Donald Trump has never made an issue of his service to America during the Viet Nam War.
I suspect that's because he never served in the Viet Nam War. Nope, Donald was busy studying up at
Wharton. (What, Trump attended Wharton?... and he passed?... he graduated? Who knew?...)
Not having served in America's criminal campaign against Viet Nam can hardly be seen as a bad thing.
Mr. McCain on the other hand, trades large on his heroics in that war. Yup, not only did he serve his country; he survived torture and came out a war hero in that criminal campaign against Viet Nam.
Here's a story called The Horror of John McCain; war hero or war criminal.
There's lots of stories out there in a similar vein. That's why the good senator is not pursuing Mr. Trump's slanders with any enthusiasm.
That's why Trump's comments about Mr. McCain's war record have so quickly faded away.
Showing posts with label Wharton School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wharton School. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Monday, January 6, 2014
The Turfgrass Institute
Nothing much to do here at Falling Downs other than wait out the blizzard, and she's a doozy.
The internet still works, and on a whim I was checking out the Environment Canada weather forecast for points south, when I noticed that Guelph gets its weather readings from the University of Guelph's "Turfgrass Institute."
I been using lawn-mowers my whole life. Does that qualify me for an honorary degree?
Best one I ever had was a Canadian Tire house brand with a three horse Briggs and Stratton. Got it from the ex-brother-in-law for free 'cause he was gonna throw it out. Put in a new spark plug and got another ten years of trouble-free grass cutting out of it.
Replaced it with a brand new Craftsman that had the big wheels at the back. Can't say I was too impressed. Came to nearly $500 all in, and had to be replaced five or six years later.
Against my better judgement I replaced that with another Craftsman, this one being the first mower I ever had with a Honda motor. Ya, this was the Rolls Royce of lawnmowers for sure. Not too impressed with that either.
Once you get ten years of turf management out of a free lawnmower that you got from your moron brother-in-law you're pretty much spoiled for anything else.
So I always wondered what this "Turfgrass Institute" was all about. I know in this age of runaway credentialism, when the garbageman is a sanitation engineer, we like to put fancy handles on simple occupations, and I'd assumed that's what we were looking at here.
I was therefore taken aback when a good friend told me her son was going to the University of Guelph to take a degree in "turf management."
Ya right!
Reminded me of another acquaintance who had three kids. The first two were really keen over-achievers. One did an accounting degree and was making mid-range six numbers by the time he was in his mid twenties. The next one became a teacher.
The third one was the dumb bunny of the brood. An attractive young woman, but thick as the proverbial brick. Mom has it in her head that by God, every one of her kids is going to college or university, and even though everybody who knew the kid thought that was a long-shot, she eventually found something called a "personal service worker" course at the local community college.
That's where they train up the folks who are going to be wiping the drool off my chin and the shit off my ass in a couple of years. A noble and essential calling to be sure; I just had no idea it required a college education!
So owing to my ignorance, I had lumped turf-grass management in that same category - a college course designed for parents who need to be able to say all their kids went to college. I figured buddy with his turf-management degree might find employment at the local golf course upon graduation, at least from April to October.
I was therefore more than a little shocked when his mom gave me an update on his career trajectory.
"So how's your young fella fairing out, the turf boy?"
"Oh he's at the University of Pennsylvania now."
Huh?
Ya, he's at the University of Pennsylvania, because they have the best Masters program in turf management.
Huh?
Get the fuck outta here!.. Masters degree in turf management? WTF???
Now I've heard about Wharton, so I know U Penn is a serious enough place... but a graduate degree in turf management?
Anyway, according to the mom, anytime you turn on the TV and see stuff happening on grass, be it football, the other football, baseball, golf, whatever, that grass you're looking at didn't just happen. That grass on your screen is the work of turf professionals, and apparently the higher you go in the turfgrass hierarchy, the more likely you are to find graduates from the University of Pennsylvania turf management program.
