University of Phoenix

I've been thinking that I should go back to school and get a degree in something so that I can get a better job. After all, I turn 40 this weekend so I'm almost all grown up and stuff.

At work there are several people who are taking classes through the University of Phoenix. They are taking the online classes. Yes, the annoying popup ad University of Phoenix. They have an actual 'campus' here in Chico and I thought that maybe I would check them out. I sent them an email saying I was interested and soon got a call from their local sales person. I made an appointment and went and spoke to her yesterday morning.

It was pretty much what I expected. A ripoff. I think so anyway. Here is the lowdown. This is for their in-class courses, but I assume that their online classes are similar.

You only take one class at a time. It lasts 5 weeks. You meet once a week for 4 hours. It's a 3 unit class. The cost is $395.00 per unit, so each class is $1185.00. Plus, you don't buy books, instead you access their website and download .pdfs that you can print out. Access to the website costs $70.00 per class. So basically, 70 bucks for about a month's access to a website. The saleslady kept hitting on how expensive college texts were and how this was only 70 dollars.

You need 60 upper division units to graduate so the whole two years would cost you about $25,000. Once I mentioned that the price was a bit steep she started busting out all these financial aid pamphlets and laying them on me. Bleh.

I didn't really want a degree from the Pop-Up university anyway. Chico State is $1685.00 per semester for a full time student. That's much more doable.

Oh, and as I was getting ready to leave she told me that the online UofP classes were even more expensive than the in-class courses. Sheesh.

University of Phoenix

I've been thinking that I should go back to school and get a degree in something so that I can get a better job. After all, I turn 40 this weekend so I'm almost all grown up and stuff.

At work there are several people who are taking classes through the University of Phoenix. They are taking the online classes. Yes, the annoying popup ad University of Phoenix. They have an actual 'campus' here in Chico and I thought that maybe I would check them out. I sent them an email saying I was interested and soon got a call from their local sales person. I made an appointment and went and spoke to her yesterday morning.

It was pretty much what I expected. A ripoff. I think so anyway. Here is the lowdown. This is for their in-class courses, but I assume that their online classes are similar.

You only take one class at a time. It lasts 5 weeks. You meet once a week for 4 hours. It's a 3 unit class. The cost is $395.00 per unit, so each class is $1185.00. Plus, you don't buy books, instead you access their website and download .pdfs that you can print out. Access to the website costs $70.00 per class. So basically, 70 bucks for about a month's access to a website. The saleslady kept hitting on how expensive college texts were and how this was only 70 dollars.

You need 60 upper division units to graduate so the whole two years would cost you about $25,000. Once I mentioned that the price was a bit steep she started busting out all these financial aid pamphlets and laying them on me. Bleh.

I didn't really want a degree from the Pop-Up university anyway. Chico State is $1685.00 per semester for a full time student. That's much more doable.

Oh, and as I was getting ready to leave she told me that the online UofP classes were even more expensive than the in-class courses. Sheesh.

Is this from The Onion?

Great Googly Moogly!

An article about Jeb Bush, governor of Florida, brother of the current President, son of another President; talking about his imaginary friend 'Chang'. Chang is a mystical warrior whom Jeb relies on with great regularity in his daily life. Luckily, Chang never lets Jeb down.

It's nice to have somebody like that in your life, somebody you can count on when the going gets rough. It's even nicer when that somebody is a real person, and not an imaginary mystical spirit warrior.

In the comments section of that link somebody mentions that it would be nice if we had mandatory drug testing for politicians.

I want to say, I think that is a brilliant fucking idea. Everybody else has drug testing. I had to piss in a jar when I got hired to process insurance claims. Football players have to be tested regularly for drugs. When I was a bus driver we got tested randomly for drugs. Not for booze though, which was a good thing because I was witness to plenty of instances of drivers starting their shifts while still drunk from the night before.

I don't know why all these people need to be tested for drugs and the people with, arguably, the most important jobs, that of running our country, don't need to be tested for drugs. Personally, I'd rather have the dude who is ringing up my Big Gulp at 7/11 be stoned than the person representing me in Washington.

I think I will write some letters to my congressman and senator and tell them that I think mandatory and random drug testing for elected (and not elected) officials would be a good idea.

Is this from The Onion?

Great Googly Moogly!

An article about Jeb Bush, governor of Florida, brother of the current President, son of another President; talking about his imaginary friend 'Chang'. Chang is a mystical warrior whom Jeb relies on with great regularity in his daily life. Luckily, Chang never lets Jeb down.

It's nice to have somebody like that in your life, somebody you can count on when the going gets rough. It's even nicer when that somebody is a real person, and not an imaginary mystical spirit warrior.

In the comments section of that link somebody mentions that it would be nice if we had mandatory drug testing for politicians.

I want to say, I think that is a brilliant fucking idea. Everybody else has drug testing. I had to piss in a jar when I got hired to process insurance claims. Football players have to be tested regularly for drugs. When I was a bus driver we got tested randomly for drugs. Not for booze though, which was a good thing because I was witness to plenty of instances of drivers starting their shifts while still drunk from the night before.

I don't know why all these people need to be tested for drugs and the people with, arguably, the most important jobs, that of running our country, don't need to be tested for drugs. Personally, I'd rather have the dude who is ringing up my Big Gulp at 7/11 be stoned than the person representing me in Washington.

I think I will write some letters to my congressman and senator and tell them that I think mandatory and random drug testing for elected (and not elected) officials would be a good idea.