Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category

The Dilemma of Nontraditional Students

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Since Dallas and Richmond still seem to be about equal, I spent most of the day investigating Richmond, VA colleges. I want to finish my computer science degree someday, so planning the move to include going back makes a certain amount of sense.

The dilemma comes in when you’re a non-traditional student looking to join a college or university. Most higher education institutions are planned with the 18 – 21 demographic in mind. Transfer guidelines are strict and continuing or adult educational programs are, well, skimpy at best.

I can send you my ACT/SAT scores; but, I hope you don’t mind 11 year old scores.

I wish I had had the foresight back in college the first time to pursue computer science. However, at 18 I wanted nothing more than for my estranged family members to love me, acknowledge me, look at me without negatively comparing me to another cousin who made it into Harvard or some other prestigious school. So I chose something based on what I thought would make them happy with me. And naturally, I failed. I had the chance to switch majors to computer science, but I my heart wasn’t in it anymore.

Now, at almost 30… I’m in a bit of dilemma. I called and discussed admissions with a few colleges and found myself pointed towards their adult educational programs and their transfer student information.

A letter of recommendation from a former professor, seriously? What are the odds they remember me after this long?

Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of the personal enrichment programs. I plan on pushing mom to take a few, just to keep her mind active since dementia runs in the family. (Though I don’t think she’s in too much danger watching her tear through the Hellfire Peninsula in WoW.) But they’re not what I want. I don’t want to be limited to paralegal, nursing, or a small handful of degrees. But apparently, at 30, I to prove I’m a serious student even more than I did at 18.

Which blows.

Michigan Could Reach 20% Unemployment

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

They had this interview with David Littman on the news yesterday and lets just say I’m more convinced than ever that relocating is probably the best idea at this point.  (Warning, this video is fairly long.)

The Economic Impact of the Auto Crisis on Michigan from Mackinac Center on Vimeo.

In a nutshell, Michigan unemployment could reach 20% by the end of the year.  Mr. Littman also touches on some of the policies he thinks contributed to Michigan’s failing economy.

All-in-all, it’s very frightening.

I’ve had the opinion for a while that Michigan has been mismanaged for decades; certain government policy sounds more like it came out of the 1970s.

A good chunk of our manufacturing supports or supported the automotive industry.  I remember some classmates back in High School saying they were skipping college because their parents could get them into their workplace… usually a factory supporting the automotive industry.  Back a few months ago (before the bailouts and talk of Chapter 11), one local commercial for GM trucks depicted romanticized views of people working on a farm with the tagline “There’s nothing like a classic.”

Why in the world has Michigan been allowed to remain stagnant?  We’ve been allowed to be nothing but manufacturing.  Many Michigan towns and cities only have one major employer, with larger ones having maybe 2 or 3.  Didn’t they ever ask what would happen if something happened to that employer?

Some of these employers paid ridiculous amounts of money for overly simple jobs.  But yet over and over, I see people who were completely unprepared for when they couldn’t be paid that much.

Few went to college with their money and if they did, they went for degrees with very little demand or chose a popular one that now has left the market for that degree saturated.  (Really, how many daycares and preschools does a town of 7000 need?)

Yeah, I need to move.  *hops off her soapbox*

Stop Psychoanalyzing Me!

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

I seem to invite people to psychoanalyze me. The simplest things I say or do seem to indicate some deep psychological thing ™ I’m apparently not aware of or am deluding myself over.

I can’t figure out why the heck people keep doing this to me. It’s so annoying. For example:

  • “Oh, I enjoy Japanese Animation — Anime.” Two types of analysis comes from this: A.) I am some poor idiot who was ill-prepared for adulthood and thus cling to my cartoons like a life-preserver. B.) I’m some kind of repressed nymphomaniac who gets off on animated porn. (It all depends on whether they think anime is all kid’s stuff or all porn.)

  • “I play World of Warcraft.” Psychoanalysis: I’m a raging video game addict. Apparently I’m at high risk for skipping work to play the game or even trying to play it while I’m at work. Even worse is when someone drops by unannounced, catch me playing, and a simple “Yes” to “Playing World of Warcraft?” and it somehow implicates me for a raging addiction.
  • “I have allergies to most soaps, so I don’t do the dishes.” Psychoanalysis: I’m lazy.

    Explanation: I get allergic contact dermatitis from most liquid soaps if I have to be in contact with them for longer than it takes to wash my hands. I get similar reactions to certain brands of triple antibiotic ointment and certain molds found on Oak leaves. Several skin reactions have had to be treated with rather unpleasant injections.

How exactly am I supposed to respond to this sort of thing? Seriously. Most of the time any effort made to refute, defend, or absorb/deflect winds up somehow further proving their analysis. Even silence or walking away seems to support their stance. They’re either Dr. Phil or they think any possible reaction I give is completely uproarious. Even a facepalm or rolled eyes.

Unfortunately, I’ve even developed the habit of attempting to “pre-defend” myself… which makes it even worse. That is, I try to explain my reasoning when I present the issue at hand. (Especially on message boards.)

