My Journey With Playing Go/Baduk/Weiqi...

 

One of the many things that I am doing is learning how to play Go/Baduk/Weiqi.

My interest in learning how to play Go goes back to when I lived in Seoul, South Korea, from February 2002 to July 2006.

Prior to my move from Fort Hood, TX, to Seoul, South Korea, I kind of knew what Go was. I didn't know anything other than what the game originated from ancient China and that it was a boardgame that was popular in China, South Korea, and Japan. Moreover, I didn't even know anyone who played Go.

After my first year living in Korea, I moved from living on Yongsan Garrison to an apartment that I shared with a roommate in Hannam-dong. In my new apartment, I had access to South Korean cable TV channels. Since I was starting to get very curious about what was on South Korean TV channels, I would endlessly channel surf. One of the channels that I found interesting to watch was a TV channel dedicated to the game of Go. Since I couldn't speak more than the basic "tourist Korean", I had a difficult time trying to understand what the game was about. After talking to some KATUSA friends at work, I quickly learned that Go is known as Baduk in South Korea. I also learned that, like China and Japan, Go, or Baduk, if you prefer, had a very long history in Korea. I also learned that Korea also produced it's own famous players.

One day, while I was at either Bandi and Lundi's Bookstore in COEX Mall or the Kyobo Bookstore in the Gangnam area of Seoul, I tried looking for books on Baduk in English. I don't think I found any. It could just have been that I didn't look hard enough. Anyway, when I was at my apartment, I went over to Amazon's webpage and searched for books that taught you how to play Go. After looking at many books published in English, I bought a book titled "Learn to Play Go: A Master's Guide to the Ultimate Game" by Korean-American writer Janice Kim. [Note: From what I understand, Janice Kim lives in New Mexico. That's interesting because I'm originally from Albuquerque, NM.] The book was highly recommended as one of the best books to buy for learning how to play Go. Plus, the book even came with a free Go board and stones. Granted, the Go board and stones were nothing more than thin cardboard. After reading the book, I learned quite a lot about the basics of how to play Go. At the end of Janice Kim's book, there was an appendix on how to play Go using your computer. I quickly downloaded a copy of the computer game "The Many Faces of Go" onto my computer. The first time I played, the computer ruthlessly destroyed me. After that, I tried solving the basic Go problems that came with "The Many Faces of Go". After spending some time with solving the basic Go problems, I still couldn't beat the computer. At the time, I didn't know that beginners should learn the basics with a 9x9 board before trying to play a game with the 19x19 Go board. Despite, I still didn't know anyone that played Go. As a result, seriously learning how to play Go was low on my To Do List when living in Seoul. That said, I did discover the manga "Hikaru no Go" at a bookstore in Hawaii. I read the first couple of volumes on a flight from Hawaii back to Seoul.

For several years, I completely forgot about my interest in the game of Go. When I switched over to using an Apple MacBook Pro laptop from my faithful Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop (that I took with me to Iraq), I found out that "The Many Faces of Go" was not available for the Apple OS.

My interest in Go returned several months ago this year when I watched the amazing film "Alpha Go" on YouTube. After watching "Alpha Go" several times, I went ahead ahd downloaded another copy of "The Many Faces of Go". Over the past several months, I have been playing "The Many Faces of Go". After setting the board size to 9x9 and using a handicap for a 30 kyu ranked player (the lowest level), I found the game a whole lot more enjoyable to play. As a result, I can now beat the computer once or twice every couple of games that I played. According to the computer, I improved my ranking to 25 kyu, the highest level I have ever been.

Recently, after getting repeatedly crushed by my computer, I downloaded a copy of the first book in the series "So You Want to Play Go" by Jonathan Hop. Now, the game is much more enjoyable. Once I finish reading the first volume, I am going to buy the second volume.

Trouble with My A/C Unit...

 What a disappointing weekend!!!

