Rush - "One Little Victory"

A certain measure of innocence
Willing to appear naive
A certain degree of imagination
A measure of make-believe

A certain degree of surrender
To the forces of light and heat
A shot of satisfaction
In a willingness to risk defeat

Celebrate the moment
As it turns into one more
Another chance at victory
Another chance to score

The measure of the moment
Is a difference of degree
Just one little victory
A spirit breaking free
One little victory
The greatest act can be
One little victory

A certain measure of righteousness
A certain amount of force
A certain degree of determination
Daring on a different course

A certain amount of resistance
To the forces of the light and love
A certain measure of tolerance
A willingness to rise above

One little victory
One little victory
One little victory
One little victory

Celebrate the moment
As it turns into one more
Another chance at victory
Another chance to score

The measure of the moment
Is a difference of degree
Just one little victory
A spirit breaking free
One little victory
The greatest act can be
One little victory

~~~+~~~


I've been under quite a bit of stress lately, largely on account of my attempt to test out of the ITT Tech Problem Solving class.

The first part was pretty damn sadistic. Master Kohut told me it would be "simple math" and "basic algebra". It ended up being quadratic equations, and working with insane fractions - no calculator, no multiple choice. I find it pretty screwed up that that course is a prerequisite to the math classes. I just barely passed with a 70% exactly.

However, if the first part was sadistic, the second was just plain fucking warped. I had 48 hours at home to complete three packets (that were actually out of a workbook, and not designed to be test material) in any which way I possible could. It sounds easy, right? Should take 48 minutes, not 48 hours, right? Got the whole damn internet in front of me! There was just one problem - it wasn't a test on solving problems. By all means it should have been, that's what the whole course is. But instead it was about explaining problems. They were attempting to gauge my problem-solving abilities by how well I could explain the process through which I found my answers, not by how effectively I could find the answers.

I do not explain things very well.

It took most of the available time, significant loss of sleep, unbelievable amounts of stress, a mental breakdown, and the consumption of alcohol to finally complete the exam in its entirety. Of course, when that finally happened, I was wondering where my victory fanfare and ominous swirling clouds were.

Around halfway through that Problem Solving exam I determined that I would be unable to take the Operating Systems exam as planned, on account of being too tired, stressed, and demoralized. However, when the time came, I decided to go through with it anyways. Probably had something to do with the alcohol and caffeine.

It wasn't a very smart move. This isn't a class on operating systems as most people know them - or even how technicians know them. It was about very complex, low-level stuff that I knew little about. Things you'd have to know if you were making an operating system My education on the matter was limited to reading over the presentation slides from the class as taught at another campus, which I had done after completing the Problem Solving exam (sleep-deprived and possibly buzzed on wine), and that's it.

I passed that exam with a 73%.

That means that, in six hours, I effectively - if perhaps quite temporarily - absorbed nearly an entire course worth of information. To add to this, they got done grading the lengthy Problem Solving exam at about the same time - I do believe "perfect" was mentioned. Including the Intro to PC's exam I obliterated, that's three classes down; I've already shaved one entire quarter off my time there and I haven't even started yet. Yeah, I was feeling pretty badass after that. Ominous swirling clouds really should have been involved. But at least I had a fitting song as soon as I got in the car.

However, there is a stumbling block. Composition I. Ahh, writing. I do hate writing, but let's face it - I'm good at it. My reading and writing abilities have been at the college level for years. The Composition I class would be a joke. Not to mention very boring, and a waste of time and money. The problem is, just having the writing ability of someone who has taken Composition I is not enough to actually pass the class. It's not even close. In fact, I don't know anyone who could pass the test, and I know a lot of very smart people.

The issue lies in the speed required. The test involves 5 papers - a resume, a full-on research paper, a cause-and-effect paper, and a pair of papers on the same subject written for two different target audiences. All but the resume must be 5 to 7 pages. That is essentially all of the papers that someone taking the class would have to do in the entire quarter - only, in 48 hours. I actually have a resume, so that's four papers, but that's still four full papers in two days.

Let's say there's normally 6 days between when a paper is assigned and when it's due, because the class its self takes a big chunk out of one day. Then we assume half of those 6 days is spent sleeping or eating. And in the full 72 hours remaining, there will be at least two more classes taking up half a day each. So, that's about an entire two days - 48 complete hours - that a student can completely dedicate to one paper, including research, planning, and writing.

This test gives 48 hours, but that's 48 hours total. Assume the same 12 hours per day for sleeping and eating, but no other interferences. 24 complete hours for four papers. That breaks down to 6 hours for a full paper. A speed factor of 8. And that's giving the papers equal weight - in reality, students have the entire quarter to complete a research paper. So, it is my most conservative estimate that the Composition I test-out exam is 8 times more difficult than it would need to be to accurately ensure one has the same skills taught in the class.

I believe I can say, without any doubt, that this exam is as hard as it is specifically to make money. This is actually true for most of the exams, but Composition I is a special case. It is not a difficult class, and it's something everyone in every program has to take. If the exam were only as difficult as it needs to be to confirm someone's skill in the subject, well over 50% of students would be able to test out. At over $1,800 a class, they can't allow that.

And that is, unequivocally, a dick thing to do.

However... things are not as bad as they seem. My plan is unhindered. Instead of testing out of Composition I, I'll take the class, and instead test out of Microeconomics. Now, Microeconomics was originally listed as a class I know nothing about, and shouldn't even try to test out of - but considering the way things are going, I'd say I definitely have a shot. However, I had previously listed Composition II as something I could potentially study for to test out of, but apparently no one's ever even passed the first half of that, so I'd rather not even try. That's one test-out scratched off my list, with nothing to replace it. Good thing I started with a list of 14, and only need 12. That still leaves leeway for one test-out to go horribly awry, and my plan will still be intact.

Furthermore, I've begun studying to test out of Network Standards and Protocols. That was originally listed as a long-shot that would require a lot of effort to test out of. As it turns out, behind the alien acronyms and overcomplicated wall-sized chart... this shit is easy! Kohut made it seem all deep and complex, but in reality, it's just a hair deeper than the stuff I work with on a daily basis. It's also the kind of stuff I look through on Wikipedia when I'm bored.

I'll probably be taking the exam on Monday. Consider it nailed.


And your random thoughts for today:

No, I can not write a paper as fast as a journal, because I don't need to look things up to write a journal.

You know, if I had actually taken the Network Standards and Protocols class, I would have been mighty pissed by how little is taught.

The second-level Linux class requires that homework be typed in Word or Notepad. The irony of this will likely escape most of you.

DA's "down for maintenance" page displays Fella attempting to turn a pentagonal nut with a square wrench. No wonder it always takes so long!