Why I'm not happy about Obama's appointment as President.

It's obvious that a right wing conservative such as myself will not agree with anything Obama stands for. I'm a pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, fiscal conservative. The fact that a majority of Americans believe such a radically liberal man as Obama is the best suited leader of this great nation left me sick to my stomach. The man that will occupy the Oval office will do nothing to protect the lives of innocent, unborn children. He will not protect the sacred institution of marriage.

Please know that I have been dreaming of a day when we as a country could elect a black man (or woman) as president. I hate racism and I've wanted this day to come for the entirety of my adult life...I'm just sad that the ONLY positive thing about this election is that it's the first appointment of a black man in office. There are many black men and women that I would have gladly and whole-heatedly voted for in place of Obama.

As I watched Obama win the election, I thought about a phrase from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic speech so many years ago:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the CONTENT of their CHARACTER."

I don't wish to belittle the accomplishment this presidency signifies for African Americans in general, but my fear is that Obama was NOT elected because of the content of his character but ONLY because of the color of his skin. Even though history has been made and I'm proud of how far our country has gone in that respect, I'm ashamed at how superficial Americans in general have become.

I don't think we've reached that place Dr. King was dreaming about. When we can have an election between two men of different races and not have even the slightest whisper of race, THEN we will be where we need to be. Each man should have been measured by what he stands for and not by how dark his skin tone is or by how entertaining of a speaker he is. If we were where Dr. King wanted us to be, ALL voters (black, white, man ,woman, Democrat & Republican) would have questioned exactly what kind of change Mr. Obama was advocating. Every voter also would have closely scrutinized the experience & character of this man and compared both equally to John McCain's.

For the first time, I'm fearful for our country...not because of the skin color of our president but because of the questionable character he brings to the oval office. I'm also fearful because of the inability of voters to carefully research presidential candidates and vote for them based on their qualifications and personal character. I wish this historical moment was not tarnished with the feelings of overwhelming bitterness and hopelessness that I have for the future of this country. Conservative Christian values and cool-headed reason seem to be the minority in today's America...not any ethnicity or skin color.

Another semester started & half way finished.

Sorry for not posting a blog since last May, but the way this semester has started out has left me with little time to get things caught up with the blog. Believe it or not, this semester is almost half over! I have a lot of catching up to do, but before I get into this semester, I need to finish things up from last year.

The last blog left off with an uncertain GPA. It was a challenging semester & I was not happy with what I thought would be the outcome. I ended up with two pleasant surprises & one not so pleasant surprise. The bad news was that I showed up for what I thought was my last Old Testament survey class only to find out that they were giving the final early. I was totally unprepared and did not do well. My poor final exam grade resulted in a disappointing B for the course. I should have easily received an A.

I got slightly better news in Zoology & Calculus. I figured out that I would need at least a 96% on the final exam in order to get an A for the entire course. I received an A on the final, but not a 96%; so, based on my calculation, I should not have received an A. My zoology professor saw me a before I left & congratulated me on my A for the course. Apparently, he weighted the final higher than previous exams because it was comprehensive. My calculus professor did much better than that. Apparently, he curved the final grades of the whole class by a LOT of points because I received a C. A final grade of C for a math course is the only low grade I will be happy with.

Now on to this semester. The class load is getting progressively more difficult. I am taking Physics I, Microbiology & Botany. This will be the last easier semester for me. This spring will begin the year & a half nightmare that is the final three semesters of a biology major. I am doing OK in the classes. So far, I have an A in Botany & a B in both the other courses. It is way too soon to call, but there's still hope to get a perfect 4.0 for this semester.

