Category Archives: Rant

Rants, self explanatory

Grievances against Texas A&M Commerce on Housing

Well, I forgot to write about this a few weeks ago… but I figured it would be appropriate today. Let me catch you all up to speed on how things got to my grievances.

A few weeks ago, I had gotten an e-mail basically saying to the tune of “Yeah, if you’re in Whitley Hall… You’re being forcibly evicted and you have 2 choices: The low extreme (West Halls) or the high extreme (New Pride). Happy hunting!” This would inevitably piss off all 11 floors of my dorm hall’s residents because our happy medium of balanced cost and decent living. The school’s supposed reason: “We would like to use Whitley Hall as an introductory hall to provide our first year freshman a chance to have a great dormitory experience!

First grievance, the dormitory choices are VERY SLIM!!! West Halls are not well kept-up and on a dark night, I wouldn’t feel quite safe even walking out 30 feet to my own car. On top of that… I believe certain buildings from West Halls will be going to some of the fraternity or sorority groups, so this also kills some of the possible housing slots. (If anyone can verify this, please comment and I will give credit to you. – Zero)  New Pride, space is just flat out limited. I have heard from students who are with me in Whitley Hall made mention of “I was on the waiting list to get in and I didn’t…” Some how, the only “compromise” that Whitley Hall residents get is on Friday, we apparently get first pick on New Pride Hall. I don’t know how that will turn out to be honest… Lastly, Prairie Crossing is no longer an open option, off-campus apartment living choice close to the campus because Texas A&M Commerce has bought out the complex and here’s what they have done to that… Most of the rooms will go Honor’s College students and the remaining rooms will be available to any other student under the condition that rooms are to go to students ranked by classification and GPA. Most of the alternative apartments are a good distance away from school… I personally would hate having to “live” in Greenville make a 30 minute commute to school 5 days a week.

Second grievance, some of my friends at Berry Hall are being forced out too… The worst part, they get NO priority choices. Berry Hall is a purely freshman only hall and worst yet… the date for freshman students to register for dorm choices is April 16th. It isn’t as big as Whitley, but yet in my mind… it’s just unfair to them too.

Third grievance is with respect to the last few events… This sudden decision has alienated the student population at Whitley (and no doubt, Berry) Hall.  Any financial increases in tuition and programs, it is required they get the approval of the faculty and student body. The school has asked for a few budgetary raises, but those have failed. They also finished the New Sam Rayburn Student Center with what seems like 40+ Samsung 20+” LCD TV’s all over and a poorly designed cafeteria. Their “experiment” to go to a 4 day school in what seemed like an assumption to reduce electrical energy wasted has been a failure as the Fall 2009 Semester will be a standard 5 day academic week. So what other loophole could the school exploit? A student by the name of Brian had said something close to “Housing is one loophole the school can use, because they can blanket it with any flowery reason while basically quietly hike dorm rates too.” His thought makes sense as the common layman would probably think the forcible eviction is a “good” thing because essentially an upgrade to New Pride Hall rooms. It isn’t until the other factors are accounted for that the ugly truth shows up.

Finally… With the uprising of students disappointed that Texas A&M Commerce would basically underhandedly make a decision with out the student body voting on STUDENT HOUSING they have decided to hold a “conference”. This Conference today takes place at the student center at 3:30pm. I unfortunately can’t go because I have school work to catch up on…

However… I encourage any students who read this to spread word and attend. Be you at Whitley or wherever, show up and make a stand that student housing should be a policy that has STUDENTS voting on how things should be, not just some decision that was just blanketed over e-mail. Feel free to link my site and share my opinions amongst yourselves!

Full Reload, Modifications, and New Articles to Come…

So school has been kicking my tail… I am sure that is evidenced by me not posting as much here… Don’t get me wrong, I like it save for two classes. I fight onward and march to insanity some days even. The few things that keep me in sanity are World of Warcraft and my best friend. The real test of sanity begins soon… As I take Maymester, Summer I and Summer II course just to catch me up to being a Junior and break down course to get further into my major. Taking 2 math courses and 2 science course by Fall 2009 will really be a feat of strength.

