Is going to college really a scam? I was listening to art bell the other night and he had a guess on talking about how going to college is a scam. And before this just a few days earlier I watched a video on youtube called college conspiracy saying the same thing. And just tonight I watched nightline with the creator of paypal (who has advanced degree in law) who says college is a scam. So what is it, a scam or a good investment? I’m starting to think maybe it is a scam, but I have some logical explanations for why it is worthwhile in my opinion.
Yes it is true that it appears everyone is getting a college degree. After some research today the best degree to get is one that is specific to a real job. That is a degree in business, psychology or sociology is not a for sure thing anymore. However a degree in nursing, electronics (techs for intel, solar world or Triquent) are in high demand. I may go to Oregon Institute of Technology here In Portland Oregon. This college has some very specific degrees that pay well. $40k-80k starting is some of the starting salaries with 80% and higher hiring after graduation. I’m personally taking classes at Portland Community College and leaning towards transferring to OIT. Some jobs require bachelors while others will even accept just experience. But how does one get their foot in the door with a degree.
Going to college is more than just getting a degree. What one learns is really mind boggling. Some things one learns seem out of this world, but than some things after learning more become believable. For instance this post discussing that getting a college degree possibly is a big scam. Most people have grown up hearing going to college is the only way to make good money. So why now is it being talked about as a scam. Because everyone has a college degree and now degrees have become so undervalued is one reason. Another reason is high paying jobs are so hard to find right now. Too many people and not enough jobs is the norm. Over population is another reason. Here in Portland we now have huge traffic jams that did not exist just 10 years ago. My theory is many BASTARD Californians have moved here “Thinking” the jobs are in Oregon. Get the hell out.  So back to college and ideas that are generated. One learns the subject, but also ideas start to develop. One learns what they want to do with their lives. It’s called finding yourself. And I believe the mind really starts to build more neurons and one believes they can make the world a better place. What I find crazy is the professors are so brilliant, but why are they not doing something that will change the world? It’s as if they are smart, but on the other hand not that smart. One example from my psychology class we learned about Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs theory. When one sees how this works it makes living really exciting. Now one just needs to find what really gets them going and apply that to the world.
I do believe that if one takes a huge amount of debt just to get a degree than perhaps they fell into a financial trap. This is like buying a house or car and stuck making the payments. It’s a way for the capitalist to control you and make you a slave for life. I never have liked working a job with a boss. Even as a child I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I was smart then and getting really smart now. Is it really worth sitting in traffic to work and then on the way home just to make house payments, pay bills, have kids and spend most your time working not enjoying life. But most everyone in America works in the rat race. Living in a third world country almost seems appetizing to me. Who really cares about buying high tech gadgets, boats, ATV’s, vacations, material items? Most of the time you have no time to use them. If you really think about it happiness does not come from buying items and playing with them. Or escaping the job you hate by going on a vacation when you have to go back to work anyways.
All this talk about college being a scam is one if you want it to be. Yes college is expensive now, but what do want to do for a job. Flip burgers? Me personally I’m going to make some cash, invest and try and avoid the rat race. I will not fall into the trap like most everyone else who goes in huge debt.

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It’s almost here. Summer time is almost here. The Portland area keeps having rainfall then the next day 70 degree temperatures. I’m sure most of you are getting ready to take a vacation and perhaps to the Oregon coast. I am. So I will write up a list of some fun things to do. It’s time to brain storm.

1. hiking. This has been one of my new hobbies and lord knows I need the exercise. Some fun hikes I have done include Kings Mountain off of highway 6 just a few miles past browns camp. This one is really steep and you really are hiking up a mountain. Like most places on weekends it usually is busy. Bring some water for this one. Another hike I like doing is at Cape Lookout close to netarts beach. One path leads down to a private looking beach. Hardly anyone is on this beach. Whenever I do this hike usually I am the only one on the beach. Another route has one hiking out for a really great view. This is a place to watch whales when it’s the time of year to watch. These hikes are easy and I have seen plenty of older folks doing it really easy. Sometimes I’m thinking dam I hope when I get to this age I can do this. I can’t think of all the hikes on the Oregon coast, but I recommend getting a book like I have.

2. go carts
When I was a kid I remember riding them in Lincoln city. I know a place is still around as you drive into seaside. And of course the bumper cars, mini golf and amusement park type of rides.

3. Horse back riding
Since I’m writing about seaside, they have some horses to rent. I noticed a place close to Cape Kuwanda near pacific city.

4. Helicopter ride. A place rents rides in seaside. I heard the views are spectacular. My good friend paid for him, wife and daughter. He loved it.

5. Of course I cannot forget the ATV riding at the coast. My favorite place is Florence, but you can ride at Winchester bay, coos bay, and sand lake. ATV’s at Florence and Winchester bay are affordable. I think 70/hr or so. I haven’t gone in a few years. You have to be 30 years or older to ride the 400 cc ones at Winchester bay.

