Must. Ride. Now.

Postponed my CCNA exam today… just for a couple of weeks.  Although I thought I had mastered the material in the training videos, as I began to go through the exam simulations, I concluded that there was material on the exam that the videos simply didn’t cover. Further, the test format itself proved to be a little ominous for a guy who hasn’t taken a test in some time. No worries though, a little extra time should allow me to master the exam simulations and give me a bit more confidence walking in the exam room…

Well the new web site is all set for the South East Arizona Touring Riders.  Diane and I will be taking on a larger role with the club allowing our long-time benevolent dictators, Deryle & Wanda time to ride more and tend to clerical matters less.  The site can be seen at www.seatrider.org   and hopefully gets good feedback.  The S.E.A.T. folks deserve a nice website and Diane and I have been enjoying being a part of the group for several years.

Ride often and ride safe!

Time flies when you’re having fun!  As the weather has begun cooling off somehow our social calendar has gotten busier and busier.  I am scheduled to take the CCNA exam November 9th and before that day rolls around it seems a never-ending stream of social obligations.  As anxious as I am about my pending exam date, I am also looking forward to all of the coming events…  S.E.A.T. has a fall overnighter in the White mountains, Adam & Sara are coming to visit, and Halloween in Bisbee never fails to entertain.  There is quite a bit of weirdness to go along with all the fun, though.  Suffice it to say that this has already become a year to remember.

More soon…

I am sure the only person excited by this is... Me.

My 851 router is finally working as a firewall AND my frame relay hub & spoke lab is up and running! Maybe frame-relay isn’t that bad after all.

I get excited about the weirdest stuff…

Cisco Lab Rack

So far, so good actually.  There have been a few surprises; but, nothing in the CCNA curriculum is too difficult so far. In fact, I can already see that to gain any real expertise in this is going to require at least a CCNP certification.  Binary math and subnet masking have been far less intimidating than I expected- And switching has been far, far more complex that I thought.  Who knew?  If all goes according to plan, I should be testing for the CCNA before the end of September.

Well, it’s back-to-school time and today’s lesson is binary math and IP sub-netting…  Really.  I am working on the Cisco vendor specific CCNA certification and hope to add the Security specialty soon thereafter.  Honestly, I haven’t found the dreaded binary and sub-netting portion of this to be altogether too difficult.  After all, how hard can math be when all you have are ones and zeros?

My original plan was to take the full exam by mid-September.  That may be just a bit too ambitious; but, I may split the CCNA cert into the two separate exams in lieu of the single composite exam so I can still have the CCENT portion complete in September…  Still, six weeks may be enough time to cover all the material.  I guess we’ll see.

Wish me luck!

Time for... "change"?

How long has it been since I was in a classroom?  Apparently, too long.  I have a plan.  Not a fully developed plan; but, a plan nonetheless.  The time has come.  Honestly, I have endured the status quo for far too long.  I am a smart lad, right?  Well, I guess we will see.  Whatever may come, it is clearly time for  a change.  As long as the algebra is kept to a minimum, I think I will be just fine.

I wish I could remember what it was I said as a child when asked what it was I wanted to be when I grew up.  Maybe it was just too long ago to remember.  I do recall torturing my younger brother by insisting that I was going to be a color television set when I grew up.  Guess I never really had the aptitude to “channel” that sort of career (sorry).

I digress…  As the situation with my present employer continues to bode dimly, I wonder what sort of opportunity this may be for me to reinvent myself?  I am uniquely fortunate in that I have seemingly boundless support from my darling wife.  She, having recently completed her MBA, has even suggested I might try school again, should I set my designs on something out of reach for my current qualifications.  I wish the answer were simple.  I have always separated things that were work from things that were fun.  If things that are fun became things that were work, would they cease to be fun?  I guess I need to see how the cards play out with the situation at hand before I make a hasty decision I might later regret; but, I owe it to myself, and family, to be prepared.

So, what should I be when I grow up?  You’ll read it here first- as soon as I decide.

:-/

Books. The art of ink-on-paper...

Lately, the passion for Magic has returned from my youth.  The result has been a thirst for knowledge and a reasonable collection of reference books on the subject.  Specifically, I have been focusing my study on two distinct specialties in magic- close-up magic with coins and with cards.  Further, my preference is for tricks dependent upon skill in lieu of gimmicked trickery.  As skill in sleight of hand is earned over lengthy periods, the result is mostly that I am studying an art that to date I have demonstrated to nearly no one.  None the less, it makes me happy.  Some day I may deem my skills “ready” to perform for some small group of friends; but, in the mean time, I owe it to my peers to be patient.  No trick should be demonstrated without practice to perfection.

Now, back to work…

Two days at Inde Motorsports Ranch hasn’t made me a racer; but, it has made me faster around the track.  It was a blast and I can’t wait to do it again…

S1000RR tires after a few laps...