HackCollege

The Importance of Reading Your School Newspaper

2010-03-15T15:42:05Z

Like this, also found in paper form. Photo via Flickr user misterbisson. Licensed via CC V2.0Universities tend to vary how often then put out a newspaper, but they all share the same purpose. There's the Daily Pennsylvanian, out of the University of (you guessed it) Pennsylvania, come out daily and there's my school's paper, The Quad, which is out once a week. Regardless of how often they publish, they're there to keep you abreast of critical and not-so-critical information about what's going on at your school.

The reason I'm writing this post is, at least at my school students don't read the newspaper. It's really unfortunate because there are a lot of good people who put in hard work to put out an awesome product. So, without further adieu, here are some reasons you should be reading your schools newspaper.

Events

Odds are you'll see fliers for Career Fairs, Concerts, Club Meetings and everything else within the confines of your campus on bulletin boards, mailboxes and emails. The newspaper will make you sit down and look at the ads organizations take out to promote events, but there are probably articles about that give a better background on things you might like to do.

Announcements

Some schools use the newspaper as an avenue to put out important financial information like budgets, plans for renovations and the like. Reading the newspaper is a good way to stay abreast of how your money is being spent, whether by the student government or by the university itself.

Relevancy

This one is sort of shaky, but I'm going to talk about it anyway. When you are on a coffee date with a potential girlfriend/boyfriend, you could talk about what you read in the newspaper that day or week. If they have heard about it, then they will have some intelligent to add to the conversation and if not, you could just fill up the void in conversation by explaining to him or her what the event/situation/plan is for your campus.

Student Deals

Lastly, local businesses tend to take out ads in school newspapers. In these ads, there tend to be deals. Deals tend to help save you money. This is nice. It could be $10 off a hair cut on Tuesdays or a special combo deal on pizza and wings only available in the paper. It's like when your mom clipped coupons, except your doing it with your money. Solid.

Does your campus read the school newspaper? Do you? Comment below to share your thoughts!

PadNotes Paves the Way for iPad Use in the Lecture Hall

2010-03-12T16:38:47Z

You best be excited about this one. When the iPad was first released, we gave you our opinion on what this "revolutionary" device was going to mean to students. Just a few days ago Tipirneni Software released a YouTube video demoing their first application for the iPad, PadNotes. This is the app I've been dreaming about. Sure, it still needs to be approved by Apple for sale in the App Store, but the ability to type and draw on top of PDF formatted lecture slides is just awesome. Until we give PadNotes a go on a real iPad it's impossible to say if this is going to live up to the hype, and no doubt in 2-6 months there is going to be 100 copy cat applications in the store with smoother and more natural interactivity. But I digress, PadNotes is paving the way for lecture recording on the iPad. Have a look.

[Video from 9to5Mac]

Unlock Your Dryer Sheet's Full Potential

2010-03-11T18:00:21Z

Making you smell good is just the beginning. Photo by Flickr user admiller licensed under CC BY 2.0 If you prefer your clothes to smell nice and feel soft, then odds are you have a box of dryer sheets sitting around. They are plentiful, cheap, and have a lot of surprising uses outside of the laundry room.

Insect Repellant

You can rub yourself down with a dryer sheet, or just keep them nearby if you're going to lounge outside for a prolonged period. You could use this in combination with Hackcollege's tanning tips.

Air Freshener

Stick them in your car, at the bottom of your trashcans, in your drawers. Dryer sheets can make just about anything smell good. Especially useful if you're bringing that special someone back to your dorm. On that note, hide one in your pillow case and thank me later.

Cleaning Agent

If you've designated yourself the neat freak of the dorm room, a few dryer sheets can make your job easier. Dust on your TV and soap scum in the shower are no match for them.

Hair Clinger

Cutting your own hair to save beer money, but hate that noise your roommate makes when they see the remains on the bathroom floor? The leftover hair will cling to a dryer sheet, making cleanup a breeze. If you really like the smell I suppose you could rub the hair that's still on your head too.

