...Final...

I seemed to miss Chapter 10 for some reason. And now that the semester has come to close I would like to end this properly, by covering Ch. 10 as well as giving a final summary of the class and Dr. Tuggle.

Almost all of Chapter 10 was a bit of a blur for me. Paired with Chapter 9, and earning me the lowest test grade in the class, just proved how much knowledge I had actually absorbed from it. One thing I feel like I understood was the system conversion section. Of course like most concepts I understood in this course, I can thank the CLPOA for the knowledge it instilled in me. We had a system which our computer tech created himself, and even though it certainly wasn't perfect, it was almost always functional. One of the main problems, however, was that even though they were not flat files, some of the screens or functions behaved as such. One of the even bigger obstacles was that we had to give handwritten receipts out, instead of being able to enter a payment into the system, and then have a receipt print out. That was one of the new applications that we hired a second computer tech on to work towards, building a new system in which things would run more smoothly, and bring us into the 21st century.

The system conversion that was being implemented seemed to be a cross b/w parallel and pilot, with the pilot locations being the different departments using a mix of the new and old systems, such as the ACC (architectural control committee) and Accounting, while our Member Services Dept. had no access to any of the new system components. Interestingly enough, a year plus after I have worked there, I still do not know if they ever got the new system up and running.

This class was particularly difficult for me in the sense that I learn by doing thing hands on. As me to create a data table after demoing one in class, no problem, as me to set up an Excel spreadsheet w/ cell referencing + addressing, you got it. Test me on concepts...not so much. Even though Dr. Tuggle did a great job at his demonstrations, lecturing over powerpoints, and including news reports and daily little activities, I still feel that this material is difficult for even the most techie minded to grasp. All in all I put everything I could into this class, and I feel that Dr. Tuggle needs to be commended for being so supportive and understanding. For those of you actually reading these blogs for some strange reason unbenownst to me, thank you. But I will no longer be posting new ones, as today was the last day of class, and almost the end of the semester.

...Excel...

Ok well I know that i am just a little bit behind on my blogging. Blame it on end-of-the-semester-itis in order to take tests, complete papers, pull out large chunks of hair...I feel rather confident about my scholastic aptitude this semester thus far, and with only a week to go, I hope I can continue in my success. One of the easiest subjects that we covered in Intro to IS this semester was the Excel in class lectures as well as the homework assignments. Now I honestly hate hearing those smarty-pants-know-it-alls that leave classes saying how easy everything was, but being an Acct. major, these Excel projects were pretty much a breeze.

Let's just pretend that I knew nothing about Excel going into Dr. Tuggle's class. He not only covered the important basics without making things too painful, but also covered a few of the important components that would be useful to almost all business students. I think it's so sad that Dr. Tuggle has to put up with so many "slow down"s, and "I don't understand"s, when it is clear that some people just don't pay attention. Instead of sitting in my own class for the Excel demos, I decided to take the later class. As I watched some people around me in the class I realized why it was so difficult for some of them...they were on the freaking internet the whole time!!! You have got to be kidding me. Dr. Tuggle takes the time to teach such an important program at such a slow pace and you can't manage to keep up because you are chatting to your friends on Facebook?? Wow...Dr. Tuggle I hope your salary includes a babysitting fee.

I took an Excel class 3 years ago at a jr. college, and because it was an online class you pretty much had to teach yourself right out of the book. The teacher was most non-helpful and never available to answer questions, had the wrong answers on tests, and completely shut you out if you challenged her authority. Myself as well as a few other classmates had to go as far as contacting the dean because she was simply MIA and would not respond to emails. Teachers like THAT deserve students who do not pay attention and later ask infuriating questions. Dr. Tuggle deserves students willing to listen and learn, and even if they are not the best and brightest on a computer because he is always available to help!

...Robots...

Learning about Robots was truly the most interesting subject that we have covered thus far, this year. Who would have ever thought a decade or so ago that they would come out with a mini robot that you could program to vacuum your floors for you while you are not home? I am simply in awe and jealous of the fact that Dr. Tuggle owns a Roomba, which is the aforementioned room vacuuming mini robot. One of the most mundane and irritating household tasks for me is dragging a heavy, clunking machine around the house to pick up little odds and ends, dust and dirt, and the ever present clumps of cat hair. So if I can manage to save up a little over $400, a little robot will go around each room that I put a receiver in, saving me time and annoyance. thus poses the only problem: as cool as new technological advances are, you must have and be willing to invest the money.

