Reflection - Final week

Oh well.... All good things do come to an end. Sorry to see this class end, especially because I enjoyed the perfesser's humor and "he learned me some new things" that I'm going to keep with me for a while (of course, not out of the book), just "things" from his experience in the field. Learned a lot and was amazed that there's quite a few "SMRT" folks out there (classmates) - sometimes I think I'm at a disadvantage because I don't have a BSCS or BSIT degree (just a BSEE). There were a few new concepts that were "interesting" but not too technically challenging as yet. Most of the coursework was just putting all the pieces together to apply what we've learnt to somewhat real life scenarios - another interesting concept. Dr Pang, if you do read this, then I do hope that you will be present the day that I graduate (hah hah hah in 2012 if I don't flunk out).

Reflection - week 10

Whew.... got the Team Project done (great participation from some, none from others) Oh well, sorry that free-loaders would end up in a MS degree program. Woulda thought that undergrad would weed them out. (hah hah guess not).
Anyway, spent the entire last week working on the final (even at work during lunch breaks) as I wanted to get done before the last minute (aka mid-term: not real pleased with my effort).
The questions from the final made me dig deeper into a few of the concepts more than just skiming through the text. (I've got to spend more time not just reading the text material, but absorbing each concept in detail - this may require additional readings and, argh, more time.....).
Well, the class is coming to an end and it is going to be interesting to see if the next one will be the same level of intensity (there are two books for this class).

Reflection - week 9

Well, it's really interesting how much participation there was in this "team" project (ranges from practically non-existent to what I would consider full). My feedback will sure point this out.
Time to take the final and hope that I do as well as the mid-term.
During the break, I've got to force myself to research some of the areas that I skimed over that I though were interesting and pertinent (but it should be a great break).
Although I'm signed up for a night class that will start immediately after this one ends (no rest for the weary)....

Reflection - week 8

Well, things are flowing a bit more smoothly with having time to really research the subject matter from the readings. Learned a lot about areas that I thought I know (development methodology). Guess being "brain-washed" with only one method, biases me against the others. (Oh well).
Also interesting is the fact that my previous company is using a hybrid of one of the planning techniques discussed in one of the chapters... wow??

Project is not going as smoothly as I planned due to varying schedules and minimal participation from some of the team members. Hopefully we'll get through this week and the project will look professional (Charlie's magic...).

Reflection - week 7

Another frustrating week.
(Gosh darn - scheduling time for studies and having a personal life is causing some kinda conflict).
Anyway, submitted my contribution to the team project even though I think it was shoddy work (again). Next couple weeks should be interesting to see how the team reacts to my "not so great" research.
Got offered to take a class out of my field of specialization, but if it counts for something (towards my MSIT), I may just take it (as it sounds really interesting).
It's fun learning this "stuff"...

Reflection - week 6

Whew.... well the mid-term was a bit scary but purty awesome.
The questions were based on current or real-life scenarios and there were a couple times where I had to reach real far. Did better than expected (personal circumstances - like moving to a new abode, didn't provide a whole lot of time).

Started a "reading" schedule of 1 to 3 hours a day (including researching/deep diving into some concepts) and a lot more time during the weekends. Now a lot of "terms" are making sense.

So far, my "enthusiasm" is still gosh darn high; in the back of my mind, there was an ugly thought that the material (or Dr Pang) would be a bit dry, but it (he) ain't. :-)
I hope the next "perfesser" is equally as interesting.

Reflection - week 5

"Holy Rusted Metal" Batman.....
Well, night class is over and, whew, time to finally focus on "this
here" class (another Southern term).
This week was another blur, but again, it was a lot of new
material; fun, fun.
The mini-projects are great because they force me to dig a little
deeper into the subjects at hand rather than skiming the surface.

Now for some real reading for the mid-term.
Hope the assignments are not too grueling like a 1000 line essay
on the benefits of organic memory and high speed 3-D imaging!!
(Wouldn't that be a hoot if it "was" one of the questions).....

