I love the NBA. I know many people do not like the 1 on 1 isolation, bloated salaries, and chronic off-the-court issues but I have always been a big fan. While I have never really pulled for any one team exclusively, I generally have always liked the Sacramento Kings in the West and the Celtics in the East. Being that I live closer to this coast at this point in my life, I get to see more Celtics games. This season they are also easy to root for. Since the regular season is half over, I thought I would give my mid point evaluations and give out awards to teams and players.
Most Surprising Team, Portland Trailblazers: When they drafted Greg Oden on draft night, everyone knew that in a few years they would be a title contending team. However, once news of his micro-fracture surgery surfaced, the season was deemed over. I guess no one told the rest of the Blazers. Brandon Roy and his supporting cast that make up the youngest team in the league have played excellent basketball. I still think it will be difficult for them to make the playoffs in the power house of a conference called the West, but that team is one that we should be talking about for a long time.
Most Disappointing Team, Miami Heat: I am a huge Shaq fan. Always have been, always will be. He is the reason I detest Kobe. You don't do the best big man ever that way. Period. His decline this year is not all his fault, but it has been hard to watch this year. The team he has around him, sans D-Wade, is awful. They can't score or defend. I wish something could be done so that the Diesel could go out on top. I am not sure the Heat is where that can happen. Dallas? That sure would be interesting.
MVP of the West, Chris Paul: Who would have thought that the Hornets would be atop the West at this point in the season? Paul is the reason. He is amazing. He can score, defend, and make his whole team better. He's a good guy too.
MVP of the East, Lebron James: Some would argue that Kevin Garnett needs to be in this spot but given the fact that everyone "expected" the Celtics to be that good and he has 2 other HOF players on his team, I give the mid-season nod to the King. His team is bad. When he is not on the court, the offense is poor at best. His scoring in 4th quarters is amazing.
Rookie of the Year, Al Horford: Durant is still a couple of years away from being a great player. His shooting in the past 2-3 weeks has been terrible, leading many to believe that he has hit the "rookie wall". Big Al was ready to play right away coming from a winning school in Florida. He knows what his strengths are and doesn't force things. He could be the next Elton Brand if he continues to work hard.
Most Surprising Player, Hedo Turkoglu: I wish the Kings would have never let this guy go. He can flat out score. This year he is also passing and rebounding well. His game winner yesterday against the Celtics was incredible, although I almost threw something at the TV when it went it. He looks more like the player that should have gotten MAX money, not Rashard Lewis.
Most Disappointing Player, Pick a Knicks Player: Exception, David Lee, Nate Robinson, or Renaldo Balkman. Those 3 play hard every night. The rest of them, including the coach, is a the reason why so many people are turned off by the NBA. This team and franchise should be better than this. It is so disappointing to see how far they have fallen since the glory days of Patrick Ewing.
There you have it. I am especially happy for a couple of other players, mostly because of fantasy basketball stuff. I have done pretty well in both leagues thus far. I just hope that it will continue throughout the playoffs. We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The next Google?
Tonight I watched this segment on 60 minutes that I had recorded on my DVR from Sunday night. I thought it was interesting to hear how analyists are saying the Facebook is the next Google. I wondered if they were going to compare Facebook and MySpace and their differences. I know the Facebook is huge at Harding and MySpace is blocked under the category social/dating. While the interview talked a little about the technology involved, it really focuses on the business aspects of Facebook and the worth of the company. How will Facebook make money? Is it really worth the estimated 15 Billion dollars? I guess only time will tell.
Monday, January 7, 2008
To Certify or Not To Certify, That is the question?
I recieve at least one question a week from students regarding certifications and what cert that they should pursue. As with almost every technology related question, the answer is "depends". No, not the diapers for adults, but it really does depend on multiple factors. I plan to use time during one of the Business Information Technology Students, BITS, meetings this semester to give a presentation over this topic but thought I would get the ball rolling here with some of my findings at this point.
