Category Archives: Life

A quick 500 words.

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No whining? So I have to write without whining? How does that even work? I’m supposed to have this gift rattling around inside of me, but I don’t know how to get the muse to show up at my door. As I get rolling I need to eradicate the BE verb and use action verbs that can stand on their own. The rain fell softly on the tin roof. Wow is that dull. I have lived a life that I do not realize its potential. If I operate on the premise that I am afraid then at least I have somewhere to start from. I am afraid of becoming famous. That much I know. I am no longer afraid of drinking simply because I have had one beer. I am still afraid of visiting a dentist for any reason. I would much rather read a good book than just about anything else. I need to be loved, but I do not really believe that to be true. I don’t seem old enough to be old, but I remember being young s if it were yesterday. I must be in the continuum of middle age. Any day now my pension will kick in safe as houses. Writing is my new gig and I intend to make the most of it. If I can just write one book I will be happy, win a prize or two and make some money…great. Accept phone calls? No way. I have no real need for vanity apart from having a healthy ego. A certain amount of wealth would do very nicely. I remember riding my old red Schwinn bicycle for whole days without using my hands. I can even remember being able to smell Food, trees, breakfast. Now I can breath, but not smell. I would like to be deaf, I have even asked God to strike me deaf, maybe just so I can smell again. Breakfast would be very nice to smell. I used to Spelunk a bit when I was young and doing something other than reading. I have rappelled and enjoyed that very much. I even climbed Der Zugspitze in West Germany, well it was West Germany at the time. I am a Cold War Veteran. I like that. I spend quite a bit of time thinking about Europe, the history of it and the modern dichotomy that espionage makes use of. I visited castles and drove on Der Autobahn. I was also a Scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America and was voted into the Order of the Arrow as an adult. The OA is Scouting version of the National Honor Society. I consider it my highest honor. When I mas outprossesing from Hahn Air Base the Education advisor took several looks at my transcript and asked my why I have joined the military as an Enlisted person I had no real answer for her. I finally finished my BA in 2014 majoring in Liberal Arts because I wanted to major in too many things over the years.

Liberal Until

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I was a Liberal until about six months into Bill Clinton’s reign of terror. At that point I realized that I was a blind Liberal no more and really started doing my own research and finding out the truth behind the fiasco of that presidency. I have Bill & Hillary to thank for becoming a Conservative and for wanting to pursue my education.

Try Until

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When we were all very small our parent(s) made us try until we succeeded in walking. I believe that is almost the last time anyone trys in their life. I have done a number of “try until I gave ups” and a few total defeats along the way, but I have never tried until I succeeded in anything, except walking. Things I might want to try until..? Magician; Writer & Poet; Athlete; Christian? We will see, but I need to try until or I will go crazy.

Testing Out

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Give the BA in 4 weeks website a read to see how this method of education works. I found this website very early on and it is somewhat dated at this point.

I call InstantCert.com the best $20 per month in education. I recommend joining ASAP to find out the latest on distance education. Take a good look at the thread called Specific Exam Feedback after you join which discusses what is on the tests, how hard the tests are, what to study and what not to study, etc…in essence this is all about the fastest and cheapest way you can possibly go to get a degree in this day and age.

A good method: Join InstantCert and see what all of the various plans are that people have both worked out and followed. Start by getting your transcripts together and then knocking out both CLEP and DSST tests toward your goal. When you have got about 60-90 semester credits under your belt go ahead and contact a college and throw all of your credits at them because by that point you will be mostly done.

I have way more education websites at home so feel free to send me an email and ask any and all questions.

Dave

How To

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I “tested out” of college. I “went” to Excelsior College in New York and I graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts; my GPA was 3.7.

The best books for non-traditional education are: Accelerated Distance Learning: The New Way to Earn Your College Degree in the Twenty-First Century by Brad Voeller, Bear’s Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning and Bear’s Guide to College Degrees by Mail & Internet by John Bear, PhD & Mariah Bear, MA. It is possible to get an accredited Bachelors, Masters, or PhD non-traditionally for a fraction of the “brick-and-mortar” cost. So gather up all your old high school and college transcripts, licenses, certifications, military records, any training you have done on the job, any documentable information from life events, and get started. Anybody from 18 to 118 can do this!

Best Distance Schools:
http://www.excelsior.edu Now has life experience credit.
http://www.cosc.edu Still awards credit for GRE Subject tests.
http://www.tesc.edu Life experience credit.

Best Tests (there are others):
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/clep/about.html CLEP: 3, 6, or 12 credits in a sitting, all lower level. $77 + proctoring fee.
http://www.getcollegecredit.com DSST: All are 3 upper or lower level credits. $80 + proctoring fee.
http://www.excelsior.edu ECE: Upper and some lower level credits, now have many online classes as well. $275 or $95.

This is how I started testing: Get a copy of CLEP by Barrons. Circle all the right answers using a medium pen. Read only the question and right answer, do one test at a time: Humanities, Social Science/History, Natural Science, and College Math (this one may take some actual study). Excelsior will award 24 semester credits for these 4 tests. Then start taking the individual CLEP and DANTES (DSST) tests: Use InstantCert and read 1 or 2 books in 2 to 4 weeks (or sooner!!) and take a test. There are over 50 to choose from. The discussion boards on InstantCert are invaluable for non-traditional education.

The Tools:
http://www.instantcert.com $20/mo CLEP, DSST, and ECE “flash-card” test help and a discussion board with people who have taken these tests!
http://www.free-clep-prep.com/clep-difficulty-list.html Difficulty comparison of the tests as well as study resources.
http://www.degreeforum.net/off-topic/15669-free-mit-classes-2.html Free schooling.
http://www.123collegedegree.com great overview!
http://www.rea.com books for individual test subjects.
http://www.thegreatcourses.com/ Lectures from the best professors on tape/CD/DVD; wait for frequent sales!! Buy these used at ½ Price or from Amazon. Amazing…really amazing.
http://bain4weeks.com explains the gist of all of this stuff.
http://www.scholar.google.com best for looking up academic papers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page the online encyclopedia is much better than it used to be.
http://www.textbooks.com is my newest find and you can rent textbooks there!
I also use Encyclopaedia Britannica: Ultimate Reference Suite DVD

ANY questions, just ask!

My Tests

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BA in Liberal Arts @ Excelsior in 2014

I completed 25 tests: CLEP: Humanities/600, Natural Sciences/530, Social Sciences/History/570, American Literature/65, American Government/59, Intro Educational Psychology/59, English Literature/64, US History I & II/70 & 69, Human Growth and Development/57, Intro Psychology/66, Intro Sociology/59, and Western Civilization I & II/67 & 60; DSST: Business Ethics and Society/432, Civil War and Reconstruction/71, Criminal Justice/434, Intro Modern Middle East/65, Organizational Behavior/65, Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union/65, and Intro World Religions/475; and ECE: Abnormal Psychology/A, Psychology of Adulthood and Aging/B, Research Methods in Psychology/B, and Social Psychology/C.

Capstone in Liberal Studies/A

AA in 2010 from Excelsior.

Start

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This web log will be my writing practice. A combination of diary, rant-page, topic exploration device, and my small space on the Internet. If you see something you like then drop me a line. I’m taking some classes at the University of Washington starting this Fall. Memoir and Fiction are the subjects I will be studying and learning to create. Wish me luck.