The Bachelor Experience

OOps, I'm Late

2007-02-18T20:22:00.000-05:00

This blog was the last thing on my mind. Regardless, to catch up, I finally passed Security+ and now I have by BS.

I'M DONE!

Passed Capstone Project

2006-12-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

WHHHOOO!!!! I passed the Capstone!!!

Communication Holistic
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The work is difficult to follow and is confusing.	The work needs clarification and other revision.	The work is easy to follow and understand.	The work is extremely clear and easy to understand.
Criterion Score: 4.00
Mechanics (grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.)
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The work contains 5 or more minor errors and some major errors.	The work contains 3–4 minor errors and no major errors.	The work contains 1–2 minor errors and no major errors.	The work contains no minor or major errors.
Criterion Score: 3.00
Style (word choice, sentence structure, etc.)
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The writing style is characterized by poor sentence structure, limited vocabulary, and inappropriate word choice.	The writing style is characterized by some sentence variation, adequate but limited vocabulary, and poor word choice.	The writing style is characterized by varied sentence structure, solid vocabulary, and accurate word choice.	The writing style is characterized by highly varied sentence structure, vivid vocabulary, and accurate word choice.
Criterion Score: 4.00
A. Cover Sheet
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not provide a coversheet with any of the required elements.	The candidate provides a coversheet with only 1–3 of the required elements.	Not applicable.	The candidate provides a coversheet with all 4 of the required elements.
Criterion Score: 4.00
B. Brief Summary
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not provide a summary of the actual development of the project.	The candidate provides an imprecise summary of the actual development of the project.	The candidate provides a reasonable summary of the actual development of the project.	The candidate provides a precise summary of the actual development of the project.
Criterion Score: 4.00
B1. Description
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not provide a description of the project.	The candidate provides an imprecise description of the project.	The candidate provides a reasonable description of the project.	The candidate provides a precise description of the project.
Criterion Score: 4.00
B2. Other Work Done
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not provide an expanded review of the other work done in the area.	The candidate provides an inadequately expanded review of the other work done in the area.	Not applicable.	The candidate provides an adequately expanded review of other work done in the area.
Criterion Score: 4.00
B3. Rationale and Systems Analysis
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not provide a rationale and systems analysis for the project deliverables.	The candidate provides an illogical rationale and systems analysis for the project deliverables.	The candidate provides a logical rationale and systems analysis for the project deliverables.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported rationale and systems analysis for the project deliverables.
Criterion Score: 4.00
C. Project Goals and Objectives
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate lists the goals and objectives of the project without an accompanying explanation of why or why not each was accomplished.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of why or why not some or all of the goals and objectives were accomplished.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of why or why not each of the goals and objectives were accomplished.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of why or why not each of the goals and objectives were accomplished.
Criterion Score: 4.00
D. Project Timeline
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain why or why not any of the timeframes were met.	The candidate provides an implausible explanation of why or why not any of the timeframes were met.	Not applicable.	The candidate provides a plausible explanation of why or why not all of the timeframes were met.
Criterion Score: 4.00
E. Project Development
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain what the project actually accomplished.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of what the project actually accomplished.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of what the project actually accomplished.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of what the project actually accomplished.
Criterion Score: 4.00
E1. Problems Encountered
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain the problems encountered and how they were solved.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of the problems encountered and how they were solved.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of the problems encountered and how they were solved.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of the problems encountered and how they were solved.
Criterion Score: 4.00
E2. Reasons for Changes
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain the reasons for changes made to the original plan.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of the reasons for changes made to the original plan.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of the reasons for changes made to the original plan.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of the reasons for changes made to the original plan.
Criterion Score: 4.00
E3. Unanticipated Requirements
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain any unanticipated requirements or components that needed to be resolved.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of any unanticipated requirements or components that needed to be resolved.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of any unanticipated requirements or components that needed to be resolved.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of any unanticipated requirements or components that needed to be resolved.
Criterion Score: 4.00
E4. Actual and Potential Effects
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain the actual and potential effects of the project.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of the actual and potential effects of the project.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of the actual and potential effects of the project.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of the actual and potential effects of the project.
Criterion Score: 4.00
E5. Conclusions
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain the conclusions about the success and effectiveness of the project.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of the conclusions about the success and effectiveness of the project.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of the conclusions about the success and effectiveness of the project.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of the conclusions about the success and effectiveness of the project.
Criterion Score: 4.00
F. Additional Deliverables
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not include any appropriate additional deliverables.	The candidate includes some additional deliverables, but they are not appropriate.	Not applicable.	The candidate includes appropriate additional deliverables.
Criterion Score: 4.00
G. Demonstrated Competencies
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate provides an incomplete Competency Matrix.	Not applicable.	Not applicable.	The candidate provides a complete Competency Matrix.
Criterion Score: 4.00
G1a. Leadership and Professionalism
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Leadership and Professionalism.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Leadership and Professionalism.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Leadership and Professionalism.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Leadership and Professionalism.
Criterion Score: 4.00
G1b. Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Upper Division Collegiate Level Reasoning and Problem Solving.
Criterion Score: 4.00
G1c. Language and Communication
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Language and Communication.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Language and Communication.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Language and Communication.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Language and Communication.
Criterion Score: 4.00
G1d. Quantitative Literacy
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Quantitative Literacy.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Quantitative Literacy.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Quantitative Literacy.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated competency in Quantitative Literacy.
Criterion Score: 4.00
G2. Information Technology Competency
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate does not explain how the development of the project demonstrated technology competency in at least 1 of the areas.	The candidate provides an illogical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated technology competency in at least 1 of the areas.	The candidate provides a logical explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated technology competency in at least 1 of the areas.	The candidate provides a credible and well-supported explanation of how the development of the project demonstrated technology competency in at least 1 of the areas.
Criterion Score: 4.00
H. APA Format
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
The candidate’s project has 5 or more minor errors and some major errors in APA formatting.	The candidate’s project has 3–4 minor errors and no major errors in APA formatting.	The candidate’s project has only 1–2 minor errors in APA formatting.	The candidate’s project has no errors in APA formatting.
Criterion Score: 4.00
Overall Holistic
(1) Unacceptable	(2) Needs Revision	(3) Meets Standard	(4) Exemplary
Unacceptable	Needs Revision	Meets Standard	Exemplary
Criterion Score: 4.00

Security+ Prep Course

2006-12-13T18:42:00.000-05:00

Today, I began a Security+ Prep course. Judging by the quality of the content so far, I believe the third attempt at the Security+ exam will be a success. The content is well written and explained. And best of all, they've got crossword puzzles!

Technical Writing, PASSED

2006-10-20T20:23:00.000-05:00

Wwwwooooo! I passed TAW1!
That was one heck of a long paper. Like with the Portfolio, I did well with the basic requirements, earning 4.0, but 3.0 for the technical sections like rational and the completency matrix. I guess I need to try explaining the technical aspects better.

Next, the Capstone project, followed by the devil himself: Security+.
Those two assessments will give me plenty of bragging rights :)

Portfolio is Complete!

2006-09-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

My portfolio finally got graded, and I passed! WWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOO!
I made a few mistakes, but I don't know exactly which ones. I got enough 4.0s to pass.
Next up, Technical Writing.

Learning SQL

2006-09-10T18:55:00.000-05:00

WGU has shut down their portal for maintenance, so in the mean time, I've been stuyding SQL.

I use MS Access often at work, but Access's Query builder shields the user from all but the most advances queries. So of course I'm going to use it! But now that I'm understanding the SQL language better, I'm finding ways to improve the performance of some of my queries.

Lesson of the day: Don't expect to learn everything you need to know in school.

I'm using PostgeSQL on Gentoo Linux. Being the first time I'm using a REAL database system (RDMS), I'm excited! I have to admit what a pain it was to get things going. Ok, so it wasn't too bad. In summary, once Postgres is installed, you need to:

As root, start the postgres server.
Set a password for the user account that runs the postgres server
As the postgres user, add a role for yourself with enough permissions to get the job done.
As your normal user execute psql [databasename]

Now you can have fun.

Failed

2006-08-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

I failed attempt number 2.

Security+ Attempt #2, Tomorrow

2006-08-07T19:01:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, I will attempt the Security+ exam, again. I have studied (it's been over a month since the first attempt) and I feel... more competent. Wish me luck!

Consider...
... what I have to work with. Below is just a sample of what I mean.

If you think this is bad, you should take a look at the text book. It's... dissapointing.

Bombs Away!

2006-06-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

I failed Security+ Wooo! Surprise! :(
At least I have a better idea of what to expect. What sucks is that the testing material can't seem to prepare me. This is what happened with Project+ Hmm, maybe it's not the material.

I need to mention one more thing Vienna Teng has a new album coming in July! WOOOOOOOOO! That's something to celebrate! I like what I've heard so far. Yummy!!!

I don't like to mention I'm a pianist because I suck. And Vienna makes this very obvious. Haha. I could listen to her all day!

Taking it Easy

2006-06-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it! I've been slacking!
I've been studying, but not very hard. I had put so much effort into the Project+, and the previous assessment, and it still took me longer than expected to complete the assessments. So, I'm not rushing anymore.

I'm almost ready for the Security+ exam. I'm going to take some more tests at MeasureUp, try the test that's in my book's DVD, and hopefully by then I'll be ready. I was going to complete this to day, but I just went through the last chapter in the book, and my notes. It's slacking time!

Oh, I got my Project+ certificate today! CompTIA has changed the design. It's nice. I really wish the cert came with a Miata.

Project+ Complete

2006-06-08T23:08:00.000-05:00

I passed! Finally!

Oops

2006-06-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

I guess I forgot to mention that I passed!
I finally passed the Project+ exam!

Oops

2006-06-08T15:28:00.000-05:00

I guess I forgot to mention that I passed!
I finally passed the Project+ exam!

Security+ DVD

2006-06-08T15:24:00.000-05:00

So on the back of the book it says "Use the DVD as a standalone study tool or in cojunction with the book." Yet the DVD persona directs the view to the book througout the two hours and even mentions views need to use the book. Hmm.

Tricky Questions

2006-06-04T11:27:00.000-05:00

I've signed up to take the Project+ again, and I'm using FlashCards, a feature on the IT Project+ book CDROM. This is when I realized how important it is to read carefully. For instance, take this question:

Who is responsible for authoring the project charter? My knowledge, well meaning shouted THE PROJECT SPONSOR! So I was confused when the answer was displayed as The project manager. But, once I looked carefully, I realized the question was who creates the project charter, and not who authorizes it. See, I saw authorize, when in fact it said authoring, in othewords, who authors!

I just hope this project doesn't plaque me during the test.

IT? What does this mean?

2006-05-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

The only thing exciting about Security+ is the malicious acts. The various types of attacks, the viruses, etc. Other than that, it's pretty boring. Is it just me, or has IT ruined the uniqueness of computing (being a nerd) by introducing computers to the public? Well, in reality, IT exists because of computers, but anyway. It seems I no longer have the enthusiasm I once had. Computers have become to me what they have become to anyone else: entertainment.

I find my self endlessly browsing the Internet. Reading blogs, watching videos, admiring images. Programming, for the most part, left the building. I don't know. I rather sleep just to do nothing. I just don't want to do anything at all.

Project+, it's not over

2006-05-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

I failed the test. That sucks.

Filesystems

2006-05-06T14:22:00.000-05:00

An idea I have for my Capstone project is implementing a filesystem that allows users to access Atom-syndicated blogs, like blogger. I have the Atom authentication code! I'm also interested in log-structured filesystems. There's one in development for Linux called New Implementation of of a Log-Structured Filesystem. Oh, and there's a newa project, ext3cow which allows one to access old files by using the syntax [filename]@[date in epoc]. It's super neat!

I wonder if it's simply too early to think of these things. I still need to complete Project+ and Security+ :(

Filesystems

2006-05-06T14:12:00.000-05:00

Syllable OS

2006-05-04T21:55:00.000-05:00

Syllable, is a fork of AtheOS, which has been abandoned. I think. It's a pretty OS, and seems to have UNIX roots. It actually reminds be alot of BeOS, which was a wonderful operating system. BeOS reminded me of MacOS 9. Simple, responsive interface. Look how far we've come. I have yet to see a modern OS display a window without the loading artifacts.

Anyway, I ran the Syllable OS LiveCD under qemu on a Gentoo Linux host. Of course, I used kqemu. It wouldn't run at first. Then, I discovered that I need to disable dma using a boot paramater. Then, I got a message about a problem with the network config. So, I logged in as root and tried to configure it. I used the Network config program, and stupidly also used dhcpd, so I'm not sure which one did the trick.

Syllable is cool, but it needs some work. Besides the dma issue, it would be nice if the dialog boxes had an OK button to go along with the Apply button. It just seems awkward to click Apply, and then have to close the dialog. Oh, and make the OS more resourcefull. Like Win98, it constantly hogs the CPU. WinNT/XP and Linux doesn't do this :)

Capstone Proposal

2006-05-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

I figured I should start thinking about this. And since I don't know how else to prepare tor Project+, which I will take next week, and I don't want to get too deep into Security+ yet, why not complete the Technical Writing assessment?

Technical Writing
For this assessment, I need to create a proposal for the Capstone project, the big kahuna! So, I need ideas. I need to select from one of the following project types:

IT Product/Service - Develop and product/service and follow the design cycle, project management, blah...
Research Paper - A paper on an IT-related topic. APA style.
Case Study - A description of an IT project... blah.

The case study is out of the question because I don't have what is considered IT experience. Noone is willing to help me in this regard. Yet, anyway.

The IT product/service sounds shady to me because I would need to use MS Project for...? Exactly my point. To manage my own time? I can do that with a sheet of paper, or even my own head. Then again, I'm aching to write some code! As long as I get to use Python. Forget Java and C/C++. They get in the way during prototyping.

So... honestly, the research paper seems like the best option.

Brainstorming
So now I need ideas for my capstone, so I could write a proposal. I've thought about...
Capacity-based security - Look it up on Wikipedia.com
Fancy datastores - Like distributed hash tables.

Of course, those aren't actual complete topics. My brain has serious gas.

Project+ Coming Up

2006-04-27T20:24:00.000-05:00

I submitted a referral to take Project+. Am I ready? I don't feel like it. But it seems I'm as prepared as I can be, considering I don't have any project management experience.

I've looked ahead a bit into the Technical writing assignment, which precedes the Capstone project. I think I'll end up writing a paper because I don't have the balls to write a good program. It seems I don't have it in me. What I'm most interested in, kernels/OS programming I know little about. Currently, I have an interest in exokernels. So maybe I'll find a way to incorporate this psychotic interest into a Capstone project.

I need to start studying for Security+. I hope I pass Project+. I don't know that I could prepare any more.

I Passed? But... How?

2006-04-13T15:50:00.000-05:00

Leadership	56.25
Professionalism	57.14
Communication	69.57
Teamwork	70

The entire day was a nightmare. An interview that went to hell, I couldn't find the testing center because the address was wrong. (Thank you geeks for cell phones). And when I took LPO1, I felt quite unfamiliar with the material. I finished the test in... maybe about an hour... maybe less. I rushed through it because I was so angry. The test questions were completely different from the material I studied, I was sure I had failed. And today, I get an email stating I passed. Is this a joke? I should be celebrating, but that interview has left me sour.

I think it was extremely embarrasing because of its similarity with my previous interview. Even though I prepared for certain questions, when they came, my mind was blank.

So, I passed. And I'm supposed to move on. I guess Project+ is next.

Welcome, to the Study Guide

2006-04-05T14:50:00.000-05:00

7 days from now, I must take LPO1. And today, I received the study guide. Sure, it makes perfect sense! Why bother to ease the learning process by providing a guide to lead students through the various learning resources, when instead, one could withhold the information until students pull their hair out!

