Let's look at the bright side of this....

[Al Newman]

First and foremost - it's free (assuming that you avoid being crushed by the stampede at the door of the testing center that is)!
Second, you get more for your money. The normal shmoes get only 59 or 60 questions for their $150, while we get 160 questions for our $0.
Thirdly, we get a bunch of special questions that no ordinary test-takers will ever see. From the friendly sadis... er colleagues at Sun Educational Services).
Fourthly, unlike the hoi-poloi we get suspense. Drama. Anticipation. A long wait to learn whether we passed. I mean really. Isn't this idea of learning your fate right away just
too obvious?
But the biggest bonus of all is the ability to comment. To tell the anonymous author of your woes just what you think of them right then, and know your comments will be read? Priceless.
[ May 21, 2003: Message edited by: Alfred Neumann ]

[Kathy Sierra]

And what about that feeling of intrepidness (is that a word?) that you get from being out there on the edge.
This is "extreme certing" baby.
Not just *anybody* is tough enough for this challenge
And of course there's that nice warm "glow" you get from being able to give all those special comments...
You have THE right attitude here, Alfred. It's your chance, and you should milk it for all its worth!
But believe me, we *DO* read each and every comment, and in fact on the last exam it was *my* job to have to go through and explain each comment -- all gazillion of them. We are required to write reports on the feedback of each and every question, so the more feedback you give, the better off the final exam will be.
And don't forget to say things like, "This question sucks, so it OBVIOUSLY wasn't one of Kathy's, but here's my comment..."
cheers,
Kathy
Coach, Team EJB Cert 2003 --
(and you thought the eco challenge was hard...)

[Al Newman]

But believe me, we *DO* read each and every comment, and in fact on the last exam it was *my* job to have to go through and explain each comment -- all gazillion of them. We are required to write reports on the feedback of each and every question, so the more feedback you give, the better off the final exam will be.

I believe this implicitly. But it seems to me that a little filtering may be in order beforehand (if you knwo what I mean). It's a stressful situation after all....
So I suspect *some* of the comments may not make too much sense once they have been filtered....

[Al Newman]

And what about that feeling of intrepidness (is that a word?) that you get from being out there on the edge.
This is "extreme certing" baby.
Not just *anybody* is tough enough for this challenge

I'd use another word, Kathy. How about masochism?
A synonym of machismo I think.... ;-)

[Gustavo Torreti]

Greetings, Earthlings

Taking this test is just another meaning to
"surfing a shockwave".
Priceless, as previously noted.