Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

[boglerdude]

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I can say something good about covid. Got an email from my freshman crush, to our stanford dorm, about 25th reunion. Ive spent decades wondering what could have been. Checked her twitter and its praising Fauci. And she's an MD (all my classmates did exactly what they said they were gonna do on day 1). The Ivies select for rule followers. And the system does reward them.

[dualstow]

Saw some this morning.

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[Xan]

[dualstow]

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[Smith1776]

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I've pivoted a little bit in my educational endeavours lately. What I've discovered is that while degrees are handy, there are some jobs that have certification requirements acting as gatekeepers.

I had a valid student coupon handy, so I decided to pursue the A+ certification. Most of it is stuff that typical computer hobbyists would already know, but there's a few corner cases regarding networking that I didn't know about. There are worse ways to spend one's free time.

[yankees60]

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I've pivoted a little bit in my educational endeavours lately. What I've discovered is that while degrees are handy, there are some jobs that have certification requirements acting as gatekeepers.

I had a valid student coupon handy, so I decided to pursue the A+ certification. Most of it is stuff that typical computer hobbyists would already know, but there's a few corner cases regarding networking that I didn't know about. There are worse ways to spend one's free time.

I got A+ certified in 2001. Did a lot of studying for it.

Then took two tests. Each test lasted less than 3 minutes!

You are asked a question. If you get it wrong they ask you an easier question. If you get it right they ask you a harder question. All my answers much have been correct and I must have quickly progressed through the degrees of difficulty questions in those less than 3 minutes.

My motivation for doing it was not to get a job from it but to increase my knowledge. I wanted to be able to keep supporting my own computers plus in addition to being the financial person for the company for which I worked at the time I was the person who maintained all our its computers.

My knowledge stopped at anything related to networks.

[Smith1776]

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I've pivoted a little bit in my educational endeavours lately. What I've discovered is that while degrees are handy, there are some jobs that have certification requirements acting as gatekeepers.

I had a valid student coupon handy, so I decided to pursue the A+ certification. Most of it is stuff that typical computer hobbyists would already know, but there's a few corner cases regarding networking that I didn't know about. There are worse ways to spend one's free time.

I got A+ certified in 2001. Did a lot of studying for it.

Then took two tests. Each test lasted less than 3 minutes!

You are asked a question. If you get it wrong they ask you an easier question. If you get it right they ask you a harder question. All my answers much have been correct and I must have quickly progressed through the degrees of difficulty questions in those less than 3 minutes.

Three minutes??? For a whole test?? Crazy!

Did you find that getting A+ certified opened some career doors for you?

[Smith1776]

Oh, never mind, I saw your addendum. Good stuff!

[dualstow]

I had to look up A+.
I got a webmaster certification in the early aughts. Never used it.

[Smith1776]

I had to look up A+.
I got a webmaster certification in the early aughts. Never used it.

Sounds interesting. Do you recall what certifying body it was that offered it?

[dualstow]

I don’t, but I might come across the certificate while cleaning the basement this autumn.
I attended a horrible school that were no help — didn’t even have an internet connection — but I got it done through cramming.

[yankees60]

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I've pivoted a little bit in my educational endeavours lately. What I've discovered is that while degrees are handy, there are some jobs that have certification requirements acting as gatekeepers.

I had a valid student coupon handy, so I decided to pursue the A+ certification. Most of it is stuff that typical computer hobbyists would already know, but there's a few corner cases regarding networking that I didn't know about. There are worse ways to spend one's free time.

I got A+ certified in 2001. Did a lot of studying for it.

Then took two tests. Each test lasted less than 3 minutes!

You are asked a question. If you get it wrong they ask you an easier question. If you get it right they ask you a harder question. All my answers much have been correct and I must have quickly progressed through the degrees of difficulty questions in those less than 3 minutes.

Three minutes??? For a whole test?? Crazy!

Did you find that getting A+ certified opened some career doors for you?

It was two tests that were less than 3 minutes each.

The role I had as the computer support person was always supplemental to my role as accountant / financial person. So that would always be the primary career role I was seeking.

[yankees60]

I don’t, but I might come across the certificate while cleaning the basement this autumn.
I attended a horrible school that were no help — didn’t even have an internet connection — but I got it done through cramming.

My A+ was ZERO classes, which perfectly fit my anti-class bias.

I bought and read and studied all the recommended materials. In one case, twice reading a 1,000 page book. I think I studied for about a year. I was also after acquiring knowledge beyond just getting the certification.

[dualstow]

Your post reminds me of the people I’ve read about who opted to read books instead of going to college. Really depends on the subject. It has worked for some, and when I think about it, the best part about university was meeting girlfriends and future wives/amost-wives.

After a certain level of education, there is no need for socialization that way — you have softball — and it makes sense to just cram.

