August 2008 Archives

What would a person do with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Humanities? I've been looking at the degree from UNC-Greensboro because it seems interesting, but I can't really see it being useful. Anyone have any ideas on jobs where this could be a useful degree?

http://web.uncg.edu/dcl/web/bls/default.asp

Why do I blog? What purpose does it serve? Does it protect me from being social, or does it give me something to do to fill my time? I really don't know anymore, and there are days when I question the existence of the blog. It started being for academics, primarily, for my to document my first year of college... that is now behind me by about 160 credit hours.

This month marks 4 years of blogging. The blog went live on August 16, 2004 and was placed at DisturbingThoughts.net on August 23, 2004. In some ways the blog just serves as a reminder of all of the things I have wanted to do and haven't been able to, and a small number of things, but some chance, I actually managed to do.

In 4 years there have been 658 entries, which averages to about 14 per month. In the past 3 months I have gone way above that. I have been averaging about 2 entries per day for the last 3 months. I don't know if I have had more to say, become more open with my thoughts, or just been more bored in that time, but the numbers have increased dramatically. In the last week or so I have noticed that some of the entries seem to be very short, but get lengthy responses.

What is a personal blog supposed to be? What is my audience? One of my friends commented that he sees my blog as more for my personal records than for anyone else, and he would be correct. It has become a personal chronology of sorts, but I don't know much more about it than that. It has evolved some, but more or less still remains on the same track as it was when I created it so long ago.  I think originally this blog was supposed to have ended by now, but I suppose sometimes plans change.

I am presently enrolled in 18 credit hours and I am not happy. I am still bored. Nothing seems to challenge me and I don't really like feeling like this. I feel incomplete. I need something to do with my life other than sit around constantly refreshing course websites, hoping someone will say something.

More than being bored, I feel like I am presently making no useful contributions to society. In short, I am afraid I am becoming depressed.

I am used to being able to dump any conversion I need (measurements or currency) into Google with the syntax of "convert".n." ".unit." to ".desired format. In this case, I typed "Convert 87000 gold florins to US Dollars" as well as "Convert 87000 florins to US Dollars".  It ignored both and passed them to the search processor without attempting a conversion.

I was trying to determine the cost of the Tabernacle of the Virgin Marry in Florence, to aid in my understanding of some information from my Art History reading. Am I crazy for asking Google for this information?

This evening I was reviewing the syllabus for my literature course, trying to get an idea about due dates and what type of work load I should be prepared for. When I opened the syllabus, I looked for the "Evaluation" section, the standard place for finding such information. I found no such section of the syllabus, and the information is no where else on the syllabus. I am now in a slight worry, since the syllabus is essentially the contract on which a college course operates.  Why would an instructor not include it? I have too much active course work for this one instructor to throw unexpected variables into things because of a lack of information on the syllabus.

I just took my first attempt at the first quiz in American History. It didn't take me long, about 25 minutes for 20 questions  (out of 30 minutes allowed). I was a little uncertain about it going in, but I did relatively well. I don't really love history, but don't hate it either. I got an 16/20 on the first attempt. I get to try once more, and then two scores get averaged. Maybe I will get them all correct and still manage to get an A on the first quiz. On the more positive side of things, I have earned 1.5 points of extra credit (on a 200 pt scale).

A quick email to Dr. Dellinger this morning fixed all of my problems. Proper forms are on file with the registrar to recognize my HIS-131 as "in progress", and Dr. Dellinger defended my change of course for the literature course to the registrar.

At some point the Associate in General Education disappeared from my "programs" list at Gaston College. With the letter I just received I wonder if perhaps something was done to cause problems for that degree as well. It was already complete when I turned in the documentation, I was just waiting for a semester to end so I could receive it. At last notice, it was done and I just have to go pick it up on September 15th. It's sudden disappearance from WebAdvisor makes me a little nervous, I'm waiting for my record to fall apart.

I suppose it could be gone because it just isn't "active" anymore...

Today in the mail I received a fun little notice from Gaston College:

First of all, "Dear Student:"... if I really cared about the degree much, I might be a little more freaked at this point than "Dear Student:" would be good enough for. Next, I have two degrees outstanding, which one? (btw, adding another to the record soon). Finally, umm.. "what requirement?". The letter is a little vague.

I called the registrar's office and asked what was up. First of all, I was asked for my name, and not my student ID number, then I heard some papers rustling, followed by being told what was missing.  So for once, personal service. I found out I was missing HIS-131 (duh!) on my Associate of Arts. This is of course due to the part where Gaston can not yet see CPCC's registration records to be able to know that I am registered for it. Next, I seem to be in the wrong literature course. I stated on my Petition for Graduation that I would be taking ENG-231... well, my plans changed, and I'm in ENG-131 instead. 131 is a much wider course that doesn't use as much Shakespeare.