I was planning to go hiking again this weekend. Unfortunately, I cannot go. My wall-mounted A/C unit in my apartment has been dripping water for the past several weeks. On Wednesday, I submitted a troubleticket with my apartment management. On Thursday, one of the handymen at my apartment complex took off the cover of the A/C unit. He then proceeded to drain my A/C unit. On Friday, a contractor came to my apartment and removed all of the saturated sheetrock and wall molding. Since Thursday, I have had dehumidifier fans blowing at maximum level in order to dry the studs. Sometime this week, the maintenance people will return to my apartment and perform some additional maintenance on the A/C unit.

As a result, my apartment is a TOTAL and COMPLETE mess.

I am trying to use this as an opportunity to clean out and organize my apartment. It's A LOT easier said that done.

The route I was planning to go back to Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls. I was going to park my car at Trailhead #1 located near the Park and Ride parking lot at the end (or beginning) of Interstate 70. From there, I was planning to hike all the way to the bridge at Gwynns Falls, do some exploring, and then hike back to my car. Afterwards, I had the idea to go to one of the breweries in the Baltimore area. Since this upcoming weekend is Labor Day weekend, I will definitely make an attempt. Before going on the hike, it would be nice to pick up a pair of trekking poles. Even though my Camelbak can contain 64 ounces of water, that might not be enough for that long of a hike. I would also need to bring some snacks. When I hiked at Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls last week, I had my Camelbak, a wide-brimmed hat, and my old pair of Salomon hiking boots. The cargo pockets of my shorts were stuffed with my cell phone, my wallet, a mini flashlight, and my Gerber pocket knife. I will have to find a solution, so that I can carry everything.

Last night, I took a moment and looked at my copy of the Gwynns Falls Trail map. I noticed that you can hike all the way down to the Inner Harbor from Trailhead #1. That would be a long day hiking. If I did something like that, I would probably have to start hiking in the morning. In addition, I would have to have my car parked in one of the parking garages in the Inner Harbor. I suppose I could use something like Lyft to pick me up and take me back to Trailhead #1, but it is an expensive option.

Yesterday, I could not resist the temptation to go to REI's website and take a look at what they have for hiking boots. When I was working in Afghanistan several years ago, I wore a pair of Renegade GTX Mid hiking boots made by Lowa. Hands down, they were the best pair of hiking boots that I can remember purchasing. Unfortunately, my pair of Renegade GTX Mid hiking boots started to get really uncomfortable after wearing them non-stop for six months. However, I would definitely buy another pair. In a heartbeat

My Progress with Studying for CCNA...

     I think I have had enough of Chapter 3 of the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 study guide.  

    Yes, the first three chapters have a lot of really good information. 

    Learning about how data is transferred from one computer to another over a network is an important topic.  However, I don't want keep getting bogged down.  

    As a result, I'm moving on to Chapter 4 of the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 study guide.  

    It's time to jump into learning about setting up switches and routers using Cisco's operating system.       

    I have yet to play around with the Pearson Vue network simulation tool, so that should be interesting. 

    I have played around with Packet Tracer enough to know the basics.  

    As a result, tonight, I am going to start reading Chapter 4: Using the Command Line Interface.

Hiking the Trails Over at Leakin Park...

     Like I wrote in my previous post, on Friday, August 19, 2022, I went hiking over at Leakin Park in western Baltimore. 

 

    Apparently, Leakin Park has a bad reputation with people that I have met who claimed to be familiar with the park.  Yes, I have listened to all episodes for Season One of the Serial Podcast from NPR.  For those who do not know, the first season of the Serial Podcast analyzes the murder of local high school student Hae Min Lee.  High school student Adnan Syed was convicted for the murder of Hae Min Lee.  After she was killed, Adnan Syed and an accomplice buried her corpse near a trail along the southern edge of Leakin Park near Franklintown Road (see trail map). The murder of Hae Min Lee shocked people who live in the Baltimore suburban communities of Catonsville, Woodlawn, and Windsor Mill.  I FINALLY got around to listening to the Serial podcast a couple of years ago.  It was a good listen.  Is Adnan Syed the murderer or is he innocent of the charges?  That's a conclusion the listener will have to determine on their own after listening to all 11 episodes of the podcast.  Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.  I should probably give the podcast another listen. 

