Has anything made your day?

[Kieren]

I have just graduated from university and I'd have to say that after my modules in networking I wouldn't be able to explain how TCP works or be able to set up a network confidently

However, I did a placement year where I was required to do a lot of practical networking and the things I had learnt in my lectures started to come back. Also living in student accommodation I got some practice in setting up networks and playing with packets trying to stop people hogging internet connections with torrents and P2P

I don't think theory is enough but it does give a good foundation. It's not up to the universities to do everything for the students, just provide the knowledge. If the student wants to further their learning then that's their prerogative and is the reason there are different classes of degrees

[gruven]

I have just graduated from university and I'd have to say that after my modules in networking I wouldn't be able to explain how TCP works or be able to set up a network confidently

However, I did a placement year where I was required to do a lot of practical networking and the things I had learnt in my lectures started to come back. Also living in student accommodation I got some practice in setting up networks and playing with packets trying to stop people hogging internet connections with torrents and P2P

I don't think theory is enough but it does give a good foundation. It's not up to the universities to do everything for the students, just provide the knowledge. If the student wants to further their learning then that's their prerogative and is the reason there are different classes of degrees

Very well put, and I agree completely with you.

Now, here is something to consider though. How many students (in the USA) actually put the effort forward to do the extra work to actually learn what they need? Most (not all) kids think the system owes them something and they actually believe that college provides them with everything they need for the job. After all, it costs a lot, and they (or their parents) are having to pay for it, they better give me what I need!

Maybe it is just the area I live in, but from what I see around here, that pretty much sums it up.

[D-cat]

Many schools are good about setting up mock ups and giving students problems to solve with actual equipment. Some of the better ones may even send students to job sites where they can get real hands on experience.

The approach to learning is one of the things students (and paying parents) need to consider when selecting a college / university. If you're all theory and no action, where will you be placed? (Scott Adams would say Management. )

[rokytnji]

Yep. Today I Tore into my 1989 Ford F 250 Diesel Pickup truck which had sat dormant for over a year because I couldn't drive anything because of a shattered heel in my left foot.

I drained the tanks. Changed Diesel Filter. Took apart main injector pump and body and cleaned it out and re-assembled. Recharged both batteries. Flushed the radiator. Put some new fuel in it. Primed everything. Ran glow plugs twice. Fired right up and took it on the freeway and brought it up to 80 mph (that is the speed limit in my neck of the woods on the freeway). It purred like a kitten.

I have some other chores to do that I needed this truck for in the coming months. Like unsnafuing the damage done to my ranch by my care taker there that I let live there for free. It is 200 miles west of where I live now. The guy has had three years on my dime and was useless when it came to keeping my ranch clean and kept up. So I have a lot of burning and gutting to do out there and then repairs also.

But getting that old Ford up and running again made my day today. It will make hauling trash a lot easier.

[cousinlucky]

It made my day today as the maintenance man was replacing the faucet fixture to my bathroom sink on the Internet I saw the image of a man wearing a brown suit with his head buried in some sand at the mises website and I just burst out laughing.