My Top 75+ iPod Touch Apps

Posted on 08. Jul, 2010 by kchristieh in technical

When we recently purchased a MacBook for our daughter to take to college, I asserted myself and claimed the iPod Touch that came with it. I’m so glad I did. While we wait for Verizon to start selling iPhones, I’ve become completely obsessed with and dependent upon the apps on my new iPod Touch.

I can click to my favorite apps – ShoppingList, Mail, Facebook, Contacts, Safari and Twitter – directly from my home screen. I highly recommend ShoppingList. I walk through the grocery store with my iPod in hand, checking off items on my categorized list. I also use it for packing for trips.

I’ve categorized the rest of my apps into 14 different categories. Here are my favorites for each category:

College:

• iStanford: Shows what’s going on at Stanford each day. I wish I could hear all the great speakers and attend the great events, but maybe it’ll come in handy the next time I visit.
• TommyCam: I can see a live view of the Tommy Trojan statue at USC. This Fall maybe my daughter will call me when she’s standing in front of the statue, waving to me. You can also see the TommyCam online here.
• CollegeMapp: Keeps track of college application submissions and statuses. I’ve got to get my son to put this on his iPod. Yes, I get to experience the college application process all over again this year.

Date / Time / Cal:

• CalenGoo: Great Google Calendar app. Our family’s calendars are on Google Calendar.
• Super Countdown: Counts the days until a big event. Right now, we’re counting the days until my daughter leaves for college (40).
• IP Free: For women. If you don’t get it, you shouldn’t.
• Clock: Shows me the time in various time zones.

Entertainment:

I don’t spend much time in this area, but this category includes YouTube, Fandango, Flixster, IQ+ Netflix, The Onion, Oprah Mobile, Videos, Kindle, This American Life and Public Radio.

Finance:

• Mint.com: I can view and categorize my financial transactions. It synchs with the online version.
• Tip Calculator: Easy way to figure a tip and split a bill.

Food:

Some cookbooks are completely downloaded on the iPod, and others will only show up offline if you “favorite” a recipe. Cookbooks include:

• How to Cook Everything (where I learned to make crepes!). This was worth paying for, as it downloaded the whole cookbook to my iPod and includes great step-by-step directions, tips and recipe variations. It also includes a timer for each step.
• Epicurious
• AllRecipes
• Recipes
• On the Grill (shout out to Jamie Purviance!)
• Whole Foods
• Jamie Oliver’s 20 Min Meals.

Music:

• Pandora: Just like Pandora.com. Listen to your favorite playlists.
• Vuvuzela: My virtual vuvuzela comes in handy when I watch World Cup games.
• Music: The music from my iTunes on my computer.
• Binaural Beat: Relaxing sounds.
• Shazam: Identifies songs. I haven’t used it yet, since it would require me to plug in my earbuds/microphone. I’m usually at my computer, so I can usually see what song is being played if I’m actually listening to music.

News:

If I’ll be offline, I’ll download the news before I leave home. It’s especially handy while waiting in a car line.

• New York Times
• Slate
• TheAtlantic and AtlanticWire: Look for new versions coming soon!
• The Daily Beast
• NPR News and NPR Addict
• WSJ (Wall St. Journal)
• LA News, KTLA 5, Fluent News
• Scanner911: Listen to real-time police scanners from around the U.S. We’re in the LA County Sheriff’s territory, but LAPD is much more interesting.

Photography:

• Flickr: Synchs with my photos at
• Rebel T2i (my camera’s manual)
• Photos: The photos I’ve chosen to upload from my computer.

Productivity:

• MobileRSS: Allows me to see all the items in my feed. I can download it when I’m online and read it when I’m offline.
• Things: Synchs with my Things to-do list on my computer
• Evernote: Synchs with Evernote on my computer and online.
• Dropbox: Allows me to read files that synch with my computer via Dropbox. Password-protected.
• iDisk: Part of MobileMe
• InstaPaper: Allows me to save articles to read later.
• GoodReader: Read pdfs

Reference:

• Articles: Great way to find something on Wikipedia.
• Dictionary, English/Francais Dictionary, Eng<>Spa Dictionary
• Google
• Wolfram
• YellowPages, W&Y Pages
• Wikipanion
• WebMD
• Bible, FastFacts

Shopping:

Apple Store, Amazon.com, Groupon, App Store, iTunes

Travel:

• TripAdvisor
• TrafficLA: Shows camera views of different freeways. I wish I could find an app that would show a map with how busy different freeways are.
• TripTracker
• Yelp
• GoogleEarth
• FreeMaui
• Maps
• Chateaux de Loire: I can dream, can’t I?

