Discounts and directions...

First, if you go to Kohl's, they have Dr. Seuss books on sale for $5
and the money goes to a charity. They've got The Foot Book and The
Lorax. These are the big versions. The next size down costs $8.99 at
Barnes & Noble.

That's for those of you looking to read to a new generation of cheap
students.

Next, I'm no longer affiliated with a school so it's not like I take
notes for people to copy any more. I need a way to keep the site
relevant. So, I may start writing reviews of iPhone apps. I may review
other technology too. I'm a dork that way.

Look for more posts on that or leave a comment with ideas of what I
should talk about.

Michael A. Tighe

Sent from my iPhone

I'm not dead! -or- Podcasts!

Contrary to certain rumors, I'm not dead.  I'm just very unmotivated.  That said, here's a follow up to a comment I made in class sometime Autumn of 2007.  For those of you whom weren't in Tim Landers' class, let me fill you in on the situation. 

Esteemed Professor Tim Landers:  There are approximately 10,000,000,000,000 cells in the human body.  Can anyone guess who many bacteria are in the human body?

Me:  It's one more zero than that. 

EPTL:  Okay, so there are 100,000,000,000,000 cells in the human body, how many bacteria are there. 

Me:  No, the number of bacteria is the number of human cells plus one zero. 

EPTL:  How'd you know that? 

Me:  There was a podcast I listened to over the summer that talked about it. 

Back then, I couldn't link to the podcast anywhere because they used to disappear after they were on iTunes for a week.  Now, they're around forever because the BBC redid its In Our Time Website. 

Here is that specific one. 

I really recommend you subscribe to this one and further, you should look up A History of the World in 100 Objects.  

Want an iPad?

Everyone else in the tech world is chiming in, so I thought I'd throw my geeky hat into the ring.  First, let me get two disclosures out of the way:

1.  I'm an unabashed Mac fanboy.  I have a MacBook, an iPhone 3GS, a wireless keyboard, a Mighty Mouse, and two Airport Expresses. 
2.  I haven't actually touched this new Apple tablet. 

Meh. 

For those of you who want more than that, here's a deeper explanation:

Cons: 
1.  It's very expensive.
2.  Typing looks to be a pain.
3.  You can get the same functionality from an iPhone. 
4.  It doesn't look like it'd replace any of the devices I carry around on me. 

Pros:
1.  OH GOD!  IT'S FROM APPLE!  SHINY!  SHINY!  PRECIOUS!
2.  It's an excellent computer for your non-techie parents or possibly kids. 

Other:
1.  If I was a freshman college student, and could get textbooks on this with color, it'd be interesting.  Still not sure if it's worth $500-800.  You'd have to factor in the cost of textbooks, (if the prices were in the $15 range, it'd be crazy worth it.) 

I still like my homemade-ish netbook with a keyboard.  At least until I can video conference on an iPad with my other lottery winning buddies.

Because everyone else is doing it...

It's time for one of those year end lists celebrating neat things from 2009.  I don't really specifically review movies, books, or music for a living so I can't really give you a good run down.  However, here is the list of stuff I paid money for in 2009 I think you should at least look at. 

Best CD: 
Among the Oak and Ash
Among the Oak and Ash

I've mentioned in the past my love of all music Josh Joplin.  He's kind of a folksy singer with an interesting view of American life.  Him and Garrison Starr formed a band to sing actual folk songs.  It's surprisingly good.  Also, on the CD, there's a cover of Bigmouth Strikes Again by The Smiths. 

Best Book: 
Aside from text books, I think I've read about five books this year.  As such, I have two shelves, (28 books,) to catch up on.  Come to think of it, five may be a bit much to claim. 
The Baby Owner's Manual by Louis Borgenicht and Joe Borgenicht is great if you're expecting and a guy.  I can't say for sure it's written specifically for men, but it's nothing like the books my wife read for pregnancy and I think the information is much better presented and indexed. 
I also read the intro to Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman.  That was really good. 

Best movie:
I saw Paranormal Activity.  It was wicked scary. 

My toy of the year would be my iPhone 3GS.  It's spiffy.  Also, I got a mini fridge for my birthday.  That's nice too. 

Passive learning in your car...

Do you own an iPod?  How about a generic MP3 player?  If you said yes to one of the above questions, you should start listening to podcasts when you're in your car.  There are a ton of free, educational, and fun podcasts you can listen to whenever. 

