There is more than one way to skin a cat.

I’m looking into an education alternative.  I’m gathering some information with the intent of submitting an application to a different college for next semester.  I’m frustrated that I have invested 2.5 years of work with a slew of liberal arts credits that won’t do anything for me employment wise.

Some of that I knew going into, but that was also different time.  I’m looking at a total of 6 years to get through the bazillion credits to finish this thing.  I’ve busted my ass to get the pre-req’s to get into my long anticipated programming class….only to have it repeat the same material I did in my previous class.

I’m looking into a similar situation that my wife is doing for her graduate degree.  An online program that caters to non-traditional students like myself.  I’ve found a couple of programs where the focus is on the nuts and bolts of my field.  In addition, in this field – certifications in the various programming languages and technologies are worth their weight in gold as far as employment opportunities – JAVA II, ASP, C++, SQL, ORACLE, etc. something my current University doesn’t have available.  With my current skill set and the right program a Java certification within a year is completely reasonable.

The program I’m looking at is a B.S. in Computer Science but there is also an Assoc. Degree in CS I could pickup along the way.  There are plenty of low level programming jobs available…I just need a slip of paper or 2 to get me in the first door.  I would like to actually make a living while working on my degree at a more reasonable pace.  Homeslice needs the skills to pay the bills….this living from payday to payday – disbursement to disbursement. Is getting old.

I have kids.  Young kids which take a chunk of time and attention.  The flexibility of online courses are very attractive.  Especially when I find myself sitting in a lecture hall surrounded by 18 year old kids who are texting, chatting, surfing the internet and sneezing on the back of my neck.

I’m also 38 years old and while I understand the concept of a Liberal Arts education….I don’t have the energy to keep taking communication, philosophy and art history classes.  “I want to make things go.”  I’m currently taking an art history class online.  I’ve had a brutal week and didn’t spend much time preparing for the test due tonight.  I spent 2 hours skimming the 200 pages of reading and printed off some art.  I basically took the test cold and scored an 89 on it.  I’ve picked up a few things along the way at my age.

I’m not regretting my higher education at all thus far….I’ve conquered some personal mountains.  But I need to focus my energy on the nuts and bolts of my new career.

It’s time to modify the plan.

People are funny.

So we have this sudden and widespread Flu pandemic called H1N1.  People freak out and start wearing surgical masks in public.  Probably a result of remembering that SARS outbreak a few years back and watching too many “outbreak” type movies.  H1N1 is not SARS, it’s not ebola, it’s not Stephen King’s super flu or Avian (bird flu).  It’s a nasty ass I-dont’-want-it flu.  The deaths related to it are not a direct result of the flu but complications from previous health conditions and a weakened immune system.  It targets the little people…who depend on us big people for care.  Not long after this outbreak we get a vaccine developed…then it get’s tested and scrutinized probably more so than the rest of the civilized world.  And then what do we do? Not get vaccinated.  I’m picturing Spock’s eyebrow raising up as he says “fascinating.”
Somewhere somebody mentioned the word “Mercury” and “Government conspiracy” and now 40 percent of people polled are refusing the vaccine.  Even in my circle of friends there are parents saying that they will not vaccinate their kids for fear of mercury induced autism or some other form of mercury poisoning. Even though it’s the same freaking ingredient that has been in vaccinations for the past 30 years.  And now we have this vaccine in a nasal spray that doesn’t even contain this thing people are “concerned” about.  People are gullible and tend to believe things they hear through the internet without looking into it’s validity.  Just yesterday my sister, who is intelligent and in her 30’s forwarded me one of those emails – “send this out to everyone you know and get a free laptop” I laughed and gave her crap about it.  Urban legends are fascinating to me.  Personally, I’ve been trying to increase my Vitamin B* (Bacon!!) in my diet to help ward off the swine. (heh heh heh).
As a parent, my tendency is to “err on the side of caution”.  We got the oldest his nose spray vaccine Monday and we’re working on getting the youngest his.  So far there has been no side effect, illness or sudden onset of Autism.  (Although, I swear to god, my oldest starts talking like rainman on the topics of star wars, bakugon or mario brothers.)
I couldn’t imagine what I would do if – worst case scenario: child dies from complications attributed with an illness that may have been prevented by a simple vaccination.  There are more important things to stress over than a government vaccine conspiracy.

