Saturday, August 8, 2009

VACATION!

I WON'T BE POSTING FOR A WHOLE WEEK!

*gasp*

I'm going on vacation, should be FUNNNN!!!

See you in a week!

-Sam

Friday, August 7, 2009

Feel Good Time Waster: MLIA

So you have a paper to write, but you have reached a point where you just can't write anymore. Everyone's been there, but instead of telling you how you can push through and continue that paper, I will talk to you about MyLifeIsAverage then head to bed... at 4:30 AM!

MLIA is an awesome website because everyone on there has such a great attitude. The comments are happy, the MLIAs make you laugh because they are legitimately funny (not because something awful happened to someone), and it's making the world happier place. People write about their parents, life, and different things that they feel bonded them and a total stranger.

Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself! And be sure to add an MLIA and continue the positivity!

I LOVE YOU!
MLIA

Thursday, August 6, 2009

A Simple Way To Extend Your Laptop's Life

I sincerely regret adding the page views counter to my blog... Zero.... That's painful to look at. :(

Anyhow, today's blog:

Have you ever noticed that when you're writing a lengthy paper or surfing the web that your laptop starts to warm up? Maybe you just ignore it and think noting of it, but do you know what's happening? Inside, your computer's hardware is heating up, not good. When left on for extended periods of time, laptops tend to heat up, unless there is something there to cool them down! And this is where the

There are a couple ways to prevent, or at least slow down this heating up:

  • A cooling pad – A stand (usually angled somewhat with 1 or mor fans to cool down your computer by increasing ventilation and pushing cooler air into your computer)

  • A laptop stand – increases air flow by angling your laptop

  • Keeping the darn thing off your lap and bed – there are built-in fans in your computer that work to cool your laptop and small openings in the bottom of your laptop to allow them to do their job, but if you place a laptop on anything that will cover the openings, then you are trapping the heat inside your computer.

  • A nice flat surface

Which is best?

If you don't mind spending at least $15, then go for the cooling pad. It's a wise investment and some say it even extends the life of you computer, but if you don't use your computer that often then you could easily use a laptop stand and I recommend creating one as shown in this Lifehacker.com article. My favorite is the binder. :)


Enjoy and let me know what you choose to do or what has worked for you!

Also, I just added an RSS Feed, so please subscribe to my blog! Thank you!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Get to Know Your College Roommate

This is something you want to start doing before school starts. Read how you can do that in my Advice.com article, Advice On Getting To Know Your College Roommate.

An excerpt:
So, you found out who your roommate is for your first year in college. You have an unfamiliar name, number, and address. What do you do now? In this article, I will tell you!


Please let me know what you think!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

How To Get A Work Study

You have gotten past the messy part, the paperwork, and you've been told you qualify for work study! You can make money, gain experience, and even study while getting paid! Woohoo! But, you cannot do any of that until you are contacted and asked to come in for an interview meaning that even though you qualify, you may not necessarily get a job on campus right away. It's not impossible, but quite easy!

What I did:

Before my first semester started, I contacted the head of the History Department and told him that I was an incoming freshman who qualified for work study. I asked if there was a position open for a work study in the office and if there was, I would greatly appreciate being contacted. That email was then forwarded to the secretary who contacted me soon after.

Luckily, I was contacted by another work study, which gave me the option between working in the History Department or working in the Office of General Counsel. I chose the latter due to my interest in Law School, but the point is I had options because I looked for them.

How You Can Get One:

Not everyone gets called in for an interview right off the bat and I know people who qualify for work study, but do not actually have one. Email the departments that your major and minor are affiliated with. Look for other offices on your school's website that you would like to work in and ask if they have any open work study positions. If you email enough people, you will definitely get a response from someone.

In your interview, allow your personality to shine through and talk about your skills and previous experience, without sounding overconfident. Apply everywhere! If you try, you will succeed. Cheesy, but true. :)

Good luck and feel free to comment and ask questions!

