June 10th, 2009
Some of my readers will recall how I previously wrote about the idea of withdrawing from Baker College due to the questionable Bachelor of Computer Science degree program. At that time I decided to stick it out for a bit longer since I had been traveling for my employer and could not afford the risk of taking traditional classes in a brick and mortar school. Since that time, I have been hired on with a new employer which does not require overnight travel so I began once again exploring my options for a degree in the Computer Science field.
I recently visited the Kalamazoo Valley Community College and decided to enroll in the school’s two-year transfer program which is designed for those seeking a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree from Western Michigan University. As long as my grades are kept up, which I have no doubt in my abilities, my new course work at KVCC will transfer directly to WMU once completed. The time it takes to complete this part of the degree will depend on how many credits transfer from Baker College and the other schools I have attended.
The only drawback now will be the lack of time to attend classes in a full time role since I will now have to attend a true classroom unless some of the required courses are offered as web-based courses which means the degree could take a bit longer than expected to complete. However the advantages outweigh this drawback. Some of the advantages are the credit hour cost is a bit over half the amount of Baker College, the degree is fully accredited and will be recognized if I want to advance my academic studies past the Bachelor level, and finally……
No more draconian participation policies which in the past could drop my grade by up to two grades if the facilitator (the teachers/profs. really are not there to teach) did not feel the participatory posts I wrote on the Blackboard system were quality material even if I aced all homework, projects, quizzes and tests within the course! Besides the Blackboard system (do not get me started on this system and its company’s Google Search Results, Blackboard patent lawsuits), the participation policies are the policies I disliked the most since points were assigned for participation based on the facilitator’s opinion.
Tags: Baker, college, computer science, Education, KVCC, university
Posted in Computer, Education, Technology, rant | No Comments »
January 27th, 2009
First of all let me state I am not an economic or financial expert in any way, shape, or form. With that said, I do my best to be fiscally responsible and pay my bills on time each month, often paying more than is due.
This leads me to my rant regarding the recent takeover of Washington Mutual (WaMu) by Chase. Due to this takeover, Chase raised the APR of my credit account from 14.99% to 25.99% (28.99% effective) which I have never been late on, always paid more than the minimum, and often paid twice per month. Now, if I am a customer in good standing, I can only imagine the changes for those who have not been fortunate enough to maintain their accounts. By the way, did I mention this APR increase was done without any ample notification?
The first I became aware of the APR increase was when I received my most recent billing statement along with a separate letter stating the various changes due to the takeover. Not only am I extremely disappointed with the lack of notification before the increase, but one has to wonder how this type of increase makes financial sense? It seems to me that raising the APR is counter-intuitive when so many people are now in dire financial straits due to the current economy and of course their own spending habits. Will raising the APR on credit accounts result in more accounts defaulting and hence the bank continuing to fail?
Tags: custom url, Ping.fm, social networking
Posted in Ping.fm | 2 Comments »
November 17th, 2008
Tullio Proni, of Isher Artifacts fame, and I attended Windycon 35 this weekend. As always, I took in as many panels as I could, took a few pictures, and even shot a few small videos using the point-n-shoot camera I had brought with me to the con. The pictures can be found in my Google albums and will soon be uploaded to my Flickr account too. I also posted several brief tweets over on my twitter account which, as soon as Jaiku’s feed settings start working again, will be posted to Jaiku as well.
While I briefly listed the panels I attended while at Windycon over on my twitter and jaiku accounts, I would also like to take this time to give some props to some excellent and talented vendors, crafters, and makers at Windycon. So listed in no particular order:
1. Art of Nigel Sade
2. Parasols by Tamie
3. Paraselenic Studios
4. Total xPansion
I am truly looking forward to next year’s con, Windycon 36, whose honored guests include Kaja and Phil Foglio of Girl Genius fame. The theme of next year’s con will be steampunk!
Posted in General | No Comments »
August 3rd, 2008
As some of you may recall, I was the victim of a scam artist named Paul Calabrese at the end of 2007 and Paypal refused to collect from his account after finding in my favor through their dispute system. After I filed an unauthorized transaction investigation with my own bank, Paypal then attempted to collect from me, going so far as sending me to a collections agency. After I disputed the transaction again, in writing to both the collection agency and Paypal, Paypal quietly resolved the issue in March by crediting my account back the amount they had removed after I had filed the unauthorized transaction investigation.
I was never contacted via email, phone, or written letter upon the resolution which I find odd since any transaction on my Paypal account in the past had always generated a message in my inbox. I was notified on July 4, 2008, that my funds could now be withdrawn from my Paypal account which I found odd and upon logging in found the transaction under dispute had been reversed in March, 2008, not long after I had written the letter to the collection agency and Paypal.
Posted in rant | No Comments »
April 29th, 2008
1. Comments are back up now after updating the site software. Hopefully I have less issues with spam and attempted SQL injection attacks…these people have too much time on their hands, how do I get more time?
2. I applied for and accepted another job position within my company. I am not leaving the position I am currently in, instead the new position is just being added to my current responsibilities with proper compensation. I am not only a Validation Specialist but I am now the Network Administrator for Vectech Pharmaceutical Consultants, Inc.
3. My current pet project is starting to feel like it is finally nearing completion. A friend and I will be working on Saturday, May 3, to drop in the 1UZ-FE engine into my 1987 Toyota Supra. My project blog can be found at the the 1UZ Supras site, http://1uzsupra.com
Posted in Quickies | No Comments »