Here’s a great article debunking the latest “urban myths” regarding the H1N1 vaccine: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/opinion/12offit.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=h1n1%20vaccine&st=cse

PUBLIC health officials are now battling not only a fast-spreading influenza virus but also unfounded fears about the vaccine that can prevent it.

Since April, more than a million Americans have caught H1N1 flu, more than 10,000 have been hospitalized, and about 1,000 have died, including 76 children. And it’s only the beginning of October. Yet, in a new survey, 41 percent of adults said they will not get vaccinated.

The good news is that for the first time in more than 50 years we’ve made a vaccine against a pandemic strain of influenza before the onset of winter, when lower temperatures and humidity allow the virus to spread more easily. Distributing this vaccine to those who need it most — pregnant women, health care workers, children older than six months and people with compromised immunity — will be difficult enough. But the task is made harder by the various myths, spread on TV talk shows and Web sites, suggesting that Americans have more to fear from the vaccine than from the deadly disease it prevents. Here are some of those myths, and why they’re wrong:

SWINE FLU VACCINE IS UNSAFE The H1N1 virus revealed itself too late for it to be included in this year’s seasonal flu vaccine. But the H1N1-specific vaccine was manufactured in the same way as the regular vaccine: The shot form is made by growing the virus in hen’s eggs, purifying it and then treating it with a chemical that inactivates it. This technology has been used to make influenza vaccines for 60 years, and it has an excellent safety record. The nasal spray form is made by adapting the virus to temperatures below those typically found in the body. This allows it to reproduce in the relatively cool lining of the nose, but not in the lungs where it could cause harm. This technology has been used safely for more than 30 years. FluMist, a seasonal flu vaccine used since 2003, is made the same way.

THE VACCINE IS UNTESTED The H1N1 vaccine has already been given to thousands of volunteers to determine whether it could protect them from the virus and to make sure that it caused no adverse reactions. Only then did the Food and Drug Administration license it.

THE VACCINE CONTAINS A DANGEROUS ADJUVANT Some vaccines, like the hepatitis B and human papillomavirus vaccines, have substances called adjuvants, which are added to enhance the immune response, so that smaller quantities of vaccine can be given. Some people fear that the H1N1 vaccine contains, in particular, squalene, an adjuvant that, while included in other vaccines in Europe and Canada, has never been used in routine vaccines in the United States. But the H1N1 vaccine available in the United States has no adjuvant of any kind.

THE VACCINE HAS A DANGEROUS PRESERVATIVE Thimerosal, a preservative containing ethyl mercury that has been in vaccines since the 1930s, is used to prevent inadvertent bacterial and fungal contamination of multi-dose vials. H1N1 vaccine distributed in multi-dose vials will contain about 25 micrograms of ethyl mercury per dose. The issue of thimerosal received public attention in 1999 when the American Academy of Pediatrics and the United States Public Health Service took the precautionary step of asking that thimerosal be removed from single-dose vials of all vaccines. This was done in such a precipitous and frightening manner that it gave rise to the notion that thimerosal had led to autism or mercury poisoning. It hadn’t.

In fact, subsequent studies found that infants could safely receive eight times as much mercury as is contained in the H1N1 vaccine. But the public’s perception of thimerosal was damaged. This year, enough thimerosal-free vaccine is available to inoculate children under age 6, but that does not mean doses with thimerosal are unsafe.

New myths will inevitably arise as some of the millions of people who are inoculated against H1N1 flu suffer unrelated illnesses. Health officials will keep a close eye out for any real problems. One can only hope that the American public will understand that subsequence isn’t necessarily consequence, and not be scared away from a vaccine that can save lives.

Paul A. Offit, the chief of the infectious diseases division of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is the author of “Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine and the Search for a Cure.”

Hoax? Publicity stunt? Don’t care? I’m quite frankly sick of hearing about it. Apparently it’s been a slow news week or I’m underestimating the appeal of watching a train wreck on television. First, what kind of an idiot builds a balloon of this type in the back of his yard with small children running around? I can think of a dozen legitimate safety concerns that should have come to the forefront of a parent’s mind.

