Sunday, May 28, 2017

Human Decency - Mr. Rogers - Senate Subcommittee (1969)

Still relevant today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKy7ljRr0AA
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fredrogerssenatetestimonypbs.htm


Senator Pastore: Alright Rogers, you've got the floor.
Mr. Rogers: Senator Pastore, this is a philosophical statement and would take about ten minutes to read, so I'll not do that. One of the first things that a child learns in a healthy family is trust, and I trust what you have said that you will read this. It's very important to me. I care deeply about children.
Senator Pastore: Will it make you happy if you read it?
Mr. Rogers: I'd just like to talk about it, if it's alright. My first children's program was on WQED fifteen years ago, and its budget was $30. Now, with the help of the Sears-Roebuck Foundation and National Educational Television, as well as all of the affiliated stations -- each station pays to show our program. It's a unique kind of funding in educational television. With this help, now our program has a budget of $6000. It may sound like quite a difference, but $6000 pays for less than two minutes of cartoons. Two minutes of animated, what I sometimes say, bombardment. I'm very much concerned, as I know you are, about what's being delivered to our children in this country. And I've worked in the field of child development for six years now, trying to understand the inner needs of children. We deal with such things as -- as the inner drama of childhood. We don't have to bop somebody over the head to...make drama on the screen. We deal with such things as getting a haircut, or the feelings about brothers and sisters, and the kind of anger that arises in simple family situations. And we speak to it constructively.
Senator Pastore: How long of a program is it?
Mr. Rogers: It's a half hour every day. Most channels schedule it in the noontime as well as in the evening. WETA here has scheduled it in the late afternoon.
Senator Pastore: Could we get a copy of this so that we can see it? Maybe not today, but I'd like to see the program.
Mr. Rogers: I'd like very much for you to see it.
Senator Pastore: I'd like to see the program itself, or any one of them.
Mr. Rogers: We made a hundred programs for EEN, the Eastern Educational Network, and then when the money ran out, people in Boston and Pittsburgh and Chicago all came to the fore and said we've got to have more of this neighborhood expression of care. And this is what -- This is what I give. I give an expression of care every day to each child, to help him realize that he is unique. I end the program by saying, "You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you, just the way you are." And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service for mental health. I think that it's much more dramatic that two men could be working out their feelings of anger -- much more dramatic than showing something of gunfire. I'm constantly concerned about what our children are seeing, and for 15 years I have tried in this country and Canada, to present what I feel is a meaningful expression of care.
Senator Pastore: Do you narrate it?
Mr. Rogers: I'm the host, yes. And I do all the puppets and I write all the music, and I write all the scripts --
Senator Pastore: Well, I'm supposed to be a pretty tough guy, and this is the first time I've had goose bumps for the last two days.
Mr. Rogers: Well, I'm grateful, not only for your goose bumps, but for your interest in -- in our kind of communication. Could I tell you the words of one of the songs, which I feel is very important?
Senator Pastore: Yes.
Mr. Rogers: This has to do with that good feeling of control which I feel that children need to know is there. And it starts out, "What do you do with the mad that you feel?" And that first line came straight from a child. I work with children doing puppets in -- in very personal communication with small groups:

What do you do with the mad that you feel? When you feel so mad you could bite. When the whole wide world seems oh so wrong, and nothing you do seems very right. What do you do? Do you punch a bag? Do you pound some clay or some dough? Do you round up friends for a game of tag or see how fast you go? It's great to be able to stop when you've planned the thing that's wrong. And be able to do something else instead -- and think this song --

'I can stop when I want to. Can stop when I wish. Can stop, stop, stop anytime....And what a good feeling to feel like this! And know that the feeling is really mine. Know that there's something deep inside that helps us become what we can. For a girl can be someday a lady, and a boy can be someday a man.'

Senator Pastore: I think it's wonderful. I think it's wonderful. Looks like you just earned the 20 million dollars.

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Shaun T Insanity Days 6-8 - Personal Experience

Day 6 - Max Interval Circuit & Fit Test DVD was broken so I was unable to play this, so it was skipped.