Money in exchange for convenience is the driving force behind our society today. That's why there are so many fast food restaurants, coffee shops, and electronic gadgets, as well as a website for just about anything. Why go out in the cold, to get in your car to go Christmas shopping, when you can sit in your own home and order every last gift online? Not that I am complaining, because I typically do all of my own personal shopping online, on the other hand, for other people I usually manage to put a little bit of time and effort into gift giving.

...Data Mining...

One of the most interesting concepts out of Chapter 9 is the section on Data Mining. I find it truly fascinating that companies can do a bit of research in trends and purchases, and come up with idea such as convenience stores putting diapers next to beer. Imagine the horror that was your neighborhood 7 Eleven before the studies and data mining? Having to walk from one end of the store all of the way to the other to grab one item than another??

If anything is proven out of studies and research is that people seem to be getting lazier and lazier. Was there studies to show that people would forgo one item or another if they could not find them or had to walk further? I believe that if people truly want something, they will work hard to get it. What actually seems more remarkable to me is that in more recent years Vons stores have been putting their snack aisles directly in back of the alcohol aisles. So that when you go to pick up some Absolut or Jack, you also can see the peanuts, popcorn, chips and candy, and will be inclined to pick up a few of said items for later. Almost more of a marketing ploy, than an actual convenience.

...eBay...

So, I realize that I am quite a few days behind in my blogging, 2 days behind to be exact, so I will use this little study break to play a little catch up. Last Thursday in class, we went over eCommerce. This chapter seemed significantly easier to get through than the other 2, and we did a few fun little activities such as comparing US eBay against Hong Kong eBay and how to visit websites using their IP addresses. I find it quite interesting that planning ahead for the popularity of the internet did not seem to be a factor in the creating period. I find it sort of amusing that because IPv4 seem to be running out, that these already existing addresses need to be converted over to IPv6 addresses.

The second topic that piqued my interest in this section was the introduction of "network sniffers". I knew that evil people were capable of stealing other's credit card numbers online, but I really had no clue how they went about it. Makes it seem all that much more important to know which websites can be trusted and are secure, and which websites should not be trusted as far as you can throw them, look for https(security) and a little gold lock in the bottom corner. This was a practical application that everyone should know before offering their information willingly to strangers. Luckily for me, even with all of the ordering I have done off of websites, some big name ones such as Best Buy and Walmart, I have also ordered off smaller less well-known ones, and I will definitely need to be more careful from now on, because identity theft or stolen credit card numbers does not make for a fun time apparently, or so I've heard.

...AIS...

Since my major is Accounting, there are certain classes that are required and crucial for me to take, which is why I will not be having a winter break that lasts every long, because for some reason unknown to me both sections of Accounting IS were cancelled for Spring semester. So, as it seems, I will be waking up super early every Monday through Wednesday to sit in class for 3 hours straight, I'm just hoping that we do some sort of activities and not just listen to the professor all day.

Ok, so I got a little off track, but I had a point. On Tuesday we started learning about the functional business systems, and luckily for me I received a bit of an overview of AIS. Everyone always seems to mention how difficult computer classes are, unless they are Comp. Science majors, but I tend to disagree. Out of all of my classes this semester, the least dismal of my test scores come from Info. to IS. Accounting IS is like a two for one deal: accounting and computer work. Luckily, I am a tad bit familiar with the way some components of an accounting IS work after setting up the accounts payable module at the dental lab I was working for last year. I also did a little bit of work on the accounts receivable section as well. Hopefully this prior experience will help me in the classes to come.

...E-Business...

Class has seemed a little bit long and strenuous to me lately, not because Dr. Tuggle's teaching has become any different or less passionate, but perhaps because as the semester hit the halfway point, all professors have been expecting more: more papers, more tests, more homework. If I seem a little bit dazed and confused it's only because my brain is stretching to it's limits. God I need a vacation!

