Book Review #28

Learn to Play the Piano and Keyboard
Nick Freeth

Another book by Parragon Publishing, and hard to find author's name. Unfortunately, unlike the sushi book, this one is piano playing. Piano playing is somewhat a rather involved activity. Sure you have some good techniques explained there. Plenty of good pictures, too. But going from simple keyboarding to The Entertainer simply requires more practice than the pages provides. Worse, there's no chord chart at the end of the book the student can refer to. This book is not a tutorial book, or even an introductory one. It's a piano user guide. Here is the white key. Here is the black key, and here is the pedal. And not much after that. Not recommended.

Musing Journal #4

Plan, Do, Learn

For the longest time, I always work with Learn, Plan, Do. This is because I value my time and by properly learning the materials, I am able to properly plan the activity, so that when it comes to actually doing it, I will have no trouble at all.

This has served me well throughout the years, whether it's engaging in a project, or writing term papers, the proper outline has been essential in getting things done quickly.

Lately, though, I have a second thought about the process. Probably because I'm being overwhelmed right now. There's so much to do that if I have to fully learn everything, then a lot of things won't get done quickly. I suppose there's a good side about "do one thing at a time" philosophy, however, I wonder if that's a good thing when there's so much to do at one time. In essence, I wonder if there's a faster way to do things than one at a time.

So, I have been doing things around. Instead of Learn-Plan-Do cycle, I decided on Plan-Do-Learn cycle. Make plan, Do plan, and Adjust accordingly. So far, it has been working well. Things are getting done, and more importantly, I am able to manage various projects at once. I still limit myself to doing two or three big things per day. And I focus on the most important thing to do in that day. But as weeks go by, I am able to see improvements in all aspects of my life.

If you look at my blog, you see various things going on. That's because I have wide ranging interest, and the fact that had I focus on one thing at a time, there will be some holes on it. So, I have no choice. I have to spread my activities around, regardless how I feel about it.

And that's a good thing. The ability to learn from doing does have value. I keep changing things and well, I see definite improvements in each separate activities. Mind you, I'm still overwhelmed. However, I manage things much better now. I am now able to see progress on my schedule.

So, all I have to do now is keep improving, and I will catch up with the rest of the schedule eventually. It takes longer than expected, but steady progress is better than heroic actions, especially since I have a tendency to burn out after such heroic actions.

Book Review #7

Make: Electronics
Charles Platt

This is an excellent book to learn Electronic. By the first chapter, I have learned to lick a battery, blow up a led, and other destructive, yet fun thing to do. I never thought learning electronic circuits can be so much fun! Although the content of the book is nothing special, the presentation is fun, engaging, and clear. I mean, in all electronic books, there is a lesson on how resistors work, how capacitors work, how transistor work. The explanation may not be the most concise available, but they are clear and easy-to-follow. That is the most important thing.

Along the way, I learned not only what different pieces of electronics do, and what tools would be valuable, but also what tools are optional. Breadboard, for one, which I thought was indispensable for trying out electronic circuitry, is actually an optional equipment. You can get by with just using wires and clips all over the place. The book does not mention conductive ink, but it is something I should try sometime in the future.

For the first time in my life, I feel like I truly understand what's going on behind the scene. That is a worthwhile experience, easily worth more than the purchase of the book. Highly recommended.