Friday Fun - Revision3's New Show: INST MSG

We're pals with Revision3, and they just launched a new show called INST MSG. It does funny internet things IRL. How cool is that? 

The first episode decodes Craigslist personal ads and even reenacts one in-depth. Craigslist might be your thing, but we prefer to pick up our sweethearts with drinking game prowess. Or by just being our geeky selves. 

And once we land the date, we like to keep it cheap. 

Reminder: Book That Christmas Flight Home Late

If you haven't already, check on flights home for Christmas break. No matter how much you hate your family, your college will probably close the dorm on you if you don't go home. 

You might already be too late for a good deal, but flights are also a strange exception to the prevailing notion of booking early. In this case, procrastination can pay. 

Everyone plans ahead for Christmas flights and airlines know that. They hike up prices a month or more away from the flight to take advantage of the all the responsible people. Slackers like you and me get the better prices in early December. 

Not all flights follow that rule, but you can be sure by checking your flight at Bing Travel. Microsoft bought a start-up called Farecast which provides Bing with technology that predicts when your flight will land at the lowest price. You can set up a simple email alert that will check the flights for you on a daily basis and notify you when it's best to buy. 

Bing is still telling me to wait it out on my flight from L.A. to Chicago and expects about a $90 price difference. So, I'm nervously anticipating the day I have to book it. What's the worst that could happen if my flight gamble doesn't work out? Road trip to Vegas for Christmas. 

[image via Kossy@FINEDAYS]

Friday Fun - Open a Wine Bottle With a Shoe

This happens a lot. Wine is the only type of alcohol that comes in a container that requires its own special tool to open. Other alcohols don't even have basic child-proofing. So, when you're smashed out of your mind and caught without a corkscrew, it can be pretty frustrating when all that's left to drink is a bottle of wine. You might find yourself beating the glass bottle against your dorm room wall in rage. Well, as this how-to shows us, that's exactly the right thing to do.

You only need four common things: teeth, shoe, wall and "drunk enough to do something dangerous." See how handy that is? It's very impromptu. French people keep all four of those things with them at all times.

If you want to open more bottles with style, don't forget our video segment that recounts every single solitary impromptu bottle cap removal method known to man...

Keep Your Fingers/Keyboard Clean While Snacking

We know you think potato chips are a well-rounded meal, but to lots of other people, they're just a snack. That means we usually munch them while doing something else -- sometimes, at the computer. And though they're bad for your diet, they're even worse for your keyboard. Salt crystals and phony flavor powder gets all over your fingers, then all over your keyboard and mouse. Gamers, we know you have the same problem also. 

It's annoying and it's a mess. And keeping a napkin close by doesn't always do the trick. 

Thinking back to my Revision3 days reminded me of an excellent hack for stopping snack mess that Bit Wrangler Chuck Siu imparted to his coworkers: use chopsticks. They keep your fingers clean, your keyboard cleaner and they make it that much easier to snag those last few buried in the bottom of the foil bag. 

After a little practice, you can eventually get the hang of typing and using a mouse with the chopsticks still in your hands. 

Keep Your Cheap Thrift Store Costume Classy

The class week has already started -- did you forget you've got an H-day party to attend this Friday? Luckily, a thrift store can be your quick one-stop-shop for an original costume -- a cheap costume, might I add. The SF Chronicle brought a group of costume designers to a Goodwill to prove it. 

Their most important tip is to "make it your own:" 

So you want to be a female bridge officer from the original Star Trek series. But where in a thrift store are you going to find a dress with that exact cut, that slanted neckline and that arrow-shaped badge? "If it brings the image to mind, that's good enough," said [Julie Bertucci, pictured right], who made it work with a donated 60s style loose-sleeved dress, shiny red boot tops and a piece of paper cut into the shape of the franchise's familiar icon. And if something doesn't work one way, try it another. Bertucci found a red jacket for our Michael Jackson costume, but the outside didn't have the right sheen. So she turned it inside-out. And there was the King of Pop. 

They also make a good point about wigs: "If there's one new item that'll take your costume from dress-up to change-up, it's a wig..." A wig is probably worth buying new and making the extra stop for. 

Check out all of their tips at the article from last week, but don't miss the gallery of their crew's thrift store combos for a little inspiration. 

How to Bind a Paper without Staples

So you're late for class and you forgot to staple your paper. What do you do? You use this technique.

The Ghost of Collegiate Past - Friday Fun

This comic comes from our good friends Tony and Wes at Amazing Superpowers.

Questioning the value of your degree? Fun fact: 12 percent of mail carriers have college degrees. They could've gotten that job without one. You can read more about the economic take on your degree's value in The New York Times Magazine:

The College Calculation

See the alternate (and probably more accurate/depressing) ending to the comic, after the jump

Click to read more ...

Clean Your Student ID to Extend Its Life

Your school probably charges you every time you get a new student ID. That should set a goal for you: Get that one student ID to last you all four years. The magnetic strip is the one thing that will face unavoidable wear-and-tear -- but Lifehacker explains how to clean that sensitive strip, thus extending its life:

All you need is an eraser and a damp towel. Wipe the card clean with the towel to remove any grimey build up deposited onto your card from your wallets or card reader machines. It's not something that gets extra dirty, but the small particles when compacted with continuous swiping/use can rub off the magnetic strip holding your card's information.

Next take the eraser (we prefer Pink Pearl erasers, but the one on the end of a pencil will do just fine) and gently erase/rub the magnetic strip on the back. It will remove any gunk that's built up over time. 

Doing that on a regular basis might make that thing keep into your alumni years -- when you'll still need it for the illegitimate student discounts. 

How long has your student ID lasted?