Archive for the ‘funny’ Category
Twentysomething: Why I regret getting straight A’s in college
This is a guest post from Jon Morrow, who is 25 years old. His blog is On Moneymaking. By Jon Morrow – I nearly killed myself in college to get straight A’s. Well, almost straight A’s. I graduated with 37 A’s and 3 B’s for a GPA of 3.921. At the time, I thought I was hot stuff. Now I wonder if it wasn’t a waste of time. Let me explain:
1. No one has ever asked about my GPA.
I was told that having a high GPA would open all kinds of doors for me. But you know what? I interviewed with lots of companies, received a total of 14 job offers after graduation, and none of the companies asked about it. They were much more impressed with stuff like serving as Chief of Staff for the student government and starting a radio station run by 200 volunteers.
I suppose a college recruiter from a Fortune 500 company might ask, but honestly, I can’t see any employer hiring a straight-A student over someone with five years of relevant work experience. It might tip the scale in a competitive situation, but in most cases, I haven’t seen that grades are really that important to employers.
2. I didn’t sleep.
Unless you’re a super genius, getting 37 A’s is hard work. For me, it was an obsession. Anything less than an A+ on any assignment was unacceptable. I’d study for 60-80 hours a week, and if I didn’t get the highest grade in class, I’d put in 100 hours the next week.
Translation: I didn’t sleep much. From my freshman to junior year, I averaged about six hours a night. By my senior year though, I was only getting 3-5 per night, even on weekends. I was drinking a 2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew and 2-3 energy drinks per day just to stay awake. Not only is that unhealthy, but it’s not particularly fun either.
3. I’ve forgotten 95% of it.
I majored in English Literature and minored in Communication Theory. The main reason I chose those subjects was I thought they would teach me how to write and speak, two skills that would serve me well for the rest of my life.
Boy, was I stupid. Instead, I spent all my time reading classic literature and memorizing vague, pseudoscientific communication theories. Neither are useful at all, and I’ve forgotten at least 95% of it.
I’d guess the same is true for most college graduates. Tell me, what’s the point of spending 60-80 hours a week learning things that you immediately forget?
4. I didn’t have time for people.
Being in the student government and running a radio station, I had lots of opportunities to build a huge network. But I didn’t have time. Between studying and doing my job, I had to prioritize the people I wanted to develop relationships with and narrow it down to the handful who could help me the most.
That’s no way to go through school. College isn’t so much a training ground for entering the work place as a sandbox for figuring out who you are and how you relate to other people. You develop your social skills and forge relationships with people that might be colleagues for the rest of your life.
If I could do it all over again, I would spend less time in the library and more time at parties. I would have 50 friends, not 3. I would be known for “the guy that knows everyone,” not “the smartest guy in class.” Not only because it would’ve been more fun, but because I would still be friends with most of those people now and would have access to the networks they’ve developed over the last four years.
5. Work experience is more valuable.
In retrospect, I could’ve probably spent 20-30 hours a week on my studies and gotten B’s. That would’ve freed up 30-70 hours a week, depending on the course load. When I think of all of the things that I could’ve done with those hours, I just shake my head.
If there’s one thing graduates lack, it’s relevant work experience. If you want to be a freelance writer, you’re much better off writing articles for magazines and interning with a publishing company than working your tail off to get straight A’s. The experience makes you more valuable to future employers and usually results in a paycheck with a few more digits on it.
What about Graduate School?
If you’re getting your masters, going to law school, or becoming a doctor, then you’ll need all 37 of those A’s to get into the best school possible, and you can safely disregard this entire post. Just be sure that you follow through. I thought I would go to law school, and then I found out what a miserable career it is and how little it actually pays. All of those good grades are now going to waste.
It also comes down to the question, “What’s the most effective use of your time?” If you can’t imagine living without an advanced degree from an Ivy League school, then reading until your eyes fall out and sleeping on a table in the library is a perfectly defensible lifestyle.
On the other hand, if you want to get a job and make as much money as possible, then good grades aren’t going to help you as your teachers and parents might have you believe. You’re better making powerful friends, building a killer résumé, and generally having the time of your life on your parent’s dime.
Jon Morrow’s blog is On Moneymaking.
