I've taken quite a few online courses, where the tests and quizzes during the semester were online, and I've cheated on a couple (lazy professors who actually copy/pasted questions that were easily found Googling), but the final was always a written exam taken on campus.

You can breeze through the bulk of the semester all you want with the help of the good folks at Google, but you'll be screwed at the end if you can't Google your way out of the final. And if you don't pass the final, you fail the course, regardless of your test/quiz grades.

I agree. I happen to go to a community college in New Jersey (every county here has it's own community college for it's residents), and not only is the tuition a fraction of the state universities but after you finish your 2-year degree, you're allowed to transfer into a 4-year university as an instant Junior. No picking and choosing which credits they want to accept, just instant Junior status.

I've completed half of a Mechanical Engineering BS degree at essentially little to no cost from myself (state/federal grants + scholarships), and will be transferring to one of the top engineering schools in the state next Fall to continue the BS program. Had I gone to that 4 year university initially, I'd be 20-25k in debt right now.

Now I give that advice to all of my friends still living in NJ. If you're not entirely sure what you want to do but have at least realized that you can't sit on your ass forever, either go to a vocational school or a community college. After your 2 years are done, either use your Associates or vocational certificates to help find a relevant job in your field, or transfer to a university to complete a Bachelor's in 2 more years.

If after those initial 2 years you realize more university isn't for you, stick with your Associates/vocational certificates. You didn't spend tens of thousands of dollars to realize "University isn't for me.", and you're still in a better position than you'd be with no degree/certs at all.

That sounds like a shitty way to go...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090730/ap_on_re_us/us_accused_horse_molester Man in SC was arrested and charged with tresspassing and buggery after breaking into a woman's stable and having sex with her horse.

He was put on the state's sex offender registry after pleading guilty to having sex with a horse.

Well no, he's not asking Alienware to fix anything for him (under warranty or paying directly), he's just simply asking to buy a spare part from them so he can fix it himself.

It's more like buying a used car from someone, trying to buy an oil filter directly from the dealership, and being refused because you're not the original (authorized) owner of the car. You're not asking them to change your oil, which would give them a reason to check your warranty information to make sure everything's in line, or recording your VIN number in their system so they can keep track of what car's they've worked on for the day, he's just someone who wants to buy a part from them. They're just telling you they can't sell you an oil filter because they don't have a record of you buying the car from them.

Really, why should he even be required to be the owner of any Alienware merchandise to buy a replacement part for the laptop? I'm not entirely sure of what he told the CSR's on the phone, but I wonder what they'd say if I called up and wanted to buy a replacement glowing alien head (from their laptops) to decorate something in my house with. Will they deny me because I'm not an authorized owner of the laptop that the glowing alien head fits on, or will they gladly sell me the part regardless of whether I own one of their laptops or not?

If they're denying him the part because he wants it replaced free under the original owner's warranty, that's one thing. Refusing to sell him the part because they have no record of him buying anything directly from them is different.

If she's beautiful without make-up and clothes on, why leave the house in the first place?

Dude, that is actually an amazing idea!!

Step 1: Put Jack Bauer, Chuck Norris, and MacGyver on Lost
Step 2: Plant a timed bomb to destroy the island once someone escapes
Step 3: Set up blackjack tables and shag vans full of hookers for extra distractions
Step 4: Watch them battle for 16 weeks to see who can escape first
Step 5: PROFIT!!

And the beauty of this plan is that there aren't even any missing steps!!