ultimate geek girl » Soulville

Productivity to the Max!

HarriMac — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:18 +0000

We’re all productivity junkies, right? Even the best of us sometimes has issues with a system not working or falling down on the job of organization. Or we have a really great system but then a wrench tossed into plans means we need a new system. Well recently a very busy co-worker showed me how she keeps up with everything on her plate and how she keeps it organized. The system was absolutely meticulous and I couldn’t wait to share it with you all. If you’ve used something similar or have a really cool system of your own, please write a comment!

To let this make more sense, I’ll let you know that this ends up being a private website that brings together all your favorite productivity tools and websites into a single location. So let’s get started:

1. Start with a website. Not a public one, but a private one.

2. As you do with any website, figure out how you’re going to lay it out and what all is gonna be there. The sections she used correlated to every facet of life. Examples are:
a. Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly Task Lists
b. Health Info
c. Family
d. School or continuing education
e. Career advancement
f. Vehicle
g. Banking or finances
h. Shopping
i. Favorite Links
j. Important references
k. Travel
l. Civic involvement/Organizations

3. Each of the sections you chose in #2 is going to be a different page in the site. It’s important to remember here that you aren’t posting any vital info here like passwords or password reminders, etc. If your site gets hacked, they’ll only know your habits but can’t get into your bank account! Go ahead and set up each page, but we’ll work on fleshing them out in a second.

4. To flesh out each page, think about the productivity tools you already use to do some of these activities. You know, tools like Evernote, Dropbox, Wunderlist, Remember the Milk, Producteev, Google Docs, Microsoft Onenote, Springpad, GoToMeeting, Mint, Endnote, Delicious, etc. Think about websites you use regularly. Think about e-mail providers you use. Think about all the airlines and hotels you have reward numbers with. Think about all your financially related sites – banks, student loan sites, car loan sites, credit cards, etc. Think about all the physical activity you want to keep track of and how you do it – tools like MapMyRide. Think long and hard, surf your bookmarks in your browser, check out all the apps on your phone, and just think. Once you have a list, go to step 5.

5. Develop each page, one at a time. For example, I want my front page of my website to be tasks I need to remember to do every day. Things that need to be done by a certain time should have the time by them or if the tasks need to be done in a specific order they should be numbered. After each task, include the links or information needed to do that task. If the first thing you want to do is check your email, the second task you want to do is unplug all your appliances before you leave for work, and the third task you want to do is to turn the dishwasher on. You could set it up like this:

1. Check email:

- http://www.gmail.com
Account A
Account B
- http://mail.yahoo.com

2. Unplug appliances:

- Entertainment Center
- Office (desk)
- Office (bookshelf)
- Bedroom

3. Turn on dishwasher

Of course you might have far more tasks you want to remember to do every single day, but that’s just an example. Let’s say you have a list of people you want to make sure you send birthday cards to and you keep your list of birthdays in your GoogleDocs. Well insert that link into your to-do list for the day. This way you don’t have to change the website daily, you just edit the outside link as usual. For something like birthdays, you might also have a list of cards that you have on hand with a reminder to buy more before you run out. So try:

4. Mail birthday cards

- Card list – http://docs.google.com/birthdays
- Stock of cards – http://docs.google.com/cardcountdowns

Pretty cool so far, right? Say you keep documents in a DropBox folder. Put links directly to those folders in this list. Say you have Endnote libraries that you store in Evernote – link directly to those libraries in this list. It doesn’t replace what you already use, it just gives you a one stop shop to get to all of it. Of course you could set this up in something like Evernote. Or Springpad. Or anywhere really. But that’s the point – if you can’t find a single resource to fix all your productivity needs, merge them!

If you try this or something like this, please let us know! We would love to see how you stay productive!

How To Use Evernote…A Step By Step “Aah Help Me!” Guide

HarriMac — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:00:34 +0000

I absolutely love Evernote. I’m really glad I came across the software. There are plenty of other apps and websites to keep track of your documents, pictures and audio notes but for some reason, the absolute simplicity of Evernote is what makes it stand out for me. I use it to keep up with recipes, fraternity notes, bookmarks, news articles I want to read later, travel info, addresses, etc. I keep thinking of new uses all the time. Maybe it’s the ease of using the website, using the desktop application, or using the iPhone app (or all 3) to keep up and be productive that makes me love it so. There are plenty of tutorials all over the net about specific things to use Evernote for and even some cool videos on their site, but sometimes that info can be overwhelming. Let’s start simply.

1. Where are you when you want to pull up your info? I’m always on the go and not always on a device that belongs to me but I do have an internet connection. But when I’m on a device that belongs to me, I want the info there too. If you use Evernote at work or a public place or even on a friend’s system, you’ll definitely at least want access to Evernote via the web. If you have a smartphone, you might want to have a free Evernote app on that device. And if you have a personal computer (or more), there are free desktop applications. The phone and desktop applications allow you to sync your notes from other places and allow you to work “offline” then sync once you’re connected to the internet again.

