Thursday, June 26, 2014

Experience Graduate School

The One-Year, Self-Directed, Alternative Graduate School Experience

Subscribe to the Economist and read every issue religiously.
Cost: $97 + 60 minutes each week.

Memorize the names of every country, world capital, and current president or prime minister in the world.
Cost: $0 + 3-4 hours once.

Buy a Round-the-World plane ticket or use Frequent Flyer Miles to travel to several major world regions, including somewhere in Africa and somewhere in Asia.
Cost: variable, but plan on $4,000.

Read the basic texts of the major world religions: the Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, and the teachings of Buddha. Visit a church, a mosque, a synagogue, and a temple.
Cost: Materials can be obtained free online or in the mail—or for less than $50 + 20 hours.

Subscribe to a language-learning podcast and listen to each 20-minute episode five times a week for the entire year. Attend a local language club once a week to practice.
Cost: $0 + 87 hours.

Loan money to an entrepreneur through Kiva.org and arrange to visit him or her while you’re abroad.
Cost: Likely $0 in the end, since 98% of loans are repaid.

Acquire at least three new skills during your year. Suggestions: photography, skydiving, computer programming, martial arts. The key is not to become an expert in any of them, but to become functionally proficient.
Cost: Variable, but each skill is probably less than three credits of tuition would cost at a university.

Read at least 30 non-fiction books and 20 classic novels.
Cost: approximately $750 (can be reduced or eliminated by using the library).

Join a gym or health club to keep fit during your rigorous independent studies. (Most universities include access to their fitness centers with the purchase of $32,000 in tuition, so you’ll need to pay for this on your own otherwise.)
Cost: $25-75 a month.

Become comfortable with basic presentation and public speaking skills.
Join your local Toastmasters club to get constructive, structured help that is beginner-friendly.
Cost: $25 + 2 hours a week for 10 weeks.

Start a blog, create a basic posting schedule, and stick with it for the entire year.
One tip: don’t try to write every day. Set a weekly or bi-weekly schedule for a while, and if you’re still enjoying it after three months, pick up the pace.
Cost: $0.

Set your home page to http://wikipedia.org/random. Over the next year, every time you open your browser, you’ll see a different, random Wikipedia page. Read it.
Cost: $0.

Learn to write by listening to the Grammar Girl podcast and buying Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.
Cost: $0 for Grammar Girl, $14 for Anne Lamott.

Instead of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, read The Know It All by A.J. Jacobs, a good summary.
Cost: $15.

TOTAL COST: $10,000 or less

*The total cost of the self-directed, alternative graduate school program does not include housing or food, but neither does the tuition for traditional school programs in the U.S. and Canada. Freedom and independence, however, are included at no extra charge.

The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World
by Chris Guillebeau

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

make-up artist

I love Michelle Phan. I don't care of her plastic operation, I care about her skills as an makeup artist.

Here's DIY's Makeup Artist challenge

I think Marlena has a very good list: 3 P's on becoming a makeup artist

This list by Mikala Ewald is also very good




Tuesday, June 10, 2014

26 collections to start for your daughter/son

Let's accept the fact that most parents are very gender oriented.

And let's accept the fact that there are some differences in the genders that are not due to genitals or upbringing. Some.

Anyway, I saw this "25 collections to start for your daughter" and was very interested.
 But the suggestions were a bit... weird.

So, when thinking about what kind of a collection to start for a child, think about these things:

Will e be able to use it even when an adult?
Will it give e benefit in e's future education and job?
Start a collection that isn't gender biased. After all, we cannot be sure of the gender of a baby (don't forget all the transgendered and agendered people of the world), or if the person is girly or boyly.
Will it be worth something if she wants to sell it one day?
Will it be easy to store, display and move?


1. Children's books. I personally love the vintage books, but it would be nice to get new books... and perhaps give them vintage style covers?


2. Teacups. Egg cups. Champagne glasses. Basically anything like this, that can be used mix-matched.


3. Watercolor tins? No.
Dolls? No. Well... perhaps. But not just any dolls.
Stuffies and plushies? Yes. Teddybears.
Antique dolls.
Well-made things the kid will be happy to save even when s/he's 50+.


