thundercleetz

https://m.soundcloud.com/bmore-opinionated-762432073 Cool new Baltimore podcast hosted by Jason LaCanfora and Jerry Coleman. Josh Charles is a guest on the second episode.

Few thoughts: that is a very annoying part of jobs listings: experience and expertise for crap pay. Can't speak to the jobs you are referring to, but in my experience I've seen: too many people with that specific skill set applying for the job. Sometimes the job isn't that good in the first place, and while it may require an expertise, it isn't a premium expertise (i.e. working in a finance call center. The employer would obviously like finance experience but you're still in a call center). That does suck if you have spent your career building that skill set and the industry goes stale. We've seen it happen though in our own local economy the past twenty years. It's devastating. Take coding for example: that Bloomberg article I posted stated these workers have been coding since they were children at summer coding camp. That skill gap won't be closed by an apprenticeship. Same goes for engineering, bio-med, nursing, etc. These skills require advanced degrees. The expertise needed is legitimate. As far as private corporations taking on the burden, some do to an extent. Starbucks implemented free tuition through Arizona State's online platform (which is very solid, I considered it for B-school, you get the same degree as on-campus). Many corporations have management programs for recent graduates (transferable skills). Plumbing and engineering still have apprenticeships. Sure you have to get your apprentice license first, but the cost is nowhere near a college education. Expertise nowadays is so much on titles, CPA, MD, JD, etc. That is how your skills are appraised, and a company won't be able to teach you those things. Also have to consider: our unions are not as strong as in Germany where training is more common place. Take plumbing for instance. Your company pays for your training, you take those skills and leave to start your own business. From what I remember of studying Germany's economy, workers either cannot move or don't have the incentive to. Hypothetically, I wonder what would happen if your former student left the NSA program right after he graduated. I'm guessing he'd have to pay back some of the costs of education/training, but some companies are too small to enforce contracts (or through inefficient government bureaucracy it's not enforced). Speaking of the example you presented: companies/government training future workers by paying for college education, or other expensive training, brings up a dilemma of initial evaluation. Maybe grades and extra-curricular activities are qualifiers, but what about trade jobs where school isn't a good identifier? Hard to evaluate without some base level of experience. The case you presented is further complicated since it's a government agency, and ultimately that training and education is paid by tax payers. I am not taking a side, as someone has to work those jobs, just presenting the dilemma in my head right now.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/28/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-new-york-debate-joel-benenson/

Rosenthal is reporting the O's may be looking to release Kim from his deal so he can go back to Korea. Not sure if there is any legitimacy behind it, seems early. Regardless, Rickards has earned the starting LF job IMO and he better fills a need.

Lineup is heating up! Trumbo has hit some bombs and he's displayed a strong arm in RF. Rickards has been a stud this spring. Buck is going to have a hard time not penciling him in as the everyday lead off hitter. Especially if it lets Manny hit 2/3. I've seen a lineup this spring of Rickards-AJ-Manny. I like it. I am worried about Gausman's shoulder. If we want any chance contending he has to take a big step.

Upshaw signed with the Falcons for one-year. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15068590/courtney-upshaw-reaches-agreement-contract-atlanta-falcons

I went to CC in MoCo. From what I was told when I was in CC, all four year schools in MD are supposed to accept MD CC credit. I got accepted into UMD after getting my AA. I don't remember there being an issue with my credits but I can't say for certain. When you go cross-state from a CC things get messy. I didn't go my last two years in state (got a good scholarship which made it cheaper to go out of state) but here's the kicker: like you mentioned I had 60 credits and an AA, when I transferred my new college only accepted 28. I went into the guidance counselor's office and explain my case. I had gone on the school's website, found comparable courses to what I had and asked if I could get those credits. I was expecting an argument, but after a couple of clicks my transcript was amended and I got the credits! I don't know if it's like this at every school (my four year school is private).

Btw, you seem like a really great teacher. That's awesome that you go over school and loan costs. THAT is going to make a true difference in these kids lives, even if they don't appreciate it until down the road. You can always move out of state after you graduate.

Good discussion all around. Just to clarify, I am not advocating elimination of the liberal arts by any means. I was a liberal arts major. All I am saying is those majors need to be scaled back to what the job market dictates. Better instruction in writing and ethics can be cross-departmental and are useful for any major. My wife was an Art History major. She tried both architecture and business majors, neither were a fit for her. She's an excellent writer and has a creative mind. I feel a good guidance counselor would have seen her struggles in business and architecture, and evaluated her strengths to help push her into a degree field field with professional relevance, such as teaching. In the end, she made it work and has a solid job, but what she learned in her major was useless. Great points on in-state vs. out of state, DC. The whole "it's cool" to go out of state is dangerous when an education in-state is just as good. I went to community college for two years to get an affordable education, my two little brothers joined the Army to help pay for school. None of us wanted to do these things as our first choice. Hopefully the parents of those kids you are mentioning aren't so quick to sign PLUS forms. That is going to cause a crisis of its own down the line. But the retirement crisis in the US is a topic of its own...

