Aggie education in use

[BiggusGeekus]

My buddy, Ku, co-writer for ML and an Aggie, points to a Snopes article that defends this decision.

My wife, who went to UT, meerly had her opinion of Aggies confirmed.

Go figure.

 

[sniffles]

Really? When were you there? I grew up in Bryan, with my dad a professor at Texas A&M (he's now a dean at Texas Tech) and I got two degrees there myself.

And, yeah, I don't imagine Aggies know much about hurricane protection unless they come from coastal cities like Galveston, Bay City, etc. Rita would have been a first if it had done more than cause a little rain that far inland. Plus, that's a bookstore (right there on Jersey Street, IIRC) so it's owned by locals who are unaffiliated with the University in the first place.



What? Defensive much? Naw, not really.

I knew there was some other reason I liked you aside from your rapier-like wit. Even through the intarweb, your Texan-ness shines through.

 

[nakia]

No, I'm getting the same feeling. And yes, we would have overlapped; I finished my MBA in 2000. Did you game much while you were there?

My longest running game as a player took place during my years in Aggieland. My DM was a guy named Darren Herhold; it was much fun. He ruled as a DM.

I'll be the first to admit that I learned practically nothing from my MBA. It's like someone gave me a questionairre that said, "check here if you want a higher starting salary." Well, OK, sign me up.

Man, I missed out on this questionaire. All I got was admission into a PhD program and more student loan debt.

 

[Desdichado]

I knew there was some other reason I liked you aside from your rapier-like wit. Even through the intarweb, your Texan-ness shines through.

My wit's a bit more like a battered and rusty tire iron that I try to wield like a rapier, but thanks for the complement anyhow. My Texan-ness, on the other hand, is unassailable. Although some folks up here do doubt that I'm really a Texan because my accent isn't strong enough. Hello! We didn't all grow up on the set of Dallas! And yes, I did just call that Dr. Pepper a Coke. What do you mean you don't have Dr. Pepper, and do I want root beer? What kind of question is that? !!!!!

Man, I missed out on this questionaire. All I got was admission into a PhD program and more student loan debt.

Yeah, it was a two part questionaire for me. I had this acquaintence who was finishing his Ph.D. in paleontology, and used to give me his sob story on occasion. When I told him that he got to be a professional dinosaur guy; how cool was that? he told me about this friend of his, who's career path split following their undergraduate. The guy had a Joe Suit corporate job, but he made more money and did more actual paleontology on his off-time then he hoped to do in his job as a paleontologist. This other guy apparently also had a sexier girlfriend, better hair and ripped abs, although I was never clear on whether or not his career choice had anything to do with that.

I kept that in the back of my mind when I started my MBA thinking that I'd go get a Ph.D. after that, and then get a cushy professorship job somewhere, and make bookoo money on the side as a business consultant. Somewhere in my first semester my native cynicism came through, and when I realized door #1 was four more years of school, who knew how many more years of busting ass to get tenure after that, at some podunk rinky-dink college in a podunck rinky-dink town, to get much less money than I imagined, and door #2 was, hey, I can start at $80,000 at this job in Detroit, working for a major company, bossing suppliers around, and I'd pretty much have to show up to work with a gun and start shooting people to get fired, I changed my tune pretty quick, and told academia to kiss my behind.

I probably should have reserved a bit of my native cynicism for that job offer that sounded almost too good to be true (keep in mind: Detroit) but overall I don't really regret my decision at all.

 

[Jdvn1]

My Texan-ness, on the other hand, is unassailable. Although some folks up here do doubt that I'm really a Texan because my accent isn't strong enough. Hello! We didn't all grow up on the set of Dallas! And yes, I did just call that Dr. Pepper a Coke. What do you mean you don't have Dr. Pepper, and do I want root beer? What kind of question is that? !!!!!

You have no clue how many people have asked me if I own a horse.