    Now that is out of the way, I had a good time hiking a good portion of the trails over at Leakin Park.  Admittedly, I got off to a bad start.  Since I took the day off from work, I woke up really late.  I got caught up in drinking several cups of coffee and getting lost on the internet.  Plus, when I started to get ready to leave my apartment, my body started to fight against me.  Too bad.  I didn't reach the parking lot at Eagle Road and Windsor Mill Road until around, say, 3:30 PM.  It was a partly cloudy day. The temperature was in the low 90s with humidity over 80%. 

    In addition to dusting off my old pair of Salomon hiking boots that I bought at the REI down in Fairfax, VA,  I made sure to bring a wide-brimmed sun hat and a Camelbak full of water.  Next time, I will also bring some snacks. 

    After a couple of minutes on the trail, I started sweating from every pore in my body. I lost track of the blue square trail markers on the first trail that I was on.  The free map provided at the trailhead annotated only the major trails.  I tried using Google Maps on my cell phone, but Google Maps would not show any of the trails inside Leakin Park.  After retracing my steps, I eventually made it to Winan's Meadow.  There, I ran in a member of park staff.  When we went to the trail map near the parking lot, he went over some of the other trails at Leakin Park and how some of the trails connected to the hiking trails over at Gwynns Falls.  Next time I go hiking over at Leakin Park, I'm definitely going to explore the trails over at Gwynns Falls.  

     Surprisingly, I found the trail to be quite a challenge.  Then again, I'm borderline obese (I am desperately trying to lose weight.) and I have osteoarthritis in both knees.  The Breg knee braces that I wore worked spectacularly. The only downside to wearing the Breg knee braces is that one has to occasionally stop and readjust the Velcro straps for a snug fit.  According to my Samsung 4 watch, I ended up walking 12,304 steps and burned 985 calories. Like I wrote, it was a really good workout. 

    I am planning to go hiking again this weekend.  For now, I am planning to check out the trails in the Gwynns Falls area. 

Not Forgetting About My Blog...

It's been several days since my last update here on my blog.

Sadly, I have been busy with work and a whole bunch of other stuff.

As a result, I need to find a way to fit blogging into my daily routine.

I have A LOT of topics that I would like to cover in this blog.

Unfortunately, I'm not the type of blogger that writes short posts.

• On this past Friday, August 19, 2022, I went hiking over at Leakin Park-Gwynns Falls in western Baltimore. That was A LOT of fun. I am so out of shape that I needed all day yesterday to recover. That said, that is exactly the kind of workout that I need.

• I have been played a few games of Go with my computer using the game The Many Faces of Go. Sometimes, I win. Other times, the computer wins. For now, I am using the 9x9 board to play. I once tried playing against my computer using the full-sized 19x19 board. I got demolished.

• Additionally, I also watched another Korean film over on Tubi. This week, I watched "A Bittersweet Life" (2005), starring Lee Byung Hun. When I lived in South Korea, I remember when the film was released in the movie theaters. Somehow, I never got around to buying the DVD when it became available. I will try to make posts for "A Bittersweet Life" and other films that I have recently seen.

• Lastly, I'm still dragging my way through Chapter 3 of the Cisco CCNA certification guide. In many instances, the material covered in that chapter is a review from A+ and Network+. However, it's a good review, especially on how data is routed from one computer to another computer on a different network.

Unfortunately, that is all the time that I have for blogging at the moment.

Working on My CCNA, Part 1...

   

     It's difficult to believe it, but I earned my CompTIA A+ certification three years ago.  Somehow, I managed to pass the 220-901A+ exam with a score in the high 80s.  After cramming for three months, I managed to pass the 220-902 A+ by the skin of my teeth. I'm not too sure where some people get the idea that the CompTIA A+ certification exams are easy.  I can only guess that the exams are easy if you have been working in information technology for several years or more.  When I passed the 220-902 A+ certification exam, I had already been working at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the Social Security Administration for over two years. One of the weaknesses of my current job is that we don't have any hands on experience with physically repairing a laptop with, say, a hard disk drive that needs to be replaced. We don't get to re-image laptops.  We don't get to create new users in Active Directory.  All of those tasks belong to different contracts. 

