Hosting Thanksgiving? Heres Your Go-To Guide To Survive It!

This year will be my first time actually hosting Thanksgiving, and needless to say was kinda worried about it.  Luckily I came across this guide, and thought I should share it with you guys in case any of you were in my shoes this year.  And as the celebration is just around the corner again, many of us break out and panic in figuring out how to host the perfect Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, Insatiable, the sweet blog for food and design created an illustrated survival guide in hosting the perfect Thanksgiving. The infographic breaks down day-to-day and step-by-step instructions on how to handle the challenges in planning for the celebration like table setting details, preparing the turkey, the menu and even tips on what to do with the leftovers. All things you need to know beautifully illustrated and presented in this neat infographic.

Anything to add to this illustrated guide? Share them via the comments below. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

By: William Geist

Are You Going To Worship The Mighty Glow Cloud?

What is Welcome to Night Vale?

            Welcome to Night Vale is a podcast sensation that has taken America and people across the world by storm.  This podcast was created by a guy named Joseph Fink and has gotten lots of publicity recently, though it has been around since 2011.  Recently, an article featured two characters from the series about the “Best Gay Characters in a Radio Program”.  That would be referring to the main radio host of Night Vale who’s always heard speaking about the news around the town, Cecil Baldwin, and his fascinating and “perfect” boyfriend/not-boyfriend Carlos the Scientist.

            Not really sure what I’m talking about?  That’s okay; a lot of people don’t seem to know that much about this podcast.  If you’re into morbid humor or you’re into weird fictional stories about librarians that eat children when you come into the library or that the secret police is around every corner, then you’re in luck – this is the podcast for you!  The very first episode of the podcast featured the Glow Cloud that took control of everyone in the town to make it bow down to it as it  rained down dead animals instead of rain or hail like a cloud normally would.

            If you’re wanting more information about this place, the link to it is: http://commonplacebooks.com/welcome-to-night-vale. Though on the page itself it says:

"WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE is a twice-monthly podcast in the style of community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, featuring local weather, news, announcements from the Sheriff's Secret Police, mysterious lights in the night sky, dark hooded figures with unknowable powers, and cultural events.

Turn on your radio and hide.
Written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Narrated by Cecil Baldwin. Music by Disparition. Logo by Rob Wilson"    

            They recently started doing live shows that others can attend and watch Cecil Baldwin in action.  Though he is completely different in person than what someone’s normal head canon for him might be, that doesn’t stop a lot of people from attending.  The live shows will start again in the beginning of 2014.  The money from these shows all go to making more of the podcast and then having more merchandise made.  This show also relies on monthly donations to keep itself afloat.  So, in the end, this podcast is entirely made up for and by its fans.  Fans can even be featured in the podcast as being part of the city of Night Vale!  During Poetry Week, people sent in their poetry of Night Vale and it was featured on the podcast.  They also feature a lot of new artists in their podcasts to help them get noticed.  Isn’t that nice of them?

 

            With all of this going on with the podcast, there’s no way that it could do anything other than continue to go up.  This podcast has a growing fan base of who even knows how many teenagers and adults and has more publicity than possibly ever imagined.  If you’re not into this podcast by now, it might be time to start catching up before there’s more than a hundred episodes that you’ll have to go through.

• https://soundcloud.com/nightvaleradio
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Night_Vale
• http://nightvale.wikia.com/wiki/Night_Vale
• https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/welcome-to-night-vale/id536258179
• https://twitter.com/NightValeRadio
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/sedem/the-42-stages-of-welcome-to-night-vale-addiction-cjrb

 

-- Meagan Stone

PS3 Launch

     After a long and anticipated wait, during which Sony put the Xbox One to shame, the day for PlayStation fans to pick up the new console finally came. November 15 was the fated day in the US and Canada, and Sony sold 1 million units in the first 24 hours, a number that dwarfs the amount of units available when the PS3 first came out. It seems that Sony was prepared this time...sort of.
     A problem that some newly disappointed PS4 owners discovered was a hardware issue already dubbed “the blue light of death,” reminiscent of the Xbox 360's “red ring of death” and other hardware problems that put that console's failure rate to 54.2%. Lucky for most PS4 and prospective PS4 owners, though, the projected percentage of consumers affected by the blue light of death is only 0.4%, which translates to about 4,000 consoles.

