A Beginning Of An End Began On Fri Jul 24, 2026

I completed errands first thing in the morning yesterday. I filled my car with gas. I shopped for groceries. I withdrew cash at the bank. I paid a department store's credit card bill. The rest of the day I cooked the household meals. I read books. I job searched. I checked my emails. I exercised.

A day-long thought was in the back of my head. The self job training is ending. I started the self job training in May 2015. I reviewed existing skills SQL, VBA, Excel, and HTML. I learned new skills including Python, CSS, JavaScript, Git, Power BI, Linux, and R. I fulfilled the reviewing and the learning on Mar 25, 2024 self graduating with a degree in Analytics Research Technology. The detailed timeline is the blog Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology posted on Apr 19, 2024.

I reduced the post graduate self job training to three days a week starting on Nov 2024. I finished reviewing HTML and CSS. Python and Excel continue. The AI training is the basics concentrating on Claude and Gemini. There are no plans for a post graduate degree.

Get Back

I may be going back to the year 2010. Get Back to year 2010? I wrote the Get Back blog on Jul 13, 2011. Today's Get Back is somewhat different than the Jul 13, 2011's Get Back. Excel reviewing and Python learning are indefinite. The two are my De Anza College classes. There are free and paid AI classes. Which classes match my career?

Furthermore, there is free time on days I don't self job train. What do I do? There are anime series I neither started nor finished during my anime days. There are video games on my Steam account I never played. Hiking is an option. I can't exclude a visit to San Francisco. Ice skating is being planned for Winter 2026. There are curbs to happy go-lucky days. There are barriers to fun. There are financial limits. My maturity keeps me in check.

Children Growing Use The Bowls Indicators

I poured a bowl of Cheerios in the morning for a quick breakfast before a full breakfast. I woke up late because I woke up multiple times last night. I needed to prepare the household meals.

The size of the bowl was the smallest bowl. I reminded myself the smallest bowl size matched the size I ate Cheerios when I was a child attending grade school. The bowl size increased when my body grew bigger. I realized my stomach grumbled in school too many times. The bowl sized increased again in high school.

Parents use the bowls indicators to determine how fast your children are growing. Use the bowls indicators to budget the household groceries. Use the bowls indicators to prove their physical changes. Be prepared for bigger bowl size changes in rapid time.

The Broccoli Indicator

Another physical change indicator was eating broccoli. I ate four pieces of broccoli when I was a child. One reason was to share the broccoli with the family. Another reason was to control the grocery costs. I listened to my growing body. I ate more broccoli as a teenager.

Update On A Past Blog

The Five Year High School is still a good idea in today's Information Age. I wrote the blog on Jan 28, 2011. I said, "There is more to learn and know. Expectations and requirements are more challenging. Life today is more complex 20 years ago." True today.

There is a four year junior high school if junior high school is defined as sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade. Eighth grade students enroll in eighth grade twice. Click The Journal Podcast The Big Business Of Holding Back Eighth Graders.

The School's Specialty Is Teaching ABCs And 123s

I think back from my kindergarten to my high school senior year. I listen to family stories their children attending K-12 schools. A school's specialty is education. There is nothing more. There can be less. Anything else is a bonus. The supplemental support is available on school campus such as counseling, college advice, nutrition, library services, and medical. School computers meet any minimum standards at best. Expectations should be low. The students receive a public education as a government service funded by the tax dollars. Students who want stronger supplemental learning or supplemental help should look outside the school campus.

Teachers are not the best at their subjects. Otherwise, the teachers aren't in the education field. If the teachers are the best, then they get promoted to an incompetent higher position. The Peter Principle applies in the education field. Likewise, the promotions include counselors, deans, administrators, principals, janitors, and school support staff. Furthermore, if a teacher teaches their students how to learn from making mistakes, the teacher must quit teaching school. Find a better job.

I have an understanding some students blame any teacher, support staff, or administrative staff for not solving their problems. They're not the best. It's the education system. Times have changed. Students and parents bear more responsibility to solve their own problems. Fortunately, in today's Information Age, there are online resources and information. Good luck.

Finally, what's today's public reaction if they saw the 1980s Public Service Announcement commercial Reach For The Power, Teach Teaching PSA, 1988 or 80s Teacher Commercial today? The commercial is not a representation of today's Information Age youth. The youth may be vomiting.

Update On A Past Blog

I Wasn't A Dumb Child After All and I Wasn't A Dumb Child After All. The two blogs were written on Apr 17, 2019 and Aug 3, 2013, respectively. The Apr 17, 2019 blog I realized my poor short-term memory falsely convinced me I was dumb. I learn. I forgot. I must be dumb.

The Aug 3, 2013 blog I blamed my parents because they were poor teachers. Let's be objective. Some people can't teach. Both my parents can't teach.

I wanted to learn. I wanted to succeed. I was motivated. Unfortunately, nobody taught me the skills to learn and to succeed in my childhood. I wanted to do well. I didn't learn flexibility. I didn't learn adaptability. I didn't learn frustration tolerance. I didn't learn problem solving. I worried too much. Nobody taught me to stop worrying too much.

