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Surviving College With Gear And Sanity Intact?
Mshift2x writes "Like many others, I'm shipping off to college for the first time in a few days. I'm excited, nervous, and a whole array of emotions at the same time. I'm sure many slashdotters have gone through this already, and I'd appreciate any wisdom, suggestions, or thoughts the community could provide." More specifically, phrogeeb writes "Per our earlier Slashdot article on laptop lock insecurity, I've been looking around recently for other options as far as keeping track of my laptop and other semi-expensive and certainly valuable (for a college student) stuff in a dorm room setting. Any ideas? I'm looking for both laptop-specific and comprehensive solutions. Locks? Alarms? Video cameras? Trip wire? (A few serious suggestions would be appreciated.)"
rottweiler ;-)
just tell all the chicks you meet that you had a front page post on slashdot. They love that.
When you meet the "morpheus" on your floor, remember to swallow the blue pill and not the red one.
Don't use a video camera. That's just creepy.
though a Trip wire-still photo (with flash) combo would be hilarious.
Just kick someone's ass your first day. They'll leave your stuff alone.
In my college days, I didn't have any high-tech gadgets at all, I only need to worry about people stealing my lecture notes!
But seriously, don't bring too many expensive devices, and if you have to, don't show off them in the public.
Uselessful technology (Air-Charged
Either kick the crap out of someone the first day or become someone's bitch. Then nobody will mess with you. ... Wait, that's something different.
There's only one thing that is almost guaranteed to work, and thats locking your door. When you sleep, go to class, take a dump, take a shower, lock your door. If you don't you're just asking for trouble no matter how well you trust your floor.
Depending on your dorm layout the person responsible probably doesn't live on your floor. That said there's plenty of outsiders who might pass through looking for goodies. If you live near the ground floor don't let things be easy to spot through the window, and keep it shut with the shade closed when you're gone if you're on the ground floor.
Presently here, but not there.
Get Renter's Insurance. That way you no matter if your security fails or not, you can still replace your stuff.
Most campuses offer insurance policies for your dorm room. They aren't that expensive ($25-50) and will replace the gear if your stuff gets stolen. Granted it won't keep your stuff or data from being lost...but it will help replace it.
is the one the on your door. Virtually everyone I knew who had anything stolen from them freshman year in my dorm had left their doors unlocked or open - even for a second to go to the bathroom. If you have an incompetent roommate, then I'd hide your laptop whenever you leave the room - prefereably in your underwear drawer. Or better yet, take it with you and surf in class if you're lucky enough to have a 802.11b school (like mine).
I know that people sell things like safes, etc. to paranoid college students, but honestly, don't waste your money. Take a few minor precautions (a laptop lock is a good idea for use in libraries where you're going to be up and about getting books and want to anchor your effects in a secure location) but basically you need to remember that, by and large, college kids are really stupid and naive, and they leave lots of expensive stuff lying around everywhere. It a criminal comes into your room trying to steal some quick booty, and doesn't see three iPods and a digital camera lying out in plain sight, he/she will go on to the room next to yours, where said items will amost certainly be in plain view on a desk. Lock your door; you'll be fine unless your college is in a really bad area. Also, for the love of god, lock up your bike. As far as more general advice, heck, I'm still figuring college out myself, but I'd say be open and don't slack off too much. Also, take advantage of what will almost definitely be the best library you'll ever have access to, no matter where you are.
1. Don't let the laptop out of your sight unless you have to, unless it's locked behind a private door (i'm serious).
2. Since you will have to, buy insurance on it. It's about $75 a year for $5k of coverage and that covers everything in the room, including your clothes.
I had someone walk into my room, and steal my camera from me while my roommates weren't looking (I was gone at the time). There isn't much you can do to stop that, except buy a safe.
Second, try something like stuffbak.com (I haven't used it myself, but i hear good things). If you leave it somewhere and a good person happens to find it first, you get it back, and they get a reward.
-Ryan
AUWYHSTOT (Acronyms are Useless When You Have to Spell Them Out Too)
Don't use any gadgets! Use pencil and paper, they're cheap!
*patiently waits to be modded up to +5 Insightful even though this answer isn't the least bit helpful*
"Derp de derp."
Living on campus is a money racket for colleges.
Rent housing in a nearby ghetto (there's always one) and get broadband. You'll enjoy yourself much more not living beneath the college administration's thumb, you'll receive a basic instruction in how things work, and you may not even need roommates to pay for your dwelling.
Also, consider downloading scans of textbooks and auditing classes, if you are a college student on a minimal budget (you will not receive credit for audited classes, but some of us value knowledge for its own sake, as opposed to knowledge as a means of obtaining a piece of paper with a seal of approval on it.)
If the dorm fire alarms at your school are anything like most, the freshmen will be spending quite a bit of time outside at 3am. Lock your door. Lock your door. Lock your door.
Laptop locks are handy, but not that secure, and you won't necessarily find the requisite lock receptacles on all desks or tables. You can tie it around a leg, but that's an invitation for somebody to walk by and snag it with a piece of clothing or something and have it crashing to the floor. Restrained, but broken.
The best idea is not to leave stuff unattended in places you don't trust. More often than not you'll be fine, but there's always that one time you go down the hall for a Coke.
A better idea is to get an inconspicuous little suitcase lock and put it on your backpack, or the pocket holding valuables. This may sound silly, but remember that laptops aren't the only expensive thing you have in there: laptops have serials and can be hard to fence. You're about to spend $400 on books, all of which at the beginning and end of the semester can be pawned for cash.
Finally -- it costs marginally more to add items like a laptop, PDA, etc. to insurance. Ask someone who plays an instrument; they'll tell you.
Write down the MAC Address of your Laptop. If yoru laptop gets stolen contact who ever runs the DHCP server on campus. They will be able to tell you what the last IP Address of the laptop was and where it was plugged in and when! (what dorm should depend on what subnet). I have recovered laptops for people using this technique at my University sometimes finding it is plugged in right as we checked! Call the local cops and they bust right in and your laptop is back! Nick D
The topic says it all, really.
Don't leave your stuff out where just anyone can see it. Keep stuff within arms-length. Stay alert of your surroundings. That means don't jam to the music at full-volume, allowing someone to come up and jack your gear.
If your roommate seems like the type to take your stuff and pawn it, nip any possible problems in the bud. Lock up smaller valuables, talk to him or your RA, or move (if possible)
Consider what you actually need to bring. I personally have to have my entire material goods packed into a dorm room, but most people can leave stuff at home. Do you need to bring your diamond-encrusted iPod, or will the regular one do?
But, most of all, just have fun. Remember that it is all material goods. My CD Player in my car got stolen, but I left it in plain sight in Atlanta. My (more expensive) amp was safe, because it wasn't visible from outside, but it would have been easier to steal. You most likely will have problems finding girls to talk to than having stuff stolen. Unfortunately, I don't know nothing about that. You might need to go to another site....
1) Primary computer too big to be easily stolen
2) Laptop too crappy to be attractive for stealing
3) Roomate who had similarly expensive computer gear, hence there being a shared interest in protecting one's stuff.
4) Not letting my personal portable gear out of my sight.
5) Leaving unnecessary yet expensive crap at home.
No locks, tripwires, security cameras, security alarms, etc. were involved.
The real stuff that tends to disapear isn't your hardware, it's somebody nicking a CD or two, clothes that dissapear, etc. At this point in life, I probably would have left the CDs at home and stored them on my hard drive.
In fact, the main thing that walked off when I was in college was a leather jacket that dissapeared somewhere around move-out.
Also not that your posessions may be, either currently or optionally, covered by your parent's homeowner's insurance.
Oh yeah, and engraving your name on the really fancy expensive posessions.
Gentoo Sucks
I'd hate to get all relativistic on you, but it's an official physics standpoint that objects at rest can be stopped if regarded from another frame of reference that is moving with respect to the original frame. Just so you know.
*blinking cursor*
First rule of dorm life: Don't go nuts on the 'sexy' looking hardware.
Everyone in the dorm will eventually walk by your door and catch glimpses of your computer/stereo/whatnot.
Don't go for a case with bling-factor-- get a nice subdued thing that screams "boring machine". Quiet cases are a godsend in small rooms--- I've built ten systems using Sonata cases in the past three days for college students.
Stereo wise (assuming you have a separate stereo)--- get the least obstrusive thing you can find. If it looks pricey, it's a target.
No one looked twice at my first generation Harmon Kardon equipment until the day I chose to escalate a Loud Music During Quiet Hours battle with some Carmina Burana. ( The Ormandy recording, for the curious.)
Second-- think before you start blabbing about how cool your hardware is.... you don't know if the people behind you in the line are going to be in awe of your hardware, or if they're going to wait till you go home for a weekend to break into your dorm room. I'm not saying you shouldn't be proud of your hardware (what self respecting geek isn't, anyways?)..... but for pete's sake, talk about something else at first, until you're able to discern if someone's an asshat or not.
I had a friend who got a laptop stolen. As he was also running a side business as an alarm installer, this pissed him off. So he installed the most ridiculously HUGE alarm system, everything you can think of...Then got his new laptop stolen because he didn't have it on.
What it really all comes down to is: Keep an eye on your stuff. Lock your doors, keep your valuable stuff out of plain sight.
A weird one: Where I went to school, if you lived in the better part of town, you were MUCH more likely to have your stuff stolen, even if you took precautions. If you lived in the "bad" part of town, you could leave your doors unlocked---and this is New Jersey we're talking here.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
Later, once classes start to kick in you can start to distinguish yourself as the alpha-male of the technology realm. But if the first impression people have of you is a computer geek, then they won't bother to get to know you and you won't have an opportunity to know them.
