Don't Put Your E-mail Address on Your Blog

As we discussed with you during Freshman orientation, you want to be careful about putting any kind of personal information on your blog, such as your address, telephone number, etc.

You should also avoid putting your e-mail address directly on your blog. Unfortunately, the internet is swarming with "spambots"---little programs that scan webpages for e-mail addresses, which are then sold to spammers. If you type out your e-mail address on your blog, we can almost guarantee that you'll see a marked increase in the amount of e-mails you get touting quasi-legal "male performance enhancing drugs, online gambling and porn, and, of course, appeals from foreigners in developing countries pleading with you to assist them in black-market currency exchange schemes.

So, how do you give people an easy way to repond to you in a blog post? Here's how:

1. Type some text like: "for more information, contact me."
2. Select a portion of the text, like the words "contact me."
3. Click the little "hyperlink" toolbar icon, the little globe with a link on it between the color icon and the left justifcation icon.
4. When the hyperlink box comes up, delete what's in it and type: mailto:
5. Then type or paste in your e-mail address. Thus if you're a guy, the string will read something like: mailto: dragonsword_demonslayer@att.com. If you are a gal, the string will read something like: mailto: princess_pickle_puppy@joplin.net. Or you could just use your official MSSU e-mail address.
   
6. Save and close.
7. You'll now see your original text with "contact me" as a hyperlink. When a reader clicks on it, a new e-mail should be fired up, with the address you supplied already in the "to:" box.

Poker With Jake

Freshman Jake Forste is looking for people who want to play a little friendly poker. Read about it here. No word on when the slots and roulette tables will be ready. . .

New Bloggers---Don't Forget to Check For Comments!

I suspect that many of our new bloggers have comments to their posts that they'd like to read and share with others, but a new feature on Blogger requires blog owners to take an extra step to review and approve comments before they appear.

We think this is as great idea because no one should have to see things on their own blog that they don't approve of. However, this requires each blogger to make a regular effort to check for comments and approve those that they want to appear on their blog.

The procedure is simple. After you initially log in, click on the name of your blog, then look for the "Moderate Comments" tab. Clicking on this will give you a list of the comments that have been left for you. You can then check off the ones you'd like to appear on your blog. You can also sign up for e-mail notification of comments. We didn't select this when we created your blogs, but you might find it convenient to get an e-mail message letting you know that someone has commented on your blog. This will remind you to visit the "Moderate Comments" section and review and approve your comments.

If anyone is still having trouble logging in, getting a blog unlocked, or figuring out the "Moderate Comments" feature, please contact me ASAP.

For those non-Freshman out there who would like to have this kind of control over the comments on their blogs (especially those who are getting lots of "comment spam," click the "Comments" tab on your blog and choose "Word Verification" and "Moderate Comments."

-- JM

Jessica Selby Explains British Culture

Junior Jessica Selby spent part of her summer at Merton College, Oxford. Let Jessica explain the delights of "pubbing," "high table," and getting "staggerish" right here.

The Wonderful World of Jamie

Sophomore Biology major Jamie Reed has, as usual, lots of good stuff on her blog, including photos of all the cute pictures her students made for her when she volunteered at a grammar school for her Service Learning class. You'll also learn what Jamie did this summer and the new TV shows on her must-see list. Finally, Jamie gives you links to her favorite fashion sites. You go, girl!

More Freshman Bloggers Check In

Kalyn Thompson is making up for lost time now that her blog is finally unlocked.

Sarah Perkins wonders why so many of us accept greed and wastefulness as part of human nature. Does it have to be that way?

Kevin Zimmerman checks in with thoughts about the hostage crisis game from the perspective of the media.

Brennan Benkert has thoughts about his first week as an Honors student.

Jakob Forste on what he wants out of college.

Felicia Humphries on her first week in college.

Amanda Hinkle on the hostage crisis game.

Brian Smith on the game and the first week of classes.

Tristan Coble on the game, which got her "hamster moving and the little wheel spinning."

Reba Hocker on surviving the first week of college.

Will Lynch attempts to define art.

Alexis Dollar on what she expects out of college.

Adebayo Orunpekun on college expectations.

Stacy Heiskell on the hostage crisis game.

Heather's First College "Party"

Don't miss Heather Dickson's account of her first college "party" and the various anxieties and moral dilemmas it presented. Why not use the comments section to this post to weigh in your own feelings about the "party culture" associated with college? Is partying essential to the college experience? Can you "party" without alcohol and/or drugs? How does an Honors student make good decisions about when, where, and how much to party?

By the way, Heather's experience is pretty mild compared to the freshman who announced last year that he had been out partying the night before (a Thursday, I think) until 3 a.m., at which point, somebody pulled a gun on him.

And here we were thinking you were all in your jammies, tucked into bed by 11 pm, with nothing more than a bellyful of warm milk and dreams of differential equations to send you off to slumber-land!

Jim Spena's Oxford Blog

We owe Honors junior Jim Spena an apology for our earlier failure to provide a meta-blog link to his rich and thought-provoking blog posts from his summer experience at Merton College, Oxford. Give Jim a hyper-linky visit and read all about his adventures amongst the Brits. Jim pulls no punches about what delighted him and what disappointed him about the experience.

Never Let Schooling Interfere With Your Education!

The afternoon MIDS 101 class is well launched on its quest to discover what it means to become educated and how much schooling can help or harm the process. We have our own class meta-blog to coordinate discussions and we invite all to read and comment on our work.