Do you want access via:

A) Internet (http://www.evernote.com)

B) Phone (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7, and WebOS currently supported)

C) Desktop (Mac OS X, Windows; Also supported for Safari, Firefox and Google Chrome)

D) Combination?

They are all free for regular users (premium costs), so mix and match and choose away! But really, pick at least one so we can continue with the tutorial. Download

2. Now that you’ve picked one, you have the urge to make a note, right? Well, more on that in a second. First, let’s talk some Evernote lingo. There are notes (duh) and then there are notebooks. If you’re familiar with your computer setup or current email setups, you’re allowed to have folders to organize your materials. Well that’s what the notebooks are – folders. And of course you can have notebooks within notebooks and even have tags (or labels) to track items within notebooks or between notebooks (if you’re like some of us who are ultra organized).

Example 1: I have a notebook called “Public Health References”. I have notebooks within this – “Epidemiology” “Biostatistics” “Citations” “SAS” “Articles” “General”.

Example 2: I have a notebook called “Recipes”. I didn’t subdivide this one since I personally just like scrolling through the recipes to find what I want. Instead, I can use tags to get a better idea of what is in it. If I tagged all my cheesecake recipes “cheesecake” then when I search for that tag or click on that tag, I see everything that matches, regardless of what folder it’s in.

Another term to know is “clip” or “clipping” (saving different sources in whole or part from files or websites). You can use a browser extension or, if you installed the desktop client, you can highlight a website or just right click on a website and choose to add to Evernote.

What notebooks do you think you might want to start with? You can always add notebooks and delete notebooks (or even combine notebooks), so don’t feel constrained by what you choose now.

3. This is a good point to practice making a note. No matter which client you’re using (web, desktop or phone), click “new note” or the + if you see it. Give your new note a title. For this exercise try “Notebooks I’d like to make”. In the text area, make a list of all the notes you’d like to make. Evernote has some formatting capabilities similar to products you may be familiar with such as Microsoft Word. You can make bulleted or numbered lists, you can bold, underline, strikethrough, italic, etc. You can also change the font and text size, etc. You don’t necessarily need to test all these features now, but if you want to, do it! Playing is always fun. Once you’ve made a list of everything you can think of to make a notebook right now, try making a few.

4. Not only can you make text notes in Evernote, but you can also make audio notes (requires a microphone), webcam notes (requires a webcam), and ink notes (hand write a note in evernote. works best if you are really good with a mouse or have a stylus handy. awesome if you have a touchpad). You can also add photos or files to your Evernote notes. Say you’re working on compiling all your addresses in one place. You might type some in, but if you get a letter from someone, take a picture of the return address, attach it to a new note with the name of the person and bam! you have the address in your Evernote.

Or say you’re working on a statistics project and there is SO MUCH DOCUMENTATION (yes this is a real experience). Save the PDFs, drag and drop (or attach) them to a note and you’ve always got that documentation with you for quick reference. Now speaking of that documentation, you want to search and find out what all in your Evernote you have about “linear regression”. Type that in the search field, hit enter and Evernote will search the text of your documentation attachments as well as what is in your notes (at least PDFs). How cool is that?!

5. The last cool feature I’ll show you how to use in Evernote is to share your notes. You can share notes via email, twitter, facebook, or copy note urls to the clipboard. If you share a note, let’s say via email, it will email the content of the note. If you share a notebook, you can choose to share it with the public or share with specific individuals. This can be helpful if you’re working on a project together. You can always change these settings. I haven’t shared a notebook yet, but I have shared individual notes.

I hope this tutorial broke down enough of Evernote for you to get started. Let me know what you end up using it for or if there is another tool that works better for you!

Android and iPhone Apps To Get You Through The Holidays

HarriMac — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:00:51 +0000

Looking for a new and entertaining app? Trying to pass the time until you get back home from school? Need something to do while your computer does stuff at work? Check out these apps! All are free on the iPhone and I’ve done by best to find the equivalent or a very similar one for Android. Let’s get started shall we?

Music

Stitcher Radio – I know you’re saying “not another radio app! grrrr”. But hear me out – the Stitcher app lets you listen to on demand radio streams (think xm radio), your favorite radio stations from around the world (it doesn’t seemingly have ALL but it has most of the stations I searched for), and you can use it to play your podcasts. The coolest feature though, which I wasn’t aware of when I downloaded, is that it also serves as a news source. When breaking news hits, Stitcher sends me a brief notification which I can click and listen to a radio clip of that news. These notifications aren’t sent very often, but they really are breaking news not some weirdo’s idea of important news. While I haven’t figured out how to customize these notifications, I find them cool.

