Pony Of Prey Blog

The format and difficulty of computer certification exams is constantly changing. When I took my first certification exam (Novell NetWare 3.1x CNA, January 1997), there was no such thing as a simulator question, and my practical skills really were not tested. The exams then were much heavier on memorization.

One factor that helped make up for that was that the Novell exams were adaptive. If you missed a question on a particular topic, you would continue to be asked questions about that topic until you got it right. You couldn’t afford to be weak in any topic, because the exam would most likely find that out and keep hitting you with questions on that topic until you failed.

Adding to the stress, after a certain number of questions your exam could end at any time. You had no idea how many questions you would get, just that you would get at least 15. Every time you hit the “next” button after question 15, you didn’t know if you’d get another question or if the exam would suddenly end and give you a pass or fail response.

Times have changed. Cisco has led the way in introducing simulator questions to their exams, where the candidate is presented with a simulation of a router or network and asked to perform tasks that someone who is ready to earn that certification should be able to perform. This is a much better test of competency than the exams were eight years ago.

What will be the next “big jump” in computer certification exams? To earn the world’s most difficult technical certification, the CCIE, the candidate must first pass a rigorous 100-question qualification exam, and must then pass a practical lab exam. The candidate is presented with an exacting set of network requirements and must build that network on a pod of Cisco routers and switches in less than eight hours.

This is just personal opinion and not “insider information”, but I believe the day will come when the CCNA, CCNP, and other Cisco certifications will require some kind of hands-on practical lab to earn the certification. What better way to test competency than to have to perform tasks on real Cisco equipment? There would be more overhead for Cisco with this kind of testing, since lab equipment and lab proctors would be needed, but the already-prized CCNA and CCNP would become that much more valuable in the workplace if employers knew that to earn that certification, the job candidate had to pass a hands-on exam.

This would benefit the candidates as well, since it would do an even better job in protecting their investment in time and money. This could also be the next step in ferretting out candidates who try to get past the CCNA and CCNP exams via braindumps. As I always tell my students and customers, when you’re standing in front of that router or switch, there is no multiple choice … you either know it or you don’t!

Chris Bryant

CCIE #12933

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and corporate training are also available.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP”, send a request to chris@thebryantadvantage.com today !

Having a web site for your business is essential in today’s
online society. Customers expect to be able to find their
favorite business online, and companies that refuse to use the
technology available to them are often left in the dust. Simply
having a web site, though, is often not enough. That website
must be available to potential customers to be a valid source of
advertising. The only way this can work is to have a high rank
from search engines.

Search engine ranking gives internet users a way to determine if
the page returned from the search they performed is of any value
to them. The higher your search engine ranking, the more likely
potential customers are to click on it. The lower your search
engine ranking, the more likely customers are to never even find
your website. There are three simple ways you can advance your
search engine ranking and improve your business and your profits.

The first way to improve your search engine ranking is to pick
your target key words carefully. When someone searches for
something related to your business, you want your page to land
in the top ten results offered by that search engine. Each page
in your site should have more than one key word. Moreover, your
site key words should be at least two words long. For example,
instead of “stamps,” you might want to use “stamp collecting.”
There are both free websites and pricey software that can offer
you the best analysis of what key words you should use on your
site. These can help you choose the right key words for your
site.

Second, one of the main rules in search engine rankings is the
frequency and location of key terms on your website. If the
search term appears in your HTML tag, you are more likely to get
a higher rating from a search engine. Moreover, search engines
look for the key terms at the top of the page. Search engines
are looking for the term in the headline or the first few
paragraphs of the page. The nearer to the top, the more the
search engine assumes the page is related to the topic the
searcher is looking for. Another thing search engines look for
is the frequency of the term. Search engines examine how
frequently you use the term in relation to all of the other
words on the website. They calculate the percentage and the
higher the percentage, the higher your page ranking. It is
important to remember, though, that some search engines are
built to detect spamming, or using the term too many times to
direct searchers to an unrelated page. Sites that detect
spamming will not only exclude your site in their results; they
may also ban your site from their results on a permanent basis.
Deliberately spamming can be a lot of work as well. You have to
constantly battle to keep your key words at the level the
rankings will require. Deliberate spamming is ethically wrong,
and you should not resort to it to increase your page rankings.
Paying attention to the location and frequency of the search
terms on your website can greatly improve your search engine
ranking.

