Xatal

After much hype and hope, Left 4 Dead 2 will finally be out in just a few hours.

Because Steam is completely awesome and knows exactly what most gamers want, I’m getting the downloading done now with a nice pre-load (I’m currently at 20% and rising!). I’m trying to get some homework out of the way now because I know I’ll inevitably be up late playing this and spending most of tomorrow playing it.

I’ll post and let everyone know how it is!

If you’re debating which CSU(s) to apply to, you’re probably curious how selective each one is. As a whole, CSUs are not as selective as UCs and do not vary as much, however there are still differences that you should know when applying.

In general, most CSUs hover between admitting 60% and 80% of their students, with a few exceptions. San Diego State is technically the most selective CSU, admitting only 31% of applicants, but in reality Cal Poly is more selective — the average Cal Poly student had a higher GPA in high school than the average San Diego State student.

Here are the CSUs, ordered by the percent of applicants admitted. For the more selective schools, I added in typical high school GPAs to give some context to the stat. Keep reading »

If you’re planning on applying to a University of California school (a UC), it’s important to know that there is a big difference between how selective they can be. You may know that a UC is more for you than a CSU, but do you know how widely they range in being selective?

Here’s a quick rundown of about how selective each school was, in terms of how many applicants were accepted and about how well the average applicant did in high school. Schools are sorted by how selective they are. All stats are from CollegeBoard.com: Keep reading »

If you have Windows 7, you probably fell in love with the new taskbar — nice big icons, lots of space to put your favorite programs, and so forth.

Having Windows Explorer pinned to your taskbar is pretty common, but when you click on it to open a new instance, you’re taken immediately to your Libraries folder. For some, this is nice, but it’s not ideal. Wouldn’t it be great to pin multiple locations to the icon? Wouldn’t it be great to change the default location?

You can! Keep reading »

As you may well know, Windows 7 — Microsoft’s newest operating system — is now out, and there’s been quite a lot of buzz about it! Windows 7 was designed to fix up many of the most common complaints about Windows Vista, and it’s done a spectacular job.

Having used Windows 7 for a couple of months now, I can say that I love it. It looks a lot sleeker, it runs more smoothly, and everything is more simple to access and change. Microsoft did a great job.

Normally operating systems cost quite a bit — Windows 7 Home Premium costs $120 brand new, but if you’re a college student, you can upgrade for only $30!

How can I get Windows 7 for $30?

If you have a valid .edu e-mail address (which almost every college and university will give you), you can probably upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium for $30. Simply go here, type in your e-mail address twice. You’ll be sent an e-mail with a link to purchase Windows 7. Keep reading »

Keep reading »

My roommates this year and I will be celebrating No-Shave November. For the whole month, we won’t shave once. We currently have no plans to celebrate Decembeard or Januhairy.

I’ve been shaving more frequently than normal — up from once a week to every other day — so my facial hair grows back a little faster. I’ve grown my facial hair out a bit before, but usually I end up trimming it and/or shaving parts of it. After 30 days of not shaving or trimming any of it, I’m thinking I’m going to look like I was stranded on a desert island.

I’ll be heading home for Thanksgiving, where I’ll see my extended family for the first time in a year. Since Thanksgiving is near the end of the month, I’m definitely expecting some weird looks and awkward questions.

So, here it goes!

Oh, and I’ll post October’s traffic stats pretty soon :)

Today I read this article on MSNBC about why college costs so much. The article was an interview with a William & Mary professor who had researched the costs of college with a colleague.

It turned out not to be quite what I expected, however it was still interesting.

In summary, the article claimed that the reason college costs so much these days when compared to other times is because today’s society demands more of college graduates. Better and more effective services are needed to adequately prepare students for the modern-day work force. More technological equipment is needed to stay up-to-date, for example.

In theory, the increase in college costs should be offset by an increase in wages for college graduates.

What do you think?