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

Songkick – Ever wanted to know if your favorite artist had a concert coming up near you or a thousand miles away? Songkick searches the playlists on your phone then can provide info about concerts for those artists. It will remember any location you give it and let’s you add the concerts to a remember list. You can see where teh concert is (google map), get a link out to tickets and share the concert information with friends. Pretty cool idea – the only thing that would be better is if it allowed you to watch past concerts.

iPhone: Free
Android: Gigbeat uses the Songkick API and has very similar functions. Also Free

NPR Music – If you like music, you’ll love this app. It gives you complete access to all the features of NPR music – album previews, desk concerts, review articles, streams of the music podcasts, etc. The layout is pretty (same color scheme as website) and the functionality is superb. I was able to get a complete stream of one of the “First Listen” albums without interruption via my data plan and via wifi. You can play it in the background, so listening to a stream won’t interrupt that game of Angry Birds you’ve been working on. Can’t say enough good stuff about this application or the service NPR provides.

iPhone: Free
Android: Unavailable. You’re stuck with searching the NPR News app for the new music features, but they are all there. The NPR News app for Android was user made but I hope it won’t have to be that way for the music app. Hop to it NPR!

iScrob – Despite last.fm having an app and the desktop application supposedly being able to scrobble your tracks (let others know what you’re listening to via the last.fm site or app), it doesn’t work that way. Enter iScrob. Though you can’t control things like your EQ and occasionally the title of the track it shows you gets ahead of itself (it told me I was playing a track that in fact was the next one in the playlist), it does the trick, scrobbling directly from the app. It’s meant to be a replacement for the built in music app. Though iScrob is not available for Android, there are some really cool alternatives like Simple last.fm Scrobbler and Scrobble Droid (both free). [if it's any consolation for the last 2 music apps not being available on Android, I must mention I'm jealous that there is a Jamendo Player app for Android, a link to a great site for indie music of all kinds. I'm partial to the electronic music available there. And the app isn't available for iPhone].

iPhone: Free

Movies & TV

Fanhattan – Similar to IMDB but better laid out with cooler features, Fanhattan allows you to search through movies and tv shows to find out more about them, view a list of all the episodes, and link out to “watch now” via HuluPlus, iTunes, or Netflix. You can also view reviews, see what people are saying via social media (facebook and twitter), check out the soundtrack (and link out to purchase individual tracks), see apps related to the show/movie, find related items to purchase on amazon, and see similar movies or shows. Whew! That’s a lot of features!

iPhone: Free
Android: Supposedly in the works. IMDB, tv.com, Netflix and HuluPlus apps are the only alternatives right now.

Crackle – Similar to Fanhattan, Crackle lets you search movies and tv shows to find out plenty of information about them. What’s different? Crackle let’s you view these same movies and tv shows FOR FREE. Clearly, you can’t view the most recent tv shows or movies for free via an app, but it’s stuff you want to see and if you’re stuck listening to upset passengers in a greyhound station for hours on end, anything will do. Bring on those full episodes of Seinfeld!

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

Wigglehop – Do you actually want to get up and go see some movies at the theater? Then Wigglehop is your app of choice. Find theaters near you, movies that are playing near you, then the times they are playing. When you’re done, invite others to come watch with you via facebook, twitter, email or SMS (or take this time to get a breather from the family and sneak out the house…watch out for the legos your cousin leaves down as burglar alarms). You can choose multiple theaters to search, which is cool because you have a larger range of movie start times to pick from.

iPhone: Free
Android: Unavailable but the top movie app for Android is still Fandango (which has the added perk of buying tickets from the app and a lot more bells and whistles than Wigglehop)

Shopping

Goodzer/Milo Local Shopping – These apps are combined in this review because of their similarity. Both Goodzer and Milo Local Shopping apps let you find the product you want on local shelves. That 50mm Sony A-mount lens you were looking for? What about a bottle of Lubriderm lotion? Just type it in the search and see the search tell you where to get it and how much it costs. Milo let’s you scan barcodes to make the process easier and allows you to buy and pick up from the app (with select stores). Goodzer let’s you search internet stores too. Especially as there is a push to shop local, these apps (or ones like Etsy) can help you do so.

iPhone: Goodzer – Free Milo – Free
Android: Goodzer – Unavailable Milo – Free

Scoutmob - Have you ever been looking for a discount or coupon for a new restaurant or an old favorite? Need a good review from someone that’s been there? Scoutmob fits the bill. Available currently for several major cities and coming soon to more, Scoutmob adds a deal a day and each has an expiration that’s at least a few weeks away (most are a few months) so no rush to spend it. There are some really good deals, like 50% off a sushi place or buy one get one. And each has a review so you don’t have to go searching for it yourself. Excellent app.

