[conspire] Tutoring vs. Taking Class

[prosolutions at gmx.net]

Hi everyone, thanks for responding to the request for tutoring and also
the book info.  This weekend ended up not being a good one to do
tutoring.  I did enroll on Friday for the Intro. to Python course at
Foothill Palo Alto extension.

Here is my question - I am a pretty smart person.  I've been using Linux
for close to a decade now.  I think I know shell programming pretty
good.  

I have also downloaded the free edition of "Dive Into Python" and have
spent what little time I had this weekend reading that and scouring the 'net for more
info to be able to begin to piece together some Python knowlege and be
able to start writing small scripts.

For example, I found this small Apache log file analysis code which
I want to hack on and expand to be able to do different things:
http://www.coolsnap.net/kevin/?p=7

Most of the kinds of things I want to do are not esoteric, just common
administrative tasks like parsing log files, iterating through
directories to perform specific tasks, performing some tasks over
elements in an array, executing commands on remote boxes via ssh, etc.

My question is this: The course cost $106.  I will have to drive through
hellish rush-hour traffic to get down to PA to do this course, vs.
trying to learn myself at home and perhaps finding a really good tutor
for a few sessions.  

Do you think it would be more worthwhile to proceed
along the self-study route and spend the $100 on a few high-quality
tutoring sessions instead of taking the class?  In about a week after
this initial immersion in Python concepts, much of which has to do with
the OO approach, I anticipate having a lot of specific questions.



Many thanks in advance,


--
Felicia