     The company quickly released some potential fixes on the PS4 forum, but consumers affected could also either take their console to a Sony store or ship it back to Sony, who would ship them a new or repaired console within a week. This did not stop angry customers from lowering the console's rating on Amazon from a 5 to a 3.9, however.
     So say you're the proud new owner of a PS4 and are wondering how you can tell if you have the blue light of death or not. With functional PS4s, a blue light flashes when you first power the console on, but quickly changes to white when the system is up and running. For those with the blue light of death, the light never changes to white, and nothing is displayed on the TV screen.
     Although this problem is a major nuisance to those affected, many people say that hardware failures and other issues are a given at any new console launch, and Sony is receiving so much backlash because it's the first of the new generation of consoles, unless you count the Wii U, but who even cares about that console?



Sources:

• http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-serious-are-the-ps4-s-blue-light-of-death-and-broken-hardware-reports/1100-6416222/
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/sonys-playstation-sells-1-million-units-on-launch-day-but-faces-some-problems/2013/11/18/09095bde-5065-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3_launch
• http://consumerist.com/2009/08/17/xbox-360-failure-rate-is-542-percent-game-informer-finds/
• http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sony-customers-report-broken-playstation-4s-flashing-blue/story?id=20936337

--Megan Commings

Skylanders- Continued

I left off the last update with talking about everyone following the trend of creating their own Skylander versions. Like I said Disney has caught on and it won't surprise me if more do also. But the one brand that I am wondering about is Pokemon. Now this is a HUUUGGGEEE company already and makes alot of money. They have video games, merchandise, cards, movies, TV shows, basically everything. Now what would happen if they came out with their own Skylander versions? Pandemonium. Kids, as well as the adults, will buy these things up like candy. You think people got obsessed with Skylanders? Pokemon would take it to a whole new level. I for one would by all of my classic favorites just because I miss them, but people would take gotta catch 'em all to a whole new level. The only thing that would make this cooler would be if you actually had to travel to get special Pokemon maybe go to special stores. People would go crazy, the special edition Pokemon would sell for thousands just like the Skylanders, but probably even better. Would you be a buyer of the Pokemon edition? My guess would be HECK YES! -Summer Whoolery

Xfinity On Demand > Netflix

If you are anything like me, you love to watch some television. Whether it be tv shows, movies or documentaries, I love watching them. With those variations to choose from, time does not allow me to keep up with them all with just my regular cable provider. This is where streaming has become almost like a superhero to me.

Whether it is legally or illegally(which I do not condone) a vast majority of us stream televison/movies offline in some way. Netflix, Hulu and Redbox are the most popular, and they all offer services online to give people like myself their fix.

The question I have though is, are they necessary? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some Netflix, I use it on a daily basis, but I see another option available that could ultimately make Netflix look outdated in comparison.

Xfinity On Demand offers a very large library with much to choose from, and the cool part about it is, it could be bigger! It could be much bigger than what the secondary companies have to offer. It has the shows available for viewing the day after they have been aired as well as new releases available the day they were actually released, not a month later! (GRRR, that angers me Netflix!) Xfinity On Demand also comes with your cable(if you have Comcast) which means you wont have that little extra bill every month. These are all big positives in my eyes.

That's not to say Xfinity's service doesnt need some fine tuning. It has a few flaws, but they are all easily fixable. Here are the main three that I think would help:

1. Drop the prices on all new releases and keep the movies in the library for a loooooong period of time and not just a few months.
2. Make all the tv shows available. If it comes from a premium channel that the customer has not paid for, make them wait and don't have it available until the next season begins. Making it available at that time does not cause you to lose customers. Also, keep them in the library at all times... don't remove them!!!
3. Expand the library even more. Older movies, older shows... bigger is better!!! It's already a pretty big collection but just think of the possibilities.

I personally believe that if they went this route, or one similar, they would be able to reign supreme in this market and become the top dog.

Written by: James Westoven

Source - picture: http://newsletter.gcfonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/comcast_xfinity.jpg

Who is ready for the new KitKat release?!?!

     No, I am not referring to a new KitKat candy release.  The KitKat I’m talking about is Google’s latest Android operating system.  If you think that “KitKat” is a strange name, perhaps you might not be familiar with the previous Android operating system names which were:

Android 1.5, Cupcake
Android 1.6, Donut
Android 2.0, Eclair
Android 2.2, Froyo
Android 2.3, Gingerbread
Android 3.0, Ice Cream Sandwich
Android 4.1, Jelly Bean
Android 4.4, KitKat





As of right now, KitKat is only available on the Nexus 5 which was recently released on November 1, 2013.  Android Central did release a statement on Twitter saying:  

