Natural Cures for Summer Ailments

Bee stings suck. Photo courtesy of Pinti 1. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.Summer is a time of internships, new opportunities, running around outside and having fun in the sun (although, in Texas 50+ days in triple digits hardly qualifies as "fun"). However, while enjoying summer outside, you might come into contact with some unpleasantness like bug bites, sunburns, and bee stings. With a few natural cures though, these paints won't ruin your summer fun.

Bee Stings

I have been stung by bees multiple times and it sucks. Before doing anything though, make sure you take out the stinger, either with tweezers or by scraping it out with a credit card. The faster you take it out, the less painful the sting will be. After you've taken the stinger out, dab some meat tenderizer on the area. For even more effective pain relief, combine it with vinegar. The meat tenderizer contains an enzyme that helps break down the bee venom. The combination of meat tenderizer and vinegar also works well with jellyfish stings, which you might get on your beach vacation, especially down south.

Of course, you could always dull the pain of a bee sting with a cigarette too.

Sunburns

We all know that aloe helps sunburns feel better. Aloe gel taken directly from an aloe plant works just as well as the stuff we buy in the store, so you can save yourself a trip to the store if you just keep an aloe plant around your place. Plus, then you have a nice little cute plant. Other sunburn treatments include vinegar, milk, tea, and topical aspirin. For a full list, check out this article on homemade sunburn remedies.

Itchy Bites and Rashes

It seems like every time I step outside in the summer, I am attacked by ants, spiders, or mosquitoes. Itching bug bites isn't fun, so to stop the itch try putting a dab of toothpaste on the bite. Additionally, vinegar and meat tenderizer also works as good itchy bug bite soothers.

For rashes like poison ivy, oatmeal is actually a really good way to dull the pain. For rashes that cover a large part of your body, you could try an oatmeal bath (find out how to make one here). For smaller areas, like just an arm or a foot, a paste made of oatmeal and water will suffice.

Do you have anymore natural cures for summer ailments? Let us know in the comments!

[via GetCurrency.com]

Snoozerr: the Lazy App that Could Hurt Your Grades

Snoozerr is taking lecture recording to the next level. This new iOS application allows you to capture a lecturer’s voice augmented by pictures of the scribbles on the blackboard. Yes, Snoozerr saves you from physically writing notes in class, but at what expense?

When this trendy new app made its way around the blogosphere earlier this week, I initially thought it was quite cool. One of the problems with recording a lecture with a voice recorder is the lack of visuals when playing back the recording. Tools like the LiveScribe pen and Snoozerr attempt to solve this problem by syncing aural and visual information. These sorts of tools are important in some circumstances, like Team Note-Taker’s Imagine Cup project, which helps the visually impaired see in the classroom. However, in the practice of life hacking we must be careful that we are not solving problems that do not exist, or for that matter regressing through the use of new tools.

While a blind student may benefit from Note-Taker or an individual with poor dexterity may benefit from Snoozerr, as an individual without such limitations I may actually be doing myself a disservice through the use of such tools. Yes, Snoozer is taking lecture recordings to the next level, but what if I focused on taking quality notes and truly listened to what the lecturer had to say instead of fumbling with my iPhone’s camera? Personally, I believe the result would be high quality, concise notes that are transcribed on the first-pass. I would much rather sketch a diagram on the spot than listen to the lecture a second time through to get every exact detail. To me, the tried and tested, old fashioned method of taking notes with a pen and paper trumps the new and shiny way, in this case Snoozerr app.

Just to be clear I am strong believer in the pursuit of efficiency. I love testing out new tools and I am always pleased when I discover a better way to achieve what I set out to do. I also recognize that there isn’t one single “right way” to complete a task, and what works for me, may not work for you.

I encourage you to give Snoozerr a try in your classes this upcoming semester, but before getting sucked in by the allure of never having to take notes again, ask yourself if that’s actually a good thing. Admittedly, this has turned into another Life Hacking Manifesto, but it’s important to remind ourselves from time to time that shiny and streamlined isn’t always synonymous with practical and functional.

Use an Ikea Wall-mounted Drop-leaf Table as an Occasional Extra Desk

If you’ve managed to make the jump from dorm living to renting a student house or apartment, you’re surely pleased with all the extra space you have. Truth is in most cases, even when you’ve got your own place, your bedroom still works double duty as an office. We all drool over the idea of doubling our desk space, but making room for a super sized desk in an already crowded space can be a challenge. Wouldn’t it be good if you could only have the extra work area when you need it? You can with Ikea’s Norbo Drop-leaf Table.