The registrar had a solution to both problems for me, first, remember to send a transcript from CPCC at the end of the semester for HIS-131 (I also sent a copy of my schedule to them earlier). For the literature course, it is a little more difficult. I have to seek approval of my dean for a "course substitution". Not happy about that, but I guess I have to. The courses are identical in effect on the degree,  with the exception of after a petition has been filed apparently.

Tomorrow I get  to apply to enter the Associate in Fine Arts degree program, get the authorization of a dean to change courses and check with the registrar to make sure they haven't shredded my degree petition. 

A few images from King's Pinacle at Crowders Mountain.

My shots:

Chris' Shots

It was quite a hazy day, not the best for photoing, especially not when you have to try to view image previews through a glossy LCD.

Last time I grew herbs in an AeroGarden I didn't have the ability to take macro pics, but now I do. Here are a few of them:

 
Purple Basil                                            Chives
 
Mint                                                       Thyme

Dill

Today I went shopping for supplies for my sculpture project. I first went to Hobby Lobby, where I was originally in search of "Sculptamould". I found none. After a bit of browsing and amusing myself with looking at electric trains, model truck kits (btw, if anyone sees an F350 kit, please let me know), drawing supplies and a variety of other things, I ran into the 5/8" dowels that I am going to use to make my staff. My staff will be over 6ft tall and supported by a really cool stand. After picking up my rods I found something else I liked, a mould for a face... I know I can integrate that into the project. I debated on getting some plaster of Paris, decided not to get it, until I saw the mould, then I changed my mind. Also picked up some paints and other odds and ends. Headed off to Lowe's after that. I had to pick up a metal rod for my ceramics project, its similar to my staff project, except its called a "garden totem". I got some rebar, since I thought the green metal garden stakes that the instructor originally recommended were too wimpy. At Lowe's I also picked up the stuff I needed to make my stand for my staff.

Tomorrow I get to go in and start working on both projects. I'm feeling overwhelmed, but excited as well. Sculpture is a whole new world for me.

Monday was my first real day in the studios at Gaston College and I found myself in a familiar, but yet totally strange environment. First of all, there is a huge age range in the studios. The youngest student is 18, she just graduated from high school and is starting a degree in art education. There are also some people who are about my age, a few of us anyway. Then there are the middle-aged types, they decline to give their age. Finally, there are the people who are in the class under the North Carolina laws for free tuition for senior citizens. I love having such a range of people, it makes for a more interesting class.

After the people, I noticed the equipment. There are fewer kilns at Gaston, mostly because it is a smaller department. There are also some things I didn't expect. Someone finally figured out the solution to mixing dry mix... it isn't a 6ft wooden paddle, it is a cement mixer. It mixes clay dry mix very well. The studio is overall more clean than the studio at UNCC. It is a little more home feeling as well. There is plenty of space, but we are all very obviously in the studio together. I love the fact that the wheels aren't lined up against the walls, they are in a circle off in the corner (with a few spares in other places). Ceramics is very social at Gaston.

In general, I love the studio and am looking forward to learning some handbuilding techniques this semester. 

After spending many hours pouring over lists of artists, I selected one to discuss for my Art History II course. I selected Eddie Kent, a British potter. http://www.pots-n-things.co.uk/

I like his style, it is very simple, but at the same time has a lot of expression. His glazes are also very simple and highlight the features of the piece instead of trying to cover them up.