Top Ten Plus Seven Equals Top Seventeen Favorite Arcade Games

Playing video games in the arcade was a childhood moment. Playing arcade games on video game consoles was a childhood moment. The pure arcades are rare today. Computers, emulators, consoles, internet, and cell phones make playing classic arcade games accessible.

I was a below average arcade player. I can say I completed Blood Brothers and Area 51 in one coin without continuing. Moreover, Area 51 was the arcade game I played when I attended San Jose State University. Many of the seventeen arcade games relate to a life memory. Blood Brothers is number five. Area 51 is number two.

I recognize Ghost Squad as a favorite arcade game released in 2004. Ghost Squad was my first game I played at the Golfland weekend opening morning unlimited arcade game play. I'm one of the few players who prefer the shotgun. I also recognize Metal Slug 2 as a favorite arcade game released in 1998. The victory music at the end of every mission is great. Eri was my character.

Here are my top ten plus seven equals top seventeen favorite arcade games. These favorites are from my childhood to my young adult years attending San Jose State University.

17. Super Pac Man. I watched the game for the first timing confused when Pac Man became big he didn't chomp the ghosts. The first time I played I made it to level 3 without dying.

16. Super Mario Brothers. I played the game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I didn't play the game at the arcade. I include the game because I completed the game without warping and without getting additional lives at World 3-1.

15. Rygar. I dedicate number fifteen to Arthur who was a friend to my brother and I. He always died at the last level.

14. 1943. A high school friend and I always died at the last level. No continues allowed. All strategies were used such as changing from Auto to 3-Way. Unsuccessful.

13. X-Men vs. Street Fighter. I was terrible at fighting games. It was entertaining watching people play. I played the game on a modified Sega Saturn. Cammy and Chun-Li were my fighters.

12. Street Fighter 2. Another fighting game I was terrible. My cousin introduced the game to my brother and I.

11. Frogger. I played the game at Marie Callender's restaurant in sixth grade. I continued completing level after level after level attracting a crowd.

10. Raiden 2. Use the cluster bombs for defense.

9. Time Pilot. I was the only student in my fifth grade class who made it to World War II when my class took a lunch field trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

8. Time Crisis 2. The only arcade game I played at anime conventions decades ago even though Time Crisis 2 was released in 1997.

7. Ikari Warriors. The first video game I played with the 360 degree knob on top of the joystick to rotate the character to shoot in eight directions. One of two video games defined my youth at arcades.

6. Twin Cobra. If the helicopter could fly faster and fewer power ups required for full firepower, then the game is a top three favorite. I used the colors of the helicopters red and blue and the word cobra as nicknames in high school: red cobra and blue cobra. I remember playing the game at Great America amusement park with the background music Got My Mind Set On You by George Harrison for the eighth grade graduation party.

5. Blood Brothers. I can win the game on one coin.

4. Midnight Resistance. Fire is the gun and nitro is the secondary weapon.

3. Cyberball 2072. The game is optimized for running plays. No passing plays.

2. Area 51. I mastered the video game in Fall Semester 1996 at San Jose State University. I admit I needed a partner; in particular, an art major I partnered multiple times. We never knew our names. We never talked afterwards. We never became friends. One game we thanked each other.

Honorable mentions: Aero Fighters 2, Dragon Spirit, Gauntlet, and Magic Sword.

1. Gauntlet 2. The second of the two video games defined my youth at arcades. The game was popular and was unpopular. The popular times the arcade set 1,000 health for one coin. The unpopular times the arcade set a multiplier when four coins were deposited at the same time for bonus health.

I Forgot The Pic On Apr 20, 2025

Blogger's Note: May is pic month. I'm catching up posting pics from my smart phone. Enjoy!

The gratuity debate continues indefinitely. Eye protection is important. I forgot the SD card broke pic for Apr 20, 2025. Life moves forward in heaven and in hell. People need to sleep more. Teamwork overrated? Smart phones at the restaurant table in 2014 and present. Coke is back at Costco. Support Pokemon books at the library.

Sights Picture Camera Recorded

Blogger's Note: May is pic month. I'm catching up posting pics from my smart phone. Enjoy!

A permanent signal light is installed. 7-Eleven sells towels--dish towels. The Pokemon Table Card Game (TCG) should be a family household recognized game. Small business fabric stores exist. Cleaning the bathroom sink must include unclogging the sink. There must be a museum for school furniture. There must be reasons few restaurants install bathroom sanitary door handles. Costco sales can include produce items. Smarter people jog as a leisure activity.

English Teacher Jordan Last Night Dream

I dreamed last night I was a student in ninth grade. One of my afternoon classes was in a bank. I didn't know the subject. My desk was a table where customers fill out either deposit slips or withdrawal slips located at the center. The size of the desk was small. The bank setting was a dark 1980s style. I conversed with students talking gossip when class was over. I rushed out of the bank when the bell for the final class of the day rang.

