I am usually called in to fix one specific problem. For example, I setup LOTS of wireless networks for people. I have arrived at a customers house to find a beautiful wireless router, just waiting to send its signals throughout the house, only to find out they don’t have a computer with a wireless card. When I cordially explain to them that they need to buy yet another piece of hardware to get the whole thing running, I often get a response like this, “That damn wireless thingy cost me $100. Now you are telling me I need to buy something else? I don’t want to spend anymore money.”

I also get a lot of, “My computer is running slow.” In this case I usually find they have filled their hard-drive to maximum capacity or have 30 viruses on their computer. What people don’t understand, especially older people, is that their 7-year old computer was already slow and due to this fact, it will take me that much longer to fix. I charge by the hour. They get pissed.

Another time, I set up a wired network for a small business. They wanted to spend VERY little money and wanted me to do everything I could to use the hardware and software they already had in place. I had an internet connection, an old 10MBit router with 4 ethernet ports, a lot of ethernet cable and 3 computers – two of which still ran Windows 98 – to work with. Easy enough, right? They just wanted printer sharing and the ability to share a few files now and again. I set up the network (with no central server to speak of) using Windows Workgroups. I warned them that in an environment that mixed XP, Windows 2000, and Windows 98 should work in theory, but they might not “talk” to each other all the time. I get it all setup and working properly. I get a call a few days later saying that they can’t print from any computer and the internet isn’t working. I went in to see what was going on and found myself facing a fairly pissed of customer. I checked things out and informed him that his router had bit the dust. He strongly disagreed with me and said he was just going to call the internet company to come check it out. I called a few days after for a follow up and he informed me that the internet company had said his internet connection was fine but his router was no longer working and he needed a new one. They also recommended upgrading his computers so they would be fully inter-operable with each other. The next week he had be configuring a new server and a couple new desktops. Funny how things work sometimes.

My point in all of this rambling: if you want your shit fixed right, pull your pocket book out of your ass and listen to me!

What are Webkinz?

“Webkinz pets are lovable plush pets that each come with a unique Secret Code. With it, you enter Webkinz World where you care for your virtual pet, answer trivia, earn KinzCash, and play the best kids games on the net!” (from webkinz.com)

I think they are annoying, expensive, and an attempt to reinvigorate the Beanie Baby craze of the 90’s with one addition – web connectivity. The problem with my opinion is that when your cute little kids come up and say, “Daddy, I want a Webkinz, I want a Webkinz!”, what can I do but cave to their desire. I don’t let me kids have too many “trendy” toys (mostly books, games, and art supplies) but these damn Webkinz have captured a place in their heart. How can you say no to that!?

What can you do with them?

Each Webkinz comes with an adoption code. After your kid rips away the packaging their next request -after already asking you to to drive all over town and find one of these damn toys even though they are sold out everywhere – is activate the Webkinz so they can start playing in the on-line community. I had my reservations about this aspect but Webkins.com has taken appropriate measures to ensure your children are not exposed to inappropriate behavior. Once on-line you get a virtual representation of your pet along with $2000 in “Kinzcash” that you can use to buy things for your pet or his living environment. The online world is massive – think Second Life for kids with fluffy little pets.

My final thoughts…

So other than the constant nagging to get a Webkins, the $20 it cost me in gas driving all over town, plus the $10 for the toy – the look on my daughters face when she picked out her special monkey was all the I needed to make me happy. I think this trend will last through this Christmas and then die down a bit. If you have a kid between 5-12 and you haven’t heard of Webkinz yet, just wait. The onslaught is coming.

Want to learn more? (Don’t look with your kids around) www.webkinz.com

San Francisco blogger and humorist Min Jung Kim wrote a Twitter haiku observing,

“twitter defined as

turning bunches of geeks to

14 year old girls.”

Twitter allows you to know what your friends are doing at any given moment via text-messages to your cell phone or by viewing the Twitter website. You can get updates on your friends as well as update them on where you are going or what you will be doing. In short all Twitter does is send mass messages about your personal life to anyone the user chooses. I can understand why this technology is being used en masse among the high school and college crowd. Presidential candidate John Edwards even uses it to update his supporters about his whereabouts and upcoming speeches.

If you ever catch me using Twitter please shoot me on the spot. I feel sick that Twitter has become popular enough that I found a need to even cover the service but the 18-25 crowd (and younger) is embracing Twitter and it is common knowledge that this group can drive sales and trends through the roof.

Twitter is yet one more example of a world obsessed with information and a constant need to be instantly gratified. I think it perfectly characterizes the excesses that American’s have come to expect in everyday life.  What happened to the days when you didn’t know the latest news until 5 ‘o clock when you flipped on the TV and adjusted the rabbit ears to get rid of the white noise?  Those days are long gone.

I use Adwords to get the word out about my site. Adwords uses a cost-per-click (CPC) model, meaning that each time someone clicks on my ad, I pay Google a predetermined amount. This amount is usually under ten cents, at most twenty-five. I went to do my daily check of what Adwords had cost me that day and found that ALL of my keywords were now “inactive for search”. Some bigwig bastard must have been pissed that my ads were showing up next to theirs. I was using words that relate to my site as well as a few other ones like my name, the town I live in, and other interests. In order to keep using the keywords I had selected I would need to increase my CPC to an astronomical $5.00. My daily budget is only $3.00!

Needless to say I am frustrated. I cannot even use my own name as a search term for my site. I’m not trying to make a living from this site, just get people interested in reading my posts.

Since it seems that Adwords is quickly becoming out-of-reach for my budget I ask that if you like my site that you would kindly pass the word on to a friend or two (or three or four).

Q:“Umm…can we have a study guide for the test?”

A:It’s called a textbook. Read it.

Q:“What’s going to be on the test?”

A: Please refer to previous answer.

Q: “Are you going to curve the test?”

A: Raising your grade from a “D-” to a “D+” isn’t going to help that much.

Q: “Will the test be multiple choice?”

A: Seriously?

Q: “Why did I get a “D” on this paper?”

A: Read the first sentence – then you tell me.

As I listen to students in my collegiate classes I’m often embarrassed to call them peers. I find myself wondering, “Who is letting these people in?” I thought college was about pursuing “higher education”.

The big push is for every American to pursue a college degree. While more high-school graduates are attending institutions of secondary education than in previous decades, the result has not been an increase in the intellectual assets of American society. Instead, the educational system has “dumbed down” and is requiring less competence than ever before. The screening process for college applicants has fallen to sub-par levels and is admitting more stupid people per year than our border is letting in illegal immigrants.

I have attended two universities. One, a Big Ten school in Indiana, the other, a medium-sized university in Michigan. I chose the first for their computer science program and the later for its top-ranked education program. Both schools, though vastly different in size and specialties, suffered the same problem — a massive influx of students ill-prepared for the intelectual demands of advanced degrees. How could this be? Both colleges have respected programs and their graduates are usually quite successful. Both colleges have minimum requirements for admission including G.P.A., S.A.T or A.C.T. scores. Both colleges are nationally respected. So why all the idiots?

That’s my question. I’m going to research an answer. I’ll report back soon.