“Excuse me, I asked for no ice.”

Not to sit here and throw stones, but I recently bought some whiskey stones after seeing them on Uncrate– one of my favorite shopping blogs- and now I’m a bit disappointed.

They certainly *look* good, don't they?

These soapstone cubes are meant to be placed in the freezer, then into your favorite glass of whiskey to give it a bit of a chill; the whole appeal is that they don’t contaminate the drink with tap water like real ice cubes would, which is a pain for purists who like their whiskey neat.  Sure- these things don’t dilute the whiskey, but the company failed to mention that they don’t make the drink any colder, either.

I spent $20 on a set of nine of these sleek cubes (they look classy, I’ll give them that), but save yourself the money- and disappointment- and just use a chilled glass.

I Want My MMS

iPhone users: remember when the 3G-s came out, and we all upgraded our software? Remember how the list of updates included MMS capabilities for the iPhone? We’ve been left out in the cold.

Still no word on this feature- AT$T says “late summer”, but we all know what that means (read: when our children’s children are old and grey).

What a bunch of malarkey. The rest of the mobile phone world has had it for years…

I want to hear your thoughts on the matter (and any info you may have). Let’s sound off on this issue!

Kayak Surfing for Beginners- How To

If you like ocean kayaking but are looking to use your skills for something a little more exciting, then I highly recommend kayak surfing.

Kayak surfing is a relatively young sport, especially in the USA.  Of all the times I’ve gone out in Southern California, I’ve met one other kayak surfer, and he was from New Zealand.  People simply don’t know how much fun it is- those who ocean kayak will likely mention the rush of adrenaline that comes with attempting to paddle through a breaking wave, and kayak surfing takes this to the next level. 

In order to kayak surf effectively, you will need a shallow kayak.  A chunky ocean touring kayak won’t work very well- you’ll likely end up upside down, annoyed, and bruised.  Behold, the Islander BigStik:

My first kayak.

This is a sit-on-top surf kayak.  There’s a fin on the underside to prevent the boat from sliding down a wave while riding.  In my opinion, a fin on this kind of boat is absolutely necessary for effective riding.  The leg straps go over your thighs and knees, to help you lean the boat by rocking- this is helpful for carving and negotiating waves.

The kayak I use is great, but there are plenty of other choices easily found on the internet- Cobra Kayaks make high-quality boats, and some of their models are ideal for surfing.  You’ll also need a paddle- any lightweight kayak paddle will do- I like ones with a fiberglass shaft.

Here are some beginning tips:

Safety

Safety is key- wear a helmet, no questions.  Nobody wants to get hit in the head by a kayak.  A PFD (lifevest) is also a good idea- this isn’t surfing, where something buoyant is always strapped to you.

Good waves, bad waves

Good waves break from left to right, or vice versa.  Good waves also tend to break from top to bottom in a rolling fashion, and don’t dump.  Do not ride waves that dump, because you will get hurt.

Bad waves break everywhere at once, and sometimes dump too.  While it is possible to ride the front of a wave straight at the beach, the best rides are taken parallel to the beach, on a wave breaking from one side to the other.

Wipeouts

You’ll inevitably wipe out, it’s just a part of learning.  When you do, be sure to drop your paddle and shield your head with both arms.  The more wipeouts you have, the better you will become at anticipating and avoiding them.  Oh, and panicking doesn’t help.  Just relax, get on the kayak, and paddle back out there.

Catching a wave

Catching a wave on a kayak is just like surfing, except that you have a paddle, and it’s a bit easier.  Paddle for the wave is it approaches, and lean forward to get your weight down the face of the wave.  Once you feel the wave take you, lean back to prevent pearling (when the nose digs in the water).  After that, you’re pretty much free to ride the wave.  Use your paddle to brace the kayak- stick it in the water off to the side, and use it as a rudder- push and pull to steer.  Use your hips to lean into the wave and dig the rails (sides) into the face.  Experiment to find what works best for you, but make sure you aren’t just using your arms here.

Like anything else, learning to kayak surf takes practice and determination- I suggest starting small.  Respect the ocean and be mindful of the power of a wave, but don’t be afraid to wipe out once in a while.  It builds character.

The Top 10 Engineering Schools. Not.

Are you thinking about applying to an engineering school?  How many of those lists have you read?  Chances are, if you’re thinking about continuing on to university to become an engineer, you’re pretty pedantic about this stuff.  You probably have read all of the Top 10, Top 20, Top 100 engineering school lists.  You may even be frustrated, or have a few (mis)conceptions:

A top-ranked school will give me a better education than an average-ranked school will.

