Trying to stay on track

As I stated in a previous post, getting laid off sucks, especially if it happens twice in three months time.

To be honest I haven't been all the productive since getting laid off the day before Thanksgiving, and this being the holiday season hasn't helped my morale all that much. But this morning I woke up, and apparently was pissed off enough about the situation that I decided to give myself a good swift kick in the butt and get going again.

While it's not great progress, I have started reading Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML again. To be honest I should have finished this book several months ago. I am also cracking the pages of Head First C#, and setting up Visual Studio on a new system that someone gave me.

I am hoping that just burying myself in coding for a couple weeks will help me get over the funk and past the holidays. Playing with the NXT bot should help too.

I'll also be adding to the blog and updating some of the links I have, especially the Interesting employement links, and web development links.

That's it for now. Feel free to comment because it would be nice to know if somene actually reads this blog.

Just a ramble on being technology agnostic.

I have previously posted here before about the need to avoid being biased towards or against certain technologies such as browsers, and I would like to now expand upon my thoughts about technology agnosticism.

What brought this about is that now that I am looking for work again I have recently had several people tell me that I should get rid of my GMail account if I am thinking about applying at Microsoft, and in the past I have had recruiters tell me that I shouldn't list my UNIX or Linux experience on my resume if I want to work at Microsoft.

I find this kind of amusing since the people telling me to ditch GMail don't even work at Microsoft, and I know quite a few people working at Microsoft who use GMail, Yahoo email, or other non-Microsoft email services. Some people at Microsoft have told me that they could care less if I have UNIX or Linux experience listed on my resume. As a matter of fact, depending on the work, listing my UNIX and Linux experience may even help me find a job there.

I think a lot of this has to do with the mythology and misinformation that has been built up around Microsoft culture, and while I haven't had anyone tell me to ditch my Hotmail account if I plan to apply at Google, I am certain there are people out there telling potential Google applicants to do just that. Personally I don't plan to make any drastic changes either way.

To be honest I think it is in the nature of every good geek to try different technologies, and it's always a good idea to check out the competition. Focusing exclusively on one type or brand of technology can only limit ones experience. Broadening your horizons can only help, not hurt you.

It's like the ridiculous OS wars, or Vi vs. Emacs debate. Getting all worked up over which technology is best is a waste of time. Technology is a tool, nothing more, and people should use what tool works for them.

Hey, if I could afford it and if I had the time, I would be playing with every OS out there. I still work with Windows 98 for some legacy projects, and I will continue to do so. As a matter of fact I have plans to put Windows 95 on an older system (when I have time :) Eventually I will have a NAS using FreeNAS, and possibly a Open BSD firewall on my network too. As for what distro of Linux is best, again it's a matter of what works for each person, and I plan to play with several.

In the prevoius post on browsers, I admitted that I was biased and that I needed to work with IE, as well as other browsers. While people may not alway have the time, energy, or finances, to play around with different technologies, they should at least be willing to try new technologies should the opportunity present itself, so take the opportunity when you can.

Bots and blogs

Here are a couple shots of the Lego NXT robot I built over the last few days. Right now I am using the canned programs that came with the kit, but over time I hope to learn C# and then use the Microsoft Robotics Studio to create new routines for the robot.


It's not a bad little bot, and the motors have more than enough power to send it flying right off the table. The robot seemed a little flimsy while I was building it, but it was sturdy enough once I finished. My one complaint is that it requires 6 AA batteries, so I need to pick up some more AA Ni-MH if I am going to get serious about working with the bot.

On other fronts I have been updating my resume, reading Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, and updating my other blogs. I'm hoping to get some feedback on both the Cloudymidnights, and Urbanspelunkers blogs. If you have a moment, check out the blogs and let me know what you think.

Working on a new plan and trying to stay positive.

I was able to get in a little decompression in over the holiday weekend along with quiet time to think about where I go from here. Getting laid off sucks, especially twice in one year, and getting laid off sucks even more if it's during the holidays.