I arrived late for English I. There was an exam on the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The class was in the guest room of my house. The hallway light outside the guest room was the only light source. Half of the guest room was in the dark. English instructor Mr. Jordan was angry before I arrived. I picked up the exam at his desk located in the front of the classroom. I walked to the right side completing the exam in the dark.

The timed exam was difficult. I didn't prepare. Filling out my name was cryptic. Additional information was required to identify the exam paper. The exam questions were true or false and fill in the blank composed of multiple sentences and multiple blanks per paragraph. Mr. Jordan collected all exams at time expired. Almost all of the students did poorly from our reactions. Ironically, To Kill A Mockingbird is my all-time favorite fiction book.

Mr. Jordan taught a brief lesson after the exam. Another student passed around an unverified document showing Mr. Jordan's assigned books. The student likely hacked in the school computer system to print out the document. I received the document from a student behind me. I passed the document to a student in front of me. The too honest student got up from desk to hand the document to Mr. Jordan. He was furious. I woke up.

Throwback Blog: Higher Priority Job Hiring And Higher Weight Job Hiring

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Higher Priority Job Hiring And Higher Weight Job Hiring written on Sep 10, 2017. The job hiring system is different in today's Information Age compared to past generations Generation X and Generation Y or Millennials. A nice job candidate with the attitude to learn is not going to be hired. I speak from experience many retail jobs the job candidate with good customer service experience only is not enough.

Discrimination was in the past yesterday. Discrimination is present today. The conversation on artificial intelligence eliminating jobs is rarely talked about in parties.

A casual conversation rarely talked about is the number of unemployed people. The number has been increasing. High school graduates, college graduates, recent laid-off workers, and long-term laid-off workers. The number of available workers is greater than the number of job openings. Job opportunities are few. People looking for jobs are many. More people are going to fail through no fault of their own.

A bottom line is high school students and/or college students who want a career in *fill in the blank* should have started training yesterday. The probability of finding a job increases the earlier the job candidate learns.

The old days a job candidate's desire, motivation, learning attitude, good communication skills, and friendliness were top qualities. They were the highest priorities. They weigh more. A job candidate's recent experience and relevant knowledge are top qualities today. The job hiring system today values the old days' qualities at the lower priority. The old days' qualities weigh less. Discrimination? My answer is yes. Discrimination has been happening for decades.

Moreover, managers and senior workers who "don't have time to train" prefer new hires with recent experience and relevant knowledge. What about your children when they're job searching after completing their education? Most of they can't find jobs because they don't have recent experience and relevant knowledge. Their potential managers and senior workers "don't have time to train." Managers and senior workers better train your children to avoid being discriminated like you're doing to job candidates who need a break.

I understand a common life quote "what goes around comes around." I also understand better some long-term unemployed quit job searching. Artificial Intelligence eliminates more jobs as time moves forward, anyways.

The job search system must be blamed. The job hiring process must be blamed. Some recruiters calling prospective candidates either don't read their resumes or don't understand their resumes content. They see key words on their resumes. They call the candidates or they email spam the candidates. Sometimes the calls or emails spam job openings are out of their metropolitan area. These recruiters are outside the United States almost all of the time.

It's very rare to find the 100% perfect job candidate. Most hiring managers believe their dreams come true. I see job openings. Time passes. I see the same job openings again as if the hiring manger rejected all of the potential job candidates. It happens to me when I reach the interview stage. Blame the system. Blame the process.

Some Endings Are A Relief

I remember my junior year and senior year attending San Jose State University. I felt relief when I completed my last final exam of the semester. The relief feeling was the same for a good semester and for a bad semester. All semester obligations completed. The stress was removed. The tension was gone. The brain relaxed. Freedom. My post-semester activity was shopping later in the day after the last final. In particular, I completed my Christmas shopping after the fall semesters. The mandatory stores were Valley Fair shopping mall in Santa Clara, CA; Fry's Electronics; and Barnes & Noble.

There was no post-quarter activity after I completed a quarter when I went back to school at De Anza College. There was no relief. There was no post-quarter activity. Stress and tension were mild compared to San Jose State University. I was in my mid 30's with life experience, maturity, and not repeating my mistakes as a second-time college student.

I digress. The end eventually happens. It's over. Finish. Complete. Victory or defeat. Win or loss. It's the end. Take time off. Stop. Take a breath. Evaluate. Debrief. Reflect. Think of the positives. Think of the negatives. Strengthen the accomplishments. Correct the mistakes. Resume life or continue living life when the break is over. It's the life system.

Top Ten Bad Advice, Bad Lessons, Or Bad Teachings

Everyone receives bad information. Everyone is taught bad knowledge. There are professionals with questionable advice. There are adults with false encouragement. One former hygienist taught me to angle my toothbrush to brush both the teeth and gums. Incorrect teaching. Adults told me to attend my high school prom to avoid regret in my adulthood. There is no regret I missed my junior year and my senior year high school proms. Here are the top ten bad false information:

10. Whistle With Dry Mouth. I was taught to whistle with a dry month in fourth grade. I self-taught how to whistle with a wet mouth in 2017.

