonight I haven't worn for a while, no problem. I like it.
Last edited on 16 February 2012 04:08 am by jackbenimble
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 16 February 2012 07:10 am |
|
jackbenimble wrote: Weight is 163. I wore some jeans tonight I haven't worn for a while, no problem. I like it.
Indeed. Thats a great feeling!!! Keep it up!
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 17 February 2012 02:52 am |
|
I went to the doctors today - I have a hernia of all things. It's not painful, nor particularly threatening, but I might have to have it operated on. I'm choosing to call the surgeon tomorrow (I'm going to say "choosing" instead "have to" or "need to", because of some advice from a self-help book I read a while ago, 7 effective habits).
The good news is my blood pressure was nice and low, 102/60 and the weight was 167 even fully dressed with boot-type shoes. Anyway, I carefully monitor the weight.
I went to a mobile meetup tonight and it was interesting. I learned about some cool software - i'm tempted to get back into apps - they have an exciting *money* feel to them. If only I could figure out some great idea. One app I think would be great is a teaching music theory for guitar game. That's killer, because a lot of people play guitar, and it's a tricky subject made much easier by being a game. I doubt there's an app for it. I just don't have the time for it - I need to be making real money.
The weight is still 163 - it's the pizza that did it. I only had 3 slices, but it's *pizza* for crying out loud - you know it's no good for you.
Tomorrow for sure I do some work on my Spring blog - I'm going to talk about Hibernate, and do a little demo project. Yeah! Forget mobile!
Today, I had, let's see, an omelet and a salad with raisins for lunch -600 cals say - and some raisins for a snack - and salmon and broccolli and rice and raisins for dinner - 1200 cals? And a banana. 100 cals? Call it 2k. I had a good workout at the gym, 750 cals burnt.
So, probably I'll be 163 again tomorrow. At least I didn't have pizza or beer at the meetup. I'm on a diet!
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 17 February 2012 04:24 am |
|
| I need to get back on a diet!
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 17 February 2012 11:49 am |
|
This is a self-motivation post. I'm not totally liking the way my guitar practice has turned lately, which is focused on just learning songs like comfortably numb wish you were here and Patience. I like going through Justin's exercises, and then maybe working on the songs, which is what he recommends. It's just that if I don't rally drill down into a song, it doesn't stick later on. Plus, I don't get the difficult part down.
I'm doing ok with "Comfortably Numb", but when I listen to myself playing it there are still a couple of problems. On is my voice, which is slightly improving but kind of weakish and of tune at times. The other is the rythmn of the strumming, as usual, is to repetitive and boring. I wanted to work in figuring Sandercoes version.
One the plus side, I made up a nice sheet which matches the lyrics with the chords, so I can get through the song. My foot tap is really helping with the keeping the song in rhythm And I learned a nice note to stick in there which makes one of the transitions better.
But, I need to get focused on getting the Java contract. The rate they are talking about are good (except for this one yesterday, which is perfect - close, great technology - but 1/2 the rate. I'm thinking about it just to get Spring on my resume - but I've been in the business for too long to settle for that, I think)
Anyway, I'm working today on getting better with hibernate. I'm going to blog on the chapter in Spring recipes on that, and then review the Spring 3.0 version of it.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 18 February 2012 04:25 am |
|
I changed up the routine a bit today. After guitar, I went right to working on learning Spring, instead of working out. So, I made a nice little entry in my blog on that. The thing about Spring 3 is that it has the ability to create these simple, but working apps automatically. So, you can create these apps, and then analyze them to see what they do. It's a cool and practical way to learn.
One of the guys from the beginner guitar group posted a youtube video of himself playing and singing "Wish you were here." It was pretty amateurish, but I respect the h*ll out of him for doing it. He encouraged other members to do the same, so I made one, too, and posted it. It wasn't *bad*, but, again, my voice is just too thin and off-tune to make the song really enjoyable. Also, the guitar playing isn't really particularly interesting or skilled. That said, well, I finally made my youtube video. Good luck finding it :) Oh, yeah, my wife watched and her comment was, "what do you think?" Great. Well, it's just not that good - I wish I could sing!