The Art of Buying Textbooks: Part II

So, you've purchased your textbooks online... You're not done just yet! Purchasing online takes a little more work, but it's worth the amount you save! :)

Make sure that you keep track of how long it should take for your book to ship, you can easily check such information in the "My Account" page of Half.com and Amazon. Make note of when your payment was received.

What You Need To Keep Track Of:
  • When you paid
  • When the item should be shipped out by and received (by you)
  • Feedback - If everything goes according to plan, and even if it doesn't, be sure to review the seller appropriately. Don't sugarcoat and be sure to report them if you did not receive the book. (I've purchased many books online and only went through this once with a merchant that had no rating.)

Monday, August 3, 2009

Lesson Learned

Always ALWAYS save your work...

Just wrote a post and now it has completely disappeared... What happened to the Autosave feature?????? Back to writing.........

Sunday, August 2, 2009

The Art of Buying Textbooks: Part I

With three weeks until classes start, I just started buying books last week. Not the best choice, but I'm still finding great deals on the internet and you can too! Here's how:

The Process:
  1. Find out what books you need for your classes.
  2. Make a list of these books either by hand, in Open Office, in Microsoft Word, or whatever word processor you use. (Make sure to note the Name, Edition, Author, and Price that your bookstore sells them for.)
  3. Go online and begin hunting!
Where to Hunt:
  • Campus Books (my first stop)- They search tons of online stores and offer a "bookbag" feature, which allows you to save your book searches so you can go back to them later. Very useful. Half.com is included in their search and is usually one of the lowest prices (from my experience).
  • Ebay's Half.com (2nd stop)- Finds textbooks and organizes them by Condition (see below) then Price. You can find books sold by merchants that are affiliated with Amazon.
  • Ebay - Pop the name of your textbook into the search bar and cross your fingers.
  • Amazon - Another great place to buy books. Organizes textbooks by Condition then Price. You can find books sold by merchants that are affiliated with Amazon.
  • Google.com - That's right, put the name of your book right into Google and see what you can find. You may find an awesome and unexpected deal! Always appreciated when buying textbooks!
  • Google Product Search - Searches tons of stores on the web for your textbook.
Things to Consider:
  • Condition: The Condition of the book is how used it is. Usually you can find the condition of the book in the description or some sites, like Half.com and Amazon list the books by Condition. This is important because some of the books have writing and highlighting in them and the cover may be a bit beat up. Carefully read the description and see if the book is still as usable as you'd like it to be. Sometimes I'll pay a dollar more to get a book that's in better condition and I personally feel it's worth it, but if I'm really in a crunch, I'll purchase the lowest priced book if the description says it's Acceptable.
  • Merchant's (or Seller's) Rating: The rating is based on what previous customers have dealt with. Make sure you are buying from a trustworthy merchant to prevent possible headache and loss of money later. Also, make sure to read the reviews, not just look at the number.
Other Things to Consider:
  • Borrowing - The greatest money saver! Ask around and see if someone will let you borrow a textbook that they used the semester before. Other people will usually have the books you need for General Education courses and if you know someone a year ahead of you in your major, they may also have books for you to borrow. Easiest way, just put up a facebook status like this, "Does anyone have a copy of [insert textbook name here] that I could borrow this semester? If so, please let me know!" *Remember to be polite when asking and to return the book at the end of the semester of course!
  • Renting - Much less expensive than buying the book new, but I have never done it because I usually purchase the book used for much less so I'm able to sell it back later.
  • Ebooks - Another option is to buy downloadable versions of your textbooks. You can view it on your computer without the extra bulk of a textbook, but sometimes they can actually be more expensive than purchasing a book, so do your research!
There are plenty of ways to save money on books! From used books on ebay to ebooks you can download onto your computer. Whichever method you choose, good luck hunting and be sure to check out Part II, which explains what you need to do after you've purchased your books online! Good luck hunting!

If this was helpful, please comment and pass this on to your friends!