Lists and rankings aren’t everything- you can get the same education from what these lists rank as a #5 school and a #50 school, if you care about learning.  Yes, there are anomalies, but when it comes down to it, what matters is the individual student’s initiative and motivation to learn.  Does that sound cliche?  It’s true.

I will be a stronger candidate to employers if I come from a prestigious engineering school.

This is rooted in fact.  An engineer coming from Berkeley or Stanford tends to stand out to employers.  Luckily, for the rest of us, there is such a thing as a job interview.  No matter where you come from, if your resume looks good to an employer, chances are you’ll be considered.  Hell, you may even get an interview- you had better not screw it up!  This is your one chance to showcase your character and what you can offer.  A resume is passive, but you are active, dynamic, creative.  You’re going to have to prove it.  Keep this in mind if you’re apprehensive about interviews.

So stop worrying over those rankings, and choose a school that is strong in your field of interest.  If you’re like most people and don’t have a clue, do some research; find a school with an environment that fits you.  Just try to take these lists with a grain of salt.

One last tip for you prospective engineering students: don’t waste your summers during college sitting around; get some sort of internship or research position.  It definitely pays off when you leave college.

The Dyson Airblade: Two Dry Thumbs Up

I recently encountered the Dyson Airblade – let me relate my experience to you: I was washing my hands in a public restroom on the UCLA campus, and I saw this thing on the wall.  My hands were wet, and I assumed it could do nothing for me in the way of hand-drying, so I kept looking for paper towels. None to be found.  I was faced with a dilemma: wipe my hands on my shorts (not a problem), or inspect the device on the wall (requires novel thought).  What would you do?

It's pretty handy.

After some internal dialogue, I decided to go for it- it said Dyson on it, which conjured up the memory of the soothing voice of that nice British man from the vacuum commercials.  It had a diagram telling me exactly what to do. I did it. My hands were met with a wonderfully massaging nonstop sheet of air.  My hands were dry within seconds- much faster than the push-button hot air jets, and much faster and less wasteful than a fistful of paper towels.  No doubt Dyson was prompted to invent the airblade out of frustration with the weak-sauce push-button hand dryers that exist in practically every English bathroom.  You know the type- your hands get nice and warm but you still have to rub them on your shorts.  Honestly?  Not gonna fall for that one, queenie.

The Dyson Airblade is a party for your hands.  Use one, it’ll change your life.

Need some extra cash? Craigslist can help.

Simply put, if you live in a crowded area, you can turn a bit of a profit on Craigslist, even if you have nothing to sell.  Here’s how to make money on Craigslist without having to sell anything of your own:

The concept of a profit is simple: sell something for more money than you put into it.  Everybody does it, it’s how we get by.  The trick to doing this on Craigslist is to exercise self control and only pounce on items that:

A) Are cheap and in good condition (Yes, they exist.  You just have to look.)

B) Are cheap, and need a quick fix-up.  This can be anything from an acoustic guitar with a missing peg (a few bucks), or a piece of furniture with a stain or scratch on it.  Cases like these are common on Craigslist, and you’d be surprised at how easy some of this stuff is to fix.

B) You know you can buy for less than the posted price, for a number of different reasons:

-The person must sell the item(s) because of a pressing deadline (moving, etc.)

-They need money now

Some people say that they don’t need the item anymore, or that they no longer have an interest in it.  Why people would advertise this fact is beyond me.  My general rule of thumb when it comes to selling on Craigslist is to not give away too much in the ad itself- statements like “I need to get rid of this stuff soon” and “I’m selling this because I need the money” are signs of desperation, and very likely mean that the seller is willing to negotiate.  Haggling is the bread and butter of craigslist- always haggle.  Nine times out of ten it works.

Now, I’m not saying you should lowball somebody, because nobody likes to be lowballed.  A lowballer is someone who asks for a price that’s clearly way too low.  There’s no standard amount to haggle, but if I were genuinely interested in something on craigslist (say, a $200 surfboard), then I would haggle it down a bit (say, $175).  Just asking for a lower price isn’t haggling; you’ve got to give the seller a reason to accept your offer. 

Think to yourself: “This guy would prefer to have X amount of money guaranteed today, rather than wait for an unguaranteed Y.”  Then, offer him X amount of money.  This X needs to be reasonable.  That’s generally a good way to think about it.

Sure, the guy might come back and say “I think $175 is too low, but how about $185?”  Perfect!  You get the board, and you both feel like you got a good deal.

Once you’ve gotten a good deal and bought the item, time to begin the restoration process.  Restoration could be anything- touching up a blemish on some furniture, replacing a missing guitar peg, or just giving something a little bit of a clean.  The general idea of restoration is to improve upon what you have just purchased, so you can sell it for a higher price.