Went to the gym, nice workout, came home weighing 161. I'm listening to the radio pretty much instead of watching TV. Since I'm more into guitar, I'm more into music. I'm practicing counting the the beat. It's a good way to pass the time. Same thing in the car. Now the Patriots season is over, they're talking about the red sox in spring training. Yeah, I'll go ahead and pass on that.
More dealing with this tax thing. It's kind of strange, and I'm getting differing advice. We over-contributed to the Roth IRA in 2011, pulled out the over-contribution in 2012, so it sounds like we have to declare the whole thing. Or do we? Because you have up until 4/15 to contribute, why don't you have up to 4/15 to non-contribute?
But the sticky fact is that we did make an over-contribution for a period of a few months, and made money on it. So, it's a taxable event. And since it was a Roth IRA, we will owe a penalty on it. So, if I don't declare the over-contribution, that's not going to look good when the IRS gets the paperwork stating the early withdrawl on something that was never declared. But if we do declare the whole amount, we're paying taxes on something we already paid taxes on. I don't get it. It does sound like we're going to have to declare the whole thing, just to keep square with the IRS.
I did a chapter on my JavaScript book. And here I am.
I didn't do so great on the food today. I had oatmeal and a banana for brekkie, some potato salad for lunch, about 5 slices of sharp cheese for a snack, and some rice and chicken for dinner. I also had several handfuls of raisins, maybe 5. So, more than I have been.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 18 February 2012 11:44 am |
|
Good luck finding it? I looked, I had no luck, but I'd like to see it. It does take a lot of guts, good for you!
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 18 February 2012 01:11 pm |
|
Yeah, Mols, it's buried so deep and there are so many versions, you'll never find it. I couldn't, either.
However, I have some encouragement about the lack of positive feedback from my wife. I found what I thought was a really great cover of it, done finger picking style, by a pretty girl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXRYS7CgMP0
and I asked my wife what she thought. And she said "pretty". And I said, what, her voice, or the girl? And she said, the girl. When I asked about the voice, she said, it's husky, she doesn't really have a voice, there's nothing there. So, I said, are you serious? I think her voice is great. And my wife said, "only opera singers have *great* voices." So, there you go. She's got a very different way of listening to music than I do.Last edited on 18 February 2012 01:12 pm by jackbenimble
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 19 February 2012 10:13 pm |
|
So, I was at 162 this morning. I'm ok with that for now. I'm in the 160-165 area, which was step one. Step 2 is getting down to the 155-160 area.
There are a couple of tiny but good developments. I got a prescription which has totally cleared up these minor but annoying little zits I was getting around the sides of my nose. In the 2-3 weeks I've had it, they've just gone, from the first day. Totally, just like that. I wish I had asked sooner!
The other thing is, I've noticed recently, that due to advancing age, I'm getting a little bit of loose skin under my chin, the precursor of turkey-neck, I guess. I mean, I'm almost 55, this stuff happens. But, I noticed if kind tuck my chin in, I don't really see it any more in the mirror. It has the added effect of making my posture better - you can't pull your chin in without straightening your back and shoulders. So, I have some extra incentive to improve my posture.
Well, I played guitar for a few hours this morning, then went to the gym, then went for my bi-weekly guitar jam. There were only two of us, but it was still worth it. It's really good to play with someone else.
I also focused on singing more in tune, this morning. If I focus on that part, and repeat it, it definitely improves. It gave me some hope.
I wanted to swing by B's to give him another JS lesson, since I was in the area, but he wasn't around, or wasn't picking up. He might be getting tired of it - I hope not!
I've been trying to read my new years goals every day. I put in with my goals the compelling notes Mols had posted about what people think when they are dying. Three or four of them in particular jump out to me:
"When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind."
