The Ramblings of Rob Cooper: Blogging

Its Been a While… Study, Exams, Thoughts and WoW

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:59:00 GMT

Hi All!

Sorry its been so long since my last post, been crazy busy of late!

Here’s a run down of the things that have been chewing up my time:

New project at work in ASP.NET, which is all new to me! So its been hard on the brain (trying to remain productive yet needed to consume a lot of info to *try* and make sure I do things right.
Study study study. Same old. Was studying extra hard since wanted to sit the 70-316 exam.
General thoughts (both personal and professional) that needed ironing out in my mind.
World of Warcraft is far too addictive, making my allotted “chill time” overrun. However, I think this is probably a good thing as I have been kinda needing it lately.

Good news is, the study and the work seems to be paying off!

I passed the 70-316 exam with a score of 906 (700 was pass mark)! Making me a happy geek! I am now studying towards 70-315 which coincides nicely with my current work project(s). This is one of the main reasons I was pushing hard for 70-316 since I desperately wanted to get into Web.

I believe thought and reflection is always good for the soul, so that always deserves some time :)

World of Warcraft is addictive! But I have started to limit my time somewhat more on there!

Expect more blog posts to follow. Good to be back on top of things :)

No Easy Way to Say It - Some Geek's are Dicks

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:42:00 GMT

I read this post on Jeff Atwood's blog (CodingHorror) and I have to say, it really upset me. As I commented on the post, us geek's can/are often privy to very sensitive, highly confidential information. The "normies" (non-geek's) give us implicit trust when they load our software/user our services, it should never be abused.

I have often seen a lot of information that could be used to really screw people, both in the workplace and personally (especially when sorting computers for friends/family). Since they have asked me to do a job/favour as a [trusted] geek, I do what I am supposed to do, sort the problems they are having, then privately give them the "heads up" on what I found/saw and advise them on how to secure their information.

For example, I had a friend who had posted their contact information on Facebook. They had listed quite a lot of information including full date of birth, and address, and it was publicly viewable, and a huge security risk (in the wrong hands you could actually be talking identity theft with that information).. Now many people are kind of oblivious to this, why? because they trust us geek's to bail them out. I got on the phone to them immediately and told them what I had found, then spent 30 minutes guiding them through how to sort their public profile out and hide confidential information. I also advised them on how to set up Google Alerts so they can actually find out what information is available on them via a Google Search. They were amazed at how much they learnt from me in that 30 minutes - and a little bit shook up, they truly had no idea. They didn't stop saying "thank you", and it made me proud and pleased to be able help them out. I also got that lovely little warm fuzzy feeling you get when you know you have done the right thing.

So fellow geek's, please don't be a dick, it makes the rest of us look bad.

Technorati Tags: geeks,ethics,privacy,security

Week 1 in Summary

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 14:47:10 GMT

Well, I am almost at the end of my first week with my new employer. What can I say other than I am really happy with this job!

So, here's the "plus" points I have so far:

Dual Monitor Setup Rocks.
I don't have dual monitor setup at home (but I will do now dammit!) nor with my old employer. Obviously, my new one does. I am actually working on a slightly lower-spec PC than before, but because I can have everything open I need to, and see everything clearly and quickly, I am so much more productive!
Having People who Know Their Stuff
This may sound like a bit of a no-brainer, but my new manager, REALLY knows his stuff, and the business systems in place. Now, whenever any of the team (including myself) have a problem, they ask him, and I have yet to see him give an answer in under 2 minutes. I'm truly impressed. One of my favourite quotes is "if you can't explain it to a six year old, then you don't understand it yourself". I love it, because it's so true. My manager explains things so well, you can just take what he says and run with it. Very productive and above all, it enables us all to develop and learn.
Good Integration Plans Make the Difference
My manager has also got a great plan for getting me up and running. As you all know, I am a junior developer. I am learning a lot, but I still have a lot to learn. I am happy because I am not being asked to run before I can walk, but I am still being challenged and learning new things.
Give People Babies
No I don't mean leave that unwanted child on their doorstep, or unprotected bedroom antics, but give them responsibility and projects that they can call their own. I have already been given some insight on the projects I will be working on, and where I fit into these projects. For example, I will be assisted in getting up and running on one of my future projects (since there is some learning curve involved) but will then move on to manage and lead the project in its entirety. This gets me enthusiastic and proud of the work I am doing. Everyone loves their babies.

