Back in the RPG Saddle, Post-stroke

Hello all.

My name is Robert (Bob) Lancaster

I was an RPG programmer for more than thirty years.

I started with RPG II on a Sys/32 back in 1976. I went from there to a Sys/34, many Sys38s, then AS/400s & iSeries boxes. I wrote in RPGII, III, IV, ILE and Free. Most of this was as an independant contractor in the Los Angeles area.

Then, in August of 2008, I suffered a massive stroke to the right side of my brain, paralyzing much of the left half of my body.

I was hospitalized for eleven months following the stroke, during which time my employer let me go.

Luckily, my cognitive skills are still pretty intact. I have occasional memory issues, but nothing major, and they might be just "senior moments" (I am 52 years old) rather than stroke-related. A recent Neuro-Psych exam (a glorified IQ test) had me scoring High/Exceptional in most categories.

To my questions: I am anxious to find out how much of my programming knowledge and skills are stil in my head and accessible. I hope in the coming few months to get back into the workforce, but want to do what I can to kickstart the RPG coder in me.

To that end, I would appreciate any and all suggestions related to getting me back up to speed. I think that my old-school RPG skills are still pretty intact, but the newer stuff (ILE, Free-format and such) is probably a bit iffy. Any recommendations of ways I can get those skills back and solidified would be greatly appreciated.

Any tutorial web sites, books, etcetera, which you think would be helpful?

And, since I hope to be going on interviews in the next few months, I would like to see some of the lists of technical interview questions that used to float around. You know, the kind with questions such as "what is the difference between a Do Until and a Do While?" I think that a list of such questions (and the answers) will help me to better assess where I am, and might keep me from embarrassing myself too badly in an interview.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Robert "Bob" Lancaster
Salem, Oregon

PS: And please, PLEASE, everyone: watch your blood pressure and your weight. thirty years' worth of a "programmer's diet" (fast food, soda, pizza) landed me in this wheel chair, asking strangers for help getting my brain back in order. Learn how to recognize the signs of a stroke (in yourself or a friend/loved one. Luckily for me, my wife knew I was having a stroke (I had no clue), and called 911 immediately, probably saving my life, and definitely preventing further brain damage. As they say, when it comes to strokes, Time = Brain. I made my living with my logic and reasoning skills. I can't tell you how strange and frightening it was to have them damaged, even temporarily. The damage to my body didn't bother me half as much.