Luckily for me, there was one concept that seemed to just jump out at me during last Thursday's lecture: E-Business. Gone are the days when I have to drag my lazy butt off the couch to buy a new dress or pair of shoes for a special occasion. No need to leave the living room or the marathon of House reruns, because with the invention of the internet came online purchasing and selling. Not that shopping online is a new concept. I remember one of my best friends in junior high had Prodigy at home. Now I know not a lot of people remember this online service, but I certainly remember Trish showing me how she could shop the JC Penny's catalog from her parents office computer in her own house!

E-Business, I believe, is crucial in this day and time. What with the skyhigh gas prices as well as the overpopulation of many cities. Just point and click, and anything you want will be delivered to your home within a matter of days. Easy? Yes. Efficient? You bet. Now if only the numbers to customer service actually could connect you to a real live person instead of a voice activated message system. :)

...Feeling Better??...

Oh boy, did I pick the wrong week to fall ill. After, reading through the power points for Chapter 6, I just wanted to crawl right back into bed. Where the earlier chapters proved to be easier to learn once reading through a few times, this new chapter proves to be much confusion and agony. Out of the things I did understand I managed to pick up on some of the telecommunications media

I'm sure there are quite a few younger people who aren't lucky enough to remember using dial-up modem connections. Along with the slow connection and whirl-wind sound of the modem connecting, the dial up of the past also forced one to pay a monthly service fee to a specific company in order to use the connection. For example, ATT or AOL were two of the bigger companies that I can think of off the top of my head. I also remember that there were minute plans that you could subscribe to, if you needed only a little bit it was much cheaper than unlimited (if it was even offered back then). Connection was slow at best, and it took forever for pictures to download, forget about watching videos or other media type activities.

I remember being super excited when my stepdad splurged and purchased a cable modem. Much faster connection, not to mention the fact that you could use both the internet and the telephone at the same time without either disconnecting. The invention of the cable modem made it possible to view pictures and watch videos, because of the much faster connection. Pages load up at a speed that makes it appear that everything downloads at the same time, whereas with dial-up connections you could actually see line by line loading.

Over my birthday weekend at my parents house earlier this year, I got the chance to use the newest innovation to internet connections, the fiber optic cable, by Verizon. I did notice an incredible increase in the speed of the connections and the loadability of each site, but I also discovered a flaw. Every time the phone would ring, the internet would disconnect, and would not reconnect until after the call went to voice mail. Reminiscent of the days of dial-up, I knew right away that something was wrong. My step dad seemed happy that I had discovered this bug, instead of him during a web-cast work meeting. Verizon did come out and admit that they had a few kinks to iron out, but all in all this new connection is super fast and ultra reliable. Now if my poor mom could just get a faster computer to go with her new fast internet.

...Missed Class...

After a long and trying last week, and of course the weather change, I ended up sick...AGAIN. Luckily for me, we have this ingenious invention called...the internet, which actually was the topic of lecture today if Dr. Tuggle went along with his lesson plans. Gone are the days when you miss class and miss out on everything. With the invention of the internet you can not only get ahold of the day's lecture notes ahead of time, Blackboard at Chapman, but you can also email every classmate in each class with a few clicks to get more information on how the day went.

Since I am older that most people, I remember what it was like in high school missing one day of class and not knowing what the hell went on unless I called someone on the phone and asked, or waited until the next class day. Being that my school did block schedule with odd (Period 1, 3, and 5) and even (Period 2, 4, and 6) days, missing one day was the equivalent of missing two days.

People now in school have no clue how incredibly lucky it is that the internet is available to everyone. When I was in high school 1994-1998 only few people had and knew how to utilize the internet. Imagine having research projects and having to get all of your information out of encyclopedias and books which you borrowed from multiple trips to the library. No such thing as Google or Wikipedia, or any other mechanism in which you could receive all of the information that your heart desired within a few minutes. I remember my freshman year, we had to do book reports off of a book list, and then make a poster to go along with it. My friend, Amy Knebel (now Larsen), had the best project by far, which quite a few people jealously stated was because Amy had the internet at home. I believe that they were far overlooking the fact that Amy was such an overachiever, and that the fact that she had the internet and knew how to utilize it, just made her all of the better student.

On the flip side, I believe that people learning the internet at such a young age, actually disables them from being able to learn things out of books, and discourages how to do things as simple as navigate through a library's card catalog and dewey decimal system. One of the first things that I do when I have research project is to go to the Huntington Beach Public Library, one of my favorite places from when I was younger, and take out quite a few books on the subject. Not to say that I do not use some online sources, but I still find it a lot easier to look at a book right in from of me, as opposed to clicking through site after site.