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

Google Shopper - The new Google Shopper app is an easy way to find items you want to purchase. It also allows you to search for deals near you (discounts at restaurants!) and to keep track of your Google Offers and ones you’ve purchased. Not that we have to have another shopping app, but Google Offers is certainly something to keep track of as it expands.

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

Social Productivity

Pinterest – The latest internet craze is Pinterest. Find things you like on the internet or upload your own images of cool signs, recipes, actions, decorations, etc. The possibilities are endless with Pinterest. You can see what others post, comment on others posts, and share all the posts with others on Pinterest and those not on Pinterest. It took me a few days to get an invite to join, but until then the app is still functional to view what people are pinning. Definitely something you could do to pass the time until the game is on.

iPhone: Free
Android: Free (from AppGeyser)

Evernote Food – If you already use Evernote, this brand new add on app allows you to save meals, recipes, etc with photos, descriptions, locations and more. You can share any post via facebook, twitter or email. All notes can be tagged like any other post in Evernote and are saved in whatever notebook you want to save them to (default is main notebook). You can take photos from directly within the app and save to your camera roll. Not sure how using this app will affect regular upload limits from Evernote. Right now, it’s only available for iPhone (along with a slew of other new add on apps including some that would be helpful for students), but hopefully like the regular Evernote app will soon be available for Android. If you’re an Android user, you can save the same info by making a new note in the Evernote app – this specialty app only adds what I’ll call aesthetic value.

iPhone: Free

Sports

Team Stream by Bleacher Report – This app gives you constant notifications on your favorite teams and sports (if you want them) and allows you to see scores and such. Similar to the ESPN Scorecenter app, but I like that I get more news than I do with the ESPN app.

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

Bowl Bound 2011 – ESPN has once again made an app to help you keep up with all 80,000 bowl games. Get the latest news and updates as the bowl season begins.

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

You Got Skills!

ACBL Club Finder – Traveling and want to find a bridge game near you? Been out of the game and want to get a refresher and maybe find a good partner? Look no further. The official ACBL club finder app helps you find all of that and more. It only finds sanctioned games and clubs, so if you’re looking for Aunt Cleo’s club that doesn’t play ACBL then it probably won’t show up. Now if we could only get a good free bridge game app that runs from your phone not the internet….

iPhone: Free
Android: Free

Skyview Free – Android 1, iPhone 0. It’s always been simple to use an Android phone to look at constellations in the night sky. iPhones, nope. Skyview Free not only allows you to search the sky when you’re outside, you can do it from inside too! Using the technology in your phone, it helps pinpoint where you are in relation to the constellations. If you move your phone around you can see the constellations in the sky. Made me giggle.

iPhone: Free

Now that I’ve listed well over a dozen apps, I’d love to know which apps you’re relying on to get through the holiday season. Let me know what you think of these in the comments and, if you’re an Android user, definitely let me know if you find the Android apps have just as much functionality as the iPhone ones. If I’ve missed some that are compatible, I know you’ll sound off!

Join us next time for a new to-do topic (at least one we haven’t touched on in a while). Until then, happy downloading!

How do you use your smartphone?

HarriMac — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:00:37 +0000

I was reading this comparison post between the iPhone 4s and the Droid Bionic and it got me thinking – besides the phones themselves and their specifics, why do you have a smartphone? What do you do with it? I’d love to see why other people have theirs and maybe get some new ideas for how to use my smartphone.

Right now I constantly do email and twitter, check the news, look up spur of the moment info, look up books (textbooks and pleasure books), occasionally listen to music or games on ESPN, take pictures, watch Netflix, keep up with where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing, check the weather, keep track of all my rewards cards, look at comics, check the bus schedules, prepare my grocery list, see what movies are playing, keep track of my lady business and doctor’s appointments and medications, find food locally and look up how to make new drinks, etc. I know that that’s a lot, but there has to be lots more!

What do you do with your smartphone? Do you think it’s done best on an iPhone or a Droid? Does it matter?