Utilities:

• Settings
• Free Wi-Fi
• Flashlight
• Calculator
• KitchenPro: Translates cups to TB, etc.
• Carpenter: Level, ruler, etc.
• Life: BMI, life expectancy
• Notes: I use Evernote instead.

Weather / Quakes:

• Weather: But it’s always the same here: sunny, sunny, sunny.   :)  (except yesterday and the day before)
• QuakeWatch: Shows and maps the most recent, biggest and closest quakes.
• TWC (The Weather Channel)
• pUniverse: Plots the stars and planets from wherever you wish.

As much as I love my iPod Touch, I’m frustrated that I can’t put more than 12 apps in a given category. If there’s a way to do that, please let me know.

In case you’re curious, I uploaded my own wallpaper as a photo into my Photos app.

The Westboro Baptist Church forgets that God is love

Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by kchristieh in religion

Here’s a shout-out to the students, parents, staff and supporters of Gunn High School in Palo Alto, CA for protesting the demonstration by the members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. These insensitive, hateful people had the nerve to tell the Gunn community that the reason that five of their students had recently committed suicide was that they failed to obey God.

“You’ll be in front of the train next! God laughs at your calamity!” shouted Margie Phelps, wearing an American flag as a skirt.

The daughter of Westboro Church founder Fred Phelps, she said that the Gunn students died because they failed to obey God, and now live in hell.

This story literally made me cry. I can’t fathom the pain that Gunn has gone through, and am completely appalled that anyone would try to drive such a knife through that hurt. The fact that these people call themselves Christian is shameful and embarrassing, and I hope that people realize that the Westboro Baptist Church does NOT represent the viewpoint of mainstream Christianity.

When the church members (oh, it hurts to call them that!) sang ugly lyrics to “America the Beautiful,” students countered with “All You Need is Love.”

They get it. Just like the rest of us, Gunn students need love. The God I embrace is a God of love, not a God of hate.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4:8)

After the Gunn protest, the WBC folks (better label!) went to the Stanford campus to protest in front of the Jewish student center, Hillel. They wanted to tell Hillel students that they too were destined for Hell. I’m so proud of the Stanford response: over 1,000 people showed up in solidarity to let the WBC know that their hatred wasn’t welcome on campus. The band and the Tree were even there.

“I just wanted to come out and show them that being a Christian isn’t about hate, it’s about love,” said Monica Alcazar, a Stanford freshman and Gunn graduate.

I wish I could have been there.

Links:

• “Protestors at Gunn, Stanford confront ‘God hates America’ group” (San Jose Mercury News)
• “Op-Ed: Westboro: A Christian Response” (The Stanford Daily)
• “A Few Comments on Westboro Baptist Church’s Visits to Stanford and Gunn High School” (Fiat Lux blog)

From the Norton Simon to hippos

Posted on 05. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in art, food

My son needed to visit a museum today to complete a report for his high school photography class. He insisted that we visit the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, and two of his friends chose to tag along.

I love the Norton Simon. It has a very high quality collection that reflects a wide array of periods and styles. My son especially enjoyed the “Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art” exhibition. What teenage boy wouldn’t? I was very impressed with how thoughtfully each of the boys examined all the art, and they had many good insights. I got a kick out of how they noted that some of the Renaissance paintings reminded them of scenes from video games.

My favorite exhibition was “Gaze: Portraiture after Ingres.” It showcased several centuries of fine portraits in a wide variety of styles. One of my favorites was this caricature that Wolo Trutzschler drew of Galka Sheyer. It captured so much in one drawing, and I think that if I were to see her walking down the street, not only would I recognize her, but I’d have an idea of what makes her tick.

I was intrigued enough to look up Wolo Truzschler when I got home. It turns out his full name was “Baron Wolff Erhardt Anton George Trutzschler von Falkenstein” and he loved living in San Francisco. His son’s website says that he drew the original design for Edgar Bergen’s , was a caricaturist for the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote and illustrated five children’s books, painted murals and gave puppet shows.

