College Campuses and H1N1: It's a Bughouse

"Get your own beer! Swine flu spreading on campus"
The Associated Press (September 23, 2009)

"It's lurking in that awesome party just off the quad, hiding in the shot glasses passed from person to person and in the make-out sessions in the hallway.

"Swine flu is swirling through the nation's campuses, but despite all the warnings, flu kits and prominently displayed jugs of hand sanitizer, many students, like Georgia Tech freshman Elise Woodall, just aren't that worried.

" 'I drink my orange juice,' she said. 'I figure I'll be OK.'..."

Five words: The boy who cried wolf.

I could be wrong, but a seemingly-endless stream of dire warnings - from acid rain to getting cancer from power lines; to the impending demise of the spotted owl; and that perennial favorite, global warming - I wonder if college students haven't learned to filter out warnings.

The article seems to be a pretty good look at what college administrators are trying to do: and the sort of 'what, me worry?' attitude I remember being a fairly common mind(?) set regarding matters of practical, personal importance to the college crowd.

I rather hope that common sense breaks out on campuses - but I won't hold my breath.

Sort-of related posts:

• "The Ice is Falling! Runaway Melt Mode! And You Should See What's Happening to Minnesota Trees!"
  (September 23, 2009)
• "Top 50 Acronyms Every Parent Should Know, Times Two"
  (May 23, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Been There, Done That
    • Remember "Reefer Madness" AKA "Tell Your Children" (1936)?

List of posts relating to Swine flu 2009; and list of background resources:

• "Swine Flu 2009"
  • "Swine flu 2009 posts"
  • "Background and more information"
  • "WHO Alert Phases"
  • " 'Public Health Emergency' - What's That Mean? "

Pushpin Mario: New Dimensions in Cork Board Art?

"Push Pin Wall Art"
lilybee, on DIY Design Gallery (December 31, 2008)

"A few packs of push pins, a pin board, a dash of inspiration (and possibly a little too much time on your hands at work) And Voila! Gloriously geeky wall art!..."

I might have known that college kids were behind this. The pixilated pushpin art was done at the University of the Fraser Valley's Student Computing Center. I'm pretty sure that creating a Mario screenshot lookalake isn't in the curriculum: but it does demonstrate creativity and 'thinking outside the box.'

Someone else may have been the first to use pushpins in a simulated screen display: but this the first one I've seen.

There are even more Pushpin Mario photos on Flickr.

Web Apps for College Students

"21 Excellent Web Apps For College Students"

"There is no doubt that college students depend heavily on the internet for a lot of their needs. And it's not only the entertainment quotient of the internet (movies, music, torrents, games) which attracts them. There are also useful web based tools available which helps them immensely in their day to day lives...."

The list goes from Wikipedia ("This has to be the first tool when we talk about web based tools for college students. Wikipedia, as we know is an online encyclopedia and easily the most important site to consult when it comes to research and get more information."), to Instacalc, by way of apps like Rate My Professors and PDF Notes Generator.

By far not the worst list of online apps I've seen.

One caution, though: Although Wikipedia has cleaned up its act lately, I still can't regard it as a thoroughly reliable resource.

I use Wikipedia frequently: to get an overview of a subject, collect names and search terms for further research, and for the references and external links which appear in the more useful entries.

But I very seldom use Wikipedia itself as a source. It is, in my opinion, still too easy for someone to present their preferences as facts.

As a starting point for research, however, Wikipedia is an excellent resource.

"Is College Worth It?" - Good Question

"Is College Worth It?"
Clio and Me (December 26, 2008)

"In 'America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree,' Marty Nemko argues, 'College is a wise choice for far fewer people than are currently encouraged to consider it.' Looking at my plagiarism rate from last semester and considering the number of students at George Mason University who fail the mandatory History 100 survey simply because they do not show up or turn in their work, I have to admit that he has a point. He argues that high school students in the bottom half of their class should think twice before entering a four-year college. A two-year college or non-degree program might be more appropriate...."