• ART 115 (Art History II)- Everything seems to be OK. We are doing an introduction assignment at the moment, I have to pick an artist that has a K at the beginning of their last name to discuss, and I'm still working on that. This evening our syllabus was recalled (to be reissued Monday), because the bookstore and the instructor didn't agree on text, and now everyone has the wrong text, and the instructor is going to adapt the course to what we have.
• ART 281 (Sculpture I) - REALLY PERKY Instructor. We will be working on making our own personal staffs, or at the very least the head of a staff and its stand. I have no idea what objects represent me, so I'm having a hard time with this project so far, but a sketch is due Monday.
• ART 288C (Ceramics Studio) - Same PERKY instructor as Sculpture. There is a similar project for this course, it is a personal totem, or micro-garden totem... whatever that means. The instructor and I have discussed how I want to work with the course. Because I have had no formal handbuilding instruction, the instructor wishes for me to work at the same pace ask her ceramics 1 (handbuilding) course until I am ready to break off and do my own thing. I think she wants me to get a feel for the studio. On Monday we will be making CLAY!
• CSC 153 (C# Programming) - I have completed the first two assignments, and will likely work through some of the others this weekend. The course is self-paced, so I will mostly use it to fill gaps between the other courses. The instructor is a complete nerd which makes the course even more of a fun event.
• ENG 131 (Literature) - This course is being taught by Wiki. I don't know how I feel about this, but I think it could be interesting. Our first assignment is pretty much to read the first part of one of the books for the course, and be prepared to talk about it. We aren't doing much yet. This instructor likes to do a lot of integrating of multimedia, so I will have to storyboard an idea for a short (60 second) film about the book we are reading and things like that. There was also something about selecting music to put behind Robert Frost poems and such. Nothing really accomplished in the course yet, but it is promising.
• HIS 131 (American History I) - So far it is dry and boring. It has mostly been reading so far except for the instructor's video introduction. The instructor plans to use video and podcasts to teach the course in addition to the text, so this may be very interesting. The course structure looks to be laid in such a way that it will be a very interactive course. There are a lot of papers in the course, but it doesn't seem like it will be something that will totally destroy me like my high school AH course did. I have completed my "orientation quiz" as well as submitted my paper introducing my goals for the course. Nothing else is due and the course structure isn't really apparent as far as assignments, so I may just have to pick out some key words and get to reading and just kind of go with what I can at first until I get a grasp on what will be expected on the quizzes. I suspect the textbook website may be of some help for the preparations though.

I thought 6 courses would be a lot to deal with, but so far I can summarize them all and look back up at the summaries and ask myself "Is that all?". This might turn out to be a very fun and productive semester. None of my instructors seem to be too normal about anything, with the exception of maybe Art History, and well.. that's just the way that things go sometimes. I'll sweat through it and be glad every day of the course that my instructor is not Dr. James Frakes.

• Woke up
• Had enjoyable time in sculpture
• I think I will enjoy my new sculpture/ceramics instructor
• I came home
• Went hiking at Crowders Mountain
• Reached Pinnacle
• Returned
• Exhausted
• Sleep

In the last few days I've been working with an individual at my old high school on some problems related to the DNS of the schools domain name. Today one of the emails included the following line:

"I know this goes beyond the scope of your contract with us, so I just wanted to let you know that I do appreciate the help!!!"

Its funny in so many ways. There is no contract first of all. I do what I do because I for some reason still care about the school. Second, my only relationship now with the school is that I am the reseller handling the registration for the domain through Enom.

This person has no idea what she is doing when it comes to the domain name, or the web presence of the school in general.

In June she received a email telling her that her hosting provider needed her to change DNS servers for the domain because they were changing "platforms" and their robot picked up that the domain didn't transition. After receiving the email she contacted hosting support, and they told her the domain was registered with Enom. Enom promptly informed her that she had to deal with PCFIRE Domain Services (thats me ) to get the change made, since she didn't have web access to the domain. Funny thing here is that she DID and unfortunately still DOES have access to the domain from the web console. She tried emailing me at an address that dropped her directly to SPAM and she called me in a panic trying to get things working. I checked my voicemail 2 days later. I was given very little information about the change that was needed, so I decided to blindly make the change for her and let the burden of DNS rest completely on her. I warned her several times that there may be unpredictable side effects from doing the change.

I received no reply from her. A few days ago, another panicked email. One of the instructors couldn't get to their web page because it wasn't where it was supposed to be. She emailed me to see if maybe it had something to do with the change she ordered. Hmm.... you think it just might? I checked out the website and discovered that it didn't seem to matter about the external hosting, so I mimicked her existing redirect configuration (domain is on external hosting, just to be redirected) and replied asking if everything was ok. She was extremely happy. Funny thing is... all I did was move the servers back to where they were before June's little game.

I suspect I will have to deal with her again in a few days when she finds out that e-mail is not functional for the domain. Apparently Enom stores the domain's host informations, but not its MX (email) records. I do not remember the server addresses and the email provider doesn't list them publicly, so I seriously hope when she emails me about that, she is able to provide me with the MX records for the domain. Email was something else she was warned about in June, but I suppose she was just worried about the web presence and not student email, which wouldn't be relevant until August 25th, in 5 days.