"From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it."
"Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content."
"Although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win"
Last edited on 19 February 2012 10:18 pm by jackbenimble
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 23 February 2012 03:09 pm |
|
Oddly, my weight is still 163, despite the fact I haven't exercised in several days, except last night. I'm not doing pushups, so maybe I've lost a little bit of muscle mass. I'm seeing the surgeon. tomorrow for my hernia, and possibly schedule an operation.
Here's my quote of the day:
Sterner, The Practicing Mind: Bringing Discipline and Focus Into Your Life (p. 29):
"In summary, it comes down to a few simple rules. Keep yourself process-oriented. Stay in the present. Make the process the goal and use the overall goal as a rudder to steer you efforts. Be deliberate, have an intention about what you want to accomplish, and be aware of that intention. Doing these things will eliminate the judgments and emotions that come from a product-oriented or results-oriented mind."
I signed up for an open-mike night at a local guitar school in April. time will tell if I have the guts to go through with it. It's either going to be "Wish you were here", "Comfortably Numb" or "Patience", all songs I've been working on recently. The singing is the key - I've been working on singing in tune. My wife listened to "Wish You Were Here" this morning and said the second verse was better than the first. I've also been practicing singing standing up, which is new for me.
I had a phone screen a couple of days ago, but it didn't work out. They need a contracter who knows Spring-WS, and my ws experience is with axis. There are significant differences. Web Services are very XML-ish, not that fun, anyway. It would have been a pretty good rate, though.
I've been reviewing my past work to make sure I can speak to it. It's actually not that easy, because some if it's fairly detailed and complex. I have to figure out what I did, and why. It can be time-consuming.
B had a phone screen for a job - I wonder how he did? I hope it works out.
Last edited on 23 February 2012 03:11 pm by jackbenimble
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 24 February 2012 04:18 am |
|
Well, I practiced some more guitar today. I've starting doing Justin's foundation drills again, it makes me happy. I also worked on Comfortably Numb. I'm improving on it, it's a bit out of my range to sing easily in some spots - well, that doesn't take much, that's pretty much covered by the human-audible sound spectrum.
I also made up a really goofy little tune, my wife thought it was funny. Something about meeting your daddy and asking to get married so we could be happy. Like I said, goofy.
I had a chat earlier in the week with my wife about seeing a marriage counselor. She finally agreed to it. She said, it would give her someone to talk to. It was a very civilized conversation, I was extremely diplomatic yet truthful in a non-aggressive way.
We actually talked a little about what it would be like if we divorced, what the pluses and minuses would be. Where we would live, for example. I've mentioned divorce here and there, but I think she could see I was serious about it. She's been making an effort to be sweet the past couple of days - it's got to have had to do with the conversation. Maybe I've got her thinking, hmm, better be careful. Btw, she said she liked the little cards I made for her birthday and Valentine's day. Last edited on 24 February 2012 04:22 am by jackbenimble
|
Hiker
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 24 February 2012 06:59 pm |
|
| Hey Jack, sounds like you and the wife are having some good honest communications. It does sound like maybe she is finally hearing what you are saying.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 25 February 2012 01:30 am |
|
I'm glad you and the wife are having genuine conversations Jack and that she is willing to go to the marriage counselor. I trust that something good will come out of it, some forward movement, better understanding, etc.
How did the appointment go?
Open mic night - you go!! Good for you. I wish I wasn't such a chicken...
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 25 February 2012 03:33 pm |
|
Thanks, Hiker and Mols. I've been influenced by Mol's post about what people think when they die. They wish they spoke up. Either the relationship gets better, or gets ended. Does alimony and borderline poverty trump bad marriage? It *could* be. Because you don't have that negativity and resentment. Things have been better the last few days. I haven't made an appointment yet.
