Charter Cable and the Big Ten Network

Finally, Charter has negotiated with the Big Ten Network to give me my non-stop college football action. This is really the only reason I have cable TV anyway. I really enjoy watching college football. In 2006, the BTN came out, and stole a bunch of the good games. Cable couldn't get their heads out of their arses and pay BTN the $1 per subscriber they wanted. According to mlive, Charter finally got their act together, and I will have the BTN as early as this Saturday at noon. This weekend's MSU and U of M games aren't on the BTN this week; so, if Charter doesn't make the updates by gametime this weekend (I wouldn't be surprised) I won't be out of luck.

The BTN is the result of a 20-year partnership between the Big Ten (eleven) and Fox. It's been on the dishes since the start, but cable was slow to adopt, apparently holding out for a good deal, completely disregarding their customers. Personally, I nearly left cable like many others because of this issue.

The Thirteen Year Plan

I've been doing a lot of research on MBAs lately. With the fast-approaching completion of my undergrad degree (February 3rd, 2009 - not that I'm counting down the days or anything), I have been trying to decide what to do next. The logical choice for me would be to continue the same path and pursue an MBA. While I might be happier with an engineering degree, I can complete an MBA program much quicker.

MBA programs seem to be gaining popularity with people from all walks of life. Some are enrolling in Executive MBA programs to continue working in their executive capacities while attending school. Some students who finish their undergrad degrees elect to continue on to get an MBA before going into the workforce. I do not recommend this. Employers do not want to hire 20-somethings with MBAs and no legitimate work experience for any decent jobs. That is, of course, unless you consider management at the Gap as a career goal.

My approach was a little different. I started at the community college straight out of high school. It took me five years, but I graduated with an Associates in Business Administration. After a two year stint in the pre-engineering program at a state university, I decided to attend an adult learning program at the satellite location of another university to get a Bachelor's in Business Management.

While I am nearing the end of a ten year road to a Bachelor's degree, I don't consider myself in a bad spot. I have gained great business and corporate experience with three great companies along the way. 1 2 3 It's time to figure out the next chapter in my life, and I don't think I'm alone:

"While the largest spike in applications is in full-time MBA programs, applications are also on the rise in the part-time and executive MBA programs. GMAC's [Dave] Wilson predicts that the part-time and executive MBA programs will be the next to see a significant jump in application volume because they largely cater to applicants who want to stay in their current jobs. "As the slowdown in the economy continues, we're going to see a shift to the part-time programs because people aren't going to want to leave work if they have a good job," Wilson said." ref

My Quest for iPhone 3G: Part IV

I never did update the blog with the outcome of the iPhone 3G trial. I decided to keep it, and I couldn't be happier. I have been very happy with the phone, and mostly happy with the service. AT&T is a much more robust network that Nextel ever will be, and the calls are crystal clear. I lose signal occasionally in the hospital, elevators, or anywhere deep inside a building. Nextel's service seemed to outperform AT&T in terms of building penetration. Beyond that, Nextel sucks. (And they're for sale.)


Just a few of the things I've done recently with my all-in-one iPhone device:

-Listen to podcasts (which I'm really enjoying)

-Listen to music out on the golf course (the built in speaker of the iPhone isn't too bad for iPod playback, but for conference calls, it leaves much to be desired)

-Facebook mobile

-Instant email

-Taking and sharing pictures

-GPS

-Fighting off enemies with my Light Saber

Get off the air FOX News

I knew there was a reason I never watched the FOX News. Griff Jenkins is a tool. However, I do appreciate the uncensored chants from the crowd. Watch and listen...



I mean, these kids are trying to do some good, and Griff's all up in their business. Come on.

Recreate '68. The whole world is watching.

Just what we needed

This is hopefully not a sign of the times. A robot designed to fill a job that should be taken by our overabundance of uneducated slackers. Our good friends, the geniuses at the University of Minho, have created a robot that can tell you when you are about to do something wrong, place the correct large purple bolt on the "car", then thank you for your help - all in a blazing minute-and-a-half.



This induces about as much hope for the future as the thought of four years of McCain.

My Quest for iPhone 3G: Part III

It's finally almost here. My very own iPhone 3G. It's the 8GB Black one. If I am able to activate it today or tomorrow, I'll be taking it up north with me camping for a true coverage test comparing AT&T to Nextel. Any bets on who will win?

I'm like a kid at Christmas... :)

_________________________________

My Quest for iPhone 3G: Parts I & II

I decided about 2 months ago that I was going to leave Nextel and buy an iPhone from its only service provider, AT&T. I have been waiting for yesterday's release date for a while now, which has come and passed, and I still have no iPhone.

I waited in line both yesterday and today. I did not wait overnight, but others did. I drove by my AT&T store on Westnedge Ave on Thursday night and there were about 25 people in line at 11:30 PM.

I arrived yesterday morning at 7:40 AM; the store opened at 8:00. The line began moving even before the store opened because everyone was bunching up at the entrance in anticipation of the release. Remember, this is the third most important release of a phone ever. Third to the initial release of iPhone in 2007, and the release of Alexander Graham Bell's invention in 1876.

After the doors opened, the line didn't seem to move very fast at all. I couldn't see in the store, so I had no idea what the story was in there. Every 10 to 15 minutes, the line would move about 10 feet or so. I didn't have much hope at this point of getting my iPhone.

At about 8:40, an AT&T salesman came out to address the crowd. He said, "Everyone past this point may want to reconsider waiting." The point in the line he was referring to was a long way ahead of me. I figure the Portage AT&T store had approximately 40 iPhones for the first day.

I went home.

Friday night, I went back to check and see if a line was forming again. I thought that surely no one would be waiting over night on the second night, but sure enough, there were about 10 people waiting at 10:00 PM or so.

Saturday morning, I got up at 8:30 and started making my way towards the AT&T store. They open at 9:00 AM on Saturdays. I arrived about 10 minutes after 9:00, and was much further up in the line than yesterday. I was about 75 people back. This time, I could see in the store, and there were 5 salespeople working the activations.

Again, I waited. Again, they came out about 40 minutes after the store opened. Again, I was snuffed. I think they had about 40 phones for the second day too.

An interesting, but not surprising thing happened today during the mass activations. When the salesman came out to announce the day's availability, he mentioned that there was a problem with the system, and about 20,000 activations had been backlogged in Michigan. The war room in Texas was being utilized, but there were no indications of how long it would take to clear up the problem.

I went home again.

I watched some more iPhone videos today, which only made me want it more. I'll try again tomorrow. They open at 11:00 AM.