I discovered that I’ve appreciated his art before, as he was the artist behind the now-defunct Hippopotamus Hamburgers in San Francisco. I think I first ate at Hippo Hamburgers when I visited California on a high school church handbell tour, and raved about it to my hippo-crazed sister and friend back in NJ. The place was themed so well that the toilets were even open hippo mouths! This place is legendary in our family.

But further Googling found this gem of a Wolo von Truzschler drawing, which accompanied a recipe for the Stanfordburger in the Hippopotamus Hamburgers cookbook. Right-click on the picture and choose “view image” to see a larger version, where you can read the complete recipe. Note that olive on top. That’s supposed to reflect the top of the “Freudian” Hoover Tower.

Maybe I should serve it at my next pre-reunion party…

10 Reasons I Love Yet Ignore the Library

Posted on 05. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in books

I’ve always loved libraries. The first library I got to know was the Tenafly Library. I would join the reading club each summer and read as many books as I could. When I moved to the shore, I learned to love the small but robust Fair Haven and Rumson libraries. When I had a big report to write, my mother would drop me off at the Monmouth County Library. I remember spending many a winter and spring break there, while I imagined that my classmates were hitting the slopes of Aspen or sunning themselves on Hilton Head.

When I got to college, I learned to be picky about choosing the right library for the occasion. Meyer Library was the more social library, and I remember someone throwing a dummy off the top floor into the atrium during finals one year in a mock suicide attempt. They put windows up to block the atrium soon after that. When I couldn’t stand the chaos of my dorm desk, I’d head over to the South Stack Mezzanine of Green Library and study like a monk. I think I needed to hide out there since I’d be distracted seeing people anywhere else.

As an adult, I’ve appreciated the classic architecture of the Pasadena Library, and the impressive collection of the downtown Los Angeles Library. My local library, the La Canada Flintridge Library, is functional, especially if I order books online and pick them up there. Our local high school also has a big library with public access hours.

So why can’t I remember the last time I visited a library other than to say “hi” to the high school librarian? Here are a few reasons:

1. I already have a pile of books and magazines waiting to be read.
2. When I decide I want to read a certain book, I put in a request on Bookins, and more often than not I get what I want and just pay the shipping.
3. The wonderful Flintridge Bookstore is up the street, and it stocks the required reading books for our school district. I like to support them since they’re big supporters of our local schools, and since their business suffered when the truck crashed into them last year.
4. Amazon.com. Sorry, but I get free shipping.
5. When I read a book, I don’t always finish in time to return it to the library.
6. My local library is loud, bright and sometimes seems like an afterschool daycare facility. (The picture to the right is not of our local library: it’s a picture of the Camarillo Library, whose interior was designed by The Design Studio.)
7. The library usually doesn’t have what I’m looking for in stock at our local branch. They’re good about ordering online, but that doesn’t help if I’m in a hurry.
8. If I want to listen to an audiobook, I purchase it on iTunes and put it on my iPod.
9. I don’t need to use the computers at the library, since I have one at home. And through it I can access more updated research information than the printed encyclopedia at the library has. (Are there printed copies of encyclopedias anymore?)
10. My dog chewed up my library card, and then I lost it. Seriously. I was hoping to scan it for this post, but I can’t find it.

Someday I’ll probably get an electronic book reading device, which will further decrease the likelihood that I’ll set foot in a library.

This post makes me sad. I feel like I’ve abandoned a loyal old friend. I still support libraries, especially in communities whose residents don’t have the alternate reading resources I do. I fear for the future of libraries…

Links:

• Los Angeles County online book ordering. Have your library number ready!
• More beautiful library interiors designed by my website client, The Design Studio. Why doesn’t our library look this good?
• “Downturn Puts New Stresses on Libraries,” a NY Times article about how the economic situation has made some libraries havens for the downtrodden and thieves, and made librarians more stressed-out.

Best.Beat Cal.Prank. Ever.

Posted on 21. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in my life, sports

I blogged about this three years ago, but I thought I’d show it again: a “Beat Cal” banner hung by Stanford in Tours students from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in the Fall of 1983. Read more about it here.

I wasn’t one of the brave souls who hung the banner: I merely took the picture. Still, it was very exciting. And surprisingly, no one got arrested.

