Reader question: “Should I major in IT/computer science?” Part 1

This isn’t a question from a specific reader, but one I get from college students from time to time when I’m out at the bars.  People read that my current job title is Webmaster, and that I’ve done both ASP.NET and PHP programming.  In college I majored in Computer Science/Math for my BA at Rhodes, and Mathematical Sciences with all 34 hours in Computer Science for my MS at the University of Memphis.  So, people ask me, “Is computer science/information technology still a good major?”

My answer is a qualified yes.  However, I’m going to break the answer into a multi-part post, and since I’m a poker player you have to suffer through one of my poker analogies to get to the answer.

Okay, here’s the analogy:  In Texas Hold’em, you get dealt two cards of your own, and you work with those and the five community cards on the board to make a hand.  If one of your cards is an Ace, and an Ace shows up on the board, you have a pair of Aces.  Not a bad start, which is how I view majoring in computer science or information technology in 2010.  Not a bad start.

Here’s the thing, though.  If your other starting card is a King, giving you AK, you have a premium starting hand.  Why?  Because if somebody else also has a pair of Aces, your King kicker will give you the better hand.  A starting hand like A7, on the other hand, is not terrible but it’s not premium, because that 7 is not a great kicker.  It will lose to anyone holding A-8, A-9, A-10, A-J, A-Q, or A-K.

So, here’s my point:  Computer science/IT is not a bad place to start if you want to major in it, but you better have a good kicker to go with it.

What’s my idea of a good kicker?  Well, I’ll give you a day or two to ponder it, and then post my thoughts in Part 2.  I’ll give you a hint though:  Not the usual side areas of interest to most computer science students.  For example, I have a background in math, but in 2010 I would not consider math a premium kicker.

More to come…

Possibly another beer dinner coming up

While we were playing trivia at the Saucer tonight, the managers had a meeting.  I talked to one of them afterward, and he said they’re planning a beer dinner, consisting of several courses each paired with a beer.

Either he didn’t tell me the exact date or I forgot, which is entirely possible given the fact that I had many unpaired beers there tonight.  I think he said it will be in February.  They had their last beer dinner in 2007 if I remember correctly, and they far exceeded expectations.  If the upcoming one is anything like the last one, definitely worth attending if you’re into beer.  More details to come.

Tue update: Majestic art opening, Shelton special, MPACT gala date change

Get ready for another art show at the Majestic Grille. This one, on Monday, February 8 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, will feature the work of artist Blas Blanco Cuenca and his longtime instructor and friend Paul C. Clements. The work will remain on display through March 26. The event is free to the public and the restaurant does not take commission on works sold – all money goes to the artist.

There will be Spanish wines on special and other drink specials. In honor of Blanco’s homeland, Chef Patrick Reilly will create Spanish tapas for the reception. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Shelton Clothiers is bringing back their Wardrobe Packages. Two suits, one blazer, and one pant, or three suits, for $885. Sleeve and cuff alteration is included. As a bonus for February, they’ll throw in a free shirt and tie with every wardrobe package purchase.

MPACT Memphis has changed the date of its Soul of the City gala “due to circumstances beyond our control.” New date is March 12. That gives you two extra weeks to buy tickets and get excited about the event. I’m just an MPACT whose… circumstances… went beyond its control… Beyond its control… beyond its control… I need control… we all need control. Domo arigato MPACT Roboto…

Wow and this isn’t even a drunk post.

MPACT is having its happy hour at Pearl’s in just a few minutes, by the way, at 6 PM. There you can learn about getting active and achieving a healthy lifestyle. Sounds like a great program, but I’ll probably skip it and drink some beer at the Saucer instead. I’m hungry too. Maybe I’ll get some chili cheese fries. I’ve been hungry for chili cheese fries ever since I posted that pic of Christy chowing down on them a couple of weeks ago.

Apologies for the lack of posts the past two days… yesterday I just didn’t have anything.  Then last night I decided it would be a good idea to play in the 11:30 poker tournament at the Silly Goose.  It wasn’t.  I was dead tired today, too tired to post at lunch.  So I went and got Indian food and became mayor of the Indian cafe on American Way that I go to for lunch.

And besides, Sunday’s post, about John D seeing a dead beaver in the road, was so fascinating that I figured it deserved 2 days at the top.

Got more stuff coming in… got an upcoming party at Kooky Canuck to tell you about in a future post (and don’t forget, it’s Super Tuesday tonight with $5 34 oz. mixed drinks).  I’ve also been doing some thinking about whether computer science/IT is a good major for college students in 2010.  Right now I have to head to trivia though.  Time to win some more beer money!

It’s Woot-off time again

Woot.com is having another Woot-off, meaning they’ll be offering various items on sale throughout the day.   Might be an idea to open a new browser tab and refresh it frequently.  If you see “Random Crap” as the item, buy immediately if their servers don’t crash when you try.

Reader question: Best anti-virus, anti-spyware?

Yesterday I had a reader e-mail and ask me for a recommendation for the best anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-everything program.  I figured my answer might be useful to others, so I’m going to post it.

I didn’t recommend a specific software program… instead, I recommended that he go to www.lifehacker.com and search for “anti-virus,” “anti-spyware” or whatever he’s looking for.  In the search results, look for anything marked “Hive Five.”  In the Hive Five threads, readers give their recommendations for the best software packages (usually free software) in various categories.