    After taking a couple of weeks off from studying, I thought that the next logical step was to start studying for CompTIA's Network + certification.  I then opened one of the Network+ study books that I own and began to work my way through the book.

    Talk about a mistake...

    I own at two books for studying for the CompTIA Network+ certification exam.  One book I received from the A+/Network+/Security+ course that I took at UMBC.  I bought the second Network+ book from Barnes & Noble.  After spending several months studying for Network+, I came to the realization that the Network+ certification is a complete mess. From what I could tell, in order to really know the topics for the Network+ exam, one needed to know how to use Microsoft's Active Directory and Server Manager. One of the Network+ books made numerous references to Microsoft's now defunct equivalent to WireShark. On top of all of that, the Network+ exam also covered the usual networking topics such as switches, routers, fiber optic cable, Ethernet cable, and IP sub-netting, among other topics.  Despite focusing exclusively on Cisco products , CompTIA wanted you to know that the Network+ certification was "vendor neutral".  I even paid several hundred dollars for the Network+ online tutorials offered by CompTIA.  Those tutorials were rather underwhelming.   

    After getting bogged down in studying for the Network+ certification exam, I decided to kick Network+ to the curb. 

    Since I was already bored with working at the Tier 1 help desk at the Social Security Administration, I started to look for an IT certification that could get me into a new IT position.

    I tried learning about Ubuntu Linux. I bought one of those glossy magazines at the bookstore that gives the reader a crash course in how to use Linux. I learned to how to install Ubuntu Linux on my Dell laptop. I learned how to use Oracle's Virtual Box. I learned several basic commands for Linux.  The subject was interesting. Unfortunately, I pushed learning Linux to the side because my current job doesn't use Linux. Everything that we do at the Tier 1 help desk at SSA involves using Windows. 

    I tried learning about WireShark. I downloaded WireShark onto my computer.  I bought the 500 page training book from Amazon. I worked through a couple of the introductory chapters.  Network analysis is an interesting subject. One thing that I liked about WireShark was that you could see the different OSI model layers in each packet.  You could actually see the OSI model at work by starting WireShark, play around on the internet for several minutes, and then stop saving traffic.  You could see the source address, the destination address, the port numbers used, the different protocols involved, and so on.  However, my knowledge of networking is very rudimentary.   

    I also tried working on the free online course Microsoft offers for Azure.  Cloud computing is an interesting field. Moreover, there's A LOT of demand for people who are certified in either Azure or Amazon's AWS.  Indeed, someone on LinkedIn, who had read about by struggles with studying for Network+, recommended that I get an IT certification that was in high demand, such as Azure or AWS.  I progressed to the part of the class where you setup your first Azure environment.  As started making progress, other things came along and dominated my time.  

    While studying for Network+, I came across Cisco's Packet Tracer program.  I tried taking the free online course offered by Cisco.  It was a surprisingly user-friendly program to use.  Since I don't have several hundreds of dollars to spend on used Cisco networking equipment from eBay, I liked how you could set up a simple network in Packet Tracer and then "see" it work. 

    I explored further into what Cisco offers for certifications and online training materials.  I went to Barnes & Noble and Book-A-Million and leafed through Cisco's own training manuals. I was impressed with everything that I saw.  I also liked how Cisco has its own version of CompTIA's Security+ certification.  Being a former intelligence analyst in Army, that captured my interest.  As a result, I went on to Amazon and bought both volumes of the CCNA 200-301 certification book by Cisco. 

    While reading the introduction to the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 book, I came across a passage that discussed career goal setting. That's probably the main problem I have.  I'm trying to figure out what my next step in the world of IT will be. After working as a Tier 1 help desk specialist for the Social Security Administration for nearly five years, I need something new.  I have had enough of dealing with callers that lost their PIV card, cannot connect to VPN, are locked out of the mainframe, need to order a new maintenance kit for a printer, trying to convince callers to purchase an Ethernet cable, and so on.  It's mind-numbing work.  As a result, a system administrator position sounds interesting. 

