Watch Out Republicans.. Here Comes Isaac!

So.. as a native Floridian, I was sick to my stomach that I found out the RNC convention is going to be held in Tampa. With the 2000 elections, Rick Scott, Allen West, and losing Alan Greyspan, this was just the icing on the cake to make my state look completely and utterly dysfunctional.

This isn't to say that I dislike all Republicans; just most. I felt Jeb Bush did a good job as Governor. I really supported his stance on education. While I disagreed with his FCAT policy, he did succeed in creating some amazing charter schools. His policy on preventing federal drilling for oil off the coast and protecting the Everglades made me proud to be a Floridian.

I voted for Charlie Crist for Senate. For the first time in my life, I was torn between voting for someone other than the Democrat on the ticket. However, I felt Crist could accomplish more and would stand up for gay rights in the state.

But the rest of the Republican slime in the state? Allen West is so disliked in Florida, his own state party redrew him out of his district so he would lose. And Rick Scott.. the Defrauder-in-Chief now boasts the title of Governor of the largest Medicare recipient state. And to top it off, since he has been Governor, 126 Florida Panthers have died because of his deregulation of the Everglades to create a highway interchange to nowhere.

Ivy League schooling.. for FREE?!!?!

So... My sister just called me and told me about something she had heard online in a TED talk by Daphne Koller. She said that there was a website out there that was a collaboration of Ivy League schools that partnered together to offer free (Yes, you heard me right.. free) online classes ranging from biology and mathematics, to computer science and business.

The school is called Coursera ( www.coursera.com ). I went through the listings and found classes ranging from Game Design to Computational Nueroscience to Fantasy and Science Fiction. I went through the list, wanting to pick out tons of different classes, but I stuck with just one. I chose to enroll in the Game Theory course. I would also have picked the Science Fiction an Fantasy course, but I am already enrolled full-time at Broward College and I did not want to over extend myself.

I hope this ends up being as good as it sounds. The class syllabuses looked very thorough and the website itself looks amazing. The Game Theory class only requires about five hours a week of work so hopefully it won't interfere to much with my school.

Anyways, wish me luck!