Back to School Part 3: Digital Calendars

HarriMac — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:27:27 +0000

As I have gained more responsibilities and my schedule is getting to be extremely full of things to do again, I realized that I needed to find a way to try and tie all my calendars and all my tasks together. Even though I’ve always been busy and I’ve used a good paper calendar since I started college, I have started to use my phone as a quick reference to what I need to do and what I need to remember. Though my iPhone calendar has been useful til now, it’s not flexible enough for my needs, so I set out through the App Store to find a better app that was free. Here’s what I found:

Calvetica – Nice layout. Allows a different landscape view of what’s on your calendar. It allows you to pick which of your calendars you already sync with the native calendar show up here. Not only does it pull info from the native calendar, the native calendar is updated with changes you make so if you just need it for some reason, the info is there. Allows you to look at just a list of appointments for that day, an 8-5 day, or all 24 hours in the day. Turn it landscape and you can look at the whole week like it’s usually laid out in a planner (days side by side) or you can look at each day and just the appointments each day. You can also look at the whole month at once, send yourself notifications about events, etc. The bad? Hard to edit existing calendar items if you need to change anything other than duration, you can’t pick a custom repeat so stuck with the same ones in iPhone calendar, and it’s a little wonky when trying to do a multiday event (I tried to do a 2 day event that was all-day both days but if you do that, you can’t choose 48 hours, you have to choose less than 48 hours or it makes your event 3 days). Conclusion: Decent, but missing a few things I need. [the version that is available for free download is version 3.7. the newest version, 4.1, is $2.99]

Planner – Does not automatically sync with the iPhone native calendar. If you’re like me and already have a full calendar on the iPhone or with Google, it’s rather difficult to accept an app where you’ll have to re-enter everything. You also have to have the pro version in order to get notifications about things on your calendar or even set up repeating tasks. That being said, it allows you to view a whole month or a single day, to keep track of what you planned to do today versus what you actually did today, and to keep statistics on what you spend your time on. Conclusion: Great ideas, but again, not for me.

Organizer Lite – Similar to Planner, this app doesn’t sync with the native calendar. I also found it somewhat difficult to actually enter tasks, though the ability for free text, inserting pictures, emoji and linking tasks with contacts in the phone is nice. You can view your calendar by the day and by the month (default is by the day). Easy on the eyes. Conclusions: Decent, but missing a few things I need.

Planner& Lite – Very nice layout. This app allows you to set appointments, list tasks, make notes and set reminders. You can view your calendar by the day, week, or month. Very easy to access and change settings, export what’s in the app to google docs (or import), export via mail, or access a web server. You can also set a password for the app and search through all your appointments, etc for that one task you knew you had but didn’t remember when it was. Biggest downside is that the app does not sync with the native calendar or google calendars. Conclusion: Would be an A+ if it had a sync feature in free version.

Organizer – Pretty cool app. Lets you do your grocery list, calendar, to do list, add others to your calendar, see what others are doing, and chat with your family. It really is meant to keep up with multiple people at once, so great if you’re going back to school and managing a household or trying to keep up with several siblings, etc. You must register to even use this app, but it’s similar to Mom Planner (same company). This doesn’t automatically sync with the native calendar, but just like Planner & Lite, this would be fantastic if that feature was automatically available (or if I didn’t have to register to even try it out).

There were a few other free calendars out there like SnapCal and Pimp Your Calendar, but I’d just be repeating the same as I have already. I wasn’t truly impressed with any of the calendars enough to make them true replacements for the native iPhone calendar. If you haven’t used the native app yet, these might be really great to start with, but not expandable enough if you want to sync or move the calendar later.

Are there any apps I missed? I still haven’t found the perfect one for me, but for many students the native calendar or one of these will suffice. If you know of one that is amazing, share with the world by posting in the comments.

Back to School 2011: Part 2

HarriMac — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:00:29 +0000

Hi folks! There isn’t an app for making you go to class and paying attention, but there are some other tools that can help you do better in the classroom. I know this is a tech blog, but sometimes you have to go “old school” and mix that with some modern technology to get the most out of a class. Here are my top 5 tips for stopping the material from going over your head and instead make it go into your brain

Image from http://aonewayticket.files.wordpress.com

1. Listen. Yes, I know you’re tired of hearing that, especially if you have nothing but 8 am classes. But listening is the step before comprehending. Even if you’re stuck in a class where you never plan on using the material again, listen to what the professor is saying (or not saying) and ask questions. If you’re nervous about asking questions in class, write them down and ask them immediately after class. If you sit through class and never listen, you don’t know what’s important enough to look up after class!

2. Listen….just later. I will admit that I sometimes fell asleep or totally zoned out in class. Especially if it was early morning or after a meal. Even if you’re wide awake, remembering points your professor made can be difficult several hours later. Ask your professor if it is ok to record their lecture on a personal digital recorder for note taking later (and PLEASE don’t keep them after you’re finished or sell them to someone else. it can bring on major trouble). Some professors are ok with it and others are not. If you have a special learning need that really does make your learning better by being able to listen at your own pace later, find your college’s learning assistance center (confidential) and confirm the need. They have a lot of power to help you!

