Fezmid

I think the #1 thing is to get plenty of rest. I generally get 8 hours of sleep a night (although this week I havn't... ). I think that helps a ton. Oh, and I spent the first 4+ years of my life in Love Canal, so maybe that helped. CW

And then you get arrested for "being under the influence of something"

Right on. I also think it's a little different paying for grad school instead of undergrad. Presumably the kid has shown that they care about their studies by getting an undergrad degree, so the whole "irresponible" angle is minimized/eliminated. I still maintain that going to a state school is the better route, as long as you go to a good state school. (I moved to Minnesota, worked for a year to establish residency, then went to the U of Minnesota, a top research school and incidentally, the school has the highest number of students registered for class in the nation, or at least did in '95). CW

I think you'll be fine wearing a Titans jersey as long as you're cool. I've been to Minnesota and Green Bay with a Bills jersey and the fans were cool, so I'd suspect the same would hold true in Buffalo. Just don't be a jerk. Have fun - and post a recap after the Titans are eliminated from the playoff race this Sunday

Pretty much all of my coworkers have had (or currently have) it, but so far I'm doing ok.

You have no childhood, but hey. Seriously though, I guess mixing paint at KMart wasn't the way to go. I earned $5/hr, and that was good money - cashiers only made around $4.75 (mixing paint was a "specialized skill," go figure. ).

Self proclaimed **** ( ), Even without the word "significant," I still fail to see how a $5/hr job is going to make even a dent in a college tuition bill. I worked at KMart for a little over a year, and it pretty much paid for books for my first year. That's another great topic - why do college textbooks cost over $100 each?!

These are the parts of your post that jumped out at me. I don't think I paid $40,000 for my entire education (U of Minnesota - go Gophers!! ), let alone one year. If you want to go to a school that costs $160,000+ to get an undergraduate degree, knock yourself out, just don't complain that you have al ot of debt when you're done. So I'm with you - no sympathy for those who knew they'd have debt He didn't even take a jab at my grammar, he took a jab at my capitalization Someone's grumpy today.

How is a $5/hr job going to help pay a significant portion of college? My high school work helped pay for some books my first semester, and that's about it.

Tell that to e e cummings.

I think it's more that kids are going to private schools - that's where you rack up your debt. if you go to a public school, it's much cheaper.

What highschool do you get to do anything other than math, social studies, science, and english? I never got to experiment with anything. I think the only choice I had was whether I wanted to take spanish or french. And sorry, but college isn't about getting a profession, that's what trade schools are for. College is about learning and learning how to learn. Yes, it helps you get into various professions, but it's not about learning a skill (aside from the skill of learning). That's one reason a lot of jobs require a college degree -- the theory is that if you can learn everything you need through college, you can learn stuff on your own as well. We all know that depends on the college the degree is from though. That's also the reason why you have to take a broad range of classes, instead of focusing on one dicipline. Some people say "I want to do XXXX" and take only classes dealing with XXXX, then change their mind and say "I want to do YYYY!" A four year degree is based on taking a broad array of classes for the first year or so, then based on that, delving into a specific field. I paid my entire way through school, and I took some classes just to see what they were like. It almost led me to writing, even though I love computer science (then I realized that IT paid better than writing ) I agree that you shouldn't complain about it, but I disagree on the rest. (wow, I rambled.... Sorry! ) CW

It's not "some web poster's hysterical interpretation," it was the person it actually happened to, and she linked to the story that was written about the incident.

But again, where did he provoke the system? He told them not to search his bag without him being present (legal0, and said that he wanted it to be searched in private (also legal). Yeah, he maybe mouthed off a little bit afterwards, but his rights were being abused well before he even opened his mouth (the bag searching). Both people were victims in the story. CW

If you read the article, he said that he did have a blood test to prove he wasn't under the influence of anything.

He did know the rules and did follow them. TSA is NOT allowed to go thorugh your bags without permission and he called them out on it. Since when are we just supposed to blindly do whatever someone tells us, regardless of the law? Why do people feel that TSA can do whatever the hell they want, and we just have to obey? This is still the USA, right? And as was pointed out, assuming what the guy is saying is true, he was arrested for allegedly being under the influence. That has nothing to do with TSA! Hell, look at people in first class and half of them are under teh influence as well. He might've been a jerk, but regardless, that doesn't give TSA the right to do what they did (again, assuming they really did what he said). This is no different than the other article I posted in this thread where the woman said she wanted her purse searched in front of her, and then they tried to make her miss her flight. Complete abuse of power that should NOT be tolerated. I can't believe that none of you care about this stuff. CW

Yes, she was marched at gunpoint: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread....t=618629&page=6 Specifically: "I am so sorry, eastwest. Harassment is the pits. Back in 2002, I had a similar incident. Although I must admit that being marched at gunpoint out of the secured area is inherently preferable to spending a night in jail." That's where I got the link to the story. CW

Is she whiny and dserving of being escorted at gunpoint? http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?...+street+journal CW

He didn't say he didn't want security checking his bag, he said he wanted it done in private, and that's his right. It's also illegal for them to search a bag without permission (excluding Xrays). Whenever I've gone through security and there's something they want to look at, they always ask me "May we look through your bag?" They don't just start rummaging through on their own. Could you please point out where he was being an ass and/or whiny please? He may have been a little snotty with them, but that doesn't give them the right to make up charges to arrest him. When you give a policing force all encompassing power to do whatever they want, they will not act in the right manner. Have you heard about the Stanford Prison Experiment? That's what happens when there's no checks and balances of power in place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment I realize that it's only one side to the story (his), but if it happened as described, I think TSA went way overboard (again). CW

I don't have a problem with kids changing their minds. College isn't really about "getting an education to get a specific job," it's about finding out what's available in the world like you said. I lucked out in that I knew I wanted a degree in CS since I was about 5, but I understand most people aren't in the same boat. At the same time, I loved the writing classes I took (my professors said that I should write professionally which was cool to hear), along with lots of other classes. They didn't help me get a job, but they did make me well rounded and let me see what else is out there in the world. College (the non mickey-mouse ones, anyway) gives you a foundation to build further learning upon. CW

If those saying he deserved what he got are the majority of the country, I weep for America.

Crazy story about being arrested for "suspicion of being under the influence:" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=618629 And this sums it up nicely: http://www.gocomics.com/thefifthwave/2006/11/19/

I also don't believe that every kid should go to college. A lot of colleges are nothing more than glorified high schools. Let's face it - not everyone is smart enough or has the desire to go to college, especially not right out of high school. Don't force them, it's a waste of money.

Wow, I'm usually in the minority on these types of topics. Thanks

I don't buy the "it was different then" argument. I just graduated in '99 and I worked my own way through school. Had a job (or two... or three...) to pay the bills, and I managed to graduate with only about $8,000 in debt (from a Big-10 school). Part of that was taking a year off of school to work fulltime (for $8/hour) to help pay for school. I honestly believe that it helps build character. It also forces the student to make decisions on what they want to do. If they're paying for it, they're much more likely to graduate on time instead of being 5th or 6th year seniors. They also have to decide how to spend their money. This guy obviously didn't do a very good job with it, but that's on him. How do you not know what a credit card does? He knew, he just chose to ignore the consequences, and he's paying for that choice now. You read articles like this one all the time, and the person always says, "I didn't realize what being in debt would do!" That's a load of . (I don't begrudge you paying for your daugther's college - I think it's a very nice gift for her - but I don't buy that it's the only solution nowadays). CW