Pinterest Knows Me!

So I got on Pinterest today, and I found that they've added this new feature: Explore Interests. It's merely in a preview phase now, but it's actually quite exciting.

From the looks of it, Explore Interest compiles pins based on what you seem to be interested in. Based on my 43 Boards (8,464 pins) & 632 Likes, this is a screenshot of some of my interests:

It's amazing how accurate these categories are. For instance, I have a board called "Beauty of the Beast" consisting of interesting beauty pins - crazy hair colors, nail art, etc. However, somehow Pinterest found that I'm specifically fond of red hair! 

I took a class on privacy in college. From it, I gathered that the largest issue of online privacy is the judgement that comes from aggregated information. We may not care so much that the information about us is collected, but we do care about what the collection of information means once put together. It makes me happy that my interests have been accurately predicted so far!

The Beauty of Being In The Same Room

Nowadays, video games are all about multiplayer. Even games that have been single-player for many years now have multiplayer capabilities. This is mostly because no plot imaginable could compete with playing with real people. Interestingly, the word "multiplayer" has evolved into something completely different in the gaming world...


When I was growing up, "multiplayer" looked something like this:

One console. Multiple controllers. Split screens.

Now multiplayer looks more like this:

One player. One controller. One Headset.

Online multiplayer has completely changed gaming. Instead of gathering all of your friends together in your living room (and creating a wire jungle with your controllers), you can play with people from around the world via the Internet. Online multiplayer is undoubtedly an incredible innovation that has improved the gaming experience.

However, it has almost completely eliminated co-opt gameplay! In my opinion, there is still something irreplaceable about having friends and family in the same location playing a game (without strangers). Not only playing video games; when was the last time anyone played a board/card game?

A few familiar faces in the geek world have YouTube series featuring games like these, and they're certainly worth watching. Check out a couple of my favorite episodes below! I guarantee they will make you want to get your friends together for a game night.

There's just so much fun to be had in this pile.

The Guild's Felicia Day & her brother Ryon have a hilarious web series, called Co-optitude, on the Geek & Sundry channel. On the show, Felicia and Ryon play the old school video games their mom never let them play as children. 

The frustration, Day-sibling-hilariousness, and nostalgia make each episode a side-splitting joy. It also makes me want to a get a Super Nintendo and play video games with my best friend. 

(Fun Fact: You can order a brand new Super NES on Amazon for $350!)

On The Nerdist channel, Wil Wheaton (of just-about-everything fame: Star Trek, The Big Bang Theory, Eureka, etc.) hosts a table-top gaming show called... Table Top.

The Haunt starts in Part 2

Until I came upon this show, I thought they'd stopped making table-top games. It's always fun to get a bunch of geeks together for a game. Whether it's D&D or something you've never heard of, there's nothing like basking in the boundless creativity no game design studio could muster.

These are my favorite episodes of Co-optitude & Table Top. I hope you've found them thoroughly entertaining. More so, I hope you've been inspired to gather some friends together and create some hilarity of your own!

Happy Gaming! 

The Post-Grad Student

Although I'm sure a "post-graduate student" is a real thing in another context, I wanted to write a post about those of us who are finally in the "real world" and still crave the academic culture.

Upon graduating from The University of Michigan, one of the first changes I had to adapt to was no longer being a student. After work, I sometimes feel like there is an assignment I should be doing. I still occasionally have stress dreams about a final for a class I haven't attended!

Am I the only person here without a paper to write?

Don't get me wrong! The freedom of post-graduate life is sweet. No deadlines, exams, cramming, scheduling, or course catalogs. However, I sometimes feel the urge to learn.

Another freedom that comes with being released from an educational institution is the choice of what to learn next. Sure, you majored in a subject you were passionate about and learned quite a bit. But everyone has taken at least one class that had nothing to do with anything but served as a credit you needed to graduate.

Schrodinger's cat is dead! Now, I can I take another theater class?

Here are a few ways to satisfy your thirst for knowledge online (and without student loans):

SkillShare

I was reading an Forbes article about how to be an expert in your field, and it suggested teaching a course on the website SkillShare. SkillShare is a start-up site that allows experts to share teach their talents for free to anyone willing to learn.

Check out the submitted projects from this guy's class! Delicious!!!
Note: Only some of the classes are free, but most are very affordable.

TEDTalks

I remember spending a day of Spring Break in my dorm room watching Ted Talks.... I am a nerd. But, hey, TedTalks are entertaining, informational, and inspirational! Ted Talks are also great ways to spark intelligent dialogue. You'd be surprised at the decrease in intellectual conversation when you're not required to talk about readings at least once a week. 

Here's an exceptionally entertaining Ted Talk I saw recently...

Howcast

You've likely come across a Howcast video or two online before. They're quick tutorials on how to do things. It wouldn't be a bad idea to learn a few new things through the Howcast website.

Tutorials for everything from "how to understand heart disease" to "sexy dance moves for the club" can be found on this helpful site.

Google

Duh... you can always google something you want to learn more about and follow the rabbit hole until you become an expert.

I hope this post inspires you to learn something new this summer. Just because you're not obligated to learn things doesn't mean you shouldn't! Everyone could use a little more knowledge here or there.

What subject matter are you yearning to dive into?

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