Animating Multiple Elements Simultaneously with jQuery

Ben.Knows.Code(): Animating Multiple Elements Simultaneously with jQ...: Consider a group of absolutely positioned divs that are visually styled to look like 50x80 pixel rectangles ( I setup a full demo in my sand...

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Change and Live long happily

It’s time. This year, don’t give up on your resolution for a healthier, more-fit body. Use these five tips as encouragement to reach a slimmer, stronger you.
Pick the right diet—and stick to it for life. The bottom line: if you’re overweight, you have been eating too much of the wrong foods for too long. Many people think what they have eaten all their lives is healthy, normal and “good for them” just because they are not currently ill. Foods that contribute necessary calories but no nutrients must be eliminated from your shelves, refrigerator and shopping lists, forever–not for just a few weeks of so-called “dieting.”
Willpower isn’t voluntary, it’s absolutely necessary. If you don’t have it naturally, drum it up. You cannot buy willpower, and you don’t get it from your parents or your friends. Every time you feel discouraged and want to slack off or quit, don’t be afraid to shake off the temptation. Then come back with a proper attitude, one that says your goals of good health and an admirable physique are valuable, worthy of pursuit and attainable.
Eat to prevent hunger, not to satisfy it. Waiting until you are ravenous before eating is one of the main reasons for overeating and for eating the wrong foods such as fast foods, over-salted, over-sugared and processed foods. The obvious solution is to eat often enough that you never become hungry, perhaps five or six times per day. Nutritious meals, no larger than the combined volume of your two fists, should be seen as fuel to power whatever activity you are going to do next. This rule is the easy way to remember how much food you should have at any one sitting. You do not, and should not, have to waste your time counting calories.

Get up and get out, no matter what. It has been estimated that as much as 70 percent of the “shaping up” process is nutritional, and the other 30 percent is activity level. If you already do some cardiovascular work, such as aerobics or running, congratulations! If that is beyond your present level, you can easily start with a jogging program. Still too much? If you are sedentary, start with a walking program that works up to 45 minutes three or four times per week. Next, start to incorporate jogging and eventually move onto running and strength training. Start slowly and do not give up. If you’re really struggling, don’t shrink back to the couch. Instead, make activity more enjoyable with a partner or small group who share your goals.
Cut the crap. Fitness isn’t about having the time, it’s about making the time. If you don’t take the time to become healthier and more active, you may be ensuring disease enters your life later. Pencil in training times with other daily activities and make workouts as normal as brushing your teeth. This type of resolve takes dedication and gumption. Think of your walking, jogging and gym time as a hobby–something that you look forward to, not a chore. Something else, like watching hours of TV, may have to take a back seat to your new habits.

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How College Life is Affected by Greek Life

There are a lot of factors that can affect the impact of the Greek system on a college campus:

• The type of Greek system
• The size of the overall college campus
• The percentage of students in fraternities and sororities
• When rush takes place

Greek houses can play very different roles in college life. We encourage you to examine carefully what type of college will work best for you, and whether the presence or absence of a Greek system is a factor in your decision.

What is Greek life?

Greek systems consist of co-ed and, mostly, single-sex fraternities and sororities. Most of them use Greek letters, such as Sigma Phi Epsilon, to designate the name of the house. Some also go by school-specific nicknames. Depending on the school, they may or may not play a large role in student life.
Many fraternities and sororities are part of national, privately run organizations, such as the Delta Delta Delta ("Tri-Delt") sorority. Others were established locally on campuses, or left the national group to become independent. Often these houses split off from their national system due to differences over racial integration, social policies, or other issues during the latter half of the twentieth century. Some local houses rejoined their national system when the nationals changed their policies to become more progressive.

Campus housing and Greek life

Greek houses are so-called because they often serve as residential living and social environments for members. This was part of their original purpose in a time when many colleges did not maintain campus housing, including their own dormitories or dining halls. Fraternities and sororities offered a place for students to live, study, socialize, and eat. Often they hired cooks and housekeeping staff, paid for by members' dues.
Many houses no longer have in-house cooks or dining and some Greek organizations are not residential. Members live in college housing or off-campus, but belong to what is essentially a social and service organization. In some cases, colleges will own the house of a Greek organization; in others, the fraternity or sorority, or its national corporation, will own the house and be responsible for maintaining it.

