I received a Skribit suggestion that I talk about cadets bringing laptops on cruise.  Not only can cadets bring their laptops, but I would highly encourage it. In the evenings on cruise we have plenty of down time, and having a laptop provides plenty of entertainment opportunities.  Almost everyone brings DVDs as well as movies …

One of the biggest issues on cruise last year was communications.  While we’re at sea, we have very limited contact with the rest of the world.  We have an e-mail system that connects a few times a day to send and receive e-mails held in the queue, called SeaWave.  And that’s it.  No Internet, no …

Well, we’re almost halfway through finals week, and only a few weeks away from Sea Term 2009.  In keeping with last year, I’ll be blogging during the voyage about the trip, keeping friends & family of Sea Term cadets up-to-date.  This year, however, I have the benefit of knowledge and experience from last year’s Sea …

This week marks the beginning of the end for fall semester.  Today is the first day of final exams, bringing mixed emotions to campus.  Certainly everyone’s excited that in a mere 5 days we’ll be leaving to go home for the holidays with school totally out of mind (for those of us not going on …

I’ve received a number of e-mails and a Skribit suggestion in response to my SPOT review asking how much it costs.  I decided I’d just make another post to address this, rather than answer all the individual requests.  Here’s how the pricing breaks down: Basic Service: $99.99/year This provides check-in (send “I’m OK” messages to …

I recently received a SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker as part of a contest run on gCaptain.  For those of you unfamiliar with the device, it’s a GPS antenna and commercial satellite transmitter integrated inside of a handheld case, with a few different functions thrown into the mix.  You can use it to track your location …

I received a suggestion this week that I talk about how my classes are going so far this year.  To be honest, classes are much tougher than they were last year.  Now that I’m starting to get into the core material for my major, the learning curve is a little steeper. Rules of the Road …

Holy smokes, he’s back!  Yes, after being cut off from the real world for two months, I am finally finished with boot camp and starting my sophomore year at MMA.  I’ve been back at Mass Maritime for two days now, having arrived at school yesterday morning.  Already I’ve noticed differences in daily life between being …

“Wait a minute Christiaan, this school year’s not even over and you’re already talking about next Sea Term? What’s up with that?” Since Sea Term is such a large undertaking, as soon as we return from one the planning begins for the next one.  One of the biggest decisions that has to be made is …