Who knew?
So her Junior is gonna be going to work everyday at some fancy-pants golf club or stadium. He'll get in free to all the major events. And believe it or not, those folks pull down salaries well into the six numbers.
Proving yet again that no matter how old you get there's always lots more to learn... about everything!
The internet still works, and on a whim I was checking out the Environment Canada weather forecast for points south, when I noticed that Guelph gets its weather readings from the University of Guelph's "Turfgrass Institute."
I been using lawn-mowers my whole life. Does that qualify me for an honorary degree?
Best one I ever had was a Canadian Tire house brand with a three horse Briggs and Stratton. Got it from the ex-brother-in-law for free 'cause he was gonna throw it out. Put in a new spark plug and got another ten years of trouble-free grass cutting out of it.
Replaced it with a brand new Craftsman that had the big wheels at the back. Can't say I was too impressed. Came to nearly $500 all in, and had to be replaced five or six years later.
Against my better judgement I replaced that with another Craftsman, this one being the first mower I ever had with a Honda motor. Ya, this was the Rolls Royce of lawnmowers for sure. Not too impressed with that either.
Once you get ten years of turf management out of a free lawnmower that you got from your moron brother-in-law you're pretty much spoiled for anything else.
So I always wondered what this "Turfgrass Institute" was all about. I know in this age of runaway credentialism, when the garbageman is a sanitation engineer, we like to put fancy handles on simple occupations, and I'd assumed that's what we were looking at here.
I was therefore taken aback when a good friend told me her son was going to the University of Guelph to take a degree in "turf management."
Ya right!
Reminded me of another acquaintance who had three kids. The first two were really keen over-achievers. One did an accounting degree and was making mid-range six numbers by the time he was in his mid twenties. The next one became a teacher.
The third one was the dumb bunny of the brood. An attractive young woman, but thick as the proverbial brick. Mom has it in her head that by God, every one of her kids is going to college or university, and even though everybody who knew the kid thought that was a long-shot, she eventually found something called a "personal service worker" course at the local community college.
That's where they train up the folks who are going to be wiping the drool off my chin and the shit off my ass in a couple of years. A noble and essential calling to be sure; I just had no idea it required a college education!
So owing to my ignorance, I had lumped turf-grass management in that same category - a college course designed for parents who need to be able to say all their kids went to college. I figured buddy with his turf-management degree might find employment at the local golf course upon graduation, at least from April to October.
I was therefore more than a little shocked when his mom gave me an update on his career trajectory.
"So how's your young fella fairing out, the turf boy?"
"Oh he's at the University of Pennsylvania now."
Huh?
Ya, he's at the University of Pennsylvania, because they have the best Masters program in turf management.
Huh?
Get the fuck outta here!.. Masters degree in turf management? WTF???
Now I've heard about Wharton, so I know U Penn is a serious enough place... but a graduate degree in turf management?
Anyway, according to the mom, anytime you turn on the TV and see stuff happening on grass, be it football, the other football, baseball, golf, whatever, that grass you're looking at didn't just happen. That grass on your screen is the work of turf professionals, and apparently the higher you go in the turfgrass hierarchy, the more likely you are to find graduates from the University of Pennsylvania turf management program.
Who knew?
So her Junior is gonna be going to work everyday at some fancy-pants golf club or stadium. He'll get in free to all the major events. And believe it or not, those folks pull down salaries well into the six numbers.
Proving yet again that no matter how old you get there's always lots more to learn... about everything!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Still think you want your kid in university?
Latest stats reveal that over 75% of all undergrad courses in the US are taught by "adjunct professors."
That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. There's plenty of other stats out there proving the superior efficacy of adjuncts over the tenured folks.
That rings true. Who do you think puts more of an effort into their teaching gig; the tenured six-number guy who never again needs to give a shit, or the hapless wannabe-tenured lecturer who is carrying a six-number student debt load, but is toiling away in Adjunct City for Walmart wages.