On the open mic - it's at a guitar school, so it's students. Max 20, and I think there are usually less than 10. So, it's not like doing at a bar or anything. Certainly, my singing's got to improve if I'm going to go through with it. But I've been focusing on it.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 26 February 2012 02:30 am |
|
Jack, I am sure your wife doesn't want to be unhappy either. Perhaps there is more room for compromise than you might have expected, either staying in the marriage or not. The fact that she has agreed to counseling is a signal that she knows that things cannot continue on as they are, either. Best wishes to you both to do what is right and best for you.
I used Justin's site to tune up my guitar which has actually been running on too low a pitch. I had though he just had his guitar tuned into a different key, and then I went on a completely separate tuning site and found that it matched his exactly. Oops. I guess my ear isn't what it once was...
In any event, yeah, I started picking out Wish You Were Here, just a bit from memory. I'll have to put a little bit more serious effort into it to learn it.
Have a great evening!
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 26 February 2012 03:21 am |
|
Mols, here's Justin's video on the intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJw4hMjlRYw
For the standard chords to the song, this is perfect:
http://tinyurl.com/3qfrsu5
All the chords are right. You don't even have to bother with the intro, just do those chords.
As far as tuning, a lot of times, I usually do it be sight, with either an app on my android or a web site, although I do try to listen as well just to keep my ear trained. Here's a site for it:
http://www.tunerr.com/
It's a great song, I never get tired of it!
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 26 February 2012 03:26 am |
|
I had a good day today. I worked out on my own, so got back down to 163 after somewhat pigging out at my Mom's last night. I spent about 3 hours doing the next Javascript chapter, that takes me up to chapter 9 completed.
I spent the rest of the day working on understanding a somewhat obscure corner of the computing world, something called spring web services. I made some good progress on it, and got a sample up and running I'm also reviewing the documentation on it. So, I'll have some ammo ready for a phone screen coming up. The odds aren't good, because I don't have any experience in this technology, and they seem like a hard-core group. But, what r u gonna do?
I turned off espn and the news again. I get a lot more focused when I do that. Or, it helps me stay more focused. It's just wasting my time.
|
zenobia
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 26 February 2012 05:20 am |
|
hiya jack!
gonna play catch up now, k?
so i listened to that cover. yup, she is pretty. her voice is nice, too. the thing that bummed me out about her cover was that she lacked the intro. i need that intro for it to feel right. but i'm a total floyd snob. so it goes.
i think Wish You Were Here is my favorite floyd album. i've been listening to shine on you crazy diamond (the parts 1-5 specifically) a lot lately.
and i love that you are learning comfortably numb. did i tell you i'm going to see Waters do The Wall in may? i probably did, but i'm overly freaking excited about it.
"Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content." this is excellent. and it's one that i have been trying so desperately to work on for the last year. i've been really trying to embrace the philosophy "life is short, youth is fleeting, so why not?" just get out there and do it. i don't want to regret not doing things that i want to do. i mean really, what is there to lose?
so, about your cover, gonna leave a hint on how to find it? i would DIE to hear it!!
man, super funny to read this about your relationship and communicating. i just posted about that. super weird. i hope it all works out for the best, whatever direction it may go
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 26 February 2012 03:12 pm |
|
Zen - you know, I'm just so awed by anyone who can actually sing, that my judgement may be blurred. Still, I was blown away by her voice.
You're seing Pink Floyd? Wow. They are coming around Boston, Fenway park, I think. Tickets are tres cher. I saw them in Paris back in the late 80s what an awesome show that was.
You're so right to be looking at life from that perspective...what could be more correct than a person seeing life from his or her deathbed? No more pulling the wool over your own eyes. I've been doing that for way too long. I saw your post, and it's great you spoke up and are working things out. Gotta do it.
I can't give you the link to the video because it s*cks. I wasn't paying attention to the singing, so it's just awful. I'll do a better one soon, I promise.