So while the rest of the Android people wait for their update, here are some of the changes and updates that KitKat offers.  Some of the main changes are hidden system support, hidden status bars, printer support, and a lower memory usage.  The new dialer system is also a key feature as well as the Google-infused home screen.  As mentioned, the black bar on the top and bottom of the screen previously used with Jelly Bean is no longer there.  The bars are now transparent with a gradient so that the white icons can still be easily seen.  This allows the screen to look cleaner design wise and bigger.               
              One of the most highlighted features with KitKat is how connected to Google the smartphone will be.  The home screen itself is actually the Google Search app.  Instead of having to search for the app and then tap it to open it, now all you have to do is turn on the screen and say “OK Google” out loud.  This will perform a Google search or other command automatically.  This is similar to Google’s other Phone, the Moto X.  However, with the Moto X, the screen does not even have to be on when you speak.  You could be across the room and just say “OK Google” out loud and it will work.
              Now I do have some complaints about Google.  I never would have thought I would ever say it, but Google fell short with the release of KitKat and the Nexus 5.  Both releases seemed to have come spur of the moment and Google just wasn't prepared like they should have been.  The Google Play Store ran out of inventory of the Nexus 5 pretty quickly.  The wait time varies from 3-4 weeks for both the 16 GB black and 16 GB white phone.  T-Mobile even has the Nexus 5 in stock while Google does not.  As for the KitKat release, phones with an older version of Android, such as the Nexus 4, will get updates gradually.  Some of the updates will have to be downloaded as separate files onto the phone.  Although I am happy for the update, it is frustrating having to wait for it when it should have been ready for everyone when they decided to release it in the first place.

Sources:
http://www.android.com/versions/kit-kat-4-4/
http://www.androidcentral.com/android-44-kitkat-rolling-out-nexus-7-nexus-10
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/11/android-4-4-kitkat-thoroughly-reviewed/


-Kendall Fagan

15 Do-It-Yourself Tips To Enhance The Curb Appeal Of Your Property!

I know probably most of you guys aren't really interested in this, but I myself am just getting into picking up homes with a partner and renting them out.  So this is just a few things ive picked up from my parents over the past year or so.  

So if your interested in a sure-fire way to make your rental home more attractive to renters then read on.  First kick up its curb appeal! Your listing will be more eye-catching to prospective guests, and think of how thrilled people will feel when they drive up to your home! Here are some relatively simple and inexpensive curb appeal upgrades.

·Paint the front door. A splash of color can do wonders for adding curb appeal to your home. A realistic DIY project or you can hire a professional to handle the task.

 

·  Add new front door sconces. Distinctive lighting to frame a front entryway is a great way to add curb appeal. Make sure your sconces are the right size – too large or too small can detract from the appearance of your home. A helpful rule to follow is for the fixture to be 1/3 the height of the door if there is only one fixture and 1/4 the height of the door if there are two fixtures flanking the door.

·  Add some flair to your home by affixing distinctive house numbers.

·  Add some visual interest to your front door with a unique doorknocker or seasonal wreath, or replace the front door hardware.

·  Display an American flag – it’s not only patriotic, but it offers color, depth and even motion if there’s a breeze.

 

·  Add some traditional molding to the top and sides of the doorway. 

·  Affix window boxes to the first floor windows on the front of your house and fill them with colorful annuals to provide instant charm. 

·  Plain, empty front porch? Add wooden rocking chairs, colorful Adirondack chairs, or even a swing. Consider all-weather cushions or hanging annuals for a pop of color, too. 

·  Clean the exterior of your windows. They will sparkle!

·  Do you have an inviting walkway to your front door? Adding one does not require you to break the bank. A simple gravel, crushed brick, or crushed shell path is an inexpensive alternative to bluestone or cobblestone.

 

·  Add a planter at the front door and fill it with some greenery. 

·  If your garage doors are visible from the street, you may want to consider adding similar hardware to that of your front door. 

·  Update the doormat. A tattered and worn doormat does not make for a great welcome. There are so many distinctive and fun doormats. Buy a few and swap them seasonally. 

·  Add some plantings to line your walkway or the front of your house. Boxwoods and hydrangeas are lush, but not overwhelming, and they’re low maintenance. Come summer, add some colorful impatiens, and you have guaranteed curb appeal. 

·  Keep up with routine maintenance: trim hedges and keep mulch turned, gardens weeded, and grass watered and mowed.

As with any upgrade you make to your rental home, be sure to photograph the changes and update your listing afterwards. And don’t forget to partially open your front door when photographing it to convey a sense of welcome and openness!  Another little trick I picked up from my Mom, haha.

By: William Geist