I do, however, like that if there is something I need a quick answer to, I can have said answer at my fingertips in mere seconds. Whether it be a recipe, price of shoes, what time my favorite tv show is on, whatever my heart desires. I believe that there are goods and bads to having everything that you would and could ever need in one place, but if we teach people how to utilize other sources as well, that we will not be so heavily dependent on the internet, and more independent of ourselves and others.

...Access Day 2...

So, I must admit that this 2nd day of learning Access went a little smoother, but that was only because we pretty much built on what we learned, and maybe it seems as if people did seem to retain just a little bit of knowledge from the previous class. I found it to be a fairly easy day, but I like working on the computer and learning new programs.

After class I decided to work on the rest of the 1st homework assignment as well as begin the 2nd one. I hope all went right with the 1st one, as it seemed fairly simple to execute and I believe that I came up with the correct solutions. The 2nd assignment proves to be fairly trickier. This might be because I don't have Access @ home and don't have a lot of free time to spend in the basement of the library at school, but I just have to work with what I have. Add this more complex assignment to worrying about the 3 tests that I encountered this week, and you can imagine how much hair I have been losing stressing over my classes.

All in all, I believe that I seem to be getting a good handle on how Access works and what we might use it for. Thank god that it wasn't on the test though, because even though I can figure out how to do things, I'm not very good @ explaining the how or why. Case in point, my stepdad asked me to tell him what a Key is used for. I hadn't the foggiest way to put it into words, although he did seem impressed that we are learning practical applications like this in school, whereas we said that he had to teach himself the program.

I know that this blog was definitely not the wittiest, funniest or even most interesting to read, and that it took quite a few days longer that usual to post, but after 3 tests, about 10 hours of work, and one 10 year high school reunion over the weekend, I'm ending this long week tired, and in need of a good night's sleep!

...Stupid People...

Ok, so I'm just going to start this blog out by admitting I have like zero patience, for kids, driving in the car, waiting on anything, but most of all stupid people. I'm not referring to stupid in the sense of being not smart, I'm mostly referring to people who can't listen to directions the first time around, so they inevitably end up needing special help when they can't figure out what is going on. Such was the case in class last Thursday.

There is such a thing as a teacher who can't teach, and then there is something else called "people who just don't pay attention/listen to directions". Luckily for me, Dr. Tuggle CAN indeed teach, even though a lot of the class didn't comprehend exactly what was to be done in Access. This is mostly because a lot of people are used to being held by the hand and guided through practically everything. These are the same people whose Mommy & Daddy are paying their Chapman tuition, who are driving around their brand new luxury car, who spend most of their weekends partying their a**es off just because unlike the rest of us, they firmly do believe that money grows on trees.

I, unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you spin it, am not among this privileged crowd. Mom & Dad do not pay for school, did not buy my car, do not send me weekly/monthly allowance. I spend all of my free time on the weekends at my part time job. Working to pay my tuition that loans and grants do not cover, pay my rent, and hopefully have a little bit of money left over for food. So, it aggravates me to no end that when I am busy paying attention in class to get the most out of a lecture, or demonstration, that there are people there who just couldn't care less and ask questions for which answers were given just a few minutes prior.

Dr. Tuggle teaching Access was more than likely the highlight of my long, strenuous school week. As long as you understand basic concepts and how to navigate the most basic tools, the assignment in class was a breeze. Not to say that by trying to work ahead I didn't make a few mistakes here or there, but you certainly didn't see me raising my hand and disrupting everyone else's learning time simply because I wasn't willing to put the work into fixing something that was my own fault for not paying close attention. As daunting as the Access worksheet looked, it was fairly simple to follow step-by-step and arrive at the correct solution (query). I find it completely ridiculous and unnecessary that Dr. Tuggle felt the need to apologize for what he considered a botched demo. What's embarrassing is that people just can't grasp easy concepts, follow along at a steady pace, and cannot work with a partner instead of calling the professor over to fix even little errors.

I actually wish that we had more than a few days of learning Access and database construction, as they both seem like valuable skills to acquire. At this point in time, I don't have any information of mine that I create into a database, but if the opportunity comes along, I feel that I will be prepared.