"Oh dear, she's stuck in an infinite loop and he's an idiot" -Prof. Farnsworth (Futurama)
Behave like a psychopath, start your own murder for hire business and post information about it on your door, make it known you plan to take over the world, and then develop a reputation of divinity...
Worked for me!
If God had had a computer it would have taken him 7 months to create the earth...if he even bothered to do it at all.
Agreed. A lot of it too depends on what the group of guys you live with are like. During the two years I lived in a dorm, the guys in my corridor were all really cool. Anytime someone saw something that didn't look legit, they'd step up. During the evenings it was common for people to have their doors propped open with laptops open on their desk, but only if some of the corridor-mates were hanging in the hall.
Really, the simplest thing is to exercise basic security precautions. If you don't go out of your way to flaunt all your expensive stuff, and you and your roommate keep your door locked at all times, you'll be problem free. As a side benefit of always locking your door, you'll never lock yourself out because you will always be in the habit of patting your pocket as you shut the door to make sure your keys are there. It's the guys who sometimes lock their door, sometimes don't that are always having to pay to be let back in by the RA.
Trust me, your average college thief is an opportunist, or a drunk. If it requires more than a little bit of effort, they'll move on. And in a typical dorm, there are plenty of easier targets out there. Kicking in a door in a dorm is bound to attract some attention.
You really need to worry about the security of your possessions when you move OFF campus to a house or something where there are parties going on. Mix in 100+ people who are imbibing, and there's always the potential for something bad to happen. Generally it's not theft, it's puke. Here again, locking your door at all times will keep 99.995% of the problems away.
Good luck to you - I'm sure once you've settled in and gotten a term or two under your belt, you'll be like I was saying "now what in the world was I so worried about?" You'll know you've made the transition when you start using the word "Home" to refer to whatever place you're not at without even thinking about it (ie, at your parent's you say 'Well, I need to load the car to head home', while at school you say 'I'm going home this weekend!')
Not off campus housing. I also was worried, but sometime deductible on homeowners insurance are quite high (if you roof gets blown of your not up-***-creek, but if a window is broken your just gonna pay for it yourself. val1s
I can't emphasize that enough. Get up, and actually make it to those classes that you or your parents are paying good money for you to attend. Most professors don't care if you go or not, your roommates certainly won't care, and unless you live at home, you're parents won't know if you do or not, until you flunk out. Too many of my friends, when they first taste the freedom of college, decided that since no one is forcing them to go to every class, they don't actually go to any of them.
I don't care how smart you are, if you don't attend the classes, you won't learn the material. Trying to keep up by just reading the textbook won't cut it anymore. You will often cover things in the class that won't actually be in the book, but will help you understand the material better.
Oh, and don't forget to do all those papers, homework assignments and to study for the tests too.
The parent is funny, but his sarcasm makes a good point. Coming from a senior in college, don't be one of those people who are complete assholes about their stuff. One year there was this one guy who roomed with my friend that I loved to fuck with his stuff just because he would put locks and security mesures on everything. For example he locked the back of his computer with a physical lock, set a bios password, and had your basic login password for his RH9 system. I simply picked the lock, reset the bios after getting inside, then booted from a live cd and changed the root password, all because he was so rabidly paranoid in thinking people were out to get him. I would have never fucked with his stuff had he not made such a big deal over it.
The point is simple: Most roomates (especially freshman year) are generally very nice. Even people you would have never gotten along with in high school will be your best pal, simply because you HAVE to live there in close quarters to each other for so long. You will give the EXACT WRONG message by locking your stuff up. Instead, if it becomes a problem, talk to your RA (or whatever they call them at your school) about it, and THEN invest in locks and security.
As far as the rest of campus goes, just don't leave your laptop anywhere. As long as you have it with you physically outside of dorm you should be fine. In the dorm be nice to your roomate! Chances are he'll look after your stuff just as he does his own. That is, unless he's a sociopath, and you'll figure that out pretty quickly.
Don't sport around some snobbish $200 laptop bag. Get a $30 army surplus bag or the like and use it. It'll have more room for your books, anyways. Utility bags are rigid enough to hide the form of what's in them. There's always someone on every campus (or airport or train station...) looking for some idiot to put down his trendy look-at-me-I-can-afford-a-laptop bag.
Multiple Kegs, cold and on tap the entire time. No matter how techno weenie you are, if your are the beholder of beer, you'll get at least 1 chick.
Locking your ddor won't work, as several keys in a dorm will unock several doors. (There are only so many combinations of tumblers).
Most colleges give out free condoms. Use them. Daily.
Have fun!
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Directed at the first question:
... not all at once. Studying actually does help you get better grades (who knew?).
My most valuable advice at school is to not be blinded by the expectations of friends, parents, dollar signs, significant others, etc, and to instead find yourself and your niche. Study what excites you. Enjoy going to classes, at least in-major ones.
If you don't feel you're enriching your life and enjoying your classes, you're in the wrong place, and it's not going to get better when you graduate and get a job.
I sold computers in retail for 3 years in high school, in college I was a Unix network admin for about 3 years, and now I've got a job as a tech for a local computer sales/repair/networking company. I went in thinking I wanted to be a computer engineer, or a computer science major, but I hated it - YMMV, but for me, it was completely devoid of any critical thinking and was all memorization and "think fast!" stuff. So, I got a history degree - something I thoroughly enjoy. I enjoyed going to class for almost every history class I took, and I found a love of and deep appreciation for Greek lit. Someday I'll get my teaching cert and go teach high school, but I don't regret switching majors a bit; in fact, I wish I had done it earlier.
Some people go to school knowing what they want to do. If that's not you, recognize it quickly and find something that excites you.
Also: Get involved, but don't overextend yourself. Join a club, or do intermural sports, or volunteer as a DJ at a student run station, or go to the football games, etc. Just
~Will
sig?
Ok... I don't know if you're a troll, but you have a good point. I hated high school. Not so much the learning part, but the people I had to go to school with. My parents always told me that 'it will be so much better in college because those people are usually too stupid to go to college.' Boy were they wrong. Those kind of people are the same ones that have rich parents.
MY rule for college (I'm still in it) is the same as it was in high school. You know the kind of people you like hanging out with. Stick with them! Since you're on slashdot, you're probably pretty computer smart, and you'd be AMAZED how many CoSci majors are really cool people.
I usually keep to a smallish group of friends. Makes staying out of trouble easier.
Not Free(as in beer). Free(as in "I'm free to beat you over the head for being a dumbass")
...you know, the kind that are $3 at the supermarket. I guess they're called "slaps" or "flip flops" or something else depending on the part of the country you're in.
This is because dorm showers become extremely filthy and disgusting with normal dirt during the week, and even moreso on weekends when you have people vomiting in them and the cleaning staff is usually absent. You do not want to walk around in those suckers barefoot. If you do, your feet will be absolutely filthy by the time you get back to your room and you're going to have some smelly-ass sneakers at best and smelly-ass sneakers AND athlete's foot at worst.
As for laptops? Uh, don't leave them unattended or unlocked.
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
If you have high end flashy electronic devices to bring to class, don't brag about them being big time expensive, and hold on to them. Don't leave them on a bench in the library while you go look for books, keep them in your backpack and cary that around with you. If someone wants to give you trouble, and try to take your stuff from you just contact campus police--they should be easy to find(lots of schools have blue light thingys that will call them). Better to call campus police and look like a dork than lose a $3k laptop ;)
Boxing Equipment Reviews
you'd be surprised how easy it is to break into college dorms.
also, make sure you get a trustworthy roommate.
Treat your penis the same way, lest you contract malware that even Norton Anti-Virus won't clean up.
I'm not exactly a sage old man (I'm merely a sophomore), but there are some things I've learned: /., you're probably more interested in a college's academic program more than its party school ranking. It's a lot harder than what you're used to (and this comes from someone who blew off high school and was fine). Don't skip classes either, there's a lot of money invested in that 8 AM lecture (or 7:30 if you go to Purdue).
1) Dorms are your friend, and your home to friends: Regardless of what you're like, you're bound to find someone with whom you can hang out. Don't be afraid to knock on some doors.
2) Colleges have lots of neat convocations and clubs...join them and check things out. You'll probably try and join different stuff from the things you were involved in back in high school. I've switched from somone involved in band and speech to someone in fencing and our physics chapter.
3) Study. If you're on
4) Have fun. Your life takes on a whole new meaning, it truly becomes yours in a way that wasn't possible back in high school. Make the most of it.
You zap the moderators with a wand of humor! The moderators resist!
We all know that there are millions of pimple-faced teens lurking about /. but most of the time, they stay out of sight with their GNAA posts getting quietly modded down to -1. No need to bring them to the fore with an article like this.
Incidentally, I am a pimple-faced teen, but I am not proud!
Everything. Especially the MAC addresses of all your devices. Most people who would steal a laptop wouldn't be smart enough to change it. When I was in college I would occasionally run into a student who had the foresight to do that. When they came in to report something stolen we could help them out. It's relatively easy to search a network for a specific MAC address and determine which ethernet port or WAP it's connected to. The only people who got their gear back did that, or got really lucky.
If you have a laptop, get insurance. I got burglarized my freshman year, although they didn't see the laptop under all my papers. They did find the playstation 2 though.
If you're worried about data lost, get an external firewire or usb 2.0 and a long cable and hide it away. They're not going to go through your stuff just to find where the usb cable leads to.
As for other matters that are far more important than any laptop:
Make new friends, but keep your old friends from home just as close. Friends from college are different than friends you grew up with. If you're computer science or computer engineer (I assume something along these lines since it's slashdot) make friends in your major. Stick together and do homework together. There's no need for competition and you'll connect with them on a specific level since they share your interests.
Of course, use the internet to find books. Go to the campus bookstore ahead of time, get the ISBNs and go to cheapesttextbooks.com and find the best deals. They search all the sites, like pricewatch, for the best deal.
