Chapter 9

As a more seasoned (or aged) human being, I feel freely to admit that cutting corners is a young person's folly. As we get older, those of us who yearn to learn and grow realize that taking shortcuts or skipping things that appear irrelevant on the surface, inevitably and irrevocably come back and bite us. When I began with the Kochan book I swore to myself that I would do every exercise in every chapter, regardless of the level of difficulty and regardless of Kochan's ambiguity (which is rare but sometimes present). However, when I hit chapter 4, there was this problem that involved imaginary numbers and rather than spending several minutes trying to figure it out, I skipped it. In chapter 6 the chapter 4 exercise was resurrected and I ignored it. Now in chapter 9, it is requested again. I am no longer ignoring it. I am going back and doing the chapter 4 exercise and then the chapter 6 exercises. Then and only then will I go back to chapter 9.

As a fan of the great Rolling Stones I sometimes try to figure out what they are saying in their songs. One song in particular has been haunting me throughout this learning process. "Time Waits for No One", probably one of their lesser known tunes, is on the "It's Only Rock and Roll" album from the mid-70s. That line sums up my motivation, reticence, utter frustration, procrastination all rolled up into one. The key here is if I hit a brick wall (which is happening now more than ever), I can procrastinate my way into other endeavors. Or I can face it head on. Either way, time still goes on and the major person who is suffering in the long run, is me. And indirectly, my family suffers too. But Mick Jagger and company also has another "time" themed song, "Time is on My Side", which came out in the mid-60s. Shows you how a decade can affect one's perspective. Now I feel that I have lost 10 years of time.  Time to get coding. See you later.