Ok, so may be in study guide was available all along. But I couldn't get to it. I don't have the community that has it. Well, I couldn't find it, anyways.

So at this point, I don't know if this guide contributed to the health of my hair or simply made it worse.

Leadership and Professionalism Referral

2006-04-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

I will be taking LOP1 soon. Hopefully, I'm ready. I'm reading more from the book in the meantime, to prepare better, and because it is interesting. I've also started to read from the Project Management book since I'll be working on that next. Fun stuff :)

Leadership

2006-03-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

I dumped Java, stepped on it, and spit on it!
What the hell was Sun thinking! Talk about a complex language!

Yes, my exitement about Java is long gone. So I moved on. But, at the same time, I'm saddened...

See, prior to choosing a school to pursue my BS IT, I made a goal for myself: To take the time to learn the concepts. But, that goal has a limitation, it assumes time is endless. I'm in my mid twenties, I've been attending college for nearly six years, and for what. An attempt to make a career for myself? How much is a career really worth, compared to other things in life?

So, my focus has changed to: get'er done! So, I'm putting a lot of time into my studies, but I'm trying to move along as fast as possible, and aim to pass the assessments. I'm learning, but only a small subset of the content is staying in my head. But, I guess later, when I actually begin to use it, it will 'come to me.' And I have proof!

I know MS Access/VB for Applications better than I did while I was taking the courses, simply because I've created so many databases at work. The practical use has provided experience and knowledge. Suprising huh?

Now, it's time to watch a movie or something.

Chapter 10 is a Killer

2006-03-07T21:20:00.000-05:00

I respect Java, even though I'm not a fan. One thing I like is the concept of Swing. And that is because it's a GUI what comes with Java, well sort of, and may be found in most implementations. I think. Python's "official" GUI is Tk, which is very easy to code with! But, it's... lacking. Python needs something like Swing. I think the closest thing is wxWidgets, but... I don't like wxWidgets much. Some things are awkward. Anyway, wxWidgets is to Python what AWT is to Java. Oh, right, my point is...

Chapter 10 on this Java book is a killer! There's tons of code to write up. I was able to do a lot of copy-pasting and search-replace (with gvim) to create the Exception classes, but the last two-three classes have loads of code! Whew! I'm tired. First time I don't complete a chapter in one afternoon. But I'm ready for something else. Like reading more from the Dostoevsky book.

Half-way through Java

2006-02-28T18:57:00.000-05:00

Well, Java is.. ok. I don't like it any more that I used to. The only thing I like about it, compared to Python, is that it comes with cross-platform GUI toolkit. Ok, I know. Python has Tk, but... heck, even though it's very easy to use (unlike GTK and wxWidgets, which can be nightmares) it's limited in features. Actually, it's limited in widgets. Unless you add some of the various extensions.

I found a page that explains Interfaces decently. One of the concepts that has been hard on me. And it's actually hosted by Sun!

I also found some code showing various ways to handle window events with AWT applications. The book had me using method 3, which although it's a shortcut, I think it's stupid. So, I re-wrote the window event handlers using method 1. That way, it follows the pattern set by the button event handler :)

Aren't AWT widgets on Linux beautiful! HAHA. It appears to be based on Motif.

Oh, I started to work on a Python assembler. It's pretty cool, but it's not working right yet. Basically, I would like to be able to assembly Python mnemonics such as LOAD_CONST into Python byte-code. I'm using the opcode and dis modules to help me. Right now, there's a bug, and the generated byte-code causes a segfault. I need to get a better look at the source code for the dis module.

I've also thought about writing an RSS reader for BMPx, so that it would be able to stream Podcasts, but I often avoid C. I've also thought about writing a Python interface so that plugins could be written in Python. I have coded a Python module in C before, the rioutil Python interface. But I never finished it.

Another thing, maybe I should start working on another course. Can I handle Java and something else? How the hell do I know!

Java 101

2006-02-23T22:43:00.000-05:00

I started to work on re-learning java, so I could get the Sun Certified Programmer certification. There are things I don't like about the language, like forcing filenaming constraints, the fact it doesn't create an instantce of the class containing main(). But I like the concept, which .net copies. But, I like programming. I'm hoping to complete 1 chapter a day, which means I would be able to get through the book in under two weeks. Then, its a matter of preparing for the exam. Hopefully I'll be succesfull, and be able to move on to the Leadership assessment. Then, Project+, possible technical writing and Network+, then Security+. Then maybe, MCSE 270-20.

The concept I'm having trouble with is polymorphism. Does it depend on inheritance?

RPTU is Complete!

2006-02-17T16:05:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I wrote my conclusion, typed it, proof-read the paper, added a bit more info using one additional resource, and submitted it. I wanted a week for any revisions, since I believed my paper to be of only average quality. I was eager to know specifically where my faults were. Friday, I recieved emails from my mentor thoughout the review process of my paper. In the end, it was accepted as is! I'm glad I'm through with RPTU, but simultaneously, I feel like I'm missing something. Maybe, I need to work harder at poetry and short stories. These forms allow for much expression, and creativity.

Anyway, below is the paper I used. Don't copy it because you'll only be hurting yourself. If you still insist on copying it, boy do I feel sorry for you :(

What is the Best Way to Educate the U.S. Workforce?

Our demanding workplace thirsts for individuals possessing advanced skills. But some critics argue its been forced to swallow hard and accept the limited skills provided by a prospective workforce. Long gone are the days of the handyman, who undoubtedly, could handle any task seamlessly. In our current economic situation, the workplace is fragmented by job specialties, each of which may only be adopted by experts of the field in question. The workforce needs employees with specific skills, but our educational system has not succeeded in filling the need. Our educational system's failure to supply the demand of the workplace has been studied by personnel within the educational field from various angles, and each personnel has developed a unique conclusions. There are several strategies which can be used to educate prospective employees with the skills required by our changing workplace. Critics who focus on high school education claim the high school curriculum should incorporate work skills or the new basic skills. Others focus on job training programs whose aim is to reduce America's overall disappointing unemployment rate.

Work skills education refers to a system which attempts to incorporate work experiences with a traditional liberal arts educational system. Such work experiences are often manifested in the form of an apprenticeship, in which students attend both school and work on part-time status. In doing so, students are not only exposed to the liberal arts skills, which students often claim are inapplicable in the workplace, they are also exposed to a work environment of their interest (Haley 19).

Since the purpose of education is to provide fuel for the workplace, it should be to no surprise apprenticeship advocates stress the importance of the skills obtained during an apprenticeship. Besides the skills commonly known as people skills, students are provided with an incomparable opportunity to acquire skills specifically associated with a career of their choosing (Haley 20). As an example, consider a student interested in the field of computer networking. Via an apprenticeship, such a student may be assigned to work with a network support technician and gain exposure to the main task of most network support teams: troubleshooting. In the field of computer networking, troubleshooting is an extremely valuable skill, and a student armed with such skills would be light-years ahead of the unfortunates who lack the precious gem. Apprenticeship supporters claim skills such as these can only be obtained in the workplace, but equally state that some skills, which find usage in the workplace, are best learned in a school environment.

Contrary to what some students may believe, liberal arts skills have an important place in the work environment. But, ultimately it's up to the individual to apply the skills learned in the classroom, as needed, at the workplace (Haley 21). Continuing with the previous example, a computer networking apprentice may be required to type reports describing network-related issues as submitted by users, and a follow up text illustrating the steps taken to reach the best solution which solves the problem. In addition, communication between users and the network support team may take place verbally and/or via a written form such as email. Weak writing skills are impossible to hide from spectators. Writing skills are particularly important when arranging thoughts in written form because the lack of visual cues diminish the accurateness of the message being conveyed (Schwalbe 370). For this reason, it's much easier to misunderstand an email than a face-to-face conversation.

Work skills programs depend on the local workforce to provide participating students with an appropriate job opportunity. High schools may assume participating businesses are providing students with job opportunities that introduce practical work skills. But it's virtually impossible to hold businesses accountable for providing appropriate job opportunities since in most cases their primary function is to earn profits. Optimistic businesses claim work skills programs are an effective way to keep the local workforce growing because they allow qualified graduates to participate in the local workforce (Lapan 177).

Those who firmly protest work skills education, claim that it removes students from an academic environment and feeds them into the mouth of a starving workplace (Haley 27). Students not interested in working while attending high school are denied their request and led into the workplace against their will. This negligence infuriates parents, who as a result insist that work skills education should ultimately be optional for students. For example, a college-bound high school student may desire to take courses which count towards college credit. A mandatory work skills program may reduce or even completely extinguish the ability for such a student to get a head start in college. To make matters worse, a work skills program does not guarantee a student will learn practical work skills related to a field of interest.

Poorly-administered work skills educational programs introduce students to work environments which assign students to domestic jobs (Haley 29). Carelessness or simply a misunderstanding among the parties involved in work skills programs lead to student job opportunities that do not develop the work skills students are expected to learn. A student interested in business administrative may be paired with an employee who demonstrates little to nothing of the skills used in the profession and instead has the student make countless copies of documents and perform other menial tasks. Under such circumstances, work skill education fails miserably as a method of instruction because students are not granted the opportunity to obtain skills which are required by high-wage careers. Domestic jobs require skills that could be obtained rather quickly, and such jobs usually pave a road leading to a depressing dead end. An end which can be satisfactorily reached without the aid of liberal arts skills.

Work skills education is a system best balanced by a dose of liberal arts skills. But, if the work environment does not take advantage of the skills students learn in a school environment, the healthy balance of an ideal educational experience shifts, causing it to trip and tangle within its shoe laces. As the usefulness of reading, writing, and mathematics diminishes, so does its importance for students who may have otherwise continued to contribute time and effort to the development of their education by means of a post-secondary educational institution. A student attending the workplace may be assigned enjoyable tasks which depend little on liberal arts skills, and as a result loose sight of the future, and the importance of the skills provided in a school environment. Work skills education has the negative effect of destroying the dreams of America's future.

New basic skills education aims to teach high school students skills often required by high-income careers (Haley 32). New basic skills include reading comprehension, writing, mathematics, and computing skills. Traditional high school education systems are not providing the skills graduates are needing to obtain high-income jobs. There's a disturbing difference between the skills graduates need and those they are deceptively receiving.

As the workplace matures over the years, the skills required to be a part of it adjust accordingly. A major player in the changing workforce is computer technology. It's difficult to imagine how tasks such as monetary transactions, automation, and most electronic devices would be able to exist without the aid of computers. But computers cannot complete a task from beginning to end. At some point, a human must interact with computers. It is this unavoidable interaction between man and machine that requires a common language. A language established as a skill set students must learn in order to operate the computers that provide the foundation and driving force behind today's workforce. The new basic skills insist on closing the gap between the skills commonly taught in high schools today, and those required by a changing workforce.

Preparing students for the workplace is the primary objective of new basic skills education. By ensuring students are armed with the proper skills upon graduation, a graduate can be expected to possess the qualifications to obtain a well-paying job. Such a well-deserved job can be described as one which provides an income high enough to permit an employee to comfortably support a family. The new basic skills attempt to achieve this goal by actively monitoring the workplace environment, and determining the basic skills that are in need. Thereafter, the comprehensive list of the skills required is used to develop a curriculum high schools may choose to follow. But, a contradictory opinion insists high schools currently already provide an adequate assortment of the basic skills the workplace needs.

Those against the concept of new basic education proudly claim existing high school academic programs provide plenty of basic skills. Lower education institutions such as high schools provide the fundamentals needed for any job (Haley 42). Skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics are well covered in today's high school programs. Students are exposed to works written many centuries such as William Shakespeare's Macbeth, and other well-known classics including J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, and George Orwell's Animal Farm. Essays, as much as students are repelled by them, is a common form of demonstrating critical thinking and writing skills. The level of mathematics taught in high schools reach much beyond what most students will ever use in their lifetimes. Many high schools feature computers in the classroom, where they are used to assist students with many classroom tasks. Therefore, most students acquire plenty of skills which may be applicable in the workplace.

Because of the range of basic skills provided by high school educational programs, most Americans have more than enough skills to perform their jobs (Haley 40). The fundamentals provided by a high school education arm graduates with the ability to read and comprehend most written works used throughout the workplace such as employment applications, company announcements, and invoices. In the workplace, writing often involves the use of a computer, another high-school-provided skill. More often than not, the writing skills learned in high school are adequate for written communication including email, reporting, and expressing ideas. In the realm of mathematics, most jobs simply require arithmetic skills, aggregate functions such as averaging collections of numbers, and occasionally, algebraic skills. Tasks such as handling invoices may require basic mathematical operators and percentage rates. So, by providing basic skills in the current form, the high school curriculum provides enough skills to perform many tasks in today's workplace. But traditionally, the high school academic program is designed to prepare students for additional education.

The basic academic skills provided by high schools may be enough for many jobs, but not for the often high-paying jobs which require not only advanced academic skills, but skills specific to a specialization. A reporter needs advanced communications skills, including reading, writing, and verbal communication. In addition, the style of writing differs slightly from that of an essay. Such skills are introduced via specializing courses. Engineering occupations, regardless of the exact discipline, require advanced mathematical skills such as calculus and trigonometry. Computer-related careers such as software programming and networking require advanced computing skills. The fundamentals provided by high schools are simply insufficient. Which is why high school programs often focus on providing the fundamental skills students would need in order to continue their education at a post-secondary educational institution. But a third educational approach shifts the focus to educating adults who lack the financial resources and/or educational background to obtain an education at most institutions.

Job training programs were introduced to help reduce unemployment nation wide by providing participants with new skills (Haley 45). The nature of the skills demonstrated by job training programs are focused and short in duration. Program options often include specific computer-related tasks such as typing, or using a specific software application. Some employers are accustomed to sending employers to a job training program to obtain specific computer skills. Other programs such as business administration and medical transcribing intend to provide an introduction to a completely different career, and suites those wishing to make a career move. The appealing short duration of such programs aim to teach students the promised skills quickly so they may be able to obtain a job within a short period of time. Public job training programs are designed to provide financially-challenged minorities access to an education (Haley 47).

Statistically, year after year, minorities are the lowest-earning group of working adults. The inability to proceeded to high-paying jobs can be attributed to a lack of an education. In the high-skills-demanding workplace which exists today, those lacking advanced skills risk competing for a small number of low skill jobs, which are slowly diminishing. Public job training programs educate such individuals so they may turn their lives around and have the ability to obtain well-paying jobs. Undoubtedly, basic computer skills programs are popular among public job training programs because of the assumption computer skills instantly pave the way to high-paying jobs. The limited skills provided by job training programs is the argument critics of job training programs focus on.

The narrow focus of job training programs has a contradicting side effect. Sometimes the training provided does not provide enough skills for students to be able to obtain a well-paying job. As a result, students end up moving from one job training program to another in search of additional skills (Haley 57). Hopping among job training programs definitely defeats their purpose as a way to reduce unemployment. For example, for a data entry position, an applicate most have the ability to operate a computer, use specialized software, and type information quickly. To learn these skills, a job training program student would have to enroll in three distinct programs. Each program increases the resources required to prepare a student for job qualification. Skeptics of job training programs state that by following the more effective work first approach, unemployment can be effectively reduced.

Work first program supports state such programs coupled with limited training can help the uneducated obtain jobs (Haley 54). Work first programs do no submit participants to training programs unless its found to be absolutely necessary. Instead, work first programs help participants obtain a job right away. Those unable to find a job are provided basic education and motivational or self-esteem courses (Haley 55). The work first approach claims to employ those receiving welfare assistance. The Los Angeles work first program claims to have increased employment rates by 21% (Haley 55). By focusing on rapid employment, the work first approach reduces unemployment and help participants become financially independent.

