Next Project??

So, I'm done with grad school (for now anyway... a whole story in itself) and I'm thinking that I need a new project. I have a bit of development work I'm doing for my mother's business and that should be finished soon, but I need something I can use as my hobby.

Here are my ideas so far:

• Lego Mindstorms NXT Robots

• I got one of these for X-mas 2006 and I got a couple new books for it this X-mas. I know how to use Java to program the NXT block now so I need to come up with some bots I want to build.



• Start an open source project

• I have no idea what I would want to create, but it would be a big step towards owning my own business.



• Develop a business application

• Mrs. Black Dilbert has a lot of things she has to keep track of in her profession. I think that I could make her a few apps that would help ease some of the things she has to do each day.



• Develop an application to monitor a monthly financial budget

• I promised Mrs. Black Dilbert this one a few months ago. We came up with a budget to help cut down on my spending on nerdy things, but I've somehow managed to dodge the budget so far. :-)

Hmmm...that's quite a list. I think I may not have a lot of trouble finding things to do. That is, until all of these people can talk me into going for a PhD. Actually, Dr. Dilbert doesn't sound too bad...

C# Gangsta

Watch out... I am completing the end of my initial C# training course and to my surprise I am not having any trouble with it. I'm having more trouble trying to work in the XP pairs on the labs. People work at different speeds and when it comes to my nerdy software development I pick things up quickly and like to move quickly, but that is another issue for another time (ha ha). So far in the course we have done everything from accessing databases (which is VERY easy to do in .NET 2005 and up) and working with XML to tying applications into Microsoft Excel. The course has been very enjoyable and I am looking forward to going back to the advanced course early next year. This short week of training is probably going to really push me forward at work and I can't wait for the chance to show off what I have learned.

Embedded SQL vs. Stored Procedures

I've been working on a small pet project lately that involves storing and retrieving data from a database. I have about 10 - 12 different queries that have been written to handle all of the data. Initially I began embedding all of the queries into my code and using the normal JDBC PreparedStatements to make all of the calls. Then I needed to make a few changes to data model and corresponding DB schema. I had to go back into each piece of code that contained an embedded SQL statement and make updates to account for my data changes. This was a serious pain in the @$$ as I spent a couple hours updating code due to an external change. It was then I realized that my application had become too coupled with the database schema with the embedded SQL. I decided it would be better to move my SQL queries into stored procedures and simply call the stored procedures from my code.

I learned the following lessons from this:

• If an application needs to execute more than a few queries it is better to have the app call a stored procedure rather than embed SQL. This way the application does not need to know any information about the database tables and can interact with a group of stored procedures that create a pseudo-interface to the database.
• By calling the stored procedures in the code, I was able to switch to different types of databases as long as I loaded the stored procedures. I was able to quickly test my application against SQL Server Express and MySQL with no problems.
• To make things even simpler in the code, I created constants for the stored procedures names. This allowed me to not have to keep track of the exact names of the stored procedures and gave me a central place to update stored procedure names to be used by my code.

By no means do I consider myself an expert, but I just thought I would share what I found as it made things much easier for me in the development of my app.

The Walk!!

So it is done!! I have now graduated and am deciding on my next move. There was much talk today by professors and my family about going for a Doctorate degree. I am considering it, but it will not be something I undertake in the immediate future. I need at least at least a year long break from all the school work. If I was to go back to the alma mater for the Doctorate I would have to take another 18 hours before I did two long semesters of full time study, in which I wouldn't really be able to work. Not to mention I would need to decide in what area I plan to specialize. The thesis for this time around was in Networks and I think I want to go more the software engineering route from this point forward. Oh well, it's a thought at this point at least.

For now I am in training next week for C# .NET programming. It is the first of two training courses I am taking. I need to add some more tricks to my bag and throwing a little .NET into the mix won't hurt. I'm already planning on taking the Java programmer's certification exam in the next couple of months so I can make my way to the higher Java developer certifications.

Anyway, I have done a lot of learning in the past few years and I have plans for a lot of learning in the future. I think everyone should learn as it will only expand the mind and bring about new solutions to problems.