I happened upon these wonderful creations during a recent trip to Ikea. Resembling the kind of kitchen table you’d find in an RV camper or a small boat, Ikea’s Drop-leaf Table reveals itself only when you need it. Mounted on the wall, when not in use the table protrudes a few inches to make a cute little shelf. When you need the extra space the table rises to make a second work area. You’ll need some solid mounting hardware and a good wall stud to ensure your magical workspace doesn’t tumble to the ground when you inevitably bang your head off it in frustration with Biophysics 254.

At $29.99, the Ikea Norbo Drop-leaf Table is perfect for students looking to stretch out in times of intense work.

TweetMemeFace+: Better Living Through Profile Pictures

Ironically, not a spambot. Just a very lonely fish. Image courtesy of Flickr user ducttape30. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.Welcome to TweetMemeFace+, my new column on social media. I am qualified to write this in that I run the HackCollege Twitter account. I am less qualified in that the phrase "social media guru" makes me want to strangle a kitten. We will see how it goes! And now, on to the column.

Imagine this scenario:

Internet Twitter Lady: Why, someone new has followed me! I wonder who they could be?

Their profile picture: *is a picture of a tree*

Internet Twitter Lady: Well, my doctor told me not to talk to trees, so I will be ignoring you from now on!

Their profile picture: *actually has a great story behind it, which ITL will never read because she's busy following Neil Patrick Harris, whose profile picture is of his head*

So here's the thing--this happens to me all the time, on my personal Twitter account, the HackCollege account, and Google +. Your profile picture is the easiest way for other people to identify you at a glance. Particularly if you're operating in a length-restricted medium (for example, Twitter), the profile picture is the first way through which someone is going to filter you into one of three categories: person I know, person I don't know, and spambot trying to sell me iPads. If your profile picture is of a tree, you're almost automatically going into the last pile. You do not want to be there, because it is really hard to network with iPad spambots.

Your social media profile picture needs to get you moved into that first pile or second pile as is appropriate. Luckily, picking a good profile picture is not hard. The photo needs to meet two criteria: it needs to be a clear shot of your face, and it needs to be consistent across networks. The photo doesn't even have to be recent--it just needs to be the same as it is anywhere else, and recognizably human.

As a personal example, the photo that I use as my HackCollege bio picture is the same as I'm using for my Twitter photo is the same as my Google+ account is the same as almost anything professional that I do. I look nothing like that in person, but for easy identification online, it works very well. When I do decide to change the photo, I will do so on all of the sites, until that new photo of my face becomes the digital symbol for me.

For extra snazzy social media points, spend ten minutes this weekend pre-cropping your profile picture of choice into a square centered around your face at the highest possible resolution. Then, when you're asked to feed your photo into an engine that wants a square, you don't have to deal with online image editing. If you really want to get fancy, you can resize your original photo into several standard profile sizes, in order to avoid bad compression juju when your large photo is resized online.

If you can manage to unite your professional digital presence with a cohesive, well-chosen profile picture, it will make your digital life much easier to track. No matter what you're talking about, you want people to know that you said it--the profile cohesion makes it just a little bit easier.

Got any good profile picture tips? Share in the comments!

Evernote (Finally) Adds Audio Notes for Windows Users

Evernote is a tremendous application for taking notes in class, organizing materials, and keeping your memories organized. Their mobile applications have always allowed you to create notes with audio from your phone's mic, but their desktop counterparts lagged behind.

The Mac desktop app gained the feature not too long ago, and now Windows users can get in on the action as well. If you're already using Evernote in class to take notes, now one click starts recording part of the lecture to refer back to later. Just make sure your professor is okay with being recorded beforehand; I've seen some bad confrontations in my classes.

Unfortunately, the audio files don't fall in line with your current notes, instead recording directly to a new note, but you can drag and drop them wherever you want after the fact. If you really wanted to geek out, try using Dragon Dictate after class to transcribe your professor's audio into an instant study guide.

Obviously recording lectures is nothing new, but it's nice to see it arrive in one of our favorite all-around apps for students. 

Kno eTextbook Store Now Available on Facebook

This past January at CES we had a chance to sit down with the guys from Kno, who at that time were in the final stages of testing their dual screen student-centric tablet. To quote myself, “For now, we’re impressed with Kno’s reader application and student focused mindset, however we suspect the large, clumsy hardware will leave college students looking to alternative solutions.” It came as no suprise when shortly after our hands-on look with the device, Kno announced they were scraping the hardware in favour of an iPad soloution. With Apple’s iPad sales on the rise, it only made sense.