Teach your teens about EANABs

Posted on 22. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in food, parenting

One of the first things I learned in RA training at Stanford in the mid-80’s was to provide EANABs (Equally Attractive Non-Alcoholic Beverages) at parties. This didn’t mean water or cheap soda: the non-alcoholic drinks needed to be just as enticing as the alcoholic ones. The goal was to make people who didn’t drink alcohol feel welcome, and to give people who did drink alcohol something to supplement it so they didn’t have too much. I didn’t realize that “EANAB” was primarily a Stanford acronym until I just did a Google search and most references involved Stanford. Maybe that’s why I felt so comfortable there.

I was reminded of EANABs this afternoon when my daughter hauled a 12-pack of Diet Coke to the shopping cart and declared that she wanted to bring some EANABs to a party this evening. I was impressed that she’d remembered what I’d taught her, and told her that any time she wanted to purchase EANABs, even through college, I’d be happy to pay.

Hopefully kids are making wise decisions this evening. Teens are scary sometimes.  :(

The value of volunteers

Posted on 19. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in inspirational people, non-profits, quotes

One of the things that makes our society great is that there are so many people who are willing to sacrifice their time and energy to volunteer for a wide variety of causes. I heard the following quote from Young Boozer III this weekend as he accepted the Stanford Medal. The originator of the quote is anonymous.

Don’t ever question the value of volunteers. Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by professionals.

Here are some other great volunteering quotes:

A civilization flourishes when people plant trees under which they will never sit. (Greek Proverb)

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in. (Anon.)

It’s easy to make a buck.  It’s a lot tougher to make a difference. (Tom Brokaw)

Volunteers are not paid — not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.  (Anon.)

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. (Booker T. Washington)

You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give. (Winston Churchill)

The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have. (Leonard Nimoy)

Volunteering is not a choice, it’s a responsibility. (Anon.)

The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.

In every community there is work to be done. In every nation there are wounds to heal.

In every heart there is the power to do it. (Marianne Williamson)

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. (Elizabeth Andrew)

The last one is DEFINITELY true! I have a busy week coming up…time to get some sleep so I’ll have the energy to get everything done!

“Le Refuge des Fondus” knockoff opens in NYC!

Posted on 10. Dec, 2008 by kchristieh in food, my life, travel

When I studied in France in the early 80’s, I discovered a restaurant that remains my favorite to this day: Le Refuge des Fondus. It’s on Rue des Trois Freres, in the Montmartre district of Paris. It’s very relaxed: the tables are so long that you need to climb over them to get to your seat. There’s a very simple menu, consisting completely of fondue. People sit side by side with strangers and drink wine from baby bottles. When I got married, my friend Geoff D. even got us a set of glass baby bottles in honor of the restaurant. Ever since I started this blog, Le Refuge des Fondus has been listed as my favorite restaurant on my About page.

So I was THRILLED this evening to see that someone has created a Refuge des Fondus knockoff restaurant in New York City! According to the NY Times:

Jacques Ouari is unapologetic about having copied the concept of Le Refuge des Fondus, in the Montmartre district of Paris, for his new Cave des Fondus. This cellar restaurant at 20 Prince Street (Elizabeth Street), opening Dec. 10, mimics the original down to the silliest details: beer and wine are served in baby bottles, and in order to be seated on the benches against the wall, guests must climb over the communal tables. Eating fondue, rarely a solo activity, and often messy, does lend itself to having fun.

Mr. Ouari’s Cave is decorated with a rollicking peasant mural, sort of Bruegel the Elder meets Red Grooms. It sets the scene for cheese fondue, a melt of three kinds, served with bread, ham and salad, or beef fondue cooked in hot broth, which comes with fries, sauces and salad. Each is $23 a person. There are pastries to dip in molten chocolate for dessert. Reservations are not accepted.

We have a Melting Pot fondue restaurant near us, and it’s wonderful, but it’s expensive and not nearly as fun. It’s hard to be serious when you’re squished together drinking wine from baby bottles.

I wonder what they’d have for my kids? I’d really like to take them there!!

Dates in the future bring wistfulness

Posted on 30. Jun, 2008 by kchristieh in my life, parenting

I just formed a new Facebook group for my college class, and wanted to include our 25th reunion date as an upcoming event. Unfortunately, I can’t, since it’s more than a year away. So I decided to put it on my Google calendar…and that’s when I realized that my daughter will be in college by the time my next reunion rolls around.