At least the Walmart guys get some benefits.
And it's not as if the tenured folks are smarter or better educated. Both they and the adjuncts come out of the same institutions with the same qualifications.
So I suppose that the answer to the question posed in the title will depend on WHY you want your kid in university.
If they're focused on a professional program with decent prospects, it's still worth the candle. One of the most expensive programs in America is the Wharton MBA. It'll take at least $120,000 a year to get your kid through there, but the median starting salary of a Wharton grad is $120,000. You can see the pay off coming not too far down the road.
If, on the other hand, they plan to study sociology until they become a sociology professor, prepare them, and yourself, for the never-ending purgatory of Adjunct City.
In fact, you and Junior are going to be far better off if you can talk them out of university altogether and into a career in plumbing.
And they'll be contributing something useful to society.
That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. There's plenty of other stats out there proving the superior efficacy of adjuncts over the tenured folks.
That rings true. Who do you think puts more of an effort into their teaching gig; the tenured six-number guy who never again needs to give a shit, or the hapless wannabe-tenured lecturer who is carrying a six-number student debt load, but is toiling away in Adjunct City for Walmart wages.
At least the Walmart guys get some benefits.
And it's not as if the tenured folks are smarter or better educated. Both they and the adjuncts come out of the same institutions with the same qualifications.
So I suppose that the answer to the question posed in the title will depend on WHY you want your kid in university.
If they're focused on a professional program with decent prospects, it's still worth the candle. One of the most expensive programs in America is the Wharton MBA. It'll take at least $120,000 a year to get your kid through there, but the median starting salary of a Wharton grad is $120,000. You can see the pay off coming not too far down the road.
If, on the other hand, they plan to study sociology until they become a sociology professor, prepare them, and yourself, for the never-ending purgatory of Adjunct City.
In fact, you and Junior are going to be far better off if you can talk them out of university altogether and into a career in plumbing.
And they'll be contributing something useful to society.
Monday, October 22, 2012
New Al Qaeda no. 2 bumped back to third after old no. 2 returns from dead again
By golly it's hard to keep up with the line-up in that Al Qaeda of of the Arabian Penninsula franchise.
Typically we get the top guy about once a month, thereby earning everyone else in the command chain a move up. Just like the 12 assistant managers they used to have at the K-mart where I worked. M-1 gets sent to head office and the rest move up a number.
Hell, maybe while the original 19 hi-jackers were studying up on how to fly jets these other guys were studying the K-mart management model at Wharton.
But here's where things get confused. Seems we just wrote about the last no. 2 being dispatched to his appointment with the imaginary 77 virgins, but according to Reuters, he's baaaack!
What this will mean to the chain of command remains unclear. I know at K-mart they'd have a "management trainee cull" every once in awhile. Send the hapless shits over to Woolworths or Sears with explosive belts strapped to their hips... metaphorically speaking of course!
Of course it may be too early to start up a new Qaeda franchise somewhere else. That no. 2 may be back, but he won't be back for long.
Those drones are busier than ever.
Typically we get the top guy about once a month, thereby earning everyone else in the command chain a move up. Just like the 12 assistant managers they used to have at the K-mart where I worked. M-1 gets sent to head office and the rest move up a number.
Hell, maybe while the original 19 hi-jackers were studying up on how to fly jets these other guys were studying the K-mart management model at Wharton.
But here's where things get confused. Seems we just wrote about the last no. 2 being dispatched to his appointment with the imaginary 77 virgins, but according to Reuters, he's baaaack!
What this will mean to the chain of command remains unclear. I know at K-mart they'd have a "management trainee cull" every once in awhile. Send the hapless shits over to Woolworths or Sears with explosive belts strapped to their hips... metaphorically speaking of course!
Of course it may be too early to start up a new Qaeda franchise somewhere else. That no. 2 may be back, but he won't be back for long.
Those drones are busier than ever.
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