If you’re like me and you have waited and waited for the time to get right to move to Mac, right now is the best time.  I made the jump in May, and I’ll be fair, the jump hurt!  The L4 for Mac platform was still in Alpha and there were problems.  But, they really do have this thing nailed down and it isn’t going to do anything but get better and better.

Congrats to the Logos L4 Mac team on years of hard work!

The other big story is you can win thousands of bucks in Mac stuff, like a MacBook Pro, an iMac, and right down to iPods and Apple store gift cards!

Jump on in and take it for a spin!

The calendar pictured here isn’t my calendar and I haven’t even read the details of this calendar.  The point here is my calendar looks very similar to this and it is getting even tighter.

I have had to streamline my life.  I have had to drop habits, good and bad.  I have had to say goodbye to friends and relationships.  I have simply, or not so simply, had to simplify my life to accomodate my values.  I had to cut down from a habit of listening to a variety of podcasts at a rate of 20 to 26 hours per week, down to 2 hours per week – and that while driving back and forth from school (yeah, there was no typo in the hours).  I’ve had to go from countless blogs in my Google Reader, down to a few – and what you see there as of right now is dwindling, little bit by little bit.

I used  to justify my time in Google Reader as my version of “reading the morning paper.”  But, quite frankly, you can get caught up into some big, deep, and steep rabbit holes; and the rabbits tend to have fangs, too.

I need to go from an “information overload’ that creates a literal and measurable amount of ADHD, to concentrating on what matters: Family and school – and controversially, family and school being literally at the same priority.  Don’t get me wrong, if my kid breaks a leg at 7:30 a.m., I am going to the E.R and not to school; I think you understand what I am saying here.

Streamline, get purpose, and achieve the goals.  Every semester must have these three components to be successful.  I walked out of the last semester with a 3.7′sh G.P.A and that is all fine and dandy, but the problem is a 3.7 wasn’t my potential.  I had too much noise in my life and streamlining, focusing on my purpose and my goals is the only way to make it to the next level – especially with French class in a 13 hour schedule.

So far, I have taken the Spring 2010 and the Summer 2010 semesters.  In previous post I mentioned working together in what I thought to be, at the time, a disastrous work group, of whom had been tasked with the development of a powerpoint presentation on Pericles.  I also discussed new technologies in which I believed would remain ignored, possibly for a generation or more, for the detriment of a quality education.  I didn’t talk too much about Speech class, which I was surprised just wasn’t a walk in the park.  And I spoke somewhat here and there on my major and where I was headed regarding that topic.

In retrospect, I thought the workgroup was going to be an absolute disaster and if things hadn’t changed, I would have been very right.  When Windy (name is spelled correctly) and the rest of us initially met, I seriously thought I would just sit back and watch this group implode upon itself.  It truly suffered from at least one serious instance of incompetence.  Incompetence is a serious problem, because the person think they are able to do anything that is required, but doesn’t have the skills to accomplish much of anything.   An incompetent person feels they are able to not only do the work, but critically evaluate your work.  We had one girl that seriously thought she was able do lead the group and do everything that the group would require.  In reality, she was an absolute “molotov cocktail.”  She was consistently 20 minutes late for meetings and as soon as she darkened the door and even before she had seated herself, she would start asking “directional questions.”  The questions were either flat out “out of order”, disruptive, or chronologically ”out of order.”  It is hard to explain, but I threatened quietly using my HTC EVO with the HD video capabilities and filming the girl in one of her question tirades and then showing her the video; in this way, maybe she could see how disruptive and, yes, stupid she really portrays herself.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am coming down to a time in my young career as a student whereas I must make some important and life changing decisions…by my self.  I don’t have a very good track record on those “life changers.”