I just learned just now, sort of. The lions sleeps tonight by the Tokens. It's only 3 chords, and I figured out if you put the bridge on the first fret, you can play it using E, A and B7, and play along with the tune. I kind of stop a bit in the middle to move down the page, but it's such great tune - makes me happy, don't know why.
Last edited on 26 February 2012 03:45 pm by jackbenimble
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 26 February 2012 04:23 pm |
|
jackbenimble wrote: You're so right to be looking at life from that perspective...what could be more correct than a person seeing life from his or her deathbed? No more pulling the wool over your own eyes. I've been doing that for way too long. .
That's actually one of my greatest "fears" Jack, to end up on my deathbed (or even 70 or 80 years old) and look back on life and realize that it is "too late" and that I missed my chance to really "live" my life. Carpe diem.
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 27 February 2012 03:49 pm |
|
mollymoo24 wrote:
jackbenimble wrote: You're so right to be looking at life from that perspective...what could be more correct than a person seeing life from his or her deathbed? No more pulling the wool over your own eyes. I've been doing that for way too long. .
That's actually one of my greatest "fears" Jack, to end up on my deathbed (or even 70 or 80 years old) and look back on life and realize that it is "too late" and that I missed my chance to really "live" my life. Carpe diem.
Well, the good new Mols is your 4x years young and have a long way to go to enjoy your life. Remember, they also said they wished they hadn't worked so hard, and given themselves permission to be happy. I know it's hard to do that, but if we could be silly again like when we were kids, wouldn't that be something special? I know it probably doesn't fly in the executive boardroom, but to have fun an be happy - isn't that what seizing the moment is all about? To have an inclusive kind of fun - even at work? There's so much pressure - if anyone is loose and can lighten things up, it makes work so much more fun. My goal is to allow myself to loosen up and have fun - even, or especially, at work. I'm almost dead, approaching age 55. Why not?
|
zenobia
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 27 February 2012 10:34 pm |
|
ok, 55 is not "almost dead" silly.
and you are soooo right. have whatever fun you can whenever and where ever. i love this outlook :)
i remember a time when my mantra was "get your kicks before the whole sh*t house goes up in flames." i think i need to adopt that again 
Last edited on 27 February 2012 10:35 pm by zenobia
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 28 February 2012 12:45 am |
|
I like where this is going! Caution to the wind! Experience deeply! Do something you've always been afraid to try! What are we waiting for?
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 28 February 2012 04:00 am |
|
Well, I did something slightly nervy yesterday, for me. There was a guy at Panera next to me, and he kept on coughing like every minute, or so. I realized he just wasn't noticing he was doing it and it was going to continue. I tried to zen it out, but I forgot my earphones and it was a distraction. Finally, I said to him, there's honey on the counter if you want to stop coughing, if you don't have coughdrops or something for your cough. I spoke up at least. It's not easy for me to do. I'm not confrontational at all. I'm kind of a wimp, to be honest. Which is strange because I was kind crazy back in the day playing football - I loved the big hit, no fear. But, social is a different thing.
I had a pretty good day today. The phone screen was postponed, which was ok. I'm not sure it's going to happen with those guys anyway. If they do reschedule, I'll have that much more time to prepare.
I also am getting on top of Spring 3 MVC, and maven. I found a great youtube tutorial on maven, and wow, it really was exactly what I needed. i had been trying to tie Spring MVC 3 and Hibernate together to create a complete front to back transaction. But, when it crashed, I had no clue - I still haven't found where the logs are on the tc server the comes the STS, the Spring IDE.
But the maven tutorial showed me a number of things, including how to plug in to the pom.xml and run the jetty server. Also, how to get the maven plug-in into STS, which is a a huge convenience. The key thing is that the STS projects are all maven-based, so if you can get control of maven, then you're in a much better postion to control things.