Evaluating Greek impact on college life

Students shaping their college list or heading off to college need to watch for the pitfalls and benefits of Greek houses. You should be concerned about rushing a house too early in your first year. You should ask about non-Greek social opportunities on and near campus, and about the overall percentage of students affiliated with a house. You should look for student life alternatives to Greeks, such as social clusters built around college residence halls, as have been instituted in various forms at places like Bowdoin and Colby Colleges.
Look carefully at systems that might not be Greek in name, but which in many respects are similar, such as the Eating Clubs at Princeton. Think about how a fraternity or sorority could help make college life friendlier for you and provide a niche at a big university such as the University of Michigan. But think also about how you will feel if you enroll at Michigan and are not offered a bid by a house. Would you still want to be there, and could you deal with the social outcomes of being non-affiliated?

Is Greek life right for you?

There is no absolute right or wrong when it comes to fraternities and sororities; we encourage you to ask good questions and make as informed a choice as possible in building your college list and deciding whether you will join a house when you enroll in college.
By Howard and Matthew Greene, hosts of two PBS college-planning programs and authors of the Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning series and other books.

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The Best On-Campus Jobs for Making Some Money

Greenbacks. Bucks. The bacon. The dough. Moolah. Scratch. Bread. The big green. Pecuniary notes.
I'm talking about money here, folks.

If you're a college student, in all likelihood, you don't have much of it. Whether that's because it's going to pay for your college education directly, without even stopping for a visit in your palm, or because you're spending it on any of the cavalcade of other money sinks out there in the college world, it doesn't matter. You're almost certainly going to be looking for ways to get some more clams into your wallet. (Quite an image, isn't it?)
Good news! College campuses are riddled with job opportunities, if you know where to look. Read on to find out about some of the best job opportunities available on college campuses.

Website Manager

You're here, so you already know that the Internet is a cornucopia of valuable writing. That's not likely to change any time soon, and as a result, nearly every organization that wants to have any kind of significant presence needs its own website. If you've got the skills to make one, then you can be of great value to your college, or really to any on-campus organization in need of a website manager. What's more, you can learn how to use content management systems and how to do crazy and wonderful things with a website that'll make you all the more valuable as a potential employee down the road. Huzzah for websites!

Tour Guide

Can you walk backwards like a pro? Can you talk while you walk backwards? Can you smile and make jokes even when it's snowing and you're walking backwards and taking at the same time? Then you've got a perfect campus job waiting for you in tour guiding.  This is an important job, too; if you're a tour guide, you're nothing less than the face of your college or university to prospective students. You've got to convince them that your college is by far the best choice they can make, by showing it off in all its glory. It's a social job, so you have to be up for being charming and talking, but it's good, important work on any campus. 

Library Assistant

At any college or university, there's one building which will be critical to nearly every student: the library. Even if you don't necessarily have to pick up books or do research in the library, the place is still a refuge of silence and solace for studying, and most likely has plenty of computers and printers for use, too. So, your school's library is almost certainly going to need some help. You can get a job at the library, doing things like putting the books back on the shelves, helping your fellow students to find whatever they're looking for, and keeping track of rented out books and other resources. It may  not be terribly glamorous, but it's helpful, doesn't involve a lot of stress, and might even give you resources and skills that you can use when trying to do your own work.

Alumni Center

Every college or university is likely to have some kind of alumni center, to keep in touch with and track alumni and (most importantly) implore them for donations. If you get a job with the alumni center, you'll most likely be calling up alumni and other individuals associated with the college and informing them of important campus news and information, as well as asking them for donations. Sometimes, this job can be pretty stressful, but when you successfully contribute to some major charity project your school is running by getting donations from hundreds of people, then the whole thing will be worth it. 

