December 19th 2007
I discovered a little known treasure today. FeedYes can make an RSS feed out of any website so you can use this for professors who insist you check their website on a regular basis.
FeedYes is a free service that requires registration. Setting up a feed is very easy, you just input the url address and a feed is created that you can add to any reader. Not all websites will work with this, there has to be so many links, but usually if a professor requires students to check his or her website often, there will a good enough amount of content. I was able to successfully create a feed for my mom’s website (who’s a marketing professor) so now I’ll get know when she updates her site.
Posted in Misc with 5 comments
December 17th 2007
Myspace and Facebook both have settings to help guard your privacy. For myspace, you can and should set your profile to private, especially if you post any personal information, like your full name, address and phone number. Employers and schools can and do monitor what students post on social networks. Most of this seems like common sense to me, but apparently, it doesn’t to most college students. Guard your privacy. You’ll be surprised to find out what information is out there about you. Keep these basic tips in mind on all social networks, not just Myspace and Facebook.
General tips
- Don’t post personal information (phone number, address, school, job, etc.) on anything public
- Don’t post pictures, bulletins, notes, etc. that show you doing something that is illegal or would otherwise get you kicked out of school/fraternity/clubs
- Don’t become “friends” with someone you don’t know
- Don’t post bulletins threatening someone - police are able to monitor these
Facebook
Facebook has the ability to set a limited profile. Under privacy settings, you can set what your limited profile shows, and you have control over everything from your photos to your friends. Set up a limited profile and add all the people you barely know or only know online to this list. That way they will still be your friend, but don’t have access to very important information about you.
Block the Facebook beacon - Facebook’s new advertising program follows you around the web and makes note of your purchases. You can turn off the mini feed notifications under privacy settings, but the beacon still collects info about your online activity. Learn how to turn this off (Firefox required).
Myspace
The best way to protect privacy with Myspace is to not post personal information and set your profile to private. Don’t add random people as friends. The privacy of Myspace isn’t as flexible as Facebook, but not as many college students use this service as much anymore.
Posted in Misc with 2 comments
December 16th 2007
Between these three lists, there are 252 things that you should know about college. Most things can apply to just about everyone and most will make you laugh.
What College Viewbooks Don’t Tell You
101 Things I Learned During My Freshman Year of College
Useful Things College Taught Me
Posted in Misc with no comments
December 2nd 2007
Sorry about not posting this week - it’s been a busy one. I had a project due and a ten page paper that’s due Tuesday. The semester’s wrapping up and finals are in the next few weeks. Tonight I found out about two kids, age 6 and 2, who are on a quest to raise $10,000 so their aunt and uncle can adopt 10 year-old Bin from China. Their story just warmed my heart.
So far they’ve raised $2,678 selling cookies and brownies. This is incredibly impressive and I’m amazed by the initiative these two kids took to make a better life for another child. Kids like this make me feel better about the upcoming generation. Now I know it’s not all filled with sugar-eating video-game-playing couch potatoes. Their website is Boys4Hire.info. If you’re touched by their story, go give them some money so they can bring Bin home!
Posted in Misc with 2 comments
November 21st 2007
Don and I aren’t going to make it back home for Thanksgiving because he’s working over the holiday (he works in retail), so we weren’t planning to do anything special. I was thinking about making chicken fried steak since we have everything we need, but now, I think I’m going to make my own Thanksgiving.
- Cooked rotisserie chicken - $5.99
- Kraft Stove Top stuffing mix - $1.99
- Green beans - $0.25 a can
- Kraft macaroni and cheese - $0.25 a box
- Cranberry sauce - $0.89 a can
- Pumpkin pie mix - $1.99
Total: 11.36
My local grocery store has cooked rotisserie chickens, which is what I’m going to use, but you can over-roast a small, inexpensive turkey or chicken, which can be about $5 if you pay attention. Most of this stuff doesn’t require a whole lot of work, and can be a nice substitute for a great home-cooked Thanksgiving. While Kraft mac and cheese doesn’t even come close to Grandma’s, it’ll be better than cold pizza.
Posted in Misc with 5 comments
October 20th 2007
Websites like Facebook and Myspace allow people to connect with their friends and stay current on old ones, especially high school and college friends when you’ve already moved on. Unfortunately, Myspace and now Facebook are teeming with members that are inappropriate for professional people trying to keep up with college alumni.
Websites like Classmates.com and Only Alumni are ways to find friends, but not have to interact with thirteen year-olds and creepy old men. Only Alumni has a college alumni forum, which makes it easy to meet new friends and talk freely. It’s as simple as registering on any forum to be an active user. Not all universities have an active community, but some do, like Union College Schenectady Alumni, but that’s the same as everywhere else.
When you’ve got a well-known social network, it increases the chances of finding classmates, but unfortunately, it also attracts idiots. Since the internet is increasing in popularity with just about everyone and their mother becoming active, it gets harder to keep your online and offline lives separate, which is why I prefer smaller communities like Only Alumni. Even Classmates.com, which is a much older community, has immature people that have forgotten they’ve graduated high school ages ago.
Posted in Misc with 1 comment
October 12th 2007
While I was going through Typo Trawler a few weeks ago, I found a Nintendo 64 for auction on Ebay for $10. It was in perfect working condition, well, as perfect as those consoles could be, so I bought it. I also bought two games, Super Mario and Mortal Kombat for $3 each. With shipping, I got the console and two games for $25.
I know that Nintendo 64 is actually a crappy system. If you’re lucky enough to find a console that does work, half the time the games won’t play. I also had to clean mine really well before it finally played either games. But that’s not the only reason I decided to get one. This along with the Dreamcast was the only video game system I’m familiar with. I remember when I was eight and playing Super Mario with my friends.
Regular Nintendos and Super Nintendos are a lot more expensive. Original Playstations are cheap, but I’m not familiar with any of the games. I’m still not very good with video games, but I’m working on it. While my boyfriend is at work today, I’m practicing my moves so I can finally beat him in Mortal Kombat. He found me the codes to do moves with my favorite characters (the two Asian ladies and the one with the silver hair) and I practice while he’s gone.
Posted in Misc with 3 comments