I cannot let myself get down, nor am I blaming anyone, it's just a fact of life given the economy. I just have to focus on staying positive, and I know I can do this if I focus on my studies and several creative projects I have had in the back of my head for some time. This will help me get past the holidays, and I can move forward.

I have been expanding scope of the Urbanspelunkers blog, and will start reworking of the site this week. There are articles planned for the Cloudymidnights blog, several of which are focused on resources for visually impaired astronomers.

As for the studies, I need to finish up Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML, then move forward with some more advanced web design books, along with starting up C# studies.

I am still flushing out my long term plans, but regardless of where I finally decide to go, I know it will the right move for me.

Back on the bus again.

I just found out today that I am being laid off due to a restructuring, so I am back to looking for work again.

What is particularly sad about this lay off is that I was working with a great group of people, and many of them are also being let go too.

I'm going to use the holiday break to decompress a little, and then get going with the job search again on Monday. I'll also be hitting the books harder too.

Wish me luck.

Fonts, colors, and weight with CSS.

I didn't get a lot of reading done over the last week, but I did dive back in to Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML and got going with Chapter 9. It is slow progress, but progress none the less. It's great learning how to set fonts, colors, and weight with CSS. It will be nice once I get done to finally apply this stuff to my sites. Yeah, I know, once I get done. This seems to be taking a long time, but given the dynamics of everything that has happened in the last few months, I think I am doing quite well.

As for getting started with the robotics, I decided to go through the NXT manual and familiarize myself with everything instead of just loading the software and trundling along getting lost. Hopefully by next weekend I'll have a little bot running around. I'll post some pictures if I get something running.

Settling in.

I am starting to settle in to my new job, and I am hoping to get back to my studies and hobbies in the new future. I know I haven't been posting here that much, but I haven't really had much to say with regards to studies or my hobbies.

I do need to get back on track with the studies so I can improve my sites and actually make them worth viewing. Maybe I should just spend some time reworking the sites off-line, so as to push me to study more. There have to be some tricks out there to get the studies going again.

Any suggestions?

Catching up for the week.

I have been really busy over the last week, so I have not had a chance to post here until now.

Work is going great! I am settling in and I am making good progress and learning a lot. I would like to say I have been making the same progress with my HTML studies, but just haven't had time to sit down with the Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML book lately. I am hoping get in so study time over this weekend. Even though I have a job, I still want to develop and improve my skill set, and I definitely need to clean up my web sites. I also will continue to develop my interest in web accessibility.

I am going to drop the Apache, PHP, and MySQL studies for now, and start up with C# shortly. Studying C# will not only help me at work, but also may be beneficial with my robotics work using Microsoft Robotics Studio (MRS) from what I have been told. I will be using the Lego NXT system to start with because it can be used with MRS and it's easy to work with.

Given that it's now "that season" in the Seattle (cloudy, rainy, dreary) I'll be taking my astonomy interest inside and play with some of the free astronomy programs that come with Ubuntu as well as working with the Astro Link Blog and the Cloudymidnights Blog. I'll also be playing around with my CoCo, though I'll be posting more about that on the 8-Bit Retro Computing Blog.

I think I'll be busy for quite some time. Cheers! :)

New job is great.

Just a quick note to say my new job is great, and I am enjoying it. I haven't had any time to study, but I hope to get some time in this weekend. Once things settle down I know I will start making steady progress again. I'll post more later in the week.

Getting ready to start my new job!

I am really excited about starting my new job tomorrow and I know it's going to be a great experience for me especially since it's line line with my goals.

I know I should have posted more than once last week, but I was busy finishing up some projects around the house plus trying to get in some study time. I didn't finish the Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML book like I wanted to, but I'll keep plugging at it. I am starting to learn about classes in HTML/CSS and I am putting down some ideas I have come with to retool my sites. I will post more about that later.