And finally, don't underestimate the power of alcohol. It can make great friendships, but don't abuse it too much.
Ultimately if someone really really wants to steal your notebook. They will. There is nothing you can really do.
:). Insurance is frequently overlooked, and while getting your laptop stolen would be shitty - being unable to afford to replace it would be far far worse.
The one thing I've recommended to friends of mine, and I will be purchasing one myself - is a backpack with a notebook slot. They are a bit less obvious on campus than traditional laptop bags which will reduce your likelihood of someone just walking past and grabbing the bag when your not looking (as they would be expecting textbooks not a laptop in a backpack).
But ultimately you need insurance. I don't know what insurance policies are like around the world, but I'm a unviersity student with 'tenant' insurance, not in dorms though, its only a $500CDN deductible if my laptop gets stolen, be it on campus or from my home. As well it is replacement insurance - not cash value insurance - so that I don't get a lower payout as my laptop depreciates in value - they would be paying for me to replace it with a laptop of equivalent value in the future.
That's what I've done to protect my shiny new IBM Thinkpad T41 that I love so much
I thought the correct thing to do when you lose your "really good paper" is to get really stoned and do Apple "switch" commercials.
Mal-2
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
and other such anti-theft devices is that when you stumble home drunk at 2 in the morning and decide to check your emails or listen to some music you begin to regret balancing that bucket of flourescent dye above your desk.
An unlocked minifridge, full of beer and Malibu, with a stack of porn on top, is not only guaranteed to prevent further intrusion into your stuff, but it will, like flypaper and often just as sticky, entrap any pests and hold them fast until you return.
"Even for Slashdot, that was a very obscure reference!" - Anonymous Coward
As for gear I haven't had any problems and I dont employ any uber security methods, other than data security which really doesn't help for gear getting stolen, so I'll answer the sanity part since few people have.
Pretty much every one of these I violated my first semester, and have since changed and had a significant improvement in my college experience.
Don't bring 6 computers, two monitors/keyboards/mice, two PDAs, a PS2 + dreamcast + gba, a stereo, two TVs, a dvd player, a few old hardware for "conversation pieces" and your laptop. I did this my first semester, and while I won the "most geeky person in hightower hall" contest (not a real contest), I had no need for all that stuff. Bring a laptop, one desktop, one test machine, a TV, one or two game consoles which at least one should double as a dvd player, and some speakers. Maybe a PDA if thats your thing.
Cancel your Everquest (or whatever) accounts. I was a 4-year Everquest player and got to college and found out that Everquest didn't work on the university network. I was pretty pissed off about it for two weeks, but after a month or so I realized that I was much better off than had I been playing Everquest. I didn't even care about losing my multiple level 65's with 200+ AA after six weeks.
Get involved. We have a linux users group here at my university which is really active and very awesome. Met a lot of my now college friends this way. I'm sure your university will have an ACM chapter, an IEEE chapter, and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Join all of them. You also have a good side effect here of resume-whoring.
Don't be afraid to have fun. If you get arrested a few times, its no big deal. Do stupid stuff often and without premeditation. You'll have alot more fun this way.
Go to class at least half the time.
I was going to mod you up, but you are anon.
:
Actually this is the smartest thing I expect to read in this thread, while also being the simplest and cheapest.
Lock your damn door, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It doesn't matter if you are in the room, not in the room, just running real quick down to the bathroom or across the hall to another room with the doors open. If you don't have one foot in the door and one foot out the door, throw the deadbolt.
As for your sanity, here are some rules for life in college
1. Sex. Women do all their freaky stuff in college, so have an open mind and hit as much of it as you possibly can. Buy a big box of condoms and some good lube (google for 'millenium id').
2. Class. A good education is important, but don't let it interfere with #1.
3. Network. Not TCP/IP, but people. Every job you get in the future is going to be because of who you know, so get to know a LOT of people. Get to know them well so they don't forget you.
4. The Law. Graduating from college doesn't erase your law record, so don't get arrested.
5. The Dollar. You are going to get a lot of offers for credit cards. Credit cards are not 'free money'. If you can't pay cash for it, and if you haven't managed to save enough money to buy it in the last 6 months, what makes you think you are going to earn enough money in the next 6 months to pay for whatever you are considering putting on plastic? Graduating from college doesn't erase your credit history either, so don't screw it up.
6. The Warez and MP3z. Add #5 and #6 above up and decide if you can afford it. I'm guessing you probably can't, so don't do it from your own computer.
7. Take a few classes for personal enrichment. You aren't going to meet the best chicks in your software engineering classes.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
Hey, you can get a Sentry Fire Safe large enough to store a laptop, all your media, and your class notes and assignments for 175.00. It'll protect your laptop from everything up to a near nuclear strike, and because it's got a steel shell it'll even give you some shielding from EMP. More importantly, it'll keep your roommate's grubby little mitts off your stuff.
I highly recommend one. They rock! As a side benefit, if your R.A. decides to snoop around for "haxors" he won't be able to get HIS nosy mitts on your stuff, either.
Farewell! It's been a fine buncha years!
...or come finals time, you'll never get a moment's rest. And that is a serious suggestion.
Howdy.
This won't just be useful in the (unlikely) event that your laptop gets stolen. If your computer should happen to suffer a hardware problem, or one day just stops booting because of corrupt software, your backups make it much easier to make the decision to reformat and clean install.
To address the possibility of a dorm fire, meteor strike or other catastrophe, burning an extra copy every once in a while and giving it to an off-campus friend for safe keeping isn't too difficult either.
Paranoia works.
Yes, go to class! The rest of us need someone to get the notes from.
Don't bring it to class. You do NOT need a laptop in class just to take notes on. A pen and paper work just fine, or a small microcasset recorder to just record the whole thing. With very, very few exceptions, classes that require the use of a computer in class will be held in a computer lab.
Don't bring a laptop just because it's neat, as it's an invitation to have it taken. It you insist on having something elceltronic, a PDA is probably the way to go as it's cheaper and less obvious.
You should at least purchase a cable lock for your laptop - they're about $15, and worth it. Sure you can cut it, but laptop thieves are looking to grab something and walk away without anyone noticing - they'll move on if yours is locked up. And obviously don't leave your laptop bag lying around.
Ask your parents to call their insurance company and see what is covered. Many homeowners policies specifically include dorm room coverage, or you can add it for a nominal yearly fee (like $30-$50). You can also get a renter's policy (about $50-$100/year depending on how much coverage you want), but some of those specifically don't apply to dorms, so check on that.
Write down your MAC address (aka hardware address, ethernet address: 00:12:34:56:78:9a) for all your cards. Many laptops are stolen by other students. Your IT department, if they're halfway competent, should be able to track MAC addresses on the network (certainly they can if they use DHCP) - it's good to report this when your laptop is stolen. I work in IT and every year we recover 2-3 laptops this way. Some thieves are pretty stupid.
In fact, write down all identifying information of your laptop and keep it somewhere. You'd be surprised how many stolen laptops show up on eBay. I can think of several times where laptops were recovered by the campus police posing as buyers on eBay, and they could match the serial numbers because the student wrote them down.
There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
Do your homework as soon as possible, the longer you wait the more homework will be stacked up with it.
Grades are determined on Friday Nights:
A students take notes from class and notes from chapter reading and combine them
B students take their notes and file them away
C students watch the D students start to drink.
College is about adapting
WoW: Scheod 70 orc warlock on Shadowmoon
Espically if you bike is going to be sitting in one place for a long time (like you live in a dorm or something). Get a GOOD U-lock (like a Kryptonite) and lock it around the frame and front tire, not just the tire. Then get an additonal heavy chain lock (one of the kinds with a cover on them to help screw bolt cutters) and lock that around the tires and frame.
Really, theives LOVE stealing bikes and even a good U-lock can be defeated without a whole lot of trouble. You want to make yours look much harder than anyone else's hence the double locks. Even that is still no gaurentee.
Seriously. You can lock the door religiously, but you'd better damn well hope your roommate is just as responsible. I'm convinced schools do their best to create "odd couple" situations, so there's a good chance you're going to be sleeping next to some guy you'd never in a million years talk to or trust otherwise. I had a bit of theft at school, and it was all directly related to my club-kid roommate and his sketchy friends.
My advice? Don't own anything worth stealing. Buy a used laptop for a couple hundred bucks. It'll be dated, but it'll get the job done, and most important, no one else will want it (and if they do, buy another and you'll still be saving money.) Back it up religiously, hide your data in a few locations, get a webmail account and send everything you worked on that day to yourself nightly. Life is much easier if you aren't carrying a two thousand dollar laptop around with you at all times, and if you remember that your work is more important that your machine.
The same goes for other electronics-- get a cheap stereo, you don't need a nice one in a tiny room. Same goes for TV, Microwave, etc.
Yeah, your stuff will look like crap compared to everyone else's, but chances are it won't be stolen. And if you don't go nuts buying cool stuff you might have some money left over for socializing, which will put you way ahead of the game. You'll make more friends if you can afford to hang out than you would by having a nice computer.
Oh, and if people think you're weird or poor, tell them you like "retro" computers. That usually works.
Do not have sex with, or buy drugs from, anyone that you have known for less than two weeks.
This is very simple actually: Get renters' insurance and stop worrying about all the rest of it. Bottom line is that there's just no way to ensure in a dorm environment that everything is safe. Even if you lock things down like a government agency with high tech surveillance and alarms, your roommate will leave the door open one day and then it all is for naught.
