Today, being Tuesday, is the shortest day of my week. I have PA (Physical Activities, not to be confused with PE, which would be Petrolium Engineer) and then CSM 101 and that’s it. So I took the bus over to Colorado Mills Mall. I enjoyed being off campus, even if only for a few hours.
As promised, here is my article for The Oredigger. By the way, I’m now the News Editor:
Later this year, students at the Colorado School of Mines will be privy to a new Student ID Card. The new cards have been an item on Bob Francisco�s mind for the past five years. However, only in the last 30 months has the concept been formally underway. After an eight month review process of several companies, the committee assigned to implementing the new Student ID cards was finally able to settle on Blackboard�s Bb Transaction System (BTS). �The Computer Networking people had their issues, I (Francisco) had my issues, Accounting had their issues�but by the time we got all done, everybody was satisfied; it was a unanimous vote for Blackboard,� Francisco commented in an interview.
With the mid-November rollout date looming, the Student Life Office is far from the finish line. Only the initial ground work has been laid for the new system. Still to be completed is�well, just about everything. The Human Resource Department is currently mounting a search for a new Campus ID Card Program Manager who will be responsible for completing the installation and configuration of the Student ID Card system. After the system is successfully rolled out, the Card Manager will be in charge of daily operations, maintenance, and complaints from students and faculty alike.
Yet, the Bb Transaction System is not without its opponents. John Hall, a software engineer in Santa Monica, California, is one of them. Hall cautions that �The main problem with BTS is that data transmissions between card readers and the central system are relatively insecure. They rely on the physical security of metal conduit around the RS-485 lines, but a quick survey of one BTS-equipped campus revealed a number of places where one could easily gain access to the wiring.� However, Hall also notes that �Campus access card systems are a great ideas� [and] have the potential to be more convenient, secure, and cost effective than the physical alternatives of keys and cash. [O]ther than a general neglect of security, their [Blackboard�s] system works pretty well.� However, someone in the HR Department seems to be on top of that; listed under Job Duties for Campus ID Card Program Manager: �Have familiarity with legal issues for the card and be able to advise departments on legal uses of the card and database.�
For information about applying for the Campus ID Card Program Manager position, contact Human Resources at (303) 273-3250.
For more information on the security issues of the Blackboard Bb Transaction System, visit http://www.overcode.net/~overcode/bb-faq.html
Andrew Ferguson is Freshman originally from Seattle, Washington. He can be contacted at aferguso@mines.edu or on his website andrewferguson.net
Some of you should be getting the idea that I’m really not liking my Calc 1 class. Today we learned about Lou Gehrig’s Function. Now I’ve taken Calculus before and I’ve never heard of a function by that name. Turns out, she meant logarithmic functions. Anyways, the entire time, she sounds like she’s trying to confince herself that what she’s teaching is actually true. What can I say? This is going to be an interesting semester.
I also finally got my computer working again…without the help of ACN (Academic & Computer Networking). I ended up loading Knoppix, a version of Linux that boots straight off the CD. Then I transfered all my files to Jason’s computer (thanks Jason!) and reformated and reinstalled Windows. Hopefully this won’t happen again.
Today was pretty nice. I woke up at 8ish, went to PE at 9 where we discused details about the Alcohol Awarness meeting. 10 o’clock brought Calc 1 and all the joys thereof…or not. I had a few hours off, ate lunch, then went to my SYGN lab at 1pm. When I got there, there was no TA. Hmm. After some debating, the fire alarm went off, the third time this week. Our TA finally showed up at a ten ’till 2…she thought the class started an hour later then it really did. I’ve decided that I definatly don’t want to become a topographer. We watched Raising Helen at the Student Activity center. It’s actually a pretty funny movie, worthing watching. Now I’m trying really hard to get my computer fixed. Arg.
So we’re learning how to draw in EPICs. How cool is that? Our assignment is to draw a prospective view of something and turn it in next Wednesday. When I’m done, I’ll scan it in and post it here somewhere. We also had yet another fire alarm; second one this week, different building though. I think this one was planned though. Anyways, went to the FCA get together tonight. That was pretty awesome. Grandma and Grandpa are going to stop by on Friday on their way to Colorado Springs for Grandma’s reunion and I’m going up to Estes with the Weber’s!
My Tablet PC isn’t feeling very well. It refuses to finish booting Windows. After some messing around, I found out that a device driver, d346bus.sys, is not loading well. A quick google search indicates that I’m not the only one with problem. However, I don’t have any way to fix the problem at the moment. I tried downloading Knoppix, a bootable version of Linux, however, it only has read NTFS support and I actually need to write too. Then I headed down to the Computing Center, no help there. All the machines run W2K and the guy helping me didn’t have his WinXP disk with him, he will on Thursday though. I would use my WinXP disk, but I don’t have one because Microsoft forces companies who distribute OEM versions of their software to encrypt it so that it can only be restored on the machine it was designed for. Ergo, the OEM just makes a Norton Ghost image and creates a front end to ensure it will only load on the authorized computer and BAM…I’m up the river without a paddle. So, for the next few days I get to use a pen and paper (*gasp*).
Monday’s aren’t too bad really. I had a hour and fifty minute block of EPICs followed by 50 minutes of hell in Calc and another 50 minutes of Chemistry with a really great Chem teacher (the best in the school, so say upper classmen). I had a lunch meeting with the Orediggers, the school newspaper. I’m going to writting some articles and I post them here when I’m done. I’m also going to be working on the Oredigger’s website. Anyways, Earth Sci got a giant 15 minutes chunk taken out when the fire alarm went off. No fire truck showed up and I couldn’t see any flames, so I assume it was a false alarm.
Today was sort of like yesterday. I didn’t really do much. I do go to Boondocks today. It’s an overpriced family fun center…I got in for $1 though and recieved unlimited gokarts, bumber boats, mini-golf, lasertag, and 10 tokens for games, so I’m fine with that. I also worked on the little amount of homework that I had today. Nothing much else to report.
The first week of college is over, and was pretty impressed. Most of my classes are only 50 minutes long, the exception being EPICS. The only classes that I have a distaste for right now is Calc 1. We have a foreign teacher who is sometimes hard to understand. The class is also unengaging. This weekend, I don’t have anything to do, so I guess I’ll just hang out. Just about everyone else know is heading for college this weekend.
The first day of college was all I dreamed it would be, and more. I woke up at 10:15ish, had some breakfast then meandered down to my 11 o’clock class only to find no one there. So I went to the Student Center and transfering my music ratings. I then headed back up to the apartment. A short time later a guy from Comcast came in and installed yet another internet connection. What could be better?