It almost makes me cry. I’ll miss her. Maybe I’ll be ready when the time comes. Hope so.

My kids make me laugh when they say things like “Die!” to the uncooperative GPS and it starts directing us to Thai restaurants. They inspire me when they run and bike all the way to the Rose Bowl. And we have great discussions about the most random topics.

At least we’ll have the cellphone…and Facebook. Hopefully they’ll live close enough to me someday that I can still see them frequently.

“Bloom where you are planted.”

Posted on 29. Apr, 2008 by kchristieh in education, parenting, quotes

That’s my favorite quote from today’s NY Times article about college admissions (or lack thereof): College’s High Cost, Before You Even Apply. The message: kids (and parents) should mellow out and not define themselves by the “prestige” of the college that accepts them.

Students complain about lack of sleep, stomach pain and headaches, but doctors and educators also worry that stress tied to academic achievement can lead to depression, eating disorders and other mental health problems.

“There are some kids who can handle it,” says Denise Pope, a Stanford University education lecturer and author of , a book about stress and academics. “But some of these kids have had college on the brain since sixth or seventh grade or even earlier. When you have that kind of stress over that kind of time, that’s where it starts to worry us.”

Ms. Pope is trying to teach students and parents to get some perspective:

“College admission is how a lot of people are defining success these days,” says Dr. Pope, founder of the group. “We want to challenge people to achieve the healthier form of success, which is about character, well-being, physical and mental health and true engagement with learning”

Amen to that! I hope my children work hard but retain balance in their lives, develop healthy relationships with others, and stay ethical (no cheating or Ritalin!) in their quest for excellence. I hope they’re genuinely excited about where they wind up going to college, and make the most of wherever they go.

Daryn Kagan’s new book shows us “What’s Possible!”

Posted on 25. Apr, 2008 by kchristieh in books, inspirational people, international

Do you ever get tired of reading about all that’s wrong in the world? I do. The world is full of wonderful people who do amazing things, but their stories are often ignored by the media.

Former CNN anchor (and fellow college classmate) Daryn Kagan is determined to find these people and tell their stories. Her website, www.DarynKagan.com, uses videos to tell the stories of people who have accomplished extraordinary feats for themselves and others.

Daryn’s summarized many of these stories in her new book, “” I couldn’t put this book down. I thought that fifty stories might be a bit overwhelming, but each one of them was so special and inspirational that I wanted to read more. Each one of the stories is sticking with me, and I’ve mentioned some to my family and friends. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Sebri Omer, an Ethiopian immigrant who gave up half of his successful gas station business to fund a hospital in his native land;
• Henri Landwirth, a Holocaust survivor who founded “Give Kids the World,” a group which treats children with life-threatening illness to a memorable visit to the attractions of Central Florida;
• Zainab Selbi, who survived Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and went on to found Women for Women International, which helps other women war refugees;
• Bob Nameng, who went from being a Soweto street child to founding Soweto Kliptown Youth (SKY) to help give the children and young adults of Kliptown hope for the future;
• Paula Lucas, who founded the American Domestic Violence Crisis Line to help women like herself who were being abused on foreign soil;
• Ken Wyniemko, who got heavily involved in The Innocence Project after he was released after being wrongfully imprisoned. (The Innocence Project estimates a 5% failure rate in the judicial system, which translates to 100,000 people wrongly imprisoned!)
• Jacquelyn Mitchard, who emerged from a tough time in her life to write , which wound up being selected for Oprah’s Book Club.

These are only a few of the amazing stories Daryn tells. By the end of the book, I think anyone would be compelled to stop any future whining and find a way to make their own mark on the world. Read this NOW!

Irreverent “Hail Stanford, Hail” commercials

Posted on 17. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in advertising, animals, education, videos

These irreverent yet innovative commercials actually appear to be real. They make me so proud. Click on each image to see the commercial on YouTube.

And on a different note, here’s another Stanford-related commercial. It’s for Sony HD, and revolves around “The Play” with Cal. I was there that day, so I didn’t need to rely upon any non-existent technologies to have the highest high and the lowest low of any sporting event in history.

Why can’t colleges just cut the cost of tuition for everyone?

Posted on 20. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in education, things that bug me

When I graduated from Stanford in 1985, the total cost of tuition, room and board was approximately $13,800. Using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) conversion tables, that would equal $26,973 today.