As far as “modifications” go… My school is reverting back to a 5-day school week, to that I say… THANK GOD! I was suffering through hell with the 4-day for my sleep cycles. As far as life goes… I am gonna have to rake up plenty of cash and maybe seek partial subsistance for the summer. Gaming-wise… I am looking for more “epic” gear to enhance my enjoyment of playing FPS, RTS, and RPG games. I love my Logitech G9 Laser mouse which I will be reviewing in a while on here.

Lately, I have been feverently helping Rei’s guild (aka “The Team”) “The Order of Corrupted Souls” with being a Senior Officer. I love the responsibility and I feel great actually KNOWING my team members in my team as humans rather than faceless individuals over the internet. Being in real contact with people like Rei, Jon, “Weaver”, Spencer, and Vergil is actually a fun exchange of interaction, especially over the Ventrilo server. I have been debating on chipping a good chunk of cash to a guild member fund raising raffle. The prize pack would be something like the following…

Potential Prize Pack Items for “The Order of Corrupted Souls” Initial Raffle

  • A Logitech Gamer Mouse… Either a Logitech G9 Laser mouse, the G5 wired mouse or a G7 wireless mouse
  • A Logitech Premium Notebook Headset
  • A Razer Destructor Mouse Pad
  • A Logitech G13 Game Pad

The goal of the raffle (and possibly future raffles) would be to help pay for Ventrilo fees, get more stuff for the “Order of Corrupted Souls” Loot Chest, and whatever Rei deems appropriate. Another reason I would like to propose the idea is to increase guild member participation. Of course… anyone who chips in would defaultly get 1 entry and from there the ticket prices would be to best discretion. The biggest thing most of all would be if Rei approves of it and if the other members of our guild would approve of such an idea. I could easily see this idea being great should our guild get big or if we do an alliance with a “Sister” guild.

As far as new articles… I have finally finished my cologne article, just it is pending some editing from my editors. Hopefully, Ivy or Eighty will take a gander and help me out… I will probably work on some gamer related articles too. Especially as it is my only means to keep sane anymore these days. Unfortunately… Rest will be only for the weak as I do have Maymester, Summer I, II, and III to contend with at the Community College to deal critical blows to my course work and HOPEFULLY advance myself in what I can take. I just hope I can change stuff should I do something like lessen the decline of my sanity.

Keep watching and I hope to have some really spiffy stuff for you all to read soon!

Holy Dishonour or Unholy Honour [Rant]

Family gets an invitation from a family friend that their son is to be married in 1 month. I used to know the guy, but since I took a different strata, I no longer know him as a person. Family oddly gets the bright idea to drag me via sidestream to attend. In my case, family has ALSO made numerous comparisons on how the guy is vastly superior in his life…

Let’s put two-and-two together… From the comparison talk, I have inspired myself to probably take Maymester, Summer I, and Summer II. Oh… What a coincidence, I can’t go to the wedding! Family raises hell that I am being “selfish” and “dishonourable” yet at the same right… They have made many grievances that they don’t have a son to bring them honor. It goes back to the old adage of “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” It simply doesn’t work that way. I just want to end this stage of life and finish school… Simple as that. If I have to be “selfish” for “honor“, so be it… I have come to light that all battles cannot have fairy tale outcomes. I have to finish what I have started…

If this shows I am dishonourable for finishing my quest for a degree, then I am at peace with my decision. If I am disrespectful for choosing not to observe someone else’s union, consider me as so. I have fought too long under a banner that I have clashed with and I know that even I must find my own beat to march to.

“The Truth is Charity is a Lie” [Rant]

So… my own honor was called out today.