3. Rewrite your notes and merge with notes from class readings. The best notetaking tip I ever got was learning how to take notes in a way that helped me. Everyone doesn’t do well just scribbling on a page. Everyone doesn’t do well just reading a book. Sometimes you have to mix the two. I learned to do my class reading and take notes on half the page, then follow these notes and write clarifying notes in the other half the page during course lecture. It was magical! Of course this might not work for you, but check the web for different styles on sites like this PDF or check with your advisor – they may have plenty of tools to help!

4. Ask the professor if there are good references, tutoring services, or alternative help available. The professor is the “subject matter expert” (most of the time…I admit there are some that I don’t know how they got their job). They should be able to point your toward known university resources (which can include free tutoring) or existing help services. If it wasn’t for services like tutoring or extra help classes, I wouldn’t have made it through a couple of my large intro classes. You could also get or make study guides. If you know the important stuff the professor talked about, make yourself a test or quiz of sorts and use that as your basis for going back through class notes and the book to get as much info as possible before a test. If it turns out none of what he emphasized was on the test, talk to the prof to find out what you missed and do better next time.

5. Improve your reading speed and comprehension. The best class I took was an inadvertent try to keep from falling below full time. I took speed reading, learned several ways of reading and improving my comprehension of reading, and then was able to take that and do better in class. Just note – this class isn’t just for slackers, jocks, and folks that just can’t read well. I went into the class with great comprehension and reading more than 1000 words per minute and came out reading almost 1500 words per minute and increased comprehension.

What tips do you have for people trying to do better in class?? Did any of these work for you?

Back to School 2011! Get psyched!

HarriMac — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:03:12 +0000

Did I date myself by saying “get psyched!”? It’s that time of year again, back to school time. I’ve been trying to help a niece and a cousin get ready for college this year and so I’ve decided the first Back to School post this year would be things you need for college. Most of these assume that you’ve a freshman living in a dorm, but many could be useful despite your year status or dorm status.

Please post in the comments if there is an item you think I’ve missed or if there is something else that really helped you get ready for college.

General gift cards to places like Amazon, Chegg or visa gift cards (or cash) can be great so you can buy books online in the fall and save some cash. The bookstore is HORRIBLE for the most part price wise for buying books. Also check the library on campus if you need a book and can’t afford or are waiting on yours to arrive.

extra long sheets

small trash can

can opener

footlocker with lock

hangers

a printer (depending on school printing rules…if you don’t get “free” printing on campus or limited sheets less than what you think you’ll need…if you’re going to buy one, i highly suggest a black and white laser printer – no need to replace toner or drum often!)

binders or spiral bound notebooks or a padfolio

notebook dividers

pens

pencils (and pencil sharpener)

scissors

ruler

highlighters

calculator (ti-83 or ti-84 if you don’t have one already; business calculators are different so look at your need)

stadium cups

plastic tupperware with lids (double as bowls and even plates)

bookends

picture frames

a good backpack that is actually made for heavy books – those flimsy bags with strings or single strap bags are not good for carrying books or laptops necessarily and certainly aren’t great for your back. messenger bags are good to a certain weight point

laptop (not a netbook)…most software you might be able to get from your school for free or cheap

a good academic planner

surge protectors – dorms don’t allow extension cords and “power strips” don’t protect against surges. get good ones and don’t worry about killing your electronics

good pair of shoes to walk campus in – if you are a great flip flop wearer that’s fine. but your feet need good support so give it to them!

noise cancelling headphones (the library is NEVER quiet)

flashlight – you will use it

a 4gb flash drive (good quality; you could get bigger or smaller but a 4gb could get you all the way thru school)

towel sets – ok they don’t have to be real sets. but you have to bathe. if you don’t wanna, everyone on your floor and in your classes will hurt you

shower caddy – please don’t put your stuff on the floor in a dorm shower. ever.

shower shoes (flip flops or slides that don’t get worn elsewhere) – same premise as shower caddy. dorm showers are disgusting. and if you have a suite, the cleaning is when you and your suitemates clean it. assume they don’t clean

ramen noodles – staple of the college diet

a small marker board/white board for your room door or for you to write notes on by your desk in the dorm

money for laundry – quarters are still in use some places, but a lot of schools are switching to wash card based systems. you’ll need bills or potentially online method to pay for this. it probably won’t be free unless you go to a school where it’s a perk

a really good laundry bag or basket (bags are easier for dorms since you have limited space)

whatever toiletries you like to use

a good coffee or tea travel mug (if you drink that)

a spill proof water bottle – nothing like showing up to class with a wet butt and a ruined paper

forks, spoons, knives – you gotta eat. and ramen with your fingers gets messy

an open mind – college is a new experience and a chance to meet with people who are of different thought schools and different walks of life. keeping an open mind can allow you to truly find yourself and happiness in college

what helped you get through college?

Bake A Cake As Fast As You Can!

