Influenza A (H1N1) virus (aka "Swine Flu")

Tarleton is monitoring this virus – you can check for updates here. A press release from Tarleton\’s Media Relations office today noted that \”swine flu\” is a misnomer, particularly since you don\’t catch the virus from handling pigs or eating pork products.

With finals coming up and summer vacations/jobs approaching, you want to try to avoid getting sick with this or any other illness. The following will help:

– Wash your hands often with soap and (preferably warm) water for 15-20 seconds.
– Use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel cleaners.
– Use tissues to cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
– Don\’t share drinks with others.
– Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
– Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

More information:
Tarleton Health Services
Texas Department of State Health Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

10 social media sites for college students

Ok, you all probably already know about and have accounts on Facebook and MySpace. But, did you know that there are a huge number of other social networking sites out there geared toward college students to help you network, collaborate, communicate, and make your daily college tasks a bit easier.

Check out these 10 must try sites put together by David Spinks, a graduating senior in New York.

  • Cramster – Get homework help here by other students and educators.
  • InternshipRatings – Internship reviews from students that have been there.
  • Zimride – Search for rideshares.
  • Box.net – Secure online file server.
  • Twitter: @heatherhuhman – Tweets helpful information to those seeking internships and entry level jobs. @collegebloggers – Connects college students, faculty, and alumni bloggers, sharing relevant content.@careerealism – Career experts tweet career advice in response to questions sent in by readers.@sweetcareers – Great tips for college students and job seekers.@findinternships – Informative resource for those looking for internships.
  • Remember the Milk – Convenient place to manage your daily tasks.
  • Gradefund – Earn money for your good grades.
  • Evernote – Cool tool that allows you to capture information and access it later, from any computer.
  • Zumeo – Job search/online resume site.
  • CampusBooks – Buy, sell or donate your textbooks.

Top Ten Tuesday – Twitter DOs and DON\’Ts

I like all the cool new technology and toys that seem to pop up over night! It is so much fun to play and learn about this stuff. Twitter is my new favorite. Do you twitter? Do you have lots of followers? Many celebrities, television programs, and news organizations have over 1 million followers each! Check out the Top 100 Twitterholics with the most followers at http://twitterholic.com/. I wanted to share these Twitter DOs and DON\’Ts. You can find more tips about Twitter from PC Magazine.

  • Don\’t say anything that could get you fired or prevent you from getting a job. Tweets are public and are open to everyone.
  • Do shrink your URLs – this makes it easier to follow your links.
  • Don\’t be boring. A simple rule – \”Never tweet about food or the weather.\”
  • Do categorize your tweets for added visibility.
  • Don\’t tweet more than ten times a day, or more than five times an hour. If you have that much to say, maybe it belongs on a blog.
  • Do share pictures. Don\’t tell us about something cool or life-changing without a link or picture.
  • Don\’t reply to every single tweet. That will get old fast.
  • Do make Twitter useful – follow the news.
  • Don\’t tweet drunk – You will regret your tweets in the morning.
  • Do promote yourself – your work, your school, etc.
  • Don\’t ignore people who send you a direct message or a reply. Part of the fun is conversing with your followers.

Try Twitter! It really is fun.

Ever Wonder How To?

Since finals are starting next week, you need some ideas for productive procrastination. May I suggest Have you ever wondered how to…

Drive cats endlessly crazy?
Bellydance?
Create and animate a stop motion LEGO brickfilm?
Break in 8 ball and 9 ball?
Make a compressed air spit ball launcher?
Avoid fretbuzz on an electric guitar?
Stop procrastinating? (ok ok, time to get back to studying.)

GOOD LUCK ON THOSE FINALS!!!

Happy (late) birthday, Shakespeare!

William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564–yesterday would have been his 445th birthday. But it\’s not too late to celebrate.
Some of Shakespeare\’s most famous quotations about age:
“I would there were no age between ten and three-and-twenty, or that youth would sleep out the rest; for there is nothing in the between but getting wenches with child, wronging the ancientry, stealing, fighting.” The Winter\’s Tale
\”Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.\” Anthony and Cleopatra.

\”With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.\” The Merchant of Venice

\”I have lived long enough. My way of life is to fall into the sere, the yellow leaf, and that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obedience, troops of friends I must not look to have.\” Macbeth

Shakespeare @ Dick Smith Library:

Here is a small sampling of some of our resources:

Reference Books

PR2892 .O56 2002 Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z : the essential reference to his plays, his poems, his life and times, and more.

PR2892.B69 1990 Davis, J. Madison. The Shakespeare name dictionary.
PR2892 .D33 2004. Palmer, Alan Warwick.Who\’s who in Shakespeare\’s England.

JOURNALS: Shakespeare, The Shakespeare Association bulletin, Shakespeare bulletin, Shakespeare in Southern Africa, Shakespeare on film newsletter, Shakespeare quarterly,Shakespeare studies, Shakespeare survey
TO ACCESS JOURNALS: Go to the the library homepage. Under Databases click \”Online Periodical By Title\” and type in journal title. Click on journal title link, \”Info\” or \”SFX\”. Log into the NTNET network using your st_ user name and password.

