Miscellaneous
Need a Human Operator? Go Psycho with your Dirty Mouth
Real human beings are so hard to call these days. When you’re trying to call your friends, you get that robotic messaging service from the phone company. And when you try to call a business for customer assistance you get stuck in a limbo of tone-touch menu options or poor speech-recognition technologies. I just want somebody to talk to! 
After you finally find a menu option that will connect you to somebody living and breathing. You often wait in another dimension of half-duplex elevator music … or worse no music at all. Is there anyway to get priority to talk to a warm-blooded creature on the phone?
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February 28th, 2007 | 2 Comments | Miscellaneous, Rants and Raves
Modest Needs: Small Change. A World of Difference
You hear about it many times. Some rich, and often famous, person donated X amount of dollars to a fund that feeds children in starving countries. Bill Gates instituted a scholarship in the name of his father at his Alma Mater. Right now, I’m in the Julia Yates Semmes Library. Mrs. Semmes “donated $1 million to the San Antonio Public Library to create a special collection, including books and equipment, for the visually impaired.” What these philanthropists do is outstanding. Giving back to the local and worldwide community is a great way to spend wealth (and receive a hefty tax deduction). But have you ever noticed that the only organizations that receive this money are the ones that need millions of dollars? It’s a wonder where all that money goes. We hardly ever see the results from grand fundraisers and pledge drives. They seem to only affect the extremely needy in far off countries or the excruciatingly desolate, underprivileged people in a local neighborhood.
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January 17th, 2007 | 1 Comment | Internet, Miscellaneous
Essential Tools for Calculus and Algebra Courses
I am finally finished! This last semester I completed my College Calculus I class (with an “A” might I add), which is my last math requirement for my major in Pharmacy. I don’t have to take anymore wretched math classes! Don’t get me wrong. There was a time when I enjoyed math … that was up until I enrolled in College Precalculus and Calculus I. There is one thing I learned from college math classes: Take a class with a few number of students. It sucks to be lost in a crowd. It’s much easier to get help when there are fewer people to compete with for the professor’s attention. I mean, my best math class was when I was the only student. Yeah, my high school was that small!
Looking back over my many years of higher learning in math, I can also think of a couple of tools that could have given me a better edge.
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January 10th, 2007 | No Comments | Miscellaneous