Daily Thoughts 8/25/09 ( self education )

'Chaucer at the Court of Edward III' , Ford Madox Brown

Daily Thoughts 8/25/09

Frederik Pohl just received an honorary high school diploma from Brookyn Technical school. http://www.locusmag.com/News/2009/08/fred-pohl-earns-high-school-diploma.html
I sometimes think of the importance of having a high school diploma. I never finished high school. I tested out with a California High School Proficiency in the 11th grade and went to community college. Personal things made it important for me to be on my own. This is not for everyone. I have a masters degree, despite having not finished high school. This is also true of a couple of my cousins. Frederik Pohl is one of the best science fiction writers.

I like college far more than I liked high school. It is a place where you are going voluntarily to learn. I am even considering going back to college part time to get a masters in publishing to supplement my masters in library science. I just like the idea. New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies has a publishing program. There is quite a bit on electronic publishing which I am very interested in. http://www.scps.nyu.edu/areas-of-study/publishing/ I took the Introduction to Publishing course there and enjoyed it a lot.

For a while I worked at an internet service provider as a sourcer for human resources. One of the things I leanred there was the importance of self education. To effectively run an internet service provider you have to find a lot of people who are into serious self education in lots of technical subjects. The way you moved ahead in these places was to get various computer certifications, A+ computer technician, MCSE Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, MCSA Microsoft Certified System Administrator, CCIE Cisco Certified Internetworking Engineer, Java Sun Certification, A+ Network Security. These certifications were tests to show you new a particular subject. In addition to getting certifications technicians read a lot of computer manuals to stay up to date; perl, c++, and many other programs were popular.

A college degree did not guarantee technical proficiency. I try to make sure there are a decent amount of new computer books. This is also true of many other fields. There are all sorts of certifications ranging from stock broker to phlebotomist.

Good Evening

A portrait of Pierre de Fermat, French lawyer and mathematician.

Good Evening

I wrote a short review today. Today has been a day for relaxation. I finished reading another book, The Last Theorem by Frederik Pohl and Arthur C. Clarke. Arthur C. Clarke died before the book was published. Frederik Pohl might have finished Arthur C. Clark's novel. I am really not quite sure about this one. It is a solidly entertaining book. It is not as good as I would have liked, but things often get a little fuzzy when one author finishes another authors work or writers collaborate.

The craftsmanship in the book is excellent. The story at times does not read like a traditional science fiction book at all. It is more of a near future novel, than a science fiction novel. It reads very much like a novel. The characters seem like people you might meet in real life. The book is on the Locus bestseller list.

It is Labor Day Weekend. I hope for all of your sakes you consider the plight of labor. I wish you all luck wherever you work. I hope you have a place where there is little plight between labor and management and cordial relations. If you are in the corporate world, I wish you a bit of profit sharing. I believe in a certain amount of employee ownership. I am glad to be part of a union.