Each of the methods of education discussed offer students an opportunity to develop specific skills. By enduring the disadvantages of each method, but focusing on the advantages, each method could be lined up and ordered by ascending specialization. By combining the strengths of each educational method, an effective path leading from high school to a satisfactory career can be devised. Traditional high school academics can be coupled with an apprenticeship program which focuses on developing fundamental work skills of the discipline chosen by each student. Upon graduation, students may have an opportunity to obtain an entry-level job within their chosen profession. But, for further development, students would have the option to continue their education at a college or vocational school to develop their liberal arts skills along with a specialization, or simply develop a specialization but to a lesser degree, respectively. Once specialization of skills have been completed, employers would undertake the responsibility of continually educating their employees via job training programs. There's no reason to simply choose one educational strategy over another when there are an arsenal of them available.

Resources:

Haley, James. How Should the U.S. Workforce Be Educated? San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2002.
Lapan, Richard T. “Challenges for Creating Community Career Partnerships: Perspectives from Practitioners.” The Career Development Quarterly 51 (2002): 172-190.
Schwalbe, Kathy. Information Technology Project Management. Canada: Course Technology, 2004.

Open-Ended Problem Solving?

2006-02-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

So I've been working to tushy off on this 4-page paper which is supposed to be about the best way to educate the workforce. Except, it seems all I have to do is state what others have said, and them come up with some kind of opinion based on their statements. Arg!

I don't know. I've studied the guide on how to solve open-ended problems. And, it's... ok. I understand the concept. But, what does a 4-page paper have to do with this. I don't think it helps to prove I know how to solve open-ended problems, which is the goal of RPTU. So, once again, either I'm a complete idiot, or something is seriously wrong with our educational system. Heck, I should write a real essay about this issue. That was actually my goal, but the assignment sent me in another direction.

I started writing the paper with some joy, but now I hate it. I hate what I've written, but I don't have time to start over. My term ends in two weeks. Yes, I've accomplished practically nothing. Yeah, I know I'm a pessimist, so what!

RPTU, Again

2006-01-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

Yeah, it's been a while. I've been busy with studying for the MCSE. But, I dropped that because I don't have much time left to get both the MCSE and Network+ completed. So, I started to work on RPTU again.

I tried to write something related to the future of the Internet, but I got stuck. So my latest topic is educating an existing workforce. I still have to formulate the thesis and stuff. But my mentor seems to really like it. And so far, I like the idea too.

3 Strikes, and I'm Out!

2006-01-12T21:53:00.000-05:00

I've taken the MeasureUp study mode tests for 70-270 three times. Actuallt, twice, because for the second run I only answered the ones I missed during the first run. I failed them all :( I even took the time to do research on the second run, but it only did a tad of good. This bites.

Cramming for 70-270

2006-01-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

I started this weekend. This is day four, but I haven't studied. Why? Because I've already exausted the two exams in the book. Actually, it's more like I exhausted the 1st exam, because the second contained many of the same questions the first exam did. And along with that many mistakes!

I like the Exam Cram 2 books because of the practice questions/exams, but, QUE needs to revamp their editing procedure. There are just way to many mistakes. Which is a problem being that the books are supposed to prepare you for an exam. It's funny, on their site, there's a link where you can see if you qualify to be an editor :)

On the contrary, if you want to see an example of a well-written IT-related book (sadly, there are very few), check out Stylin' With CSS, by Charles Wyke-Smith. I haven't read the entire book yet, and there are a few grammatical errors, but gosh, the book rocks! The author is well versed, the design is to be admired. Simple and elegant. Really!

Again, I lost track of things. I meant to say the MeasureUp software refuses to work, which really sucks because I was depending on the extra tests to prepare. I know I've used the software before, Linux+ I think. But the one I just installed craps out when you try to load an exam. I would use Wine, but MeasureUp required Internet Explorer, which is a pain to install in Wine.

Too Much Time With Emails

2005-12-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

I guess I should try using the telephone to get some answers from my mentor. Because sending and waiting for emails is counter-productive. I'm fustrated because I haven't gotten much done this semister. I don't know if I've the only one. I do know one of my classmates completed CTI1. I have no idea how she did, because the study material did not match the pre-assessment. That was one of my big gripes. It may be that she has enough experience. I have none! And no one is willing to give me a chance to earn some. So it looks like I'll be stuck in this hole for a while.

The plan for the remaining two months is to somehow complete RPTU, and then Project+ or Security+. I think I'll aim for Project+ because I've already covered some of the material. I plan to get a book specifically for the Project+ though. And I need to determine the correct exam code for the Security+ exam, becausa the website has two.

For today, I'll do nothing. I would punch the wall, but that would hurt. So I might buy pedal covers for my Kia, and a book on how to write poetry. Maybe I should get the Project+ book too.

Ok, Lets Dance the Polka!

2005-12-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

I have good bad news. No, it's not good news and bad news. It's good bad news. Believe me, it does exist. And it's the second time during the first WGU term this happens.

With the new program coming, I had my transcript re-evaluated. So now, I don't have to take the MCSE, Network+, MySQL, and Java certs. So, the only certs I have to worry about are Project+ and Security+. The good part is that I don't have to do all that cramming, the bad part is I don't get all those cool certs.

So... I don't know what to think, but the past two months, I've been studying for MCSE and Network+. Now, It's like it's all gone to waste. When I started my term, I spent four hours a day studying for CIT1, projects, software engineering... And it seems I haven't gotten very far.

Now, I'm not sure what to expect from WGU. I mean, what am I going to learn? You know, I think about this. And even during my A.S program, I learned very little. This is because I already knew some things that I had learned on my own. School just added a bit more. Now I know that school can only teach so much, the rest is up to you.

Network+ and RPTU

2005-12-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

I received my Network+ book the other day. The correct one. So, I've already read the first chapter and answered the 10 questions. I only missed one. I still remember a few things here and there, from when I took a networking course during my A.S program. But I still need to study, a lot.

RPTU
I wrote the first essay for RPTU. But I don't like it anymore. I think I want to change the topic a bit. The WGU topic I chose was What is the future of the Internet? And my essay is about how I think there will be a standard for authentication, so that users don't have to remember so many usernames and passwords. But, now I think I want to write about how the Internet carry video, such as TV and video-on-demand, in the future. And I think Internet2 will commercialize and bring forth the required bandwidth. Below is the essay I wrote:

Intrigued by the colorful lettering beneath the overhang and rather attractive store front, a visitor enters with full confidence in finding the perfect gift, and in addition, a little some extra for herself. Categorized isles guide her to an approximate location of the gift she seeks. Upon coming face to face with the gift and its attractive packaging, she selects one from the shelf and brings it closer for a detailed inspection. Satisfied, and illuminated with smile, she cradles the gift within two soft hands and gently brings it over the mouth of her empty shopping cart. The thoughtful decent is abruptly interrupted by a cold gripping hand which proceeds to ask for a customer application.

As odd as the situation described above may appear, it adequately describes a common problem faced by perspective online consumers. As of this writing, with the exception of merchant communities, each online presence maintains a unique authentication implementation. In most cases, consumers identify themselves to each merchant they are a member of using a user name and password pair. The actual identifier is the user name, and must be unique on a per-merchant basis. Consumers interested in various online merchants are faced with managing a nest of user names and passwords. Although in certain instances, and same authentication entries can be reused, it is usually the exception. Luckily for the consumer of the future, an open authentication standard will spell the end of the multi-password entanglement.

An initiative whose goal is to exterminate the need for multiple user name-password pairs is currently being lead by the cryptography experts at Verisign and the computer powerhouse IBM. The project is known as Open Authentication, abbreviated OATH. Empowered by the Internet, an authentication system developed as an open standard similar to those who form the backbone of today's Internet, will pave the way for a widely-accepted form of secure authentication that will make the current defunct e-commerce world a paragraph that only exists in educational History textbooks.
The ideal authentication system will not discriminate against any secure method of authentication. Although primitive methods such as user name-password pairs and pin numbers will remain optional because of their practicality, other more secure forms such as fingerprint, retina, and voice recognition are likely to dominate. An open authentication system will allow various forms of authentication. With the main goal will remain the same: to identify a user accurately and securely.

As with the foundation of the Internet, an open widely-accepted authentication implementation is required if the system is to achieve a high degree of functionality. No merchant will accept an alternative authentication implementation, which would undoubtedly require major changes to their existing authentication architecture, if the implementation does not produce value-added revenue. In the case of an open authentication method, value comes from the herd of new consumers who embrace the increased efficiency of online shopping.

Suppose our visitor is not interrupted, and instead allowed to place the gift within the shopping cart. Still wearing a mile-wide smile, she steers her shopping cart, which is now over-filled, pass the eye-catching isles and towards the island of check-out counters. Still baffled by the amount of merchandise available, she places each item on the slow-moving conveyor belt and patiently waits for the total to reveal itself on the colorful LCD screen. Satisfied, the visitor pays for the purchase and heads out the front door noting additional items to purchase on a follow up visit. And in a similar fashion, open authentication will bring joy and ease into the online marketplace.

My mentor liked it, but I really don't like it anymore.

Got The Wrong Book

2005-12-02T18:10:00.000-05:00

I had ordered a book to study for the Network+ cert. But I ordered the wrong one. The book I received only had questions and answers. I need more detailed information. So I returned it to Amazon, and ordered the correct book. :)

I've started to ponder the paper for RPTU. The topic is something about the future of the Internet. Being a visionary, I'm hoping the topic will come easy.

WGU annouced what I've known for weeks now. They are revamping the program. The name will also be changed. I'm guessing it will change from Computer Information Systems to Information Technology.

Yummy.

On the Last Chapter

2005-11-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

... of the Cram Exam2 Windows XP Professional book. This book runs circles around Thompson-Learning's NetG. I covers topics very well. And it does something, which can be irritating, but it's actually quite helpfull in drilling things in. It often repeats itself. Not word-for-word. But sometimes the same topic is discussed more than once. But that's because some topics apply to more than one chapter. This might irritate a Windows guru, but it helps a dummy like me.

Like I was saying, I'm on chapter 9 - Installing, Administering, and Troubleshooting Remote Access Services. Then, I'll be taking the practice tests, chapters 10 and 11. And go from there.

More on Windows Stupidity
I had a discussion with a Windows expert about how Windows is quite disorganized. And guess what, he agreed with me. I argued that programs, particularly commandline tools, are installed differently, dialog boxes have tabs/buttons that don't belong on the same dialog box. And some commandline tool functions are not well defined. Take winnt32.exe. It not only installs the rescue console thingy, it does many other non-related tasks. And some of the tools have the strangest commandline switches. Like /thislongswitchdoessomething and /sodoesthis and /a. It's crazy. Oh, and how about configuration options. On *NIX, default (and sometimes the only) configuration files are stored in /etc or in a sub-directory in /etc. On Windows, it could be stored in some file, which could be stored anywhere, or how about the registery! Arg! Anyway, I need to stop before I get angry. I need to get the MCSE whether I want to or not.

Unix on JavaScript

I found this great JavaScript program on Digg. It's an implementation of a Unix shell implemented on JavaScript. You can log in, and run commands. And even create files with vi. YES! There's a limited implementation of vi!You need to check out JS/UIX.

Guess what

2005-11-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

Guess what, guess what!
I get to take the new CIT assessments! And guess what else. They're each professional certifications! And guess what else. The certification costs are included in the tuition costs! I'm guessing tutition will be more next time around, crap.

New CIT
Instead of one big exam, I'll be taking four. And because this is happening in the middle of my term, which ends in Feb, I'll only have to take two. I wish I could take all four before Feb, but I don't think I'll have to time to prepare for so many exams. I remember studying for the A+ and Linux+, it's a lot to cram in. Anyway, the new assessments will be:

CompTIA Network+
MySQL Core
MCSE 70-270
CompTIA Project+

That's a butt-load of certs. I'll be cramming for a while.

Lagging Behind

2005-11-04T19:51:00.000-05:00

But, not me! the WGU curriculum is. The pre-assessment asked questions regarding Solaris 8, UNIX (how vauge), Windows NT, and Redhat Linux 6.2. All of these OSes are old, and I haven't been able to find information on them. But I have good news.

Assessment Updates
My current assessment, CIS IT Management will be divided into four parts: Operating Systems, Network Management, Database Management, and Project Management. The current Software Engineering assessment will be replaced with the CompTIA iNet+. And the current Software Development assessment with the Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2.

What sucks is I think I'll need to take the current Jumbo CIT assessment. But, I'm pretty sure I'll get to take the other two new assessments! This is so Yummy! Certs look good on Resumes. I currently have CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Linux+.

NetG Sucks

2005-11-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

That's my conclusion. I was quite fustrated and at first I targeted WGU. But then I took a long break (nap if you to call it that) and cleared my brain. That's when I remebered WGU offers various resources. So I may not have to use NetG. Actually, I'm sure I can get away with using a book. Not only is a book easier on the eyes, it can be referenced quickly in the future. And without electricity!

Pre-assessment
So, I completed the NetG stuff and asked my mentor if I could retake the pre-assessment. I need to determine if I'm ready for the CIT1 assessment. If I get it done in November, then I'll be ahead of schedule and have about three months that I could dedicate to another assessment.

Buddy
I emailed another student I met during EWB. I was feeling lonely. HAHA! Is that possible? I don't like the BSIT Community. They only boast about completing assessments. I tried asking a question. And although I got some direction, a staff member suggessted that I search the Internet. Trust me, Goggle is my best friend. If I felt I could find the information, I would have searched. But it's hard to search when you don't know what you're looking for. Not even the wonderful Goggle can help with that. I don't need a load of buddies, so hopefully I can exchange information with this one I contacted. We can support each other. Gosh, something's wrong with me.

Time to Call it Quits

2005-10-26T18:00:00.000-05:00

For today, anyway. I'm just too fustrated. It began at work, and now Windows XP and NetG are on my last nerve.

Collaberation + Usage = Information (stolen, but modified from Hearts of Atlantis)
At work, we have two shifts. And we've had difficulties relaying info from one shift to another. I've known this for a while, but anyway. So we want to try a log to pass information. Cool! Except... I'm quite sure it won't work as implemented. Lets just say, it's like expecting many people to use the same toilet simultaneously.

WinXP
Of course you know by now that I don't like Windows. But, I have to admit, they've done a few things well. BUT, they have messed up sooooo much! For example, to setup remote desktop, you need to select which users to allow. It's recommended that you add them to the remote user's group. Ok, great idea! Oh, by the way, administrators automatically have access. Hmm, I don't know if I like that. Anyway, I'm expecting to go to the Control Panel, and then Users, to add users to this group, but NO. Microsoft decided to add some strang dialog box to the remote desktop enabling process to accomplish this. No wonder it's so hard to get a Microsoft cert. It's not that the OS is so awsome it requires brains. It's because it's so... crapped up you need to play stupid while you learn this mess. I'm sorry, I just don't get it.

NetG
For one, I had some slide say one thing, and had questions with a different answer. So now I'm not sure which answer is right. And ofcourse, they don't have some kind of feed back button for reporting this. I've found so many vague and incorrect statements in NetG. It makes me wonder what kind of people put this together. Most of the content is decent. But it often fails to develop some of its statements. Because of my confusion and fustration, I may have to redo the entire section I just did tomorrow. Because I didn't do much better on the post-assessment. Look at this mess below:

This is just not true. Unless it's an IE problem. Cookies don't normally store username passwords. And they don't have anything to do with email. Unless, maybe if you use Outlook, since Outlook uses IE.

NOT COMPLETELY TRUE. Come on! This is silly. A Cookie is not a program! It's simply a method of storage for JavaScript programs. A JavaScript program can store, for example, the date you last visited a certain website, to possibly provide alternate ads, or maybe it's part of an automatic login feature. Like how Amazon.com remembers your name. But repeate after me: COOKIES ARE NOT PROGRAMS. In addition, a cookie is available only to the originating website.

