Introspection

Reflecting on the last several weeks, it's clear already that my general knowledge of information systems has grown quite a bit. It wasn't so much that I was a complete novice coming in (I wasn't), but more of an issue of having knowledge gaps. I think that, largely, this was because most of what general computer knowledge I had, I picked up specifically for a job, and due to the pace and the stress level of said job, I really had to focus on learning only what I needed to use routinely. IS101 has definitely helped to bridge some of those gaps.

My skill level with respect to Word is a good example of this. Starting IS101, there were some concepts I was very familiar with, and some functionalities I had used regularly before. Nevertheless, there was still some basic foundational knowledge that I was missing, because it wasn't central to doing my job, and due to time constraints, I had to forego learning more about it. I can definitely say that this has changed and, after completing the LabSim units devoted to Word, I have a good solid grounding in all the basics of the word processing software.

LabSim has also done something else, arguably more important in the long run, in that it's made me question how I learn best.

At my previous job, there was no real "hands-on" training; training basically consisted of watching a set of long, horrendously boring seminar videos that took hours. After a week of this, I was on my own, still not having had any practice whatsoever with things I was actually going to be doing on a daily basis. LabSim has really driven home my current boss's philosophy of "You learn by doing," and I've really taken that to heart these last weeks. Having an environment where I have the consistency of being able to do the same tasks again, and again, and again has been enormously helpful, if not always stimulating. Being able to take quizzes over and over, too, has helped, allowing me to refresh my memory in a more hands-on way as often as needed. As a result, most of the topics we've covered, I feel like I now have really strong foundations in. I couldn't say that with honesty before.

The only issue I see going forward is that, starting my next job, there won't be a "LabSim" to give me unlimited experience performing the basic functionalities of my job. I dread returning to an environment like before, where it's a week of videos and then you're off. Maybe I'll be more fortunate this time around, but most workplaces don't often invest in good training, so I'm not optimistic about it.

In summary, this course has illustrated how successful to me personally the repetitive, learn-by-doing method of learning is. This course has also helped me reflect on just how woefully unprepared most employers are with respect to training new employees. I have no doubt that retention rates and general workplace culture would improve if more institutions started offering hands-on, repetition-based training platforms like LabSim.

Unveiling the Chemex...

 I recently took the plunge, despite the rising price of coffee, and invested in a Chemex; it arrived this evening. Despite the late hour, I was too curious not to immediately put it to use. The results have been...lackluster.

I've been a devoted drinker of light-roasted coffees since living in Hawai'i, and being that the Chemex is widely reported to brew excellent light roast, it seemed like a worthwhile purchase. Now I'm not so sure.

The Chemex requires a certain level of skill, so that could be part of the problem. Being a first-time user, I don't have a feel for it yet. I ground my beans fine, and rather than letting the water cool ten degrees, did a pour straight off the boil.

The brew is clean, I'll admit. But it lacks the punchy endnotes that I get when brewing light roast in the French press. All in all, I'm disappointed thus far. I've had good coffee out of a Chemex before, but I wasn't the one making it. This attempt came out tasting clean, but flat.

Hopefully, with more research, and a little trial and error, I can improve the quality. So far the only thing my pour over game has going for it is texture.

Bamboo Forest in a Rain Storm

There were a lot of things I loved about living in Hawai'i, but having the jungle in my backyard (a real jungle, instead of one fashioned out of concrete) was what I loved the most. 

Any time I felt stressed (90% of the time; you're always broke in Hawai'i), I'd throw my gym bag in the car, and drive H1 across the island to Manoa, where the Na Ala Hele trail system has a whole grouping of different trailheads across the Ko'olau Range. Driving up the side of Mt. Tantalus was an experience in and of itself. Dozens and dozens of hairpin turns, folding back on themselves, shaded by these gigantic trees with flowering vines hanging down practically into the old road that zigzags up the mountainside. 

There are mansions dotting the mountainside, too. Some of them have some really interesting history associated with them. I found out after coming back to the mainland that one of the palatial Spanish-style houses near the Makiki Valley trailhead actually belonged to Ferdinand Marcos. He purchased it with money he stole after he was exiled from the Philippines. I walked by it probably a dozen times, and didn't know...

Not being able to climb mountains and wander aimlessly through bamboo forests has definitely had a less than stellar impact on my mental health; going to Red Rock or Lone Mountain isn't really the same, although I try to go fairly often. 

I actually got caught in a miniature cyclone while in one of those bamboo forests, witnessed a minor mudslide. Kinda thought I might die, but I didn't (obviously). I took some pictures before all hell broke loose.