"Nah, they can't survive the heat and the traffic. The only horses I own come in a bottle marked 'Elmers'."

 

[nakia]

Yeah, it was a two part questionaire for me. I had this acquaintence who was finishing his Ph.D. in paleontology, and used to give me his sob story on occasion. When I told him that he got to be a professional dinosaur guy; how cool was that? he told me about this friend of his, who's career path split following their undergraduate. The guy had a Joe Suit corporate job, but he made more money and did more actual paleontology on his off-time then he hoped to do in his job as a paleontologist. This other guy apparently also had a sexier girlfriend, better hair and ripped abs, although I was never clear on whether or not his career choice had anything to do with that.

I kept that in the back of my mind when I started my MBA thinking that I'd go get a Ph.D. after that, and then get a cushy professorship job somewhere, and make bookoo money on the side as a business consultant. Somewhere in my first semester my native cynicism came through, and when I realized door #1 was four more years of school, who knew how many more years of busting ass to get tenure after that, at some podunk rinky-dink college in a podunck rinky-dink town, to get much less money than I imagined, and door #2 was, hey, I can start at $80,000 at this job in Detroit, working for a major company, bossing suppliers around, and I'd pretty much have to show up to work with a gun and start shooting people to get fired, I changed my tune pretty quick, and told academia to kiss my behind.

I probably should have reserved a bit of my native cynicism for that job offer that sounded almost too good to be true (keep in mind: Detroit) but overall I don't really regret my decision at all.

Well, I got a good job at a good school near a major metropolitan area fairly close to my family, so it worked out okay. The money thing, well, there are other compensations:

nakia at work at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon
other professor: 'What are you doing here?"
me: "Working. I've got a lot of crap to do. I was going to stay until 5 or so, you know, like a normal work day."
other professor: "Dude, you didn't go to school for ten years to have a 'normal work day.' Go home."
me: "I see your point. Talk to you Monday."

 

[sniffles]

My wit's a bit more like a battered and rusty tire iron that I try to wield like a rapier, but thanks for the complement anyhow. My Texan-ness, on the other hand, is unassailable. Although some folks up here do doubt that I'm really a Texan because my accent isn't strong enough. Hello! We didn't all grow up on the set of Dallas! And yes, I did just call that Dr. Pepper a Coke. What do you mean you don't have Dr. Pepper, and do I want root beer? What kind of question is that? !!!!!

So true!! I've trained myself to say "pop" here, so all the Oregonians don't look at me funny.

I almost went the practical route in college - I wanted to do art, so I was going to major in graphic design. Thank goodness I changed my mind. Of course, I took a MFA - and now I work for an insurance company. But believe it or not, I like it here.

 

[Jonny Nexus]

Go Texas A&M!

There's a bit more info about that picture on Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/katrina/photos/aggie.asp

Turns out that they weren't being so daft.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

There's a bit more info about that picture on Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/katrina/photos/aggie.asp

Turns out that they weren't being so daft.

Well from that....

"Our windows will not support the weight of plywood screwed into their frames — neither is there sufficient masonry wall surrounding them for an attachment — therefore our contractor a "good Ag" suggested saving the store from a major cleanup and letting the glass go — it wasn't a difficult decision to make! "

Which only leaves the question: why is a building built in a hurricane prone area constructed with windows that can't hold plywood? It isn't like TA&M is a small school or anything. If memory serves, it's one of the largest.

::cough:: go longhorns ::cough::

 

[Desdichado]

Which only leaves the question: why is a building built in a hurricane prone area constructed with windows that can't hold plywood? It isn't like TA&M is a small school or anything. If memory serves, it's one of the largest.

College Station is hardly a hurrican prone area. It's at least 100 miles inland! I lived there for 25 years, and we never got more than a bit of rain (and refugees) from hurricans that hit the coast, and as far as I know, there are no records of a hurricane ever causing really substantial structural damage that far inland.

The thread of Rita was a pretty unusual situation.