I Be... S-C-J-P

So I just made it home from the SCJP exam and I passed!!

I am not quite sure what it means for me yet as the certification is not really required for most jobs here in the US. I just hope I will be able to skip out on some of those stupid Java programming tests you have to take on job interviews. More than anything I was excited to know that my ability to cram knowledge in my brain in a short amount of time is still active from my days in college. I literally studied for the exam over the past week and was unsure if I was really prepared going into the test.

Oh well, this is done and I just have to wait for my score to be reported to Sun so I can access the certification manager site. I'll let you know if there is anything special going on there.

Java Is Where the Heart Is

As I was studying for the SCJP exam I realized how much I enjoy working with Java. I can still remember when I first started learning Java back in 2002 while I was in college. I had finally "mastered" C++ and was looking for a new challenge, when surprisingly my university added a Java course. So not only did I get to learn the language that would be the launching pad to my software engineering adventure, but I would get to knock out a course elective at the same time.

A lot has changed in Java since then, but it still remains my "go-to guy" when I am starting a project. So from this point on, I will be leaving .NET at work and spending my time with Java. I think I will be able to do a lot more as far as contributing to the Open Source community by spending more of my time with Java and that is the direction I am headed.

Anyone have any suggestions on a nice Open Source project to join to get my feet wet???

Google IO Sessions Online!!

If you are one of the people like me who were not fortunate enough to make it to Google IO, then you need to go check out the online sessions as Google has posted video and slides for all of them!!

Google IO Sessions

Java Certification

Around this time last year I got the crazy notion that I would drop $200 to get a voucher to take the Java Certified Programmer exam and get become a Sun Certified Java Programmer and eventually get the Developer certification so I could have some padding on my resume. Well a year has passed and I still have not used my voucher and it expires the end of this month. So I finally have scheduled my exam and will be cramming in Java semantics into my head until then. I have no idea why I thought this would be a good idea as the Programmers certification is nothing more than a test and does not involve the test-taker to actually write any code.

So we will see if I pass or not even though I have been programming in Java since 2002. I think I should be okay though and once I pass I will be able to use the SCJP gif in my email and on here, haha.

Firefox 3 Download Day... June 17, 2008

The long awaited release of Firefox 3 is coming on Tuesday, June 17 and Mozilla is trying to break the record for most downloads in a day. Firefox 3 is bringing a lot of performance updates, most importantly the end to all the memory leak issues!!! So click the image below and go pledge to do a Firefox 3 download on June 17 and help be a part of history!!