So why must we budget over $50,000 a year for each of our kids to attend college?

Granted, my dorm rooms didn’t have carpeting or broadband, and some of the facilities had seen much better days. But I didn’t care: I was just happy to be able to learn in an intellectually stimulating environment.

Last night I received an email from Stanford stating that it’ll be announcing a program similar to Harvard and Yale’s:

Under the new program, parents with incomes of less than $100,000 will no longer pay tuition. Parents with incomes of less than $60,000 will not be expected to pay tuition or contribute to the costs of room, board and other expenses. The program also eliminates the need for student loans.

I think that’s great, but how about the rest of us? We’re extremely fortunate that we have a combined income of more than $100,000, but it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to shell out $50,000 per kid each year. (Especially for the three years we’ll have two kids in college!)

I wish that colleges and universities would use more of their endowments to cut the cost of tuition for ALL families.

We’ll pay if our kids are excited to attend a fine private institution. But I hope they also seriously consider our state’s excellent, less expensive public university system.

I’m listed in the Stanford Blog Directory

Posted on 21. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in education

If you’re affiliated with Stanford, you can now see my blog listing in the Stanford Blog Directory. It’s a growing list of blogs authored by Stanford students, faculty, staff and alumni. If you’re not affiliated with Stanford, get your alma mater to start such a listing, if they don’t have one already.

I’ll always remember Mia Baker

Posted on 05. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

The first organization I joined when I moved to L.A. was Stanford Professional Women of Los Angeles County. Over the past 20+ years, the group has provided me with many new friends and stimulating experiences.

Mia Baker was an important part of SPWLA over the years. Although she was quite busy in her position as L.A. County Special Assistant District Attorney, she always found time for SPWLA, both as a leader and a cheerleader.

Sadly, Mia passed away this morning. I’ll miss her enthusiasm and energy. You can learn more about her by reading the profile that Diana S. wrote for our newsletter last spring.

My imaginary cross-country tour

Posted on 14. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

I had a friend in high school who had stock in McDonald’s. He had a mission to visit every McDonald’s in America. I had another friend whose family would visit a different major league ballpark on each family vacation. I’ve even heard about an ambitious soul who is attempting to visit every Starbucks in the world.

I think it would be fun to visit every state and have a meal with a college classmate in each city I visit. I just finished writing my longest class correspondent column ever – 1,753 words, covering 41 classmates. I’m so bummed that I didn’t get to meet all of these neat people when I was in college, but that wasn’t likely with 1,600 people in our class. I meet new people at each reunion, but it would be great to connect with even more.

Now to cross my fingers that the magazine doesn’t ding me for going over the 1,500 word limit!

A green pumpkin and a Cardinal gnome

Posted on 07. Oct, 2007 by kchristieh in environment, sports

We really should get out (back) more. Look what we found when we finally poked around in our backyard in the daytime today:

A pumpkin growing from a vine that sneaked over our back fence. It’s over a foot wide, with huge leaves.

Our gnome rides to victory. As today’s LA Times said,

Except for a few happy Stanford fans and the wacky Stanford band, nobody believed anything like this could happen.

We thought it could. We’re accustomed to wacky Stanford stuff.

Earn an honorary Stanford degree in Puzzology

Posted on 05. Jun, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, technical

The Stanford Engineering Department is posting a new puzzle on its website each month. Once you solve it, you email your answer in, and they’ll keep track of how many times you get it right.

This month’s puzzle requires the player to arrange the squares in a Flash animation so that each of the three red data inputs at the top connects to a blue data output on the right. There are two hints to get you started. I solved it, so it couldn’t be that hard…

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates via email or RSS. 

The Overachievers

Posted on 01. Feb, 2007 by kchristieh in books, education, life lessons, parenting

Our book group met for the second time today, and we discussed The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins. Here’s how Amazon describes it:

In this engrossing anthropological study of the cult of overachieving that is prevalent in many middle- and upper-class schools, Robbins (Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities) follows the lives of students from a Bethesda, Md., high school as they navigate the SAT and college application process. These students are obsessed with success, contending with illness, physical deterioration (senior Julie is losing hair over the pressure to get into Stanford), cheating (students sell a physics project to one another), obsessed parents (Frank’s mother manages his time to the point of abuse) and emotional breakdowns. What matters to them is that all-important acceptance to the right name-brand school. “When teenagers inevitably look at themselves through the prism of our overachiever culture,” Robbins writes, “they often come to the conclusion that no matter how much they achieve, it will never be enough.”

