It's fall, and many people are going back to school. I'm not among them, but I've rarely gone to school for my education. There are several topics I've been studying though, or interested in, so in the spirit of the season I decided to formalize my study of these topics this semester. So what am I going to be learning through the end of the year?

1. Web development
   • Drupal use
   • Coding for drupal and the web
   • CSS styling
2. 3d & video
   • Blender, Modeling and animation
   • Video production
3. Pre-electrical engineering
   • Math
   • Science
4. Politics & Government
   • Historical
   • Modern
5. Religious studies
   • Urantia studies
   • World religions
6. Family life training
   • Understanding dating
   • Marriage study
7. Language
   • French
   • Farsi

All this in addition to working full time to pay my bills. Not too bad though, since I won't be paying ridiculous tuition costs I'll be living much more cheaply than if I went to school. I get to select my coursework entirely by what I'm interested in, with no additional requirements that I don't care about, unless I find some practical prerequisite that falls into that category. I can also set my own schedule, so if my work shifts are variable, or some social event comes up, I can adjust the times I spend on study.

Fifteen subjects of study in seven categories. For each one I have, or will create, a goal and checkpoints. Grading, such as I may use, will be based on demonstrable ability, goal completion, and feedback recruited from friends, family, and field specialists as possible. Now, I may not have all my goals figured out yet, but I'm going to start a run-down of what goals and expectations I have for each subject over the next 15 weeks:

1. Web Development

A - Drupal use. There is a website I have worked on previously the content of which is videos, recipes, news articles, and a store. I won't tell you what the site is yet, but you'll find out later. My goal is to have that website (and this one) up and running, meeting production goals of the company with which I'll be working, with all sections of the site working acceptably.

B - Coding for Drupal and the web. While much of what is done with Drupal is installing modules and configuring, there are times when some knowledge of coding, and how the code works, will be helpful or downright necessary. While this subject may have less tangible goals than others, they would include: being comfortable with producing code for Drupal in the form of creating and modifying modules, and being able to explain what GitHub is and how to use it. Also, some use of javascript and php for front-end use will fall into this section.

C - CSS styling. While I have a basic understanding of CSS, and can look up how to do what I want, I'm not particularly comfortable with it, or the elements of style which make for good and proper use of it. I intend to be comfortable with styling, and to make both this and my subject A site look good and stylish with CSS.

Oh! And here's where I crashed, and have to retype what was very nearly complete. *Sigh*. Save often!

2. 3d & video

D - Blender, modeling and animation. My first goal is to get my skills with Blender up to the level they were at with Maya when I left college. And then some. I'm aware of Blender Cookie, a Blender education site, and this will be my main source of study. I don't know how long the practice portion will take, and I haven't taken inventory of the video times, so I'm not sure what a reasonable goal will be for this semester. I'm also aware that, unlike Maya, Blender has engineering and architectural uses, which I would like to understand as well.

E - Video production. I, my family, and the company noted in subject A all have lots of video we'd like to get ready for release. This subject will be mostly task-based, with learning being incidental to the tasks I find myself working on. My goals is at least 10 hours of video produced and ready for release, whether it's released or not. Depending on my scheduling I may increase that goal, but that's a lot more than 10 hours work, especially with shorter videos.

3. Pre-electrical engineering

The first goal of this category is to understand the requirements for an electrical engineering degree, and what would be needed to become a licensed electrician. What are the prerequisites for such a license? What are the prerequisites of an EE degree study? What would I learn along the way to an EE degree?

F - Math. My goal is to have a strong understanding of all prerequisite math for an electrical engineering degree, at least a passing understanding of the math that would be covered in such a degree program, and an awareness of any other math not covered that I would be using once I have an electrical engineering license.

G - Science. Like with math, my goal is a strong understanding in all prerequisite science study, and at least a passing understanding of the science covered in an electrical engineering degree course.

4. Politics & Government

H - Historical. How did government and politics evolve into what they are today? My goal is to answer this question, first for the USA, then for the other major players in world history. My other goal is to read the Federalist papers.

I - Modern. What does each significant political party stand for? How is government run? What are the major world powers today? My goal is to answer these questions, particularly focused on the USA.

5. Religious studies

J - Urantia studies. I already attend a weekly Urantia Book study group, and have another occasional (intended to be weekly) study group with my family. I'm also following a mailing list Gospel School focused on how to share the spiritual message important to each person in the world today. My study on this subject has long been haphazard, and is likely to continue to be so, but my first goal is simply to keep studying the Urantia Book. My other goal is to learn, largely through doing, how to share the truth of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man with each of my fellow spirit siblings.

K - World religions. What truth is presented in each of the major religions? What religions cover 95% of the world population? In addition to answering these questions, at least partially, my goal is to read the Bible, at least the New Testament and Psalms.

6. Family life training

L - Understanding dating. What is dating, really? What purposes does it serve? How can I be a great date, both when they're fun and casual, and when they have more serious connotations? Who makes an enjoyable date for me? My goal is to answer all these questions, and to put the answers into practice by dating; for fun, for adjusting to the other gender, and for learning what makes a good date.

M - Marriage study. I'm convinced I can have one good marriage in my life, til death do us part. I'm also sure I can fall short of that ideal. What makes a good marriage? What are the privileges and responsibilities of marriage? How can I be a good husband? What kind of woman would be a good wife for me? How do I find the woman I will marry, and once I've found her, how do I tell who it is? Answering these questions is, of course, the goal of this subject. Finding and marrying a wonderful woman with whom I'm compatible is my long-term goal.

7. Language

N - French. I'm using Rosetta Stone software, and my minimum goal is completing Unit 2. I'm about half-way through unit 1 right now. Even better if I can complete unit 3 also. My eventual goals, beyond holding conversation in French, are to read Le Livre D' Urantia the webcomic Maliki.

O - Farsi. Again, I'm using Rosetta Stone, and while I'm not quite as far along in Farsi as I am in French, it would still be close enough to say I'm half-way through unit 1. My goal is again to complete unit 2, or 3 if I can manage. While I'm not currently aware of much Farsi literature, I can say I'd like to read the poetry of Rumi in their original language. And of course, I want to be able to hold conversations in Farsi.