A:\CSC153\PROJECTS>dir
 Volume in drive A is DATA
 Volume Serial Number is DCA1-B951

 Directory of A:\CSC153\PROJECTS

08/19/2008  23:39    <DIR>          .
08/19/2008  23:39    <DIR>          ..
08/19/2008  23:39    <DIR>          HelloWorld
08/19/2008  22:58    <DIR>          InvoiceTotal
08/19/2008  22:58    <DIR>          VSMacros80
08/19/2008  22:58    <DIR>          WindowsFormsApplication1
               0 File(s)              0 bytes
               6 Dir(s)  67,751,673,856 bytes free

A:\CSC153\PROJECTS>cd HelloWorld
Invalid directory

A:\CSC153\PROJECTS>cd HelloWorld
Invalid directory

A:\CSC153\PROJECTS>cd HELLOWORLD
Invalid directory

I really hate that long file-name barrier! It is so easy to go over 8 characters and not even notice.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPAT84665620080818

There is a new pay television station for Canada. It features pornographic films, documentaries and game shows, featuring at least 50% Canadian porn. Apparently there is significant interest in getting "local" porn.

I personally find that the Germans have the best porn. It somehow comes across raw and natural, the way porn is supposed to feel. American porn is often boring (one area where I agree with the Canadians). It is like every American porn ever created has the same plot, or no plot. Also with the Germans, the accent and language don't hurt at all. The funny thing about German porn is that most times I can understand what is going on in the film more than if I were watching a film in English.

I love Microsoft Office as much as anyone, but there are limits to its capabilities. Occasionally I end up with an instructor (usually one that isn't very PC friendly) who decides that Doc is the best possible format to share content with students. I personally can't stand Word when I have a browser open (exception being research). I do feel that instructors are limited in what they can select, but it seems a bit bloated to use Doc. PDF is much better for web-based course instruction in my opinion. PDFs display in browsers more gracefully than a Doc ever has. Why would a C# instructor select such a clunky format to give class notes in?

Every semester there is a moment I both look forward to and dread, its the moment I have the full assignment list. While it is nice to know the way things will line up, it is such a pain getting everything into GITI. I have for many years considered writing a bulk assignment addition script where I can enter everything at once, but I haven't gotten there yet. Every year I think I'm going to do it, and then before I write it, I have the assignments all in manually. Sometimes there are other factors that complicate the process of entering assignments into GITI during the first day of a class, such as lack of due dates on assignments, or instructions that are incomplete.

I currently have two courses open and active, but already I feel like I am a little overwhelmed by the syllabi and the course information stuff. I don't know quite where to begin with stuff. I suspect it might be my tiredness, but I really want to get started with the courses, but feel too confused to really dive in. Tomorrow after I get my hair cut I will likely feel better and more able to handle getting going on my two courses at CPCC and the one already active at Gaston.

CPCC Online courses are now open. It seems I have one in Blackboard and one in Moodle... No consistency across platforms this semester (especially since I have one course at Gaston on WIKI!)

I have the status page almost finished, but still not quite right. I am to the point where I am comfortable with it technically, but no where near comfortable with it socially. I don't know what it should "be". I want it to be a starting place for my personal website. I always feel like my personal websites come across too stiff and static, so starting from a wholey dynamic base might be the right way to go... but am I someone deserving of such a page? Isn't "status" a little pretentious?

Well... I didn't get the perfectly universal option I wanted, but I did find where Google hides their status information. Google uses the Google Talk Badge to convey status, and also provide a guest access to the system for chatting.

For anyone else doing this, if you are a Google normal user, you will visit the following for your badge:
http://www.google.com/talk/service/badge/New

For users of Google Apps, your badge will be available at:
http://www.google.com/talk/service/a/yourdomain.com/badge/New

I can't believe I didn't run across this last night. I guess I wasn't using the right terms in the Google search engine to make it spit out what I wanted.

Last night I started playing with the idea of setting up a status page for myself, like I have considered many times. This time I took a different approach though, I started designing as a non-functional sample page, something I could build from. I started laying out a variety of ways I could provide information, including last GITI login, XMPP (Instant Messenger) status, if there were assignments due, and a direct statement of status from me. Everything seemed easy enough so I started looking for ways to do the friendliest part first (anything not touching GITI). I went out in search of a simple status component for XMPP. I came up blank for something universal, although, some XMPP servers have an HTTP component built in that will serve such information upon request. I then targeted Google Talk, my primary XMPP service. Nothing really came up... a  few mechanisms to call the information from the server on XMPP itself, but that would imply an active XMPP client is checking for it. I feel as though the functionality I am wanting is something that has to exist in Google, but is just buried deep in the API.

I still haven't found it, I guess I will keep digging.

I have installed Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional on both my desktop as well as on my laptop. I am preparing for my C# class that will begin on Monday. I find myself being amazed at the simplicity of such a massive application. On my desktop it is about 4.5GB installed, while on my laptop I installed it to take only about 1.7GB (just C#, nothing special).

