Moving In

Going to U of M = less posts.
It's time to go to college so I'm going to be super busy packing, traveling, and settling into my dorm. I'm probably not going to be posting much of anything for about a week so in the mean time why don't you use this post as a way to give me some suggestions on how to improve, what you like/dislike about my blog, or what you would like to be added through comments. You can even request a post like "what's the best ? to buy" or "which ? should I use." Whatever you like. See ya.

Top 10 Board Games

Key: 5-high 1-low
P - playability: how long you can play it over and over until it gets boring or you already know all the answers
L - longevity: how long one games lasts
F - fun: how exciting a game can be considering all age groups
D - difficulty: how complicated the instructions are and how hard the game is when being played

10. Scrabble - It's not for everybody but it's the only game besides Boggle where you can really show off your vocabulary. P-2 L-4 F-1 D-5
9. Clue - Nothing says kid's game like murder. Hint: it's always Miss Scarlet or the Colonel. P-3 L-3 F-4 D-2
8. Life - Education, a career, marriage, a house, and a family. This game has it all. P-4 L-4 F-4 D-3
7. Risk - World domination has never been this popular. P-3 L-5 F-3 D-5
6. Monopoly - This classic game has so many versions out that there's bound to be one that you like. P-4 L-5 F-4 D-5
5. Whoonu - This Cranium card game is meant for kids, but it's a great way to get to know people's interests. You can play likes, dislikes, or you can try neutral. P-4 L-1 F-5 D-1
4. Cranium Conga - It may not have a single board to play on, but boy this game is fun for everyone. P-4 L-2 F-5 D-2
3. Pictionary - Sure you might get angry at your partner, but this game allows any large number of people to play. P-3 L-5 F-4 D-3
2. Cranium Turbo - Pop culture has never been this fun and there's always an activity that you're good at which makes this game perfect for anyone. P-3 L-4 F-5 D-4
1. Scattergories - Everyone wants to play this word game because it's simple fun and the possibilities are nearly endless. P-5 L-3 F-4 D-2

Top Pick:
Whoonu - It's so simple, quick, and perfect for anyone that it's probably the best game to have in anyone's home. I know it's not a true board game but it's so much fun!

Kitchen in a Tube

An entire kitchen, including the sink, in one space-saving cylindrical cabinet.
Probably the best invention for a kitchen since the microwave, "kitchen-in-a-cylinder" has everything anyone would ever need to cook food in one compact design. It has a mini-fridge, microwave, oven, stove, pantry, sink, dishwasher, and (surprisingly) plenty of counter space. When it's not in use there's a sliding door that covers it all off for a nice clean look. I'm sure apartment architects and people who rent will rejoice when they hear of this amazing kitchen innovation that will yield more space for the bath, bed, or living room. This might be the perfect thing to even have in small vacation homes, college dorms, or ski lofts.

Top 5 Breakfast Foods

Healthy:
5. Cheerios - you really can't go wrong when you choose a box of cheerios, but the MultiGrain ones are better while the Frosted ones are the worst.
4. Slim Fast shake - a fruit shake is nice, but doesn't offer much in nutrition so that's where the Slim Fast comes in. Just add your own fresh or frozen fruits with ice and vanilla along with some Slim Fast powder into a blender. It's best if you also have a slice or two of whole grain toast as well.
3. Total - nothing can compare to 100% of practically everything in just one bowl of cereal.
2. Kashi - they're all natural, come in tons of different forms, and they're delicious. Try Kashi cereal, bars, or waffles.
1. Vegetables - you can't BEET veggies for breakfast! Try these tasty veggie smoothie recipes.

Quick:
5. Bag of cereal - I know, it's lame, but you're still getting better nutrition than toaster pastries.
4. Yogurt and fruit - Yoplait + apple/orange/pear/plum = on the go breakfast
3. Muffin - messy, but if you choose the whole grain or bran muffins then it's worth it.
2. Slim Fast bar - they're like candy bars but with nutrition.
1. Cereal bars - you can go with a Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Bar if you're really in a rush, but if you have some time the day before make your own breakfast bars. Kind of like Rice Crispy Bars but you make them with your own cereal.

Top Pick:
Kashi - there are so many different varieties whether you have time to cook or have to leave in a hurry. Not to mention that they're so healthy and surprisingly tasty.

