Big Rain Storm - Kicks off October

With the sunny weather we've been having, it's been hard to really feel like we've moved into autumn.

At 8 PM, Modesto surpassed the 1 inch mark according the Modesto Irrigation District's rainfall monitor. Lots streets flooded, a few power outages, and a whole bunch of fallen trees make the first big storm of Fall 2009 an impressive one. What's worse for the trees is so much rain fell that it loosened the soil so when the winds blew, it pulled some of the trees right out of the ground. The weather services are predicting the weather will stay wet and blustery through tomorrow so be careful when going out.

Next to the school, we saw a street north of us flood. The odd thing about it is construction crews spent all summer digging it up and fixing the drain. This was just too much water, too quickly and it filled up again and be came Lake Miley Way.

It's a good piece of advice to keep flashlights, a radio and fresh batteries handy in case of power outages. Also, check the batteries on alarm clocks to make sure they will keep on in case of overnight power losses.

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Graduation

Community Business College held a graduation commencement ceremony last Friday and it was fun but poignant. Graduations are always bittersweet - it's a great joy to see our students succeed and complete their programs, but we miss seeing them every day as they go their separate ways and get jobs. The phenomenon occurs at each graduation, however, each class is unique with its own personality and inter-personal dynamics. It's easy to not only miss the individuals but to miss the class as a whole, too.
Students are invited to say a few words as their names are called out and they receive their certificates. That's when the tears start to flow. It's a great time. Especially seeing the dignitaries, graduates, their friends and family members and the Community Business College faculty and staff all together.
Perhaps the most poignant time is the final picture with all the graduates together in a class picture - it's the last time we'll see them all together.

The banquet is always a lot of fun as well. There are always a variety of dishes and a surprise every once and awhile. Someone brought Spam-CheezeWhiz-Casserole once. There was a sign on the bowl, "Warning - Contains Spam" but to every one's surprise, it was a tasty dish. And the bowl was empty by the end of the day.

Another was tomato cake which was essentially a carrot cake but with tomatoes instead. Again, it tasted better than it sounded. It did have a bit of a ketchup aftertaste but with the cream cheese frosting, it was hard to tell.

So it's good luck to all of the grads and as one of our instructors waxed so philosophically:

"Grab us each a tissue,
Cuz grads, we're gonna miss you!"

Easy Speed Up For Your Computer

A prospective student came in today and as part of the interview asked what can be done with an old computer.
While they old joke is true, your computer is obsolete by the time you get it home and out of the box, there are some things you can do.
The first one is run a disk cleanup. You can buy a program like CCleaner to help but there's a built-in utility in Windows to help you clean up. It's under the "Accessories" folder and will usually clean up things like all the little bits that are stored during web searching.
The next handy utility is the disk defragmenter. Right-Click on the drive that needs cleaning and run the tool. It may take a little while but it will run through and reorganize the drive to make it run more efficiently.
The other easy (and pretty inexpensive) way to speed up any computer is to add some RAM. RAM prices have come way, way down. If you want to save even more money, buy used RAM from a reputable dealer. We use The Computer Guy which is right next door to one of the Community Business College classrooms. He has been really good at finding the right part

What To Do When E-mail Goes Down

With the surprising down time for Gmail, some are asking what do you do when your e-mail program goes down? The best thing is to have a backup. At the school, we've had glitches with Microsoft Outlook, servers hiccupping and power outages by crews drilling through fiber optic cables downtown.

So, what do you do when you have to have e-mail? As always when it comes to computers, it's a good plan to have a backup. Gmail down? Have a Yahoo account to use in the meantime. DSL Internet down? Make sure you have the dail-up connection to your ISP as a backup (sure it's slow but it will get the e-mail job done - plus it gives you a health reminder of the "bad old days" and to be thankful for what you have). Outlook causing problems, go to the webmail version of
your account.

When working with computers, we remind our students that it's not if a computer will fail, it's when it will fail. Having a backup plan can be a life saver!

Student Recipe For Car Tea

This is an awsome idea submitted by one of our students. She taught us how to make tea while she's learning in the classroom. Talk about a multi-tasker! Thanks for the great tip, Sandy!
Here's the recipe:

COMMUNITY BUSINESS COLLEGE CAR TEA

Ingredients
One summer day, over 90 degrees
A vehicle at least 90 degrees inside car
North side of the parking lot of Community Business College
1 gallon Community Business College tap water
3 Red Rose Original Tea Bags
1 Stash Premium chai spice black tea bag

Add water and tea bags to a transparent container with tightly closed lid
Place on front seat of car in direct sunlight
Roll up car windows, lock doors.
Check continuously, and move from seat to seat if necessary to keep in direct sunlight.

When the liquid becomes dark, unlock and open door, remove transparent container carefully. Refrigerate for an hour.

Hint: Any vehicle will work, but I prefer using a 2002 Honda Accord with beige leather seats.

New CPR Class Date Set for 09/26/09

The next Community Business College CPR class date has been set. It will be on Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Why take a CPR class? Some of our graduates have found it helpful to be able to present CPR certification to employers. May employers want people with CPR and first aid skills for emergencies but few have the time to make sure that it gets done. This is a way for them to get somebody from the beginning. It's also helpful to have as many "extras" to present at a job interview to close the deal.

This CPR class includes instruction on using an automated external defibrillator (like the ones seen on TV emergency shows). One thing not commonly known is, despite the sitcoms and doctor movies) modern defibrillators can't be used on a healthy person. They detect the regular heartbeat and won't engage. That's something students who take the class learn.

The class also teaches how to care for conscious and unconscious choking victims. The old Heimlich maneuver has been updated. Here's a chance to learn the new way of helping choking victims.
The class also includes the correct ways to perform CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on infants, children and adults.
It's important to know how to deliver first aid for a variety of injuries, such as burns, wounds, head, neck and back injuries. This class covers those and also includes what to do in heat and cold-related emergencies.
Given the concerns about this flu season, it's good to know how to manage sudden illnesses including what to do when someone suffers a stroke, seizure, bite or poisoning. That's all covered in this class.
Students also receive participant’s workbook and laminated Adult CPR/AED and First Aid skill cards that include full-color images and easy-to-read text that will walk you step by step through a variety of lifesaving skills. The skill cards are handy as a refresher and reference tool after training is complete. Keep them with you at all times.

You can't predict when an emergency will occur, but you can be prepared.

Click here to sign up for the CBC CPR class.

August Job Fair Has Few Jobs to Offer

There was a job fair this week. It was only a half-day on Tuesday and we got some pretty thorough feedback from our students. The overall impression seems to be that there weren't enough job openings. Not only were there a lack of job offerings but the types of jobs were not very specific or diverse. Sure the economy is tough. Statistics are showing that unemployment in Stanislaus county is around 16%! That just means there's a greater need for good job fairs. Not quite sure how much recruiting of active employers goes on, but that is the make-or-break of effective job fairs.

The seminars seem like a good addition if they would offer something other than what amounts to be common knowledge. One person said there were no more than 6 people at one of the workshops.

There were reportedly 1,500 job seekers. The interest is there if a job fair that can meet it.
On another note, it seems that there are fewer and fewer trinkets being given away at these events. Sure, the give-aways are not the reason to go to a job fair, but they give it a little pizzazz.

The next job fair is supposed to be in October and a full day event. Hope there are more jobs at that one.

Fire Drill Day

We went through a fire drill today. Not very exciting but it's good to see everybody knows what to do just in case the worst happens. Everybody enjoyed getting out of the classrooms and into the sunshine for a few minutes.