I'm also taking part in an independant research course studying a specific species of salamander. My zoology professor & Botany professor have been heading up the research for many years. The salamander we're studying is called the Peaks of Otter salamander. It belongs to the Plethodontidae family of lung-less salamanders. These salamanders actually breath through their skin which is not uncommon among some amphibians. The Peaks of Otter salamander is unique to only a few mountain tops of VA and is found nowhere else on the entire planet. We are trying to determine why these salamanders only occur at a certain elevation and on only a certain few mountains. There is a very similar species called the redback salamander that shares habitat and competes with the Peaks salamander. The redback occurs in higher elevations from North Carolina all the way to Canada, so it's a mystery why such similar species have such different ranges. It's pretty exciting work and I hope we are able to make some breakthroughs this year.

"The low-down on the grades" update

The grades have been tallied up…I will be sending my application in to Sea World for a custodial position…

The low-down on the grades...literally...

This semester is finally winding down to a close and it can't come along any sooner for me. This was one of the worst semesters for me grade-wise since first starting college back in the fall of 1999. The combination of being overworked with two jobs, grading papers for three classes, volunteering with the church and battling with my stupid piece of crap computer really hurt my ability to focus on actual school work.

Even with all that trouble, I was able to secure an A in my GNED class (if I didn't get an A in that class, I'd need to get smacked with the stupid stick). GNED is already over and my other relatively easy class, Creation Studies, is over as well. I only need to pass my final exam in creation studies with a 77% in order to secure an A in that class. Likewise, I only need an 87.28% on my Old Testament survey final in order to be sure of an A there.

That is the good news. Now, on to the bad stuff. I've completely written off calculus...at least when it comes to making an A. It is impossible at this point. The state of my grade in that class is so bad that if I pass with a C, you will see me on the 6:00 news being arrested for dancing naked in the streets of Lynchburg.

Due to a mid-semester exam disaster in zoology, I do not have any room for error on my two final exams in that class. In order to get an A in zoology, my upcoming lab practical will need a grade of at least 94% and my final lecture exam next week will need the same. The lab practical is do-able, but the lecture exam is a bit disconcerting because the highest grade I've made on any lecture exam to date is a 92%. This class is noteably more difficult than the majority of the college courses I've taken thus far, but it is still a lower level course, so a minimum grade of A should be expected of anyone desiring to go into graduate school for marine biology. Put another way, if I can't make an A in a 200 level zoology class, I might as well just cut my losses and apply for a custodial position at SeaWorld because that will be the closest I'll get to becoming a marine biologist.

And just think, this is my last easy semester...from here on out, it's going to be as easy as performing an appendectomy...on yourself!

Second semester update

I'm sorry for not writing much this semester. The reason for my scarcity is the fact that this has been the worst semester of my entire college career. I'm not used to getting grades lower than a B, but my calculus class will probably leave me with my first ever D. I've not had any math class in 9 years and I received a C in that class. Those two factors combine to absolutely confound me in this upper level math course. The professor is nice and patient, but we are only given one hour to complete tests that require at least two for me to complete. Needless to say, I'm going to have to either repeat this class later or pray for some kind of grading miracle.

On a more positive note, Jeff has finally succumbed to his desire to own another Great Dane! He just flew to Asheville, NC today and came back with a pure bread puppy born February 8th. The puppy's name is Titan...and we can tell he definitely will be. His paws are so big, he can barely lift them. In a matter of weeks, he'll be big enough for a child to ride. We will definitely need to dog-proof this house...actually we'll need to horse-proof this house.

No computer = no blog!

I apologize for not writing lately, but it's kind of difficult without a computer. I've been super busy with school and work this semester and of all times for my computer to crap out, this would be the most inconvenient. The computer is currently in Florida and will be looked at within the next couple of weeks. If it's salvageable, it may be back in my possession soon. Otherwise, I'll get the opportunity to go further into debt and purchase a completely new computer.

Rest assured that if I do have to buy a new computer, it will not a Gateway. I've been a loyal Gateway supporter for a while now, but this most recent problem has turned me off to the company. My standards must be set way too high. I just expect a $2,000 computer to last more than a couple of years. I'm funny that way, I guess.

Since my computer time is limited to work, I have to take that time to do the required homework assignments. As such, my blogs will have to go on hiatus until I either get my overpriced paperweight back or I go and buy another computer with non-existant money.