Static Discharger

Anybody who's ever tinkered with the internals of a computer before know that you want your body to be free of static electricity. If you're adding more RAM or popping in a new hard drive, rubbing your hands on a dryer sheet is a lot cheaper than buying a pair of anti-static gloves.

Shoe Deodorizer

My personal favorite. Nothing can make a whole room smell quite like old shoes. If you're not going to throw them out, do everybody a favor and put dryer sheets in the toes.

Have any other great uses for dryer sheets? Let us know in the comments.

We're Going to SXSW!

2010-03-10T23:59:15Z

Hate to say it, but no episode this week. We're busy packing and getting everything ready for the annual HackCollege outing to the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. Last year was nuts and we're looking to do it again.

Unfortunately, we won't be throwing a party this year. Big thanks to everyone for coming out last year.

If you want to meet up, just tweet those of us that will be there!

Per-Ounce, the Cheapest Ways to Get Drunk

2010-03-10T23:27:26Z

For many students, two priorities top even the most crucial final assignments:

Getting drunk
Getting drunk cheaply

While I don't encourage binge drinking (always) it can be revealing to look at the actual cost-per-ounce of the things you drink frequently. GetDrunkNotBroke.com breaks it down into those terms.

A few fun facts about things you might drink a lot:

Of the "light beers," Natural Light generally does best, beating out even Keystone.
Carlo Rossi and Franzia are by far the cheapest way to get a buzz.
Straight Smirnoff is only more expensive than light beers by a matter of cents. The costof mixers will probably widen the gap, though.
Two-Buck Chuck, both red and white, (though not calculated on the site) rank among the 10 cheapest forms of booze available.
Liquors like Bacardi 151 and Everclear even beat out malt beverages.
If you're in about the $6-for-a-six-pack range (semi-nice beers), Pyramid Hefeweizen does by far the best.
It would cost $105 to get the equivalent of "6 drinks deep" by drinking O'Douls -- which is not that efficient -- but it would cost 6 times that to use Cristal champagne.

And, for your reference, the top 5 cheapies, in order:

Franzia "red" wine
Carlo Rossi Burgundy
Franzia chardonnay
Olde English 800 High Gravity
Mad Dog 20/20 Grape Wine

I almost threw up, just seeing those 5 items written in the same vicinity.

Get the full ranking here or visit their sister site which does the same for calories.

[Get Drunk Not Broke via 11 Points]

Image courtesy of antisocialtory

For many students, two priorities top even the most crucial final assignments:

Getting drunk
Getting drunk cheaply

While I don't encourage binge drinking (always) it can be revealing to look at the actual cost-per-ounce of the things you drink frequently. GetDrunkNotBroke.com breaks it down into those terms. A few fun facts about things you might drink a lot:

Of the "light beers" Natural Light generally does best, beating out even Keystone.
Carlo Rossi and Franzia are by far the cheapest way to get a buzz.
Smirnoff is only more expensive than light beers by a matter of cents.
Two-Buck Chuck (though not calculated on the site) ranks among the 10 cheapest drinks.
Liquors like Bacardi 151 and Everclear even beat out malt beverages.
If you're in about the $6-for-a-six-pack range (semi-nice beers) Pyramid Hefeweizen does by far the best.
It would cost $105 to get the equivalent of "6 drinks deep" by drinking O'Douls. Which is not that efficient -- but it would cost 6 times that to use Cristal.

And, for your reference, the top 5 cheapies, in order:

Franzia "red" wine
Carlo Rossi Burgundy
Franzia chardonnay
Olde English 800 High Gravity
Mad Dog 20/20 Grape Wine

I almost threw up, just seeing those 5 items written in the same vicinity.

Get the full ranking here or visit their sister site which does the same for calories.

[Get Drunk Not Broke via 11 Points]

Get That Thing Done During Spring Break

2010-03-04T20:01:01Z

Your spring break project could be to imbue Playmobil figures with souls. Photo by flickr user orangeacid. Photo licensed under CC BY 2.0.

I haven't usually been one to head south during spring break. My freshman year, Lesinski and I took an epic road trip around the states of California and Nevada. My sophomore year, I did a project on campus. Both my junior and senior year, I went to South by Southwest, where it rained. This year, I'm heading out to New York. I think I'm doing it wrong.