If I ever get this B.S. degree, I hope I don't sink down to such a level. Sorry, I'm just really fustrated. Everywhere I turn, I see short-sightenedness, lack of attention for details, and just plain stupidity on the part of people. This planet is not for INTJs. I could switch to a pseudo-personality. But only for a very short time. Enough to get me through a moment, but not long enough to remain sain.

Module 3 is Done, what about DNS queries

2005-10-24T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yep! Two more to go. And I finally discovered that after the preassessment, some topics are marked as Mastered, which means that because I'm so stinki'n smart, I could skip the lesson. Then I could focus on the topics I need to review. That way, I can procede faster. Talk about SSLLOOWW.

IIS
Was covered. I always thought IIS was a web server. But it's really a mega-server. It has a web server, FTP server, SMTP server, and I think something else... can't remember. And I also learned a bit about WebDAV, which I had heard about. Actually, NetG only mentioned it. But curiosity led me to Google. IIS supports three methods of authentication, one of which I'm familiar with, because it's not only the most insecure, but it's part of the HTTP standard, Base54 encoding. Advanced digest uses MD5 hashes and requires IE5 or greater. The other, which I can't remember, requires IE4 or greater, and doesn't transfer usernames/password over the wire. Honestly, I forgot how it worked. CRAP! Oh, but lets not forget about SSL, which is the most commont method today. It's the most secure and is supported by all major browers. No EI-only non-sense. If you've ever purchased something online, you've used SSL.

DNS Query Settings
The one thing I still don't understand is the DNS query settings. It has to do with resolving the IP address of an unqualified name. (hostname?). This NetG thing isn't always very clear. I've you're used to Windows terms, which are often incorrect and rediculous, then it's ok. But... well... you know what I'm going to say.
I you understand this, please leave a comment.

Trying the MMC

2005-10-20T19:05:00.000-05:00

On of the things I'll admit I like about WinXP, is the Microsoft Management Console. It's kind of like... Webmin for Linux in that it provides components for modifying various aspects of the computer. It's quite a bit different that Webmin though. For one, it's not a web application. And MMC allows you to create custom consoles that show only the components you want. These components are called Snap-ins. Sorry, but that's a stupid name. Why not stick to Applets?

Caveats
But, what I don't like is the fact that with WinXP Home, I have less usefull Snap-ins. For example, the Users and... Groups? Snap-in won't work. I get a message saying I should use the Control Panel instead. I know I could use the control panel! But I wanted to use MMC to see if it's got more juice. And I think it does. That's why you need WinXP Pro. Which reminds me, have you ever seen for example Suse-Linux Enterprise Server? HAHA Read the features. It's pure good-old Linux, with some Novell tools. Then there's the Linux Desktop, also SuSe. HAHA. Linux is Linux. You can easily turn Linux Desktop into an enterprise MySQL server or something. Ok, maybe not easily. But you won't get a message box saying "This function is only available for Linux Enterprise Server. Down below, Linux is Linux.

More on Novell
Honestly, I don't understand things like eDirectory, and all of the other Novell weirdness. But, I do like Novell for pushing Linux into the Enterprise. What I don't like is more of their marketing. And I think this applies to RedHat as well. For one, Linux doesn't have patches (unless you're referring to kernel patch files and such), it has software updates. And, please Novell, don't use the Service Pack method. Linux doesn't work that way. Check out Gentoo Linux. See how a ports system, aka Gentoo and BSDs, and maybe Debian, works much better than RPMs and these so-called Service Packs. Bundling packages can cause dependancy disasters. I know someone who uses RedHat at work, and had run into a problem when updating a package because of the RPM dependancy problem.

Wireless Problem
Remember, a few posts back, I noted how Windows would not connecto to my wireless router. Well, it still doesn't. But, my dad got it working for a few minutes. He simply disabled the Firewall, which came with SP2, haha! The connection comes and goes, just like my sis. It works fine with Linux. Maybe I should use my neighbors unprotected router. Nah, I won't. But I should tell her it's accessable. Someone else might not be so nice.

User Accounts
When I reinstalled XP a while ago, after pooping out on me, it created the Owner account. Which is the administrator. I left it like this for a while, but today, in order to learn by doing, I added a limited account for myself. That way, if I do something stupid, like... click on the picture of some babe and some spyware manages to get around Firefox, it won't get very far. Well, I hope. WinXP handles permissions differently. It's not as strick as *NIX, which is why it's so much more vulnerable. I could use User Switching to switch into my admin account to install software, and do administrative stuff. Which brings me to my suggestion for Microsoft.

Using Switching
Currently, if the Welcome screen is disabled, you can't use user switching. I would like to reguest user-switching for the... other logon. Here's why. At work, there are two computers, and four people who use them. Currently, our computers belong to a domain, but we are admins locally. So we can log each other off as needed. But it would be much better if we could simply switch users, that way, our apps don't go down the toilet.

Anyway, my hands are hurting. And I really should be off this thing and writing a story or something.

NetG Part 1 Done!

2005-10-19T18:25:00.000-05:00

Weirdness
I noticed that NetG sometimes refers to Firewire as Firewire, and sometimes as IEEE1394. That doesn't make any sense. They should stick to one term. And at one point it said PCCards can be removed while the computer is running. And then it said they can't. It also mentions that any USB device can be removed while the computer is running, which is true. But then it said that USB storage devices cannot be removed while the computer is running. And later on, it clarifies mentions that when removing USB storage devices, you most close down any applications accessing the device, and then use "Safely Remove Hardware" to tell the OS that you'll be removing the device.

Stupidity
I can often figure out the mess Windows is, but somethings are just so stupid, I can't comprehend them. Like the media pools and libraries for removable media. To me, removable media are optical media (CD-ROM, DVD, etc) Zip, floppy, USB keys, maybe tape drives. But then this media pool mess comes up. And it seems to pertain to tape drive machines with automatic arms that switch tapes. THIS IS NOT REMOVABLE MEDIA. Goodness! Come on!
Oh, have you looked at the syntax for specifying OSes in the NT loader? Oops, I mean Windows OSes, cause I know the thing can't book anything else. Here's a quick comparison of ntloader and grub specifiying the location of Windows on the first partition on the first disk:

NT Loader: Multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"

GRUB:
rootnoverify (hd0,0)

Which one makes more sense? What's funny is, multi() is used to specifi IDE hard disks while SCSI() is for... SCSI. disk() is ignored for IDE drives and rdisk is ignored for SCSI drives. Multi(), scsi(), disk(), and rdisk() ranges start at 0, while partition() starts at 1!
Now consider GRUB's syntax. hd stands for hard disk, which I think includes scsi. There's also fd for floppies and cd for cd drives. The zero is for first disk, as determined by the BIOS. And the second zero is for the first partition. Isn't that so much simpler?

NetG In Action
Some screenshots of NetG in action on Gentoo-Linux with Sun's Java JDK 1.5.x.

Remember the system/root partition mess I mentioned last time?

Hey, not bad!

Sample question. Yes, I messed up.

NetG Works With Linux

2005-10-18T18:35:00.000-05:00

And it's a very good thing it does! Because Windows XP, which sucks badly, decided it did not want to connect to the wireless router.

Yesterday, was my first day using NetG. It's... ok. I'll get to that later. I had to use Windows because I couldn't get it to work with Linux. Well, today, I booted Windows to continue with my studies and... Surprise! No network connection. Oh, let me add this: wireless networking sucks! It's convinient, but it can bring so many headaches. By sis complains about connection loss all the time. I never realized it was such a problem since it works pretty well with Linux. HEAR THAT Microsoft! And that's using GPL drivers!

Anyway, I got on the only Windows system I could, my dad's since it's connected directly to the router via CAT5. While I downloaded Java 1.5 with NetBeans on that computer, I went back to Linux on my computer, and installed Java 1.5 (I had uninstalled blackdown java and installed Sun's Java 1.4, 1.5 was masked). And luckly, it works :)

The NetG Experience
I ran into the same problem I always run into with tests and training delivered by the ignorant For example, it states something like... when dual booting with Windows XP, you need to use FAT32 or FAT for the system partition. This is untrue! If you install for example Windows NT/2000 + Windows XP, I pretty sure you can use NTFS. The problem is, MS-DOS and Windows 95/98 are so stupid, they can't just simply ignore the NTFS partitions. And another thing, I have Windows XP and Linux, dual-boot (although on different hard disks) and Windows is using NTFS. So there!

System/boot partitions
This is really confusing. Does anyone understand this? This site explains it some. And now I understand why. Microsoft says WinXP uses two partitions: System and Boot. BUT, they can be stored in different partitions if you want too. Confused? Haha, me too. But see, that's what happens when people use the wrong terms. System and Boot are not really seperate partitions, unless you actually create seperate partitions for them. In a nutshell:

The system partition is the partition containing the initial bootstrap components and the boot menu. The boot partition is the partition hosting the Windows XP root folder and all operational drivers and files. - Informit.com

Basically, it's the rever of UNIX. Ahh, I feel better now.

User Migrations
I did learn about user migration... USMT (User Store Migration Tool) and FAST Wizard, and sysprep.exe which wipes ID stuff away, and sysmgr.exe? Crap! There are so many of these things. Oh, and aren't the Windows command switches hilarious? Boy! And I thought UNIX can get a tad sloppy somethimes. Windows is a complete mess! For example, these tools, they are stored in the strangest locations.

I just hope I can do well on the assessments.

NetG Neebie

2005-10-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

I'm about to try using Thomson Learning's NetG. The pre-assessment recommended that I use the Windows XP Administration modules. There are 5 parts, 6-8 hours each. So far, I don't like it for one reason: The Java applet doesn't work on Linux. All I see is a titlebar for a window that doesn't exist. It could be it's not working because I'm using blackdown Java instead of Sun's JRE. I may try switching later to see if that's the problem. But for now, I'll just boot into crappy 'ol Windows and give it another shot.

What's Next
Once I'm done with NetG, I would like to retake the pre-assessment to see where I stand. And take it from there.

TIP
You can work ahead on the assessments. Just as long as you complete the ones for the semester you are enrolled in on time. I might hit RPTU, the problem-solving one. I think I need to do about 10 assignments, and write a paper on an open-ended problem. I don't know what the 10 things are yet. So far, I've been reading the Study guide.

Formal Specification

2005-10-12T18:58:00.000-05:00

.... is a bit tricky to understand. I ranted and asked questions about it in the CIT1 community. It makes better sense now. But I think the LARCH and Z (pronounced Zed) specification languages suck. I haven't looked into UML, which is quite popular. But I know it also has it's disabilities.

IT Management
I finished going through the IT Project Management book. So I have the Software Engineering book left [sarcasim]Yeah![/sarcasim].

Skipping
I might work on the Leadership course ahead of time. If I'm allowed. It think the assessment is a 4-5 page essay. Yep, another one.

Now, it's time to treat myself. I have Chicken Run and CSI to choose from.

It's Not Easy

2005-09-28T20:35:00.000-05:00

On the positive side, IT Management and Software Engineering have many things in common. Particularly, the initiation, and planning of projects. On the flip side, it can get old reading the same thing twice. And the Software Engineering book is a tough read. It's often vague, and the diagrams are difficult to understand.

While reading, I thought about how software can be used in all aspects of projects, from initiation to completion. My focus was on keeping track of requirements. A dependancy-based system would be good for this, so that if for example, users want to change the interface, any requirements related to it become red or something, to alert developers of which other requirements need to be re-analized. Just a thought.

This time, I actually read the entire chapter in the Software Engineeting book, to see if it sticks better. The drawback is that I was listening to Vienna Teng at the time, and her songs were... distracting me. This is a compliment!

Tomorrow I'll do the questions, and jump to the next book, IT Management.

Software Engineering

2005-09-25T10:25:00.000-05:00

Gosh, this book is one heck of a read. I find the diagrams are too complex, and the information is quite vague. I wish WGU would look into a better book. The title says it all: Software Engineering, by Ian Sommerville. Beware of anything with Engineering in it. I was stuck on a question for a while. I had to use the Internet to get what I consider an answer. I found the info on the lovely wikipedia! Now I can move on to the next chapter.

Project management seems a bit easier so far. And suprising, even more interesting. I wonder what this means. It's actually interesting, but it's basically concepts which I can't apply yet. So I just need to stuff this into my head not only to pass the test- remember, I want to learn the material- but to put it to use later.

Systems Support Analyst
I don't know if I mentioned it before, I applied for a sys analyst job almost a month ago. I thought I was not even going to be considered. But later, I found out they were looking at my latest evaluation, which luckly, was the best I've ever gotten. It makes me look like an angel! I've always done well in evals, but the assistant manager did the latest one. But, I'm just an incredible employee. HAHAHA.

Anywho, I still hadn't heard anything, so I thought I was out. But then I found out I was on the going-to-be-intervied list! And the funny thing is, I really don't understand what the job is all about.

I'm not supposed to know these things, although I don't think it's a big deal. It's just that I have connections. I'm not sneaky or anything, I just have extra duties where I deal with extra information. So I know more than I would normally know. But, I'm also very forgetfull. So I only remember info that pertains to me. I didn't ask for these connections, they were handed to me :)

Podcast backup
I have SO many podcasts to listen to. I had to fill up 2 CDs, and I'm playing one right now. But, sadly I had to say goodbye to Accident Hash. It's sad because I enjoy the host, (sorry forgot the name) but lately, I'm not enjoying the music. It's a mix, and lately, there's been too much music I don't like. So I unsubscribed. The good thing is, I will have less podcasts to squeeze in. Oh, I got another Travis CD, and Halloween Alaska. Yummy!

Movies
I've been dying to watch some movies, but with gas prices and lousy drivers, I'm in a lockdown. So, I'm going to try Netflix. A friend has it and she likes it.

What does all this have to do with school... NOTHING! But, that's life, a web of bugs that need to be eaten.

Too Much Reading

2005-09-22T15:09:00.000-05:00

I think this CIT1 course is going to be a drag. So much reading, and nothing much more than that. I'm reading IT Project management and Software Engineering. It's... not interesting enough to keep me awake. First I tried reading the chapter and answering the questions. Boring. Then, I tried reading what I thought was important based on the questions. Boring, and I'm not getting anything out of it. I thought about drawing out a summary, but there's not much to draw. And I think some of the exercises are silly. I can't remember a 1-2 page worth of written info. I can't even remember what I had for breakfast! So being that I'm visual, I'm trying to come up with a way to take advantage of this. But I don't know how.

Lets Revise

2005-09-18T16:54:00.000-05:00

I don't mean to post so much about an essay. But I find that's it's helpful because it feels like I'm talking to someone. And I also thing someone may find this useful. Not that I'm an expert with essays :)

What Have I Done!
In this revision, I made sure to place topic sentences, which are colored in blue. I just realized I might run into trouble when trying to import this into OpenOffice. I tried that once, and got all sorts of funkyness. I think I ended up pasting it into a text editor (gvim) so that the formatting would disappear. And then pasting it into OpenOffice. We'll see how it goes. Oh yeah, it's even worse trying to paste from OpenOffice to Blogger. Whew! Don't try that. OpenOffice copies all it's formatting over, and Blogger doesn't like it.

The Revision
The curriculum currently adhered to by high schools in the United States has been crafted to successfully prepare students for secondary education. However, an opportunity exists for students who are not interested in pursuing a degree in any given discipline. Lets face it, not one size fits all. Although preparing students for college requires more resources than career preparation, a career preparation option should be provided for non-degree-seeking students, yet the emphasis should remain on encouraging students to obtain a college education because of the benefits it may yield.