HarriMac — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:30:45 +0000

Here is a quick and easy cake recipe that my grandmother used to make regularly and my mom continues to do today. According to my Mama I am in at least the fourth generation to enjoy this cake. In our family, it marks birthdays, holidays, and anydays. Thanks Mama for writing it up!

1-2-3 Cake

1 cup or 1 stick Crisco
2 cups sugar

Cream together on high (level 5 or 6).

5 large eggs
Add one at a time, beating well after each.

Turn mixer down to level 3 or 2.
Add 3 cups flour, alternating with 1 cup milk.

Add 3 teaspoons baking powder,
1 teaspoon salt,
2 teaspoons vanilla extract,
1 teaspoon almond (or lemon) extract.

Use rubber or silicon spatula to scrape sides of mixing bowl as you add ingredients. Be careful not to get it caught in the beaters!

Lightly spray cake pan with a baking spray, with or without flour added.

Pour cake batter into pan.
Bake in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes if tube pan; 25-30 minutes if layers or cupcakes. Cake will begin to ease away from sides when it’s done.

Cool for 5-10 minutes in pan. Turn out of pan onto a wire rack to cool.

If you’re interested, you can also use this recipe to make cupcakes or GIANT cupcakes

Let us know how yours turns out!

How To Choose A Digital Camera

HarriMac — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:00:41 +0000

Almost every phone these days has a digital camera built in. But what if you want more? You want better zoom, more precise shooting, or just manually adjusting the shutter speed or aperture? You can’t do that on every phone. So here’s a quick how to for picking a digital camera to use in the place of or in combination with you camera phone.

Ask yourself five questions -

1) What do I plan to take pictures of?

2) Where do I plan to use my camera?

3) How much control over the composition do I want?

4) How much do I want to spend?

5) Do I want to fit the camera in my pocket, in a small bag, or do I want to carry tons of accessories and tripods, etc?

Most people just want something to take pictures of cool stuff they see – people, buildings, flowers, sunset, parties. They don’t care about adjusting settings and don’t want something that could be difficult to carry around. For these people a pocket sized camera will work well. You can get these for under $100 to over $300 and in multiple colors.

Other people want to take cool pictures everyday but also want to take their camera to places where they won’t be able to be within 50 feet of their subject. Think air shows, the zoo, a graduation, a kids soccer game, the street from the Top of the Rock in NYC. Still, though, they do not want to have to lug around big bags or change lenses. They want a point and shoot camera that also gives them the chance to do a little more. In this case, a bridge camera might work best. These cameras have really large zoom lenses, but pack compactly. You can pick up one of these generally in the $300 – 700 price range.

Some people really don’t care how much they lug around, don’t mind changing lenses, and generally want far more control over the composition of the picture than the average user. They shoot pictures for money or their skill has outgrown the bridge camera. They might want to shoot pictures all day long in places like wildlife reserves, national parks, weddings, etc. They also know they can get the bang for their buck by buying a DSLR, which has a >$500 price range.

Some people buy cameras that a) are way to complicated for their skill level with no intention of ever learning how to use it, b) don’t match what they want to shoot, or c) don’t fit where they want to use it. In a search of Amazon DSLR listings, it was surprising the number of parents who bought these advanced cameras to shoot a kids game but complained about the price or the quality. They might have been better served by a bridge camera, as would have the users who bought a non Sony NEX pocket camera and wanted amazing zoom. Some may have gotten exactly what they needed with a DSLR but could have thrown in another $100 for a decent intro lesson (or $20 for a book on how to use this camera or compose better).

I currently shoot with a Sony a55 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses. I anticipate getting an 11-18mm lens in the next six months. I have been teaching myself the art of photography for five years now and have progressed from a simple point and shoot, to a bridge, to a point and shoot, to a point and shoot and a bridge, to a more advanced bridge and a point and shoot, to a DSLR. I was able to change my camera as I learned more and learned what I wanted to do and how to do it. I have a camera phone but usually only use it in a pinch or to take pics of documents as a reminder. If you want to do a one time buy but really plan on sticking with it, go for the DSLR but don’t rely on factory settings or AUTO shooting. Really teach yourself or take some lessons from a pro.

Check out all your options and think about the five questions I mentioned above when picking a camera. Go to an actual camera store (they do still exist) or go online and chat with customer service at some stores like Wolf Camera or Butterfly Photo to find out what best fits you. Some photographers are brand loyal and will never buy another brand but I suggest buying what works for you. I’ve shot with Fujifilm, Kodak, and Sony. The difference each time was moreso that a great photo depends on the photographer, not the camera!

What kind of cameras do you shoot with? What are your photography dreams?

Save a Life!