Renters insurance will cost you for the year far less than a single piece of security equipment, probably about the same as a cheapass webcam which would probably get stolen too if it ever comes to that. Back up the critical data to cd and leave it with a friend in another room from time to time, and password protect your laptop in hopes that whoever steals it won't be able to hack in. Beyond that its just not worth the headache to try to keep an eye on everything, its just equipment that you can buy again down at Best Buy with the insurance check should somebody ever get to it. Besides that, the best security system on the planet won't help you if somebody steals your bike from the rack in front of a lecture hall, or snags your iPod in the cafeteria while you're not looking. Insurance will cover all of this and you don't have to worry about making sure its working every time you leave the room.
Get some insurance, and get some sleep.
Do all the stuff you are supposed to do:
Exercise 30 minutes a day 5-6 days per week. Find people who want to exercise with you, and mix up your routine with fun things. This is, I think, the most overlooked thing at school. Exercise will give you more energy and a higher IQ.
Take vitamins every day, especially on the days you are hung over. Vitamins are pretty cheap, especially if they give you a little bit of an edge in avoiding sickness.
Drink lots of water. Drink 3 glasses of water right before you go to bed if you have been drinking, and drink another 3 when you wake up after drinking.
I presume you are going into a scientific or computational field. Make sure you have a firm grasp in math and physics before you jump into your other courses--these subjects provide the mental framework you need to succeed.
If you aren't already thinking about it, consider getting a minor in business, or try double-majoring in business along with your primary degree. Figure out the registration system, and locate areas of overlap in requirements for your liberal ed and major classes.
Do your homework right after class, and enjoy your evenings.
When you visit friends and family back home, do not try to show them how much smarter you are than them. Instead, try to understand what they are saying.
Get on a regular sleep schedule.
Here's the real answer. Get a gun. And then make sure everyone knows how badly you want to use it.
The only regrets I have (I'm now married, with child-no fun allowed) are what (who) I didn't do in college. I never tried acid. I never got wasted every night for a month. I never slept with a hooker. Actually the biggest regrets I have are for the chicks I never did. Except for the fat girl I woke up next to, after drinking tequila. She was naked but I had my clothes on so I hope nothing happened but the fear is still there.
As for school, it doesn't really matter what you do. Once peak oil hits, it's all a white line nightmare and, unless you're good with a supercharged V8 and a crossbow, you'll be dog food.
I drank what? -- Socrates
If you are unfortunate enough to be robbed, you'll at least have a list to give the police.
On the other hand, people tend to borrow a lot of things in college like movies and games. Sometimes even without your permission (ie if a roomate borrows or loans out your stuff to a friend). When things are out of your sight for a long time, if you're anything like me, you'll tend to forget about them, and never get them back. So if I could do it all over again, I'd definitely keep better track of the stuff I had.
The sending of this message pretty much inconveniences everyone involved.
1. Back up ALL important data regularly.
2. Encrypt ALL sensitive data.
3. Get insurance on the laptop.
I bet you a new laptop that this will turn out much cheaper in the long run than a stockpile of "high-tech" anti-theft equipment.
Heck, if insurance weren't such a highly regulated industry, I'd suggest that the students themselves form their own insurance "agencies" to cover their stuff -- everyone pitches in a premium, and when the class graduates, whatever is left is refunded to the participants.
Of course, people are prone to abuse the system, and it would probably devolve into more of a headache than it's worth... Or not?
It's a simple solution that may not help if someone really wants to steal it (isn't much you can do about that other than locking it to something immobile... though that can just be cut in seconds if they have a bolt cutter). Stuffbak plus some lockdown would probably be good. That way when they steal it and can't use it, they'll return it for the reward ;)
OTOH, if you just leave it somewhere, Stuffbak alone does wonders.
From there, just make sure you back up essential files. Hardware is replaceable. Data rarely is.
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tell your roommate to lock up also! i once woke up to a very large set of nostrils staring down at me because my roommate left for his early theatre class and left the door unlocked. even though the guy was cool and my neighbor, having a huge football player's head in your face going,"WAKE UP, FOOL!" was not fun. if your roommate is lax or not respectful of your property, start looking for a new one right away.
"Like many others, I'm shipping off to college for the first time in a few days..." You are just leaving now? I am starting my third week! Oh, I get it, you submitted it 3 weeks ago and it was just put up now. By now, you've already had your laptop stolen, so this is no use to you now.
Respect yourself, value your time, do not help others with computer problems. Do not feel obligated. You will not get play from girls this way. Charge per hour, say you're too busy, tell them to go to student services and wait in line. Hours will go down the toiliet installing some stupid windows driver for people who will look upon you as a servant after you "helped" them.
Bring a crappy computer to school, use the computers in the labs where you can collaborate with others face to face. You'll stay on task better. Your classes are what you'll be judged by after graduation. Unfortunately the people doing the hiring will only look at your gpa, and will totally discount any IT skills gained outside of class in a college environment. Stop screwing around with linux and reading slashdot and do your scheme project and cpeg lab. If you were smart enough to pick up linux in high school you can catch up during the summers on changes during the school year.
Get to the gym get in shape, lay off the tripple big grille burgers in the student centers.
I'll add three: Get up Early. Do the homeworks. Work in the summer.
. html instead. It'll make getting up much easier.
Nobody gets up at 8am in college - be the exception. If you don't want a class first thing, get to the gym every day. It's a habit you'll thank yourself for when your thirty five and your waist measuement seems to want to progress with your age. Can't get up in the winter? Take the $130 you were going to waste on an MP3 player and buy a SunRizr http://www.lighttherapyproducts.com/products_dawn
Do your homework. 9 times out of 10 the tests are going to look just like the homework. Do every problem. You're paying $100 every time you walk into a class, you may as well be prepared.
Work in the summer, not during the school year. Work you @ss off at two jobs if necessary, or do a co-op program (work/school alternately, usu as an intern-type job in your field). School schedules aren't always a good match for work schedules, no matter how flexible the employer is. Focus on the school work, play when you have "slow" times, make money when you don't have classes to worry about.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Whilst kensington locks are quite easy to bypass, they are an effective deterrent, although downright unneighbourly :) These can be modded with screamers if they are not removed correctly. But by and large they arent helpful and give the impression that you are an anti-social, anal retentive prick :)
:)
:) they are, after all, just gadgets and if they get nicked, you get the insurance upgrade without loss of significant data.
Perhaps a large, heavy piece of furniture with a robust lockable compartment; served me very well in my dorm days at uni (Swinburne UoT in Melbourne, Australia; go the Swine!!)
Furthermore, we mod. our laptops here at work to "phone home" whenever connected to the internet; this has allowed every stolen laptop to be recovered over the past 2 years. I wont go into details or our IT guys would kill me
Otherwise, backup important files and keep in a safe deposit box and insure the devices against theft
err!
jak
Locked doors are important, but unless your dorms use key-cards, master keys are probably in circulation. As a staff member, I had stuff stolen out of a locked desk drawer in a locked, private office in a restricted-access building. But that's no excuse to leave your door unlocked, just don't rely on this as your sole protection.
And now for my 8 simple steps to minimize loss:Most of the above apply equally well to other gadgets as well as notebooks.
--- A man with a briefcase can steal more money, than any man with a gun. [Don Henley]
Sex. Women do all their freaky stuff in college
Obviously you've never met 30- and 40-somethings at Burning Man or similar...
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I take 4 computers to school with me every year.
I have a HP laptop, athlon 2400+ desktop, a Samba server, and a junker that I play around on sometimes.
I leave all 4 in my room, with no problems. But then again, I have more of an on campus apartment. It has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room. its a pretty nice setup. I leave my stuff unlocked, and I've never been worried about it before. Just be on good terms with your roommates.
I did have a few crappy roommates early on. They claimed they had never went into my room, even though I came back on a sunday afternoon, and there were beer cups all over my room and the bed was messed up (yes, it had mystery stains too!).
Luckily, I expected something like that to happen sooner or later, and I had a webcam hooked up and hidden on a shelf, with motion detection software running. All it took was me emailing a picture of them in my room to one of them, with a nice little note attached saying I have more, and have them backed up at home so its no use destroying my computers, and if you do it again, I'm forwarding this to housing. They never did it again.
You've hit the nail on the head. Have stuff that nobody wants to steal, or at least, that looks like stuff that nobody wants to steal, but that does the job good enough for you. And make sure you can live without it.
I had a crappy bike in college, but it looked really flashy. I left it locked up, but with a crappy cable lock. It got stolen.
I had a great bike that I built myself from an aluminum frame with a bunch of great components. I painted it with a tooth brush, and the handle bar tape looked like it had been put on by a monkey on speed. Don't even get me started on how old the leather bindings on the rat traps were. It looked like crap. I left it all over, unlocked. The only time anyone touched it was when the campus cops picked it up because it wasn't locked.
Most thieves, especially on or near a college campus, are looking for the easy theft and the easy sale. The want to grab something, unload it, and buy their booze/pot/coke/etc. So, don't make your stuff easy to steal, and don't make it look like it's worth stealing.
On a similar topic, don't ever buy something that looks too good to be true, either. It was probably stolen from someone else. People that buy stolen stuff are what cause stuff to be stolen.
BTW, emacs is the ultimate note taking engine. Abbrev mode and outline minor mode make it simple to get down the things your prof is saying in the correct structure.
1) Don't schedule 8:00 a.m. classes. Never. Not for any reason.
2) Go to class every session and sit in the second row. When you later have to argue/beg for a grade, it'll be much easier if the prof recognizes you. This will almost guarantee you a B.
3) Never fall into the trap of thinking that you don't need to know what one of your classes teaches. The only things I regret about my education are the things I didn't pay enough attention to, and now have to learn in a time when learning isn't my full-time occupation.
4) Buy a bottle on N-Acetyl-Cystine and take 2-4 before you go out drinking, especially on a school night. You will thank me.
5) Unless you're taking out loans to attend a private university, don't graduate too fast. You'll want to, by the end, but remember that the real world will always be there for you, whereas you'll spend the rest of your life remembering college fondly, even if you're happy with your family and career.