9. Freeway driving is like driving on the expressway without signal lights. The speed difference between a freeway and an expressway is the only counterargument to prove the previous sentence is false.

8. Broiling Without Cooking Oil. It's doable. The truth is use cooking oil to broil food in the oven.

7. Education Equals Success. Education is a factor. Motivation is more important to be successful compared to education. Timing, luck, chance, and opportunity are factors to be considered.

6. Remedies To Cure My Sickness. The following doesn't work: vitamin C tablets, garlic tablets, gargle with salt water, Ricola cough drops, drink plenty of water, yogurt, orange juice, green tea, and ginger ale. The following does work: Coke, chocolate, and Breathe Right Nasal Strips.

5. Water, Milk, And Green Tea. Drinking eight glasses of water, two glasses of milk a day, and green tea to maintain a healthy lifestyle are false.

4. Eat In Moderation. Okay to eat junk food is false. One cheat day a week is false. There is no eat in moderation and there is no cheat day for professional athletes. Minimize eating junk food is true.

3. English 1B Teaching Writing. My professor taught me to write like a newspaper journalist using many paragraphs. I'm not a journalist. 100% false.

2. Excel Training. The senior research analyst taught me Excel at my second job. Everything was wrong. The teaching was wrong Excel.

1. The Shawshank Redemption movie is boring. A friend watched the movie when it was released in 1994. He told me to skip the movie because he didn't understand the point. I watched the movie in Sep 2019. The Shawshank Redemption is number 1 in IMDb's Top 250 Movies.

Top Ten Plus Three Equals Top Thirteen Lessons Schools Don't Teach

Schools teach ABC's and 123's. Schools teach 1+1=2, water is H2O, verbs, animals, and telling time. Schools don't teach manners, wisdom, and money. There is too much to learn. There is not enough school funds. There are not enough teachers. Parents must supplement their children's education. I wrote a blog FYI, Parents You Are Teachers, Too on Jul 30, 2009. I said, "Parents, find time to teach the soft skills schools don't teach."

There are multiple ways children can learn some lessons because we live in the Information Age; for example, YouTube. Parents must be aware some sources are wrong. Parents and children must use their best judgement they're getting accurate information.

Here are the top ten plus three equals top thirteen lessons schools don't teach:

13. Etiquette, Politeness, And Manners. It's unlikely teachers teach thank you, please, share, honesty, respect, more listening, and less talking. Teachers say them. Teachers don't teach them.

12. Financial Education. No person with a teaching credential knows the stock markets, interest rates, consumer price index, gold, cryptocurrency, and mortgage rates. Otherwise, the teacher works in another industry avoiding children five days a week.

11. Physical Fitness. Put the video game controller down. Turn off the phone. Get out. Move the knees and elbows. I include healthy eating for number 11.

10. Sex. The school districts policies teaching sex are a joke.

9. Depression. Welcome depression. Depression is okay. Do you feel better? If the answer is yes, then solve depression long-term. It's the deal.

8. Intuition. The late Steve Jobs said, "I began to realize that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis . . . intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That's had a big impact on my work."

Trust your gut feeling.

7. The World Is Not 100% Successful. Some dreams don't come true. Some people fail. Most things don't work out.

6. Don't Take Life For Granted. Self-explanatory.

5. Earn it. Success is not given on a silver platter.

Bonus: Time is the ultimate judge. Time will tell what you're doing in the present results in something good or something bad in the future.

4. Life Is Unfair. The first rule in Bill Gates' 11 Rules For Real Life is "Life is not fair - get used to it."

3. Bad Timing And Bad Luck. Timing and luck are factors to success and to failure. Most successful people never admit timing and luck are factors to their accomplishments. However, they're not the only factors themselves to be successful. Hard work, intelligence, repetition, and grit are factors, too.

2. Stop complaining about your crappy life. Life doesn't care about your problems. Too fat? Get physical. Eat healthy. Poor grades? Self-teach outside the textbook. No friends? Learn social skills. Get help.

1. Change. If you don't want to change, then life finds a way to change your life. You may not like life's choice for change.

Update On A Past Blog

I mention FYI, Parents You Are Teachers, Too written on Jul 30, 2009 for the second time. I started learning both the soft skills and the life skills in May 2015. I can't explain I consciously follow the lesson daily starting in Sep 2019.

I asked a question, "How do teachers teach failure is good?" in Reward Failure In Schools written on Nov 20, 2018. Did any professional educator find a way to teach students failure is good? Reward failure. Reward intelligent mistakes. The professional educator is a millionaire if the answer is yes.

Instant Bullets Blog Jan 18, 2026

*What's ridiculous is to challenge the inevitable.

*If a teacher teaches people how to learn from making mistakes, then the teacher must quit teaching at schools. Find a better job.