In Summation...
I am leaning stacks of stuff already, I am really enjoying the work, and I can't wait to get back in on Monday morning!

My test results for my MCAD are already creeping up purely because I am now working in C# all day! Hoo-rah!

The I'm Initiative - Can't Believe This Hasn't Been More Public!

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:54:40 GMT

Microsoft! What are you doing?! I have just found this site by accident! This is an EXCELLENT initiative!

The I'm Initiative basically consists of people adding a special code to their personal message on Live Messenger. Every time they then open a chat window with a friend/colleague, Microsoft will then make a small donation to the charity selected.

Here's what it says on the site:

Each time you start a conversation with Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft will make a contribution to your preferred organization. (Bonus: there’s no cap to how much Microsoft is willing to give. Seriously, the sky’s the limit.) And all your friends get to see the cause you choose.

Instructions are given on the site (it's dead easy). And once updated, you get a little next to your name. Having seen this I do remember seeing it on a couple of contacts previously, but I was not curious as to what it was (just thought it was some Live Messenger addon!).

~~Sadly, there are not any British charities/organisations on there at the moment, so I cannot support something on my home turf, however I opted to support the~~ ~~American Red Cross, since I know they certainly do a great deal (not suggesting the other charities do nothing).~~

Sadly, the initiative is not open to anywhere but the United States at the moment, so I cannot participate =(

My main worry is that I found the site by accident, why hasn't this been made more public?!

Technorati Tags: blogging , instant messaging , live messenger , i'm initiative , charity

Interviews, Nerds, People and Battlefields...

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:03:42 GMT

I recently read an interesting post from Kyle Baley on interviews and technical questions for us nerds out there.

I found his story quite interesting, and somewhat close to my heart. I am a young developer, and craving that much-needed industry experience. It's a bit of a "catch 22", since many employers won't look at people without experience, but you can't get the experience because people won't take you. For those of you that have not heard, I have recently been offered a position in another company and gratefully accepted. I will be working on a much larger scale, in .NET 2.0 and ASP.NET (which I've never worked on). This is pretty much a dream come true for me, this is the experience I need. I know damn well I will bust my balls to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

So, back to topic, the discussion is that how many techie's out there that have already proven themselves (I.e. successful in their jobs and own businesses) could actually pass some of the questions that are floating around. Now, it was nice to see that many of them would fail them (such as Jeff Atwood's) this is not because I want to see people fail, of course not. But it's nice to see that people are taking good people on over nerd's.

I really wanted to be in the Armed Forces (Royal Marines), but sadly could not join due to medical reasons. Side Note: As much as it is nice to not have bullets whizzing past my head, my thoughts are with our brothers and sisters out their serving their countries at the moment. Now, I was fortunate enough to learn one HUGE lesson from the forces. Life, Work, EVERYTHING is about ATTITUDE. I am not afraid of work, I am not afraid of pain or suffering. I am afraid of failure, disappointing my peers, my family, my friends. This inspires me to work hard, raise the bar, I'm keen, I'm highly motivated. I think/hope this came across in my interview with my new employer, they recognised that while I may not be 100% technically "competent", I will get right in there and make damn sure the job gets done regardless. I will always adapt to change, I won't stagnate, I will drive their business forward. None of my geek books have ever really promoted good attitude..

All I can say its great to see that interviewers look for "People" qualities as well as "Nerd" qualities. It has given me opportunity, and I will ensure they are rewarded for it. You could ask the question, would a nerd who things they "have it all pinned" do the same?

Thoughts?

Technorati Tags: interviews , software , questions , people , nerds

It's Been A While..

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:12:31 GMT

Well hello there all!

Yes, it has indeed been a long time since my last post. I have been absolutely swamped with all the study and work! Good news is I am finally starting to reap the benefits of all my hard work, the project at work is coming together quite nicely (still a stiff deadline to meet before the year is out though!) and my exam prep for 70-271 is coming on well.

It sucks to have been out of touch with everything else of late, there's been a several big bits of news in the geeksphere which I have missed (I have not been up to date on my RSS reader either!) so hopefully I can review some of these also..

So just thought I would pop some words together to let you know content on this blog should be picking up again!