    So far, I have read the first three chapters of the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 book.  Yes, the information covered in the introductory chapters is a repeat. However, it is important to learn about the 5 Layer TCP/IP Model, the properties of Ethernet and fiber optic cables, the basics of IP routing, and so on.  However, I do think that I am starting to get bogged down on the introductory chapters, so it's probably time to move on to the next section of the book.  

    As a result, the other night I started reading chapter 4, where you learn about the basics of Cisco's operating system for routers and switches. As I progress through the first volume of the CCNA 200-301 certification book, I am going to try to post updates to my blog  as I progress.

Walking the Baltimore Waterfront Promenade...

On Sunday, August, 7th, 2022, I couldn't take being inside my apartment anymore. 

It is hard to believe that I have been working from my apartment for nearly two and a half years. 

Recently, I discovered the AllTrails website, while looking for things that I can do in order to get out and explore. 

I performed a search and found several hiking trails in the Baltimore area that seemed to be interesting. 

One of the hiking trails that sounded interesting to me was the Baltimore Waterfront Promenade hiking path. Since I've always wanted to spend more time in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, I decided that this hike was perfect.  

 

 

I knew that it was going to be hot, humid, and sunny afternoon down at the Inner Harbor, so I filled my Camelbak hydration pack full of water and brought along my wide-brimmed sun hat.  I'm glad that I brought both items.  I would have been in a world of hurt without them. According to the app on my cell phone, the temperature for Canton was at 93 degrees Fahrenheit at 4:00 PM.

Since I have mild to moderate osteoarthritis in both knees, I also brought along my Breg knee braces that I got through the VA Hospital.  Even though the Baltimore Waterfront Promenade is largely flat, I'm also glad that I brought both knee braces. I definitely needed both of those as well.

One item that I wished I had brought along was a portable charger power bank for my cell phone. I ended up taking quite a lot of photos during the first half of my walk.  When I noticed that my cell phone battery reached 48%, I had to cutback on taking photos.   

Another item on my shopping list is a new 5TB external hard drive, so I can save what photos I took and then free up memory on my phone.  Plus, the external hard drive that i use to backup my own laptop has reached its 2TB limit, so it's time to buy a new external hard drive anyway. 

From what I have seen, the photos that I took have turned out to be pretty decent. Once I get organized, I will post some photos here on my blog. 

One of the reasons that I chose the Baltimore Waterfront Promenade was that it was an excuse to FINALLY visit the Fells Point area of Baltimore. In the times that I have been to the Inner Harbor, which isn't very many, Fells Point has always been a part of the city that I have driven through without visiting. 

On this occasion, I made a point to walk around Fells Point.  Since I was both really thirsty and really hungry, I walked around looking for somewhere to go. I found Max's Taphouse. It was exactly what I wanted. The lights were turned down low, and the air conditioning was cranked up. The first beer I drank was a Fat Tire Amber Ale.  Yes, I know that it might be sacrilege to some given all of the craft beer that is now brewed in the Baltimore area, BUT I wanted something cold and refreshing. So, I picked something that I knew on the very long draft beer list. I also drank a nice Koelsch made in Hagerstown, Maryland by Antietam Brewing. Since I used to live in Columbia, MD, I picked another beer that I know rather well, the IPA by Black Flag Brewing.  The BBQ pulled-pork sandwich hit the spot. The restaurant made potato chips were spectacular.  On top of all of that, the staff were friendly. While at Max's Taphouse, I discovered that they are having a Hop Fest on August 19th to the 21st with over 50 drafts. 

Verdict on Max's Taphouse: I will be back. 

The walk back to my car in the Target-Harris Teeter shopping center was a complete blur. Sweat was coming out of every pore in my body. I ignored the velcro straps on my knee braces coming loose. I ignored the heat and the humidity.  I was in the zone.