*Life Find A Way. From Jurassic Park:

• Ian Malcolm: Surely not the ones that have bred in the wild?
• Henry Wu: Actually they can't breed in the wild. Population control is one of our security precautions. There's no unauthorized breeding in Jurassic Park.
• Ian Malcolm: How do you know they can't breed?
• Henry Wu: Because all the animals in Jurassic Park are female. We've engineered them that way.
• . . .
• Ian Malcolm: But, again, how do you know they're all female? What, does somebody go out in the park and pull up the dinosaurs' skirts?
• Henry Wu: We control their chromosomes. It's really not that difficult. All vertebrate embryos are inherently female, anyway. They just require an extra hormone given at the right developmental stage to make them male. We simply deny them that.
• Ellie Sattler: Deny them that?
• Ian Malcom: John, the kind of control you're attempting is not possible. If there's one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it's that life will not be contained. Life breaks free. Expands to new territories and it crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but there it is.
• John Hammond: There it is.
• Henry Wu: You're implying that a group of composed entirely of female animals will breed?
• Ian Malcolm: No, I'm simply saying that life finds a way.

I wrote a blog Life Finds A Way on Sep 21, 2021. I said, " Life finds a way to reward people. Life finds a way to punish people. Life finds a way to ruin something good. Life finds a way to help the unfortunate. Time is the ultimate judge."

*Non-Zero Sum Game. We all win or we all lose. Or one bigger winner and one smaller loser.

*Politeness is not an obligation.

*One saw a forest and not trees. Another saw trees and not a forest.

*Tissue Defined For Medical Or Biology. A group of cells in an organism. Organic body material in animals and plants made up of large number of cells which are similar in form and function and their related intercellular substances.

*Cheat Codes Can Work. Source: What's a "cheat code" you discovered in real life that actually works?

• Be friendly to maintenance workers, security officers, cleaners, anyone working in an administration role, and customer service. They know everything.
• Complement somebody.
• Stuck on a problem? Walk, run, or play video games. Do any distraction to clear the head.
• Place a tortilla under your tacos. The food falls down to the tortilla. Extra meal. Keeps plate clean.
• Bring a dozen donuts to the car mechanic, a work meeting, and the warehouse staff.
• No boyfriend or no girlfriend is better than a bad boyfriend or bad girlfriend.
• Don't say or show you're the smartest person in the room.

*taint: a trace of a bad or undesirable quality or substance. To contaminate or pollute (something). To hurt or damage the good condition of (something).

*anecdotal: not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research. Based on or consisting of reports or observations of usually unscientific observers. Based on reports or things someone saw rather than on proven facts.

*anecdotal evidence: based on personal stories or isolated examples rather than systematic research or data. Information from direct experience or opinions. Qualitative data based on personal stories and observations instead of hard facts.

*Seen In The Movies Don't Do In Real Life. Source: What is a 'Survival Myth' that people believe because of movies, but will actually get you killed in real life?

• Don't build a boat while shipwrecked on an island. Too many things kill you in water. It's harder for rescue to find you in water. Stay on the island.
• Conserve water in a desert to an extent. Need a balance. Drink enough to urinate small amounts. Body uses as much of the fluid as possible.
• Lost in the wilderness stay where you are. However, if you can go to an open area to be seen easier, then move.
• If you're shot with a bullet, then leave the bullet inside you.
• If you're knocked out unconscious for a few hours and feel fine afterwards, then you need to see a doctor for head injuries.
• Snake territory or bear territory make noise and be seen. They don't want to encounter you. Play music is a good idea.
• Don't wait 24 hours to file a missing person's report even though the law says a person is missing 24 hours later. Missing children is a best example. Report immediately.
• Don't suck venom from snakebites.
• Don't eat snow for hydration. Wait for the snow to melt since snow lowers core body temperature.
• Don't rub frostbite.
• Cross wider river crossings because narrow rivers have spots with faster and deeper water areas.
• Drowning victims don't yell and flail because they're concentrating breathing over yelling.
• Don't drink urine for hydration.
• If you're being robbed, then throw the wallet on the ground. Run in the opposite direction. Never hand the wallet to the robber.
• Every city has about four days of food in grocery stores, home kitchens, restaurants, etc. Shelves are emptied fast. Semi-trucks arrive daily to restock. These are normal days. Survival situations starvation and violence to avoid starvation are big concerns.
• Never wet a cloth to breathe through if escaping a burning building. Roast your lungs with super heated vapor. Dry cloth only.
• Need to jump off a cruise ship. Keep legs clamped together for the water to not go up your butt. Keep arms in. Point toes down to not bruise the bottoms of the feet. Try to angle yourself to not enter the water too deep.
• Most cars don't stop bullets. Stay behind the engine block.
• Stabbed with a knife don't pull the knife out.

*When his wheel fell off, a different pit team saved him. They're opponents, not enemies. 19 helps 23. Bubba [Wallace] accidentally goes into Joe Gibbs Pits, but they still help him

*The Cat Wild Animals Family.