Finally, build relevant content on your page. Be sure that your
page reflects the key words. Using HTML text wherever you can
will help both search engines and your visitors to determine the
relevance of your site. Using large graphics means the search
engine cannot read your site. While they may look nice, they
will not improve your search engine rating. That relevant
content should include building on your text references. If your
key word is collecting, consider offering an alternate key word
of collectors. This can keep your site from being eliminated by
some engines as redundant.

Increasing your key word rankings can really help increase your
business. It can direct more traffic to your website that you
ever thought possible. Remember though; do not get tied up in
your rankings. Even if you do not see an improvement in your
rankings, you will at least know you should concentrate on
something besides your page rank that will help you improve your
site ranking.

If you want to gain functional strength, muscular endurance and quicker first step reactions, something all athletes and Martial Artists need, you’ll start adding lunges into your routine.

There is no other group of exercises that packs as much punch for training as the Lunge Evolution. Nearly all traditional bodyweight and traditional weightlifting exercises are one-dimensional, you are locked in place in a stable atmosphere. With squats you stand in one place, with the bench press you lie on your back, with pushups you are stationary on your hands and feet.

Lunges are the exact opposite. They are multi-dimensional, and as you’ll soon discover, the last stage of the evolution packs all the punches of Proprioception, teaching your body where it is in space. When your body has a better understanding of where it is when you’re not fully balanced, they benefit are quicker movements, reactions and faster movement patters.

Breaking down the Lunge into several of the movement patterns that take place in the exercise, you can see:

1. A squat

2. Running

3. Throwing a punch

4. Rotational trunk movement

5. Controlling an unbalanced load with one leg in the air, as in a punch or kick

6. And on and on…

The gains of lunging have to be seen and felt to be fully appreciated.

As with any exercise, you should start at the conservative level and gradually up the intensity. When a stage becomes easy, and you’ll know when this happens, you move on to the next stage. You’ll do yourself no good jumping into the hardest part of the evolution, that will only lead to your frustration and inability to get the very most out of the training.

The Lunge Evolution

The stages of the Lunge Evolution are as follows:

1. Lunge

2. Weighted Lunge

3. Weighted Lunge and Rotate

4. Proprioceptive Weighted Lunge and Rotate

The Lunge
The Lunge is done with no weight and begins to get the body use to using its’ lunging muscles. When starting out, repetitions should be very conservative, even in the single digits as you begin to get those hamstrings use to the work.

1. From a normal standing position

2. Take a long step with the right leg…

3. As the left knee barely touches the ground…

4. Take your next step with the left leg

5. Keep your torso straight

The Weighted Lunge

The Weighted Lunge increases the challenge by forcing a body using forward momentum and stepping to manipulate a weight. This is akin to teaching the moving weight of the body’s limbs to stay within the body’s balance plane and use efficient movement patters. When the body throws a punch, if the hand gets out of the body’s balance plane, all bets are off. This is something that happens when you throw one punch too many on a punching combination.

1. Lift a medicine ball, or weight, only light weight is needed

2. Take a long step with the right leg…

3. As the left knee barely touches the ground…

4. Take your next step with the right leg

5. Keep your torso straight

6. Maintain balance as you continue to hold the weight over your head

The Weighted Lunge and Rotate

The Weighted Lunge and Rotate now adds in the rotational movements of the torso. Every strike in the Martial Arts contains rotational movement. This is also true of a jab and front kick, there is just not as much rotational movement in those strikes, but it is there.

1. Hold a medicine ball or other weight above your head

2. Step with the right foot while bringing the left knee to barely touch the ground

3. As this is done, rotate the medicine ball to the side of the forward leg, in this case, the right one

4. Step with the left leg forward, right knee barely touching the ground, and medicine ball having traveled up above the head and over to the left side

5. Continue until finished, using distance in place of repetitions for this exercise

The Proprioceptive Weighted Lunge and Rotate

The last piece of intensity added in is forcing the body to balance itself from the ground up. This is accomplished by wearing Proprioception footwear. I’m seen in this picture wearing Jumpsoles with the Proprioceptor Plug inserted in the bottom, it’s like walking on two mini stability balls.

When you can do this exercise for 20 yards, you’ve arrived.