RA

Everyone living at college has a residential adviser, or a resident assistant. RAs are the students who fill leadership and administrative rolls in and around their dorms. They're the people you go to when something breaks in your dorm room, just as much as they're the people you go to when there's a major emergency and you need immediate help. Being an RA will give you a lot responsibility, but you'll be helping people, and you'll be getting paid for it. Some schools even give RAs a pretty good selection of rooms, at no cost to them. TAs, SAs, Lab Assistants, and the other RAs
These three sort of go together, due to the similarities in work you'd be doing in any of the three roles. TAs are teaching assistants; SAs are student assistants; and these RAs are research assistants.   Each role is pretty much some form of assistantship position for a faculty member.
Teaching assistants would, as their name suggests, help professors to teach their courses, likely by providing extra sessions to lower-level students, or even teaching classes themselves. Student assistants, depending upon how the role is interpreted, might work similarly to TAs, or they might help professors with their more administrative tasks, like getting books or distributing documents online.
Research assistants would help professors in their own research, focusing likely on specific topics. Lab assistants might help to run labs for when students are performing their own work, or they might help professors in lab work in the same way that research assistants might.
Any of these roles is likely to come with pay and with good, experience-growing work. Plus, you might get to help your professors with important research, or even wind up teaching your peers! How awesome is that!

Writing tutor

Know how to write? Count yourself lucky, because there are plenty of other students out there who don't. If you're feeling magnanimous with your skill, then you can become a writing tutor at your college's writing center. Peer writing tutors help their fellow students with essays, research papers, and more. We're talking about more than just grammatical editing, too; we're talking about the whole shebang. Argument structure, discussion, reasoning, and stylistic choices are all subjects that a writing tutor might help with, among others. So if you've got some skill in writing, lend your fellow students a hand and earn some cash for your efforts by becoming a writing tutor. 

Newspaper writer/editor

Not every college has a newspaper that pays its writers, but plenty do, so if you've got printer's ink in your veins, then there's no better place for you to get a job than at your college newspaper. Obviously, you'll need to know what you're doing, from a writing standpoint, a journalistic standpoint, and an editorial standpoint, but this is one of those jobs that can pay you back in spades if you work hard. If your college paper doesn't pay its writers, you might want to see if there are any administrative roles in or around the paper that might offer up any kind of small-scale payment, too. 

Post Office

Email is replacing the paper letter, sure, but everybody still needs a way to receive packages from Amazon, right? Campuses still have their own post offices, where mail comes in for students and has to be sorted between mailboxes, or distributed in some other fashion. There are plenty of jobs for students looking to earn a few bucks who are willing to help out with the post. Not terribly glamorous, but a good way to make some money on campus without adding too much onto your workload. 

Career Services Assistant

A great many campuses have career centers focused on helping students plan out their career paths. These centers provide advice, assistance, and information year round. If you've got the skills needed to help your fellow students in thinking about their futures, then you could probably secure a position for yourself as a career services assistant. At some colleges, this position might mean directly meeting with students and talking to them about their goals. At others, this might mean just helping out with the more administrative tasks of the career center. Either way, it's a good place to get some experience with giving advice and planning your own career, all while earning some money.

User Assistant or IT Guy

Are you the one that everyone on your dorm floor comes to for technical expertise? Then…uh…could you fix my laptop? It's been showing me this message, "TERMINATE THE HUMANS," ever since Thursday. Oh, also, you could probably get a job as a user assistant or an IT assistant at your college. Most colleges have their own on-campus IT centers, and they probably need all the help they can get, what with the problems students are likely to cause. (Stop that, computer! No, I will not submit to your will!) Working at the IT center will help you hone your own skills and give you some great experience if you want to go into technology. And, of course, you'll make some money, and potentially avert an apocalypse.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my laptop is trying to steal the nuclear launch codes from the White House. I'm going to apply some brute force repairs to its software. With a hammer.

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Should Your College Life Include Greek Life?

Many students are predisposed either for or against not only joining a Greek organization, but even attending a college at which Greeks have a presence. Many stereotypes and mythologies abound, most having to do with the "Animal House" image of frats or the "Southern Belle" reputation of sororities.

Some of you might be sure that you want to join a house in order to find social bonding, parties, post-college networking opportunities, and a nice campus housing option. Others might be certain that Greeks are all bad and don't want to go near a campus that sponsors them.
We aren't going to solve the debate over whether fraternities and sororities are good or bad. Both of us were members of fraternities and had very good experiences with them in a traditional campus setting where Greek houses continue to play an important, but not overbearing role. Instead, let us lay out some ways to look at Greek systems so that you can evaluate them for yourself and decide what, if any, role they will play in your college life.

