Man, I HATE Finals Season!!! Flaws In Electronic Testing System

I try to take everything in stride, but this really just gets my goat so to speak.

I know "Finals Time" is something that everyone in higher education has to look forward to, or dread. I know that, especially in a technical college, they like to do everything electronically. And I can deal with that.

What I am tired of, however, is the rather lack-luster online testing program utilized at my school. Truth to be told, I have never taken a test via this method that has not had a number of istakes as well as repeated questions. I'm sure a lot of this is due to human error, but there has to be some of it that could be caught if the program itself were structured a little differently. But, then again, the poor structure of the testing program goes back to human error, doesn't it?

It's like that old saying goes... "To err is human. To really screw up, you need a computer."

I'm just venting right now, but it really is horribly done. All of the questions are created and input manually, and from the looks of things, without the aid of a spell-check utility. The interface for students is simple html encoding: questions are done in 100 small tables ( 1 per question), answer choices are done in simple radial buttons.

Seems simple enough, no?

But here's where the fun comes in. It is essentially set up merely for multiple choice questions. Multiple choice - multiple answer questions are accomplished by use of a button that lists the potential multiple choices (such as A and C, A and B, etc... you get the idea). It wouldn't be so bad if it were not for the presence of blank questions, blank choices, mis-spellings, and duplicated questions. Seriously. Exactly worded, question and answer, multiple times. Exactly worded, question and answer, multiple times. Exactly worded, question and answer, multiple times.

See, that was annoying, wasn't it?

And that was what I felt the entire time.

I have no problem taking an electronic examination that basically serves little more function than to tell some bureaucrat that educational standards may or may not be being met. I am so completely fine with that. What I am not fine with is when I sit down to take it, I basically have to stare at what looks like a poorly created webpage by a fifth-grader with not nearly enough time to go back and double-check his work like he should.

I know there no real relevance to this post. I just needed to vent for a sec. But I suppose that it does, if nothing else, show that not caring about your work always affects (and likely annoys) someone (if not many people) waaaaay down the line.

***Note: I would like to point out, that in this particular post only, ALL mistakes were intentional. Honest. Not so for the others tho.***

Why Reincarnation Makes Sense To Me From A Semi-Scientific Standpoint

As I've said before, I consider myself to be a Christian. Non-denominational and somewhat scholarly, but a Christian nonetheless. Still, this does not stop me from studying the occult and other religions and doing comparative analyses and whatnot.

One thing I've been thinking about for the last few weeks is the thought of reincarnation. With the 15 year-old Napalese child believed to be the reincarnation of the Buddha, it really begs the question of "Is it really possible?"

Perhaps.

And please, before I'm denounced as a non-Christian, hear me out.

If you believe that people have souls and that the soul exists as a quasi-substantial energy waveform, then perhaps it is not a very far-fetched idea. Consider: in this universe, all the energy that has ever and will ever exist is in existance at this very moment. Energy, which all things are made of, is neither created nor destroyed, it merely changes form.

So, people have souls. People die. We know what in happens to the body. The soul still holds some debate. As a Christian, I do believe we go to Heaven (or Hell, depending on one's life). In such a fashion, it seems that if Heaven (and Hell) were in a seperate dimension or existential plane from our own, that for this energy to leave our own dimension and for our universe to maintain an energy-constant, than it must stand that a new soul enters our world in a newborn or what have you to live its new life, die, and repeat the process.

Now this raises the issue of if its the same since soul it was from leaving the dying body or not. Honestly, I still have not completely formed my opinion on this. Perhaps the same raw energy form returns, with the mind/personality/memory-set to live out whatever afterlife our creator has decided upon for it. Its possible, and sounds somewhat reasonable to me.

Perhaps, if you're not a Christian or a person of a similar cosmological belief-set, then perhaps the Heven/Hell step of the equation is skipped over, then the mind/personality/memory-set and soul remain as a complete set and go on to live a new life in hopes of coming back as something better in one's next existance as something better. This is my understanding of strict reincarnation beliefs such as those found in Buddhism.

Again, I'm just trying to get people to think. Not particularly one way or another, but merely to think.

If we have in this world all the energy that we are ever going to have, then what really happens to the energy of the soul when we die?

Do we really move on to become one with the force?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see about that when the time comes.

But still, just imagine...

You Ain't Ever Seen A Fat Man Do Such A Happy-Dance!: X-Box 360 Lawsuit HO!!!

It started off as the usual morning: woke up late, hated myself for it, promised not to do it again. Got dressed, fixed a bite to eat, took a call from a telemarketer, got to school, logged on to my trusted lappy, pulled up Firefox (the other web-browsing meat), and checked the morning news links from the BBC.

And I got up in a room of 12 people in the student canteen area and did my happy-dance! I wasn't an embarassing moment either, 'cause Microsoft is getting what it deserves with this X-Box 360 nonsense: a big PIMP slap in the face (a big PIMP for that big MONEY they have)!

Here's a link to the article in its entireity.

And in all honesty, this really is what those guys deserve. Microsoft (a word which when also coupled with either the word "beta" or "early" spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R for the public in general). engineered this artificial scarcity of the systems to drive up worldwide public demand, as well as to beat their industrial competitors to the market with their "next-gen" console and gain a more substantial foothold in the hearts of the gaming public.

So what did this ultimately mean for us gamers?

It meant the big-boys were trying to play keep-up with each other. At first they were not going to do backwards compatability. Then a competitor comes out and says they are. Then Microsoft comes back and says "O yeah, that's what we meant. Just with only select titles, and only after a software download via X-Box Live."

It meant that a product that obviously did not go through all the testing that it should have has been rushed out onto the market merely to rape our wallets to the tune of $250 to $500 a pop for a figurative "time-bomb" that could go at any moment with overheating processors and power supplies burning out, only to send it in for repairs or replacements.

Its a good thing that Nintendo and Sony are waiting. Sure, Sony products have their shre of problems, but usually not this bad and to this extent. And when was the last time a Nintendo product with problems this bad. Well, since the NES (the system that truly tested your lung-power as much as your gaming prowess)... NOT A DAMN ONE!

I love Nintendo and I cannot lie.
You other gamers can't deny.
When a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist
and a DS in your face
you get SPRUNG!

Microsoft, you can kiss my big, hairy butt! Come back when you've got a good product to put out!

So... I guess I'll see you guys this time next year for Windows Vista? Love ya', mean it!

Ann Coulter Is A Moron, Bill O'Reily Is A Moron, And If You're Calling For Violence Against Them, You're A Moron Too!

Right now I am sitting here in the tech-school canteen watching two idiots talking to each other on T.V.: Bill O'Reily and Ann Coulter. These are two of the most small-minded, biased, pseudo-intellectuals who I've watched together in a while. And I hate this type of people. The people who can't think for themselves. The type of people who encourage "the party line" and not thinking for yourself. I have no use for these people.

And I have no use for people who would commit violence against these people.

Let's get serious for a moment. Even if there really are people out there calling for Ann Coulter's rape (which I seriously hope there are not), what does doing that really accomplish other than making yourself look like a monster?

What purpose would that accomplish?

All you are doing by calling for violence or rape against people like Ann Coulter is giving them more ammo against anyone who does not share their narrow-minded set of views.

Look. There's no law against having a fantasy. But if you fantasize about violating someone and act out those fantasies, there are laws against that. Especially that. Look, just keep it to yourself.

And besides, who'd want to touch that anyway? She's probably been passed around more than a doobie for all you know. I'm not slandering her. I'm just saying...