I wish the book wasn’t called “The Overachievers.” Several people I talked to said they didn’t feel it was relevant to them since they don’t consider their child an overachiever. But Robbins’ book doesn’t just focus on top students: it also focuses on the effect that excessive expectations to succeed can have on students. The most easily visible measure of success for many is what college they get into, so it’s not surprising that many of the students and their parents in the book obsess about this.

This was good for me to read this week as my children took finals. I kept telling them that I was impressed that they were working hard and yet finding balance in their lives, and that that was more important than the final grade. Besides learning from the mistakes of others in the book, I also appreciated the candid portrait of what modern suburban high school life can be like.

My daughter read this last summer before she entered high school, and learned many different lessons from it. The obvious lesson is that you can knock yourself out to the point of exhaustion, and still not get into a top school. On the other hand, she also saw how hard some kids work, and that if she does have high goals for herself, she’ll have to work hard for them.

I’ll try to get my son to read it before he enters high school. It’ll be interesting to see what he gleans from it.

It’s off to the alma mater

Posted on 19. Jan, 2007 by kchristieh in books, my life, travel

I’m out the door to the Gathering of the Scribes in a few minutes. I’m looking forward to seeing fellow Stanford class correspondents. I’ve done this job for nearly 20 years, and hardly ever get to meet anyone at the alumni office and almost never meet fellow correspondents.

And, I’m hopefully going to start/finish on the way there/back!!

Beat Cal! Stanford banner hung from Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Posted on 04. Dec, 2006 by kchristieh in international, my life, sports

OK, so Stanford didn’t beat Cal this year. But it wasn’t as bad as many of us thought it would be!

I took an old photo out of a frame last night and discovered a very timely old picture underneath: the “Beat Cal” banner hanging from the Arc de Triomphe. I studied in Tours, France in the Fall of 1983, and some of my fellow students used their bedsheets to make a banner. It actually hung from the Arc de Triomphe for several minutes, giving me enough time to take this picture. I caught a cab to the airport, where I went through Security (!!!) and onto a plane (!!!!!!) where I handed my roll of undeveloped film to a student who was returning home for the game. I believe the picture ran in The Stanford Daily the following week and in the yearbook that year.

Here it is, for all posterity:

The University of Raising Big Money

Posted on 21. Oct, 2006 by kchristieh in education, my life

Today’s NY Times reports in The University of Raising Big Money that:

Last week, Stanford University unveiled its new capital campaign, called the Stanford Challenge, which aims to raise $4.3 billion by 2011. That stunning amount is a record for a university fund-raising campaign, but not by much. It overtook Columbia, which just a few weeks earlier had announced a $4 billion campaign of its own.

Yikes! No wonder Stanford sent President Hennessy down here last week to talk to the alumni. I had to fulfull my chauffeurring duties that evening, so I couldn’t make it. Just as well – we need to raise money for our own kids’ college funds before we contribute much more to our alma mater.

University places Stanford Band on indefinite provisional status

Posted on 16. Sep, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, my life

Heard this one on NPR yesterday, and easily found it online:

Stanford University has placed the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band on indefinite provisional status as a student organization and has appointed an interim director to lead the group while the university determines the conditions under which the privileges of the Band will be fully reinstated.

These measures were announced on Thursday, Sept. 14, by Vice Provost for Student Affairs Greg Boardman as a result of intentional destruction by Band members of the Band Shak this summer.

I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I can’t. I was in the Band for a week back in ‘81, and transferred over to The Stanford Daily when I didn’t feel comfortable doing s** exercises at the Ohio State game, I didn’t drink the toxic blue liquid, and they didn’t take the p**** film out of the projector when they were supposed to be showing band routines (which were edgy enough.) I love the Band’s spunk and energy, but I think many of them go overboard too much. It’s a shame – they could be awesome if they didn’t.

How shameful that they’ll miss the first game in the new stadium. Actually, I think they should be allowed to perform, but minus the people who trashed the Band Shak. After all, if a few football players did something equally bad before a game, I bet the whole football team wouldn’t be punished for it.