Done the Damn Thing... Now back to you Black Dilbert

So... I had my thesis defense on Monday afternoon. I was pretty nervous and I don't think my mouth has ever been more dry in my life. I did my best to stay calm and talk slowly, which is a bit of a struggle, and methodically make my way through my slides. I made it through them and then was able to answer all of the questions the professors asked. Then, the professors sent me out in the hallway so they could deliberate. I thought I was going to pass out while I waited the long 5 minutes while they decided, but they opened the door and all shook my hand and congratulated me on a job well done.

I took a few seconds for it to sink in, but I was finally finished with school. I am graduating!! So now I can get back to being the nice and nerdy Black Dilbert instead of poking through research papers night after night.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!

D Day Is Coming

So Monday is the day of truth. I finally present my thesis work at 4:00pm on Monday afternoon. I'm getting a little nervous, but I think I will do well enough to get this thing completed and approved. I have my slides done, but tomorrow I will spend the day rehearsing and getting all the points I want to make down to the 'T'.

As soon as I finish this thing I am going to head right over to the bookstore to get my graduation stuff. This has been a long time coming...

SE Tip of the Day

Note: I'm going to try and start giving a SW Engineering tip that I find useful every so often. I know I'm no expert, but I'd like to think I am good at what I do.

Today's tip goes along with the maintenance phases of a project.

Tip:	When using third-party tools and libraries in your application, be sure to keep them up-to-date in your code base.

When you initially decide to use a certain version of a programming language or a third-party library package you are doing so to get the current product out the door and into use. In most cases, as soon the product is shipped newer versions of these technologies have been put into release. Often you are faced with a decision of whether to assign levels of effort to try to incorporate the new technologies with your product or to simply move forward with the status quo. I believe it would be a mistake to attempt to constantly update your code base as new versions of technologies are released. However, I believe that the discussion of upgrading to new versions of technologies should occur at least once a year. Otherwise, prolonged use of technologies that become out of date will create maintenance problems as those technologies will begin to lose the amount of support needed when having problems associated with them. So take the time to carefully upgrade your tools and libraries so your product stays with the current technologies.

Mission: Complete... well for the most part anyway

So I actually completed a draft of my thesis so it looks like I am going to make that walk across the stage in December. This is probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. It took so much time doing research, writing simulations, and writing the final paper. Even though I know I have another round of edits and a presentation to do I am satisfied that I was able to bust out the 60+ pages I put down on paper.

Now I have to figure out what I want to do next. I know I will take a month to study for my Java certification exam and start thinking about going for the certified developer exam, but other than that I don't have much else planned. Who knows, maybe I'll find some hobbies!

Time....

I'm still going hard on the thesis, but I'm running out of time. I really want to get this thing done this semester so this next week is going to have to be the hardest working week I have ever had. The thought of having to drag this thing out until the Spring is something I want no part of at all!! Wish me luck!!

Progress...

So today I finished writing my simulation, well sort of...

It runs and it works, but I still have some things I need to add in for it to be fully complete, but it is at a point where I can get with my professor and decide what data we need to collect. So it's looking like I actually will finish this thing this semester and be done with school, for a while anyway.

So wish me luck because now I have to start focusing on the paper portion. :-(

Long Time...

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last posted. So much has changed in the time between these posts. In this time I have started a new job and officially applied for graduation in this Fall semester. I guess I'll give a little update on both...

The job...
The situation at my previous job began to make me feel uneasy, so I felt I needed a change. I just began to feel like I was not growing and advancing as quickly as I would have liked. On top of that, I was about to be transferred to a new work group for the third time in less than a year. Each time you get transferred you pretty much have to start from scratch as far as building towards a promotion because you have a new boss and a new set of co-workers and you have to learn about what they are doing so you might as well be coming in straight from college. Not a good situation at all...

So the day I found out about being moved I went home and got on Dice.com (excellent source of jobs for you techies looking for work) and started to browse job openings. I saw a posting for a job in Fort Worth doing something that was similar to what I was doing and applied. Low and behold, they called me the next day to set up a phone interview and the rest is history. I've been with my new company for a month now and I am enjoying it. It is a completely different atmosphere and a nice change of pace. If you are feeling unhappy in your current role or position I would suggest you consider making a move. It could literally make you instantly feel better.