*Use It Or Lose It Skill Not Like Riding A Bike. Remembering is not like riding a bike. Anything at a high skill level is not like riding a bike. It takes active practice and maintenance to be at the top of your game. For example, muscle strength. Bedridden for a long period of time. It's easier to get muscle strength back for those with muscle strength. Muscle memory. On the other hand, it's harder to get muscle strength back for those who never had muscle strength. People can take breaks for those who put on muscle. Lose the mass in time. Gain muscle back infinitely quicker than obtaining muscle the first time. Likewise for cardio fitness.

Permanent Changes Due To COVID-19 Is Another Change Reference Point In Time

California Governor Gavin Newsom shut down California 2,107 days ago on Tue Mar 17, 2020. People reference many permanent changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 permanently changed *fill in the blank*. Schools. Colleges. Job searching. The hiring process. Work environment. Shopping. Contracts. Human relations. Governments. The financial system. Entertainment. Professional sports. Technology.

There are many historical reference points changing everything. The points I know are the following: the airplane, World War II, President Richard Nixon got the USA off the gold standard, the internet, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and COVID-19. There are more historical reference points changes coming soon.

A common knowledge is time changes everything--almost everything. The typical life is the same. A person is born. His or her parents raise their baby. Go to school. Graduate high school. Some graduate college or a trade school. Get a job. Get married. Raise a family. Retire. Death. Repeat. The circle of life.

However, the world changes. Humanitity changes. They are guaranteed. Generations change. Out with the old. In with the new. Let's hope future generations change for the better. Systems change. Processes change. Rules change. Opinions change. Time will tell the change is good or the change is bad. We connect the dots backwards. Forecasting or predicting is bullshit. The forecaster or predictor must sell with confidence to make it come true. Time is the ultimate judge.

Do You Fully Understand?

I wrote a blog on you're smarter than you think. I also wrote the converse some people are not as smart as you think. Here is a deeper blog. Do you fully understand yourself? Do you comprehend what you're doing? I believe there are more people than you think who don't know what's going on? I share three examples from the late Steve Jobs. Jobs said on 60 Minutes Overtime, "I say Microsoft and Google have a lot in common. Microsoft never had the humanities and the liberal arts in their DNA. It was a pure technology company. And they just didn't get it. Even when they saw the map, they couldn't even copy it well. How dumb do you have to be to not see it--once you see it, you know. But Google is the same way. They just don't get it."

Jobs hated PowerPoint slides. Programmer Tony Fadell presented iPod proposals in Apr 2001. Fadell learned a lesson saying, "Steve prefers to be in the moment, talking things through. He once told me, 'If you need [PowerPoint] slides, it shows you don't know what you're talking about.'"

There was a meeting discussing music copyright protection digital music with Apple and three music company executives in Jan 2002. Jobs interrupted the meeting after the fourth slide saying, "You have your heads up your asses." The presenter responded, "You're right. We don't know what to do. You need to help us figure it out."

Management is a good example such as the pointy haired boss from the Dilbert comic strip. Executives are another good example. Can a CEO describe the company's products and/or services? The managers saying they don't know from the movie Margin Call is a good portrayal many managers don't understand. There are professional sports players who underperform. Don't be surprised if these people bullshit their responsibilities. Few succeed. Sometimes their luck compensates for their stupidity.

Update On A Past Blog

Here are the blogs I mentioned above for further reading. The You're Smarter Than You Think blog was written on Nov 7, 2018. I wrote the some people are not as smart as you think blog Where Is The Intelligence? on Aug 24, 2019.

My First Memories

I share some of my first memories.

*First dream. I fell down from the sky at Meyerholz Elementary School in San Jose, CA. I saw wise old Asian men watching from the mountains. I landed on top of a waterslide made of square wooden pieces like a 1970s playground metal slide supported by wooden posts shaped in squares. I slid down to the main playground. The air dried me immediately. I walked home minutes away from the school.

*Pre-school. I attended Wilson Elementary School in Cupertino, CA. My teacher's name was Miss Sue. She was red haired. One school day I cried myself to the time-out section with my brown paper lunch bag. The time-out section was a wall cordoned by a large red and white color gym mat perpendicular to the floor. My brown paper lunch bag was written with my first name and last name. I read when I was four years old.

*Pre-school parking lot. The end of my school day I walked around the parking lot sidewalk saying goodbye to the school buses.

*First stuffed animal. My mom sewed. She made a lamb for me and my brother. My mom named the lambs after my brother's first name and my first name. My lamb was Raymond Lamb. There was a day my brother played with all of the stuffed animals except for Raymond Lamb. I played with Raymond Lamb alone pretending to watch the house for all of our stuffed animals. The house was the glass coffee table in the living room. My brother thank me and Raymond Lamb for watching the house when his lamb and the stuffed animals came home.

My mom made Raymond Lamb with a mean smile :< My mom made my brother's lamb with a happy smile :)

*Living room glass coffee table. I favored clean. I cleaned up the living room by moving all the toys under the glass coffee table. I told everyone the room was cleaned.