6) Try as many things as you can, it'll help you learn you who are.
7) Good luck.
Don Negro
Perl 6 will give you the big knob. -- Larry Wall
(Scratches head)
Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
Gear -- Laptop security hardware
:)
Unless you bring your laptop to every class with you every day, or leave it in your car from time to time, your laptop will be out of your sight for several hours/day. As in, sitting on your desk where your roommate(s) and other dorm buddies might -- if they are the unseemly type -- consider stealing it and selling it while you're gone. In this case, no laptop security hardware will save you -- time is on their side, and your hardware, at best, is a lock strapped to a probably-wooden desk.
That said, a laptop lock is still better than nothing, and for that reason, is worth the investment.
Mostly though, I wouldn't worry *too* much about physical security unless your roommate is untrustworthy. Of course, you won't know that until you've lived with him/her for a few weeks, will you?
Now my other subject:
Sanity -- Self-discipline, time-management, and happiness
Here are my 3 main tips:
1) DO NOT SLACK OFF LIKE IT'S YOUR SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL, EVEN FRESHMAN YEAR. Your GPA is King if you want to go on to grad school, med school, law school, etc.. That said, you really only need a minimum of a 3.1-3.2 or so to get into grad school or law school. Med school is harder though.
2) DO NOT SPEND ALL YOUR FREE TIME LEARNING LINUX/*BSD IF YOU HAVE NEVER HAD EXPERIENCE WITH THESE OS'S. They will eat up all your free time (compiling god knows how many libraries you also have to download first, manhandling config files, reading poorly-written documentation, etc.). Learn them over time, but do not live them as I did. OSS is a very small subset of life.
3) DO NOT GET (too) BIG INTO THE CAMPUS LAN-GAMING AND WAREZ SCENES. Warez is too legally-risky these days, and besides, it requires lots and lots of manual searching; Google doesn't cut it here, and thus it takes lots of time to get the philez you want. It usually isn't worth it.
Welcome to the reasons I voluntarily dropped out of a major, well-funded, well-respected 2nd-tier science/engineering university, and will now be finishing up my degree at a shitty, underfunded 4th-tier liberal-arts state school.
Oh, and one more:
4) Don't fall into the "I wanna be a God admin/coder" trap and ignore women (or men, if you prefer) and dating for your 4 years of college. This has been the biggest reason I am a bitter, unhappy man in my early-mid 20s. I am only just now learning how to date women, and am still a virgin. [1] Most guys (about 73%) get laid by the time they're 18. Me? I might as well be a hardcore loony-bin Christian straight-edger waiting until marriage for sex, so far as I count, statistically.
I have a monetarily-successful life (almost certainly) coming to me in spite of all of the above, because I have managed to determine and pull myself up from my failings, but in doing so, like I said, I'm as bitter and unhappy a man as anybody I know.
I have discovered after years of soul-searching that money isn't everything (and if you read my previous posts, you will find that I am a diehard believer in the free-market, and resultingly, money transactions). Friends, love, laughter, and the free time and freedom to choose your own path in life are. Of those, my life is sorely lacking the first 3 (of any quality, at least). Money makes all of those things easier to obtain, and it makes those things go more-smoothly and easily. But money is the means, *not* the end...
Don't waste the most-vital years of your life geeking-out like I did. Go out, party, get drunk, get laid every weekend. Do your homework too, and if you're in CS or Engineering, you may well have to sacrifice a party or two to do the assignments, but what I have just described is a far-better balance than I have achieved the last 4 years in school.
Work hard during the week, and party hard on the weekends. That is how co
Is Capitalism Good for the Poor?
Try to apply this to more than sex. If you're going to a good school, people are doing a lot of freaky cool stuff. Get involved, and keep an open mind. Don't give into conformity when it comes to any group, jock or geek- try a lot of things out, figure out what you like, and persue it.
If your college doesn't have lots of crazy/cool/fun stuff going on, and you aren't finding anything you really enjoy, transfer, take a year off, or at least find some new friends. It's a big world and there are lots of options, so don't squander your time doing the same old BS. Find a way to grow, learn, find talents you didn't know you had, whatever.
2. Class. A good education is important, but don't let it interfere with #1.
Actually, yes- class is very important, but never let your schooling get in the way of your education. Focusing too much on grades and toeing the line can make you miss out on truly educational experiences. Learn everything you can from wherever you can. Work hard on your classwork, work hard on your social life, work hard on your soul. And remember: Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
3. Network. Not TCP/IP, but people. Every job you get in the future is going to be because of who you know, so get to know a LOT of people. Get to know them well so they don't forget you.
True. Knowing people can be a great resource. Also, learning how to deal with people can be a great resource, and college is a good time to practice on a wide variety of people. Ignoring all that, knowing lots of people and staying pretty much on people's good side will make college a lot more fun, whether it's useful or not.
4. The Law. Graduating from college doesn't erase your law record, so don't get arrested.
In other words, a little mischeif makes for good memories, but keep it light and harmless. One really bad mistake can screw your life up for several years, so just try not to get into too much trouble.
5. The Dollar. You are going to get a lot of offers for credit cards. Credit cards are not 'free money'. If you can't pay cash for it, and if you haven't managed to save enough money to buy it in the last 6 months, what makes you think you are going to earn enough money in the next 6 months to pay for whatever you are considering putting on plastic? Graduating from college doesn't erase your credit history either, so don't screw it up.
Not really going to add anything here. I just quoted it for repitition. This is one you can't hear enough.
7. Take a few classes for personal enrichment.
I have to shout this, being slashdot and all: DON'T JUST TAKE COMPUTER/ENGINEERING COURSES! Take some philosophy, psychology, literature, etc. You know, useless stuff. Read some Plato. If you don't like it, find me in the forums, I'll talk to you about it.
This hooks in nicely with my adaptations of #1, #2, and #3. College should be opening you up to new things. Try things you don't know about. Make friends with good people you don't understand. Take classes about interesting topics that are over your head. Learn a musical instrument. You'll be glad you did.
Most of all, have fun. If you don't like what you're studying, then what you're studying is preparing you for a career that you won't like. Find something you love, and study that, and you'll figure the rest out later.
What else... what else...? Ok, I can only think of one more thing. Don't believe everything "smart people" tell you. Smart people can be wrong too, professor or not. Stupid people can be right. Like I said before, keep an open mind and learn whatever you can where you can. If someone says something you don't understand, don't just assume he's right and you don't understand, and don't just assume he's wrong, and therefore not worth paying attenti
Document everything you own and KEEP THE RECEIPTS! Document the expensive contents of your dorm room. Note serial numbers of everything. If something does get stolen the cops will need the serial numbers. That is they will need it if you ever hope to get it back, ever. Most of the more reputible pawn shops will call the local PD to see if an expensive item that's been brough to them to pawn is on the cops' hot sheet. Without your S/Ns and descriptions the only way you'll ever get your items back is dumb luck, pure and simple. Have a copy added to your dorm's Housing and Dining file (with the contract and whatnot). Photos might be useful too.
Keep your doors locked. I know it sounds silly but keep them locked. Even if you're just running down to the crapper for 5^h10^H^H15 minutes. Make sure your roommate understands your concerns and locks the doors when he leaves too.
Make friends. Make friends with the folks on your dorm floor. This will be your best defense against theft in your dorm room (except for the 20,000-volt electric fence around your desk). You might not be the type to make friends easily but try. Your friends will keep an eye out for each other. Way back when I was in the dorm my friends looked out for my stuff like I did for their's. We always took note of new people walking down the hall (especially if they were hot chicks... :-) ). Friends are your best defense against theft.
Don't take an expensive computer to the dorms unless you have a room to yourself. Keep it simple. Wait until you move off campus to build a billy-badass computer. You could also put your kick ass computer in a piece of shit looking case. Use duct tape and primer on it. Make it look like a complete piece of shit. The goal is to make people think it's not worth stealing and pawning. Hell get yourself and old circa-mid-80s IBM case and retrofit it to hold your new dual Xeon mobo. Call it physical security through obscrutiny. It might work. *might*
You might not be able to keep someone from stealing your computer but you can always catch them in the act. Get yourself an ultra-slim and silent computer anda digital camera. Hide both units and aim the camera(s) at the door and computer. You just might catch a face. It's always possible.
Unfortunately, my whole world came unraveled when I began to suffer from a mental illness called schizoaffective disorder.
It turned out to be a lot worse than it had to be because I would not seek treatment. I thought shrinks were for crazy people, and I didn't think I was crazy. Well, it turned out that by the time I got to see a shrink, I was crazy.
If you think you're mentally ill, get help from a mental health professional. Most colleges have some kind of counseling center, and often have staff psychiatrists and psychologists.
Life was pretty damn grim for a long time, but it got better because I finally got help.
I finally got my degree in physics, in 1993, after transferring to UC Santa Cruz.
This advice is particularly pertinent to college students because schizophrenia, manic depression, and schizoaffective disorder almost always strike a victim when they are a young adult. I knew a number of other people, both at Caltech and UCSC, who became quite crazy when they were students.
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I had more stuff stolen from me in high school than I did in university (25K students). Freshman year, we did have our room "broken" into to. Yeah, you should lock the door at night. We hardly woke up in time for the door to close. A bit later, my roomate discovered that his CDs had left. Had to be someone on our floor.
My big advice is get a PC instead of a laptop if possible. You wouldn't leave $2000 in cash sitting out your desk, don't bring a laptop. For taking notes, a pen and paper are great. Personally I find that if I write something long hand, I remember it - going back over it is extra. For really hard classes, I would sometimes type up my notes afterwards, that was a great way to quickly go back over everything.
Here are the roomates me and my friends had freshman year:
Business student, who joined a Christian Frat.
