Monthly Archives: April 2010

Back To School

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Well, I am officially a student once again. It came down to the very last last minute. After spending several this morning filling out paperwork, I’m all signed up to begin class on Monday. Yes, this coming Monday.

The program at Fountainhead College of Technology (formerly Tennessee Institute of Electronics) is 4 semesters, or 16 months. By August 18, 2011 I’ll have an Associate of Occupational Science in Computer Programming. 16 months after that (somewhere near the end August 2012), I’ll have a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Technology: Application Development.

They’ve given me credit for my CompTIA A+ certification and some credits that transferred from my time at ITT. I really wish they had given me “work experience” credits considering the first 2 semesters cover everything I do for a living (PHP, HTML, Javascript, SQL, CSS, etc.). Heck, my job title is “Application Systems Engineer, Level 3″. Oh well, those classes will at least be an easy “A”, which should help me pad my GPA.

I did find it odd that the programming degree, in an online program nonetheless, does the CompTIA A+ stuff – 7 credit hours. Thankfully, I don’t have to take it thanks to my 1999 certification. I’m reminded of a quote that I think applies to the program, “beware of programmers that carry screwdrivers.”

So now I’m further in debt with student loans and will be shelling out several hundred bucks a month to cover the rest of the cost. I really hope that piece of paper at the end is worth all the trouble. Guess I need to hold off on canceling that 2nd job just a bit longer. *grumble*

Home Alone

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My wife is an amazing woman, and I love her dearly. Today she left out with one of her girl friends as they hike a 60.1 mile section of the Sheltowee Trace. If the hike goes without incident, a rarity for them, they should reach their end point on Saturday or Sunday. She’s been excited about the hike since they started to plan it over a month ago.

I doub’t she’d admit it, but I really think this is her version of payback. I left her home alone for a week back in January while I went to Las Vegas for CES. While I enjoyed CES and hanging out with the crew from OCC, I would much rather be out there hiking. Ahh well, maybe after I get all the bills paid off, I’ll be able to hike the AT. Ha! Like I’d be able to put off everything in my life for six months while I did that. I still don’t understand how people are able to do that.

Anyway, I wish my wife and her trail mate a safe hike. I love her and hope she hurries back. It’s going to be a long 5-6 days.

Transmit 4 Released! Woohoo!

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When I first made the jump to the Mac platform back in 2008, one of the first things I needed was a solid FTP client. Whether it is stuff on my personal site, OCC, or one of my many other clients, I use FTP daily. I tried a few apps and the only one that really impressed me was Transmit. I know, it’s hard to say much about an FTP client, it’ll either transfer files or it won’t. But I didn’t balk at having to buy a license.

Version 4 has just been released. Apparently version 3 was over 5 years old. Seriously? I’ve not had a chance to use it yet, but version 4 looks like it has a lot of sweet features packed into it. More info is available on the Panic blog.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-04-25

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Thanks Zynga & FB, You Helped Me With My Addiction

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I never got into the “social gaming” back when MySpace was the big thing. Though that was probably because I hated visiting MySpace for anything other than getting info on a band or artist that I liked. Back then, I hardly visited Facebook. The something changed, and I started spending a lot more time on Facebook. I really cannot say what it was, though it probably had something to do with all my friends, family and coworkers being on there. Continue reading →