*A late afternoon walk. My parents, brother, and I walked to Meyerholz Elementary School to play at the playground. I played on the playground equipment doing everything wrong because nobody taught me how to use the equipment.

Do Everything One At A Time Is A Strength

Slow down. Relax. Take a breath. Forget multi-tasking. Do everything one at a time. Multi-task one at a time. Be productive rationally. Haste makes waste. Quiet down everyone. Stop panicking. Everything is going to be completed one at a time. Hang on for a second. All tasks are completed in time. Be patient.

Update On A Past Blog

The blog Connecting My Dots Backwards written on Oct 13, 2011 the title is misleading. The blog detailed the immediate changes when I realized I must grow up on Sat Oct 4, 2008. Any previous blogs on growing up should reference the Connecting My Dots Backwards blog.

Maxed Out On Career Learning

I finished my WordPress self job training last week. Full disclosure. The WordPress was a satisfactory failure. The training resulted in finding a new web hosting provider for my webpage Innovate Infinitely and ending the training project due to costs. The last WordPress tutorial was an offline training I found from the YouTube algorithm. Regardless, I added the skill to my resume.

The remaining self job training skills are Excel, Python, and HTML as of the blog post. Years 2022 and 2023 were peak with the following skills: Excel with Power Pivot and Power Query, Git, Linux, Power BI, Python, R and R-Studio, SQL, and Sublime Text. There is no new job training related to my profession thereafter. Reviewing existing job skills are too repetitious with no additional benefits--borderline boredom and tiredness. It's like no more promotions. There's nothing more going up. My salary is maxed. My rank is at the top ceiling. Anything new adds no additional value; although, I receive information to learn PyTorch for machine learning.

I never thought about running out of new job training skills. I never realized the self job training spanned a decade. Students graduate high school. Students graduate college. The common wisdom is never stop learning; however, all training must come to an end. The student takes the pebble from the master's hand.

High School Campus Is A Teenage Day Care Center

I dreamed last night I was a student in high school. One class was like a Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) class. It was taught like a ROTC class. Most of the class material was ROTC. The instructor was like a ROTC who was a retired Marine officer.

The students and I were outside the classroom. The instructor told us to go inside the classroom which was like a mini gym. The ceilings were tall. The classroom was four times bigger than a standard classroom. The students were given a yellow piece of paper with questions. There were a few multiple choice questions. There were two fill in the blank. The rest were short answers.

My dream immediately fast forward to the instructor handing back the yellow piece of paper to the students. It turned out we were given a surprised test. All students did poorly. I scored a 73. The instructor punished the students by telling us to go outside and correct our mistakes. I woke up.

High School Is A Joke

My cynical thinking the ROTC like class was a waste of time. I thought back to my high school years. Many classes were a waste of time. Teenagers need to learn mathematics, learn reading, and learn writing. The deeper question is "How much depth do teenagers need to know US history, world history, geography, science, foreign language, and fine arts?" Parents are told by the government these classes must be taken to graduate with a high school diploma. US citizens should know the civil war, World War II, the capital of the USA, and water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. I reread a few literature books in high school as an adult such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Red Badge Of Courage by Stephen Crane, and Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck. Most of the books stank. Physical education was a joke. I don't know today's physical education curriculum.

My high school is a joke opinion may be weak. College bound high school students must take college requisites. I accept. Otherwise, my opinion has merit. Music, art, and cooking do nothing to get a good paying job in today's Information Age. Students who are lazy may have a point. They're bored. The high school standards and high school policies are a mismatch. I admit they're not perfect.

Start The Conversation

Education is passing knowledge to future generations. Any other definition is probably bullshit.

Update On A Past Blog

I add another lesson learned taking R.O.T.C. in high school. The blog is High School R.O.T.C. Leadership Lesson Another Viewpoint By Rank written on Oct 24, 2020. Here is the lesson on words.

*What is the one most important word? We.
*What are the two most important words? Thank you.
*What are the three most important words? If you please.
*What are the four most important words? What is your opinion?
*What are the five most important words? You did a good job.
*What are the six most important words? I admit I made a mistake.

Professional Knowledge Shared As Common Knowledge

Here are knowledge from professionals in their fields people should know. The information can be false. Some professionals may not do. The reader should do their due diligence to verify. Source: What's a "secret" from your profession that everyone should probably know? from Reddit.

1. Financial institutions use older versions of Excel.

2. Document everything.

3. Daycare teachers clean toys and equipment.

4. Gloves are not necessary to handle old books, rare books, and special collection books. Clean and dry hands are the best. Wearing gloves are more likely to rip a page because the person can't feel them well compared with bare hands. There are exceptions such as handling artifacts, moldy items, toxic books, and photographs.

5. Bibles are not rare. The Bible is the most printed book in the world.

6. You need two coats of paint.

7. Bacteria and microbes as a whole are small cells or capsules. They are bad at sticking to random solid objects by themselves. It's like hanging on a rocky hillside with your hands. Water from above hits you. You're going to be flushed down wherever the water goes. A simple water rinse can remove 99% of the bacteria.