Stoner who was never in the room
Slob who was a decent guy
Annoying sorority girl who was an "ambassador" for the football team.
Nice girl who partied a bit much.
Most of these people were really decent folks or were not around enough to cause anyone problems. Don't stress the roomate until you have to worry about 'em.
Go to a christian school.
Or have we collectively forgotten how to handwrite?
1) Don't get drunk. I'm not saying don't drink, but don't get drunk. I believe the statistic goes that 1 in 5 girls are raped in college, and that alcohol is involved in most of the cases. Besides, don't you want to remember your fun and sexual experiences? I'm glad I remember mine.
2) Don't accept drinks from others or leave your drinks behind and pick them up later. I don't care if s/he's your best friend, turn it down and get your own drink. Doesn't matter what time of day it is. Be careful. If this doesn't make sense to you, reread #1.
3) Read "The Debt-Free Graduate", "You Are Smarter Than You Think!", all college advice books, and anything by Patrick Combs. Good advice there. Check them out at your college library or at the college bookstore. I ran into these my fifth year of college, and I wish I had read them sooner.
4) Major in your passion, not what your parents or teachers suggested you major in. I majored in Computer Science and I don't regret it. Unfortunately, I majored in it too late in my college career, and it didn't work out, so...
5) Always have a backup plan when things don't work out. If you end up not majoring in your passion for some reason, at least come out with a degree, even if it's a Bachelor in General Studies.
Make good friends, real friends. That's the best thing to get from college. As for locking up all your stuff. Ditch the stuff, you'll have books to read and papers to write. There will be plenty of other distractions to fill your time. Get involved in clubs or the local community. Get physical, outdoors. Hikes or bikes or jogging, swimming, etc. Keep your mind clear, strive for a perfect GPA, push yourself to the limit. See what you can achieve at those limits. A college education is no guarantee of anything. College is a big business, you have to make something of the experience.
Some other poster suggested having sex often and in quantity....
Forget about having sex as often as possible, that's lame and you're sure to pick up something that will stay with you forever. It's not worth it, don't go there. Too many partners will only bring misery and woe.
Good luck and smile often.
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You do realize you've just depressed the hell out of all the geeks out there who will never have sex in college...much less in life.
There's a silent majority of people for which sex doesn't play a major part in their life. For one reason or another, mostly looks and the inability to socialize, there are some who will go their whole life without the sex you describe as "freaky". I've longed for "freaky" sex with a hot college chick all my life, thing is, now I'm old enough to be their dad. If I were you, I'd simply shut the hell up about how great sex is in college, because it pisses the hell out of us who don't get it to no end. Keep your sexual acts to yourselves. It just isn't good for a person to know about the enjoyment other people are having.
So piss off!
High school kind of sucked for me too. But sticking with a small group of friends is going to come back to haunt you later in life. Even if you're the smartest guy since the guy who invented sliced bread, it's networking, networking, and networking that opens doors. And no, I don't mean the kind of networking with packets and frames.
So most people around you are stupid. So what? I did my undergraduate degree at a school where many of my classmates and friends were people who got into MIT but couldn't afford it. You know who I wished I could have met? A good plumber, and a good electrician. Lucky for me, my family is already good friends with an auto mechanic, or I'd want to meet a few of those too. These people may not be brilliant, but like most other professions, they are good people and bad people in the field. Find the good people, and help them out when they need it, and they'll return the favour.
It's not hard to network. You like computers. Is that all you like? What about (for example) gourmet food? Why not join a dining club? Sure, the members might not be the brightest of people when it comes to computers(or even other subjects), but some of them might surprise you with the breadth of knowledge they have on their favorite dishes. Or perhaps its old movies you like. Then find a film club and share your interest with others. You don't have to be the best of friends with these people, but if they can at least like and respect you, and you maintain contact with them, they'll bring opportunities to your doorstep, as you will with them.
Hey, I admit it. I learned a heck of alot about computing at my university's ACM Chapter, and as a Computer Scientist, I found that valuable. I also learned about debate and dispute mediation by competing in the Model UN, and about how fiscal decisions were being made by attending Student Government Finance Committee meetings (which were open to the public, and which helped me figure out how to get more money for the clubs I liked). The lessons I learned, and the people I met in each are valuable in different ways.
I must concur with your last point, though. CompSci majors are really cool people.
ps-be wary of the combination of credit cards, alcohol and women ; )
harmonious design
Tip: if you are taking English lit, make a lot of your notes in the novels and poetry books. This will save you a ton of time during in-class exams and will even help you with term papers. For novels, I used to write topic headers on the blank pages at the front/back of the book, then note the pages with notes on them. This helped me ace my English degree.
-- SYS 64738 --
That won't help a bit. You can still end up spending a LOT of money following this advice.
Go and meet your professoes. Really. This was advice I got from the dean my freshman year. So, I took it. The almost never see anyone during office hours so go sometime in the first week say hi and chat with them for 10 minutes. Most are just floored since it so very rarely happens. Some will resent it but that tells you that you should probably dorp the class since oyu probably have an asshole. Nearly all I've met have chatted with me about the class, their research, the university, etc.
There are two good side effects of this:
1) If you need help, you are much more likely to get it. Maybe you want in a class in the future, and the professor remembers you and lets you in. Maybe you need some advice, and the professor give it to you. They are generally much happier to help those they know, and that have shown some initiave and intrest, than those that never say anything.
2) Grades. As mentioned by the parent, they'll give you more leanincy. Not even just for begging, you can just generally slant the grading in your favour. It's just human nature. They feel that they better know you, so they are more likely to cut you some slack.
Sex. Women do all their freaky stuff in college, so have an open mind and hit as much of it as you possibly can. Buy a big box of condoms and some good lube (google for 'millenium id').
:(
I really don't understand how so many people are totally care-free about having casual sex. I fully acknowledge that I'm paranoid, but I'm scared to death of getting my girlfriend pregnant, and this is despite being extremely careful and having a really trusting relationship. How on earth do you people not go mad worrying that you might have gotten a girl pregnant from one of your wild and crazy flings? Supreme trust in condoms? Knowledge that abortions are easy? I just don't get it.
I'm worried that I won't be able to enjoy sex care-free until the day (if it ever comes) that I truly want to reproduce.
1. Drink. None of that pussy "I don't drink" shit. Learn to suck it up and drink like a real man, that's what college is for. Trust me, soon enough you'll have all sorts of annoying health problems and aging concerns, and you'll have to moderate your drinking. College is your chance to get this out of your system and give your liver a good working out.
2. Have sex. Meet women and fuck them. Seriously. If you followed step 1 above, you will find step 2 much easier. I promise. If you still don't know how to do this, learn. Study the art of fast seduction if you need that sort of thing (Google is your friend), or just be yourself if you have more luck that way. Freshman year is tough, but by the time Junior year rolls around you should have your game on and the Frosh chicks and ready for action. Don't bother with the Junior and Senior chicks, they're getting banged by the grad students, or people with real jobs and incomes. Don't waste your undergraduate years in some long distance relationship or any of that crap, and don't stick with the first girl that gives you some booty. This lesson goes for the rest of life too. And if you are gay, please feel free to replace "chick" with "dude" in the above paragraph. And if you are female, well, go screw some underclassmen and stop hogging all the senior dudes.
3. Make friends and connections. The people you meet in high school and college (if you go to a good high school, maybe more there than college) are the connections you have for the rest of your life. These people are critical for building your career. You will help them out and they will help you out. Join a fraternity if that's your thing (preferably one where people aren't complete morons - my friend's frat at MIT had more multimillionaire entrepreneur alumni than I can count), or get involved in extracurricular activities. In the end, this is as important as your grades - your grades will be useful for grad school if you go that route and to a lesser extent for your first few jobs. Beyond that, the most that will matter is "cum laude", "magna cum laude", etc. People still are impressed when I say I graduated from Harvard in Physics, magna cum laude.
4. Study. Go to your classes. Except when it interferes with 1, 2 or 3. Your parents are paying for an education, get it. And not just in the area you are majoring in, branch out, take some other classes. But don't get obsessed with pulling straight As at the expense of the friend-making and networking. And definitely not at the expense of getting laid and drinking, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Remember, we all end up dead someday, don't forget to enjoy life while you're young.
After you've done all of the above, you are welcome to fit a few hours in of sleeping and securing your damned laptop/bike/whatever (jesus, who has time in college to obsess about their _stuff_? don't bring too much expensive shit to college, just the bare minimum, and expect to lose some stuff or have it "borrowed" out of your dorm room, etc.). Sure, play computer games, unwind, download tons of MP3s, warez, whatever floats your boat, but don't let that stuff get in the way of what really matters (see points 1 through 4 above).
You may think I'm crazy, but I have no regrets. I think I sacrificed a summa cum laude along with a few hundred thousand brain cells to Bachanallian revelry, but I will never for a minute regret it. If anything, I can only say I wish I hadn't taken on such a ridiculous workload junior year when I finished my physics honors requirements a year early, and that I hadn't worked full time at my company senior year instead of partying heartily and pursuing goals 1 and 2 above.
- Keep your dorm room locked.
- Keep your laptop in your backpack and keep it with you at all times.
- Bring lots of quarters for the laundry machines.
- Buy your books from Amazon or B&N online. Schools inflate the prices waaay high.
- Use lubricated condoms - the dry ones are uncomfortable (for you and her both).
Oh wait, you read slashdot. You won't be needing that last one.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
Yeah, there's a long story there.
Ah what the heck, I'll tell it. Not like anyone is going to read this anyway.
So, I went to visit a, um, friend, that lived on campus. I rode my bike up, and like I normally did, I leaned it up against the bike rack outside her dorm. No lock. I'd been leaving it unlocked for a long time, maybe a couple of years and it had never gotten stolen. Why should I worry?