But times are tough. Plane tickets are expensive. Maybe it would be better to travel during the summer instead. If you're hanging around campus or just going home, spring break is a great time to get started (and perhaps finish) that one project that has been bugging you.

Here are some tips.

Plan - 1 Day

Obivously, the first thing to do will be to decide exactly what you want to do. Lifehacker has a great list of DIY weekend projects. Or maybe you would like to do something a little more electronic. Start a blog? Or a Web show? Who knows? With 5 days and not much to do, the sky's the limit.

During your first day of the project, which will probably be the first Sunday of spring break, you need to plan out exactly what you're going to do. At this point, chronology is not important. Just like in GTD, you want to break down every single task as much as possible. You should have a laundry list of things to do by the end. Let's take a look at the blog for example.

First, we start off with our goal: "I'm going to start a blog this spring break." Next we ask, "What do I need to do to get a blog online?" A few things that you might respond with would be buy a domain name, research blog hosting platforms (or just go with our favorite, Squarespace) and figure out a title for each blog. Then you'll need to write some posts. Then you'll need to reach out to other blogs. And so on and so on. Try to make a list of 100 different things to do. Reward yourself with a beer.

Execute - 5 Days

Over the next 5 days, your task will be to execute on that laundry list you've assembled for yourself. It's easy, start at the top and work towards the bottom. Who'd have thought?

Here is a great point to mention your sanity. Breaking up the work over the week does not mean that you should work 10+ hours a day on this project. Keep yourself sane. This is your spring break. Work from 10 'til 4 and then grab dinner with friends. Go out but make sure you don't knock yourself out of commission for the next day. You'll inevitably have friends sticking around campus as well, so take advantage of that. Get into a groove for the week and stick to it.

You will be surprised at how much you can get done in 5 days!

Assess - 1 Day

The second weekend of spring break will be a great time to assess your project. With the example of our blog, you'll need to decide if you enjoyed the process. Can you continue doing it week in and week out? Or was it just not that interesting to you? Or has the blogging fire been permanently placed under your buttocks? It's important to asses progress a day or two before you return to school mode. If you've just created a new hobby for yourself, it's important to stick with it!

Hell, I got plenty done on HackCollege my sophomore year during spring break!

Are you sticking close to campus for spring break? What will your project be?

Con Your Way to Free Beer this Spring Break

2010-03-04T18:31:00Z

First thing I have to do here... I have to admit that I have a subscription to Cosmopolitan. Okay. Onward.

So, I was reading the October issue and I came across a little thing blurb: "Drink for Free" -- I know what you're thinking because that's what I was thinking, too. Gee, Cosmo, you think I should go to the bar, pull off my skirt and put my hands down some guy's pants?! You got a slutty one-liner to accompany that?!

But Cosmo actually owned this one by presenting us with a hack -- more like a scam -- actually, more like a con -- actually, more like stealing. Whatever. Here's what they had to say:

Find [a half-empty beer] in a brown bottle -- like Budweiser -- and sneak into the bathroom. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with lukewarm water and saunter back to the bar. Tell the overworked bartender that the beer you got was warm ... and ask for another.

Oh, how devilish! Of course, this is only going to work at a nuts-o bar where there's like sixteen bartenders and total chaos because people are puking everywhere.

You know that bar. You've been there. I don't care what town you're in this month. That's a spring break bar.

Image courtesy of acnatta

Compton, Long Beach, Inglewood - S4E3

2010-03-04T07:17:54Z

Like a term paper, we procrastinated this episode off until the last minute. We're sorry, but Kelly just couldn't be pried away from the craps table this weekend in Vegas.

Don't Leave Spring Break without a Tan

2010-03-03T18:00:00Z

Nobody likes bad tan lines. Image by Flickr user Raelene G, licensed under CC BY 2.0If you choose to head to the coast for your spring break, you may be able to find some time between drinking, dancing, partying, drinking, and drinking to actually enjoy the sun and sand. It would be a shame to go all the way to the beach and not leave with some semblance of a tan... it may be the only tangible thing you manage to bring back to school with you. Here are some tips to get a tan that will make your home-bound friends even more jealous than those pictures you don't remember taking.