I received my C# textbook today and read over the requirements for software. In addition to requiring an installation of the Microsoft C# IDE, I also have to have a SQL server. For now I am going with MS SQL Server 2005 Express, but I am likely to select something more robust for working with during the semester.

While I have taken many programming courses before, this is the first that has used the Microsoft IDE for anything. I am excited about working with it, and maybe learning how to make some things a little more graphical. Everything I have read relating to learning C# seems to be directed at reassuring me that it is an exciting programming language.

Looking back on the last two weeks I feel more like a ceramic artist now than I have in a while. I like everything I have made and have been proud to send it through the kiln. I have also made more work and spent more time working on ceramics than I think I have in this period of time before. A lot of my throwing in the past, outside of an academic environment, has been very random and almost spastic. I have been making whatever came off the wheel, but in the last few weeks I have been declaring things that I was going to do, or at least attempt. I dared to try a rolled lip, it worked out. I tested the limits of "squared" bowls (bowls with a harsh angle and not a curve) and they fought back, but I still got some good examples from it. I held my breath and put my weakest bottle on its head to trim, they were resilient. I have had more kiln loads running in the last few weeks than I used to do in a month. Doing all of this makes me feel good, it makes me feel like a ceramic artist, or at the very least, a potter.

Picking a new clay body (Standard 563) was very important to this happening, it has made me feel like I am starting again with things, and taking off in a more positive direction. I am also working with a stoneware body again, not falling back to earthenware, so it is like I am growing up ceramically.

I feel like I am getting a lot done lately, but I look over at my bisque shelves and see lots of very white pieces that really need to be glazed. I really hate glazing, I must be a potter.

Last night I transplanted out my AeroGarden chili peppers to some outdoor pots. This is my second AeroGarden to reach the end of its cycle, the first was the herb garden which finished up earlier this year. Somehow my gardens have gone from needing my attention every other Saturday to every other Tuesday, which seems a little strange for a nutrient schedule. Now I have a tomato garden still running and some fresh herbs waiting to sprout. I have about a month left to decide what to replace the tomatoes with. I have many options, but nothing seems really appealing to me.

In several days I will start my first ceramics class without Tweedy. I have grown quite attached to Tweedy's ways of doing things, and the ways of the UNCC ceramics studio.  I  will be in a new studio and under a new instructor. I am terrified.

I have never been one to compliment GoDaddy Software on anything, but I now believe that all of my negative feelings towards them are due to their previous status... a cheap domain registrar. One of my domains, Kularski.org, was registered through GoDaddy because of an arrangement with Google Apps. Now I am starting to wonder if letting the Enomitron manage my domain portfolio is such a wise idea.

This evening I was making arrangements to make Kularski.org have a function for myself similar to that of all of my  other Kularski.x domains... to have a separate email functionality for myself under it (not for actual use, just to catch stray mail). Upon trying to enter the information from Google into the DNS records for the domain in the custom DNS panel of GoDaddy I noticed an "import" button, with no context or instruction. I clicked the button, was presented with a generic file upload box, and I thought to myself, "what could they want here?". The only thing that made sense to me was a BIND DNS configuration file... or at least a pseudo-BIND file, using the BIND line syntax.

CURTIS IN MX 10 ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
CURTIS IN MX 20 ALT1.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
CURTIS IN MX 20 ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.
CURTIS IN MX 30 ASPMX2.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
CURTIS IN MX 30 ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
CURTIS IN MX 30 ASPMX4.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.
CURTIS IN MX 30 ASPMX5.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.

Thats all it took to get all of that in there. I didn't have to click "Add MX Record" 8 times or anything.

Legacy DNS Configurations lives on!

Classes start in under a week, so now I'm getting like all nervous and stuff. Usually I'm very calm this time of the year, I am so planned and everything it just seems like it should be fine and smooth. I suppose my biggest problem this semester is I changed schedules around so much that I wasn't entirely sure what I really wanted my schedule to look like. I have two 3D studio courses, an Art History course, an American history, a programming course and a literature course. It could be an exhausting semester, but at least I will have plenty to do in my spare time. Or... is it really spare time if I do nothing else but academics?

I am still really nervous, especially having an 18 hour load, even though 12 hours are online. 18 Hours is not normally considered insane for a normal student load.

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/07/25/danger-for-crocs-on-the-down-escalator/?mod=googlenews_wsj

As I always suspected... Crocs are a hazard. Maybe this little trend in anti-fashion will now begin to cease.