Secondly, I’m having a difficult time with the physics. Is there enough lift capacity in that thing to lift a child of that weight and move in the manner that it did?

And the last thing I’ll write on the topic. If you have a sick child, why would you have him in front of cameras? I watched the ABC clip of the interview – the poor kid is wrapped in a blanket and then starts vomiting and then neither of the parents go in to check on him until the reporter prompts them.

I’m glad no-one was hurt…I hope someone kicks the parental units in the pants for being stupid, and I hope to not ever hear about balloon boy again. Night!

It’s time for a blog overhaul.  In need of some inspiration for my virtual world. Stay tuned.

…looking forward to 2010

http://www.teamradioshack.com/getready/

Yes, the TDF is in full swing and I tune in every morning to watch it “live” through Versus.com.  First, I have to say that this is the first TDF in 4 or 5 years that hasn’t been riddled with doping allegations and disqualifications…that’s refreshing.  This year’s race is the big comeback of Lance on team Astana.  I watched stage 15 yesterday and was blown away by Alberto Contador’s stomp up that mountain to gain a 1:37 lead that got him the ‘mellow johnny’. If Contador continues with that kind of energy, he’ll be this year’s GC.  I think Lance will have to fight to get 2nd place.  Disappointing a little to some of us Armstrong fans that would like to see him ride into yellow one more time, but the reality is, he’s 37 and has been away from the high level competition mindset for 3 + years.  Just placing in the top 5 is one hell of an achievement.

The fact that he came into the race not as the “main man” for Astana was a sign that he isn’t the invincible Lance we knew years ago. Maybe that’s a good thing.  One thing I do know, in regards to the sport, he has a plan. This year it may not necessarily be about coming in first. I think his return has to do with something more personal. Even though he is on the team, he’s not drawing a paycheck from Astana.

Throughout this year’s race he’s been sporting a relaxed grin and seems to loving where he’s at.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see him starting his own team next year.
His biggest accomplishments off the bike have been the war he’s raged against cancer the past three years and he has publicized that this was his motivation for coming out of retirement.

All that aside, Contador had better be on his A-game, because it won’t be a gift.  There are 5 more stages to go.

Regardless of the outcome he will always be an icon and a presence to the sport. He represents hope and inspiration for people who are fighting cancer.

“Everyday is a gift.”

Give ‘em hell man!

I’m listening to an old favorite on a warm rainy Wednesday morning. It’s one of those albums that continues to grow on you even after the 100th listen.  BT’s “This Binary Universe”.  If I need a mood lifter this one worth putting in.  It requires active listening to fully appreciate.  (particularly in surround sound with the accompanying DVD / videos).

My oldest loves this album particularly the video for Dynamic Symmetry that features animated flying robot birds.  It’s an eclectic combination of electronic, classical, jazz, glitch, and trance.

It combines music from a full orchestra that morphs with electronics, piano and a jazz ensemble.  It is completely instrumental and the music speaks volumes more than what a vocal or lyric could produce.

The first track was composed not by ear, but coded completely in C++ (a programming language) in csound.  Ironically, it’s titled “All That Makes Us Human Continues”.

Not to mention that there are elements in the songs that contain hidden meanings in mathematical code which appeals to the geek in me.

It reminds me of some of the music I grew up with as a little kid – nods to Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter – as well as cutting edge electronics that I obsess over now.   The final track nearly made me weep when I first heard it.  It’ s warm and nostalgic and reminded me of my kids.  It wasn’t a surprise to find out later that it was written as a lullaby for his daughter.

Anyone who is a fan of music, all genres aside, should listen to this album.  I can’t say enough good things about it.

I’m off to brew some coffee and start my day.

Cheers.

 HP/EDS  - interesting comments-

Pay cuts, not layoffs, coming to HP:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/02/21/pay-cuts-not-layoffs-coming-to-hp/

and other things Social media:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/5073683/University-offers-social-media-degree-about-Facebook-Twitter-and-Bebo.html

http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/internet-marketing-with-twitter-7-tips-you-need-to-maximize-internet-marketing-with-twitter-840419.html

Having grown up during the Cold War era, this caught my eye.  A photo tour of what the area around Chernobyl currently looks like.  http://www.grcade.com/viewtopic.php?t=2217