Hyperstrike

Does it count if I listen with the volume turned all the way down?

What? Were you saying something? I was looking at your brea...I mean your icon...I mean, I was reading the other posts!

Happy OWthatwasatightsqueezeGLURGdon'tshovethatdownmythr oatjeezeitsbrightouthereOWwhy'dyouhitmedon'tcuttha tIneedthattoeatwatchwhereyou'restickingthosethings manitscoldoutherewhothehellareallyoupeoplecanIgoba cknowplease? day.

Now if only they were subject to the same oversight as banks and credit card companies...

</Bitter Ex-PayPal'er>

And you'll learn that he's larger on the inside than he is outside.

How can you tell? The size of his mess!

Hopefully *they* (whoever *they* are) will use prophylactics to avoid a nasty mess and lawsuits charging assault with a deadly weapon...

Yeah. While AE can level you fast, 4 hours, with no exploit of some crazy sort, is kinda...well...let's just say I don't know that it's truly do-able.

So, likely it's someone joking around with the L/I/1/| thing.

Dada dada da DA!
*ASSASSIN STRIKE!*
Dada dada da DA!
*NUKE!*
Dada dada da DA!
*Soul Storm*
Dada dada da DA!
*SELF DESTRUCT*

Congrats on college. Condolences on the financial impact of college!



Lots of good advice in this thread. Here's mine. Some of it will be duped further up-thread, but I'd rather give it to you as a coherent whole.

1: I know you're set on AS engineering. I know, currently, you don't know what you'd do if you didn't do that.

My advice is, don't worry about it yet. Your first year or so is for knocking out the general courses BEFORE deciding on a specialty. This will help give you some time and perspective on the college routine.

Lots of the basic courses are just that. BASIC. And a lot of the stuff you're going to be covering is going to seem like stuff you already know, and you'll see a bunch of overlap in each class.

Don't get discouraged by this. It's completely intentional. Part of it is a verification process to make sure you have the basics down. Part of it is a weeding process to get rid of people who simply don't have the patience to handle the mundane stuff. Because if they can't handle the mundane stuff, the more esoteric stuff will just knock them on their *****.

Finally, part of the reason is to slowly acclimate you to the habit of the collegiate learning process. Developing decent study habits here will be what REALLY carries you through the more brain-busting courses down the line.

Once you start getting into the specialty courses, either late in your second, or in your third year, THEN you can really make a decision about whether the specialty you've decided on is really for you. At that point you'll still have plenty of time to make changes as you see fit.

2: As others have noted, take an ACTIVE part in your education. Ask questions, especially if you're having problems grasping something, and expect answers. You're paying to have this information imparted to you. Do your best to make sure that it's imparted in a way you:

A: Understand
B: Can retain
C: Can effectively communicate to someone else if need be.

3: DO get a recording device. There are going to be times when you're getting tons of data dumped on you and you simply are NOT going to retain it all. The recording, lousy as it might be, will be a way to jog your memory.

Note: Some instructors dislike being recorded, as they feel it opens them up to undue scrutiny if they happen to mis-speak themselves. Do your best to assure them that you're only using this as a learning aid. At worst, if you aren't allowed to use it, make a note to yourself to REALLY make an effort to pay attention in that class.

4: DO NOT TRY TO CRAM CLASSES!!!

While this MAY help short-term for tests, for long-term retention, cramming the night before a test is possibly one of the worst things you can do. Put a bit of extra effort into the class up front, and you can review the subject before a test and still be confident that you have the information available.

5: Scheduling.

As noted, if you're not a morning person, don't schedule classes early.
Also, make note of when and where classes are. Don't schedule classes TOO closely together. But, on the flip-side, don't schedule them too far apart from other activities either.

I tried doing this several years ago, getting a class in after work when I was working nights. Unfortunately, the class started two HOURS after I got off work. In that amount of time my body had a chance to settle down and I'd nod off in my car and miss class.

Needless to say, I failed due to attendance.

6: Make every effort to be in class every day, early. If you have to, set your clocks a few minutes fast. Make allowances for delays, etc. But always try to be in the classroom 10-15 minutes early. You can always bug the teacher for info if he's there. Also, it's brown-nose points (which never hurts).

7: Schmooze!

You're going to come out of school with an engineering degree you won't get a diploma for. Social Engineering. Take the time to get to know your teachers and classmates. Maybe not on a "lifelong friends" level, but at least enough that you can interact with them on a friendly basis (even if you think they're a complete ***).