I'll admit to a bias here: I really don't think college is for everyone. I don't think trade school is for everyone, either, and I know that everyone's not cut out for a career in the Marines.

I don't have anything against people who go to college, trade school, or join the Marines: I just don't think that any of these options - or others - is The Only Way To Go.

Particularly after I learned what I could have been making, if I'd had the sense to become a good auto mechanic.

"Is College Worth It?" won't be the easiest-reading, or most entertaining, post you're likely to read, but I think it discusses a very important topic.

There's a discussion thread on the same topic, with a link to the post and some rather diverse opinions. Including my own:

"Is the Bachelor's Degree Overrated?"
BlogCatalog discussion thread, started December 26, 2008

Changing a Lightbulb - College Humor

"How Many Students Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb At..."
comedycorner.org

This list starts with

"Vanderbilt: Two--one to call the electrician and one to call daddy to pay the bill"

- and goes on until it hits

"Santa Clara University: One--but you would never know about it because only Cal and Stanford gets press for changing their lightbulbs"

One of my favorites is the shortest of the lot -

"Stanford: One, dude"

Cool!

(For all the tightly-wound people with a Cause who may have read this: please take a deep breath and relax. These are all jokes: quite possibly the most painless way available to take a fresh look at the world.)

Writing a Resume? This Might Help

"Resume Action Verbs"
Boston College.

Pretty good resource, but use good judgment. Otherwise, you might write Diblertesque prose like this:

I prioritized goal-oriented outcomes, facilitated horizontal and vertical communication strategies, and motivated resource allocation decision-making.

Seriously, the verbs are broken out into overlapping functional categories, like "Management skills" and "Helping skills."

The Cambridge Austin Seven: At Last, the Truth Can be Revealed!

The year was 1958. The place, Cambridge. The mission, to place an Austin Seven on the roof of the Cambridge University Senate Building.

For fifty years, the identity of the team who took on this mission was unknown, except to themselves (and, possibly, a Dean of Cambridge).

Now, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, their story can be told:

"Revealed after 50 years: The secret of the greatest-ever student prank"
Mail (June 27, 2008)

"It was probably the most ingenious student prank of all time.

(from the Mail, used w/o permission)

"In June 1958, Cambridge awoke to see a car perched at the apex of an inaccessible rooftop, looking as if it were driving across the skyline."

"The spectacle made headlines around the world and left police, firefighters and civil defence units battling for nearly a week to hoist the vehicle back down before giving in and taking it to pieces with blowtorches...."

Hats off, by the way, to that one-time Dean of Caius, the late Rev Hugh Montefiore, who publicly denied any knowledge of the team's identity, but sent a case of champagne to their staircase.

With photos, and a diagram to show how it was done.

Writing on a Schedule: Or, Being Creative When You Don't Feel Creative

"Monday Master Class: How to Schedule Your Writing Like a Professional Writer"
Study Hacks - Demystifying College Success

Pretty good advice. College students - and writers - take note.

History Online

"10 Colleges and Universities Offering Free History Courses Online" at Education Portal.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology to Utah State University. And Berkeley.

Yale, Training Tomorrow's Leaders With Anal Beads and Vibrating Sponges

"Sex Toys 101 and Other Lessons From Yale Sex Week"
"FOXNews.com" (February 15, 2007)

This is one of the reasons I'm glad I didn't waste time and money going to one of those "prestigious" Ivy League schools.

For College Students, and College Survivors, Everywhere

If you are a college student, or are recovering from the experience, the beginning of the school year can be a trying time.

To let you know that you aren't the only one who has walked this path, I present "50 Fun Things for Professors to Do on the First Day of Class."

It's not a blog post, but it could have been: and it is funny!

My favorite is

"12. Show a video on medieval torture implements to your calculus class.
Giggle throughout it."