Finding Focus

I have decided that my blogging here has been lacking focus. What I originally planned for this blog was to follow my work on my graduate thesis, but when it was complete I was unsure of the next direction to take. I started to dabble a little in some small software engineering/development topics I encountered, but I never really got into any real detail. So I think I need to take some time to figure out the focus and direction I am going to take with this blog.

So stay tuned for a new and improved Black Dilbert. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see here please let me know.

Thesis Is Alive and Well in the WWW

I was bored today so I did a quick search of my name and wireless mesh networks and my graduate thesis was returned at the top of the list. If you have some free time and want to spend some time catching up on IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless mesh networks you can find my thesis at http://hdl.handle.net/10106/741.

Just skimming through it sent me back to the long nights I spent slaving over simulations and data analysis. I must admit that I kind of miss it...

Laid Off Developer?? Get Free Training

Steve McConnell is doing a very honorable thing by offering laid off software developers free seats in his seminars and training sessions through his company, Construx Software.

Personally, I think this is great thing he is doing. There are a lot of our software brothers and sisters who have found themselves suddenly out of work due to the current financial climate. This is probably one of the biggest times we need to pull together as a community and help others.

Click here for more information.

Unfuddle, Free Subversion and Git Hosting

I have been working on a few small projects and I wanted to get my source into some sort SCM repository so I could easily keep track of changes. Well I found a nice site, Unfuddle, that will allow you a free repository for personal projects. It is perfect for what I am doing and allows me to update my source from any computer.

Free Online Java Training Courses

I recently found the Java Passion site by Sang Shin. If you have not been to the site I recommend you do.

Sang Shin has created numerous online training courses that are all free!! He covers all sorts of Java topics from the basic beginner's of Java lessons to advanced Java EE topics. In these times where companies are cutting back on training expenses more than ever, this is a very easy way to keep your skills up to par and learn new technologies.

I have actually started the course on Spring as I have missed the Spring train in my current job and have not had the chance to sit down and learn it. So far it is going very well. Each lesson has a nice presentation, followed by very detailed step-by-step examples and a hands-on lab. So I have no doubt that I will be "Springing" in no time.