Restoration can be fast, and it can be slow.  My recommendation is to only get into this with quick fix items, unless you’ve got a lot of free time.  Doing this sort of stuff on craigslist can generate some cash, but to be able to make anything really substantial is difficult.  This is good for a hobby, or if you need to raise a small amount of m0ney for something.

Once the item is restored and ready to sell, think of a good way to market it.  Do you have a second-hand junky guitar?  Sell it as a “beginner’s guitar”.   Be smart, take good pictures, and remember- you’ll likely get haggled down too, so keep that in mind when pricing.  Psychologically, I would be more likely to spend $80 after haggling down from $90, than if the item was posted at $80 to begin with and the seller refused to negotiate, so don’t worry about this step.

Be intelligent with the way you advertise your items, but never be dishonest.  What I’m explaining is a way to get a good deal, put in a small amount of work, and make a little money- what I’m not suggesting is to flatly lie or deceive people. 

Once you get a response about the item, be quick with your replies.  If they are close to you and you have the time, offer to deliver the item (if they sound genuinely interested).  Oftentimes you can justify selling something for a little bit more money if you offer to deliver it.  If you happen to have a truck, this works especially well with bigger or heavier items, like furniture.

That’s pretty much it.  Give it a try- it makes good beer money.

Baby, I’ve got class, Cont’d.

Bad news: I made it through my first day of class, and there’s not much to speak of on that note; class was fairly uneventful.  Campus was amazingly crowded today, filled with people trying to get me to join various Christian student groups, communist newspaper groups, etc.  There was a group of Hasidic Jews with horns and antlers on campus, which is mostly normal.  What was odd about this particular group is that they had a table set up with an electric grinder, and they were grinding these horns into tools or something wacky like that.  I didn’t stick around because it was breezy and I was getting lungs full of bone fragment.  Now I’m not a doctor, but bone dust doesn’t belong in your lungs.  No.  It just doesn’t.

I did a little bit of searching and found out that they were making Shofars, which are apparently a big part of Rosh Hashanah.  That is far less exciting than what I had imagined they were doing:

Hava nagila.

Anyhow, I had my camera on me, but it was out of batteries when I tried filming all of the craziness of UCLA today.  I will have it on me tomorrow, and I should be able to film or snap some interesting stuff going on.  I so wish that it had some juice in it today though, because the Communist newspaper guys were going to town yelling through their bullhorn.  Which is kind of funny.  Bullhorn.  Maybe the Hasidic Jews and the Communists are in cahoots.  Kind of makes you think, thats all I’m saying…

Baby, I’ve got class.

Ah, the quiet before the storm.  

My first class this year starts in an hour and a half.  I am excited to begin classes for a few reasons.  First off, it means I am just that much closer to graduating, and NO I don’t plan on avoiding the real world for four more years by going to grad school.  Secondly, it means that I now have a busier schedule, which is good because I enjoy getting things done.  Unfortunately, those things will be countless problem sets, projects, and exams, but at least it’s something to do.

As you may know, I am a student at UCLA, a university that looks something like this:

 

Royce Hall at UCLA

Regrettably, I am on the other side of campus where the buildings aren’t so magnificent.  To give you an idea of what the inside of my lecture halls look like, I had the professor take this picture from the front of the classroom one day:

 

I'm the one with the hat

Ah, that brings back memories.  We even have little cubbies for our backpacks and lunch boxes.  Can’t wait, only another hour!

Anyhow, I should probably start getting ready to set foot on campus, for what will hopefully be a glorious, productive, and adjectival third year.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

Mean Mr. Musetard

The Beatles.  Muse.  Both bands I respect and have listened to a lot.  I am not at all comparing them; rather, these two bands come together (no pun intended) in one post because I lived with some guys last year who only (see: literally) played Muse and The Beatles on our speakers.  I decided to get a little bit creative today and pay homage to these two bands, whom I have so often complained about in the past- not because I dislike them, but because I am ornery and enjoy being difficult.

I replaced Ringo Starr’s head with a puppy’s head for a few reasons:

• Muse only has three members
• I like puppies
• I like puppies more than I like Ringo

At least now I can put “proficient in Photoshop” on my resume.  Please, don’t hesitate to contact me if you need high quality image editing.

Maiden Voyage

Welcome to the maiden voyage of The BIP Section- I look forward to sailing the high seas of the internet with whomever decides to join me.  I’m based in Los Angeles, California, but I hope to be worldwide soon.  Maybe even more than worldwide.

The seats aren’t great, and the company isn’t much better, but the show will have you craving more- so come hang out in The BIP Section.