Because of the resources required to support a college preparation program in the high school curriculum, it is only natural for college preparation to be the main focus. For example, to prepare for college, students need to complete general requirement courses in areas such as Math, Science, Communication, and Humanities. In most cases, multiple teachers are assigned to each of these areas. On the other hand, career preparation only requires a subset of the above areas of study. For instance a college-destined student would be required to complete courses in Algebra, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus, and career-destined student would be required to complete a subset of Algebra. Therefore, a curriculum designed to meet the needs of students pursuing a college education can be adapted to meet the needs of students pursuing a career following high school graduation. Career preparation can be provided as an option because it does not require the large amount of resources college preparation demands.

A career preparation option should be provided as an alternative form of education suited for non-degree-seeking- students. By providing a career preparation educational program, non-degree-seeking students may graduate from high school with skills they can apply in the workplace immediately. For example, a student who chooses Millwright as a career option may graduate from high school with the skills needed to obtain a job as an entry-level Millwright. By meeting the needs of career-seeking students, high schools may tap into potential that had been unintentionally overlooked in the past. Career-seeking students deserve an equal opportunity to succeed. A career-preparation-centered program would support such students in their decision to take an alternative path. Nothing would show more support than a program dedicated to assisting career-seeking students to materialize their dreams. On the same token, a high school's premiere objective should remain focused on student college preparation because of the benefits the additional knowledge could bring.

The high school curriculum should place the greater emphasis on college preparation. During their studies, college students acquire finer creativity and analytical skills. Students not only have to write essays and research papers for Composition and Literature courses, they must continue to write throughout their entire program of choice. Writing may be part of a project for a Computer Analysis course, or for other general courses such as Humanities. This constant writing helps to purify one's writing abilities. In many situations, a student will be required to read various texts and develop a unique conclusion. When followed over time, this practive develops a student's analytical skills. Such skills would apply to any career a graduate chooses to undertake. For instance, some jobs will accept any candidate with a Bachelor's degree regardless of the discipline. Not only does this make college graduates highly qualified for numerous career opportunities, it encourages students to make learning a normal part of life.

Although America's high school curriculum has been successful at preparing students for college, students who are not interested in pursuing a college degree are in need of an alternative form of education. College preparation may demand more resources than career preparation, but a career preparation option should be provided to support those who prefer to pursue a vocational career. Emphasis should remain on encouraging a college education because more often than not, a college education is worth every effort.

Pat on the Back
I completely re-wrote the second and third paragraphs aggressively. I think you'll agree they more focused now. Hopefully the next revision will be the last, and the essay will be ready for grading.

Fourth Attempt

2005-09-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

...at this essay.

Topic: Argue that high school curriculum emphasis should be on college preparation with options for career preparation.

College preparation requires more resources than career preparation.

It takes about twice as long for a college student to be prepared for the workplace than it does a vocational school student.
College students require dedication to their studies for an extended length of time.

Career preparation options provide an opportunity for non-degree-seeking students.

Students not interested in college can graduate from high school with skills they can use immediately in the workplace.
Non-degree-seeking students should be made aware of their career options.

Emphasis should remain on encouraging a college education.

During their studies, college students acquire finer creativity and analytical skills.

College graduates are qualified for more career opportunities than a vocational school graduate.

Very Rough Draft
The curriculum for our high schools have been successful at preparing students for secondary education. But an opportunity exists for students who are not interested in pursuing a degree in any given discipline. Although college preparation requires more resources than career preparation, a career preparation option should be provided for non-degree-seeking students. Clearly, emphasis should remain on encouraging a college education because of its benefits.

One reason the high school curriculum should be focused on college preparation is that is takes more time and effort, on behalf of the student, to complete a college preparation program than a career preparation program. For example, the college-seeking student must complete many general requirement courses, such as Algebra, Chemistry, and History, where as a career-seeking student must complete only enough of the general requirement courses to support their career of interest. In addition, college seekers must dedicate much of their time to completing the general requirement courses, while career seekers are quickly introduced to skills they will apply in the workplace. Career preparation can be provided as an option because it does not require the large amount of resources college preparation requires.

Career preparation options provide an alternative form of education for non-degree-seeking- students. By providing a career preparation educational option for non-degree-seeking students, such students may graduate from high school with skills they can apply in the workplace immediately. For instance, a student who chooses Millwright as a career option may graduate from high school with the skills needed to obtain a job as an entry-level Millwright. Many students don't know about careers that exists outside of those backed by college education. A career preparation option would educate students about such alternative careers.

High schools should place the greater emphasis on college preparation. During their studies, college students acquire finer creativity and analytical skills. Students not only have to write essays and research papers for Composition and Literature courses, they must continue to write throughout their entire program of choice. Writing may be part of a project for a Computer Analysis course, or for other general courses such as Humanities. This constant writing helps to purify student's writing abilities. In many situations, a student will be required to read texts and develop a conclusion. This is how the analytical skills are developed. Such skills apply to any career a graduate chooses to undertake. For instance, some jobs will accept any candidate with a college degree, and no specific discipline is required. This makes college graduates qualified for more career opportunities than a vocational school graduate.

Although America's high school curriculum has been successful preparing students for college, students who are not interested in pursuing a college degree are in need of an alternative. College preparation demands more attention than career preparation, but a career preparation option should be provided. Emphasis should remain on encouraging a college education because more often than not, a college education is worth every effort.

Ah...
YES! Who cares if it's not perfect. It's only a draft. I just need to let it sit, and then knock it upside down to write another draft. Then, scrutinize it against the WGU writing rubric to create a final draft. And finally, email the sucker and hope for the best :)

Stupid Stupid Essay

2005-09-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so what if I post about this thing again! I want to get it behind me, but it's like a bill, you know you have to pay it, even though you don't want to. I still can't come up with the exta sub-topic I need. I can't believe this. I should be getting by final draft ready to send off right now, and I don't even HAVE a draft! It's not WGU or the essay itself that angers my. It's the fact that after 4 years of high school and an A.S. degree, I STILL can't write a stupid essay! I have a story in mind that I want to write. About a boy who spends a few days with his aunt and brother, and discovers some... stuff. But I don't know if I even want to bother with writing stories anymore. I was able to write a few, and have several uncompleted ones.

I've done the free-writting, mapping, outlines, NOTHING works! I'm a stupid idiot. If this essay can stop me, anything can.

I read on some site about creating some kind of map that's cube based. You end up having to look at the topic in six different directions. I would try this, but I haven't found enough info on the process, and I doubt it will work. SIX different ways! I can't successfully get through one. I tried not to panic. But I'm beyond panic now!

Not everyone is going to go to college. No matter the benefits, there are some people that are simply not interested in secondary education, and there's nothing one can do to change their minds. So why not provide an alternative for those people. Is seems high schools are sending the message that, if you don't go to college, you're making a big mistake. The scare tactic will work on some, but not on everyone. So why not provide an alternative? What if students not interested in college could take... [sorry, sneezing spell]... courses that provide skills such as welding, basic electricity, etc. The courses would be coupled along with minimal general education requirements, so that a student could graduate with a diploma and a certificate in an area of their choosing. Of course, a high school diploma requires a certain number of credits and such, so I don't know if my crazy idea can be done without breaking those requirements. But that's why I don't want to discuss the implementation. I don't want to say "this is how high schools can provide this alternate program" because I don't know enough to suggest something like this. I would end up with a weak argument, and sound stupid. So, this is why I'm having a hard time. I want to argue that currently, students that are not interested in college are not being provided with an alternative. Actually, yeah, or that these students NEED an alternative. I don't know if I could argue that one. I do know to people with E*** personalities that have dropped out of college. But I also know several with similar personalities that are doing well. So I can't argue that it's only an E*** problem and not an I*** problem. By this I mean entrapersonal vs intrapersonal (me). Ok, so topic #1: High schools need to provide an alternative program for students not interested in secondary education. This whole thing is starting to sound real lame right now. Because students that graduate high school and don't attend college are unprepared? AAAAHHHH! Please, someone, help me!

Essay Rough Draft

2005-09-15T19:35:00.000-05:00

I wrote my rough draft rather easily (without intro and conclusion) because I basically copied my outline word for word. Of course, that makes for only a so-so draft. But that's why it's called a draft isn't it?

While writing the draft, I picked up on a few things. So I may need to reorganize. But I hope I don't have to change much. This is my third attempt at this essay. What fustrates me is the fact this is not even a research paper!

Redo the middle section because I don't want to discuss anything implementation related. I want to discuss why I believe it would be wise for high schools to implement a vocational program, and not how. Why can be persuasive where how is more... instructional.
Make a clear distinction between my claims and my support statements. My claims must be stated so they don't sound like I'm suggesting it's a fact. This is because I need to support my statements using experience and observations, which are not enough to support facts. Somehow, I want to make sure it will be easy to distinguish my experience from my observations. This is hard since the two are closely linked.

And I need to do all this in a passive voice? Ouch! It's rather interesting though. I'm trying to imagine this whole essay thing is really cool, so that I don't panic. I've had enough stress over this thing. And it's because I feel that I should have this essay writing thing down by now.

But what can I argue? I want to argue the need to provide the vocational skills, and the fact employers are looking for people with suck skills, but I need a third argument. This is where I got stuck last time :(

I'm actually at the EWB chat right now, but I'm just not into it today. I haven't said anything. I feel crappy all of the sudden.

I'm also looking up Dewey Decimal System on Wikipedia because I would like to use something like that to organize the equipment documentation binders at work. The guys have a complete mess in their library. It's supposed to be alphabetical but I know it's not.

I'm also trying to revamp the Work Request process at work. I don't like the fact the Work Requests are not being filled correctly by production. I want to redesign the form, removing stuff we don't use, and adding new things, to make it neater. Eventually I want to use a new database, and allow managers to somehow email their requests in, reducing paper work!

Hell with it! I'll work on the essay tomorrow. ARG! I want to get the thing over with!

Students not interesting in college can fill the need for.. crap. I already have that on.
Question: Why should a school board member care about providing vocational courses for high school students?
I'm still stuck with the same two topics.
Because you have students laying around that don't care about college, because there's a need for qualified vocational skills (aka. maintenance), and...

I logged off the chat. I have nothing valid to write.

AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Essay Brain Dump #2

2005-09-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

What am I writing about? I'm writing about how high schools should introduce a vocational skills program to their current curriculum to provide an alternative for students who are not interested in secondary education.
What am I trying to say about my topic? Some high school students are not interested in secondary education. Such students find no purpose in a high school education because the curriculum is tailored to degree-seeking individuals. By adding a vocational skills program, high schools can provide these students the skills they will need to pursue a career after receiving their high school diploma. Degree-seeking students would continue to take general requirement courses, while career-seeking students would take a portion of the general requirement courses, along with courses in a set of selected vocational skills.
Why am I writing about my topic? I believe the current high school educational system is not meeting the needs of the work place. And the potential lies in those students that may be interested in a vocational career. (Ok, because WGU wants me to write it, There, happy!)
Why should my reader(s) be interested in my controlling idea(question #2)? The main objective of every high school is to prepare students to become successfull employees in the work place. Encouraging every student to continue their education beyond high school is worthy advice, but it fails to consider students not interested in secondary education. By providing such students with vocational skills, will empower them to contribute to the work place, specifically in areas such as maintenance, where such skills are needed.
What knowledge do I have that makes me the right person to write about this topic? I work for a maintenance department, and know there's a demand for skilled maintenance technicians. Many of the technicians are middle-aged, and creeping towards retirement age. Because the technicians are retiring, and there are only a handful of qualified replacements, there is a shortage of qualified personell. New entrants in the field are few due to the large number of secondary education seekers. In addition, there is little interest in vocational skills today. Vocational schools often cancel courses due to low attendance. Which means people attending vocational schools are not receiving the education they need.

Sub-topics/Outline

The need to provide an education for students not interested in secondary education.

Currently, high schools focus only on secondary-education-seeking students.

With the exception of honors students and extra-curricular activities, all high school students are required to take the same general requirements courses.

Students not interested in secondary education are not given the opportunity to earn a certificate in the vocational skills of their choosing.

Even schools with specialized courses do not award a certificate because a course is not a substitue to a proper program.

Lead-out: High schools can provide an alternate program for students interested in pursuing a career promptly after completing high school.

High schools are in the best position to educate students in career preparation (vocational skills).

High schools contain students that are interested in career preparation.

Some students are simply not interested in education and the knowledge a secondary education can provide.

The subset of general requirement courses that would be needed to accompany vocational courses could be delivered by the existing staff.

Course subsets would include the sources such as the basics of Calculus and Anatomy.

Lead-out: Vocational skill-seeking students will graduate with a high school diploma, along with a certificate of their chosen program, and will be prepared to fill positions that require such skills.

Students empowered with vocational skills can fill a need in the workplace.

There are not many qualified people with the vocational skills required by some employers.

Current employees with the required skills are reaching retirement age, and there are not enough qualified prospective employees to replace them.

There are many jobs available that require qualified personell in particular vocational skills.

Technicians are needed to repair and maintain machinery.

Lead-out: High school graduates with such skills can fill the need.

Essay Brain Dump #1

2005-09-14T18:18:00.000-05:00

ARG! Stupid essays. I've never been able to write these things. I struggle big time.

Modified prompt: The objective is to write a persuasive essay which emphasizes carrer preparation by providing vocational skills, with optional college preparation, as part of the high school curriculum.

There is no research involved, therefore I need to support my claims with personal experiences and observations.

What am I writing about? I am writing about the need for high school curriculums to emphasize on teaching vocational skills and provide options for college preparation.
What am I trying to say about the topic? I believe high schools should continue to focus on teaching students language, math, science, etc. But in addition, provide vocational skills, so that students will be prepared not only to pursue a secondary education, but... BAIN FART

Intro (of course)
Students not interested in a secondary education do not have a valuable alternative.
Current vocational institutions are not providing enough qualified prospective employees.

Many students aim to attend a secondary educational institution.
Low attendance forces vocational institutions to cancel courses, therefore even interested students are not given the opportunity to gain the skills they desire.

Employers are in need of employees trained in various vocational skills.

Technicians are needed to repair and maintain machinery.

Conclusion (mirrors introduction)

Resources:
Invention Techniques: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/invent.html
Pre-writing: http://www.studygs.net/roughdrafts.htm

I need to stop now. I think I'm on to something!
There are two tracks of mind: repeat and synthesize. Currently, the purpose of college is to give students knowledge. While vocational schools focus on skills. Knowledge empowers the individual by providing a basis for individuals to be able to create their own ideas. Where as skills provide individuals with the ability to complete certain tasks. Knowledge is richer because it allows students to go beyond what exisist today, and to move into a direction which lays the foundation for tomorrow! Crapola!

The thing is, some people will never achive this knowledge because they are simply not interested in it. This does not mean that they are not smart and unable to produce ideas. But it does mean that they are limiting themselves and not allowing their minds to develop as well as it could. But currently, high schools are not tailored to such people because they focus on getting students admitted into college. That's fine, and I agree that should remain to be their focus, but something needs to be done for those students who will never attend college, or who will drop out shortly after starting. Such people can contribute to society by providing them with vocational skills! YES, YES! I think I'm on a roll!

So of course, I'll need to redo my topic. I feel better now :)
Blogging can be used as a form of brainstorming. Interesting...

The Things You Run Into

2005-09-13T20:39:00.000-05:00

...when you are reading digg. I mean... studing. I want to tell the world about these pics. They rock! 2D paintings that look 3D when looked at from the correct angle.
http://andy.saturn9.ws/Photo%20Albums/sidewalk/
Really, check it out!

Essay

2005-09-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

I haven't done one of these in a long time. It's just a simple 5-paragraph essay, yet like it has always been, it's hard on me. Here's the topic:
There has been considerable debate over what a quality high school education should include revolving around how much of a curriculum should be career-based courses and how much should be courses aimed at college preparation. Write an essay where you argue that emphasis should be on career preparation with optiions for college prep or vice versa. Support the position you select with relevent examples from your experiences and observations. Send this as an attachment to me.