My own family demanded to know what happened to my Blackberry Curve. I had asked “Why? What’s up?” and got the “Oh… you could give it to one of us in the family or we could sent it to Vietnam” response. I found this odd because of a few factors:

  1. My parents and my sister don’t like smartphones. They have always made fun of me for my love of smartphones. “Why is it like a mini-computer? Isn’t that foolish from the small screen size?” They never shared my passion of being able to have life prioritized all in my finger tips.
  2. Most of the Vietnamese public has gone gone ga-ga over the iPhone so phones like Blackberries and other phones have gotten the backseat from how everyone there wants one. I’d assume my Blackberry would not be appreciated and well… It wouldn’t be cared for by someone who’d honestly kill for a good phone.

I had intended to give it to my cousin Sol, ’cause his Sony Ericsson P910a had not been to kind to him with dropping text messages and other. I like being charitable to Sol, because to me… He’s not just my cousin, but he’s one of the closest friends to me. So on mentioning my intentions of giving Sol my old Blackberry Curve 8310 so he could have a decent phone…

Apparently, thinking that Sol is like blood was bad form. My family decided to remind me that even cousins, aunts, and uncles can’t be trusted and the schism they had with my uncle and aunt back in the day… I have told them that Sol and I have been friends through thick and thin… but that got me into the “You’re a foolish idiot” mess.

Maybe I was from my past covered in the sins of my foolish choices… Maybe I still am from the fact I am willing to climb mountains to become a full fledged pharmacy student. Maybe I am a fool for being so kind to a world that has had enough mercy to let me live. Maybe I am an even bigger fool to give my own life even if it meant that my friend could live just another day… In my opinion, I owe this world a big favor and I haven’t paid my dues so I don’t mind this “foolish” path. I know that this path is one that only a beggar would choose… but for me, it absolves me of my flaws from the past. It makes me happy that I have to fight hard to go further, because that is how life is to be!

So the ultimate result… Comparisons to peers I can “never surpass” and I will never succeed to anything. My charity is “misguided” and it will get me “killed”. That ended on the sour note of “Charity is a lie… it doesn’t lead to anything good”. Maybe that’s a cynical view of life… but for me… I believe that sometimes charity is the one sign that I haven’t given up on this cruel and ugly world.

Mark my words and maybe my grave… Charity is something I believe in and Sol will get my Blackberry! I will not die with the name of “Faithbreaker”.

Ode to the Blackberry!

A few days ago… I managed to snag a new Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 as a very belated “Congrats for a GREAT Fall 2008” and a Chinese New Years present for myself. However… I was looking at my Blackberry Curve 8310 and going “Hell, transplanting ALL of my contacts is gonna be a mother bitch… FML!” However… I had heard that Blackberry was one of the few mobile phone brands where the desktop/computer manager allows you to back up your information and then syphon it right over to your new phone.

I’d open the Blackberry Desktop Manager and there was a big icon that said “Device Switch Wizard” and the detail message of “Switch from a Blackberry device or other device to a Blackberry device.” With how many phones I have changed from… I have always hated re-entering or resyncing contacts. However… I figured cause I was going from a full keyboard to a compacted device, I should give the device change application a shot.

I was rather glad I did, to be honest. The process took about 20 – 30 minutes… The first portion is the old phone’s data being extracted, then the later portion is the applications and other things being ported over and installed. The end result was my 8220 not only had my entire phone book… It also had all compatible programs installed on it, my Blackberry Messenger list transplanted, and even my ringtone preferences! I dare say that switching phones has never been this easy in all of my life!

It’s just simple details like these that remind me how much I love Blackberry and how I don’t mind recommending them to friends and family who want a great smartphone that’s stable & stylish to boot. Blackberry has reminded me the most focal point of a smartphone isn’t all about “shiny apps” or “douchenozzle” factor… it’s more about being a great phone FIRST and a great data device as well!

Addendum – I will be working on a Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 review after I get decent time to completely evaluate my experience.

