Sunday, January 27, 2008

Uncommon Days Require Uncommon Actions

What's a typical or common day? For students, wake up, go to school, work part-time, go home, and study. For full-time workers, wake up, go to work, go home, and go to sleep. There are breakfast, lunch, dinner, breaks, and leisure in between. What if a typical or common day is not? We experience uncommon days many times in our lives. Go with the flow. Break the common daily cycle and do uncommon actions to minimize the additional stress.

For instance, I was driving to Sacramento on Saturday January 12, 2008. My driver side rear tire blew out on Interstate 880 in Milpitas. I changed tires with California Highway Patrol help and arrived in Sacramento no problems at all. Here are pictures of the blown out tire:

Tire 1
Tire 2
Tire 3
Tire 4

On Monday January 14, 2008, I went to work early so I can leave work early to purchase a new tire. I skipped my morning breakfast and arrived at work early. I like to eat breakfast at home to save money eating out. I purchased breakfast at my company's cafeteria. Then I went to my cubicle to eat breakfast and to work. I left work at 4:00pm to purchase my new tire. I arrived home at 5:30pm. Usually, I arrived home before 7:00pm—most of the time around 6:40pm.

At 9:00pm, I worked on assignments. Fortunately, my position I finish my assignments at work. I'm old school such that I work at work and I relax at home. I telecommuted six hours total since I started working in March 2007.

Always expect anything can happen to alter a typical day for good and for bad. I hate an unexpected event which ruins my daily plans to complete assignments. I'm a do it person who likes to finish everything on my to-do list. However, shit happens. When it happens, uncommon actions are a must.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Essay Exam Or Multiple Choice Exam

What test format do you prefer? Essay or multiple choice? Almost every student choose multiple choice. Am I correct? Multiple choice exams the student reads the question and selects the correct choice(s). I took multiple choice exams there are more than one answer. If the student either forgets the answer or has no idea the answer, then the student makes a guess. Always answer all multiple choice questions. And never change the answers. The probability the student answers correctly the first time is higher than changing the answer from wrong to correct—assuming the student absolutely and positively confident the first answer is wrong.

Essay exams the student writes down the answer to the question. The student must write key concepts in sentences. The more key concepts the student writes, the higher the score. The student need not worry about grammar. The instructor has no time to correct grammar. If the instructor thinks the essay is interesting to read regardless of good or bad grammar, then the student done a good job answering the question proving the instructor the student knows the material.

My suggestion is take the essay exam. Students are penalized in multiple choice exams if they don't know the answer, and the success rate for guessing is small. Conversely, students are rewarded in essay exams when they know the material. Students earn higher scores when they write more concepts. If the student can write the material in basic grammar, then the student earn a good grade.

Saturday, January 05, 2008

I Wake Up, Now What

O.K. I wake up from bed. Now what? I’m 33 years old, work full time, live with my parents, and spend free time on my hobbies including anime, gym, and reading. Is the rest of my life living like this? What am I supposed to do? What are my potentials to reach my maximum achievement, my ultimate happiness, and my future adventures I seek to experience?

In college, my future was set. I wanted to be a business research analyst in Silicon Valley. I never thought about marriage and raising a family, owning a house, where I live, the new people I meet, taxes, owning a car, and finding new hobbies and interests. All I thought about was my career. All I thought about was myself such that I could do everything myself. I could do it alone. Once I worked, then I thought about the rest. After I graduated, I found a job; unfortunately, I never thought about the rest. I was naïve. I was a college student with the wisdom of a grade school student.

Today, I don’t know what to do with my life. Since 2000, I tried many new activities and learn new ideas. I learned VB Basic, XML, JavaScript, ASP.Net, Dreamweaver, SQL, Photoshop, and Illustrator. I succeeded in learning SQL and Photoshop. I worked in two commercial real estate companies in 8 years. Dead end careers. I invested in the stock market which I lost too much money. I sold all my stocks in mid 2007. I didn’t seek to meet new people. I felt lonely. I tried rollerblading which I had little interest to improve. I went to anime cons alone. Cons are fun attending with friends.

However, I do know what to do now. Live life. Move forward. Life is the present. Create action. Keep doing what I’m doing, and find ways to do it better and better. Don’t be afraid to fail. Seek new hobbies and interests. Always meet new people. Keep my senses focused for new opportunities. Never stop innovating. Examples of success since 2000 include working at Cisco, owning a car, cosplaying at anime cons, meeting new people, new website Innovate Infinitely at www.innovateinfinitely.com, trips to Canada, trips to Las Vegas, buying and selling on eBay and half.com, listening to classic rock music, reading books, and running on the treadmill in the gym.

I find what I’m supposed to do with my life in time. Finding what I’m supposed to do with my life are my successes and my failures. What can I do to influence people? Who do I find to make each other happy and tell each other life is good? It’s impossible to live life without a lover in my opinion. Am I going to be a CEO, a federal officer, street sweeper, small business owner, truck driver, house husband, real estate investor, IT technician? I don’t know. I’m lost.

I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow. Maybe I die tomorrow and fail to find what I’m supposed to do. Maybe I live life to the end of my time and never find what I’m supposed to do. Whatever happens, I want to live my life continuing to find what I’m supposed to do and find someone to share my life. The reasons we live are to find what we are supposed to do and find someone to share in our life. I wake up everyday because of the two reasons.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

25 Skills Every Man Should Know

I read an article By The Editors of Popular Mechanics on msn.com http://men.msn.com/articlepm.aspx?cp-documentid=5741230. The article lists 25 skills every man should know. IMO, there are some skills every man don't really need to know. I like to mention two of the 25 skills I learned which are car related.

1. Patch a Radiator Hose

Steam hissing from a ruptured radiator hose? Here's a relatively easy, temporary fix with duct tape.

Wait for the engine to cool off. Open the hood and locate the source of the steam — i.e., the rupture. Clean and dry the area around the fissure; the tape won't stick as well on a damp, dirty surface.

Wrap 2 to 3 in. of duct tape around the hose over the hole; press firmly.

Overwrap the patch (the hose will be under intense pressure) from 2 to 3 in. above the original piece to about 2 or 3 in. below, then work your way back. Check your radiator level before cranking the engine. "If it's seriously low and you don't have a can of coolant, use water or, in an emergency, diet soda," says Tony Molla of the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence and former pro wrench jockey. "Avoid using fruit juice or anything with sugar or acids in it. It'll corrode the radiator and hoses."

15. Get a Car Unstuck

When you're stuck, don't gun the engine to get out — the tires will only dig in deeper. Instead, straighten the steering wheel, then dig out as much sand, snow or mud from around the front or rear of the tires as you can, depending on the direction you want to go. Place a floor mat snugly under a portion of each drive wheel (if your vehicle is 4wd, position a mat under each wheel). Ease the vehicle onto the mats. If there's a passenger, have him push the vehicle in the direction you want to go. Repeat the procedure as needed, slowly progressing in the direction of travel until the vehicle is free.

TIP: "To maximize traction, lower the tires' air pressure by 10 to 15 psi or until the sidewall begins to bulge. This spreads out the footprint of the tire, helping the vehicle float over terrain. Drive slowly and air the tires back up as soon as possible." —Ben Stewart, PM auto editor

Other skills every man should know IMO include protecting a computer from viruses (number 2), perform CPR (12), maneuver a car out of a skid (14), and backup computer data (16).