Calculus, Zoology and Ice Capades?

This week was full of firsts for me. First, this week was the first time in eight years that I had a math class. I have signed up for Calculus...oh, joy! Actually, I can't quite tell if it's a Calculus class or a foreign language course. Maybe Russian, or Chinese...both make about as much sense to me as the gibberish that the professor speaks. I've never looked at a homework assignment and just stared at it without even the slightest clue. I cannot even begin to fathom what to do with the problem. I will be lucky to pass this class with a C. Then, to add insult to injury, I received a letter in the mail informing me that I made the dean's list last semester with a 4.0 GPA. It's as if I'm being taunted, "FAT CHANCE OF THAT THIS SEMESTER!" My only hope is that this math professor is laid back and easy going when it comes to grading...in my case, to get an A, he'd have to be shooting up black-tar heroine when he graded my tests.

On a more positive note, my zoology class is really fun. Zoology is one of my favorite subjects, but I've never had it in an official university setting before. In all those years that I worked in a science lab an prepared dissection labs for other classes, I never actually got to dissect anything. This semester I'll be dissecting at least two animals. I can't wait. Most of the really big stuff, like Mr. Crusty, the cadaver is reserved for Anatomy & Physiology, but I'll take what I can get.

Speaking of cadavers, I almost became one today. I drove on snow & ice covered roads for the first time ever in my life. When I came out of the house and saw the snow, I was excited at first. That excitement soon wore off once I started down my street and the truck began to slip and slide all over the place. My class begins at 7:40 in the morning, so I left at 7:00 to give me plenty of time to get to school. It was still dark and the highways were totally covered. The flow of traffic was going about 30 mph and I stayed behind a semi so that it could clear the path for me. I chose to get to campus using what I thought to be the ramp with the most gradual incline. The ramp makes a complete 180 degree turn, however, from the highway. I merged into the off-ramp lane at 10 mph and turned my truck to start up the ramp...but the truck decided to keep going straight.

As my truck was uncontrollably heading for the guard rails, I began to think about my flawless driving record to date. Over a decade of driving in some of the most busy Florida highways without ever wrecking only to be taken out by some stupid Virginia icy road. By the grace of God, there happened to be a thick pile of snow that my truck gingerly bumped into which stopped my momentum. I backed up and started my treacherous ascent. I should have just parked it there and walked. The truck went up the ramp sideways because I never could regain control. I accelerated only to have the truck remain precariously sliding up the ramp askew. As I slipped and slid my way up, I couldn't help but imagine a Strauss waltz being played in the background.

Apparently every other vehicle on the road had some space-age, anti-ice technology built into their vehicles because they all effortlessly passed me by. I somehow managed to traverse the ramp and skate my way into a parking spot on campus. I don't think that a person who can't skate or ski has no business driving on ice and snow. I'll drive across a flooding bridge during a hurricane any day, but the next time the weather looks like this, I'm just putting on my snow shoes and hoofing it the seven miles in the snow...uphill...both ways!

Back in action.

Well, after a nice one month break I'm back here in the frozen north. I was sad to leave paradise, but it has to be done...at least, that's what I keep telling myself.

For all of you who were keeping track of my report card up here in college, you'll be happy to know that I somehow managed all 'A's. Not bad for being out of the game for six years. Granted, most of the courses were piddly little intro courses that every incumbent is required to take, but still. The real stuff starts this semester with Calculus and Zoology courses added to some remaining standard required classes. I'm worried about the Calculus. The only 'C' I ever received since starting college way back in 1999 was in math. I'm definitely not math-minded.

The finance situation will hopefully improve this semester. I have some money making schemes that I hope to employ; all legal, of course. I really don't want to have to take a 3rd job, but I'm keeping that as a last resort. There's always the possibility of running into a rich philanthropist who feels like giving away a million or so dollars to the first person he sees...I'll keep my fingers crossed.