A+ sounds like something that you have to update every few years, right?
edit: says every 3 years for compTIA. For other things, you can just do a quick test.

[yankees60]

Your post reminds me of the people I’ve read about who opted to read books instead of going to college. Really depends on the subject. It has worked for some, and when I think about it, the best part about university was meeting girlfriends and future wives/amost-wives.

After a certain level of education, there is no need for socialization that way — you have softball — and it makes sense to just cram.

A+ sounds like something that you have to update every few years, right?
edit: says every 3 years for compTIA. For other things, you can just do a quick test.

At the time there were no future CE requirements for A+, unlike most other certifications.

It while I was studying for my CFP (which I also did with zero classes) where I learned at the age of 34 why I had detested classes since 7th grade.

What I was reading was how to make presentations to clients in the most effective way. It explained that there are three learning styles and each person has a preferred style. You needed to determined which each person's was and then present the information to them in their preferred learning style.

The three are aural, visual, kinesthetic (doing).

I realized that that when I used to say in my frustration with classes (Can't they just give me the book??!!) that kinesthetic was by far my top learning style with aural being a distant last. Classes were almost all aural. Oftentimes I was in a perpetual fog in classes, not really following. But I made up for it by diligently doing all my homework. Hence getting the CFP and A+ were fine for me no time being wasted in classes and just studying all the printed materials.

I think it is somewhat criminal in this age of technology that the predominant teaching style in schools is the classroom and not other alternatives. But the teacher's union will never allow any changes that actually benefit the students.

[Xan]

It seems that learning styles are actually a myth, and that in fact it's the educational-industrial complex which continues to promote them.

https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articl ... ng-styles/
https://www.educationnext.org/stubborn- ... ed-theory/

[yankees60]

It seems that learning styles are actually a myth, and that in fact it's the educational-industrial complex which continues to promote them.

https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articl ... ng-styles/
https://www.educationnext.org/stubborn- ... ed-theory/

In my case I read this in 1985 in a booklet that was obviously produced sometime before then. The material had no connection to the educational-industrial complex as the booklet was aimed at adults who were preparing to be CFPs.

Spoke well to me in explaining my attitude towards classes.

[dualstow]

Math was the one subject where I spaced out as the teacher explained things, and then I went home and had to learn from the book.

[Smith1776]

Math was the one subject where I spaced out as the teacher explained things, and then I went home and had to learn from the book.

Math was the one subject I happened to excel in, while I usually spaced out in all of the other ones lol!

Unfortunately, I ended up experiencing what Harvard professor James Anderson calls "disembodied knowledge". While I excelled in acing math tests, it was challenging for me to actually apply the knowledge to real world applications.

[dualstow]

Similar experience. Well, I only excelled at algebra. I loved algebra for the sake of algebra. Everything beyond that, I didn’t do so hot.

[yankees60]

Yesterday I found I did have Covid when I did not feel well a short while ago.

I went to Urgent Care on September 5th. The doctor tested me for Covid, Flu A&B, RSV. She said results would be available in 24 hours.

Next day I went online and all said Undetected.

I don't check phone messages often. You can get me via text or email.

A few days ago I got a letter telling me to call urgent care. Yesterday also looked at my phone voice mail for the first time in week. I'd had a call at 4 PM September 11 from the doctor, telling me to call her.

I called yesterday and her assistant informed I'd tested positive for Covid. I said but I'd gone online and .... I said let me go online now. This time the tests said Final and Detected for Covid.

I'm finding this all out 3 weeks and a day after the test. But 6 days to get the results??!!

Anyways I remembered the time period. I went to Urgent Car that Wednesday because it's been the 10th day of not feeling well. By the following Sunday all I had left was the cough. The rest of the body felt okay and has continued to this day. Plus, after a month off I did two weeks of exercise this week.

I can no longer say I've never knowingly had covid.

[dualstow]

6 days seems like a long time. Maybe they were looking at all that other stuff?
I came home from a flight feeling weird the other week and I took a covid test just because we have a box of them and they’re expiring soon. Could not stop sneezing (from the test) But I tested negative.

Hope you’ll be feeing tip-top soon, Vinny.

Side note: do you use any messaging apps?

[yankees60]

6 days seems like a long time. Maybe they were looking at all that other stuff?
I came home from a flight feeling weird the other week and I took a covid test just because we have a box of them and they’re expiring soon. Could not stop sneezing (from the test) But I tested negative.

Hope you’ll be feeing tip-top soon, Vinny.

Side note: do you use any messaging apps?

I've been fine for essentially three weeks now.

I regularly use Facebook Messenger and text messages with my phone. The latter I have tied into this computer.

[dualstow]

9:25pm This debate is so very civil

[yankees60]

9:25pm This debate is so very civil

Because it was missing one key element!