6. Casino. How can I almost forget about the Indian casino? I just read in my sociology book that Indian casinos make 25 billion a year more than Las Vegas casinos. Spirit mountain casino has some pretty good Texas holdem poker tournaments. Also hi hands are nice paying. The last time I played I won $500 with the spinning wheel. But I lost about that and planned too.

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Summer is here. Yes. Finally. I live in Oregon and let me tell you it rains alot here. I spent $400.00 on my mongoose mountain bike a year ago. The sad is it rains and I just spend most my time studying. I really need to get out and go riding. My friend lives by a long paved road trail designed only for bikes and pedestrains. Thats the cool thing about the internet. You can find great places to ride your bike no matter where you live. Here in Portland we have a paved trail in the middle of the city. Well it goes along the willamete river. back to the Mongoose bike. Mine has shocks which I just love. When I was a kid a bike like this would cost thousands. In fact when I do go riding along the beach here in Oregon. I get stairs like I’m riding a bike work 2,000. I heard one comment between two guys. I could here one of them say thats a really nice bike. The path was super crowded. I would have to wait for slow walkers. Even one really old couple said we should of brought our bicycles. I want to buy a ocean front beach house but that is another story. I need a great job and some time to save for a down payment. But its one of my dreams. So I suggest you go out and buy a bike. They are so much fun. Who knows you may even get in great shape in the process.

Mongoose Status 3.0 Dual-Suspension Mountain Bike (26-Inch Wheels)

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So you are getting really tired working for someone, but not sure what type of business to start. Every business venture thought you may have probably seems expensive. And yes most all businesses are expensive to start. That is, until you get into selling on ebay. I personally have experience doing just that. I did it as a side business while I worked my regular job. I’m actually really considering getting back into it since I have extra time in the summer. I have my main focus on getting some college done. In fact last summer I went around garage sales and bought some items. Also, recently I went to the goodwill to buy a few items that I think will sell. But I don’t recommend the goodwill because it appears they have the items marked up to about retail price. Here are a few tips I suggest when you do decide to start your ebay business.

1. When you start searching other peoples auctions to see what might sell good. Click on their listings of items they are currently selling. One thing I like to do is, click their feedbacks. This will give you a gadge of how many items they sell. Alot of feedbacks means they are selling alot of items.

2. Scroll to about the middle of the page and hunt for advance search. Next look for last completed auctions. Click the checkbox show completed auctions only. Now all the auctions in green are the ones that sold and all the auctions in red are the auctions that did not sell.

3. When I use to sell me and a online friend of mine would only sell a few items with one user name. The theory was to keep the items low so people have less of a chance to copy us and lower our profits. If this is really the case is up in the air. Makes logical sense to me though.

4. check the community boards on ebay. Back when I started I did not know they existed. This way you will know the details of what to look for when you go to buy certain items. I did this when I was researching how to sell records on ebay. So much great advice that would save me money. I would of never guessed so much went into selling records. For instance, you may have a record that looks the same, but if it was put out in a certain country it makes it worth more. And the songs are the exact on both records. But they are not worth the same amount of money. Condition is a big factor, especially if they are old. Some common records will not sell. In short do your research before you sell items.

5. Buy a scale and print labels at home. Find the blew mail boxes that are about 5 feet tall. I use these and don’t have to wait in line. Personally I would go to a shipping center within the post office chain. To me it seemed to speed up the delivery. If it really did I don’t know, but I felt that way. All my feed backs would say fast delivery.

6. Respond to all your customers even if they are stupid questions. Customer service is key when selling on ebay.
7. Have fun. Selling on ebay is just a fun thing to do and in the process you can make money.

I Sell on eBay

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Schwinn 220 Recumbent Exercise Bike

First off I really do own this schwinn exercise bike. The exact model. One reason I bought it was because I live around some really nosey neighbors and I like to exercise in private. Well I use to live this problem. I was living with parents, but that is another story.

some of the features.

What I like about the handle bars that you grip to as you pedal give your heart beats per minute. Also, the screen you look at tells you when you are about to go up a hill. You have alot of different terrian styles to choose from. I usually set the timer thats a feature on the screen. This way I can motivate myself to stick with a ride. I may be tired at one point but see I have 10 minutes to go so I keep pedalling along. I actually do not have it in front of me so I’m thinking what else I remember. My bike is sitting in my parents garage. I plan to move from my current apartment really soon.

padded seat
This bike has such a soft cushioned seat along with a comfortable back pad. I think it runs on madnets attached to the front wheel. This gives it resistance. You can easily adjust the strength of the padal.

Schwinn 220 Recumbent Exercise Bike

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I caught some of the president’s dinner tonight (April 30, 2011). The camera panned to Donald Trump and I begin to think. Why the hell is Trump at this dinner after he ripped in Obama. I figured it out really fast as one of the guys from Saturday night live starts to rip into trump, joke after joke insulting Donald Trump. His facial expression was as if he was a wax figurine. Not a eye blink. You could almost see the smoke exausting from his ears. It became really clear why they invited him. Of course the jokes were tamped down, unlike the real roast on comedy central. Never the less. I enjoyed watching this. Hey Donald, it’s not so fun when your the one getting attacked.

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