A good, recent example of that: I posted on Monster.com, asking for advice on whether mentioning I play World of Warcraft on my blogs and Facebook could actually hurt my chances for hiring. For some stupid reason, I felt I had to pre-defend myself. I got my answer from one of their career coaches and I’m satisfied, but now it’s attracted someone who’s doing the psychoanalysis thing again. (e.g. “ZOMG! Because you said the game isn’t a problem and you have a full social life you’re a raging addict!”) *facepalm*

While I know I shouldn’t care about what they say (I have no intention of even bothering to reply to the bozo on Monster.com)… for once! Just for once! I’d like to do something novel and have what I say taken at face value. Just for once.

Pretty please?

I’m not Psychic!

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

Public Service Announcement to anyone in my college classes!

This might come as a shock to you, but I don’t possess psychic powers. I have no talent in ESP. I can’t read your mind. I have no idea what you’re thinking, so you don’t have to worry about me snooping in on your thoughts or whatever.

If you want me to do something, you’re going to need to communicate.

Speak! Tell me what’s going on. Inform me to what happens in the group. I only have 3 – 4 hours to get homework in before I have to go to work, so I don’t have time to play guessing games with you.

We have a group discussion board, use it. I read it daily. It’s shocking that there’s only been 2 new posts this week. Don’t reply with the project guidelines when I ask what’s going on or say I don’t know what we’re even supposed to be doing. I already know.

You submitted almost the entire first half of the project without communicating with any of us. Either keep going or start talking.

Pet Food Recall

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

I normally don’t pay too much attention to the recalls. Most of them are really kind of silly or frivolous, to tell you the truth. And what aren’t silly or frivolous, don’t usually apply to me or are so minor I can easily avoid the issue.

But the pet food recall has me a little upset. While we haven’t had any in the house since Thanksgiving, I’ve given my Girls the types and brands of “cuts and gravy” foods involved in this recall. (Don’t worry, they’re all fine.)

What in the world is in this food to make it lethal to pets who only eat ONE package? Can’t they test some of these canned foods and tell us what’s in it? It’s ridiculous.

I think I smell a class action suit in the works. I think it needs to happen, to be honest. This contamination affects a huge number of brands, from tiny store brands clear up to expensive, so-called “high-quality” brands like Iams and Eukanuba. I realize some people think we pet owners have a few screws loose. And maybe we do. But a few million can’t be that wrong.

Finally, one more thing that concerns me — and you probably are going to think I’m nuts — is that I’ve known people who have eaten pet foods as part of a diet of some sort. America’s Funniest Home Videos has had numerous clips of small children eating their pet’s food. If this toxin is enough to kill a cat and make a large dog extremely ill, are there people affected by this? It’s a scary thought.

Flamed… ?

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

Did I… I just get flamed over on DeviantArt for expressing that I liked someone’s artwork?

I was tired from my homework last night and decided to go on the prowl for artwork of my favorite Naruto character, Shino.

I found one 100106 – shino. by The-Pie and added it to my favorites, commenting:

“Okay, I won’t say kawaii. How about :+fav:? =D”

And she responds that my comment has nothing to do with the picture itself and it “annoys the fuck out of [her].” Thing is, her comments are set to “critique discouraged” and there are a million juvenille comments on the picture. But a comment saying I was adding it to my favorites gets me flamed?

*sigh* People make my teeth itch.

Just kill me now

Wednesday, September 20th, 2006

My books for college just officially annihilated me. Forget for a moment my tuition, lab fees, and other expenses for a moment.

English 301
Book: $132

Public Speaking
Book: $81
Video Camera: $88

Intro to Perl/CGI
Book: $65

Advanced HTML
XML Book: $14
DHTML & CSS Book: $18

Total: $428.88

Please…. just kill me now. X_x

Seriously, the most reasonable book prices are for the classes I actually want to take. The rest are kind “meh” classes for me, but I need to pass them for my degree. Thankfully I have a hard time failing English and public speaking has never bothered me. (I’m not even sure why I need a video camera, but – oh well.)

Going to try to finish up one last eFiction modification before my classes resume tomorrow morning and then I’m poofing for a while.

The hell!?

Monday, June 19th, 2006

*growls* Remember three months ago when I moved my server? Remember how I said I canceled my services with that old host?

Guess what? I just checked my old Jinxandjedi yahoo account where I used for my old domain’s contact e-mail. I was thinking I could safely let it die. When they answered my cancelation e-mail, I removed all my credit card and contact information. They didn’t need it anymore.

Instead, I checked it this afternoon and guess what I discovered?

Note the date that I indicate with the blue arrow; they’ve been charging our credit card for three months. What’s more, they charged me $12 for renewing my domain which they don’t even have anymore! All my credit card information was back on the account, even though I deleted it. But for some strange reason they had my address mostly correct too and I didn’t even give it to them!!! (They had me listed as #17; I’m at #47)

As soon as I calm down I’m writing a complaint to the BBB and seeing if the bank can refuse any and all future charges from those assholes. Originally, I wasn’t even going to bother, but now I’m absolutely livid!

