DSL WATCH: Day 5 Still no DSL. I can't even imagine what people would do if they had to do online courses via dialup.

Someone mentioned to me the other day that as I spend an inordinate amount of time not sleeping that I should consider going back to school and get an online degree. My twin brother is doing this and so is one of the women I work with...it seems like an interesting concept...I just don't know if online learning is the way I'd truly learn? Also I don't have a clue what I would study. I don't think I want to get my MBA. There is a certified event and trade show planner thing that sounds interesting but I'm not sure that's what I want to do full time.

I think probably it would be an online Adobe class in something like After Effects or Java Scripting for Dummies would be helpful but I don't think I'd have the committment to do a whole degree program. I'd probably have to look at scholarships or loans and well...the hassle might not be worth it.

So tonight imagine my suprise when the yahoo news topic of the day was oddball classes you can take via the internet...that seems more my speed. So here were their choice and my opinion about them:

Weather Forecasting -- Cumulus, cumulonimbus, or stratus -- oh my! I had to drop meterology at Winona State. Way too much science and math involved. No one warned me before I signed up. I mean really - how hard could it be...cold hot, warm front, I've been watching the weather on tv for a really long time. It was difficult. I can however put on my resume that I was a member of the tornado chasers and weather team soph. year when I volunteered at KQAL. We never actually chased a tornado - just talked about it. I think it was just that Howard was really interested in weather and was the news director.

How to Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant or How to Marry a Millionaire, Considering they don’t include an interactive component, I'm not sure how much fun this would be??? Isn't the first one just like getting "certified" to be a babysitter? I did that when I was twelve at Northwest Community Hospital. All I'd need is to renew my CPR certificate and I think I'd be all set.

Popular Music -- An examination of the roots, development, and significance of popular music in our culture, taught via Penn State’s World Campus, introduces the major genres of the art: blues, jazz, country, mainstream pop and rock and roll. Forget about being a musical genius – this course focuses on the impact sociological and cultural events have made on American music throughout the years. Think Elvis, the Beatles, and rock stars ranging from Michael Jackson to Madonna.

This one kind of reminds me of my Intro to Film class at winona. We watched four or five movies and commented on them and pretended to analyze film styles. The professor was VERY into film. For the majority of us it was a relatively easy way to earn credits one monday night a week for something we'd probably be doing anyhow back in our dorm room.


How to Start Your Own T-Shirt Line -- do we really need more t-shirt stores? All you have to do is go to the Wisconsin Dells to KNOW that surely we don't need one more slogan on a t-shirt or someplace selling it.

Theme Park Engineering -- I'm thinking that as much as I love roller coasters I really don't want to know how they are built. Nor do I want the person building them certified by an online course.