I came out the next morning, went to breakfast, grabbed my books out of my gym locker (I was a boy scout, always prepared and all that), and went to class. Physics always makes more sense after a night of heavy, um, studying. Afterwards, I went back by her dorm to grab my bike to head home for a couple of hours of shut-eye. No bike.
I'm sure my reaction was typical. F*ck. F*ck. F*ck. Storm about a bit. Stamped my feet a good bit. Looked to make sure someone didn't move it to the next door to f*ck with me. Probably pretty funny to watch. Then, shoulders bent, I started to walk home. Thank god the Capitol bar was on the way home, and I had enough cash for a couple of pints.
I'd give you a link to the Capitol, but it couldn't do the place justice. Let's just say it's the best place on earth for a pint after your bike has been stolen. Heck, it might be the best place on earth for a pint regardless of whether your bike has been stolen or not. Thanks Stephanie for rebuilding after the lighting strike.
Anyway, I moved on. I no longer was spending nights with my friend, nor was I mourning my bike.
Losing the bike was the last bit of incentive I needed to finish my other bike project. Pissed as I was, I made my new bike from bits I had laying about the house (okay, back yard, shed, basement, you get the picture), which was twice the bike that I had lost, look like crap. I painted it with a toothbrush, and made the handle bar tape job look like crap. It worked well, though, and it actually made my commute to school easier. So, really, I didn't mind that much that my bike had been stolen.
For a while I locked the new bike up, just because the other one was stolen, but it wasn't long until I got too lazy to lock it up. After all, if this one got stolen, I had another at home waiting to be built out of parts, and that was fun for me.
To put beer on the bartop, I took a job working with the campus food service. I know, I know, you probably hate me and all the other people that forced that crap down your throat. Sorry.
My main job was handling the catering for events on campus. I delivered food, especially breakfast treats like bagels and coffee.
One day I jumped into the catering truck with a tray of (what else) doughnuts and assorted pastries for the campus police and others organizing the yearly auction on campus.
You see, each department would retire things, like computers, decks of punch cards, hydraulic rams, or APCs (yes, APCs, they were used for explosives research) that they no longer needed, and those would be sold at auction. I dropped off the tray of goodies, and took a look around at the swag. I never bought anything at these auctions, because they always sold the stuff I was interested in (like computers) in lots that put them out of my price range, but, like a good geek, I liked to drool over the things I couldn't get, like Linotype machines and welding rigs.
Wandering about, I came across, in a dark corner a bunch of bikes. In case it's not already obvious, I'm a bike scavenger. You have a bike part you don't want, give it to me, I'll figure out something to do with it. I thought, maybe nobody will be interested in these crappy bikes. So, I took a close look.
That's when I saw it. My old bike. Yup, tjere it was. Nothing wrong with it except cobwebs from storage. It was sitting there, ready to be sold to some yahoo that couldn't appreciate all the work I'd put into the damn thing.
Luckily I knew most of the campus cops (don't ask how), and I was on a friendly basis wi
Regualr guy:
"Great! I'm off to collage, need some tips on the best places to party, the best clubs, and where all the hot chicks hang out."
Geek:
"I've been looking around recently for other options as far as keeping track of my laptop and other semi-expensive and certainly valuable (for a college student) stuff in a dorm room setting. Any ideas? I'm looking for both laptop-specific and comprehensive solutions. Locks? Alarms? Video cameras? Trip wire?"
Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated up.
Also, the hot chicks are all taking Psych or Sociology.
Speaking from experience, both recent and remote, the parent is both oh so right and oh so wrong.
NEVER date a psych major. I would seriously recommend staying away from the discipline entirely as the temptation is usually irresistible. I'm convinced they learn stuff in those classes you couldn't learn from navy seals interrogation training.
I have no idea about the Sociology majors, but I do highly recommend entomology if you can take some of those classes. I've met many a very cute, super-cool bug-loving girl in my day, and have found their worth and demeanor to be much more reliable.
Of course, most generalizations are crap, but the thing about crazy Psych majors stands up to the test of time. Do yourself a favor and run like hell when that cute psych student starts making eyes, you may end up a research subject.
Of blankness, I know nothing.
This is mainly reiterating what has gone before, but I would advise that you buy a desktop computer rather than a laptop. Take lecture notes with paper, though not at the cost of listening to the lecturer. As soon as possible after the lecture transcribe your notes to your computer. The act of transcribing them forces you to reread and think about them while the lecture is still fresh in your mind.
Partying advice: Alternate soft and alcoholic drinks. Always have at least one drink fewer than the person you are trying to chat up. Party with as many different people and in as many different styles as you can over the course of the year. Never worry about not being cool enough to go to any particular party; it's staying in your room that's not cool.
Security: As has been said, always lock your door and make sure everything is insured.
Those who do not learn from Dilbert are doomed to repeat it.
Thank you very much for saying that... it's posts like these that make me regret opting out of moderating. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I am actually going to university for the education, not for the glorified brothel.
First, you have to understand the psychology of the thief, and them make him NOT want to steal any of your stuff.
The simplest way is to make it not worth their while, and I personally think the fastest way is with a can of spraypaint and some artistic licence.
Ever wanted to spraypaint your deck cool camoflage colours just like the 'leet Hackers in That Film With The Cute Girl? Go ahead! You'll screw it up, repaint it silver, get funny bubbles on the case where the paint reacted with the plastic, and accidentally wipe off the key labels with acetone... and then your gear will be completely unique, instantly recogniziable, and often unsellable at pawn shops.
The more beige and standard your gear, the more likely it will get nicked.
My laptop got "stolen" (possibly by someone I knew) some years back, and turned up a few days later under a nearby tree. It was covered in unique PsiCore stickers, and whoever had "borrowed" it had failed to even get past the linux login prompt... CLI's are another great theft-prevention device.
Some final words of advice, since many, many other threads seem to be filled with hints on how to have Frequi Sex with Crazy Girls...
1. Never forget: Safe, Sane, Consensual.
2. Everyone else in University is having a LOT less sex than they say they are, or you think they are. (Trust me on this.)
3. The ones that tell you they're having sex don't realize how badly they're doing it. (One night fumbles simply don't compare to a lover who knows you well. Trust me on that too.)
4. Crazy girls are fun, but they're still crazy.
Jeremy Lee | Orinoco
So, let's make some assumptions. First, you are going to use a condom because of concern over STDs. She is going to be on the pill because she wants to finish her education.
Condoms, when used properly have about a 3% failure rate per year.
The pill has about a 1% failure rate per year.
I would guess that many sexually active college girls are will to have an abortion.
So 1% * 3% * 50% = 0.015%
Now this means roughly that you could fuck like bunnies for 100 years and have about a 1.5% chance of having a child. Or you could have 100% chance of years of sexual frustration.
So, my advice is this: experiment a little but be smart. Combine two good birth controlo options -- you end up with *REALLY* favorable stats. Learning to face up to calculated risks is part of growing up. I don't mean to belittle you at all. There a lot of people who should know better who don't and spend thier lives worried that they're going to get carjacked when it's more likely that they'll die in a household slip and fall.
BTW, I'm getting old. I don't regret *ANY* of the women that I shared sex with. I do regret a few that I didn't.
You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake -- but you could be if you got off your ass.
Compelling post mostly because I am in a similar phase of life. Since I was sitting here deep in self-analysis *anyway*, might as well contribute to the mass confessional (aka group circle wank).
I spent virtually all of my college life nerding out at a highly technical university with very few girls. When not nerding out, I made periodic attempts to socialize (become involved with the rave scene etc) and, for a slashdot poster, I guess I made decent progress. However, I would quickly burn out and lose faith when I was trying to promote a party Friday night or whatever and walking around the dorms just found a bunch of guys playing counterstrike typing "pwn3d j00 m4mm1e b1tchz0r!!!1" or doing sets while all the girls were huddled in the library studying, or leaving for home to be with their parents, etc.
I've heard the vast majority of colleges have active social scenes, but at least one tech school is mostly silent on Saturday night, aside from "Terrorists Win!". No lie.
So eventually I just gave up, moved off campus, found a good part time job that rewarded me for hacking cool stuff 20-40 hours a week (on top of the 40 hour course load), and recently graduated knowing basically only the same five male friends I had freshmen year.
Sometimes I adopt the mindset in your post and worry I just opted out of the best part of my life. The thought is profoundly depressing. No doubt it is difficult to develop the social skills girls/women require if you do not do so along with your peers--the vast majority of women obey a very specific, inelastic, social ruleset and many aspects of that ruleset are challenging for highly technical, introverted males.
All of that aside, the last 10 years really have blown the lid off of some fscking awesome technology. I have deeply enjoyed thousands of hours spent on OSS, coding, etc, and draw spiritual satisfaction from my geek pursuits. As powerful as sex is, there are some people who just get off on technology (insert sticky kb jokes here), music, math, etc, more than on a skank sorroriety girl (which frankly is what most of the boring easy college girls classify as). Telling a technical person to drink/snort up and tag a skank is like telling a bunch of skanks to spend Saturday night optimizing a *BSD kernel (heh theres some fun for the ACs in that quote).
Anyway part of becoming an adult is realizing that pop culture and modern society impose a lot of BS in the name of social conformance. You'll probably have to reject a metric ton of that BS to feel OK about your interests. I know first hand you will not agree from within the depths of depression, however: there are at least a few women who value uniqueness and will pull you into their world assuming you don't write them off as sluts, freaks, etc, or write yourself off as an inadequate social reject. I bet many women are potentially sympathetic but lack the social initiate to break rank with the Animal House hoards.
