My Learning Log

Blog

  • getting better

    I need to be a plorific worker.My first priority at work should always be: how can I make the environmentbetter, how can I make improvements to the products that will make them better.I think this is what will and is setting me apart. I think I’m viewed as detailoriented. I always want to be on top.
     
    For instance, yesterday Iidentified an issue that is apparent on our site. Trying to find staff. So Isuggested a feature called section filters. After a bit of discussion, Iproposed my changes today. They were well received and it looks like we willrelease them soon. I have made several changes like this before. It’s this stuffthat counts, I think. It’s these little things that I can add to myaccomplishments.
     
    I really enjoy talking andplaying with my son. He’s been really fun since he’s turned 2. I can now play abit of a ball with him. I can now read stuff with him. I can talk to him overthe phone. Talking over the phone, he still has to improve a lot, but he’smaking some very good progress.
     
    What’s on my to learn list? Ithink I will focus now on strengthening my Java skills. I want to finish theEffective Java book. After that, I think i’ll jump into Hibernate. It’s still ahot item. Plus, it will allow me to strengthen my JPA skills. I want to utilizethese in my store project.
     
    One other thing that sets meapart, is when I make changes, not only do I try to make sure that I don’t makethings worse, but when possible, I make improvements. That’s what I did today,with adding special settings. I should communicate that to thegroup.

  • being bored

    I was just asked by Marine, areyou bored? I turned red. But the fact is, yes, I’m bored. There are not a lot ofthings going on. So I do a lot of personal development. I am learning jQuery. Iam actually trying to practice it by writing simple scripts. That’s probably theonly way to learn on a deeper level. I think it’s working for me. I am gettingit. I think I have become knowledgeable enough about jQuery. That’s great. Ithink it’s a very good framework and that makes it veryvaluable.
     
    My son is two and four months.He just started child care last week. He is crying a lot. I actually have todrop him off because it is too hard for my wife. He does not want to let go offme. He does not want to stay. He says he wants to go to mommy’s school. He isattached. But there is improvement. He did not cry a lot today. He actuallyparticipated. He drew. He was listening and was happy there. That’s animprovement. But there is a long way to go. I think it might take several moredays for him to really get comfortable. We’ll see.
     
    Fabian is also learning toswim. Or getting comfortable with water I should say. He is not afraid of water.He likes to submerge. He still struggles to move his hands and legs at the sametime, but he’s making improvements. Step by step, I think he might be swimmingin a few months. I hope so. When he does, I am sure taking him topools/beaches/etc. It’s a lot of fun!

  • practicing

    I read a very interesting article today. That remind me, I should find it. I did. It basically confirmed who I am. I consider myself a pure developer. I like to develop. I like to write code, even for fun. And if I want to become better, I will have to continue practicing. At work. And at home. I have great motivation and I’m learning a lot when I’m doing, so I should start doing stuff! My project to create an amazon store is a good one. Even if it does not work totally I still want to complete it. Because I will learn a lot by doing it, jQuery, php, java, sql, you name, I will have to do that. And that’s why I need to start doing it. To become better.

  • At work

    Things have slowed down atwork. I think it’s a good think. It allows me to make sure that I work towardsbettering as a software developer. I have several things I need to improve. Iwould like to spend at least an hour to two hours, probably not more, learningdev-related things, practicing new technologies. I really have to do that togain some momentum. I have to do that to prepare myself for the next job, nextproject. That’s who I am. And that’s my strength.
     
    I want to learn JavaScript andjQuery. These are really important for me. We’re doing a lot of front-end workhere. I need to get better utilizing these technologies to my advantage. And tohelp me become even bigger contributor.

  • New year

    I have got to get back tobasics again. I am spending too much time on kacwin’s website. Yes, I’mlearning, but enough is enough. I got a nice pickup in traffic recently, whichgets me excited, but I’m losing my focus from more important, work relatedstuff. Also high on the list is dev-improvement, which should be my focus aswell, especially in this economy.
     
    I have become an early riserrecently, which is great. I can wake up at 6 and take a shower right away.That’s the key. Previously, I was watching tv first, or even doing someexercises first. That had slowed me down, even to the point of laying down.Right now it’s quick, I just take a shower and I’m refreshed. Worksperfectly.
     
    I have to focus on mypriorities now. work is number one. dev improvement is number two. working onwebsites is number three. writing is number four. Or something like that,anyway. Priorities. Focus. And 2009 will be a great year!

  • at work

    We had a pretty big releasetoday. We are making incremental improvements. Things are beginning to takeshape. And we’ve started increasing traffic to our sites. That’s a good thing.I’ve been making my suggestions. I actually have been very active in theprocess. During our suggestion gathering, I’ve submitted quite a few. As Iuncover something, I email it. I’d like to be part of the future. I want to beinvolved. I am also contributing. I want other people to know what I can do, myviews, and that my suggestions are thought out.
     
    There are still quite a fewthings we should do better. Still things to improve upon. Hopefully we continuethat way.

  • being ready — always learning — deepening java skills

    I am learning a lot at work lately. I’m still mostly a Java programmer. We have not been doing a lot of pure java development here at work. But that’s where I consider myself to be the strongest. That’s why I have to pick it up on my own. Every day, whether it’s an hour or two or more, I need to develop my java skills. I want to keep trying new things. I want to be always learning, always on the edge. If things pop up in the market, I want to be ready. What are some of the things that come up? jquery, web services, spring, soa, maven. All of these things need to in my brain. I have to sharp in those. Not only for the next job, but also for the next project. Who know what might come up?

  • more time

    I am starting to get back to “my learning” overdrive. Things have slowed down at work. I am having a better time concentrating and I have finally found way to write more and read more at work. My goal is to better my dev skills and develop a more-influence in my role. I would like to also find ways to be more productive at work.

  • Many things to do

    There are always things thatcan be improved. That’s the case with our current site, and that’s the case withmyself. I think I”m doing that. I like to read. However, before launch, we’vebeen handling many tasks.
     
    I will try to do the followingthings every day. I shall try to read an article and a book for a while everyday at work. I will try to stay away from just reading news. I will also try towrite or learn something new about programming. The best way to do that isactually by writing a program and experimenting with some code. I am aprogrammer and I love to program. So that’s what I should be polishing. And Ithink I am and I will.
     
    I got a Effective Java book. Iwant to learn about jQuery. I want to learn either Python or Ruby. I will alsotry to work on my side projects. And web services, that’s becoming a must have,I think.
     
    Just like that, there are manythings to learn and many things to do!

  • tough market

    Things are just really, reallybad on the market. I am losing a lot of money. And things might get a lot worsebefore they get better. Really. Stocks are off around 40% from their peak! Yes,they are off by that much. And they keep getting lower. I had a chance to recoupsome of the money I invested recently with a decent gain, but I guess I gotgreedy and waited. And my gain has just been erased today, and I might actuallybe losing money. That’s really bad. Should I guy Citigroup? I don’t know. Thefinancial sector is just awful. Can it get any worse. I don’t know. It’spossible that stocks will rebound a bit because they seem oversold to me. Butthat might be wishful thinking.
     
    Will people get fired from mycurrent company? I think that’s inevitable. It’s going to happen. Will I getfired? What will I do? I think it’s out of my control. I have worked hard and Ithink I have proven that I belong here. But I have to prepare for the worse. Ihave to prepare and be ready to find a new job. I have to be prepared mentallyand also be competent enought that I will find something. I am I will if I needto, but I hope to ride out the current storm intact.