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/we-feel-your-pain-and-were-sorry.html

This event is only notable because it doens't happen that often, but yet it happens all the time, just not to Google. Corporate email servers have problems all the time... academic email servers even more often (some have planned weekly outages of 4 hours or more). As I pointed out a week ago in a blog post, not every email system is up all the time, especially not academically.

GMail is expected to be up all the time, and there is nothing wrong with that expectation, but I think up to this point, they have done a damn good job with system stability and availability.

I personally am a Google Apps user and I didn't even notice the problem. Usually I'm among the first to notice things and tend to be the first to bitch.

I am beginning to believe that all original ideas for products have been used. A few days ago I was thinking that it seems weird that my batteries are all giggling around loose in my camera bag. Today I received the latest edition of PC Photo magazine, and a few pages in was this odd, but useful product. It looks like a decent product that might be sturdy as well. The company's website claims that it is a strong case, but I won't know for certain until I receive mine in a few days.

They are very cheap for their usefulness. I myself purchased 3 of the "slim-line" AA holders. I got one in "Caution Yellow" for high visibility in my camera bag, one in "Tuxedo Black" for those formal occasions requiring batteries and one in "Military Green" for when I need to blend in, or when I'm in the woods in my camo gear taking pics

Product Link: http://www.powerpax.net

Everything worked out this morning. The registrar received the new information this morning and was able to correctly transfer UNC's ART390 (Special Topics Studio: Digital Photography) as NCCCS's ART264 (Digital Photo I). I am quite relieved that the credit has transferred properly now.

I just had an idea for a website that I feel I could create to contribute to the Internet an a psuedo-significant way. An academic resource website, explaining general practices of many colleges and universities as well as perhaps providing organizational tips and similar things. I don't know for certain how useful it would be, but it seems like it may be helpful to someone.

Yesterday Chris' aunt generated my astrological chart. The chart itself is more astronomy than astrology, it is the positioning of various celestial bodies at the time of my birth and their relative positions to the location of my birth. The astrology part comes with the "reading" of the chart, which is an interesting psychological event in itself. Horoscopes are hokey, this is interesting and remarkably accurate (or at least it was for me).

This evening I tried my own attempt at making a chicken seasoning. I was going for something mildly spicy with a bit of a bite, but nothing too hot for my dinner guests (my parents and Chris). I overshot and ended up with something very spicy, but that was considered to be a good flavor by all who attempted eating it. The mixture is listed below.

Equal parts:

• Ground red pepper
• Ground white pepper
• Ground Italian seasoning
• Garlic Powder
• Mrs. Dash Chicken Seasoning (yes, I cheated some)

One-half part:

• Ground cumin

Three parts:

• Cornmeal

After mixing the seasoning I spooned a single teaspoon into a shaking bag (any light-weight plastic bag, gallon or larger, will do), tossed in a half-breast of chicken and shook aggressively. Once each piece was seasoned I placed them inside a turkey bag (laying flat) on a 13x9 baking dish. I added some sliced Italian sausage on top of the chicken. Tied the bag with butcher's string and tossed it in the over at 350° for 45 minutes.

I believe the level of heat of this dish can be controlled by adjusting the amount of seasoning placed in the bag, perhaps next time only about a half of a teaspoon per piece of chicken.

Yesterday in the mail I received a little note from the registrar's office at Gaston College. The note stated that the credit from UNC Chapel Hill could not be transferred because there was no equivalent course in the Gaston College catalog, even though I was assured by my dean that the course would transfer without a problem. I was originally discouraged from doing a transient study form because he felt there should be no problem, and that doing a form would only be extra insurance of the transfer. I'm glad I did the form now. I have faxed a copy of the form and the syllabus for the course to the registrar's office. I will likely call the registrar's office on Monday to get thing straightened out. I do not like the feeling of having credit hanging in limbo. I prefer nice, clean transfers that happen transparently.

Summer classes are over and I've made enough ceramics to want to bowl myself into a corner... so what's next for the summer?

