Degree Options

As part of my plan to get a bachelors degree, I have been struggling lately with the decision on which degree to pursue. I am interested in getting in to programming but I am afraid that a Computer Science BS may not be for me. Firstly it seems like a lot of work. The math and physics requirements are very high. I am not confident that I could finish a degree like that in 2 years (after transferring). In addition: I am not interested in microprocessor design or building enterprise software so there is no need to torture myself.
I am looking at other adjacent degrees but it is difficult to decide which one will be the most beneficial. Computer Information Systems could be a good fit but, as I understand it, it is more of an IT degree. I don’t want to be a systems administrator, I want to be creating new things. The best and worst thing about this degree is that at many colleges it is part of the business department. I could add a strong understanding of business management to my computer knowledge.
Cognitive Science sounds extremely fascinating but the career prospects are squishy. Some degrees are more solid than others and CogSci looks a little bullshitty on paper. That being said, I am very drawn to the idea of studying how the mind works and getting into the details of human-machine interaction. If I can get a minor in CS, it may bolster the credibility of this option.
A friend of mine instilled two bits of wisdom on my at about 2AM on last Sunday night. First he said that if I don’t get a degree with “computer” in the title, I had better have a good portfolio to prove that I can do the programming. Second, he said that if I am going to go that route, I should pick a degree that is going to hold my interest and keep me invested long enough to graduate. My girlfriend keeps reminding me to keep my eye on the prize and to focus on taking the classes (and secondarily the degree) that will get me into my chosen field. If I get derailed onto an easier degree path that does not relate to my career goals, then this entire exercise will have been for naught.
How about you, friends? Do any of you out there have experience with these degrees? Do any of you have advice on which path to take?

Inside The Actors Studio: Hugh Jackman

On a recent flight to New York, I had a chance to watch an episode of “Inside the Actors Studio.” This episode featured Hugh Jackman. I have liked Hugh’s work for various reasons but had not realized how many fantastic films he has acted in. From fun action films like the X-men series and swordfish to tense thrillers like “The Prestige” and emotional films like Les Miserables. It was during the discussion of Les Miserables and in analysis of his performance that I really came to understand one of the most beautiful themes of the film.

I have loved the Musical form of Les Mis for a long time. I have seen it staged three times and when I watched the recent movie version, I cried. The themes of love, righteousness (for good and ill), and protection resonate with me. In this interview, they play a clip of Jackman singing “Who am I?” This clip was chosen for its emotional depth and the raw quality of his singing performance. The conversation was on the unusual process of filming a musical with the songs performed live on set and the accompaniment being performed live (on piano before later doing the orchestral work) to match the actors performance. The scene was not one of my favorites. I thought that the choice of location was strange and the camera angles too tight. This time, however I saw the scene in comparison to the later reprise by Javert.

The question of “Who am I” is not one asked in a static situation, it is one of revolution. The re-assessment of ones life when you have reached a point of no return. ValJean decides to tear up his parole papers (and symbolically his previous life) and to become someone new. Alone, and at the end of his rope, ValJean chooses to be reborn, to dedicate himself to become a righteous man and to rebuild. Never mind the improbability of a man rising from the dregs of society to become a mayor, that part is glossed over. The point is that he choses life.

In a similar situation of desperation, Javert chooses death. Javert is an agent of order. He believes in the righteousness of the law and cannot conceive of a situation in which disobeying the law is the right thing to do. When confronted with a criminal, who is in fact a good man, his world view is shaken. Javert’ paradigm cannot survive such a shaking and he commits suicide. He sings “I’ll escape now from that world /  from the world of Jean ValJean,” and so he finds his escape in death.

There are many times in our lives that we each must re-evaluate what the world is and who we are. I knew from the first night I met my girlfriend that I would have to be a better version of myself to be with her. I have had to change my career choice when confronted with the insufficiency of my current trajectory. I will need to redefine myself when I have children and will have to redefine again when they are gone from my care (but never from my heart).

What do you do when you are confronted with a world that does not work for you? cry out “Unfair!” entrench? refuse to change? You may as well ask the sun to rise in the west. Sometimes people cheat. Sometimes there is no food. Technology advances. Children grow up. Gravity pulls us all. When faced with these constant changes, I try to think of it as a constant process of refinement. I try to see the parts of myself that are not helping me and reshape them into a better form.

The interview ended with an excellent question from a producing student from the California Institute of the Arts. She asked how acting helped in his personal and professional relationships. This question sparked some very profound words from Hugh. he starts by saying “One of the greatest roadblocks in a relationship is how increasingly we take things for granted.” The automatic reactions to things and a lack of being “Awake” and in the moment can rob the life from interactions. It is easy to fall into a state of not giving yourself to the moments and people in your life. He goes on to say “Sometimes you can sleep for years in a relationship. You're not really awake not really looking in each others eyes not really seeing each other for the first time.” Here again I see the choice to live or not presented in your everyday existence. One must always strive to be awake and present otherwise you are not living but merely existing.