School, school, school...
Well, what can I say? I am actually going to finish this whole grad school thing this semester. I have applied for graduation, but there is plenty of work left to do. I am about 75% done developing my simulation. I'm actually taking a break from working on it as I type this post. As soon as I finish my simulation I will be meeting with my professor to fully test it out and come up with some test scenarios so I can execute some runs, gather data, and finally finish writing the paper. Then all I have to do is give the paper to my committee and prepare to defend this thing.

Once all that is done it is one to making that walk across the stage. Maybe I'll do the Soulja Boy when they call my name, haha. I am really looking forward to finishing so I can haev some more free time in my life to be a bum. I'm sure I'll think about a Phd at some point, but not anytime soon. I need some time to be school free. Now that doesn't mean I won't be doing any exciting projects on my own. I mean, I am Black Dilbert for a reason...


So folks, that is what Black Dilbert has been up to lately. I'll be sure to post more often from now on.

Slacking Off..

So the past few weeks I've been slacking off. I haven't made it to the gym to start working off the tire around my waist. I haven't made much more progress on my simulation for my thesis. I've basically done nothing but go to work and come home and sit on my @$$. I need something to light a fire in me so I can get back into the grind of things. I need to start eating right and working out. I need to start setting aside daily time for the thesis. I basically just need to do better than what I'm doing now. I don't know what it is, but this has to stop.

Random...

I've come to the realization that I can be very random. Tonight I was working on my thesis simulation while the wife watched television in the other room. I was doing that most of the night, but soon after wifey went to bed I got the sudden urge to do the dishes and clean... Now mind you it is midnight when this begins. I bust some suds and get the first set of dishes in the dishwasher (we had quite a stack of dishes, don't ask...) and decide that now is the right time to go return movies to Blockbuster and go get some milk and cereal from Wal-mart... So I finally make it home at 1:30am and proceed to go back to the last set of dishes to wash. And now at 3am I'm here typing this entry in my wonderful blog. Man I need to kick this night owl habit...

Frustration, Frustration

If you are ever working and feel like the project is beginning to slip away, speak up or forever hold your peace...

When you feel your project is suffering from misdirection or is not going as planned, you should speak up. You may feel like you are a peon at the bottom of the org chart, but you better believe that when the project is overrun and mandatory overtime kicks in your peon ass will be the one staying day and night....

Here Comes the Consultant

I worked from home today because I had a bit of a sore throat, but in the morning I have to go to work almost no matter what. Why, you ask? Because we have a consultant coming in the morning to step us through a vendor product install.

Now, for those of you who are entering the software development and engineering world will most certainly encounter these scenarios. The boss man will say we need to save money so instead of building something yourself you will buy something existing that already does it. Nothing wrong with that, but in most cases you will need to learn how to use it which is where the consultants come in. They will come in and show you how everything with the product works, which is great but usually these guys come in and throw so much at you that you spend the next two weeks trying to figure out what all they said, lol.

So tomorrow I will be sitting there trying to write down as much as possible while Mr. Consultant shows me how to install a bunch of extra features that we probably will never use. Oh well, I guess it could be worse. I could be killing roaches with Milton in the basement....

Tales of a Thesis - Ch. 1

For those that don't know, I am working on my thesis so I can complete my graduate studies at the old alma mater. It's a pretty big project to tackle, considering the whole thing is all on my shoulders. There is no one telling me I must have this and that done by this date. It's all on me to plan this thing out and get it done. So I spent most of tonight sitting at my computer reading 7 or 8 of the 20+ papers I have printed out on my topic (Wireless Sensor Networks) and taking a few notes so I can start planning out my simulation that I will need to write so that I can come up with something to write about in the actual thesis.

So basically, I now have two jobs going on at once. I have my normal job as Black Dilbert and then my job as Mr. Student writing my thesis. So basically I have become a bigger nerd than I already am, but keep that between you and me. :-)

And it begins...

So I finally decided to start me a nice little blog to let everyone in on all the crazy and funny stuff that goes on in my life. I spend most of my time crunched inside of my nice little cubicle so graciously provided to me by my employer. This is probably the worst scenario to be in. My cubicle is just wide enough that I don't complain about not having any space, but it is just tall enough that I can't see when my Mr. Lumberg is coming to ask me to do something. So it pretty much drives me insane, lol. I keep one eye over my shoulder at all times...

Anyway, I look forward to providing my wonderful tales of life in the software development world.