Good point - make sure you get a real job when you join the Army or whichever. Helpful hint - human resources (or any other office job they might offer) is not a real job; that'll get you maybe $30K/yr. when you get out, assuming you rise to the top of the stack of people with business B.A.'s.

No way, Jose. Turbo or not, I have bad memories of the Ford 2.3 liter, and I wouldn't have another one if someone paid me to drive it. The fact that it's in a completely ratted-out old Bug does nothing to change my mind on this.

Too true. While the current administration seems reluctant to get started with any more unnecessary wars and such, the next administration may not be so committed to the idea. If we're really unfortunate, we might end up with another of Poppy Bush's offspring, and you know what happens after that - (1) a banking…

(rim shot) LOL

No, environmentalist hippie types like bikes. They like to judge people who don't ride bikes, even if they live in places where bikes are nearly useless, like Upstate NY, as if everybody lives in a bike-friendly city like San Diego or wherever.

Do contractors usually get benefits, or are they expected to fend for themselves? Making "good" money isn't as useful when you have to give a big portion of it back for individual health insurance (for example), which I heard isn't cheap.

"in the last 20 years" being the operative phrase here. 20 years ago was 1993, and any warm body who could add two and two could get a job somewhere in IT in 1993. Try that with the same resume today, my friend, and see how far you get.

You're still sticking with the idea that Zuck is better than you or I. No he isn't. He hit the Internet lottery, just like Markos Moulitsas did for the "netroots." I like Kos a lot, but his main claim to fame, other than getting there (almost) first is being a good writer. There are a lot of good writers, and I…

I knew quite a few commissioned officers who went to West Point and majored in some kind of history. They cling to their jobs in the Army, knowing their degrees aren't worth much outside the gate. I even had one captain admit as much once.

Lots of people have the aptitude and knowledge to be at/graduate from Harvard. We even have living proof (our 43rd President) that one can graduate from Harvard (he holds an MBA from there, go figure) without having actually gotten an education. Unfortunately, Harvard has a very limited number of seats, not enough…

As what, a consultant who helps people develop solid LinkedIn profiles?

Your internships and jobs you had during college (except perhaps the one where you worked as a barista or whatever) wouldn't have happened if you weren't in the university pursuing a degree. It is part of your education, not something you did in addition to it.

And there it is. In the 90s, they'd take anybody who could walk and chew gum at the same time, because they needed warm bodies. Kind of like the Army in 2003 when they'd take on just about any schmuck, no matter how chequered his past, including one Edward Snowden, which is how he managed to get his foot in the door…

Please enlighten us. Where are these IT places where credentials don't matter? The U.S. Army is one that I can name, but perhaps you have a list?

I would say your best bet for getting in on some kind of middle-class career without going to college would be the U.S. Armed Forces. I don't know anyone else who will spend money to train you, walking in the door, to do anything in a down economy. In fact, this would also be a fairly sure-fire way to beat the high…

Yes, you can get an education online. You can get an education at your local public library, if you want to go old school. That's not the problem. The problem is proving it. That's what you need the diploma for. Without it, you aren't likely to even get an opportunity to prove it because your resume will probably…

Yup, Ziploc bags are your friends. Get the cheap ones, and divide those "family packs" of chicken and whatnot into however many portions you need.

Look for markdowns. Our grocery store marks down meat when it's "cook it or freeze it" time.

Like 86 the racing stripe and paint Bengals stripes on it?

I thought since the steel industry went tits up, all the grit in Pittsburgh settled out of the air and washed off the buildings and the streets into the Ohio River. For a gritty blue-collar town, it's awfully clean nowadays, or so I've heard.