I will be present in my life and make myself into the person I want to be. (unless the zombie apocalypse happens in which case forget this touchy feely bullshit, I will do what it takes)

Changing Flow Direction

It sure has been a while. I am through with Spring 2013 semester. I am getting close to being able to transfer to a 4-year institution. I have decided not to take any classes during the summer. The pace of summer is very demanding, and the classes that I have left to take are tough so I decided to leave them for the fall full semester and to shift gears and spend my summer working on projects and being creative. I am really itching to produce some of my own work, especially after my two week vacation in Italy. I saw so many things, and took in so much inspiration It is time to change from input to output.
With my new found time I have started doing a little pen turning and hope to get back on the ceramic wheel. I have had the electric kiln for months now and I still haven't fired it. I am also looking forward to being able to spend some time learning to program.

Perhaps I have too many hobbies?

Spring 2013

It has been a tough semester. I have only been taking three classes but with the combination of work and school, I have been struggling. I have had so many irons in the fire (to use a blacksmithing metaphor) that I have had to make choices on what gets dropped and what gets completed. A couple of times I did not make a decision and just dropped something accidentally. This is how I earned a C in my online Anthropology lab. But I am finally through with the semester. Due to some confusing decisions that the school made; there was no winter session and there will be an inconvenient late spring session. I may be back in summer but I have to wait until they release the schedule on Tuesday to know for sure. I am only 3 or 4 classes away from transfer and that is exciting.

I'm not sure where or even if I will transfer so I am trying to keep my options open. Now I am stoked to get a little free time and to work on some intern work and for my impending trip to Italy. (I guess I should say a very little bit of free time)

Limited Bandwidth

It has been a difficult few weeks. I have been busier this last month than I have been in a long time, and I have been having a little trouble keeping focused, keeping up on all of my projects.

I am currently:

• Working a full time job
• Getting my general education credits in order so I can transfer as a junior
• Beginning a part time internship
• Studying for my CCNA exam
• Trying to live my life

The hardest part is staying focused and driven on all of these projects. Willpower is an exhaustible resource, and I have been running out. I get to the point at the end of my workday where I want play ingress (more on that later) or go see a play or have a nice dinner with my Novia. I am running out of bandwidth and need to find out how to accomplish all of my goals. 

Perpetual

I am here at school again. I am waiting for my Physical Anthropology class to start. We will be watching yet another video. I think that I could probably teach this class at least as well as the teacher does. The hardest part of this class is reaching back more than 10 years to when I first learned this stuff in freshmen year of high school. I haven't studied (other than reading the chapters in the book yet I am very confident that I will pass the test next week.

I just keep getting the feeling that I am wasting my time with this class. I just need to focus and finish the class and earn the credits.
Some days it feels like I have been taking classes here forever.

Plan B

It has been a confusing few years. I have gone from one job at a small company to a very different one at a mid sized company. I have lived alone, moved back home, lived with my girlfriend and finally moved back home again with her. I have had many different plans and goals and some have been accomplished, some abandoned, and some obviated by circumstances. I am constantly re-evaluating what I want to do and be. This makes it difficult to definitively state what my plan is. All I can do is say what my plan is now.

I have been going to school with the aim of earning some form of bachelors degree. This is ever more seeming like a plan B. For a long time I have been of the opinion that the really successful people in the world do not need a college degree to achieve their success. I reluctantly embraced a return to school, and have been taking classes again. After a careful examination of the Bachelors degrees that are reachable, I have come up with CIS or Business Management instead of the more interesting Computer Science. I have become more and more interested in programming and although CS is the degree that would get me there, the required classes seem too onerous to be a real option.

I have been attempting to learn programming and to meet programmers. First, I went to the first Los Angeles "Drink Up" hosted by the website Github. This website offers code hosting, version tracking, and bug tracking. While there, I met a couple of guys who run Lemur Heavy Industries, a guy who wrote this Rails Tutorial and had some good conversations. I have also met some programmers while playing Ingress. Add to this the very enviable work situation of my friend OrangeWolf in programming freelance and as an employee. I want to do the kinds of things that these people do. I want to make useful application and work on new things.

I want to have a job where I am creating things, not where I am playing hall monitor to keep people from deleting their browser history or telling them why they have to use Internet Explorer instead of Firefox. I understand that every company needs tech support, to fix broken computers and help clueless computer users, but I don't want to be that guy.

My plan now is to learn programming skills wherever I can and to build a portfolio. I need to build a cool website as an exercise in building something and as proof of what I can do. I plan on going to programming related social events and meet as many people as I can. The hard part is that these goals have no timeline and I have nobody to be accountable to but myself. I also have school taking up my time. I will need to find a way to set and achieve the goals on this while maintaining my progress on school.

One of the most important skills in life is being a "Self Starter" and I need to figure out how to make myself into one.