Back From the Dead

Hey everyone,

I apologize for my lack of activity on here of late. School’s been hammering me really hard lately, and I’ve been working my way through some personal and spiritual issues, so this has kind of taken the back seat. The mythical “Constructive Post” of yore is still in the works, but I’m putting it on hold for a bit – I want to wait until I can give it my undivided attention, so I can make sure I get it right.

For anyone interested to know my current homework load, I have a Linux lab, CCNA Assessment, Intro to A&P Term sheet, and a practical assignment for Cyber Law class, which is due on Thursday. For the practical, I have to take an incident report, a fact trail, and all other information given to me in a packet, and I have to write up an affidavit and search warrant from that. Gonna be fun.

Which brings me to another exciting topic about my college tenure. I am currently in the Cyber Security & Computer Forensics program at Stark. If I were to take six classes next semester (and not fail any this semester) I could graduate in May. However, due to the fact that the Cyber Security & Comp. Forensics program, in my opinion, kind of pigeonholes me into the law enforcement side of things, I am going to also complete the Network Administration and Security program, which should only take another year. There are three kinds – the general program, the Linux database program, and the Cisco administration program. Not sure which one I’m going with yet. If I do take that program, I should be able to get 2 Associate’s in about 3 years. I talked to my advisor about how I should go about it, and he told me I should spread out the Cyber Security classes I still need to take, and juggle those classes along with the Network Administration classes. So I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be inviting you guys to my spring graduation yet. :(

In tech-related news, Windows 7 will be released to the public on this coming Thursday, October 22nd. For anyone running a Vista machine, purchasing the upgrade is worth it, although I would wait a bit to make sure the usual fare of Windows “release bugs” get worked out. I will say this, though – my experience with Windows 7 has been phenomenally better than that with Windows Vista. The upgrade process from Vista to 7 is fairly straightforward – just make sure to back up your important files. If you are looking to move from XP to 7, I would advise on buying a new computer – not only is the XP to 7 upgrade process incredibly strenuous, but the computer may have a really difficult time running Windows 7. As an aside, I heard Microsoft did some special with Family Guy that had a bunch of promos for Windows 7 earlier this week, but I don't think that will ever erase the horrible memory of those “Windows 7 Party” commercials… *shudder*

I’ll try and put a poll up here before the night is out. If you guys have any suggestions about what you would like to see here (I know I get kind of boring), shoot me a message in the comment box, or get a hold of me by Skype, Gmail, Facebook, phone… whatever works. ;)

Until next time,

-Kylo the Magnificent

The people have spoken

I probably should've been more specific with my poll - I was asking about the logo, not necessarily the entire theme of my blog. I was going to wait until the poll ran out, but I thought I'd go ahead and change it now. The picture is not mine - I found it on some random site on the Interwebs. I added in the title. :) Let me know if you like it or hate it.

As for that post I keep talking about... it is coming, but not until tomorrow after church. I had one more CCNA assessment which I took all evening with (got a 91%), so that's why it's not up now.

-Kyle

Small (yet big) update: The Final Chapter

Mom is back from the hospital now - I picked her up earlier today. The medication she is now is regulating her heartbeat pretty well - whereas Mom was experiencing PVC every heartbeat when she first went in, the medication was making it barely noticeable when she left. So hopefully there won't be much more excitement like that for a while.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers - I hope (and don't hope, at the same time) that I can return the favor someday. :)

...And as for my constructive post, depending on how quickly I get my CCNA assessment done (grrr) I'll have it up later tonight. But I've said that before...

>Kyle<

Small (yet big) update IV

It would seem that my mom suffers from Premature Ventricular Contraction. Most everyone experiences PVC sometime in their life - it's when the ventricles in your heart contract before being filled fully with blood. However, it's apparently a chronic thing with my mom. The blood pressure medicine she was on was aggravating the condition, which is what caused her blood pressure to be so crazy yesterday. The doctors are putting my mom on new medication, and waiting to see how that works. Best case, she'll be home tomorrow.

-Kyle

(For more info on Premature Ventricular Contraction, look here: PVC )

EDIT: I noticed that it said "the blood pressure she was on" when I meant "blood pressure medicine." It has been duly edited.

Small (yet big) update: Episode 3

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY OH MY GOODNESS!!!

...It looks like my mom will be in the hospital one more night, at least. The good people at the hospital are giving her some new medication, and they want to see how it works before they release her back into the wild.

More to come as it happens.

-Kyle

P.S. Tonight, or maybe tomorrow I'll post that "constructive post" I keep mentioning.

Small (yet big) update part 2

Hey all,

Mom's blood work came back okay, but she's still waiting on a cardiologist... So more developments (hopefully positive) will come later today.

-Kyle

Small (yet big) update

School was okay today - two CCNA labs, and Cyber Law class wasn't that bad. All in all, I thought the day was going to be a good one.

I come home, and find that my mom needs to go to the hospital. Apparently something's going on with her heart - she looked just fine when I got home, but that's not always the most accurate thing to go off of. Mom and Dad left once I got home, so I'm really not sure what's going on... If you guys could keep my mom in your prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. I'll keep you guys posted on developments as they occur.

-Kyle