Yep, I absolutely agree this is an enormous part of the problem. My father didn't go to high college, went to trade school and became a master plumber/contractor. He's an absolute genius with the math he can do in his head, hand dexterity, and his ability to identify and fix problems plumbing, electrical, and structural problems. I wish I had pair more attention as a kid... The investment needs to be made in K-12: infrastructure, giving teachers more support, hiring more teachers and raising pay, and focus on practical trades in high school to encourage students with those sort of skills. No more students struggling in remedial classes in college should be a goal as well. There are other ways to make college affordable than throw $50B at the problem. In a way, this would further the K-12 problem and possibly water down a college education. Kids need to be prepared for college and trade schools. I went to community college for two years and a common problem I saw were kids having to take a year or two of remedial classes, get frustrated because they did not count as progress toward a degree, and drop out. Unfortunately, it is a waste of money as well. Colleges need to be held accountable for the degrees they are producing and what guidance counselor are telling kids. I know guidance counselors are merely trying to do their jobs, but what they tell kids who are liberal arts majors about the job market isn't telling the whole story. College need to do a better job of accepting and graduating students in majors based on the job market. The arts are great, but art departments at colleges are too big accepting too many majors, and engineering departments are too small. If colleges are given their allocation of federal/state funding based on job placement, I'm sure they will allocate their own department resources much more efficiently.

My thoughts exactly. If you are an engineer, you will be in hot demand for a high paying job. Same deal if you know how to code. Read this article the other day that talks about the learning curve when it comes to coding. Specifically, the challenges Howard University faces as it tries to establish a quality computer science department that can provide talent to Silicon Valley. http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-howard-university-coders/

We are calling you a troll because you are an at the ad hominem level at best on the argument pyramid. This is a civil topic to talk about different political matters. People are going to have different opinions. It's inevitable as people have different viewpoints influenced upon how they were raised. Instead of attacking someone and saying they are wrong, present your reasons for why you believe a certain way.

We should just put him on mute

Haha. I've enjoyed your posts. I won't name names (or one name), but there is a right and respectful way to present your point of view or to express disagreement, and in this topic we were doing a really good job of it until a few days ago. I feel bad that you had to respond, but I enjoyed your history lesson Through all of that, there are some really important topics that you touched upon which are equally as important as the primaries. In particular: the role of debt in an economy, China's growth rate, health care, etc. So much I would like to add to the conversation. I'll try and add a post later

Ugh this topic disintegrated quickly.

While on the topic of Nazi Germany, has anyone seen The Man in High Castle on Amazon? Or read the book?

For the Game of Thrones fans:

Haha wasn't you. Even if you said something I didn't agree with, you always "ranted" with logic and maybe presented a view or material I hadn't considered before. What got me off of Facebook was I felt a lot of the rants were intentionally combatitive. I rarely posted on Facebook, but I felt the urge to respond to each ignorant political post. That's how I knew it was my time to leave haha. Oh yeah, the snide political memes with no thoughtful commentary would also get on my nerves. Thanks for the heads up on LinkedIn!

It's impractical to have a mobile training camp these days. Coaching staffs, training staffs and offseason rosters are too big. Medicine and technology is much more advanced and relied upon in football. You have to have a base operation. The $35M Bisciotti is spending on upgrading The Castle is more than what he originally paid to build it. Even in the 12 years the Ravens have been at The Castle they have outgrown it. Imagine how cramped they'd be at Westminster. I have good memories at Westminster like everyone else but that model is outdated and not conducive to team success.

https://twitter.com/ravens/status/712350354558427137 Hmmm I wonder if you are on something here TBird. Sounds like Bisciotti is keeping up with the Joneses (pun intended). Maybe some sort of fam experience will be included?

Exactly why I am not on Facebook. I got tired of social media political activists and analysts. I've noticed its started to bleed over to LinkedIn...

A little hypocritical of Bisciotti, right? He said over the offseason the rule book is too thick. This x100. Hire officials full time with full benefits, this offseason training is required. There should be fitness tests to ensure that decision making is not compromised by fatigue ("fatigue makes cowards of us all" is what my high school football coach always said). Eye sight should be 20-20, or the officials should be required to wear appropriate eyewear that gets them to that point. Tennis has had laser point technology for years that can determine whether a ball hits a line. Can the NFL stop being cheap and place this technology on every sideline and goal line? Finally, to speed up the review process it should be more like the MLB. Have a full team of officials watching every game in New York/LA. If there is anything questionable the office buzzes down to the field and makes a quick decision from the office. Fox and CBS have their rule analysts who are former officials in their booths, and they can always seem to get the call right.

Yes, I retroactively watched the video you posted. I'll do you a favor and not pat myself on the back like Cenk does

Very sad read... Tray was an outstanding young man with his head screwed on straight. He was doing all the right things for someone in his position. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-tray-walker-folo-0320-20160319-story.html