• Figure drawing - I'm borrowing a book from the UNC library about figure drawing, so I think next week I will try some figure drawing exercises and at least get myself a base set up to play with... maybe I will practice enough during the next two weeks to want to take a course on location at CPCC in the Spring.
• Advanced C++ - since I won't have a course in Advanced C++ in the fall, I'm going to at least attempt some of the exercises from the old course. Maybe this time I will understand it... using my new 5th edition of the text.
• Photography - with only a few more weeks of summer, I want to get a few more colorful shots in, maybe even find some locations to set up and shoot for a while. A lot of my readers here only know me electronically and have never seen much where I live except a few shots of my yard. I'm going to try to capture some of the joys of the North Carolina piedmont region.
• Writing - if there is enough time I think I will write. Maybe some erotic stories, maybe some non-erotic short fantasy fiction... perhaps a lot of poems.. I haven't written any poems about photography yet.. maybe I should see what I can come up with there.
• Getting It Together Interface - GITI is always on my agenda for summer, ever since her first few lines of code over 5 years ago. GITI is more complete now than it ever has been, but the education module needs some organization, some redundant code needs pruning and there are a lot of code areas that need to be "smoothed at the edges" (nutrition, email, etc)

Since June 2003, when GITI was created, it has been an interface of seriousness and record keeping... last week I decided to deviate from that just a touch. I have added a few games to the interface using some games from Google Gadgets. I'm hoping to write some games of my own to put in GITI soon, but for now these interactive versions of PacMan, Tetris, Frogger, Invaders, Hangman and Mario are keeping me entertained.  Unfortunately, there is not yet a Google Gadget pong... or it would have been in there too.

P.S. No one make fun of my score... I was trying to get an interactive-looking screenshot and that isn't easy with those things chasing you.

Today both the textbook and the notice of cancellation for "Advanced C++" arrived at the same time via USPS. Quite brilliant.

Even though CPCC has canceled their Advanced C++ course, some other institutions are offering web-based Advanced C++ courses. Lenoir Community College and Pitt Community College are the two primary schools offering the course. Unfortunately, it is way too late in the registration period for me to feel motivated enough to work with the administrative hurdles involved with moving the course. First, I would need records from CPCC to be sent to the other schools, then I would have to observe the registration time-frames from the other schools, including payment schedule (which is a bitch, since CPCC won't release funds on the canceled course until after the semester begins).

In addition to the registration concerns, I am not prepared to add a fifth institution into my game of transcript pong yet, there are already too many balls in play (although, Lenoir does offer free transcript service).

Nothing substantial, just making a simple correction for the dropped course.

CSC153, C# Programming has now taken the place of Advanced C++ on my schedule for Fall. It is a new language for me, and it will give me something to work with in Visual Studio (I've always had it, just never really used it). I worry that the course will be just another over-simplified "welcome to blah programming language" course. I know that the first thing that will be required is a simple "hello world" program, but I think that's standard even at graduate level programming courses. I am looking forward to this being a little more event driven than some of my other courses, and perhaps introduce me to something new... maybe even a GUI way of doing things. I have heard many things about C#, everything from it is crap and is slow to being raving about how extensible it is and comments like that. I will now have a chance to decide for myself and develop a true opinion of the language.

Below is the course information:

Schedule: Internet

Upon checking my course records this morning I found out that CSC234, Advanced C++ has been dropped from the schedule of classes at CPCC. After getting myself so excited about it, I am a little sad that it isn't an option. I am now weighing my options... I could potentially take a C# course. No other interesting languages are offered, but the game development department is still offering their "Intro to Game Programming" course.. but that's not really my thing.

The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) uses a course called "ART 288" or "Studio" as a catch-all course for all studio areas, providing an upper-level studio, which is sometimes handled as an independent study. Most community  colleges implementing the course use it with special designations such as ART 288 C (ceramics), 288 P (painting), 288 PH (photography), 288 PR (printmaking), and a variety of others. Some colleges, such as CPCC even use a different course title for them, identifying them as "%StudioArea% Studio". This still leaves the records very vague when attempting to transfer the credits, since most schools only recognize the "ART 288" portion and then transfer the credit accordingly, usually as a general elective or as an art elective. Surprisingly, the course is still allowed in the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) as a premajor/elective course, the same class of course as most upper level studios. How can such a general course be accepted in the CAA at all? I would think that separate studio courses at that level would have been more appropriate, especially since there is a restriction on the number of times 288 can be taken. It can only be taken once without it being counted as a repeated course, making it impossible to complete a 288 in an additional studio area without being partially penalized for it and essentially receiving no credit for the course. 

UNC is looking for a few lab rats, anyone want to help?

A research study in the UNC psychology department is examining how
individuals respond to moral dilemmas. Your participation would be
greatly appreciated.

Most volunteers finish this study in less than 5 minutes. If you are

interested, please follow the link below to learn more and participate:

http://www.uncdecisionmaking.com

Questions or concerns? Email the PI at uncdecisionmaking@gmail.com.


This research study (IRB #08-0748) was approved by the UNC-CH Behavioral

IRB on 05/23/08 and this email message was approved on 05/23/08.