HarriMac — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:00:35 +0000

Every time we pick turn on the tv, open a magazine, listen to the radio, or talk to other people we are constantly reminded of many situations where other people are suffering from debilitating disease such as cancer or kidney failure or has been the victim of an accident such as a major interstate pileup. The end result can at times be influenced by the willingness of others to give of themselves in the most personal ways. The demand for marrow, blood, plasma, and organs are much higher than the supply. According to US law or simply for medical reasons, some people are prohibited from giving. I can’t donate blood because I have a blood disorder but haven’t been told no for organ donation. We won’t get into the politics of some of the other restricted groups (that could be an entirely different and very long debate), but today’s focus is on why it’s important to give and how you can do so.

According to the U.S. Government Information on Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation website 110,586 people are waiting for an organ, 18 people will die each day waiting for an organ, and 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives. Approximately 2.4M people die from all causes in the United States annually. While not all of these 2.4M are eligible to donate their organs and tissues, many are but choose not to. Living donations are also possible for some organs, but few choose that route either. Some choose not to donate for religious reasons, some choose not to because of fear, and others actually do choose to donate but their families disagree with their choice and will not agree when the decision needs to be made or the family isn’t even aware of the choice.

Before Ellie passed away, she was a regular blood donor. When Ellie passed away this past September, she had 1) chosen to be an organ donor, 2) made sure the choice was indicated on her drivers license, and 3) made sure the family was well aware of her decision and would support that decision. The family actual is who sits down with really amazing nurses and doctors to make the actual decisions about what the family agrees to be donated. Even after that there are decisions the medical establishment needs to make (are these organs good for donation, is there someone that needs them) but they keep you up to speed with every decision and every update. It was comforting to know what was going on. Ellie was able to help six other people continue their lives. It’s what she would have wanted.

In the end though, it’s a personal decision. I implore you to check out organdonor.gov to find out more about organ and tissue donation and check out the American Red Cross to find out more about blood and plasma donation. Check out the National Marrow Donor Program to find out more about marrow donation. Once you’ve made a decision to donate your organs (or which of your organs/tissues you are willing to donate), make sure your government ID (drivers license, ID card) says so. Register in your state to be a donor. Make sure to let everyone who might be making decisions for you know and talk to them about your choice. Get a regular schedule going for blood donations. Volunteer to work at blood drives in your area or make donations to the American Red Cross or other blood donation centers to support the work they do.

Want another way to help save someone’s life that doesn’t have to do with giving blood, plasma, or organs? Get certified in CPR through the American Red Cross or American Heart Association, certified in the use of AEDs, or train to be a first responder. Learn how to give the heimlich manuever properly. Learn how to do basic first aid and wilderness first aid. Become a lifeguard. Volunteer for mass casualty mock events or mock wilderness rescues. There are many many ways to get involved in saving lives – find your way!

Check out these websites and social media accounts for info about donations, volunteering, or training:

American Red Cross - Training – @redcross

American Heart Association/American Stroke Association – CPR & First Aid – @American_Heart

OrganDonor.gov – Register to Donate

America’s Blood – Donate Blood – @americasblood

National Marrow Donor Program – Join the Registry – @bethematch

Don’t just consider saving someone else’s life – what about your own? Do you get regular checkups? Do you go to the doctor when you feel something is wrong? Do you get screening tests recommended for your gender and age such as a colonoscopy, prostate exam, healthy woman exam, mammogram, etc? If you don’t have a doctor, is there a clinic nearby where you might be able to be seen nearby? Are you up to date on your immunizations? Have you been tested in the last 3-6 months for HIV? If you have not even the slightest clue what any of this means, get in touch with your local health department or a clinic in your town (even the one at a drugstore) to ask them to help point you in the right direction. You can go to this HRSA website to find a health center to receive affordable care anywhere in the US even if you don’t have health insurance.

If you have insurance and a regular provider but haven’t done any of these things, make an appointment today and ask your doctor everything. Have you seen a dentist or dental hygienist in the last year? If not, find a low cost clinic (if near a university try there) or a recommended dentist via friends and make an appointment for a cleaning. Your first time there they will check your teeth thoroughly and let you know if you need more care. We owe it to ourselves to take good care of ourselves.

You can also use your phone to protect you in case of emergency. Using apps such as CloseCall and RxmindMe, you can easily keep a list of medicines you are taking in your phone (along with dosages and prescribers) and create an emergency number homescreen in case something happens to you and a good samaritan checks your phone for info. This shows up even if you lock your phone. You can also create a note on your phone labeled ICE (in case of emergency) or add a contact phone number to your phone labeled ICE which will go to someone that knows as much about you as possible. Let people know where to find such information just in case it needs to be accessed and you aren’t going to be the one doing it.

What do you do to take care of yourself and what do you plan to do to help others?

If you feel obligated, help us continue to honor Ellie’s memory and donate to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association in her name.