Howdy true be-loggers, welcome to Sunday Leftovers! This week we will discuss the education system and it's financial flaws, Thai pasta, and Monkey vs. Robot? Let's open the fridge and see what's left over....
[The Back Window]
CREDIT: Kaleidoscope “A Beacon From Mars”
[RANT: Educational System]
I don't often have the urge to call into talk radio programs but I almost found myself doing so on Monday. I was listening to NPR (also a relatively new habit) and one of the talk shows was discussing the plight of recent college graduates due to the economy. The gist was that they are essentially screwed because they have school loan payments starting and working minimum wage jobs if they even can get those. One of the financial "experts" suggested that this would be a great time to get a masters degree since the job market was soft. And this is where I lost my mind...
An undergraduate education costs anywhere from 60,000 - 120,000 (and leaning more towards the 100k + direction), since most people don't have a spare $100,000.00 lying around, most students take out loans that they will be paying off for a good portion of their lives (once you pay off YOUR debt you can start with your kids). They (aka "we") put themselves in that debt for the unspoken expectation that this education will get them a comfortable, secure, job. A career. A better life than their "struggling parents". But this idea is becoming a fading beacon of bullshit. While I appreciated my college education for being mentally stimulating, it did NOTHING to prepare me for my job. NOTHING. The reason I picked Drexel was because of their co-op program, which most definitely was responsible for me find a job during and after college. In this example - going to college was worth it, but there are only 4 or 5 schools that have a co-op program like Drexel University. What the hell are the other people doing?
Without getting off topic, even with the co-op program, I had to invest my part-time-job money on infrastructure and books to teach myself how to do actual IT things like build servers, configure operating systems and database. We didn't learn anything like that at school. They taught us how to be "managers" and "executives" without teaching any ground floor humility. Looking back, it is completely elitist and created a group of early 20-somethings who didn't want to do the bullshit work that everyone has to do when they start a new job. So now you have a group of 21-year-old kids with no real job training with no companies that want to hire and train them to do their elected careers. They are now expected to start paying loans and have no money to do so and are competing for "low end" jobs with the kids who decided to skip college. So what does the financial expert say? Strap another $60,000.00 to your back and sit out of the job market for 2 more years so you be an even bigger elitist with no real job experience.
WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?
My father is a butcher. He didn't go to college. He learned his trade before he was a teenager. From what I am told, he is one of the best butchers around (if there is such a thing as a butcher scoring system). He never has to worry about losing his job and he doesn't. He may stress over other things but his career is not one of them. He is comfortable in his skill and the demand for it. How many people can say that? I bet alot of people without a college education can't say that. As we "elitist" "educated" people clog our sinks, need new windows installed for our energy credit, and get new electrical wiring installed - we call people who most likely didn't bother with college and opted to become an established laborer's apprentice and go to a finishing school. My friend's brother was an electrician and was making excellent money before he left that do something else where I think he is making more than me. This kid is skilled and will never have to worry about a job. And he doesn't have $100,000.00 of debt weighing him down.
I am not saying we should abolish the college system, but think about how much time you spent learning vs. getting drunk and stoned on your parents dime? We don't have a system in place anymore that can support that excess of cost and lack of real education. The solution is very simple: Cut the bullshit class requirements (getting rid of unneeded space and staffing overhead), reduce tuition so a student isn't in debt half of their lives, and focus on tangible skills. I imagine if we have people trained to do actual work and produce things, more small business would open and thus jobs would be created in this country.
Just food for thought.
[Leftover's Leftovers]
I did quite a bit of writing this week, here is a quick summary if you missed anything:
- Most awkward car ride ever: A short recollection of confrontation in a car - with a rat.
- Awkward Car Ride Too: A story about my father and the Catskill Mountains
- Annual Year End "Seasons Greetings"
[Recipe of the Week: Thai Spaghetti]
Credit: A lady my wife works with
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound thin spaghetti
1 cucumber sliced thin
1 bag Shredded carrots (Use half)
2 cans sliced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed
1 bottle Thai Peanut sauce (I used Bangkok Padang peanut sauce for the version you had)
1/2 cup of crushed peanuts
(Optional ingredients)
Cooked Chicken
Scallions
DIRECTIONS:
(If you are adding chicken read step 4 first)
1. Cook the pasta as directed, drain, and put into a large bowl
2. Pour in the full bottle of Thai peanut sauce, carrots, cucumber, and water chestnuts
3. Get a 1/2 cup of peanuts and put them in a zip lock bag. Get a mug and crush them. When turned into a almost fine powder, mix into the pasta
(OPTIONAL)
4. If you are going to use chicken, I would suggest bringing water (with whatever seasoning you like - I suggested adding Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika) to a boil then shutting it off and putting in a few chicken breasts and let it sit for 30 minutes. Take it out and it will basically fall apart in your hands. Add the chicken BEFORE you add the Thai sauce
Serve
The beauty of this dish is that it can be served at room temperature and you don't need to worry about spoiling.
[DIY of the Week]
I was flirting with skipping the DIY in honor of the holiday season and even the idea of doing something is exhausting (we have been entertaining and coooking and cleaning... alot). But this is more of a nifty trick than a project.
Conceal Speaker Wires with Wood Trim
[Video of the Week]
Monkey vs. Robot.... Enough said.
[Conclusion]
This has been a looooooong week. I hope you enjoyed the stories and the rants. I hope you had an excellent Chanukah/Xmas/other holiday. Have a happy and safe new year! If you need to reach me, you can do so via email at: "blog at joeylombardi.com". As always, don't take shit from anybody.
Smell You Later,
~ Joey
Joey Lombardi | Create Your Badge
