I must say, sitting through an introductory programming course is rather amusing for me.  It’s true, I could have easily taken the test to skip this course and fulfilled the requirement for a Mathematics BS.  However, my reasoning for not doing so was that I really wanted to learn Java.  What I’m finding is that CSE-110 (Intro to Java), is more like an “Intro To Computing” in general.  I must say, trying to sit there quietly as the teacher fills these unfortunate students’ heads with generalizations that are so vague, I would dare say they are incorrect, is difficult.  Every time I see this diagram of a computer:

CPU -> Main Memory ->Storage Devices

+  —— > RAM

I cringe!  What happened to the northbridge?  I’m not even sure what they’re trying to suggest… is main memory not inherently RAM?  Or are they talking about the Hard Disk, which would then fall under storage devices…  The way this diagram looks, I get curious as to why it took so long for the Enigma/Collosus to fully shape into the PC’s we have today… I mean, I could have come up with something of this complexity in my sleep!  No interfaces, buses, motherboards… I digress.

And how does one not know the difference between an input device and an output device?  Obviously there’s some grey area when you toss in keyboards that have LCD screens on them, or mice that have indicator lights on them, but still!    I can understand someone not understanding the concept of an object, a method, or something directly related to the topic, but this is madness!  (No, actually this is Sparta!).  ASU really needs to implement some sort of prerequisite to Intro to Java, because these students are in for a hard time if they don’t understand even the user’s perspective of a computer.

Funny Quote from the teacher:

• “Java is platform independent, as opposed to C++ which is platform dependent.  C++ will not work on *NIX based machines – It’s only on Windows.”

  Considering that Linux is based in C, and is home to the GNU C++ compilers, I dare say that it should run it better than Windows

Any Way You Want It

I must say, I’m not all that impressed with Arizona State University.  But then again, maybe it’s not the college that’s at fault, but rather my perspective.  Over the years, I’ve always been told that “College is complete freedom” – a place where attendance is your own business, homework is up to you, and your grade rides on a that all important final exam.  Instead, I’ve found an institution where attendance is mandatory, homework is 15% of your grade (the value varies from class to class), and you have 3 midterms (??).  Then there are the professors to complain about.  I’m amazed how few of them put more than the bare minimum into their classes… best quote thus far: “I’m not sure if we’re going to have any quizzes, since I can’t find a T/A to grade them…”.  Sad, but true.  Students are apathetic, even in third semester courses, and the material covered is exceptionally simple.   Makes me wish I could take AP classes in college – at least I felt challenged.

The positives:

1. I got a new book for the price of used, since they rang it up wrong
2. The buses are at least relatively consistent.
3. Lots of girls….
4. My first year comp teacher is “stuck” in Europe, so we got to skip the first two classes.
5. Did I mention the girls?  It’s very important

Rant over… I’m done whining and moving on towards the future.

It’s been a good summer this year, significantly better than last for me (though the infinite number of people asking “what’s you’re major”, or “where are you going to college certainly grew tiresome).  Soon it’s off to the new college life – so much for being top of the heap eh?  I’ll try to be more involved in my website, though I must say that running a blog definitely doesn’t seem quite as techy as I’m usually up for.

For some reason, it didn’t occur to me that I should put this post first until after I had already posted about SkillsUSA.  Basically, here’s the deal: I’ve been wanting a new website for a long time, but am too lazy/busy right now to build a full-up custom site for myself.  As you can see at the root of the site (http://www.jacobschaer.com), I did put a little effort into aesthetics, but beyond that, there is nothing but a resume, 3 pages, and my blog.  Why blog?  I know, seems silly in the world of Facebook, Twitter, IM, Gmail, and Texting.  However, none of these things have the permanence of a blog, and occasionally I want to share something with the world.  Though this certainly won’t be my primary means of communication, it will be nice for posting things of interest, especially since it will show up in Google searches.

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jacob.schaer

My old website: http://www.w3wizardry.com

Oh, and eventually I’ll get around to making my own theme… for the time being, special thanks to whoever made this template.  It’s very pretty

For those involved in SkillsUSA (either competitors or instructors), you’ll know that for every national competition there is a Technical Reference Sheet.  Now, at first I was a skeptic, especially considering that the website (http://www.skillsusa.org/compete/contests.shtml) would charge you $33 for the complete Tech Standards Manual. However, about a week before the national conference, I discovered that you could buy just the manual for each individual contest for only $10.  I highly recommend to all of next years competitors that you invest in this.  Many of them include not only a summary of all of last year’s competitions, but also a grading rubric for the upcoming competition.  If you want to win, get a head start and study for exactly what will be on your competition agenda.

For those in Computer Maintenance Technology (CMT), the 2009 standards can be downloaded at:

http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c117201/computermaint.pdf

When they become available, purchase the latest ones at:

http://www.skillsusa.org/store/singles.html