Who should certify? My personal opinion on this matter is that all "techs" should have a certification of some kind. While demonstrating ones abilities is important in the world, it is important to have a piece of paper that says you have completed all of the necessary requirements to be "X" certified. This does not prove anything by itself but it does complement experience in a very positive way. I don't think that possessing a certification can hurt you in any way.
What to certify in? This is where many people, especially inexperienced people, do not know in which direction to turn. I would say that the first thing you need to consider when considering a certification is to talk to your supervisor about the directions he/she thinks you should pursue. While you may not agree with their advice, obtaining a certification in an area you boss thinks is the right direction will only help you. If you plan on staying with the organization for a while, this is probably even more important. If you have their "blessing", they may pay for study aides, give you time to study or work towards your cert during work time, and/or give you an incentive in terms of pay to add this cert to your resume. How cool is that?
If you do not know which certification is right for you or are looking for a cert to get you in the door, a non-vendor specific cert may be the way to go. In doing this, you get a broad scope of a area rather than focus on a particular hardware type or company. For example, don't get Cisco Certified if you are not planning on going into networking. Certifications, at least the ones that are worth something, will make you earn them. Don't waste your time, effort, or $$$ on something that will not benefit you in multiple ways in the long run.
How do you certify? Blood, sweat, and tears. Really, there are several options to do this and each deal with an inverse relationship between time and $$$. Previous experience and knowledge also pay a big part in these as well.
The cheapest option that takes probably the most discipline and time is self-paced study. This is done by getting a couple of books related to the subject, practice exams, and lots and lots of note cards if you learn like me. This method IMO is best utilized if you have a study partner. Just like exercise, having someone to encourage and push you to achieve a goal is much easier than doing it alone. I also feel like you probably will learn the material the most in this method. The drawback is that it is much more difficult to teach yourself and you still have to take care of all of your obligations in life during this as well.
The most expensive option that take little time other than the course is a boot camp. Boot camps are not lots of push ups and running at 5am. They are intense, but only on the mind. My MCSA boot camp actually made me gain weight! These courses are designed to get an individual prepared for the exams and then to take the exam during the time you are there. The end result for the majority of these people is the certification before you leave. This can be a good option however there is a caveat to this. If you do not have a good amount of knowledge AND experience PRIOR to going to one of these types of courses, you WILL struggle. If you do pass, your certification will be worth much less than someone that actually knows their stuff. If may help you to get a job, but if all you know is the answers to the test questions, you may be looking for another job rather quickly.
There are other courses out there that are not boot camps that can aid in getting certifications, but their purpose isn't necessarily to get the certification. These are designed more for individuals that desire both knowledge and the cert. After the course, some self-paced study is required but it is something that is easier if you took good notes during the course.
Questions? Comments? I will sharing more things related to our IT majors during the presentation that will hopefully be during the early part of February.
Who should certify? My personal opinion on this matter is that all "techs" should have a certification of some kind. While demonstrating ones abilities is important in the world, it is important to have a piece of paper that says you have completed all of the necessary requirements to be "X" certified. This does not prove anything by itself but it does complement experience in a very positive way. I don't think that possessing a certification can hurt you in any way.
What to certify in? This is where many people, especially inexperienced people, do not know in which direction to turn. I would say that the first thing you need to consider when considering a certification is to talk to your supervisor about the directions he/she thinks you should pursue. While you may not agree with their advice, obtaining a certification in an area you boss thinks is the right direction will only help you. If you plan on staying with the organization for a while, this is probably even more important. If you have their "blessing", they may pay for study aides, give you time to study or work towards your cert during work time, and/or give you an incentive in terms of pay to add this cert to your resume. How cool is that?
If you do not know which certification is right for you or are looking for a cert to get you in the door, a non-vendor specific cert may be the way to go. In doing this, you get a broad scope of a area rather than focus on a particular hardware type or company. For example, don't get Cisco Certified if you are not planning on going into networking. Certifications, at least the ones that are worth something, will make you earn them. Don't waste your time, effort, or $$$ on something that will not benefit you in multiple ways in the long run.