Leaves of the Lovestone Vine on Saint Valentine

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. I’m sure you all know too well what that means: romance and the consumerist frenzy! So here’s the deal, I feel us as Americans and maybe we as humans have more or less lost sight of the independent concepts of love and romance. I discovered that recently when challenging a friend to tell me a romantic story. It wasn’t terrible. It was cute and funny. Not terribly romantic. Maybe I am just hard to please. That’s entirely possible.

But more to the point… Who deemed flowers and candy and gasp maybe even jewelry to be essential to romantic evenings? It may be essential to you getting laid if you’re a straight guy. We chicks can be materialistic sometimes, but really it’s silly. Love isn’t wilting beauty, shiny metals, and empty calories. It’s about learning how to make the one you love happy.

Sometimes, this is harder to learn… It’s about letting them be happy even if it isn’t with you. Like many others out there I will be alone on Saturday in a metaphorical sense. Mostly because of just how difficult it can be to figure out how to go about letting go of something you had all too briefly… or not at all.

For the record I’ll toast to you all when we open the wine and hide our secrets behind an alcohol scented haze. Be happy even if you’re alone. Remember you’re one of the lucky ones if not.

Ivy out.

New Semester, New Food

So… The new student center is quite a riot. The Dining Room has been a huge change from last semester and I am glad to see that my tuition has gone to improve student morale through our stomachs. Some things have been recycled, like the waffle irons and toasters and even some things like the utensil holders. For the most part, there has been good changes. The “Grill” area has become a much more effective machine at shooting out burgers quickly and deliciously. The sandwich/deli area has become a meal-plan subsidized Subway of sorts. The pizza area now has a bonafide wood-fired pizza oven, rather than that conveyer belt oven.

This has made food taste better and good food always promotes good moods. Though the staff is not perfect, cause the new cafeteria does have its foibles. The pizza oven is not quite 100% mastered, ’cause there are sometimes where the pizza is bang-on perfect and it would give Red Brick Pizza a run for the money… While there are days that the quality is lacking in substance.

There’s also a return to my cafeteria buddies, folks like Drew, Penguin Commander, et al. Over my holiday break, I will admit, I missed them! However, there are some folks I have missed on linking up with… It’s good to be back with my lunch and dinner buddies. It helps ease the passing of the dull days when you have a companion to talk and vent to.

Thanks Texas A&M Commerce for putting some of our tuition to good use. Now… if you could do something fun like either make use of the new LCD HD-TV’s in the New Sam Rayburn Student Center or create an SAE Formula team… then I would be wickedly proud of the school I attend.

New Article at BerryTastic is Up!”What to do, What to do?”

The article is up for everyone’s enjoyment, if you want to see it… it’s here at this link: “What to do, What to do?”

For those of you who are a bit lazy at link jumping… click the “Read On” link here to check it out!
Continue reading New Article at BerryTastic is Up!”What to do, What to do?”

A Phone Hacker’s Memories Revisited…

A while ago, I had posted an entry on ZeroXR about needing advice on a new phone. In the post I detailed about my previous history with phones and my time with them. What I didn’t get a chance to do was to really get into the nit-picky details of why I loved and/or hated each one. There’s the old saying that “Every rose has its thorns” and I am one who believes that even applies to technology. Especially since the “Jesus Phone Part Deux” came out, everyone wants the “hottest” phone or the cutest looking ones. I present to you my “memoirs” of hacking phones up until this present day. Click the jump to read this opus of my memories!

Continue reading A Phone Hacker’s Memories Revisited…

Sanity Lost… Ugh… The Office Grind… [Rant]

I know I haven’t been on as much as I’d like to from the holidays and that hectic business… Luckily, it was not too bad. The “new” phone, BlackBerry Curve 8310, has been a joy to use and it’s stability is one out of the realm of my lost Nokia from eons ago. Continue reading Sanity Lost… Ugh… The Office Grind… [Rant]