I'm still not really sure I made the right choice moving back to the mainland, but...I'm stuck with it, so...you just try and make the best of it. 

Some days I'm more okay with it than others.

Learned Topics From LabSims Second Chapter (A Response to Threaded Discussion 04)

Learning the basics of ports and connectors, covered in the Computer Hardware section, is something I can see being useful in the future, largely because it's knowledge that I could have sincerely made use of in the past. It's a topic I had virtually no experience with beforehand, found confusing at the outset, but definitely feel more comfortable with having worked through the section.

This information really would have helped me when I started working in a state office. I had taken a job with the DOE, and showed up my first day, bright and early, to discover I needed to assemble my desktop before I could get started. As it turns out, where our office was located in Waipahu, was dangerous at night. At some point, after some folks tried to ram a truck through the front gate, following two previous (successful) break-ins, the DOE started mandating that we disassemble and lock up our hardware every day when we left. Which of course meant having to reassemble it the next morning.

It took me a good fifteen or twenty minutes to get the computer set up, because I'd worked on a laptop for years, and hadn't actually had to assemble a desktop in a long time, maybe ever. I looked foolish, and it really wasn't an ideal way to start things, with my boss impatiently waiting down the hall for me to finish setting ups so that we could start.

Having known what was covered in the LabSims hardware section would have made the whole process much easier, and spared me some embarrassment. I can absolutely see this information, and the practice the I got from the simulations in particular, being very helpful in the future.

Tacos (Again!)

Working and taking classes has the tendency to make a person both really boring and also broke, and so...I don't have super interesting things to say at the moment. However, I must complete my weekly post and, since I meal prepped today, I guess that, once again, I'll post about tacos. Different tacos, but still tacos.

My boss recently gifted me with a mix of dried chili peppers; guajillo, and a couple others. I picked up a large chuck roast and simmered it for about five hours on the stove in broth with some of the chilis. They gave the beef just enough heat to make my lips tingle a bit.

After simmering, I shredded it up, and placed it into cassava tortillas. Then I topped them with pico, shredded cilantro, and feta. 

They were probably the best I've made up to this point, although that's pretty much meaningless, because I know so little about traditional Mexican cooking anyway. They were, however, really easy to do, and there's plenty left for one day, maybe even two.

I'm going to attempt making mole here soon, too. It's time consuming, but I love it, and hopefully, it'll be worth the effort.

Learned Topics from LabSims First Chapter (A Response To Threaded Discussion 03)

One topic that I can definitely say I learned more about, and that is useful to me on a regular basis, is the formal way in which we define different types of malicious emails (this is discussed in the Online Safety and Security section). Up until this point, I assumed that the terms phishing / spearphishing / Nigerian scam were basically interchangeable; in actuality, this isn't the case. The section went on to show how these formal definitions can be used to identify and classify malicious content in a more precise way.

While it's oftentimes fairly easy to identify spam, the "Concept Questions" assessment at the section's end brought up an interesting situation wherein I might've made a mistake. There's an email response from a coworker whom you asked to get lunch, featuring an attachment. Without thinking, and just seeing who it appeared to be from, and the chain it was a part of, I might have gone and just opened the attachment.

However, the test points out that the title of the attachment appears to have nothing to do with the original query, indicating that something may be amiss. That particular case was more subtle than the others, and serves as a good general reminder that you should inspect an attachment outwardly as much as possible before opening it, even if it's from a recognized sender or source.

This is something that I can always remember to practice.

Improv Dinner : Fish Tacos w/ Alaskan Cod

I was at Sprouts on Saturday night, and discovered that they had wild-caught Alaskan cod at a low price. I don't cook a lot of cod; I prefer black cod (which apparently is actually not cod at all) and salmon, but decided that I could use some whitefish. I bought a pound.

I thought about what to do with it since I don't make it often, and decided the easiest option, for whitefish generally, was to make fish tacos.

I ended up throwing together a blackening rub, using garlic, paprika, oregano, cayenne, and plenty of salt, and then pan-charred the cod until it was flaky. I shredded cilantro up, and threw some on top, along with kimchi in place of slaw, since I didn't have any.

I actually don't eat a lot of grains, but I always keep a bag of Foods For Life sprouted corn tortillas in the fridge for emergencies such as this. I heated a couple in the pan, then spooned the blackened cod and assorted toppings into them. Lastly, I threw together a little sriracha cream, and drizzled it over the top.

The whole thing worked out really well, and I have enough for another two nights on top of it all.

Bon appetite.