1. Wear Sunscreen (!!!)

I hate to sound like your mom, but seriously. In the short term, a severe sunburn could ruin your break. In the long term, it could lead to skin cancer, scarring, wrinkles, and any number of other issues. It may not seem like a big deal, or you might not think you can tan as well with it on. Leave this kind of thinking on campus. I'm a big wuss when it comes to sunburns, so I roll with SPF 30, but if you're really interested in tanning, something between 8 and 15 should hit the sweet spot.

2. Hydrate and Moisturize

If you read Mike's recent post, you know should already be drinking at least a gallon of water per day. If you need another reason to do so, keeping yourself hydrated will keep your skin from drying out after your tanning sessions. You should also consider a moisturizer. Many sunscreens have them built right in. Look for the ones with aloe; they make any burns feel better and even help keep your tan longer.

3. Timing is Everything

You can get a tan at any point of the day, but the sun's harmful UV rays are most dangerous between 10 AM and 2 PM. If you manage to wake up early try to hit the beach for an hour in the morning. If not, then try to limit your exposure until later in the afternoon. As an added bonus, the beaches won't be nearly as crowded, and it will be easier to spread out.

4. Multitask

There is no rule against drinking while you tan. There is also no rule against napping. You'll likely be doing plenty of both during your week away. If you drink, do so in moderation. The alcohol and the sun will team up to dehydrate you very quickly. If you nap, be sure to use your phone's alarm clock to limit your exposure. Laying in one position for more than half an hour or so is just begging for a sunburn.

Did I miss something? Have any funny tanning stories? Leave them in the comments.

Make the Most of Your Spring Break

2010-03-02T17:23:04Z

Just because you’re planning on laying low for Spring Break, doesn’t mean your week has to be a total bore. There’s tons of cool things you can do with a weeks time and very little money. To be honest, I don’t have the time or patience to write a list of 100 things, so here’s my top 3 list of sweet things you can do over Spring BreakQuincy hut my room mates and I made over Spring Break without flying to Daytona.

Road Trip

A few of my friends took on the challenge of driving as far South as possible in 3 days before turning around last year. When they first told me their idea, I thought they were crazy. I mean, it’s dumb right? 5 people, 1 minivan, no clear destination... Turns out they had the time of their lives. I’m from Toronto, that place with the igloos and what not, so South was the most desired destination. Ultimately, the rules are up to you. Don’t be afraid of the uncertainty of where you’re going, things will work themselves out in the end.

Requirements:

Mom’s minivan
Cash
Several cheesy mix tapes (Backstreet Boys is a must)
Camera
Parka
Swimsuit
A sense of adventure

Ridiculous Project

Later this week Kelly will be showing you a pretty awesome DIY project, Spring Break is the perfect time to take on a ridiculous project that you would otherwise never have the time or motivation to complete. Ridiculous projects can be anything; igloo construction, hilarious video for YouTube, DIY kegerator. But they don’t need to be so ridiculous either, what about making a push to learn a programming language in 7 days? Okay, maybe that last one wasn't so cool. You get the idea though, choose something you’ve been dreaming of making and get’r done.

5 Days of Events

In the days leading up to Spring Break, brainstorm with some buddies 5-7 awesome day trips you’d like to go on. The details are up to you, but if you leave your decision making until the day of, chances are your friends will already have made plans and 3-4 days will have gone by before you’ve even left the house. This year, my schedule looked like this (Canadian “reading week” was 2 weeks ago):

Monday: Photography at Niagara Falls with friend

Tuesday: 24 challenge (2 beers per hour for 12 hours with my 10 high school classmates)

Wednesday: Skiing with little brother at local ski hill

Thursday: Museum viewing and shopping downtown with friend

Friday: Hiking and photography with friend

By setting up these days well in advance, I was able to co-ordinate a week packed full of fun things and I didn’t break the bank.

Whatever you decide to do this Spring Break, whether it be a wild beach party or week full of long drives and crazy adventures, make the the most of it. We all go back to grind afterwards...