8. There are corrupt employers who don't pay their workers, close the business, and reopen under a different name. They fraudulently transfer all their assets under another person's name.

9. Dog and cats need rabies vaccine because rabies is transmissible to humans. Also, pets can have fleas regardless of being indoor pets or outdoor pets. Fleas can be anywhere. And a local veterinarian likely doesn't see wildlife and reptiles.

10. Generally speaking, retail stores don't hide stuff in the back. We want to sell. If it's in the back, it doesn't sell. Everything we sell is out.

11. Fire sprinklers go off where the actual fire is. Not all fire sprinklers go off like in the movies. The water is gross and stinky. A properly maintained sprinkler system is flushed.

12. Most modern homes or residential construction are built with the cheapest ingredients. They may not last more than 30 years without exterior refurbishing. Further, never buy a new home for which the buyer picks a floor plan A, B, C, D, or . . . . 90% of these new homes are made from shitty materials. Buy an actual quality custom home.

13. Dental professionals can't always tell if you floss or not. However, if the dental profession flosses the patient and bleeding occurs, then he or she can tell.

14. If you have the feeling of a medical life threatening emergency, then go to the emergency room.

15. Abusive parents are more common than you think. They include the nicest neighbors and volunteers. Child Protective Services can't catch everyone. There are mental abuse, emotional abuse, and psychological abuse.

16. IT Googles all day. We're better at Googling than other people.

17. Architects say 50% of major home remodels the couple divorces.

18. Financial institutions software security is outdated.

19. Tugboat pilots are bored. They look at their phones 95% of the time.

20. College students should attend classes even if you don't pay attention. Students can accidentally learn. Also, attend class, read the chapters, do the homework, and show up at the office hours. Students are more likely to earn an A or a B.

21. You don't have to top off freon every year for the air conditioner.

22. Buy the cheapest cemetery vault. All vaults are not 100% waterproof.

23. Patients should ask for an itemized bill because it can lower the cost. Hospitals avoid adding unnecessary fees. There are programs to lower medical bills.

24. The majority of children sex crimes are family members. Neighbors, family friends, and pastors are included.

25. Family and relationship therapists' solution for 50% of their clients: just go get a divorce already.

Throwback Blog: Follow The Money

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Follow The Money written on Sep 19, 2019. A person choosing a career can follow the money to find the popular careers today. The popular careers don't necessarily mean a high paying career. Anyone can make six digits or seven digits being a salesperson. Two letters are needed to update the blog in today's Information Age. The two letters are A and I--AI or Artificial Intelligence. A salesperson doesn't need specialized skills, knowledge, education, and experience.

I digress. Companies pay big salaries to people who meet the challenges of complex skills, knowledge, education, and experience in their industries.

I add the education system is the same: four years high school, two years associate's degree, four years bachelor's degree, and additional two years or four years for advanced degrees.

Deep Throat from the movie All The President's Men told Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to follow the money trail to solve the Watergate scandal. The follow the money thinking applies to careers.

Many of today's career challenges are skills, knowledge, education, and experience. We live in the information age. More careers require advance skills, technical training, indefinite education or self-training, longer hours, and more experience. More industries are complex, complicated, and difficult. Reference materials, books, notes, YouTube, and Google are required to research, to look up information, and to refresh our skills. Companies pay high salaries to workers who are strong, gritty, intelligent, motivated, and devoted to long hours. Companies pay high salaries to workers with highly demanded experience, best trained, and strong skills.

Some of the most common industries with high salaries include engineers, programmers, medical, scientists, and business. The five industries are changing rapidly. The best way to monitor the changes is job searching. Job postings inform the latest skills and experience. Job postings are up-to-date compared to college career centers and career counselors. Follow the money to learn the education, skills, and experience required in today's evolving industries.

There are some industries salaries have stayed the same. The reason salaries have stayed the same is because nothing changed. The skills are mostly the same yesterday and today. No technical training or little technical training is required. There is no need for additional education. The hours are the same. Little past experience is necessary. Almost all retail jobs the pay is low. Retail jobs haven't evolved. Post office, waiting tables, cleaning, and bus drivers their pay is low.

College Majors Lower Chances For High Salaries

I don't know how students majoring in humanities, fine-arts, art, music, education, and social science earn high salaries. However, these students can think of ideas earning additional income related to their majors. Podcasting? YouTube? Streaming? Blogging? Write books? Earn an advanced degree? Double major selecting a second major in a technical field or a business field? Generations ago college students can make a living in any major. Today's generation the high salaries goes to people with the latest and greatest skills and experience--the latest and greatest everything.

The workforce is not dumb. The industries are hard.

Update On A Past Blog

I forgot to mention to do something, anything new for which I'm uncomfortable in Get Back To The Basics When In A Jam on Sep 11, 2019. My life is moving forward too slow. It's time to take action. The best way is go back to the past when my life moved forward faster. I'm uncomfortable safely. I'm uncomfortable intelligently.