...OCD Much??...

Ok, so one of my biggest strengths, as well as my weaknesses is my overactive OCD. Not to say that I was one of those people who keeps an immaculately clean room or that my car is spotless, more along the lines of when I work everything has to be exactly the way I like it. I tend to think that I know best how to simplify any task assigned, and will push my way onto others. That being said, people either love to work with me or hate it.

So when exactly am I going with this and how in hell does it pertain to what we learned in class yesterday you ask? One slide got stuck in my over crammed brain, the one pertaining to data cleansing. You have no idea whatsoever how mad it makes me when people can't do something the same exact way every single time they do something. The more you do something over and over again, the better you get at it. So, when you do something the same way every time, you leave room for much less error.

Hating to use the POA as a prime example again, but when you know something so well, you go with it. When I first started working @ the POA it was a nightmare come true. Smack in the middle of "boat season" (boat, golf cart, annual golf, annual dues...), learning every single type of form and procedure possible was daunting @ best. The worst by far was the processing of the insurance certificates. Looking up insurance records in the system, I noticed spelling errors, inaccurate dates, incorrect company names, and much more. For example, a policy that was continuous until cancelled would have an expiration date in the computer regardless of the "cont." on the certificate. There were others that were listed as continuous that had actually expired years before. And just forget about company names. Some coworkers listed insurance company as "Accord", which if one has not seen a certificate, Accord is the form, not the company, which is actually listed in the box labeled "Company".

I couldn't stand it! I wanted to hold each person accountable every time they put a new certificate into the computer. So I had to stop the madness. I personally took over the processing of the insurance certificates. I first went through over 4,500 files and purged the expired insurance policies, I made sure whatever was in the file matched up in the database, I collected the new policies arriving in the mail everyday and input the new information on my own. I would get pissed off if someone else did the "insurancies" when I had a day off. People knew how overprotective I was, so they would hide them, just to spite me.

I know that I sound like the biggest pain in the a** to work with, but all of this served a purpose. With only one person inputting the data for the insurance policies, I held myself personally responsible for them. If a member would call or come in and inquire about their policy, I would be the person to go to. if something had been faxed or mailed in missing even one of our key elements required, I would let the member know what needed to be changed, so they could tell their agent. Sometimes, I would have to call multiple insurance companies a day, with agents so confused by our terms. In the end, no more huge insurance mistakes. I made sure that the company names were all listed to same, for example "Allstate" not "Allstate Insurance Company" since the field already stated "Company Name". I made sure that in the notes the boat or golf cart was Year(19xx not just 'xx) Manufacturer (Correctcraft not Ski Nautique which was the model). I also made sure that the policy was applied to the right boat, and if there werre expired policies in the database, that they were deleted just as the ones in the files were purged. I made it easier on everyone working in our department. I wasn't ever appreciated for my work until I quit to finish school. Only now do the people still working there realize what a true asset I was, not that any of them are going to be willing to step up and fill my shoes.

...A Little Bit of Paradise...

Ok, so I started out working on this blog thinking how much I hate people who blog + how much I hate reading them + how much I hate writing them, but when it comes down to it, nothing makes me happier that seeing As on that online grade report @ the end of the semester. I figure a few extra minutes of my time 2 days a week won't kill me, so here it goes.

I typically have a difficult time paying attention in class because I feel as if most of this information is best left to the computer science geeks (which here is a term of endearment as my major of accounting isn't much more glamorous), but apparently it is a requirement for all business majors. Not that Dr. Tuggle isn't entertaining or knowledgeable, known around campus as some sort of god in the computer world.

Today was actually easier to grasp once I put it into some of my own real life experiences. My longest held job was @ the Canyon Lake Property Owner's Association. We had our very own personalized RDBMS (Relational Data Base Management System). In our member services department we had specialized screens in which to enter + search data, such as AMFM (Account Member File Maintenance), VRP (Vehicle Registration Processing), BRFM (Boat Registration File Maintenance) etc. AMFM served as the control file for all of these others. A mistake in this file, would lead to a mistake in all others. The entire association would use Tract-Lot to serve as the Key Field in order to access each member's files.

An archaic system at best, typically basic functions, only one file at a time, but it worked. As long as the information being entered by human beings was correct, the system was a no-fail.