FILM VERSIONS OF THE PLAYS(VHS):
Our selection includes: Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Henry V, Henry VIII, King Lear, Love\’s Labours Lost,Macbeth,Measure for Measure,Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tragedy of Richard III, The Two Gentleman of Verona, The Tempest, The Winter\’s Tale.
There are viewing and listening stations available downstairs for various formats, including DVDs, CDs, records, VHS and cassettes.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE NEWS
\”Portrait of Shakespeare Unveiled, 399 Years Late.\” Mackey, Robert. The Lede Blog. The New York Times. March 9, 2009.
\”Remains of Shakespeare\’s First Globe Theatre unearthed.\” Smith, Graham. Mail Online (The Daily Mail). March 10, 2009.
AREA EVENTS
Scarborough Renaissance Festival (April 4-May 25th, 2009)
LINKS
–
Image obtained from Doobybrain.com

Tarleton Thursdays: Did You Know?

“The most beautiful part of Tarleton’s landscape, trees have remained a landmark throughout the university’s history.”
Arbor Day is tomorrow, April 24. 2009 and trees have always been an important and beautiful part of the campus. As stated in the Tarleton Traditions pamphlet (page 31), “at least one tree remains from each of the 254 counties in Texas. The largest trees on campus are the post oaks. The two American elms in front of the Howell Building were planted about 1915. The oldest live oak tree is at the southeast corner of the Howell Bulding and a Ness Oak, a hybrid, is east of that building. There are four to six types of native live oaks on campus and many native and grafted pecan trees. The largest pecan tree stands in front of the Agriculture Building.” 

Even the library received a tree! In 1956, the Tarleton Scholarship Society planted a tree in front of the new library. However, the 1985 addition to the front of the original library building took in that area.

The Dick Smith Library needs a slogan!

We\’re looking for slogans from our users that capture the essence and spirit of the library’s value to the Tarleton community. These slogans will be incorporated into promotional materials (i.e. flyers, brochures, etc.) for the library.

We are holding a Slogan Contest, April 20th – 30th, open to all students, faculty, and staff. Entry forms are available at the Dick Smith Library circulation desk and online @ http://www.tarleton.edu/~library/SloganContest.pdf.

The person with the winning slogan will get receive a copy of The Traditions Remain (a limited edition book about Tarleton history and traditions) currently on display at the library circulation desk.
So… get creative!!

Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Songs for Earth Day

Earth Day was founded back in 1970 and falls on April 22nd each year. To help celebrate, I thought I would share one of my favorite places to find out about music – the Y! Music Playlist. They have created this Top 10 Earth Day songs playlist. Read their blog post to find out more about music and earth day…they have a long history together.  I hope you enjoy.

1. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) – Marvin Gaye
2. Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell
3. Paradise – John Prine
4. Shapes Of Things – The Yardbirds
5. Nature\’s Way – Spirit
6. Don\’t Go Near The Water – The Beach Boys
7. If A Tree Falls – Bruce Cockburn
8. Don\’t Go Near The Water – Johnny Cash
9. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) – Neil Young
10. I Remember California – R.E.M.

Do you have a favorite environmental song?  Post a comment and share!

Thinking and Living Green!

Earth Day is April 22 & Arbor Day is April 24!

What a great time to consider what we can all do to \”live a little greener,\” which is something many of us long to do. However, it\’s often hard to find out how to go about doing that.

To meet this information need, Discovery Channel offers Planet Green — \”a global initiative including a television network, interactive tools and \’how-to\’ resources.\”

This site offers \”solutions-oriented tips and information\” we all can use to live greener. Features include \”fan sites, articles about how to go green, forums where users can interact,\” advice from experts, and articles from Discovery Channel\’s eco-savvy writers. \”Passionate, positive, and always practical, Planet Green is bursting with smart tips and inspiring advice.\”

Discovery Channel also offers a sister site, TreeHugger, which posts \”the latest in green news, opinions, interviews, and trends,\” as well as \”the cutting-edge scoop on green architecture, design, gadgets, technology, fashion, health, politics, science, and more.\”

Check these sites out & go green!

"You are now entering the Stress Free Zone…"

The end of the semester is almost here. Some of you are preparing for graduation. Others may be job-hunting, or getting research projects together for finals. A few of you may be \”lucky\” enough to be doing all three.

On Monday, April 27, the Dick Smith Library, along with the Student Counseling Center, is hosting The Stress Free Zone from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help students relax before they dive into final exams.

We\’ll have fun games outside, a session in the Multi-Purpose Room on how to prepare for finals, a Stress Board in the lobby where students can give each other tips on stress relief, and a multimedia display of items designed to soothe your anxiety.

Stop by and get some stress relief!

We will also be open later for finals: details will be forthcoming on the library homepage.

Don\’t forget our other resources for \”de-stressing\”:

  • Individual and group study rooms
  • Student lounge
  • Laptop checkout
  • Movies and music
  • Audiobooks
  • Popular novels and magazines
  • Sauve Cafe

If you have any research questions, please call (254) 968-9934 or e-mail us at [email protected].

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