4. Cameos. They are interesting, even for a boy.
5. Thimbles? No.
Clocks? Er... watches, perhaps. Ok, clocks, but good quality, please!
Cuckoo clocks? Sure... but how many are too many?
So perhaps some of the clock collection could be cuckoo clocks, and some watches, and so on.


6. insects. :-D
I really think girls should get over their insect phobia and start collecting insects. Perhaps starting with butterflies that are more pretty and cute than creepy six-legged things...
I can't stand them, but that's mostly because I didn't have an insect collection. When I was 7 I was still interested. When I was 17... not so much. Frankly, I get slightly hysterical if I need to deal with six-legged things.
All the other natural collections, like stones or pressed plants are good.


7) snow globes. Love those. But remember that a glass ball filled with water can act as a magnifier and start a fire...


8) Keys? KEYS?!?! What about coins?


9) and stamps. (Or matchboxes or any other such items.)


10. Owls? Ok... if s/he likes them. Otherwise start collecting a specific animal.


11. Purses? No. Hat collection is better.


Actually, a collection of accessories might be a good idea, even for boys. (Like belts, watches, ties, scarves...)


12. Charms for a charm bracelet? Yeah... but... boys don't use such things much.

Hair clips? :-( You should at least wait until you know if your child is of the kind that likes using hair clips!

One could start collection of jewelry. There's enough for both boys and girls, and if you collect quality items or jewelry with a theme, like turquoise jewelry, it can be a non-functional collection.


13. pins and/or brooches


14. Globes. I think all the kids love globes.


15. Buttons, dice, marbles...
Well... the kid probably loves all the different shapes and colors and so on, but... it doesn't really fulfill the criteria, does it? You can give these things to the kid as some extra surprise with the collection piece. But not as The Collection.

A better idea: art
Buy a print by an unknown artist. Start a silhouette collection. A collection of miniature portraits.


16. Cookie cutters? Perhaps.
Spice tins? A set of spice tin, especially painted by you, filled with spices, and then lessons to teach the child to use the spices in cooking and baking... that would be really nice. It doesn't need to be anything advanced and fancy. Simple decoration is usually the best.


17. Holiday ornaments and other holiday things, like towels, pillows etc.
18. Cameras


19. Rocks or shells or other "nature finds" - a cabinet of curiosities


20. Colored glass


21. Succulents


22. "Swatch portraits"? WTF? Excuse my language, but... huh?
I'd rather collect samplers, and use the meaningsful bits of fabric to make quilts. Quilt collection might be an idea, though...
Or any antique crafted items.


24. Old tools. Of any trade. Antique tools are beautiful.


25. Games and game pieces.


26. Autographs


For more ideas, visit A Collection A Day 

Also, read this: Stop hoarding, start collecting 

How to collect things

How to Start a Collection

Top 10 Beginner Tips to Smart Collecting!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Traveling...

A lot of Bucket Lists are about traveling, or have at least one travel goal. People want to see a specific place, travel around the world, set foot on every continent or visit every capital or follow a list or another.

Traveling is really easy goal.

All you need to do is
- find out where you want to go
- find out how to get there
- find out how much it costs
- find the money
- take time off and
- go

There are thousands of sites online giving you tips and advice on everything from how to pack your backpack to which stores to visit in Paris.
There's even quite a lot of resources to help you travel cheap.

Here's a couple

Do you need to be rich to travel the world?
No. But there are a couple of qualities that help. If you like people and company, and meeting new people every day, if you don't mind some (or a lot) uncomfort time to time, if you are not picky when it comes to food or where you sleep, if you have the will and health, you can travel very cheap.
And you can learn all that. To like people, to love company, to love meeting new people every day, do not mind uncomfort, to eat anything, sleep anywhere, to will and even to some extend you can control your health, too. It doesn't hurt anyone to be in good physical condition, and the conditions you can't control, won't stop you from traveling.
Most of the time. There are some conditions that have to be considered, like having AIDS. Some countries refuse to let in people who are sick.
Anyhoo

The Ultimate Guide To Traveling When You Have No Money

Travel Without Money

 9 Ways To Travel The World For Free (Or Even Get Paid To Do It!)

How to travel the world for free (seriously)

but... you need to consider the downsides of this too.
10 reasons why traveling for free is BS. There's always pay. SOMEONE must always pay... and it's not fair to force someone pay for your fun, especially when that someone has less than you.