Even better: Blog Jones has its own new domain, BlogJones.com, and it's now a Movable Type site. That's what was taking me so long; figuring out the templates and perfecting them. Come and see! And update your links!

*sigh*

This I wouldn't mind if I could actually use the software in question. But, because it was written by a textbook manufacturer, it wasn't designed for computers made after 1998. It requires that you have your own 3 1/2" disc in the A: drive when you start the program, and it will do nothing until that requirement is satisfied. You can't save your files to the hard drive, or to a handy key-chain drive. So, it won't work on my laptop, which doesn't even have a floppy drive.

Idiots.

I love these guys. It's nice to have someone calling companies like McGraw-Hill on this issue. I added up the retail cost of all the books I was supposed to buy this year, and it was over $500. (Fortunately, Half.com and a BJU trading site came to my rescue and I paid somewhat less, in one case buying a previous edition to save $65). What kills me is that the books really aren't that good anyways, as if the authors KNOW that the students have to read it anyways, no matter how good the writing is.

In one book, Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics (by Dennis L. Wilcox, Phillip H. Ault, Warren K. Agee, and Glen T. Cameron; published by Allyn & Bacon/Longman Publishers) (Credit to where credit's due, of course), the authors seemed to write in an excessively verbose manner in order to inflate the word count (and thus charge higher prices). For example, the first chapter, entitled "What Is Public Relations" spends nearly twenty pages on what should have been summarized in a page. One paragraph begins, "Public relations is a process--that is, a series of actions, changes, or functions that bring about a result."

Now, come on. I don't care how bad the public education system is doing, you really shouldn't have to define the word "process" to a college level audience. Although I tried, I simply could not finish the chapter. It's that bad.

I'm glad I only paid $15 for it. Otherwise, I'd be really ticked off.

(Via Slashdot)

Despite going to Bob Jones, I'm not a racist, and neither are the vast majority of those on the staff and in the student body. But it takes a special kind of idiot to truly believe that anyone is deserving of my money because of something their great-great-grandfather may have suffered at my great-great-grandfather's hands (which I doubt was the case; despite what you may have heard, slaves were not cheap, and I doubt either side of my family could have afforded slaves even if they had wanted them). (Sorry about the uberlong sentence) If my great-grandfather, or even my father, had shot and killed your father, I would not be held liable for that! In America, you pay for your own crimes. The people who committed the crime of slavery here are all dead.

The only reason to seek "reparations" is basically that you're either too dumb or too lazy to go earn your money, so you have to steal it from others. I seriously doubt that anyone except the most self-deluded true believers think that this issue is really about justice.

Erica: Picture Posting is pretty easy, actually. Here are easy instructions. I find that w3schools is an absolute life saver with HTML stuff.

Tim(m): 1986? I was two. :-) New Hampshire Primaries... I haven't really been paying attention, to be honest. Dean kind of shot himself in the foot with the famous Dean Yell, so I'd guess either Edwards or Kerry. But to me, it doesn't really matter; they all stand for the same things anyways.

The only unfortunate thing is that I don't have some of my school books here, since they're at my locker at school. Oh well... :-)

On the other hand, it has the potential to be irritatingly and stupidly liberal, to the point of not being funny in the slightest, as it was Friday

I don't mind jokes about conservatism/libertarianism in the slightest. In fact, IIRC, Non Sequitur has had some pretty good ones (I'd show one, but uComics only lets you go back two weeks if you don't pay). But this was just stupid.

What I like is that one of my friends from PCC that I mentioned earlier is now coming to BJU! I get to play chauffeur this semester, since she doesn't have an extra car lying around the house. It turns out that being a town student at BJU is cheaper than being a dorm student at PCC, especially with the LIFE scholarship (lottery-funded $5K a year for a 3.0 or better average). She's a lot of fun; a lot more interesting than talk radio at least!

Books are expensive, just so you know. I figured that if I bought all my books new, it would cost me something like $500. So, of course, I sought out cheaper options, like Half.Com and the "University Yard Sale" website (which is basically an exclusive BJU bulletin board for selling stuff, usually textbooks). Oh, it also helps to buy expedited shipping on Half.com if you want your book before classes start. (stupid me; I should have ordered a long time ago...) Fortunately, I have a nice teacher, so I got to photocopy the stuff I'll need before my book gets here.

I think I'm going to like my classes. I don't think I have any teachers that will be just unbearable to listen to. One has a really southern-ish accent, and another one sounds a little like Coach Z, but no one is really boring to listen to. (At least, not yet.)