!u#*, $&i*, #o!*@u$*e%!!!!

It's Monday. Let it all out (and score points while you're at it). I was actually not very good at this, though. !u#*

QuickTip: Let More Than 5 People Listen to Your Music (on iTunes) and Give the RIAA the Middle Finger

Being the astute nerd that I am, I keep my music on a Mac Mini I've had for awhile on the other side of the room. The little guy keeps my music library organized and downloads the latest episodes of the one TV show I watch, The Office.

It's surprising this hasn't happened yet, but my music listening desire was left unfulfilled thanks to the 5 person limit imposed by (basically) the RIAA. I guess people really like my taste in music, or they are using myTunes/ourTunes. My anger seethes.

There's a quick work-around, though. Simply password your library and then include that password in the library's title. Case closed. I can't wait for the day when the RIAA dissolves.

Listen Up: This is Kind of a Big Deal

So I listen to music while walking/biking to class. I listen to music while I do homework. I listen to audio tapes when they're available for certain books. And I always wake up to music. listentoamovie.com takes it all one step further. Now you can listen to your favorite movies and television episodes, too.

Furthermore, if you're wearing a hooded sweatshirt and can link your earbuds through to your laptop covertly, you just may be able to do this in class, too. But that's not recommended. I'm just putting that out there. If you like it, you can take it. If you don't, send it right back.

Get Your Summer Music Festival On

It's one thing to drink yourself to death during the summer. It's more worthwhile to set aside some of that money that would be spent on booze and attend a music festival near you. Tickets for these festivals are going on sale soon, if they aren't already.

My first large-scale festival was Sasquatch! during Memorial Day Weekend last year. Talk about a solid three days and an earth-shattering line-up. Some of the highlights were (in no particular order):

• NIN


• Rogue Wave


• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah


• Architecture in Helsinki


• Band of Horses


• Matisyahu


• Sufjan Stevens


• Death Cab


• The Flaming Lips


• Ben Harper


• Beck


• Queens of the Stone Age


• TV on the Radio


• Bauhaus


• The Shins


• Iron & Wine


• The Decemberists


• The Arctic Monkeys and


• We Are Scientists

All that for $180. Aside from the speeding ticket on the way home, it was probably one of the best use of that money possible.

If you need someone to explain to you why a music festival is awesome, you need to seriously rethink your life. Something about 25,000+ people all in one place having a good time cannot be paralleled.

This year, I'll be heading out to Coachella for their Saturday line-up. If you didn't get the memo, Rage Against the Machine is re-uniting for one more show on the Sunday of Coachella. Sadly, I won't be seeing them; the single tickets sold out in one second.

Instead, I'm looking forward to:

• The Arcade Fire


• Red Hot Chili Peppers


• LCD Soundsystem


• The New Pornographers


• Hot Chip


• MSTRKRFT


• Pharoahe Monch


• The Good, The Bad and the Queen


• Andrew Bird


• Fields and


• Sparklehorse

to name a few. The weekend will be a blast, minus the fact that it's the weekend before finals. Oh well.

So get looking for some festival tickets and plane tickets to satisfy your musical soul this summer. Some of the biggest festivals include:

• Coachella: Indio, CA


• Sasquatch: George, WA


• Lollapalooza: Chicago, IL


• Bonnaroo: Manchester, TN

Sorry for all the list craziness. If we've forgotten any festivals, let us know in a comment.

(Also, if any loyal reader is flying out for Coachella and needs a place to stay, let me know. I could accommodate you for the weekend.)

Web 2.0: 2.0 of What?

So we've covered a few of the many terms used in web 2.0. We're also continually working our way through the huge web 2.0 directory to find those websites best suitable for college students. While I was surfing yesterday, I found a great video from Michael Wesch that depicts how the Internet has indeed changed. I thought I'd share it with you all today. Wow, I can hardly wait for Web 3.0.

How To: Host a Cheap(er) Super Bowl Party

the simple dollar has put out a great list on how to make this Super Bowl a bit less expensive. To start, don't go to the bar to celebrate. Host your own party or go to one. Then:

Buy refreshments in bulk.
If you are stuck buying refreshments, this is a great day to check out your local warehouse club. These are almost always great places to get snacks in bulk, especially Sam’s Club. Plus, you may find other items that you can buy in bulk there that will save you some money.

Paint your face.
This is a great and cheap way to liven up a party. Paint your face in the colors of your preferred team. Two small containers of tempera paint from the art supply store will provide more than enough to paint your own face and that of your family. Of course, if you’re painting your face in dark blue and orange, be aware that tears make the paint streak.

Don’t waste money on decorations.
Most people could care less about decorations. If you happen to already be a superfan of one team or another, use the supplies you already have and wallpaper the party room in Peyton Manning jerseys. Otherwise, don’t invest anything in decorations; just clean the place well and have the televisions ready to go.

Bag up any leftover snacks and eat them as side dishes for the next day or two.
Don’t waste food unless there’s a reason for it. Save some of the leftover snack food and eat it in the coming days. Anything that should be refrigerated should be eaten quickly, but dry snacks can be used over time.

Be sure to check out the full list over at the simple dollar. And...

Go Colts!

How Student 2.0 Would Learn Vocabulary: Quizlet

When my brother told me today that he's going to be taking Intensive German this semester, I decided to search through my favorite blogs to find out how Web 2.0 could help him. Quizlet is the answer. It is an amazing memorization tool --perfect for Student 2.0.

Quizlet is a tool for learning vocabulary
Here's how it works:

1. You enter a vocabulary list of any words or data you want. (ex. SAT words, history dates, French-Spanish translations, etc.)
2. Quizlet gives you a specialized learning mode, flashcards, randomly-generated tests, and collaboration tools for classmates to help you study those words.
3. You ace your test.

I'm too excited about it, myself, to continue writing this entry, so I'm going to leave it short. Enjoy!

Windows Vista - Free for College Students

I'm not going to describe Windows Vista; I'm not going to list its positives and negatives; I'm also not writing here to tell you whether or not you should upgrade. Rather, I'm just going to let you all in on something I bet a few of you have forgotten --Microsoft software can be free for college students. And, yes, this is true.

It's something called the MSDNAA. Granted, its acronym sounds like a drug to me --a scary one at that.

MSDN Academic Alliance is a Microsoft program which provides some Microsoft developer tools for free to students and faculty in computer science, computer engineering, information technology, and related fields. The participating schools pay an annual fee to avail this alliance.

So, the first task is to find out if your school is part of the program. Just do a quick Google search for "[School name]", MSDNAA. For me, I just put in yale, MSDNAA and quickly landed on Yale's MSDNAA site. Do some clicking, and you'll probably be able to land on your school's MSDNAA page pretty easily, too. There, keys and downloads are free. It might take a day or two to sign up at your school, but it's definitely worth it.

Even if you're not interested in Windows Vista, there's probably some other great Microsoft products there that will definitely improve your productivity.