I search LifeHacker to see what’s best whenever I need a utility program – ZIP/compression software, an FTP client, etc.  Some of the best techies in the world read LifeHacker and post comments, and they’ve never steered me wrong.

Ughhh… trying to clear the cobwebs out of my head this morning.  Memories from last night include several Foster’s Oil Cans, Paul’s Drunkass Food at Denny’s about 2 in the morning, and sending a drunk e-mail to the elusive and mysterious Kimmy Kim when I got home.  You know it’s a bad night when Denny’s appears on the agenda.

My friends are all talking about how today is a REALLY BIG DAY because the NFL playoffs will be on… sounds like they’re all gathering at Calhoun’s to watch.  There needs to be a bar for people who don’t give a rat’s ass about pro football.  Actually, that would not be a bad idea… the female-to-male ratio would probably be quite favorable.  I’ll probably take the netbook to the Saucer, and fire up PokerStars when the gang heads south.  I was 2-tabling for a while yesterday, with a $1/$2 fixed-limit Hold’em game going on one table, and a $1/$2 Omaha Hi/Lo game on the other.  Once I accumulate enough frequent player points to maintain my PokerStars VIP status for the month (about 4 hours of play away), I’ll switch over to no-limit Hold’em tournaments and Sit’n’Gos.  Of course, at 6 I’ll walk over to the Silly Goose where they’ll be selling selected beers for $1 domestics, $1.50 imports.

Let’s see what’s happening on the iPhone this morning… on Twitter, John D says there’s a dead beaver in the road at Harbert and Belvedere… on Foursquare, Susie’s at India Palace again, seems like she spends as much time there as I do at the Saucer… on Words with Friends, I’m starting a new game with Bama Lawdog, even though she’s been known to cheat by handing her phone off to friends to help her find words.

Six days until the Jersey Shore Pub Crawl… I ran into Memphis’ biggest and orangest douchebaguette last Monday (she’s been coming to Pint Nite at the Saucer a lot lately), and asked if she was going  to the pub crawl.  Surprisingly, she said no.  Too bad… the pub crawl is a place where she could be herself and she’d fit right in.

45 e-mails in the inbox… most of them notifications that people bought crap from my online stores.  Yay.  Gonna clean out the e-mails and count the minutes until the bar opens.

I can see clearly now, Brick’s brain is gone… it’s gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunsetty day

Sunday morning has arrived.  That means a new week has started, and therefore it’s time for a new “Brick” Quote of the Week.

The Saucer carries several delicious New Belgium beers, but this week’s quote involves one they don’t carry, New Belgium Sunshine Wheat.  They do have a beer with a very similar name, Sunset Wheat by Leinenkugel.

So, a customer came in and asked Brick if they have Sunshine Wheat.  “No, but we have Sunset Wheat,” Brick replied.

Then she thought for a minute and added, “Maybe that’s what they call it after dark.”

Silly Goose needs your help tomorrow night after 6

The Silly Goose just sent out a message on Facebook asking for help.  You see, they have a lot of extra beer that seems to be getting in the way, and they need people to help them come and get rid of it.  So, tomorrow night, Sunday, January 24, they’re putting the beers that are taking up space on special – $1 domestics, $1.50 imports.

Hmmm… cheap beer, and an excuse to avoid dealing with Brittney next door at the Saucer for the evening shift.  Looks like my plans for Sunday evening are set.

Walgreens gets romantic

I just got home from my morning Mountain Dew run to Walgreens.  By the cash register I noticed that they have “kissable body spray” and “chocolate body paint.”  So if you want to spice up your sex life, you don’t have to drive all the way to one of the adult bookstores out by the airport… just go to Walgreens.

Your daily dose of stupid

I don’t have anything intelligent or interesting to write about during today’s lunch break, so you get this instead.  I suppose it will make Jersey Shore fans happy.

Plans for tonight: Probably a happy hour beer at the Saucer, then I’ll walk down to Beale and check out the International Blues Challenge.

The other waitresses deserve equal time

Early lunch today.  Thanks for the blog reader who recommended River City Bar-B-Que on Cassaza.  Trying their rib tip plate today.

You know, lately I’ve been wondering if there’s been too much Brick on this blog.  However, in the past week I’ve had people come up to me and say, “I love the Brick quotes.  Keep ’em coming.  We want more pictures too!”  OK, then I’ll keep going with the Brick quotes of the week, at least until she gets smarter, which is not likely to happen in the near future.

However, Brick is not the only quotable waitress at the Saucer.  The others deserve equal time, and in this post, they get it.

Two Sundays ago, I was hanging out at the Saucer, playing pool.  One of the waitresses asked if I had been to church that morning.

I looked at her incredulously and said, “The way I look at things, I’m in church right now.”

She seemed to like that answer.  Then she asked, “Do you think Christians are cannibals?”

“What do you mean?” I asked back.

“Well, think about when they take communion,” she explained.  “When they eat the wafer, they’re eating the body of Christ.  When they drink the wine, they’re drinking the blood of Christ.  Eating and drinking somebody?  That’s cannibalism.”  I had to admit, she had a point.

“Communion wafers are good, though,” she said.  “I wish you could buy them in a box at the store.”

She thought for a minute, then said, “They could call them Jeez-its.”