Day 7 - Max Interval Plyo
This was by far the most insane workout. I tried to keep up as best as I can but made sure I was doing something when I couldn't. Laptop overheated in the last 10 minutes so didn't even get to that part. I did some jogging then cool down.

Day 8 - Max Cardio Conditioning
This was intense. I was able to do most of the workouts except the pushups where you kick your feet from side to side. By "do" I mean in some shape or form on the border of cheating but keeping my heart rate up.

Summary
I still feel exhausted and always end raining sweat. No injuries yet, but still some pain in the middle of my right foot when I do certain exercises too long which I just then pace or jog in place. I did some jogging earlier in the day and my foot is feeling much better in general, so I'm guessing that it is just weak from my weight. As for weight, I am now a pound under (on the low range) of when I started and around the same weight on the high end.

Just two more exercises before restarting for week 2.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Microsoft Visual Studio Friendly Name and Version Number - VS 6-15 / 1998-2017

Because I cannot remember these when I have to uninstall old apps for compliance:

VersionFriendly Name
6.0Visual Studio 6.0 (1998)
7.0Visual Studio .NET (2002)
7.1Visual Studio .NET 2003
8Visual Studio 2005
9Visual Studio 2008
10Visual Studio 2010
11Visual Studio 2012
12Visual Studio 2013
14Visual Studio 2015
15Visual Studio 2017


Monday, May 22, 2017

Shaun T Insanity Day 5 (Pure Cardio) - Personal Experience

I skipped a day mostly due to not having time, and I was definitely up for it if I was home. Instead I played volleyball then did a lot of walking (totaling 24467 steps for the day according to my FitBit). And that was including the time where I sat most of the night hanging out with my cousins.

Anyways, I got to it today and is by far the most grueling in terms of keeping up. I have a lot of catching up for this video. I was unable to do any of the burpees. There were quite a few that I could not keep up but kept some resemblance of motion. 

Otherwise, the workout felt great. I was exhausted and can feel my muscles still burning. I can even feel my triceps as I type. My recovery is still improving.

Weight-wise... I am net +1 pound. I was a net +3 pounds a couple days ago. Not too discouraging as I usually gain weight as I start a new intensive workout. A little sad that I passed 250 pounds. But, I think I am starting to veer in the right track.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

Shaun T Insanity Day 4 - Personal Experience

Cardio Recovery - sounds easy but I still got a good sweat. I was able to complete the holds but unable to complete the pulses. The parts where we lift the knees a couple inches above the ground, I was unable to do. I would start lifting my knee high as I pulsed. I ended up just keeping my knee on the ground which was still a good workout. I have a lot of catching up for this part in the future.

Overall, my body is starting to feel a bit better since I started with Day 1 about 9 days ago. I have done other activities during this timeframe like walking, volleyball, and the driving range. I have not been following the nutrition guide but am eating healthier. I still need to watch the quantity of food that I eat even though it may be healthier. I still struggle avoiding eating late night, but have been doing better lately.

Although I couldn't complete some of the workouts, I don't feel terribly exhausted. I think I may go for an easy jog later today.

Interview: Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?

Internal thoughts

My initial thought is neither as the concept seems a bit archaic. But to go with the flow, I think both. The natural answer could also to be a leader for managers. Although it may seem like thinking outside the box, it does not really answer the question. What are the questions?


  • Can you think outside the box (choose an option not provided)?
  • Are you proactive (hunter) or passive (gatherer)?
  • More go with the flow (hunter) or need time to analyze the problem (gatherer)
  • More vulgar (hunter) or civilized (gatherer)?
  • More risk tolerant (hunter) or risk averse (gatherer)? 

Of course, some of the descriptions could be flipped but I think this is a decent guide. So thinking through this, I want to tell a story on how I can attack a problem. And the problems that I enjoy solving are operational problems like how we work as a team and making processes more efficient. This target is more mobile thus making it seem more like a hunter.

My answer

I feel that I am better suited as a hunter. To be more specific, I think I am more of a sniper hunter. The skillsets of a hunter requires the ability to analyze a moving target. While a gatherer would require the ability to analyze more static variables which seem more suited for research or academic-type people, or collect details and facts before coming up with a solution. I am more natural at following moving targets.

