I started my morning by checking if my page was on google yet. It was crawled, but not indexed. I sifted through the details of my code with Shevek and discovered I was missing almost all my necessary page links from my site-map page. I fixed it, and resubmitted it for indexing.
After work I returned to my lap top to begin the lab Shevek made me that covers section 1-14 in the LFS207. I continue to feel humbled in my lack of retention, but, I do notice I am developing some. The repetition WILL work.
Whenever I am particularly stumped, I just copy and paste the mission into Shevek. Shevek creates a lesson plan for that mission so I can easily review what it is I’m struggling with. It has been an exceptionally long day, however. I will complete the lab, and then this entry, but first I must rest.
One of the things I have decided to start doing is taking notes, physical copies, with ink pen. I write it out because it seems to get etched in my mind much better when I do this. I’ve also started putting the date, subject, and section at the top of my notes so I can quickly reference them, instead of Shevek.
As I continue through the lab, I realize some of the material IS becoming second nature to me, and I may consolidate future labs to have a little less material.
One of my lessons learned is the many differences between jobs and processes. The biggest distinction being, jobs are shell-local, and processes are system wide. When I switched shells as guided by Shevek, to demonstrate this to myself, I felt humility kick in again. ”Why on earth, and when, am I going to have to switch shells?”, I wonder out loud. It’s yet another layer I’m presented with that I have so little insight into, and knowledge of, that I can’t even make an inference other than, a script may require a different shell to operate… or something like that. I embrace my ignorance and press forward.
Another thing I ponder, somewhat unrelated, is the craft of educating oneself seems so alien and… difficult. In a typical educational setting, there is the element of pressure and deadlines and urgency as a guide and motivator. When you are educating yourself, the greatest, and lowest common denominator is you. I think that repetition is the most practical tool in this instance. So, even if I don’t know something, simply requesting that information, reading it and processing it a moment, done enough times will yield results, possibly more permanent results than would be obtained if forced I suspect, but the results will speak for themselves
I’m thinking, as I progress through the sandbox, perhaps I should have been a bit more conservative with my request for a sandbox catered more towards processes. LFS207 section 14 only introduces many of the concepts and Shevek goes more in depth. I like learning ahead though, and I will remember better a thing, if I actually employ it. I will definitely be reviewing the labs from LFS207 to make sure I’m on the right path though.
I become more than certain Shevek has grown impatient yet again, and IS adding new material and going ahead our present place in the course material when we start creating Disk Images and mounting a loopback system. Things I don’t even know how to describe or explain because I literally don’t know… but I guess admitting that… it’s as if I’m addicted to humility. Maybe that’s why I’ve fallen in love with computers. I constantly have to reevaluate the extent and nature of my understanding of them and there is no way around it. It’s the feeling you get when reading a good mystery or psychological thriller, and you feel a rise in your blood-flow as the story-line begins to disclose some twist that will change everything, that will make things even more interesting. It’s exciting in a way that I’m not used to. I used to climb wind turbines, 100ft in the air for a living and for the adrenaline rush. Prior to that, I engaged with those struggling with psychosis as a behavior tech. At a psychiatric hospital. I did not make much of a living on this career, but it engaged my mind and adrenaline as well. Linux, computer science in general, stimulates me intellectually enough, leaves me feeling on the edge of certainty and uncertainty, that it creates a much safer more consistent dopamine kick. I prefer it at this stage in my life, having just recently broken my back.
I get about halfway through whatever the heck it is Shevek made me and think to myself, We haven’t covered most of this stuff yet if LFS207… I need to get back on track…. So, I return to the labs from section 14 that I skimmed and look at them a minute. One lab briefly touches on the ulimit command. I processes it a moment, then I decide I want to learn more and have Shevek make me a lab for the ulimit command. I have attached it at the bottom of this page.
I want to gain a more in depth understanding so, I skip to the next lab in the LFS207 and find its about System V IPC Activity… the way the Linux Foundation explains it leaves me perplexed, so it’s time for a bedtime story from Shevek. I ask Shevek to use an allegory to help me understand what System V IPC Activity is and why I need to understand it. As always, he’s on par with Jesus in his allegories. “Imagine a walled city” Shevek explains… I’ve also attached that to the bottom of this page, and will be making an archive for useful computer science allegories Shevek made. There is an additional guided lab attached as well.
It’s taken three days to get through the most recent section of LFS207 but, I want mastery results, not I have seen it, results. Shevek will probably disagree and point out that everyone has the experience of not knowing enough, but I know, with my experience in studying for college, I pulled off good grades and always managed to constructively contribute to class discussion… not that I mean to boast but I was a nerd. I think if I persist in my nerd discipline, I will yield the results I desire.
Ink on quiet pages What I do not know repeats Until it is mine