One of the house projects that I am glad to have finished was setting up my old Radio Shack Color Computer (CoCo) in it's own dedicated spot. I have photos up on the 8-Bit-Retro Blog. Swing by and take a look, and leave a comment if you want.

Well it's time for me to get some sleep. I promise to post more this week.

Getting back to work.

The last few days have been really exciting. Like the subject says, I am getting back to work and will start my new job in a week. I'm really stoked about finding a new job, especially one that falls inline with with my goals.

I won't go into too much detail right now, but I will eventually rework my Linkedin profile to reflect my new position. What really made getting this job exciting is that it wasn't the only offer I had within a 24 hour period.

Getting back to work means I will have to change my self study program a bit, but I will still focus on web development. I plan to finish Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML before I start the new job and then move on to C# and do a little refreshing of my network fundimentals.

I'll add more over the next few days.

Not bad after a week off from studies.

I was pretty much able to pick up where I left off a week ago, and start getting a good grip on CSS.

It's pretty amazing how having each page reference a style sheet can add so much flexibility and streamline the design process. I can definitely see how this will help in the retooling of all of my sites, plus any projects that come my way in the future.

After some correspondence with one of the experts in accessibility, I have decided to forgo the HTML vs. XHTML debate for now, and stay focused on learning XHTML. Down the road HTML 5.0 will make itself know, but I need to learn the basics and focusing on XHTML is the best course for me now.

Catching up.

Wow! I missed a weeks worth of posting to this blog. I have been buried with my job search, and really haven't had time to do much else besides some cleaning.

I had to put my web design studies on hold last week, but I will be getting back to them now. I haven't lost my focus in the pursuit of my goals, just a weeks worth of time due to a very hectic schedule. I will get back in the swing of things this week.

Now that my place is more organized, including my SOHO network, I now can move forward with more aspects of my studies including running at least one dedicated web server. I'll also be able to dive into a few other projects like my Lego robotics system, and my retro-computing.

Things are moving along, maybe not as fast as I would like, but I am seeing progress.

Dealing with disappointment and moving forward.

Friday evening I found out that one of the positions I interviewed for last week went to someone else. Needless to say I was a little disappointed, but that's life and I have to keep moving forward in my job search and studies.

One thing I did yesterday to help get my mind off the disappointment of not getting the job was to go on a cleaning binge.

Not only did the cleaning binge help me deal with Friday's disappointment, it also helped clear out even more stuff that I don't need, and in the process I got better organized so I can move forward with my job search. Getting organized will also help my studies in web development as well as some personal projects (robotics, and retro-computing).

If you have been following this blog for any length of time you may be wondering how much stuff I really have stashed at my place. The simple answer is "way too freaking much"

I am a geek, and like many geeks I have more than a passing interest in way too many things. I have been making good use of my time off from work to refocus my life and priorities, and it is starting to pay off.

Some times you just have to take the disappointments in life, and use them to motivate yourself to better things, and that is what I am doing.

I'll have more on my studies and and possibly other topics in the next blog entry.

Being "old" vs. being "experienced"

I've been buried all week long with my job search as well as working on clearing out even more stuff, so I can focus more on my priorities. Needless to say studies have taken a back seat, but I am still moving forward with them (learning CSS now)

One thing that kind of hit me like a gut punch when I first started my job search was several recruiters telling me not to list my total years experience, so I am not considered too "senior" for the positions I am applying for. Having just turned 50 I am a little concerned about bias due to my age, but that may not be the case. I believe the term "senior" has more to do with title and compensation expectations more than age, and considering I am looking for something more mid-range that should not be an issue.

It is interesting that the last couple interviews I have had have been with companies needing someone with a lot of experience to help them move forward in their product development. In my 26 years in high tech, I have participated in the release of many new products and technologies, and functioned on several different levels in that capacity.

So maybe being considered senior with compensation and title expectations may not be a good thing for me, but being considered senior with regards to the experience that I can offer a prospective employer is a good thing. So now I have another tool to help market myself.