This email is sponsored by: UNC Department of Psychology

Almost all academic institutions now give students e-mail accounts. UNCC uses Exchange, CPCC used GMail, NCSU and UNC use some undisclosed email server and Gaston College uses Novell's NW Mail. All of the institutions keep email accounts active for multiple semesters, or at least retain email in the boxes, even if the accounts aren't active. Gaston College is the one exception. At the end of every semester the email accounts are disabled and all email is removed from them. I am irritated by this behavior. Gaston College seems to put a lower value on information retention than the other schools. I believe this is related to the fact that Gaston College has a lack of information technology resources. In the absence of these resources I have to wonder why they have not adopted Google Apps or a similar service that would meet all of the needs of the students as well as the faculty. At present, there is no method for changing the email password without going on campus and logging in to a Novell system. Its a bit of a pain for such a simple security procedure.

All of my records have found their way to their destinations, according to the Gaston College admissions office. A few hours after the confirmation came from the admissions office, the registrar had transferred my Personal Health/Wellness credit from CPCC. Now I am just waiting to make sure my transient study authorization for the Digital Photography course takes effect and the course gets transferred properly. 

I have never trimmed a clay as smooth as 563. The clay shaves off with no disruption to the piece, and I don't get those nasty little grooves that some grogged stonewares do. I am liking more about it than I am hating about it. I will likely keep working with 563, maybe as a replacement to 105 as my normal throwing clay. I had no problems getting the wobbly bowl to trim to a beautiful foot.

This morning I dove into the bookstore websites for my varying institutions, looking up what my required texts will be this fall (in an attempt to acquire most of them cheaply). I ran across my Art History course, looked up the text on Amazon and was greeted by a $120 book. Its not even a good $120 book, the reviews for it state how much it sucks. Since the text is fairly new I looked up the previous edition, only to find that its reviews are roughly the same standing, it isn't a very well liked book. The text, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, is in its 13th revision. It is speculated by many reviewers that the only reason the book is used by so many college courses is that it has been in print longer than any other art history text. This sucks! I'm considering spending $11 on a "very good" copy of the 12th edition and not bothering with the 13th.

Here is my Fall 2008 class schedule, per the request of a friend. I must apologize for using an image for this, but it would appear that GITI's output only works in a GITI stylesheet supported UI environment.

http://www.theultimatesteal.com

For anyone who will be enrolled in any accredited college or university program this fall, Microsoft is making Office 2007 Ultimate available for $60, or $70 if you would like to have a physical media.

I participated in this program last year. It is really worth it to get all of the Office applications for 10% of their normal cost.

Microsoft will reopen the program on August 20, 2008 (same day as a lot of universities begin class).

My first throw in Standard's 563 was interesting. It centered fast, and threw smooth. The texture of the clay was great, but the particular batch this bag is from seems to be a little overly moist. The clay has no structure... it isn't good for throwing wide bowls at this point (but as with all clays, it will stiffen with some time). I threw one wide bowl in it, which had difficulties with staying even, it attempted to slump. In future wide throws I will spend some time giving the clay a serious wedging first. After the failing of the wide throw I tried for something I had problems with on 105G recently, bottles. 563 works beautifully for bottles. It is a very plastic clay that goes where I point it. It's properties are very similar to that of 105 in that it is a very smoothly workable clay, but 105 has never given me the type of finish that 563 has. Just a simple rubbing of the metal rib before running the wire under gave me a really beautiful, almost burnished appearance.

I am going to continue working  with 563. I feel that once I learn its properties I will be well on my way to throwing whatever I want in it.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN0126069520080802

It would seem that the only way  to truly go through customs entering the United States without hassle is to go through customs naked.

My normal throwing clay for home is Standard Clay's 105 or 105G (with grog). Also I work with a red clay in the same series, 104. Recently my mother (who does a lot of glazing for me) asked if she could use mid-range stoneware glazes. This brought about a question in myself... can she? I know my 105 earthenware would never survive to those temperatures, but on the other hand, if I were to change clays, then it would be possible to fire higher without risk. In some ways, 105 is not a very versatile clay, but its easy to work with. I had previously used Standard's 551, VP Porcelain as my mid-range white clay. I had a love-hate relationship with it. It would throw thin, light and stretch easily, but it wasn't durable at all... many pieces in it broke before they were even fired. I was running low on clay the other day so I have obtained 100 pounds of a clay I have never worked with before... Standard's 563, a white mid-range stoneware that is completely vitreous at cone 6. I'm looking forward to trying it next week. The description I have read for it sounds a lot like 105, so I might be very happy with it, but no way to tell until its on the wheel.