HOPE Scholarship is a Privilege

I had a nice Letter to the Editor in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today:

It shouldn’t be the responsibility of the state and its citizens to continue a students’ education beyond graduation requirements. Smart and applied students can continue their learning at graduate institutions, rather than continue to use up taxpayers’ dollars. Rather than worrying about “earning without fear of financial burdens,” why not invest in your own future? I would imagine if students paid their own college tuition bills, they would graduate in four years (or maybe even sooner).

Chris M. Lindsey, Denver (UGA ‘08 in four years)

My letter was written in response to an editorial published December 14th that explained why “super seniors” who have high grades should get continued support from Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship beyond the mandated 127 hours:

What I don’t comprehend is why students with the highest level of pride in their studies, students who dedicate time and energy to rising above the norm, are not given the chance to continue or even finish their goals [...]

My proposition allows students with a 3.5 grade-point average or better to be granted the chance to appeal scholarship revocation due to exceeding the 127-credit-hour limit [...]

I felt compelled to bring this injustice to the public’s attention. Yes, I could have earned one degree and graduated last May, but my résumé would have been void of a much-needed internship, and I would have had to sacrifice the presidential role of a club I have invested my heart into at UGA.

If you must have more experience, more degrees, or more résumé fillers (injustice?), please pay for your own classes. It is what students everywhere else are forced to do for their own education.  Stop wasting the money of the taxpayers of the State of Georgia. It is not their job to help you with your résumé.  It is this mindset, that people have the right to HOPE Scholarship, that will eventually run the HOPE Scholarship fund dry.

An undergraduate degree paid for by the State of Georgia is a privilege.  Enjoy it, but remember that it might not always be there.

2009 Year in Photos

The Boston Globe has for a while had a great series called ‘The Big Picture.’  Everyday they post high-quality photos about major news events.  This week they’ve posted the series 2009 in Photos.  The pictures are pretty moving (and some are graphic, but there are warnings).  See the three posts: first, second, and third.

The soldier with his gun while wearing boxers and flip-flops was my favorite.

And to Hell with Georgia Tech

Ahh, what a weekend.  Both football teams representing the division champions in the Atlantic Coast Conference (or American Cupcake Conference, if you will) were beaten by unranked Southeastern Conference teams.  Clemson was knocked off by South Carolina, and Georgia Tech got stomped by the University of Georgia Bulldogs.  What an accomplishment, winning the ACC.  Westerdawg even asked if the ACC Championship was a real thing (no way).

The best part?  All the Georgia Tech fans talking trash for the past 365 days.  You’d think they might watch out, since they’ve beaten Georgia once (ONCE!) in the past nine years.  But no, they shot their mouthes off for a whole year.  And now they can eat crow.

Some highlights:

And as the words go:

Glory, glory to old Georgia.  And to Hell with Georgia Tech!

Go Dawgs!

Nerd Hate Week 2009: The Dating Doctor

So I have been waiting to publish this post, and even more so after I spotted the inhumane cartoon posted by the Georgia Tech Sports Blog National blog (titled Ding Dong the Mutt is Dead!).  Payback’s a bitch.

love-doctor-logoOver the years I have made a conscious effort to make fun of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).  One of these posts (Georgia Tech Student Needs Kissing Lessons, a true story) made a big splash and one of my most visited posts to date.  I hope this post is just as good.

It seems that recently, the Georgia Tech Student Center Programs Council has seen a deficiency in Georgia Tech students.  Apparently that deficiency is dating.

So they did what any self respecting university would do, they hired David Coleman, the self-proclaimed “Dating Doctor”.  I kid you not.  David Coleman’s byline is “America’s Real-Life Hitch,” a reference to the movie Hitch.  Hitch is a dating doctor played by Will Smith who coaches hopeless men to date the women of their dreams.  If only those Techies could learn these lessons, they could take over the world.

Sadly, attending World of Warcraft parties and majoring in chemical engineering don’t help your case.

Again, I’m not making this up.  Here’s the event listing on Georgia Tech’s calendar and here it is listed on the Fall 2009 programs (pdf) for November 12.  There is a photo gallery on Flickr (only the nerds would hire a guy that looks like this to teach them how to date).  There is a post on Twitter, from this Georgia Tech female (rare) student (she’s apparently a model, I wonder why she needed to go to this).  She remarked, “The dating doctor talked in the student center tonight and was actually really helpful.”  I want to know what she learned.

And have you seen the website Only at Tech?  A site in the style of FMyLife.com, people tell their little stories about life at the North Avenue Trade School.  Three note the visit by the “Dating Doctor”:

I love making fun of Georgia Techies (see these pictures here, here, and here).

But this guy, this “Real-Life Hitch” sounds like a winner too.  Let’s take a look at some of the advice on his site.  Here are a few of his recommended pickup lines:

  • “I’ll keep buying you drinks. You tell me when I get good looking.” [you can't make this stuff up, people]
  • “If your beauty was measured in light, I’d see you coming from a mile away.” [I'm sure a Techie could find some problem in that math statement]
  • “Would you like to meet Russell? Russell my love muscle.” [Wow]
  • “You must have glue on your butt, because my eyes have been stuck there all night.”

The Love Doctor also lists some “kiss off quotes” which I’m sure my friends on North Avenue hear frequently:

  • “I’m not attracted to you in that way”
  • “It’s me. It really is. It’s not you”
  • “I really just want to be friends”
  • “You’re like a brother (or sister) to me”

This Love Doctor even has a list of items to take on a first date:

-Tums or Rolaids (in case your meal doesn’t sit well or nerves hit)

-Breath mints and gum (bad breath can shorten a date in a hurry)

-A small mirror to check your appearance and teeth for food particles

-An extra set of car keys (for pretty obvious reasons!)

-Chapstick….keep those lips soft and voluptuous

-A small list of 5 things to do on the date or talk about in case of awkward pauses, silence or indecision

-A small piece of paper with your date’s name, address and phone number on it just in case you forget this vital information!

-Phone numbers to contact friends or family in case the date isn’t going well

-A tiny (travel size) deodorant, cologne, hairbrush and toothbrush (in case a nervous nature changes your body chemistry)

-Extra money (in a pocket), including phone change, in case you lose your wallet or cell phone

-A condom (which, by the way, if you use, will signal your last date!).

-A couple of aspirin or Advil (in case your date causes more stress than he or she relieves)

-A smile, eye contact, a firm handshake and self-confidence that doesn’t appear arrogant.

-A positive attitude! If you don’t think you are going to have fun, you probably won’t!

Georgia Tech students, if you can fit all of that AND your light saber in the pockets of your cargo pants, you are ready to go on your first date, courtesy of “America’s Hitch.”

Ramblin’ wreck from Georgia Tech and needing a dating doctor.

Example of Good Customer Service

ku-library-screenshotThis is the ultimate customer service.  Last week the University of Kansas Library’s journal search wasn’t working for off-campus internet.  The KU Library offers a way to instant message a librarian.  I was going to IM the librarian just to tell them of the problem, but the librarian went above and beyond the call of duty.  He asked me for details of the article in question, and he was able to access it, download it, and email a .pdf of it to me.  That’s customer service!