First of all, here's how to get a podcast if you don't own an iPod. 

If you've got an iPod, open iTunes and click on iTunes Store.  Then click on Podcasts.  You can browse and check out tons of free stuff.  Think of it as public radio, but pre-recorded. 

Here are a few educational ones I listen to:

Get-It-Done Guy:  This is a podcast from the Quick and Dirty Tips family.  At one time I've listened to all of them, but he's the only one I've consistently listened to.  (Grammar Girl is great, but I have an English Minor and a Journalism specialty.  Her voice was pleasant, but I didn't learn anything new.)  Anyway, this guy is great at teaching about efficiency in life.  Be it with computers or co-workers.  It's great and the guy has a good sense of humor. 

The History of Rome:  This is a phenomenal podcast about Rome.  It starts with the founding and will end at the fall, (the last time it fell.)  He may or may not do the Byzantine side, but if you want that, there's a podcast for that too.  In case you're wondering, they're up to about 100 A.D. 

In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg:  Super production values and an interesting topic every week.  Also, everyone on the show is British so you'll feel smarter for listening.  One word of warning for this podcast, they don't keep old shows up for longer than a week.  So if you miss one, you can't just go back.  Luckily, it's a new topic every week so you can miss one and not miss part of the story. 

60-Second Science:  This is Scientific American's podcast.  It usually runs about 1:15 so it's a misnomer.  Still, it's short and you'll feel smarter and have a fun topic of conversation which will ultimately alienate you from your friends. 

A few others I listen to that aren't necessarily educational, but very enjoyable are:

Quick Hitts:  I didn't know what a libertarian was until I listened to this podcast.  (My past experience with Libertarians was the party of legal pot.  They are that, but it's actually a very small part of what they care about.  They're really more of the party of I don't care what you do as long as I don't have to pay for it.)  This podcast isn't always about that, but mostly it is.  The guy who runs it, (Dave Hitt,) just calls bullshit on a lot of people and is very entertaining.  Also, I'm mentioned in the last podcast. 

Hatecast:  This podcast comes from The Onion's A.V. Club.  (Their serious side.)  If you happen to know someone personally whose TV watching is 90% E!, this is the podcast for you.  I've just come to the conclusion that most of my favorite podcasts are based on calling bullshit on people. 

That's enough.  If you're feeling like doing extra credit, look up Dilbert Animated Cartoons, The Geekdads, Onion News Network (Video), The Onion Radio News, and Norman Centuries.  (I subscribe to them, but don't feel like doing the effort of linking. 

New mission statement and some links...

So I'm not a student any more.  Actually, that's not true.  I'd like to think I'd always think of myself as a student.  I'm not currently a university student. 

I am still interested in learning.  I'm also now a father, to someone whom will be a student in about five years.  So, I'm going to keep posting stuff about student lives, and stuff that'll help students.  I'll also probably do some book reviews, (because I love to read,) but I'm mainly spending my time goofing off and being a father. 

So, this site is going to become something like a cross between GeekDad and Life Hacker.  There won't be study tips or anything like that, but there will be some stuff on how to continue learning stuff or get other people involved in learning stuff.  Oh, there'll be some Free Range Kids too.

I encourage you all to leave comments or stuff to give me ideas for things to post about.  Also, click an ad.  (Please.)

A free alternative to Netflix...

First of all, this is my 301st post.  Go me. 

Second, I've recently begun taking advantage of my public library's DVD section.  They let you take out 10 DVDs at a time.  It's great, and it's free.  Here's a quick table list of pros and cons:

Pros: 

Free.  As in beer. 

If you live in a large metropolitan area, you can get DVDs from nearby libraries sent to your library. 

You don't need to wait for them to deliver.  (Unless it's the case above where you had to have one delivered.) 

Cons: 

Less selection than Netflix.  (I'm not 100% sure of this, but it feels like they have less.  However, since I graduated, I've taken about 50 movies off my Netflix queue. 

If you do need to order something it takes longer than Netflix's customary two day turn around. 

DVDs aren't the same quality as you'd get from Netflix.  I'm not sure if it's higher turn around, or the people that use the DVDs, but the library DVDs tend to be a lot more scratched than Netflix ones. 

Summary:  Free.  As in beer.