1. Wearing Proprioceptive footwear, hold a medicine ball above your head

2. Step with the right foot while bringing the left knee to barely touch the ground

3. As this is done, rotate the medicine ball to the side of the forward leg, in this case, the right one

4. Step with the left leg forward, right knee barely touching the ground, and medicine ball having traveled up above the head and over to the left side

5. Continue until finished

Increased Athleticism

When I work with athletes, many feel the effects of lunges sometimes after only a couple of training sessions. Their feelings are always the same as they tell me they feel stronger and more athletic.

The reason for the increased athleticism is the Proprioception training that’s taking place. With the Lunge Evolution, the smaller micro-muscles of the spine become engaged, and essentially are woken up by this exercise and told they are needed. I refer to these muscles as the “athleticism muscles”.

No matter what sport you play, when you start adding Lunges to your training, you’ll be amazed by the gains you produce.

About the author: Joe Driscoll, is a former Martial Arts world champion and the author of “Conditioning and Beyond” and several other books on fitness, conditioning and Martial Arts Training. Find out more about Joe and his training concepts at http://www.FightingShape.com

In many ways, you probably know how to live a simple life, but do you want to? Many want the complexity and constant drama of their lives. This is something we each have to look at honestly. However, some of us really want simplicity, and some would want it if they knew what it felt like to live more simply and at peace. Here are a few ways to get there.

Just Say No … Or Say Yes

An important secret to how to live a simple life is to learn to look honestly at how life gets complicated. This may be different for each of us, but there are some common habits we share. One such habit is taking on new responsibilities without fully acknowledging the costs and complexities they add to our lives.

When a man buys a boat, for example, does he usually think about the time he will spend maintaining it and cleaning it? Does he think about the trip to the insurance office for insurance, the necessity to shop for accessories like life-jackets and fire extinguishers? Does he remind himself that boats break down, and he’ll have to deal with hauling it someplace to have it repaired? Does he consider the trailer-hitch he’ll need, the tarp to cover the boat, the tarp to replace that one when it tears, the bearings in the trailer wheels that will someday fail. Finally, Does he think about the hours he will be committed to working to pay for all this fun?

It isn’t about the boat, by the way. There’s nothing wrong with owning a boat. With nothing else was going on in his life, all of the above could easily be a part of “the simple life.” Hwever, when we don’t honestly recognize the role of our own choices in adding complexity to our lives, we take on more than we can possibly handle. As a result, a million exercise devices sit unused in basements while ten million hours are spent working to pay for them. Look honestly at all the costs, and make well-informed choices - this is the first secret of how to live a simple life.

Money Brings Simplicity - Or Complexity

Isn’t it simple for a rich man to own a boat? He can just pay someone to take care of it while he plays with his kids. Money can bring simplicity to your life, but it’s all in how you use it. This is the second important secret of how to live a simple life.

People use money in ways that overly complicate life, as when they put a down payment on a hot tub that they really don’t need. Then they have to work to pay the interest, they have to clean the tub, find a place for it, and have it repaired. Of course, if you are wealthy enough, someone will take care of these things for you. However, if you make $8 per hour, a hot tub will almost certainly overly complicate your life.

If you really want the simple life, the choice then is to make more money, or live a life that is simply supported by your current income. After I paid off the mortgage loan on my first home, and got rid of the car, life became simpler and more relaxing. As I make more money, I can easily add more “things” back into my life, while keeping it simple, as long as I maintain the balance.

Drama Adds Complexity

For a simpler life, have fewer friends. This may sound harsh, but how many friends do you need? Don’t get rid of true friends, but don’t add people to your life unless there is a real exchange of value between you. We all have acquaintances we call “friends” and yet only tolerate just to “be nice.” Do you think it is selfish to say you don’t owe anything to these people? Then how selfish is it for them to say you do?

With friends and family, don’t get involved in the drama more than you need to. Watch closely, and you’ll see that until a person is ready to change, you rarely can help them in any case, neither with words nor with money. Save your efforts for when you truly can help. You weren’t born with an obligation to anyone, and it’s incredibly selfish for anyone to make such claims on your life. Let the drama swirl around you, but don’t get involved in it. This is a crucial lesson on how to live a simple life.

Steve Gillman has been exploring new ideas for decades. Visit his site for invention ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and more. Get a free gift too: New Ideas (http://www.999ideas.com)