Someone suggested that if freequel is indeed a new word, then I should copyright it. So, for starters, consider it copyrighted on this blog. I'd like to add the words frequel and free-order (free pre-order) to that as well. Maybe even fre-order? Ooo, I know, fre-book (for free e-book). Damn, I could do this all day. But I am serious about freequel, etc.
Edit: Great, so as soon as I posted this I found frequel: apparently it is a movie that keeps repeating from the same franchise (franchise + sequel?). I guess I should stick to free-pre or something like that.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Freequel? You heard it here first!
So, I got a Kindle a for Christmas. And it fucking rocks! I've downloaded a bunch of classics (free), some of which I have actually now read. And I've really gotten into the Amazon Free 100 list. I was recently made aware of a site called AddAll, which is a meta search engine for e-books. It also lists the latest free e-books (free-books?) from Amazon. But some of those e-books are actually not out yet. Yes, Amazon has free e-books, that you can order for $0, and they are delivered to your Kindle when they are released. Yay! So I decided to coin a new term for these free, order-in-advance, e-books, and the first thing that came to mind was Freequel. Like a prequel, but instead it's free. You heard it here first.
Monday, August 23, 2010
School is Back . . .
. . . and boy is it crowded. My university has a record number of students this semester and they were all on the road today. I took a road near the school for an errand. That was a mistake! I'm no longer taking classes, so I had forgotten that class had just ended, and people were leaving. Way too many people on the road!
Have you noticed how hard it is to park near universities too? And if you do park, it's not cheap. I think the basic student cost at my school is $75. That entitles you to the privilege of finding a non-existent parking spot in a lot half a mile from campus. If you want to park in one of the parking garages on campus, that's $250 for the Fall semester. The school has a new health plan, so my health insurance for Fall was about $280. Hmmm. There's something wrong with that picture.
Have you noticed how hard it is to park near universities too? And if you do park, it's not cheap. I think the basic student cost at my school is $75. That entitles you to the privilege of finding a non-existent parking spot in a lot half a mile from campus. If you want to park in one of the parking garages on campus, that's $250 for the Fall semester. The school has a new health plan, so my health insurance for Fall was about $280. Hmmm. There's something wrong with that picture.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Edumacation, Shmedumacation
First, kudos to Obama for realizing that our university system needs help. But it's not just our universities. See my previous post about the sorry state of affairs in my own classroom. The real problem is our high schools. It's ridiculous that so many college freshmen need so many remedial classes each year. If you cannot pass certain basic high school classes, then you do not need to go to college. It's that simple. And, not everyone needs to go to college.
Now, before I get spammed by people calling me elitist, let me explain. There are people out there who do not like school and don't want to go to college. There are people who are perfectly capable of getting a great job in a trade, and don't need college. My cousin is 17 and is dropping out of high school to get his GED and start a welding program. Several of his friends dropped out after 9th grade and became diesel mechanics. You can make a very good living as a diesel mechanic or a welder, especially in the South. None of them wanted to go to college, and they also did not want to become farmers. So they made the best decision for them. They did not try to go to college for no reason, except that society expected it of them.
Somehow, our culture has come up with this idea that everyone must go to college. So people who shouldn't, end up going there. And many who may want to go end up dropping out. And way too many of us end up owing massive student loans to pay for our experience. We will always have a need in our society for welders, plumbers, brick layers, carpenters, electricians, construction workers, road workers, etc. And if they don't need a college education, why should they have to get one? The years we spend in college, they spend as apprentices, learning their trade. What's wrong with that?
Now, before I get spammed by people calling me elitist, let me explain. There are people out there who do not like school and don't want to go to college. There are people who are perfectly capable of getting a great job in a trade, and don't need college. My cousin is 17 and is dropping out of high school to get his GED and start a welding program. Several of his friends dropped out after 9th grade and became diesel mechanics. You can make a very good living as a diesel mechanic or a welder, especially in the South. None of them wanted to go to college, and they also did not want to become farmers. So they made the best decision for them. They did not try to go to college for no reason, except that society expected it of them.
Somehow, our culture has come up with this idea that everyone must go to college. So people who shouldn't, end up going there. And many who may want to go end up dropping out. And way too many of us end up owing massive student loans to pay for our experience. We will always have a need in our society for welders, plumbers, brick layers, carpenters, electricians, construction workers, road workers, etc. And if they don't need a college education, why should they have to get one? The years we spend in college, they spend as apprentices, learning their trade. What's wrong with that?
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