Preparations
Simple huh? The good thing is research is actually discouraged. That bad thing is perssuasive essays are supposed to be supported by facts, not opinions. I'm going to start with an idea map, as discussed in the book The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers. Then there's the studygs pages which cover many areas of reading and writing.

The hardest part is focusing. Gosh, I hope this doesn't give me a migrane, like in the old days.

Chat
We had a chat last night, for EWB. What's neat is we could discuss anything, but EWB questions took preference. We rambled on and on, but it was fun. Another chat is scheduled for next Thursday.

PersonalityI learned the term for my personality: INTJ, which means Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging. It's amazing how true it is. And it's also partially disturbing. I also learned I'm a visual learner, and that my multiple-intelligence strengths are in Musical, Intrapersonal, and Spatial.

But programmers tend to be strong in Logical-Mathematical :(

I'm a bastard, and proud of it!

It's Been a Few Days

2005-09-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

...Since I started Education Without Bounderies. It's a bit overwhelming at first because you can see a list of a month's worth of work. But I found a site with calendars and I printed a month view, so I could schedule tasks on a weekly basis. Actually, I've been planning about two days at a time. I need to complete two pre-assessments to finish the first module, out of the four. But I've already started working on the second module.

Basically, I've had to read lots of material, answer a few questions in RTF documents and submit then to the Community facilitator.

When I do is:

Log in (obviously),
Go to the EWB community page, which is like a forum.
Respond at least twice to the comments posted by other students (this is required)
Add my own comment (required also)
Look at the module contents, and do a task or two.

So we'll see how this technique works. We have a live chat scheduled for next Thurs, Sept. 08.

Most of the other students are married with children, and have previous experience. So I feel kind of weird. I don't think there are any Linux dorks like me.

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

2005-08-31T16:48:00.000-05:00

Is my first day!

Yesterday
I had the conference call. I got a tiny bit more information than what I already new. It was nice to hear some of the mentors, which provides some insight into their personas. What I didn't like, is that it was too long (I hung up after about 50 minutes, when we entered the last question-answer session), and some of the other students kept asking what I consider stupid questions. Questions about college credit transfers, and other things I can't remember right now. I say they are stupid questions because IF YOU WOULD HAVE READ THE TEXT ON THE MAIN PAGES OF THE WEBSITE, AND THE INFORMATIVE HANDBOOK, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR OWN QUESTIONS.

My mommy said that some people ask questions to feel smart. That actually makes sense.

The one thing I did learn, is that I need to setup my computer with developer tools, since I'll be programming. Which is what I'm doing right now! WGU does not furnish soft/hard ware. Networking students need to set up a lab, which as one student suggested, can actually be composed of virtual computers, using an emulator such as VMWare.

Tools
I have installed Java 1.5 with the NetBeans IDE. I don't remember Java well, besides the fact I don't like it. NetBeans, like other IDEs, will probably just get in my way. I've gotten used to VIM and Makefiles.

I don't know if I'll need Micro$oft's Visual Studio (I hope not), so I've installed MinGW. Nice UNIX-like developing environment. I chose MinGW over CYGWIN because CYGWIN is designed to build UNIX apps from source on Windows. MinGW is designed to build native Windows apps. Although, I believe it can't build MFC-based apps so I'm not sure what native windows apps really means. MinGW basically build self-contained apps, while CYGWIN builds apps designed to run with that one CYGWIN DLL. Although, CYGWIN can build self-contained apps too. Confused. Ok, I'll say this much. Both environments are very good, I've used GYGWIN a bit before.

Beta
I'm going to take a chance. Although I have installed MSOffice XP (or is it 2000), I also installed OpenOffice 2.0 beta. I looks pretty, on Windows anyway. The new Base program... is nice... but needs work. I do like the Form navigator, which shows a list of all the controls on the form. But I don't like that fact I lost my controls floating window. The one used to add buttons and such. I somehow closed it, and now I can't find it. It's not like MS Access. And being that I don't like Access, it's a compliment.

Simon
I started reading Simon Lazarus, by M.A. Kirkwood. Like the back cover states, it has a similarity to J.D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.

Conference Call

2005-08-28T18:38:00.000-05:00

I received an email from WGU about an IT (Information Technology) conference call scheduled for Tuesday, Sept 30. Sound cool!

Though, I don't like to talk on the phone. Actually, I don't like to talk at all! Infact, I wrote down a list of reasons why people ask for my name, trying to understand why people do this.

Here I go again, getting off topic.

So, about this coference call. For me it will be at 9:30PM EST, which is kinda late, but I Utah, it will be about 6PM. I think they are on Mountain-Time. Funny name huh? Why isn't Florida on Sunny-Time, or bring-an-umbrella-incase-it-rains time?

The conference call is optional, but I replied saying I want to attend. It should last about 30 minutes so... ($0.25 X 10) + ($0.10 X 20) = $4.50 will be what it costs using the standard VirginMobile plan. That... sucks. But, I want to be involved in my Education. I think I did well my first four years, while getting my A.S. YES, four years! Oh, by they way. For those high school grads who think they can whip through college in a few years and be making loads of money by the age of 22, haha. HAHAHAHAHA! Oh boy, just wait and see. Oh, and I bet you will not major in what you plan to major in. Sorry.

So, I hope this call kicks major booty. For $4.50 it better.

7 Days and Counting

2005-08-25T15:10:00.000-05:00

...until term 1 begins! I'm exited! Although, I'm a tad worried about the Reasoning & Problem Solving Skills domain. Have you seen it? My brain is aching already, haha.

GM, YUCK!
Actually, what really worries me is that I may start working full-time soon. I don't know if I've mentioned this here before, but my general manager is a jerk. He's completely unreasonable, and loves to tell everyone how they need to do their job. He sticks his nose where it's definately not wanted, defeting the purpose of having lower-level management.

I didn't like him much when he was the production manager (I think that's what he was). But how I hate him! And I'm not alone on this.

Mr. Analyst
Anyway, I had enough and got my manager's permission to apply for a job as systems support analyst. Not only is it full-time, it requires some travel. And I have no idea what the hours are. I guess that's what interviews are for.

Sinewaves
... are what I've been thinking about alot. I'm trying to code a software synthesizer using pure Objective C (no Cocoa/GNUStep). After fussing with a bit of trig/calc (SIN, COS, PI, etc) I figured out how to generate a sinewave using C's sin() from math.h. I dumped it to the soundcard using redirection. (Gosh I love Linux). Later, I wrote a simple interface for the OSS sound drivers, and a raw file writer, so I could see the output using a hex editor. Then, I realized the bit rate was wrong. I thought I was running at 44.1KHz, but it was actually lower. Good, because I was surprised sin() was able to run fast enought, after reading it couldn't be used for real-time sythesis. When I corrected the bitrate problem, BAM, sin() wasn't fast enought anymore. I ended up creating an array to store about 44100 float samples (176.4KB) and a lookup function named fsin() for fast-sine. If fsin() is called with a value < PI/2 then, it's easy to find the array index number for the correct sample. If the value is larger, it does some little funny stuff, to find the correct result. It all depends on the quadrant the value falls in.

Long story short, I got fsin() working, and also added a sawtooth waveform! I'm re-coding it now, to make the objects more usefull. Just yesterday I learned how the envelopes are supposed to work. Oh, I also added a multi-filter (low, high, and band pass), but I borrowed some code for that. No way I could figure that out!

Lucy Liu
You are a complete babe. Just wanted to say that :)

Transcript Evaluation

2005-08-09T19:34:00.000-05:00

Drum Roll Please
My enrollment counselor called me today, as scheduled, to go over the results of my PCC transcript evaluation. I was surprised to find 11 courses of study out of 19 were cleared (54 credits) by my A.S. Actually, what happened was I almost had an A.A also, so I got more courses cleared than usual! So I have 5 courses of study/assesments left, the porfolio, and the capstone project! I'm exited, can you tell? Below is a visual. The assessments in gray were cleared.

Course Number	Course of Study/Assessments	Competency Units
EWOB	Education Without Boundaries	1
MQTA	Quantitative Reasoning and Communication	3
QLO1	Quantitative Literacy	6
LC01	Foundations of Language and Communication	3
LCE1	Rhetorical and Critical Writing	3
LCTA	Research, Writing and Oral Presentation	3
CLHU	Humanities	6
ISC4	Natural Science Part II: Lab - Life Science, Earth Science, Space Science, Physical Science	4
IOC4	Social Science Part II: American History, American Government, World History, Geography	3
ITCA	Information Technology Core	8
ITMN	Information Technology Computers and Networking	8
ITTA	Information Technology Case Study	8
CIT1	CIS IT Management	21
LP01	Leadership and Professionalism	12
SD01	Software Development	12
SE01	Software Engineering	12
RPTU	Reasoning & Problem Solving in the Context of the Humanities	9
PTFU	Portfolio Requirement	3
CAPU	Capstone	9

Pretty darn good huh?

In the Beginning
On Sept. 1, I'll be taking Education Without Boundaries. After that, I don't know. I think during that time my Academic Action Plan (AAP) will be developed. Then I'll know what to do.

The Handbook
While I waited for the transcript evaluation, I was instructed to read the student handbook. I could read just about anything, so I did. Well, almost, I haven't finished the last section yet. In it I read that the assessments are taken at a testing facility. I was curious and asked where this would be. Then it was explained to me that the location is bascially up to me. It just needs to be a testing facility. I'm thinking of using PCC. HAHA! Yeah, I know. But it's close by (you gotta consider milage since we've got ridiculous gas prices nowadays) and I know how to get there.

Red-Eye
I only got about an hour's worth of sleep, so... good-nite.

Bi-Scholar

2005-07-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm a student at two different Universities
I haven't contacted USF to say goodbye yet. But, I've been thinking. Just in case, you know. Because I need additional courses to begin my program at USF (I was told I could dual-enroll to accomplish this, but that's another story), they are expecting me in the Spring of 2006 instead of Fall 2005. So, I really don't have to tell them anything yet. That way, if something goes wrong with WGU (goodness, I hope not), at least I'll still have something.
If WGU doesn't work.... I don't know what I'll do. But why start thinking that way now! I'm scheduled to start Sept 1!
I did well on the the assessment (like an entrance test), and they are evaluating my transcript as I type. The enrollment counsler will call me in about 2 weeks, I don't remember what for though... crap! I guess we'll discuss the transcript, and other blah blah blah.
Now, I need to pay tuition, wet crappy old Windows reinstalled, along with SP2 and MS Office.

If only QEMU performed a bit better
It's muchbetter that Bochs! I've got Windows XP installed on QEMU, but it runs too slow. Even with the virtualization patch and using 256MB instead of the default 128MB. I even boosted my PC to 512MB of ram, so that there would be plenty of ram left for Linux. Gosh darn it! If only. I don't like dual-booting. And what's cool about QEMU, is that you can use the snapshot option so that the virtual harddisk is not modified. For example, when I installed XP, I used snapshot to test-install SP2. Once I verified SP2 installed OK, I was going to apply the snapshot to the harddisk image. But stupid me, I closed the emulator before applying the changes, so I lost SP2. This is MUCH better than XP's go-back feature. It actually GOES BACK!
Sorry about the rant. Linux is my sweetheart.

Oh, about the assessment
I couldn't get to it because they had not set me up. Or something like that. Poor conselor, I had to ask him some questions multiple times, because I forgot what he said. I can't write fast enough to keep up.
An associate at work told me a childhood story. I see him differently now. He glows.

I started reading
Tom Perrotta's Little Children. It reminds me of something like the TV show Desperate Housewives. Not my type of show, but books are always better.

Where's the Assessment?

2005-07-26T20:49:00.000-05:00

I'm supposed to take some kind of assessment at WGU. I couldn't find it. Then, while looking at their site, the Java-based chat applet came up. So I asked there, and was given an email address and the Universities phone number (which I already had). I emailed them. An hour or so later I got a response, with a URL for the assessment :)

I left home, and went to Guitar Center, then Target. When I got back home, I sat on my computer, and got ready for the assessment.
Read an email or two first, of course.

I copy-pasted the URL from the XFCE Notes applet (I had copied it there earlier so I wouldn't have to open my email to get the URL). And tried it out.

After several attempts I gave up. I couldn't log in. The page just refreshed and cleared my password. No errors or anything. So, one of two things happened. It just didn't want to work for me, or it's an Internet-Explorer-only thing, which would really suck. Since my Windows XP got toasted after I ran Windows Update. In case you haven't noticed yet, I use Linux, which means I don't have access to Internet Explorer (WEEE!) and that my Windows installation had not been updated in a very long time. My last update was SP2-beta. I have yet to reinstall XP.
So, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Oh, at Target I bought H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. I loved the movie! I wasn't planning on buying anything (I went to Target people who were buying something) but at $5.60 and books being tax-except for back-to-school. Can't beat that!

PS: Yes, I use Firefox. Sometimes Mozilla. And only at gun point do I run Windows and use IE.

I Submitted the Application

2005-07-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

... last week. So, I called WGU today, to see what I need to do. The lady on the phone told me my advisor, or whatever they are called, would call me later because he was in a meeting. He did call back. A few minutes ahead of schedual, actually. He said something about taking a short test. I guess it's some kind of evaluation. And that he would call later. He didn't call later, so maybe I misunderstood something. I hate telephones.

The lady had said they did show a record or receiving my application fee. I had been a week, plenty of time. So why she talked about who knows what, I went to my bank's website, and looked at my recent transactions. They have my money.

I'm not mad or anything. I need to go to the WGU page and see if there's something I'm supposed to do. I read it many times, and from my understanding, they would call me once they had the application. But I had to call them, hmm.

Next week, I'll head over to PCC and have them send a transcript to WGU. I would do it tommorrow, but the office closes early on Friday.

I keep thinking I missed something.

The New Plan

2005-06-03T16:50:00.000-05:00

... is to attend WGU. That way, in the future I can't beat myself up
thinking I should have atleast given it a shot. So instead of
fussing with USF, I'm saving my money, so that I could pay in cash. I
won't get non-loan financial aid not a scholarship. I haven't done the
math, because I don't know how, but I think once I save enough for two
semesters I'll be able to start. Then I want USF to contact me regarding
registration, and I want to proudly say I'm attending Western
Governers University.

Oh, by the way
...East of Eden rocks! I'm only half way through, and I love it! :) :)

2005-05-12T18:19:00.000-05:00

I read old entries on my blog and laughted. I ignored wgu because it was non-traditional. now I dont want a traditional school!

Dropped

2005-05-12T16:56:00.000-05:00

The future of USF as part of my education is uncertain. It's dangling by a rotting stem on a Crassula Ovata (the beautiful Jade Plant). Yes, I can start in the spring instead. But, do I even want to do that?

Even though I bet it was worthless, I explained to the USF advisor how I didn't like the fact that I had to spend my time studying for tests instead of learning the material. I was referring to the history course at PCC and how unpleased I was with the method of instruction. Or should I say, the lack of instruction. Although a decent human being, his class was incredibly boring. And he was not teaching the subject, but rather asking the class about it as if we were expected to already know the subject. He also asked questions that would require analysing the subject. Now, there's nothing wrong with that, except for the fact WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LEARNING!

The same will happen with other general PCC courses. I would take courses at PCC if they were taught by my favorite, and the best professor I've ever had. The same one who took the time to write a reference letter for the scholarship I was denied by lovely USF. Did I forget to mention PCC and USF do not have a relationship regarding the IT program? Hmm, for some reason, I was under the impression I couldn't go wrong with USF.

Good bye PCC.

I just can't wait for the next happy moment. I don't know what it will be, but I really need something. Maybe now that I have time again, I should start East of Eden.

WGU, can you help?

Swimming Upstream

2005-05-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

... is what it feels like. I want to say so much, but can't find the appropriate words.