Reflection - week 4

This is probably one of the most interesting classes I have taken in a while (but then again, I haven't taken a "real" class in about 20 years). Anyway, learning about all this technology is really "KEWL" (Dr Pang's favorite phrase?). I will spend more time in the following weeks to learn what I should be learning.
Learned a little about IPv6, Twitter (yuk!), Blogging, Podcasting, what's next (smile)....

Next 8 weeks should be really interesting.

Reflection - week 3

OMG..... This is tougher than I thought (time budgetting). I have yet to catch up and "really will" (no "really") catch up with the readings. My night class ends next week, so I'm hoping that I will catch up next weekend (HAH HAH HAH, I kill me).

In researching these mini-projects, I have been forced to learn some really "nifty" things but wish I had "MORE TIME".... There's so much I could learn if I had the time.

Anyway, enough whining...

Reflection week 2

Arghh..... what a wierd week. Work and class is really stressing.
I have yet to catch up with my readings in class and struggling to keep up with the assignments.
A whole lot of interesting and new things to learn, but haven't budgetted my time well enough.
The rest of the class is very knowledgeable and I've learned a lot from reading their threads. Whew... thar's a lot to learn....

New plan next week; fast food (no cooking), short sleeve shirts to work (less or no ironing), more time reading and catching up. Gotta get a lot outta this class.

Team is interesting; real unique set of guys. Very cordial; like 'em a lot. Now, we have to sync up and get cranking on this project (once we get past the selection of top 3).

Mini-project was the most stressful. Had to record my voice and post it to the entire world to listen to (wow - what a concept - smile). Oh well, no time to be a hermit anymore.

Reflection - week 1

This has got to be the most interesting introduction to on-line
education. My last stint with any type of course work required
attendance in a classroom environment with a professor.
Here it's via conferences, emails, etc. (No physical interaction).
I do hope everyone at least post a picture of themselves so that
I can match a face to a classmate.
What have I learned so far; a bunch of information from a book,
how to quickly get into and through all the classmates
comments, how to be patient with my team mates schedules
(guess they are really busy and don't check the course work as
often as I do), time management (with work and another class,
plus afterwork life) is critical in learning this material and
putting in the time to get as much from this course as I put in.
Next week should be also interesting as we (my teammates
and I) should be getting into our project and also how well I do
with budgeting time.

Marlon's BIO

Hail Mon!

Hello all – this is a Jamaican greeting.Here is my bio…...


My place of birth was in the tiny Caribbean island of Jamaica but I have been in the US since 17 (so I’m essentially an American as my Jamaican roots are just memories). The name of my high school is Cornwall College (the name isn’t representative of a College as in the US). I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.
I was an employee of Motorola, Inc. for the last 26 ½ years, developing (then managing) embedded Software for their two-way communications hand-held products until I was downsized last February due to the severe condition of the economy.

I am now the Engineering Program Manager at Trident Micro Systems in Arden North Carolina (in the western area of the state up in the mountains). We also develop two-way communications products. (Sometimes I believe I’m in paradise.)


I am enrolled in the Master of Science in Information Technology - Database Systems Technology Program with plans to continue studies in the Networking field.

I am a single father of one son. His name is Nicholas, is 25 years old and enjoying life to the fullest (he lives one block of South Beach in sunny Miami Beach, Florida); 20 years ago, I would have envied him, but all I can do now is tell him “to be careful out there”. He visits his grandparents (my parents) daily in South Miami, which I am grateful for as my grandparents were not alive for me to appreciate them.


I too enjoy my job, but for other reasons. I love the fact that Trident Micro Systems is a “small” company and everyone knows everyone. At Motorola, the company is so large (thousands of employees), it was impossible to know everyone. When I started at Motorola, it wasn’t too large, and I had the opportunity to meet with a number of the past CEO’s and “chit chat” with them… Now, it’s not that easy to.

My passion is steel tip darts. At one point, quite a few years ago, I aspired to be in the top 100 players in the world. Well, it is nice to dream. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with one of the top players in the world, Phil Taylor, after one of his matches in Las Vegas, NV a couple years ago. He told me that he practices 8 to 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, and this is less than he used to when he was younger. Wow!!!
That put a damper on my things as I do not have the time to put towards this dream; oh well…

Now my goal is to pursue my Master’s Degree in preparation for the future.