And attempt to keep all your interactions positive with them. Failing in that, ESPECIALLY if you're following the advice to actively question and get the answers you need, keep it civil.

Also, keep in mind that this isn't behavior that ends when the class is over or completed. These people can be your lifeline in a crisis. "Using" them, then chucking them in the bin once you're "done" with them is burning a bridge. MAKE an effort to stay friendly with them, say "hi" in a cheerful manner when you see them, even if you're feeling like someone buried you head down in a septic tank.

8: Actively plan your education! Important, because sometimes you can get so caught up in what you're doing that the next step has already smacked you in the face and walked past before you can get a decent handle on it. Take some down-time as you get it and plan your next steps. This way, if things are nuts when it comes time to grab your next classes, you don't have to think much about it.

9: Actively plan your recreation!

You are NOT going to be studying/going to class 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. This way lies the road to academic burnout and dropping out.

Once you pick up your classes and have attended for a week or two, you should get a clearer picture about what your class/study/work schedule should look like.

In addition to class time allotments and study time allotments, make sure to put in breaks and just outright recreation allotments as well.

There's a reason why you're supposed to take breaks on a job. Getting away from the work at hand for a few minutes allows you to relax, and helps give you a fresh perspective when you return to work. This helps make you more productive. the same applies for school work. If you're going to be studying/doing homework for more than a 2 hour period, give yourself a 10-15 minute break in there somewhere to get up, hit the head, grab a soda, and just stretch your legs.

And, regardless of what you think, you're going to have a certain amount of time outside of the sleep/eat/poop/study/bathe cycle. Plan some activities away from the desk/classroom. Go out, see a movie. Go out, go to a party. Stay in and watch the boob tube. Play a game on your computer (CoH or not). But PLAN the time with a definitive start and stop and MAKE yourself stick to the schedule.

One of the other things the last two things teach you to do is budget your time. This is almost more valuable than any other individual thing you learn in school. Brilliance and education only take you so far. Being able to work effectively, efficiently, and sticking to the job, even when it sucks) is what separates a good employee from the unemployment line.

10: Avoid getting sucked into a "scene"/clique/etc. Make friends, make good friends! But avoid having your social life become the reason you think you're at school. You're there to learn and study. If an activity cuts into your allotted study time and you REALLY don't think you can fluff off, DON'T DO IT. Sure, it's tempting to try and coast. This just comes back to the "no cramming" rule from earlier. Social clubs, causes, party-hearty, and all that stuff is for once you're out of school, out of debt, and making big bucks. Unless it is DIRECTLY affecting your education (like they're going to replace your science classes with a creationist dogma class), stay the course.

11: Avoid picking up a credit card if at all possible. If you can't pay cash for something, you don't need it. Pick up a side job if you're chronically short of funds. Yet another lesson college can teach you. Fiscal responsibility. Plastic is just too damn convenient (especially at 18) and you have a lot of hassles to justify using it to eliminate. Paying it back later, and umpty-zillion percent interest is even more of a hassle.

12: Watch your diet. Now I'm not REALLY one to talk (looks down and can't see toes), but try to eat regular, small meals instead of scarfing down your entire day's caloric intake in one sitting. A small meal in the morning will get you going without sending you into carb overload (and putting you to sleep in class). A sandwich for lunch, and a small dinner will do you good. Again, keep them small and somewhat light to avoid going into carb overload. Augment this with small snacks. Stuff you can carry along with you. This way it keeps your digestive system up and running all the time and not choking on one huge lump of food twice or thrice a day. You'll feel less hungry all the time, eat less overall, and help keep your weight down.

Also, vary your diet. Don't simply rely on a regimen of identical food for days and months on end. This is partially a dietary thing, as too homogenous a diet is never a good thing, and partially a mental thing.

Could type more right now. But I'm getting pestered at work. So I'll leave it here for now.

Also, you don't have to avoid sugar. Just don't consume tons of it.

It's a set of processes that removes control of your computer from you, executes functions without your consent, hides from the system, your antivirus, etc, and is essentially unable to be properly cleaned off the computer (even if you uninstall the game) barring a system restore or reformat?

Oh, and if exploited, results in more, truly malicious functions being hidden from the system.

Not even if it was the best freaking game in the universe EVER.

A very sick and twisted upbringing.



And the fact that I'm a voracious reader of scifi/fantasy literature (including comic books).

That and it has just enough wangst in it to satisfy the former VtM player in me without tripping off the wangst-allergy (I swell up and start killing people) I developed later in life.