My thoughts and tips on how to pass the PMP exam in the first attempt

I passed the PMP exam but was very disappointed that I did not get an Above Target score. I believe it was because Statement Of Work is used only for Procurement in the PMBOK, but in the exam on several questions, it was used as a general description of the Project Charter.

• Eligibility?

You do not need to have a project manager title in your job to get the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.
You just need to have had documented project experience in each of the 5 project process groups: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing.
For instance, if you are a software engineer in charge of a module, then you likely have the requisite experience.

• Difficulty level of the PMP?

I would rate it on par to one of the easier Computer Science courses in my undergraduate degree. I am remembering courses like: Theory of Computation, Probability and Statistics, Discrete Math. these were intrinsically much harder material.

• Read the question backwards. 

A PMP question often has a lot of extraneous material, though strangely enough, it was not too bad this time. Look for the question mark, then read the answer options, and then you have an idea of what the question is really asking. Now pull backwards and only read as much as necessary to answer the question.

• Do not create a "brain dump" or "download sheet".

Everybody advises spending some time at the beginning writing out your brain dump on the sheets provided, but I disagree.
I wasted 10 minutes writing out my formulas. Valuable time that could have been spent reviewing my answers or taking a break.
I did not need any of my formulas to answer the questions, except for the most basic EVM formulas.

• Do take a stretch and water and toilet break every hour.

It is a grueling exam. 4 hour plus the tutorial time plus check in time will take you to at least 5 hours in the test center. I did 3 burpees at each break in the outside area to revive my cardio!

• Wear the provided earplugs.

The Pearson VUE test center provides disposable earplugs. Wear them to reduce distractions and noises.

• Embrace the PMBOK. It should be your main or even sole textbook.

Yes, it is a dry and boring book. But as you read, ask yourself why a certain process, tool and technique and output is needed at that point. You will learn to appreciate the book. Or to put it another way, if you hate it, you will make it that much harder to pass.

• Take the PMI Challenge here. The questions resemble those on the exam, though I can't say for sure.

https://www.projectmanagement.com/PMchallenge/

• For your 35 contact hours, take an in-person class - but it's expensive.

Rita Mulcahy's PMP prep is a good choice. You can ask your employer to sponsor it.

• Join PMI to save $ off your exam fee.

Without a membership, exam fee is $550. With membership ($139) it is $405.

Chicken Biriyani (A) from Thangam Phillips "Modern Cookery" page 240

This is a classic cookery textbook! My copy has been used for over two decades and has food stains from placing it too close to the stove and is in tatters.
Recipes are authentic though some mistakes are there in individual recipes.
Someone needs to modernize this for USA audiences. Also volume 1 and 2 used to be sold as a set and for much less than the list price here. That is disappointing.

Here is a recipe which I adapted from her book.

Chicken Biriyani (A) from Thangam Phillips "Modern Cookery" page 240
adapted to America. feeds 10 people and takes 2 hours. Made two trays for Korean church today and some liked it. Sunday, July 16, 2017

one 5 lb tray of chicken thighs (Sam's Club) after trimming fat becomes around 4 lbs.
4 cups rice washed.
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp salt
3 1/2 + 3 1/2 cups water
1  1/2 hot green jalapenos or 4-5 green Indian chilli
(4 cardamom + 1 clove + 1 Tbsp broken cinnamon) = 5 gm.
1 lime
1 bunch coriander leaves chopped.
65 gm ginger root
65 gm garlic (1 large pod)
400 gm tomato (5 Roma or two large)
2 large red onions (500 gm).
1/4 stick butter + 3 Tbsp oil

1) trim fat from chicken. portion meat so it is distributed evenly. for instance, cut off meat from each thigh to make 3 portions
2) In a pot, bring 3 1/2 cups water mixed with salt and turmeric to boiling and then add chicken. close lid tightly until 5 min. remove from fire.
3) Meanwhile grind ginger and garlic. slice onions, chop coriander, quarter tomatoes.
In a large flat bottomed pan with lid, heat butter + oil and add whole spices. press cardamom to break pods. Add onion and sauté for 3-4 min until darkens.
Add ginger and garlic mixture and mix. After 2 min, add green chilli and coriander leaves and mix.
Add chicken (lift out from broth) and sauté until well fried. stir to avoid burning. After 5 min, add tomato.
4) While chicken is sautéing, add 3 1/2 cups water + lime juice to broth and bring to boil. Add rice and cook on low for 5 min.
5) remove rice from flame and mix in with chicken mixture. cover and cook for 10 min. fold in rice from top level so uncooked grains are cooked.

movie: Papa Hemingway in Cuba

I liked the supposed line from Hemingway - 'consider carefully the weight of your decisions, consider every consequence.'

Sadist nation?

It is sad and shocking that America has rewarded American Sniper with record box office revenues of $100 million on opening weekend. Its sadistic scenes mentioned here, seems to have been an attraction rather than a deterrent.
But this has been a theme with top draw directors like Clint Eastwood and also Ridley Scott who show unspeakable brutality under the guise of 'realism' and reap a bonanza. It appears that violence has replaced sex as the key to a top seller.

What happened to MH-370, the Malaysian airlines plane?

As I write this, the search continues...
With hundreds of satellites from various countries in orbit around the earth, I wonder why the satellite images in the area in that time slot as it flew on its rogue trail cannot be scanned using recognition algorithms and images of the plane extracted.
Here is my guess. It was a murder-suicide. One of the pilots killed the other, locked the cockpit door, disabled the transponder, set the plane on auto-pilot after directing it towards the Indian Ocean.
When it ran out of fuel, it crashed into the sea.

Why were the Boston Marathon bombers' families silent?

I read a comment in a newsgroup that bears repeating - It is worrying why the bombers' families never told police who they were when the videos were first released. Did they not know? Perhaps the MIT police officer's life could have been saved.

Why were the police so late to the scene?

Despite the large number of mass shootings in recent years, never once has the police been on time to engage the gunman - not in Aurora, Columbine, Virginia Tech, and not Newtown.
One remembers TV images of police hiding behind their cars at Columbine, even while the shooting was happening inside.
In Newtown, the police department at 3 Main Street is just 2 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary school. Certainly there would have been patrol cars close by the school - why didn't they react sooner?
There needs to be an investigation as to the true timeline of events and whether there is a reluctance to go into a dangerous zone.

According to the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20738998), the timeline reported by police is:

But at about 09:30, Lanza forced his way into the school, police now say, contrary to earlier reports that he had been let in.

....
Newtown police were notified of shooting at the school over their radios at 09:36.
"Caller is indicating she thinks someone's shooting in the building," a police dispatcher said.

"The shooting appears to have stopped," the police dispatcher radioed at 09:38, according to the New York Post. "There is silence at this time. The school is in lockdown."

Did someone really take 6 long minutes to dial 911? And when did the police arrive?