So to wrap this post up... Modeling highly technical systems is an amazing talent for which you may be highly compensated. However using that talent to model your own mind quickly becomes counter-productive. Socialization demands empathy with another person; if you are stuck deep in self-analysis you will not have mental bandwidth for him or her. Also trying to force yourself into a value system inconsistent with your past is probably not going to work, instead you need to use your rational abilities to address emotional/social concerns, yet without violating the narcissism constraints. College and life are just a case of discovering the right tradeoffs, very similar to the art of hacking.
Further Reading:
"This Side Of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Go grab it on Gutenberg.
Further Discussion:
brane at sdf tod lonestar tod org
Whenever you read a story like this, if you aren't a complete retard, you have to wonder. Doctors are pretty lousy at identifying the cause of rashes, and rashes from embalming fluid would have to be pretty damn rare.
So, we pop off to Snopes, and what do we find?
Of course, it's an urban legend
Don't panic, man. You should thank God you've been saved from all the hassles, fights, distractions, embarassment, emotional trauma, guilt, regret, diseases, pregnancy, financial burden, and other ripple effects that could have totally wrecked your life.
I have discovered after years of soul-searching that money isn't everything.
Perhaps, in a few more years of soul-searching, you will discover that sex isn't everything.
Patience... There is a time for everything.
There is a time to have sex,
there is a time to not have sex.
Life will reward you for waiting for the right person and the right time. It will curse you for acting foolishly. That's why it's so important to remain sober-minded - so you can make decisions that are truly in your best interest. Consequences, my friend. One stupid move could ruin your life.
Best way to keep your stuff safe at college: find a fraternity with brothers you trust and join it. I can't even begin to describe how nice it was not to have to remember to lock my door every time I wanted to step out for a few minutes/days/weeks.
#1. Party: Socialization will be very important in your future work. Be a geek, but be a geek that parties. Get drunk on weekends. Have some girls without paying money for them.
#2. Projects: Practice is the best way to learn. Go to class, take a few notes, then try to pratice. If your graduation is close related to computers this is even more easy. Usually professors always have good projects in which you can participate, talk to them.
#3. Enough grades: This item depends on what the market expects from you. Talk to several empleyers and try to discover what is enough for them, keep your self a little bit above the enough. If you focus too much in grades, you won't be able to focus in other more imporant things.
#4. Parents: Don't ever forget your parents. They are working really hard for you to get this opportunity. Always thanks them, and always visit them. Respect your parents, and raise your kids to respect them, and respect you.
-=-=-=-=
I know life isn't fair, but why can't it ever be un-fair in MY favor!?
I'm sitting here reading these replies and thinking how sad it is. Every school is different but I can tell you there are still many schools out there where crime is very rare. My freshmen year I went with security at the top of my mind. I had a security cable and full cabinet for my pc, a secure box for other gear, etc. My roommate and hallmates turned out to be my best friends in the world. A few weeks after moving in, all that security seemed more then a bit lame and bite-in-the-ass. By my senior year we lived in a house with no locks on the door, hell, people coming in and out at all hours, huge parties, the works all with a number of PCs, a unix (real unix not linux) box, laptops, nice stereo gear, and more and never had a single thing stolen. Use your head but still trust your neighbors. And most importantly, enjoy these four years (strike that, make it 5 or 6), works is nice but a lot less fun then college....
I recently purchased a home. In not the best neighborhood (there are two soup kitchens within 2 miles, and 4 ABC stores in the same range)... I converted one of the rooms with external access into an audio studio. I worry a lot about security.
What did I do?
1. Every piece of equipment gets a steel cage. The design of these is simple; take standard steel stock, cut with a dremel, and build a rectangular prism that can contain the item in question. Yes I had to learn welding. Put in crossbars that prevent the item from being lifted out and a decently sized padlock. Most items I have been able to position the crossbars so that the item is useable while in the cage. With a laptop this would involve a bar at the top of the keyboard and one at the bottom. Pretty? no. Secure? yes. When you have $10,000+ worth of equipment and the first day you were at your new home you met a fine gentleman walking by how had "just got out" for "gettin caught up shanking that bitch girl o mine", it's worth it.
2. Video surveillance. It's visible. I designed and printed a custom sign to the effect of "premises under wireless video surveillance" with a diagram showing the camera, the computer, the internet, and the server. Indicating quite clearly that you can't just steal the computer and take the tapes with you. In my case I bought a bunch of tv cards and real wireless/wired surveillance cameras. With the size of a typical dorm room you could probably get away with a webcam. I coded up some Windows software that saves pictures off site whenever the frames have a certain amount of difference in them; I'll be glad to dig around and find that program for you if you want...
3. All my equipment has serial numbers on it. One clearly visible tag, one tag inside the equipment somewhere. The numbers and locations of tags are on hardcopy in my records safe. Local pawn shops are required to wait 30 days before selling new goods; plenty of time to call every one in town.
4. Insurance. If all these measures fail me, I'm still insured for full replacement value.
I am disrespectful to dirt! Can you see that I am serious?!
And to add on to #1 of the parent, knowing and talking with your professors is very handy for more than just grades and homework. They are great sources of information on the college internal affairs and can oftentimes be great resources for things other students don't have access to. For instance, becoming good friends with one of my profs enabled me to get a computer-related job when I was in a crappy, manual-labor student employment. I was able to use several profs as great references for employment because when they were called, they never said, "Who???"
There are some pricks out there and there are some great, insightful, inspiring people. Try to find those and rub elbows as much as possible, you'll be forever grateful.
Blog,Twitter
I asked him about it, and was told that he'd had an art-major friend do it using some sort of a thin enamel that wouldn't block small openings (like grills) but dried solid as a rock. The idea was to reduce the resale value to virtually nil while making it painfully easy to recognize, thus presenting a VERY unappealing target to thieves. So, do you know any art majors?
You learn 20% in the classroom, 80% outside of the classroom - College isn't all about the classes; they are important, don't get me wrong. No one pays $20K/year to hang out. But I learned the most outside of class in the form of social interaction, mental and psychological reform, and changing and honing of my beliefs and feelings. Understand that concept and you'll make a productive 4 years.
Party like it's on sale for $19.99 - You'll never get to do it again, and even into your twenties you'll start to slow down and start saying things like, "I used to be able to do that" in reference to long nights of drinking and partying where 3pm was breakfasttime the next day. I'm not saying you need to get so wasted every weekend that you can't see straight; have a few of those, but at least go out, have a beer, and socialize as much as possible.
Appreciate the opportunities - Picture this: it's a Thursday afternoon. The weather has just gone sunny and warm, the kind that makes you feel like everything's great. You have class at 2:30. A friend says, "Too bad we have class, we should go have a beer by the river and enjoy the weather." What are you going to do? SKIP THE CLASS! Don't do it every day, but in cases like this, you'll gain more from that skip than you would have had in class. This situation hit me during senior year; all my roommates were in the same class with me. We actually sat down, wrote and email to the prof, and apologized, saying that the day was too nice to spend inside, we hoped he understood. Then we left and went out by the river, had some beers, and shot the shit. A great, happy day. When we came home, we found an email from the prof, saying, "I don't blame you."
Women are fascinating creatures -- meet some - This is obviously for the guys, but girls, feel free to reverse the idea. Women are really fascinating creatures, and I'm not talking about just sex. Their unique perspective on life and ideas and views are great stimuli for the mind; find the interesting ones and hang out with them. Cultivate great friendships with women of all walks -- even if they never turn out to be a date or a lay, there's nothing like walking across campus and being able to yell out, "Hey, Erin!" and having that cute blonde wave back at you enthusiastically, stop and talk to you. How's that for an ego boost?
That being said, I would agree with the "get laid" sentiment to some extent. At least, there's a lot of women both interesting and just plain attractive that I wished I had gotten up the guts to approach and ask them for a night of passion or at least some friendly exchanges of pleasure. So give it a shot, you'll be glad you did.
Your friends are your rock - Make friends. Lots of them. Of all types of people, backgrounds, and interests. Don't limit yourself to geeks or any other group. Knowing people of all walks gives you the power of connections, of knowing who to contact when you need something. Need a great, raucaus party to go to? Are you going to contact a geek? No! Contact that football player you made friends with in the caf line. Need an 'in' on the setup of wiring in the buildings? Call up the weird guy that studies blueprints you saw last week! I could give a million examples, but have friends. Call them randomly. Take them out for beers at 11pm. Go over and give them 'stress breaks'. Anything.
Respect your sleep - I don't mean don't stay out late or anything -- that's fine. But respect sleep for what it is: a chance to refresh. Something that makes you think clearer. If you schedule your classes in the early mornings and you're a night owl, you WILL SUFFER. I don't care how "dedicated" you are -- when push comes to shove, and it will, you'll be screwed. Know yourself, admit your weaknesses, and get over them. Watch your schedules so you can get naps and sleep appropriately.
Take Naps - Piggybacking on the above, take naps.
Blog,Twitter
I lived off-campus, renting a room from friends of my parents. They were an older couple who valued their peace. This meant that:
I still managed to make lots of friends, despite missing out on the whole dorm experience, by joining clubs and lurking at various related hangouts, so I wasn't an anti-social loner or anything. But it saved my sanity to have a place I could go and get away from the noise.
Disclaimer: I'm somewhat introverted by nature (in that I need to be alone to recharge) and I'm not a party animal. This worked for me but it really depends on your personality.
On the other hand, I spent most of my non-sleeping time on campus so I don't think it would have been a problem for me were I an extrovert, nor do I think I missed out on campus life in general. It was just where I slept and kept my stuff.
Safe means use a condom and/or other means of avoiding STDs and pregnancies.
Sane means you are in your right head - if you're drunk or tripping your judgement is out the window, if you are doing it merely to fit in or look cool to your peers that's not sane.
Consensual means you both know and agree with what's going on. If either you or your partner is insensible becuase of drugs or drink you can't consent and it's rape. Don't do it to someone else and don't let yourself get into a situation where it can be done to you.
Sara
Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World