Once I finished the excellent tutorials, 9 of them, I got back to trying to put together the front-to-back service, and I was running the jetty server right from STS. That's when I finally saw the errors. Sweet. Actually, the first one was some kind of compilation errors. Then - the service actually compiled to a web-app. Sweet. But then it crashed on some declarative stuff. So, I had to untangle that one. That was key because that's where I was joining the two separate projects together. Suddenly - the service was up and running. Wow. But, it crashed on a transaction error when I tried save the data. But I knew I was getting there. I googled the error, and figured out that I just needed to put the transactional tag on the updating method. And boom - It worked! I wrote the input string out to the db via Spring's Hibernate, then read it back out, and displayed it back on the input screen - after modifying it to make sure I wasn't just redisplaying the input parameter.
This is big. I've been wanting to get Spring/Maven/Hibernate on my resume for a while. A lot of gigs have that as a requirement. So, I'm going to make my app into a simple ToDo application and put it on my resume. Here's what it's going to look like:
"Created a Todo list application using Spring 3 MVC and Hibernate."
I'll also add jetty server and maven to the buzzword list. All I need to is create a really, really simple front and a really simple database. One tables, that's all it's going to be. I'm over the hump on this one.
Last edited on 28 February 2012 04:09 am by jackbenimble
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 29 February 2012 03:33 am |
|
Good/bad news today. I had a very good interview with a company with great technology and very close by - 10 minutes driving. The bad news - they pay 2/3 the market rate. Owwcch. I don't know if I can do it.
I took a little break and looked up some Pats drafting stuff and played some guitar. Tomorrow, I'll pick up the slack, and start studying Groovy. I have an interview on Friday. They will pay better, but Groovy is kind of an obscure, very niche technology.
Weight was 163 this morning. I'm going to bed nice an early.
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 29 February 2012 03:42 am |
|
jackbenimble wrote: Good/bad news today. I had a very good interview with a company with great technology and very close by - 10 minutes driving. The bad news - they pay 2/3 the market rate. Owwcch. I don't know if I can do it.
There must be a lot of people looking right now if they can hire someone at the right quality/experience for 2/3 the market rate. I don't get it. Maybe they are lowballing but will come up a bit if they really like you. You can always negotiate, as long as you have a minimum salary you can accept in mind. And, you could always take it and keep looking I suppose. It's not nice, but you gotta do what you gotta do. And..there's something to be said for the short commute, really. You will have more time for guitar and all that. Well, I hope you get an offer anyway.
Good luck with the other one on Friday too...glad to see you have some things in the works!
|
mollymoo24
Distinguished Member
| Joined: | 30 December 2007 |
| Location: | Chicago, USA |
| Posts: | 6271 |
|
Posted: 29 February 2012 03:43 am |
|
I wanna learn how to play this. :)
Beach House - Zebra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jIwvQkBUt4
|
jackbenimble
Distinguished Member
|
Posted: 29 February 2012 11:08 pm |
|
Mols - that's a cool tune. I played around with it a little bit - I think the key is F#, so if you put a bridge on the first fret you can play it like it's the key of G. But, I didn't workout the chords G, C, ? And I don't know the chords up on the neck he's playing. It's above my pay grade.
On the lowballing on work, it kind of bothers me. Consultants should get paid *more* not less, than salaried workers, since they're carrying their own benefits. I'm sure I'm not handling the networking aspect properly, if after 20 years in the business I'm coming up with rates like this. But, I've got a weird mix of experience that's kind of light on Enterprise stuff due to the last company I was in, so, I don't have that specialty. I have some telecom/protocol - lots of it in fact - but that's not where I'm looking.
Well, if I get this one, I can suck it up for a few months and then move on. I hate to do that, I like to stick around. But, if they are so tight with the rates. I don't want get greedy, but I want to get what I'm due. IT is a good profession, outsourcing is not nearly as popular as it once was. I'm on the last 10 years or so of my career, I can't be screwing around with the lowball rates - much. I might as well just get hired somewhere and get the benefits and the free lunches and all that good stuff.
|
|
|
|
|