Expand Your Artist Choices

Discover new artists similar to those you like.
Not filling up your music player's hard drive? Well you better find more music you like if you ever want to optimize those 30 gigabytes of space. With music-map you can put in an artist and it'll show you a no-frills map of artists similar to the one you entered. It's a fast and simple way to find new artists that you might enjoy. But what if you wanted to find an artist that's like multiple artists you already like? You should try gnoosic. It's a really unique way to find new artists because you're not just searching for someone similar to one artist, but a combination of three different ones. The larger the differences between each artist you enter, the more interesting the outcome becomes. Now go on and add more songs to your little library already.

Praise Nanotechnology!

Making something molecule by molecule holds much potential to create anything imaginable.
Not too long ago, scientists came up with a kind of object printer that puts together a product from just atoms and molecules stored in containers using a downloaded blue print. You can watch a video of that here. Then they were able to make this incredible tiny energy storage device, basically a battery, that was black, lightweight, flexible, super resilient to temperature, and it could be powered by blood or perspiration! Well they've come up with "metal rubber." Unlike metal foil that crinkles and holds its shape rather well, "metal rubber" works like rubber in that it's flexible and can return to its normal shape after being molded, but it can conduct electricity. As you can assume, demand is extremely high for this 12" square sample that takes about three days to piece together. The possibilities could be endless for "metal rubber" but it's clear that possibilities are infinite when it comes to nanotechnology.

Famous Myths

Some of the most commonly taught stories in history might not be 100 percent true.
I shall sum up some of Write Spirit's "The 20 Greatest Historical Myths" that set the record straight on some misunderstood stories throughout history.

14. Myth: Eve ate an apple.
Truth: The bible said "the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden" (Genesis 3:3) so it could have been any tree fruit. It was Milton who wrote that it was an apple with his poetic interpretation of the biblical event "Paradise Lost."
13. Myth: Newton was hit by an apple.
Truth: Voltaire wrote a story about Newton saying this but it's not necessarily true that Newton was hit with an apple.
12. Myth: Walt Disney drew Micky Mouse.
Truth: Ub Iwerks drew Micky because Walt Disney stunk at character drawing, but Walt Disney did provide the voice for Micky for some time.
11. Myth: Marie Antoinette said "let them eat cake."
Truth: Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote that a "great princess" said this famous line. Marie Antoinette was only 11 when he wrote that.
10. Myth: Van Gogh sliced off his ear.
Truth: He only cut off a piece of his left lobe after his eight years of painting led to a tragic end.
9. Myth: Salem witches were burned at the stake.
Truth: Most of those tried were hanged while one was crushed by stones.
8. Myth: Napoleon was short.
Truth: His nickname was Le Petit Corporal ("The Little Corporal") because of his low rank. He was actually 5'7".
7. Myth: Shakespeare came up with the story of Hamlet.
Truth: Shakespeare just came up with the best adaptation of Hamlet, which is the situation with many of his plays; they're the best versions of the stories created by others before him.
6. Myth: America gained independence on July 4th, 1776.
Truth: The Declaration of Independence was signed on that day, America became independent on September 3, 1783.
5. Myth: Edison invented electric light.
Truth: It was Sir Humphry Davy who invented electric light, but it was Edison, along with his many unnoticed assistants, who improved on his design to make it last longer.
4. Myth: Columbus proved the Earth was round.
Truth: Columbus thought the Earth was pear shaped, he never touched American soil (landed in the Bahamas), and most educated Europeans during the time already believed the Earth was round anyway.
3. Myth: Ghandi liberated India.
Truth: He was really only a small part since India was well on its way to liberation without him. In fact some argue that India would have been liberated faster without Ghandi.
2. Myth: Jesus was born on 12-25.
Truth: "There is no evidence whatsoever, biblical or otherwise, that He was actually born on that day" and even though there were three gifts there weren't necessarily three wise men either.
1. Myth: George Washington was the first President in the U.S.
Truth: Before Washington there were Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled and before them were Presidents of the First/Second Continental Congress which means that Washington was the 15th President in the U.S.

Train Your Brain

Keep your mind sharp with BrainReady.
Have you heard of Brain Age, the hit video game for the Nintendo DS that calculates your brain's age with different challenging activities and math games? Well BrainReady is very similar but you don't need the DS! It offers audio podcasts, what foods to eat to maximize brain power, and a printable worksheet that helps "turn back the clock on the damaging effects of aging." The 15 minute worksheets are especially helpful because they are most like Brain Age where they focus on the prefrontal cortex which is most important for quick thinking and simple calculations. You must give BrainReady a try.