How do you certify? Blood, sweat, and tears. Really, there are several options to do this and each deal with an inverse relationship between time and $$$. Previous experience and knowledge also pay a big part in these as well.
The cheapest option that takes probably the most discipline and time is self-paced study. This is done by getting a couple of books related to the subject, practice exams, and lots and lots of note cards if you learn like me. This method IMO is best utilized if you have a study partner. Just like exercise, having someone to encourage and push you to achieve a goal is much easier than doing it alone. I also feel like you probably will learn the material the most in this method. The drawback is that it is much more difficult to teach yourself and you still have to take care of all of your obligations in life during this as well.
The most expensive option that take little time other than the course is a boot camp. Boot camps are not lots of push ups and running at 5am. They are intense, but only on the mind. My MCSA boot camp actually made me gain weight! These courses are designed to get an individual prepared for the exams and then to take the exam during the time you are there. The end result for the majority of these people is the certification before you leave. This can be a good option however there is a caveat to this. If you do not have a good amount of knowledge AND experience PRIOR to going to one of these types of courses, you WILL struggle. If you do pass, your certification will be worth much less than someone that actually knows their stuff. If may help you to get a job, but if all you know is the answers to the test questions, you may be looking for another job rather quickly.
There are other courses out there that are not boot camps that can aid in getting certifications, but their purpose isn't necessarily to get the certification. These are designed more for individuals that desire both knowledge and the cert. After the course, some self-paced study is required but it is something that is easier if you took good notes during the course.
Questions? Comments? I will sharing more things related to our IT majors during the presentation that will hopefully be during the early part of February.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Welcome to the New Year
I am excited for this new year to start. I have had a great 2007 and look forward to this year as well. I am archived all of my previous blog entries as I am starting fresh looking into the new year. I have previously used this blog to jot down events in my life, particularly in relation to my health and fitness. As I start this New Year, one of the things that I am going to use this blog for is to communicate happening in my life as well as things that I see that may be of use to others. I am hoping that more people will start to read this as a result. Now I just have to add entries on a regular basis!
This week I am mostly in an organizing mode. I have spent a little time in the office and have tried to slowly get prepared for the new semester but I have a lot of work to do to feel prepared for Spring.
The classes I am teaching for the Spring are as follows:
IT260 - Data Management (2 Sections)
IT312 - Systems Administration
IT410 - IT Project (Capstone)
I am particularly excited to teach the capstone course this semester. This will be my first time to take this course and hope that it will be a successful one. This class is basically a project from start to finish for the students where they utilize many of the skills that have acquired to solve a "real world" problem. These are projects that they will be completing this term.
This week I am mostly in an organizing mode. I have spent a little time in the office and have tried to slowly get prepared for the new semester but I have a lot of work to do to feel prepared for Spring.
The classes I am teaching for the Spring are as follows:
IT260 - Data Management (2 Sections)
IT312 - Systems Administration
IT410 - IT Project (Capstone)
I am particularly excited to teach the capstone course this semester. This will be my first time to take this course and hope that it will be a successful one. This class is basically a project from start to finish for the students where they utilize many of the skills that have acquired to solve a "real world" problem. These are projects that they will be completing this term.
- Website - Creating and enhancing a website for a local dental office.
- Networking project - Students will build a Windows 2003 forest that spans a WAN connected by Cisco routers. This forest will have MS Sharepoint 2007, Exchange 2007, and SQL installed and configured as part of the project as well.
- Database project #1 - Creating a database and website for the MSDNAA software that is available for all IT students.
- Database project #2 - Database for a local landscaping company.
This class will be a lot of work so I am glad that I have taught the other courses previously. I have more to work on today before leaving so I will stop for now. Welcome to 2008.
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