I would say it also depends a lot on where you go... I went to Mercer University, a private Baptist college in Macon, GA -- the senior EE labs were about 7 people. I had a scholarship to University of Alabama (Huntsville), but I think I made the right choice in going to Mercer: because we were small, I got to work on a diverse set of subjects (I had to to do the projects that I wanted -- including an IEEE robot contest and the Formula SAE car competition), and I had the freedom of being "nonstandard" in many ways (essay course on Lord of the Rings -- sure!).

But I chose to persue these projects -- they were "things I was interested in" and I also know that --for me-- the best way to learn something is to do it (kinesthetic learning). For me, the saying "I do therefore I understand" is the way I learn. I also chose to take the CompSci courses (yes, CompSci theory is important -- when you're trying to figure out how to eek out performance in an algorithm, it pays to pay more attention to what it's trying to do than how it's trying to do it), and the Lord of the Rings course because I was interested in those things.

Despite barely showing up as a blip on the "Engineering Curricula Guidelines", I think the Liberal Arts classes were very helpful -- thoughtful analysis and presentation goes a long way towards career advancement, even in engineering. Then again, I wouldn't have gotten as much out of "decision analytics 101" (probably a MBA class) as I got out of "Character Analysis of Frodo Baggins" (see, that "by doing" thing again), so I don't really know how I could advise someone else, other than saying -- if it's even idly interesting, persue it.

Ahh, so with your GP, you were forced into the Path of Least Resistance (Lessons from J.R. "Bob" Dobbs - Church of the Subgenius).  The path is not necessarily easy, but it is the one that wraps itself around you and pushes you in the correct direction.

I would go even further than you regarding "if everyone does it" and say that "if everyone does it" (ie, it is a "sure thing"), you can expect the collapse in that "sure thing" within 2-3 years -- in the 80's it was real estate.  In 2000, it was the great .COM boom.  In 2007 it was "a newfangled, sure way to look at real estate as a sure-fire investment."  And now it appears that it's becoming a tie between college education and bond funds (listen -- if you can't discharge the loan via bankrupcy, there is no incentive for the lender to be cautious and you are creating a bubble).

To be sure, if you're wired the right way, I think you can get a lot out of a college education -- but don't ever think you will get more out of something than you put into it (luckily, I realized that in my 2nd year); going "with the flow" only leads you to be one of the many logs at the end of the river,  and when there's a mass accumulation (of money, people, or power), it gets hard to "get out and do your own thing" -- at least because, from a distance,  you look like every other snowflake in the snow drift.

The great thing is that there are soo many ways to play the game of life -- everyone becomes a Hustler MBA and poker becomes no good, there are other table games (and the experience with poker is still relevant -- odds, tells, bluffs, etc all apply in dang near any game)...

If everyone goes to college, in my day, you got "ahead" by doing relevant, high-tech co-op work; when you graduated, you had 2+ years of experience, recommendations and connections that your classmates who went "straight through" didn't have.

But there are so many of them not playing the game of life.

I suppose you could go all Clerks on them and call them Automotons, but that sysnonym isn't very far from the root.

I do notice that as people go onward, sometimes the fear of losing "the dream" is enough to shake them and wake them up (cf all the people trying to run side businesses from their cubicles)... but it feels so much better to start awake.

AFAIK, there aren't restrictions on the seats (though I think that's changed for "new cars").  I would check out Summit Racing - even the seats that look like uncomfortable polycarbonate turn out to be quite nice (don't mess with the aluminum jobbies).

Howerver, the powers-that-be do insist on 3 point seatbelts only, because they think 4, 5 & 6 points are too complicated.  I'm still putting 5 pointers in my hot rod (mainly because I don't trust the seat not to twist out of shape with only a 3 point harness -- connecting to the body for the shoulder belt would result in the belt being too low and a good possibility of spinal compression on impact).

All that being said, I think it's probably quite firmly in the don't-ask-don't tell category.  I also think that an office chair (even an Aeron!) probably would do exceedingly poorly in a crash situation (many moving parts, held in with single -- probably grade 5 -- bolts, combined with a mesh back that will let your spine mash against the steel frame when compressed at 10.5G's), so YMMV.

On my Goose, I'm using seats from a Geo Tracker.  It turns out that the original Model A's are quite narrow in the interior, and the Geo Tracker seats fit nicely.

Never had coverage luck with Clear.I use T-Mobile, and while their coverage is less than stellar (though vastly improving with 4G), the "no hassle" unlimited data (with throttle after XX GB) has been a godsend.  And you don't have to pay extra to officially tether it (for unofficial uses, look at the Android FoxFi app).

That being said, it's nothing like wifi...

Does anyone know about MetroPCS or the other small-bells?

Are these the same cards?  They showed up when I went looking on ebay - http://www.kemcards.net/

I just wish you could take full-length videos with the NEX's without overheating.  Everybody is quick to say that you shouldn't have long takes, but you can't yell "stop for a second" in the middle of a piano rehearsal.

To those who think a "normal video camera" is the better ticket for that, you haven't played with shooting video with large sensors -- the depth of field effect you get with DSLR is nothing short of cinematic where the little video cameras (Everio, etc) can't manage it because the sensor is too small.

C'mon Sony... this one is soo close.  Hit the next one harder (and, yes,  Ill pay an extra $100 for the ability to record full clips of 60 minues or more)!

And a movie quote:
You're about to become a permanent addition to this archaeological find. Who knows? In a thousand years, even you may be worth something.
  -- Indana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

But thinking more, I also think a lot of the "lack of permanence" is due to the expected utility of the item.  I expect my PC to be the fastest thing on earth, because to have less is to wait extra time when rendering video (z68 cut my render times to a quarter of a Core2Duo).  When the next leap comes out (past Ivy Bridge), I'll upgrade again.

Otoh, I have a red-oak table set that I expect to be a table.  It *is* constructed to last, and I will never craft things on it without protection.  It is beautiful, and will be in my house for at least 25 more years before it goes on to another loving home.  One reason it is going to last is that it is heavy, bulky, and no accountants got after it (the table top is 2 inches of solid wood; no filler, no cardbord, nada).

Well nuts.  I now have a post button, but I can't reply to other's posts.

I humbly disagree with respect to permanancy of several things, for example, your bike.
I have no doubt that it will no longer be state-of-the-art in a hundred years, but it can evolve to a different place:one of art.
I have a 1974 replica of a 1932 Ford that I'm restoring.  I will never expect great gas mileage from it (I expect ~16 when I'm done because I'm keeping the Ford 302 engine in it), and it will never have the vehicle stability, weatherproofness, etc of a new car, but it will be my toy with many, many smiles to the gallon.

For your bike to do this, only a couple of things need to happen:
  1. You must love it (and not discard it) -- I love this car because it was my dad's.  It will be passed on to one of my sons at the appropriate time.
  2. You must care for it (much like the violin or cello), but that goes part-and-parcel with #1.