I thought I was going to make these decisions back in late Spring, but when the deadline which I had set upon my self came and went I didn’t feel the urgency; I wanted to get some more credit hours under my belt before I committed to anything major (pardon the pun).
I thought until last night I was going to sit this semester out.  It is a long story as to why, and I won’t bore you with the drama.  Nevertheless, to my wife’s and parents approval I will move forward.  But, how to move forward is another total mystery.
Campbell University (http://campbell.edu) is not my first pick.  If I were 20 again, I would head to UNC Chapel Hill, Liberty University, University of WI, Duke University, or flat out take it across the pond to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/).  I don’t have that opportunity.  But, there’s nothing wrong with Campbell as a choice, either.  Campbell is 45 minutes from my home and the scholarship is respected, and that is enough said.
But, which major?  I’ve been leaning heavily on French, with a minor in German, for the reason of the Ph.D. research I’ve done all serious programs require literacy with French and German.  Long story, as short as I can make it, an advisor told me I needed to re-think this approach.  Now, bear in mind, this advisor/math professor doesn’t know me from adam.  But, he had some relevant points that have had my head spinning so hard and quite frankly, he was half the reason I wanted to take a semester off – to regroup, reassess, and hopefully move forward.
So, what’s it going to be, a major in History or Foreign Languages?  I would look forward to one as much as the other.  I am signed up for my first semester of French this coming semester and I am looking forward to it.  But, in all reality, my heart is History and Campbell has a good “Christian History” major.
I can’t go to my wife and expect an answer.  I can’t go to my pastor and get an answer; he would tell me I’m nuts for going to Campbell (long story).  I can’t really go anywhere and get an answer, other than the school.Do they want to meet with me?  Would they meet with me?  What should I expect from a meeting with a department head at a school like Campbell?  Will he tell me I’m “full of it” and I need to get real?  Will he encourage me?  Will he break my heart?  Will he tell me I’m on track?
I really wish I could meet with somebody from Dallas Theological Seminary, where I intend on getting my Th.M.  They could tell me the right path.  Those people aren’t interested in talking to college freshman, I don’t think.

The following is an analysis which I was required to submit for Dr. Ivey’s World Civ I class.  I really enjoyed reading the article, which was fantastic, and writing the analysis.

The article is Complexity and Collapse: Empires on the Edge of Chaos by Niall Ferguson.

Here, you can access the Analysis PDF of the following of my response.  It is easier to read, because I can’t get WP to work with my article correctly.

I do urge the reader to check out Thomas Course of the Empire , which is a remarkable rendition of the rise and fall of empires, in general and is the part of the “concept” in from which Dr. Ferguson writes.

============

This is my first post using my new HTC EVO using the Android Word Press app. It is more simplified, however I seriously think it will keep me making more updates to my academia blog, if which I have two post floating in my head right now.
We might even get into some video blogging.

So I have this meeting for my History of Civ work group.  I spend two afternoons preparing for what I feel is an appropriate agenda and my worst nightmares about this project become real as the day is long.

As I wrote in the original article about this fantastic push into the world of interpersonal relationships, I am ready and willing to submit to an authority that is in control and organized:

“Yesterday, I realized there was a young lady whom was taking a serious lead and I stepped back and gave her a few minutes to see how well her organizational skills were going to deal with a group of seven people.  In 10 minutes flat she had everything strait and I totally submitted.  A lot of Type A people would have dug their heels in and tried to take control.” – W.Hines, Unexpected Barriers – Work Groups.

So, here’s what happened.  I missed a day of class and when I came back, I didn’t know what, if anything, had been assigned, handed out, or otherwise spoken about our project.  So, I went to the school’s online discussion board to find out any information whereas my group’s participants may have been collaborating.  We had been assigned by the professor to post in the board as an “ice breaker”, to get things rolling.  Nothing was in the board.  I posted something like, “I’ve been in NYC for a few days and I missed Monday.  Can somebody fill me in on what, if anything, has happened?”  The response I get is best summed up in one word: “Crickets.”  I heard nothing.  So what did I do?

Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no question about it, at my school the online collaboration system called “BlackBoard” is about as behind the times as you can imagine.  I mean, they just updated it to the newest version about a month ago, and when you compare BlackBoard with anything “open source” and even “closed” on a commercial basis BlackBoard is about five years behind.

Yeah, five years behind. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, I’ve had two classes which both required “group study” of a subject.  I’ve known about this concept for years, since my Wife has been in the Nursing program now for a year and then previously a Associate of Science major for a year and a half previously.  She has had plenty of opportunities to work with groups on various projects in almost all her classes.

I used to hear her come home flat out angry.  Frustrated at the lack cooperation, cohesiveness, and quite frankly two or more people trying “to be the boss.”

Read the rest of this entry »