I am not the type to just jump in and battle it out which would seem more like an in-fighting type hunter. Nor am I the type to just try everything and just hope something hits or sticks... something like a shotgun.

My preference is definitely more precise and surgical like a sniper. Not one that is able to hit the target, but one where it would not hurt the ecosystem. For example, my MO is typically to meet with the subject matter experts to learn their pros and cons. I attack the problem by slowly adjusting my processes to align with my findings. Not to just adjust to appease them, but to nudge them in the direction I would like them to go. In some cases, people won't even realize that they have changed for the better.

So on the scale, my strongest value from experience would be in the middle of hunter and gatherer but leaning towards the hunter category. My other value is that my skills allow me to be anywhere on the spectrum. If I have to go in fighting, I could hold my own. Or if I have to do a 500-page thesis, I can also do that.

Afterthought

It is possible that a scenario could be created to suit a gatherer. Given the limited amount of time to think for an interview, I prefer to choose the path that seems easiest to explain to someone which typically would be the natural way that I associate two different scenarios. This may well be easier as a gatherer for someone who is more attuned to that line of thinking. 

The important thing is to stay focused on what you want to demonstrate to your interviewer. Sometimes it may be figuring out what they are asking, but in this case I think the situation is to create an open-ended question to give some leeway to tell a story.

Also, I think reading the comments on glassdoor helps. Pretend that you are an interviewer and you asked this question to 20-30 people, and those are the answers that you got. Some seem interesting at first, but then you realize a lot of people respond in similar fashion. Remember that one response to one question does not define you. There is nothing wrong if your answer may be similar to another, just know that you'll have to excel elsewhere to make a difference.


Shaun T Insanity Day 3 - My personal experience

Took a day off from Day 2... my body was quite sore.

Day 3 seemed a bit easier except it had more pushup-like exercises which I do not have any arm strength to do the plank for that period of time much less to do pushups or running pushups. Instead I just did the simpler pushups (using my knees) and waddled side-to-side for the running pushups. This kept me tired and heart rate up.

I still had to rest a bit by the second half, mainly due to pain in the middle of my right foot. This typically occurs when I put too much stress on the foot. I have also noticed that there are a few exercises where I cannot put my foot flat on the ground but balanced on the balls of my feet. I'm not sure if this partial cause.

At the end, I was still exhausted. My recovery seems a bit better today. I can still feel that my arm muscles are sore.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Shaun T Insanity Day 1 and Day 2 - My personal exerperience

I am an extremely-overweight, athletic person... meaning I am about 80 pounds overweight but can still a wide range of sports on a competitive level with average citizens minus the endurance.

I did Day 1 almost a week ago. If it weren't for my laptop overheating ten minutes of the twenty minute video, I probably would have died. I was so out of breath. They were doing about 90-100 reps while I was struggling to do 1 properly and managed maybe started at 20 which soon dropped to 5-10. But at the end of the day, my body felt good. My glutes were so tight, I had trouble sitting and getting up for the next 3 days.

I just finished Day 2. I managed to complete the whole 40 some minutes. I was able to manage a reasonable pace for about 15-20 minutes which felt like an hour. Near the end with the push ups and plank-position exercises, I had trouble following as I had to face down which then I couldn't look up to see what I was supposed to do... but who am I kidding... I was surprised I wasn't lying on the ground. Occasionally, I just did some of the run-in-place exercises to watch what they were doing while keeping my heart-rate up. Although my muscles weren't too sore, after a few minutes of rest, I started to feel some of the workout sores. We'll see how I'll manage any non-horizontal positions tomorrow.

For a run down of the exercises, this blog (last update in Dec 2014) does a great job with a fun-style read. https://optforinsanity.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/day-2-plyometric-cardio-circuit/

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

GridView with multiple columns with the same name

Microsoft ASP.NET 4.5
Visual Studio 2013

Scenario: Joining to tables that have the same column names but different uses without using alias (because sometimes you don't have access to the data or query).

Solution: The first column will be the original column name. Each additional column will have an integer counter starting at 1 appended to the end of the column name.

Exampe: If the column name is XXXXXX, then the first column will be XXXXXX, the second column will be XXXXXX1, then XXXXXX2, etc, etc.