Stereotypes about Greek life

First of all, most stereotypes are only partially true. Yes, Greek houses (and fraternities in particular) are often a place for big-time partying on campuses that have at least moderately sized systems. That's where a lot of the drinking takes place, where bands play, and where pre- and post-game parties happen.
However, most Greek organizations also contribute to college life in other ways. They host academic speakers, provide educational and counseling services, engage in an enormous amount of community service, raise money for local and national causes, and enroll many campus leaders and athletes as members.
We believe that partying, drinking, and drugs are present on most campuses, Greek or not. Substance abuse and an anti-intellectual or sexist culture are not caused by Greeks, though in some cases these issues can be exacerbated by them. When considering the role of fraternities and sororities on campus — and whether to join one — you should talk with current students about the reputation and culture of the Greek houses at that college.

Greek influence on college life

There are a few factors that determine the relevance and influence of Greeks on any campus. One is the overall percentage of students that join. Twenty to thirty percent of the student body represents a moderate level of Greek involvement. Fifty percent is a much more dominant and significant proportion.
Another issue is the size of the college's student body overall. In a small college of 2,000 students, a 40-percent Greek population makes for a very strong impact on student life and campus culture. There will likely be very few other social outlets on campus beyond Greek life. At a university of 20,000 students, 40-percent Greek participation still leaves 12,000 individuals who are not affiliated with a fraternity or sorority.
A related factor is the location of the campus. A college or university in the city, whatever its size, will allow students many more social opportunities than an institution located in a small town or rural area. Those urban social and cultural choices will mitigate the influence of any Greek system.

Greek life and rush

The timing of fraternity and sorority rush (when students campaign to join a house) can strongly affect the influence of the system on residential and social life. We are still amazed by the many colleges and universities that allow rush during freshman fall, or even before classes start.
Greek houses are exclusive by nature, even though some colleges have houses that maintain open enrollment or guarantee that all students who rush will be offered at least one bid. One of the best ways for colleges to maintain a Greek presence but decrease their influence is to move rush back to freshman spring or even sophomore year. Sophomore rush can lead to a less socially pressured and exclusive freshman year, a more well-considered rush, and a smaller overall percentage of affiliated students.

Campus housing and Greek life

For those of you leaning toward joining, you should note that some colleges have only non-residential Greek organizations. Either the college banned residential houses, or the houses developed at a later stage and did not play a strong role historically in providing campus housing. In any case, non-residential houses tend to have less of a social impact on student life because members continue to live in college housing, especially during their first two years of college.
Sometimes, depending on college housing policies and the school's location, members might then join with a few friends to rent an off-campus apartment. However, this is not the same as 30–50 students or more living together in an exclusive fraternity or sorority house in the central part of campus.

You make the decision about your college life

Ultimately, only you can decide if a fraternity or sorority is right for you. The best opinion, however, is an informed opinion. Before you begin to lean in one direction or the other, look into what the Greek system is like at the schools you are considering. From there, you can figure out if you want to rush…or rush in the other direction.
By Howard and Matthew Greene, hosts of two PBS college-planning programs and authors of the Greenes' Guides to Educational Planning series and other books

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Consider the Student Body's Effect on College Life and Campus Housing

Ever hear somebody say that college life was one of their best experiences? Most likely, that has a lot to do with the friends they made along the way. Whether it's in class or campus housing, part of the fun of college is meeting new people — and regardless of where you go, you are going to make friends.

Keep in mind that not all colleges are the same, and neither are their students, which means that student life will vary with each school. Large schools and those in large cities are more likely to enroll students from a wide range of ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Others, especially small schools and those in rural locations, tend to have a more homogeneous student body.
Give some thought to the type of people you want around, where they may be from, or how many are male versus female. It's also OK to think about what sort of values the students and the schools reflect. If you're conservative, a more liberal college may make you uncomfortable (unless you're looking for a chance to learn about others' experiences and perspectives), or vice versa. The people you meet during your college years will influence you in ways you may not even imagine!