Here’s where things get interesting, Kno has just announced that they are bringing the Kno eTextbook store the web and Facebook. No, that’s not a typo, you can now buy and read eTextbooks right in Facebook. I’m still scratching my head at this bold direction Kno has taken. Here’s an excerpt from the Kno Blog explaining the reasoning behind the move,

"... it’s where students are spending a majority of their time outside the classroom – 3 hours per day on Facebook alone. While it may seem like a radical concept to bring textbooks to Facebook, we see a real shift occurring among students where learning is getting embedded with social aspects of their every day life. The problem however, is that social networks themselves have historically lacked a way for students to engage in learning and collaboration in a meaningful way-we hope to change that."

I agree with the idea that bringing a social component to textbooks could be benefical, however I don’t think Facebook, the King of Time Wasters, is the way to do it.

The Kno Facebook app is in open beta for the time being, students are free to signin using their Kno accounts. A word of caution though, the application isn’t much more than a glorified portal to the Kno Web application. I suspect that will change by the the time the app is launched.

Question of the day: Do you think you’d be able to read a textbook on Facebook for more than 10 minutes without venturing over to a friend’s profile?

How to Make Your Living Area Smell Wonderful Without Using Harsh Freshening Chemicals

Candles are a soothing way to get your place smelling great again. Photo courtesy of cwwycoff1. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.Undoubtedly sometime in your college career, you looked around your dorm room or apartment and thought, "Man, it really smells in here." It's pretty much inevitable while you live in such a small place with other people. Trash doesn't land exactly in the trash can, plates go uncleaned for a couple of days, and just being in close quarters with other people can make your place, well, smelly.

I've tried several things to my room out to make it smell better. I bought store products like those fragrance plug-ins and some fragrance sprays like Oust. And while those work pretty well, I don't really love the idea of spraying my place with chemicals to make it smell better. So I've done some research to find out some awesome ways to make my apartment smell awesome in a much more natural way. 

Candles

Duh. Candles rock. You can choose from tons of scents and brands to fit your fancy. I prefer something fragrant enough to make a difference, but not too overpowering or too sweet. However, candles are most definitely not allowed in dorm rooms. There's way too much danger of the entire room catching fire. So for dorm residents, you'll have to continue on to the other tips. For apartment renters, just make sure you're careful about your candle placement. Apartments are just as flammable as dorms.

Vanilla Extract

This little tip comes from us from Lifehacker, and I am so going to use it as soon as I move into my apartment. To make your place smell like heaven, pour two capfuls of vanilla extract into a coffee cup and place it in your oven at 300 degrees for about an hour. Depending on how big or small your place is, however, you might want to start out with a smaller amount of vanilla extract so it doesn't completely overpower your nose.

Baking Soda

This is a very old trick, but it's still being used for a reason. Open a box of baking soda and stick it in your fridge to keep your fridge from smelling of all of the various foods you store in there. Even though you should be cleaning out your fridge from time to time to keep gross food out of there, sometimes even just keeping leftovers or other food in there can make your fridge smell unpleasant. A box of baking soda will help absorb those unpleasant smells and keep your fridge smelling fresh.

Cotton Balls and Oils

Another great tip for keeping your place smelling fantastically is to buy some essential oils, especially peppermint, cinnamon, or lavender, and put several drops of it in a cotton ball. Place the cotton ball in a small jar or container and poke holes in the top of it. Hide the jar somewhere out of sight or even decorate the jar if you're feeling especially arts-and-crafty. Do this in several rooms in your apartment, and your whole place will smell lovely.

Perfume and Light Bulbs

This is one that I have not heard of before, but I'm really interested in trying. Get some of your favorite perfume (or for guys, maybe your girlfriend's perfume or even some fragrance spray) and spray it on an unlit light bulb. When the light bulb is turned on later, the heat will disperse the smell throughout the room. This is an easy, simple trick to spread a very specific scent.

Crumpled Newspaper and Water

If you're a dude, then perhaps you don't want your apartment to smell like lavender or peppermint (for whatever reason, I don't know... Pft). So for guy apartments, here's another way to get rid of smelliness in your place. If you crumple up old newspaper and spritz a little water on it, it will magically neutralize the smells in a small area. This works in fridges, drawers, and other small spaces. 

What tricks do you use to keep your place smelling its absolute best? Let us know in the comments!

[via Lifehacker, Lifehacker, Heloise]

Kelly Talks HackCollege at #140edu

If you're new to the site, you may not know that we've actually been around for nearly five years now. This little corner of the internet was carved out by Kelly Sutton and Chris Lesinski at Loyola Marymount, and now carries on under the direction of a new group of students. In this recent #140edu talk in New York, Kelly discusses the site and the lessons it can teach us. Sorry for the quality!