I still cannot believe how incredably boring the first History class was. I know it's not the subject. Remeber how I said I was actually a bit interested. It was the Instructor.

More things I was not told. There's not PCC-USF program. It's vaporware. Just an idea. There is a PCC-UCF program. But of course, I did not know this. UCF is quite a drive from home though.

USF still won't let me register. The CLAST is not the college entrance test. It's a test you take if you sucked while attempting your A.A. I have an A.S which explains why I never had to take it. I'm waiting to see if USF will remove the hold if I register for Stats in the fall. But in a way, it doesn't really matter.

I'm just sick of it. It took me much longer than it should have to get my A.S oh and guess what. THE THING IS A WORTHLESS PIECE OF CRAP. But according to the PCC catalog, with an A.S in Computer Information, you can... hell with it. I don't feel like downloading the catalog.

I was studying for my history class, but I'm starting to think I'm waisting my time. See, I came with a new approach. I wanted to learn some history. But, the course doesn't allow for that. Like I've done in the past, I would have to just study to pass the test. Am I making any sense? I thought tests are supposed to prove you know the subject. I have an idea, how about TEACHING the subject!

I want USF to screw me. Make things even more difficult. That way, I can say... forget it.

Swimming upstream.

Class begins tomorrow, screw USF

2005-05-09T14:43:00.000-05:00

CLAST, CLAST, CLAST. What is that about? I guess I'll find out tomorrow. I plan to pay them a visit prior to my History course at PCC. ARG! I can't believe I'm not bald yet.

I'm not even considering taking a summer course at USF, even if they added one. If I can, I'll just take the second History course during Summer term B. USF can wait till the fall.

I really hope I made the right choice about attending USF. I was giving it some thought, and I wondered if I should have taken a risk and tried out WGU. Now, I'll never know if their competency-based program works. I wish I was wiser, which I guess comes with age, which is the sacrifice for being wise. You can never win.

You know what sucks, life does. I mean, not in the sense that things are not well. Don't mean to brag, but I have more, materialistically, than many others. So I can't complaing about that, and I'm not. I just don't like life. I don't like how society works. And the sad part is, I don't have a choice but to cope with it. Yes, I know things go wrong, and things also go right. But overall, I just don't see the point of it all.

CLAST

2005-05-02T18:42:00.000-05:00

I can't believe the want me to take that again! Well, hopefully it's a mistake in their part. I've already taken the CLAST. It's the college entrance test you take which decides which Math, English, and Reading (if any) courses you will need to take. So if you such at Math, like me, then you would have to take prerequesite courses (they cost money but don't count towards your degree, although I think they affect your GPA). You would think that because I have an A.S degree that I've taken the CLAST already, which I have. But, USF can be rather strict with their requirements. What if they make me take College Composition I, II again! And Arithmatic, Basic Algebra! Agr! I know could use a math refresher, but I don't need to be reminded of my stupidity.

No, I haven't registered yet. I need to get this sorted out. I'm actually thinking about taking both History courses back-to-back during the summer. This would mean no USF 'till the Fall. I may have no choice. I don't think there's a class that I could take at USF during the summer.

The Book
... is starting to make a bit more sense now. I was a bit confused because one letter made it seem like the Grandmother was blind. I didn't think she was because she went to the boy's play. It seamed she may have been deaf too. I don't know, I was confused. But it's cleared up now :) It's interesting how the boy, Oskar is very book smart, because was you would expect, he has social problems. He uses Google to look up terms he doesn't know. He knows alot about science, but little about history. I'm mentioning this because I think the author, Jonathan Safran Foer has done a great job with characterization. Look at the difference between the grandfather and grandmother's description of the same event. It's hard to determine what really happened. Which although fustrating to the reader, when you consider that life is the same way (ever played telephone?) it makes for a fun read.

Orientation

2005-04-29T18:22:00.000-05:00

...went well. It was at the auditorium, which is about the size of a small movie theater. The seats were green theater seats, but with a mini desk you could swing up. I didn't get to sit on the fith row because there was already someone there. The left side of the row was empty, but the left side is just... weird. The presentation was nicely done, and along with the M&Ms the best part was the fact we didn't have to wear name tags nor play a get to know each other game.

Following orientation, I met with the advisor, a very kind lady to wrap up a few things, and create a plan for the summer and fall. I couldn't get my USF ID like I had hoped because the office personel were busy with registration. I had the choice to register while I was there, but I was hungry. I had that one feeling. The one that said I should go ahead an register there instead of at home (no this wasn't God. He's not real). But as usual, I didn't listen.

Registration
... was a disaster from the start. I couldn't remember my PIN, and after two tries decided to give the forgot my password button a try. Luckly, I remembered the answer to the question, and was able to reset the pin. I wasn't long that I realized I wasn't able to register for the class that I had planned to attend because it conflicted with my PCC History course. After I worked so stinkin' hard to prevent this :(

I was not able to find another summer USF course, so I decided to go ahead and register for the fall. But then I got a message stating I didn't have an appointment time. I was told I would be able to register for the fall. I emailed my advisor, so I guess we'll work something out next week.

Not all is lost, I thought. I could go ahead and register for the second summer term at PCC and take both history courses back to back. Great idea! So I went to the Passport home page, then clicked on passport. The certificate warning came up because PCC changed their website address and neglected to update the Verisign certificate. It has been over a year like this, so there is no excuse. This should be a crime! And then.... BAM! All sorts of errors (MS ASP I think) littered the page. Passport as usual is not functioning. What a letdown.

I'm Reading
... Extremly Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's quite interesting, but I'm kida confused right now. It's a hard read not because of the language, but because it toses the reader back and forth in time and place. So I should really say it's hard to follow. And to tell you the truth, I thought I had removed this book from my WishList because it deals partially with 911, and I assumed it might be a tad on the corny side. Boy was I wrong!

Along with Extremly Loud & Incredibly I received East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I say recieved because I did some work for a gentleman, who purchased these books for me as a form of payment. Hey, money is not everything.

I didn't think
... jotting down my fustrations with registration would help me feel better. I'm not so crummy at the moment :) You see, I've been through this before. I do have an A.S degree, remember. And I know that even though it will not work out as smoothy as I would prefer, it will work out. I've managed to do it once, why can't I do it again?

Oh, wait
... this is way off topic, but I'm just... confused. See, at work, there's a lady who often looks at me strangely. I feel her eyes follow me around the breakroom as I pass, and she sometimes interrupts my trip by asking a question or two. I can tell she has been talking about me with others. I can feel that too.

I know what you're thinking. And though I could be wrong, I don't think that's it. But she did ask me a strange question today. She wanted to know if I was going out over the weekend. I didn't feel the need to lie to I said no. Then she continued by asking if I go out alot. I should have lied here, but I said no. Then the lady next to her asked me if I had seen Meet the Fokers. I said no. I could I ever watch such nonsense. Ok, fine, I would watch it, but not rent it. Does that make sense? The second lady then said I looked like someone in the movie, just like him. I don't know if that's true, but being that when I was younger someone had asked me if I was on the cover of a Baseball magazine, which was also not true, I'm not suprised I look like someone else. I kinda feel bad for whom ever that may be.

So what could this mean. Someone just trying to be friends? I can't see why she would want to do that.

Ah, some relief

2005-04-15T17:52:00.000-05:00

I visited PCC/USF yesterday to pay for the PCC summer term, gather book info, and settles USF problems. Overall, the trip was a success.

Why OASIS Crapped out
The problem was trival, my date of birth was wrong. That was why I couldn't log in. Once I corrected the problem, I was able to log into OASIS and view my finacial aid stuff. I also got my NetID and USF email, which includes free webspace! I don't know what to put on the website. And what's really cool is they are running a Sun (probably Solaris) UNIX server, which uses ssh for file management. Which means that I feel right at home logging in. I have a home directory with common UNIX directories such as .maildir just like I have on my Linux box (which of course I'm using right now). Ahh, it feels so nice.

I Don't Like This Loan Thing
Here's the thing. If I were to take 12 credits at USF in the fall, at roughtly $83/credit, it would cost nearly $1000. But, I'm dual enrolled, so suppose I take 6 credits at each college. PCC credits are about $40/credit. So... ($40 x 6) + ($83 x 6) = $738. I don't have a money tree, but I can afford this. So why use a loan, and then have to pay the interest. Even with the cost of books, I think I'll still be able to afford it. I wish a scholarship would have taken the load, since I've paid for my A.S completely. But, I don't make the rules.

I Couldn't Do Everything
I wasn't able to get my USF ID because it was a ten dollar check or money order only. I don't carry checks with me, and I've never used a money order. So I'll need to take my check book when I attend the orientation.

Service
The assistant at the front desk was helpful, she directled me were I had to go, but she was not friendly. She's never been friendly to me. But I'm used to it. PCC has two friendly and helpful advisors, the rest... well... Let's just say it took only minutes for my sister to become disgusted with one of them. Ironically, sis and the advisor had the same name. Oh, the USF advisor is very friendly and helpfull, and so was the financial aid advisor, is just that one.

Books
I just purchased my history books, three of them through Amazon.com, from zShop/Marketplace sellers. At the pcc bookstore, the books, sold as a bundle, was about $50. I purchased all three on Amazon.com for about $26. Hey, I'm another poor college student. Excuse me, a poor college and university student. Haha!

Stupid OASIS

2005-04-13T15:34:00.000-05:00

The thing won't let me log in. Who knows how many things I need to set up in there. I know I've got loans to accept/decline, but I can't get in! I don't want to call my campus because the receptionist is often not very helpfull.

I don't think I got the scholarship. They gave me a Stafford load instead. I bet I'll loose them too because I have no way of accepting them :(

Money
The estimated cost printed on the letter is $9, 360.00. And they expect me to put in $3,520.00. I've been saving, but I don't have that much. Especially since I need to split my funds between USF and PCC.

I did register for the summer at PCC. Just one history course. Remember the conflicting schedules? So don't laugh.

Have a Fit
I plan to visit PCC tomorrow to pay for my courses, and get ISBN numbers of any text books I'll need (I try buying from Amazon.com first). While I'm there I can make a scene at the USF office and get this OASIS thing straight. I need to get my usf id too. AAAAAAHHHH!

New Book
I'm reading John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Good so far :)

College Terms

2005-04-06T15:53:00.000-05:00

Here are 7 college-related terms:

credit: Credits specify how many hours of class time to expect per week. Usually, 1 credit = 45 min to 1 hr of class time. So a three-credit course may meet Mon., Wed., Fri. for 1 hour, or Tue. Thr. for 1.5 hours.
undergraduate: I feel like a complete idiot. It wasn't until I graduated from PCC and applied at USF that I figured out what this means. And it's so stinkin' simple! An undergraduate is one who is pursuing an AS/AA, or BS/BA degree. So if you are not pursuing a MA/MB or PhD, you are an undergraduate.
Section: A section is an instance of a course. For example, if you are taking... pre-calc (MAC XX), then the section will specify the course dates/times, professor, and classroom. It's usually a number, like 12345.
Professor: The guy/gal that gets paid to show you stuff. He/she will care less whether you attend class or not. But if you don't attend, expect to get dropped.
Dropped: When you get removed from a course, or should I say section.
Drop/Add: This is how you modify your class schedule after it has been submitted. It means you can drop and course, and add another.
Group study: This one varies. If the group study is located at a library, then it means you will meet with a group of students at a particular time to discuss class-related material. Like preparing for a test. But if the group study is at someone's house, then it depends on the number of people. If you expect more than two, then bring a designated driver, you'll need it. It's it's you and someone !your gender (for non-programmers, ! means not) then expect herpes.

Still waiting...
...on that scholarship mess. I haven't thought about it much. There isn't much I can do anyway.

I Finished...
... The Pleasure of My Company, by Steve Martin. Very good book. One of my favorites along with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon. They are similar in many ways, and I highly recommend them both! I plan to purchase Steve Martin's Shopgirl soon.

Bad feeling

2005-03-25T16:47:00.000-05:00

I've got a feeling,
a feeling deep inside
oh yeah...
-The Beatles (I hope I got it right. It's on Let it Be)

I don't think I'm going to get it. And that's because:

The deadline creeped up on me. (This rarely happens to me. Which is why I'm worried)
I asked for an extra reference letter incase one failed, and one of my professors replied saying he would complete it on Mon. and it's due Wed. I just thanked him because it was kind of him to consider writting the letter for me. He doesn't know it's due Wed. (I think) and I bet if I told him he wouldn't care. But he's still the best professor at PCC, so I'm not angry at all.
I did everything last minute (see #1). That's always bad when it's someone who normaly does things on time.

I just hope I'm completely wrong. I think I can manage if I don't get the scholarship. I'm just hoping I won't have to touch my house downpayment money :(

Waiting on scholarship

2005-03-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

Waiting...
I mailed the scholarship application to USF, submitted a letter of reference using the ptk website (I never got a hold of the advisor for my chapter), and asked two professors to write letters for me (in case one fails). So now I'm just waiting.

But, I got PCC registration coming up, followed by USF orientation/registration.

What they don't tell you
Oh, to add to the confusion, USF registration starts... I don't remember, but it's before orientation. And you can't register until you attend orientation. See the problem? But, what they don't tell you (unless you call because like me you're confused) is that you get to register during orientation. Whew... Oh, and they also don't tell you (unless you call) that registration is by senioraty.

Another thing they don't tell you (unless you call) is who to address the reference letters to. I was given a Dr. ^#$#$@ without a first name. I needed the first name to submit the letter of reference from the PTK website. So after poking about at the USF website I found an email search page. I didn't need an email, but by using the last name, I was able to get a first name. USF, PCC has got you beat in this regard. If I had to find that email search again it would take me the same amount of time.

But for now, I'm waiting...

Hearts in Atlantis
I finished it! Pretty darn good. I'm not old enough to get wet-eyed over it, but I bet a vet would understand. And people say nowadays is similar to Vietnam. Of course I wasn't there, but I would never make such a claim. The only thing we a borrowing from the 60's is the long hair (guys that is). Everybody's doing it, and it makes me sick. I even though about nearly shaving mine! Haha

So now I'm reading The Pleasure of my Company, by Steve Martin. Yes, the funny guy is also a author. Oh, by the way, Steve Martin is a comedian. Chris Rock is... NOT.

Scholarship troubles

2005-03-18T16:50:00.000-05:00

This sucks. Let me tell you, the FASFA can be confusing. Right now, I'm stuck because it thinks I'm independent. I answered a question wrong, but I don't know which one.

To make matters worse, the PTK scholarship says it requires one letter of reference from an advisor. What about the second letter? Oh, but then, if you try to apply online for USF's Adult Transfer Scholarship, it requires the names of the two PTK advisors that will provide the references.

The PTK website allows you to submit references from it, but I don't think I get to choose how many, or who submits it. I tried emailing the advisor for my chapter, but she has not replied yet. I really don't want to play phone tag.

Come on, hit me! Hit me with all you got! :(

Crunch time

2005-03-15T17:56:00.000-05:00

Oh, maybe not quite yet. I haven't even registered. But the butterflies are already home.

Scholarships
I'm trying to get the PTK USF scholarship. I need two letters of reference. One from a PTK advisor, but it doesn't specify the second. Here's what it says:

Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship
Designed for 2004 community/junior college graduates with membership in the PTK Honor Society entering USF for the 2004-2005 academic year. Applicants must have at least a 3.5 GPA and two letters of reference, one must be from the PTK Advisor. $2,000.00 per year renewable for up to four semesters.

See what I mean! I contacted the person I think is my advisor. And if I remember, I'll call the scholarship cordinator tomorrow and find out about the second letter of reference. Oh, but before I can even get this scholarship, I need to finish my FASFA! (Did I say this already?)