Campus vibe provides a perspective on college life

While on campus visits, take a good look around. Get a sense of how students are dressed, how crowded the common areas seem, and whether the campus seems lively or a little on the slow side. What do you see? Do you notice a lot of Greek life jackets, Birkenstocks, pink hair and nose rings, or a little of everything? If everyone seems cut from the same cloth, decide if you're more comfortable with uniformity or individual expression. These are important things to consider — you want to find an environment where you can express your personality freely.

Student life and the gender ratio

Most schools are coed, with a balance of male and female students, but some still lean in one direction or the other. You may want to consider whether you want to go to a school with a fairly equal gender ratio or a school that has a significantly higher percentage of one gender than the other. Another option is a women-only or men-only college.
Another aspect to the gender balance that you may want to think about is how it affects college housing. Do male and female students live in different buildings or just on different floors? Do they live on the same floor in different rooms? Do they share bathrooms? The answers to these questions might help you decide how comfortable you are with a school.

College life allows you to experience cultural diversity

One of the coolest things about college is getting the chance to meet and learn from people of all cultures. Do you want to be around lots of different people with a variety of accents and traditions, or does familiarity make you the most comfortable? Most schools will have some level of diversity, but the bigger and more urban the school, the more diverse it is likely to be.
Meeting new people or seeing familiar faces
There are quite a few colleges that draw the locals, resulting in a larger amount of commuter students and a greater chance that if you're a local too, you may run into some familiar faces. On the other hand, schools that enroll tons of out-of-state students may provide an opportunity to forge new friendships from the ground up with people from all over the country. Do you have a preference? Maybe you and your best friend want to stick close to home — or meet new friends at an out-of-state university.
Benefiting from familiarity and diversity
Many large universities, although diverse, have groups of people with similar backgrounds living together in campus housing, either by accident or by design. For example, one university places students majoring in certain areas into the same dorms. These living communities allow for easier studying and facilitate quicker social connections, since many of the students have classes together. On campuses like this, you can enjoy familiarity and diversity!
The student body can affect your college experience
It may not matter too much to you what types of people attend the college that you go to, but be sure that you check things out enough that you don't find yourself surrounded by people that you just can't relate to. College should be fun and full of great interactions, not spent holed up in your room avoiding people.

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How American Universities Evaluate Your Academic Credentials

If you're planning on applying to American universities or colleges, make sure you understand how a U.S. college evaluates your academic credentials. The process usually differs a bit from the procedures that U.S. students must follow. Most importantly, the application process takes a bit more time.

Each U.S. college makes is own admissions decisions

In many countries, the education system is nationalized and so, in your country, it is probably the Ministry of Education, or some similar body, that determines if foreign applicants can attend school there. However, in the U.S., there is no national or centralized agency that makes such decisions. The U.S. education system is competitive, and each U.S. college and university sets its own standards for admission, reviews your previous education and academic performance, and determines if you meet their standards.

There are lots of American colleges to choose from

Because U.S. colleges and universities operate in a competitive market, some schools are very particular about whom they will accept. Other colleges in the U.S. will accept just about anyone as long as they can pay their tuition. This allows for a wide variety of schools as well as ample opportunity for anyone to find a school where they can pursue further education.
With such diversity, American colleges and universities are generally classified as highly selective, selective, somewhat selective, or open admission (institutions that can admit students regardless of their previous academic performance). The level of selectivity that a school follows is based on many factors, and since each college and university has its own admission criteria, your academic credentials may meet the standards at some institutions but not at others.

How do U.S. colleges evaluate foreign educations?

Most U.S. schools have their own staff members evaluate your previous education, but there are some that may require you to send your academic records to an outside agency that specializes in providing evaluations of non-U.S. educations. If an outside agency is used, an institution may specify a particular agency, or it may provide you with a list of several agencies and ask you to choose one. These agencies are only responsible for assessing your previous education and providing the school with their evaluation. The final decision about whether or not to admit you is entirely up the U.S.A. university or college.
It's vital that you pay close attention to the instructions on each application you submit and that you follow the instructions carefully. If you're applying to more than one institution, you may have different instructions for each one. Don't assume that all American universities have the same requirements.

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