好玩好用的wallpaper clock—Chameleon Clock
轉載自: http://julian14632.wordpress.com/2007/11/30/
原本在Ubuntu上想增加一些screenlets的功能，因此下載了一個相關wallpaper clock的套件，而這個相灣的軟體軟件包，也可以在windows和mac的系統上來執行，而在windows的系統上，可由一個軟體來使用和控制 wallpaper clock等相關的軟件包，那就是Chameleon Clock。
- wallpaper clock：wallpaper clock這項功能能讓你用他相關的軟件包成為你電腦上的桌布，而這個桌布可不是我們一般的桌布，而這個桌布感覺上比vista上得動態桌布更為實用，因 為這個桌布上的時鐘可是真正的系統時鐘，而這個時鐘可和這個桌布緊密結合，宛如圖畫一般真的很漂亮。
- 取代工作列上的系統時鐘：他可以取代工作列上得系統時鐘，而且有多種外觀可提供你來做選擇，你也可以設定他成為浮動在桌面上的時鐘，和成為控制Chameleon Clock的介面。
- 在其他功能上得設定像是一般的正點報時、鬧鐘的功能和螢幕保護或是親人朋友的生日提醒和原子鐘調整等等。
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附記：
快樂病毒影片
最近比較少網站真的觸動到我們，讓我們拍手說：「靠，好點子！」前天，TechCrunch剛好寫到新加坡的「新加坡媒體發展局」(Media Development Authority，簡稱MDA），這應該是新加坡一個類似國科會、工研院或資策會的官方或半官方的研究與推廣組織，最近推出一部爆笑的宣傳短片（看影片請按這裡）。 看到這些西裝的男人與套裝的女人，在那邊伸著僵硬的老骨頭唱Rap，而且用rap來解釋他們發展中的各項技術；平常用一小時的簡報來講這些東西，聽眾無不 呼呼大睡，但這部片總長才四分鐘又35秒，讓人聽完以後，還順便記得了一切，一邊洗澡一邊還在唱：「Yes yes y’all, we don’t stop. Get creative. Can do. Rock on……。Yes yes y’all, we don’t stop……」
這則影片放在MDA官網的首頁，也放在「2006-2007年官方年度報告」的首頁，右邊寫著制式的「主席的話」，左邊竟寫著「想跟著主席唱Rap嗎？」更重要的是，它還放在其他的地方，讓其他網友自由的嵌入，除了TechCrunch外，還有許多小部落客如Random Citations、Chris Possible也都紛紛置入了這一則影片，還上了地球另一端的英國新聞網站。這讓我們想起，拍一部影片要多少錢？請人來接接看大概也要幾萬元台幣？但拿來拍一則「病毒影片」(viral video)，像新加坡這個，顯然是值得的。我突然想到，假如資策會也來拍一部來宣傳各個進行中的計畫，應該會很精彩 ^_^。
「病毒影片」並不是這兩年的新產物，以台灣來說，更早以前就領教過「CD-PRO2」的厲害。但YouTube可說把「病毒影片」發揚光大，一開始 它只是讓使用者將影片直接嵌入自己網站，YouTube因而打中其他影音網站沒打中的「甜蜜點」(sweet spot)，也讓YouTube在短短時間變成全美國成長速度最快的網站。這些在網路上一夕爆紅的影片，大家開始很貼切以「病毒影片」稱呼之，意思是一則 短片，讓人看完後馬上轉寄出去，以很快的速度在社群裡傳遞，到最後你問問前後左右的人，大家竟然都看過這部片子了！試想，假如影片長度長達四十分鐘，那麼 就不可能在上班時馬上觀賞，也降低了大家轉寄的意願；假如那還是一則在你家攝影機的片，則一般人也懶得上載上去、剪接等等；但，假如那是一則只有兩分鐘的 影片，然後已經存在於YouTube上，你想要寄網址、加入自己playlist，或是崁在自己網站裡都行。這樣的「病毒短片」便很容易傳播出去。
想寫這篇已經很久，因為每個星期一，Voofox同仁都會進行一至二小時的「Video Day」， 和大家一起分享網路的奇譚(internet phenomenon)。當我們忙起來，上周好幾天留到深夜，當然毫不猶豫就暫時停止Video Day，直到這周我們稍事休息，大家才又快快的分享幾部影片，這次才感覺到，Video Day真的給我們很多啟示，讓我們有機會以使用者的角度來感受「病毒影片」的威力。我發現，我後來在想的事，常常和這些影片有關係，這些「病毒影片」遠比 其他的文章、電視節目在我心中留下更深的印象。無論影片中想傳達的是什麼，它們總是像水蛭一樣緊緊黏著我。我們發現，一間公司只要有一支病毒短片，其實可以用在很多地方。 網站的大首頁最重要的版面，不必再考慮放什麼東西，就這麼一支「病毒影片」就夠了。我們的MySpace首頁放一支、官方部落格邊欄放一支，甚至，每次對 外宣傳作演講簡報，都可以在開頭先播放這一支影片暖場，聽眾個個從傭懶的椅子裡爬起來，直起身子，耳朵豎起來期待這個網站。因此，每次Video Day結束，大家總是提出好幾個點子，如何以拍攝「病毒影片」來行銷我們的產品，但此時也顯示出我們的不足。敢說敝公司人才濟濟，就是沒有專業攝影剪接人 員。有趣的是，這東西花錢外包，就沒意思了。小時候聽老師說，要多認識醫生、律師、會計師等專業人士，以後可以派上用場；現在我會說，網路創業家需要認識幾個熱心的影片剪接專家，不必到剪電視電影的Pro級，但是願意和我們一起創業，一起來探索這塊「病毒影片」的世界的伙伴。
成本不高的情況下，如何拍出一支「病毒影片」？TechCrunch的客座博客最近寫了這篇超紅的「許多病毒影片背後的秘密策略」，整理出九個重點。我也一直在想有趣的拍攝方式，譬如這個Noah一天照一張，放一點音樂，那幽幽的眼神就會讓人想到很多，和蒙娜麗莎微笑有得拼。那，還有像是這支在介紹社群網站的短片，從頭到尾就是用一些紙片，也很有意思。還有這個David Blaine魔術師，用一種「很欠揍」的幽默，影片也爆紅了。