To start things off, I've posted my own insanely overgrown list of favorite education quotes for the consideration and comments of all. Warning: I don't have much of a stomach for the kind of feel-good "never give up on your dreams/ you are the wind beneath my wings" quotes you probably heard during your high school graduation. My taste runs more towards things like this stinkbomb:

"Consider... the university professor. What is his function? Simply to pass on to fresh generations of numskulls a body of so-called knowledge that is fragmentary, unimportant, and, in large part, untrue. His whole professional activity is circumscribed by the prejudices, vanities and avarices of his university trustees, i.e., a committee of soap-boilers, nail manufacturers, bank-directors and politicians. The moment he offends these vermin he is undone. He cannot so much as think aloud without running a risk of having them fan his pantaloons." -- H.L. Mencken

Or this head-scratcher:

"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." -- Oscar Wilde

Find you own favorite or send me fresh example for my list. Follow all the fun here.

¡ En Español Por Favor!

J.J., bless her heart, has become our first bilingual blogger, with an entry in English and Spanish. We know for sure that there are several other Spanish speakers in the program, as well as a group of individuals who'd like to practice. And what about other languages? Let us know if you are looking to converse----even just for practice---in a language other than English. We'll make sure everyone gets the word. . .

First Freshman Bloggers In The Pool!

Yowsa, yowsa, we've got our very first freshman blog entries coming in and we couldn't wait to show them off on the old meta-blog. Here are the first kewl kidz into the pool:

• Tyler Brown on the hostage crisis game
• Ivy Love on "becoming a terrorist" (for a day")
  
• Maurice Cramer, Minister of Androland, with a Looooong post on the game
• J.J. Scheidler (notice how J.J. has personalized her blog page already!)
• William Lynch, with thoughts about the hostage crisis, his first day in college, and much more.
• Arturo Lechuga-Arietta on the game.
  
• Heather Dickson with thoughts on playing a terrorist and a little entry about one of her Honors professors that we'll let you discover for yourselves!
• Lindi Todd, who has personalized her blogspace quite nicely, on the game.
• Ashlee Russell on the game
• Audrey Wheeler on the game
• Andrew Scheffe on the game and his first week of college
• Jennifer McCracken on the game
• Audrey Bain on the game
• Aryn Crawford on the game
• Scott Thuong on the game
• Chelsea Prettyman on the game
  

I invite everyone to take a little hyperlinky spin to these sites and read what our newest bloggers have to say. I don't forget to leave a comment!

To others who have had trouble getting logged in, please bear with us, we are working on it. In some cases, we had to redo your blog and give you new login info. Check your MSSU email account. In other cases, you are unable to post temporarily as part of Blogger's new anti-blog-spam rules. Follow their directions and pray. If you have any problems or questions, don't hesitate to stop by the office and talk to the blogtastic assistant director.

Streaming Videos From the Honors Freshman Survival Festivities

We now have online the videos available from this years Honors Freshman Survival festivities.

View our Honors freshman introducing one another here.

View our panel of top Honors faculty discussing what they expect from Honors students here.

Watch the "World News Network" reports on the Keibar Crisis here.

Rita Forbes, "Eyed By a Middle-Aged Frenchman"!

Junior Honors student Rita Forbes has spent the summer in France and will attend the University of Ansbach in Germany this semester. She's got plenty to say about what it means to experience Europe firsthand:

An empty cup of espresso sits in front of me. Outside, a couple of tourists haul their heavy wheeled luggage across the street, running, either to catch their train or to avoid traffice. In the nearly-empty cafe, oldies play on the radio... and it hits me with a jolt. I am here. In France. After all the impatient waiting and preparation, I am here. And the time is slipping away so quickly.

These moments of realization flash upon me every once in a while, engulfing me in a sense of disbelief at reality. How can this be? How can I find myself calmly sitting in a cafe in France? Exactly how did I come to be dancing with a couple of French teenagers on Bastille Day, on a crowded stage filled with strobe lights and smoke? What am I doing, swimming in a lake and being eyed by middle-aged Frenchmen? Is the mayor of this tiny country town really kissing me and pouring me a glass of wine? Can this really be me, skipping through the Jardin des Tuileries in front of the Louvre?

Read Rita's blog here.

Pictures from the 2006 Honors Freshman Survival Seminar

Arts and Sciences Dean John Messick responds to a question from J. J. Scheidler














Dr. Pat Murphy of the English Department chats with Arturo Lechuga-Arietta















School of Technology Dean Tia Strait with Brian Smith and Drew Robinson














Business School Dean Brad Kleindl hold forth to Bobby Georgieva, Maurice Cramer, Andrew Magnuson, Jakob Forste, Tristan Coble, and Ciara Lipsey

Lauren Oxendine blogs about Greece

Junior Lauren Oxendine has a lot exciting new material on her blog about her summer trip to Greece. This is a wonderful example of how MSSU Honors students use blogging to capture their thoughts and impressions of international travel.

Cortney Tate Starts Graduate School

Honors alum Cortney Joines (formerly Tate) with her husband, Brandon. Cortney has begun her Master Degree progam in Nutrition Science at Missouri State. Congratulations Cortney!

Joplin Alive!

Just in case you didn't catch it, Saturday Night Live ran a sketch recently called "Joplin Alive!"

It's a parody of video postcasting featuring a group of "Wayne's World" type losers creating a postcast from "a booth at Bennigan's" in Joplin, MO.

Full transcript here.

Note the erroneous local color details---starting with the fact that there's no Bennigan's in Joplin!