Schedule
Today I learned it's hard coordinating two schools. PCC and USF have different term start/end and registration dates. Not only that, but I won't be able to take all the courses I would like to because most of their times conflict.

I'm on the second to last story in Hearts of Atlantis: Why We're in Vietnam. I guess I should read on to find out why junk is falling out of the sky.

A quickie...

2005-02-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

... but I just would like to say...
I'M IN!
USF accepted me, believe it or not. So now, I just need to attend orientation, get registered, and my USFID. I'm trying not to think of the math I plan to take in the fall, because I want the hapiness to last as long as possible.
24
The show is the reason we have television. Enough said.
Hearts in Atlantis
Bobby suspects his mom hasn't been telling the truth. And Ted is leaving.

Good bye now :)

The Rush

2005-01-27T17:23:00.000-05:00

Following the online application for USF, I...
Day 01
...had my highschool send transcripts to prove I've taken two years of a foreign language...
...gatheres noterized copies of tax forms. Proving I'm dependent...
...scheduled doctor's appointment. I'm required to prove I've had vaccines for the measels...

Day 02
...had my PCC transcript sent...
...tried to log on to OASIS, USF online thingy, but was unable to :(

The Application
The application process required dozens of pieces of info, simply for data validation. For example, to prove you're a Florida resident, you'll need a driver's license number, and voter's card number, and a vehicle registration number. But overall is wasn't too hard. I thought the FASFA was more challenging.

My Poor Phone
I spent about $40.00 this month because of all the calls to and from Kaplan and WGU. But it's over!

Low Men in Yellow Coats
Bobby's mom, Elizabeth, she's... the mom no child wants.

Resigned

2005-01-24T19:22:00.000-05:00

The Letter
I composed a brief letter. It simply stated that I will be attending another university. And I sent it to the advisors at WGU and Kaplan. Of course I haven't applied yet, so I made a bold move, and assumed I'll be accepted. But I plan to visit USF/Lakeland this week.

Sorry
I hate myself right now. I wasted so much time. I think I still have plenty of time to apply at USF, but still. I don't like to waste time. Especially, if that time is not mine. I'm sorry.

Cards on PCC
Polk Community College partially decides how smooth the transition will be. See, I need to take two more courses at PCC : Statistics, and Macroeconomics. Afterwards, it's all USF. Naturally one would think I could take those two courses during the summer. But experience has taught me to expect disappointment. See, chances are, with my sour luck, one, or even both of the courses I need will not be offered during the summer. So, assuming this becomes a reality, I may have to take one course during the fall and simultaneously attend USF, if, USF will even allow me to do so. Even if they do, that means I'll need to take 15 credits: 12 at USF to qualify for a scholarship, and 3 at PCC.

Hope
All I can say is, I dearly hope I'm now heading in the right direction.

Scrap
I started Hearts in Atlantis. I can't say much about it, because I've only read a few pages. Good so far! Oh, 24 starts in... 22 min. And I'm emerging xorg-6.8. It put up a fight last time (I have a i810) and I had to downgrade. But the version I currently have installed (6.7) has been removed from portage, and I had to unmask it to do an emerge -u world.

How 'bout USF?

2005-01-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

Well, after some thinking, and help from special people, I'm considering USF/Lakeland. Here's why.

University	Cost/credit	Credits needed	Cost
Kaplan	$250	90	$22,500
University of South Florida	$83.32	60	$4,999.20

(Note: The above are only rough estimates)

I can't imagine having a 22k loan! Scholarships help, but not enough to make a difference (for Kaplan that is). USF seems so much more affordable, and I live near by!

CreditsWhat's strange is at Kaplan, most of the courses in the IT major are 6 credits, while similar courses at USF are 3 credits. So, while studing full-time (12 credits), I could only take 2 Kaplan courses, compared to 2 USF courses. Hmm... The major disadvantage to an on-site school is travel and the fact that I can't take courses at mid-night. Though I should be sleeping by then shouldn't I!

Western Governors University
I... I simply don't know about them. If they had their own professors, and their own Course Management System, then I would feel more secure. What would happen if the institution providing a course went out of business? I know, it's a stretch. But looked at slides showing their portal(a MS PowerPoint presentation) and I was not impressed. I was quite lost. I admit, I didn't try very hard to understand it, but I shouldn't have to.

Oh, I finished Willams Golding's Lord of the Flies. It was... good... just a bit hard to follow sometimes. The last two chapters are the best. The next book, Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis.

Financial Aid

2005-01-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

This stuff is confusing. I just wanted to let you know. Here's the little I know. The following are the different types of Federal Student Aid:

Federal Pell Grants
Federal Stafford Loans
Federal PLUS Loans
Campus-Based Programs
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
Federal Work Study
Perkins Loans

Click on the above links for more information from FASFA.
I think I'm getting a unsubsidized stafford loan

So far, I've only really applied at Kaplan. They have my deposit. But I'm waiting on my FASFA pin to continue the enrollment process. Classes are schedules to begin Feb 28. I hope I can make it. Once I see the real numbers, what I have to pay and the terms, I'll feel better. Then, I just have to take the courses, and pass them! ARGH! I don't want to go insane again, so I'm trying to remain calm.

Sidenote
When I got home, there was a roach on the wall. I tried roach killing stuff, but it was too high. So I sprayed it with hornet killer. The stuff splashed all over the place. Then, the creature crawled into my closet, and I have yet to find it.

Twist and Ouch!

2005-01-19T19:14:00.000-05:00

Healing
Sorry, I got de-railed for a few days. Sadly, this happens. The guy from WGU called today. He said he was supposed to call Wed. not Mon. I don't remember, of course, so I'll just take his word for it. I won't hold it against him.

After recovering (for now anyway) from my mental breakdown, I decided to put my efforts towards Kaplan. But, the WGU called, and I felt tempted. See, the problem is, that because WGU is new (funded in 1996) and they don't actually teach, it worries me. Kaplan, is more traditional, and although I'm all for change, I'm afraid that if I go to WGU, and then later decide to get a masters at AIU, it won't work well.

So then, I did what I wanted to do when I turned on the computer. I emailed the lady from Kaplan. The idea was to commit myself to going to school, instead of backing out, and getting more depressed.

But I ended up getting confused, and back in square 1. Which school?

WGU Questions
Oh, before I forget, some of the WGU questions:

What would happen if I failed an assessment? You get two tries. After that they are about $20.
If I feel the need to take a course, how would I enroll? The mentor decides on the resource. (Didn't really answer my question)
Must I complete a particular assessment within a certain amount of time? Sometimes.
If additional materials such as development or database software is needed, will it be provided? Software is included. (Honestly, I don't believe this. According to the website, you are supposed to have certain software, MS Office Pro and such, but it doesn't mention MS Visual studio, for programming, nor any other developer software. How in the world can someone learn something without doing it.)

Focus
So now, my focus has shifted. My index is pointing towards Kaplan, but it all depends on the payment options, and whether my A.S degree can stomp out the prerequisites. But I'm trying. I goofed up. A lot

Headache
I'm working on some questions for Kaplan. But cost hurts. Most if not all the major requirement courses are 6 credits each. Assuming a twelve-credit semister that's $3,000 for just two courses! Three-grand can pay practically all PCC expenses.

For now, I'm going to watch some T.V. Maybe read more of Lord of the Flies.
They killed Simon. They didn't mean too :(

Doesn't look good, more confusion

2005-01-17T16:39:00.000-05:00

He didn't call. The guy from WGU. At least not yet. But regardless, he's late!
On the other hand, the lady from Kaplan called, early, and put some things in perspective. I would write type them here, but I've already forgotten what they were (I have useless short-term memory). But I think it's because my brain feels like it's filled with cottage cheese. I would eat it, putting some use to it, but it would require breaking one of my fundamental rules: Avoid objects that can penetrate the skin and cause pain. Such objects are not always physical. But I'm not getting into that.

How about forgetting the whole thing. Maybe, If I get a longer break from this university stuff, and now that I know what a pain in the tooshy it can be, I may be better prepared next time. I'm really mad.

I can't get an exciting job with my A.S. And even with a B.S, I would still need experience. I can't get the job that would give me the experience, because I don't have any experience. Not, that was not a typo.

24 will be on tonight. Something to look foward too. I guess there's not much else.

The Dirt on Fees

2005-01-16T17:12:00.000-05:00

In preparation for the call from the WGU enrollment counselor (I think I've got his title correct now), I looked deeper into the information available on their website. I'm glad I did so, because I've not only eliminated questions and will likely save some time, I've also developed the questions I should be asking. Like why are the IT Management domains and the IT Core domains so alike?

One of my concerns was the cost. Luckily, the website provided details I missed the first time around.

Fees

Tuition (Non-MBA programs like mine): $2,590 per 6-month term
Library fee: $25 per term

Keep Note

Terms begin on the 1st of every month (for most programs).
Tuition payment is due on the 25th of the month prior to starting the program.
Application and library fees are not refundable. Gosh, I wish at least the application fee was :(
If you withdraw, I think you can get a portion of the tuition refunded. But only as long as you haven't passed 60% of the term.
Tuition does not include books and other learning materials. The only university I know that includes books in the tuition is Kaplan.

The Good News
Tuition covers the following (as stated here):

All courses and other learning resources that are scheduled in the student's personalized Academic Action Plan (AAP).All assessments (subject to guidelines for individual assessments and the number of "re-takes" allowed).
An in-depth introduction to distance and competency-based learning: WGU 105 - Education Without Boundaries.
Ongoing academic advising by the student's personal mentor, an expert in the field of study.

But a Few Questions

When is the library fee due?
What about development software such as Microsoft Visual Studio, will I have to purchase those? I think I will :(

Now, back to Lord of the Flies...

Competency-based learning

2005-01-15T14:10:00.000-05:00

The Action Plan
The Academic Action Plan has got me excited. And I don't even know what it would be for me! Created for the student by the assigned mentor, the Academic Action Plan is the path the student follows in order to complete all the assessments, I guess. It's personal because it builds on the student's knowledge. I have some computer knowledge. Most of which I've learned on my own, and based on Linux. PCC just filled in some gaps. I think what excites me is that I get to build on what I already know. Not only that, what I'm really looking forward to, is learning the things I was hoping to learn at PCC, like advanced programming techniques in C/C++, forget that VB crap, web server administration, (PCC, I KNOW HOW TO USE THE INTERNET), useful things!

Waiting 'til Monday
I'm expecting to talk to the rep from WGU next week, and hopefully get a better understanding of WGU's program. I wrote down some questions that I plan to ask him, and I'm hoping to post them along with their answers here.

Assessments
What concerns me the most is the fact the WGU doesn't provide their own courses, but rather hires other agencies. I wonder if those agencies will charge me for their services, and whether they will be good enough. I think WGU evaluates them often, so their quality better be up to par. The good thing is that I wouldn't have to take courses in material I already know. I just need to pass the assessment. Courses are available only to help students learn the material needed to pass the assessment. And because assessments are graded by yet another agency, students must know the material well. There's no way to prepare for an assessment like you would prepare for the test. I don't think the mentor even knows exactly will be covered by the assessment.

Gathering my Answers

I'm debating the best way to gather the answers to my questions. Of course I have then written down on paper, but I don't think I can write fast enough and really listen at the same time. So either I will type up the questions in VIM and then type the answers as I get them. The problem is that not only would I have to type quite fast, which I know will be a complete failure, the poor guy will have to listen to my keyboard keys banging along since I'll be using the speaker-phone of my VOX 8500 from Virgin Mobile, (actually, I bought it from Amazon.com, but it's now out of stock because it has been replaced by the 8610). I don't like to hold phones. I don't like phones at all, so speaker-phone is great!

Sidenote: Speaking of cell phones, the first chat with the Kaplan lady cost me about $4.00. The good news is that I had talked to the guy from WGU earlier that day for about 15 mins, so the rate dropped from $0.25/min to $0.10/min by the time she showed up. It's ok though, I rarely use my phone, so I figured why pay $40/month when those minutes will go wasted. I pay about $20 bi-monthly :) So as long as I don't have too many calls, especially long ones, I'm a happy camper.

The other option that sneaked up while writing this, I could use a computer microphone to record the conversation in the computer. Like you would record a lecture on a minirecorder. I may use sox, or cat /dev/dsp >wgu-talk.au. Then, using my ears, grep the answers out.

Rant

I just can't wait! I'm not exactly sure which university I will choose (though I bet you've got a pretty good idea), but I just can't wait to actually learn something I will use at work day in and out. That's not to say I didn't learn anything at PCC, but you know. Let me do a rant here.

PCC, you need to improve your Computer Information Systems program, and you definitely need to improve your Internet Technology program. If you need some clarification, take a peak at your neighbor HCC. The only reason I didn't transfer to HCC (after noticing their better program) was because the campus offering the classes I needed were too far from home. Oh and for the record, T.C, you are the best professor I've had so far. For a short time of my life, I actually wanted to teach computer courses, and model my methods after yours. You don't take crap, and I don't like it either.

Sum
I can't wait.

The Doors to Success?

2005-01-14T18:23:00.000-05:00

And so at the dead-end, three doors await:

Western Governors University
Kaplan University
University of South Florida.

Listed in the current order of preference.

The Beginning
I have always wanted to obtain a Bachelors. But I buried the though deep within. But following my A.S in Computer Information Systems from Polk Community College, the buggar resurfaced. I became suspicious of the requirements at USF, and realized, that maybe I'm only two courses away from a transfer: Statistics, and Macro Economics.

Western Governors University
Later, I was introduced to Western Governors University. It showed itself in Certification Magazine. They have a competency-based program. I'll let them explain:

WGU is the leading regionally-accredited university that grants degrees based completely on competencies--your ability to demonstrate skills and knowledge through a series of assessments carefully designed to measure your knowledge of a field of study. The programs are not based upon required courses. Instead, you earn your degree by demonstrating your competence through a series of carefully designed assessments. This approach allows for extensive personalization.
-WGU

Through further research and a conversation with a representative, I discovered several facts:

The 6-month term cost is fixed (currently) at $2,590 for non-MBA programs.
WGU doesn't instruct courses, they outsource the resposibility to an agency that meets their standards.
You may complete the assesments you feel confident in without much assistance. And take courses in subjects you struggle in order to prepare for the assesment. In other words, there's no need to take courses in material you already know :)

The WGU rep was helpful, in explaining the above. Did I get it right this time? He suggested that I investiage further and note any questions I may have. He will be in contact with me on Monday, at... 4PM (was it 4PM)?

Kaplan University
Kaplan, is more like a traditional university when it comes to the way courses are administered. They use the traditional course/credits form. Their greatest advantage is the cost compares to other alike online Universities. Currently set at $250/credit (both undergraduate and graduate), with no application free and no graduation fee. In addition, books are included in the tuition for undergraduate degrees! According to my advisor, Kaplan online attempts to create a classroom/campus-like environment online. That's reassuring to hear. But it's also what bothers me. Although I've enjoyed most of my experience at Polk Community College, I think the time has come to try something different. Honestly, I don't want to be dependant on online classmates. I would like to be more independant, and simply have a few conversations here and there with other students. I've never enjoyed group projects. Gets who ends up with the heavy end?

The Money
Yep, I'm not rich. So money is a problem, but not the determing factor. So far I've applied for some of the simple scholarships at FastWeb. But I would like to try some challenging (and more rewarding) ones. That would require essays. It's quite difficult to motivate myself to write an essay. I'm going to try to get financial aid from FASFA. Sadly, my employer, who shall remain nameless, refuses to support online universities. They also refused my major! Shame on you!

What's Next
During the weekend, I must prepare for my appointment with the guy from WGU, and with Kaplan lady. Both on the same day! Ugh! I must also continue to search for money, apply for scholarships like a madman. And continue reading The Lord of the Flies. Yeah yeah, I know, I should have read this long ago.