Food auction

Sunday, May 14th, 2006

Avatar: TLA has reached new levels of being a pseudo-anime. The latest episode, Zuko Alone, was simply gorgeous! The fight scene near the end was perfect; all I could think of was something out of Naruto, Samurai Champloo, Kenshin, or any of the other samurai/ninja anime I’ve seen. Delicious. ^_^

Yep, I’m a 26 year old woman completely and utterly turned on by a 17 year old fictional character. ^__^ And I’m damned proud of it!

Still trying to figure out some of the bugs in the archive, but I’m feeling lazy. After staying up until 3am every night and staring at code approximately 6 hours a day, I’m not feeling all that particurly driven to do the things I promised for the archive.

The Great Lakes Kite Festival is this next weekend and as I’m sure all my friends know, I go every year whether it’s rain or shine. ^_^

This year, I’m fixing fajitas for my contribution. Since everyone’s adults now, I’ve been feeling like showing off my mad grilling skillz. I’m making one recipe for Tequila-marinated beef and then another called “Rattlesnake.” (I promise I’ll share on the forums once I’ve had a chance to try them.)

I just hope Scott isn’t as big an asshat next weekend as he was this. God, he’s almost 21 now and he’s was acting like he was maybe 11. Lately he’s been spending 99% of his time hanging around these little kids in the trailer park, barely spending any time at home. I finally tracked him down about a week ago and asked if he was going to Great Lakes. It’s always the same time each year, the weekend before Memorial Day. I just want to know who is going, so I know how much food I’m fixing Friday night. He wants to know when it is. *sigh* (Same time it’s always been?) He then wants MY permission to bring along this 11 year old kid who repeatedly glomped him while we were talking. (…. disturbing…)

That’s something he’s going to have to ask his mom or his brothers, since they’re the ones with the larger vehicles. My family just has a little, compact car that’s going to be crammed. Plus, none of us want to be responsible for any little kids. He then proceeds to go all emo on me because his mom’s never home and that she’s spending ALL her time over at his grandparents, yadda, yadda. (His grandma just had a stroke, grandpa just had surgery to repair a detached retina). Okay, so you can’t CALL her? Call your brothers?

We went to a food auction this weekend with the hopes of maybe getting some food at reduced cost. He spent most of it being generally annoying and childish. The little kids ahead of us with the toy gun were annoying enough (“Click-click-click-click-click-click” for 4 hours) without him acting whiny or being an emo towards his mom and brother.

At one point, the auction sold full cases of suckers that were kind of like a Push-Pop. He wasn’t paying attention and asked what they were.
I replied, “Candy.”
Scott: “I know, but what kind are they?”
Me: “Suckers.”

He then starts whistling the “S” in suckers and eventually entertains himself by whistling the S in every word that had S in it. (Kind of like that beaver in Lady and the Tramp.) First time was a little cute, but 15 minutes later I was starting to feel homicidal.

Every time his family bought something, he kept telling them they should have gotten more or they had to bid on something. (Usually candy.) He did the same thing that he did with the suckers a little later when they auctioned off some powered soup mixes (Minestrone and Clam Chowder).

At another point, someone’s cell phone rang and they had a custom ringtone. Some time earlier, Scott had grabbed his mom’s cell and had become the mad snap-shotter. He asks if I wanted to hear his. I have to assume he means a ringtone. Not knowing if he still had the cell or not, I turned around and glared at him. He doesn’t have it, but he immediately begins giggling that he “made me look.”

Honestly, if he’s going to act like that all next weekend or if he decided to flip out over the fact I marinated the steak in Tequila, I don’t want him to come. I don’t want to hear a peep out of him.

Can’t they bother to read?

Tuesday, April 4th, 2006

If you can’t be bothered to actually read, don’t comment on my posts!

*sigh* Okay, now that I have that out of my system. On my class message board, I replied to a comment where a guy had used a rather vulgar, unprofessional “programming” website to back up his statement that programming standards are “stupid”, “limit creativity”, “stifle new programmers who have to then learn a different way of doing things”, yadda yadda yadda.

I said that I wanted to call the validity of the site into question, based on the person’s overuse of obscene language and statements where he said “The standard is usually stupid because it’s not what I do.”

Okay, that sounds like an angst-ridden teenager right there. I don’t care what his resume looks like, but if I was an employer looking through that site I certainly wouldn’t hire him.

I asked for clarification on how the standards limit creativity. Maybe I’m just a stupid little noob, but I really fail to see doing your best to make sure other people coming onto a project can read your code does anything to limit creativity. The code’s the same no matter how you lay it out.

Nope, his response looks like he read only the first line or two of my post and immediately called me a flamer.

*sigh*

I love my major, but I’m really getting tired of dealing with this every other class. Oh well, another person to avoid. To bad I can’t do the same thing with that girl from my other class.