studenthacks.org

If you have any old books that you never plan on reading again, here are some fun ways to recycle them:

1. Hide stuff in your hollowed out book.
Read tips on how to hollow books with a ruler, pen, box cutter, and Elmer’s white glue.

2. Make Book Bookends.
Learn how to turn an old textbook into a bookend.

3. Create an invisible book shelf.
Learn how to stack books on your wall without any shelves.

4. Turn a book into a clock.
If you have a book cover you really like, learn how to turn it into a clock.

5. Make a lamp shade out of a book. 
Easy way to convert a book into a lamp shade.

6. Turn a book into an iPod case.
Go ahead and stick your headphones into that book. I’m not kidding.

7. Make table legs out of books.
Any English Major or grad student has probably countless books stashed in their bookshelves or closet. Learn how to make a table out of books.

8. Make a Lift-the-Flap Book for Toddlers
Kids love board books — especially lift-the-flap books. Learn how to make one as a creative gift for that next baby shower or birthday party.

9. Trade your old books for new books. 
There are a variety of websites that let you trade books.  Check out bookmooch.com, paperbackswap.com, and bookins.com

10. Set a good book free with BookCrossing.com
Over 680,000 people in over 130 countries have decided to let a favorite book go free. You simply register your book - leave it at a favorite coffee shop or wherever - and track its progress. Learn more at BookCrossing.com.

Recommended Reading

• Free AudioBooks and eBooks for Your iPod
• The Best Fiction and NonFiction Books of 2007
• Where to Buy Cheap College Text Books Online
  
• Rent Books Online with BookSwim
  

I’m in the process of updating the site with a new theme.
Please email me if you have any suggestions.

I’m starting a directory of student bloggers.

This list will include all my favorite student bloggers — which will be featured at the top — along with a list of other student bloggers that I’m subscribing to.

To get on my student blog directory, please email me your: (1) name, (2) college, (3) major, (4) URL, and (5) two sentences that describe yourself and/or your blog.

If you have a twitter url, send me that as well.

BTW, the guys at HackCollege have a great student blogging series going on. If you haven’t already been following it, you should definitely check it out.

Since it’s April Fools’ Day, I thought it would be fun to list out some of the funniest school pranks . . .

Lord of the Rings Prank
During the week that the first Lord of the Rings movie was released, the gold ring appeared around the Great Dome at MIT (inscribed in Elvish).

Yale’s “We Suck” Prank
During the November 2004 Yale-Harvard football game, Yale students used a card stunt to trick more than 1,800 Harvard fans into holding up placards that spelled “We Suck.” This is based on the Great Rose Bowl Hoax - designed by Caltech students.

Disney Buys MIT for $6.9 Billion
On Apirl Fools’ Day of 1998, hackers changed the MIT homepage announcing that Disney had purchased MIT.

Robot Rights Protest
During the 6.270 Autonomous Robot Design Competition, MIT students set up a Robot Rights Protest, featuring disabled veteran droids - R2D2, K9 from Doctor Who, Hal 9000 from 2001, and Johnny Five from Short Circuit. Read the hilarious tract asking you to repeal the Second Law of Robotics and end slavery.

Halo 3 Prank at Harvard
The night before the release of Halo 3, MIT hackers transformed the statue of John Harvard into the Master Chief character.

MIT Newspaper Hacked by Caltech Students
Some gutsy Caltech students hacked a copy of the MIT newspaper The Tech and passed it around to prospective students. Headlines include: Architects Deem Campus ‘Unfortunate.’ You can download a full pdf of this publication.

Linux Prank on Bill Gates
On the day of the dedication of the William H. Gates Building, the internet kiosks in the lobby at MIT were changed to temporarily boot linux.

Bonsai Kitten Hoax by MIT Students
Some students at MIT developed BonsaiKitten.com - a website that showed how you can grow kittens in bottles as a decoration - like a Bonsai tree. The site was taken down.

Study on the Effect of Tinfoil Hats on Blocking Mind Control Satellites
Some MIT grad students “published” a paper on the effect of tinfoil hats on blocking mind control satellites. They measured the attenuation of radio signals . . .

R2D2 Prank
Two days before The Phantom Menace was released, MIT students turned the Great Dome into the head of R2D2.

StudentHacks.org wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Pixoo.us is the “first profile picture enhancement service for social networking sites.”

Seems kinda wacky to me, but they claim to take your boring, old picture and glamorize it for social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

They are currently in a beta test for limited group of 50 users, but they promise to open up the site to others very soon.

Personally, I think this is sort of cheesy.

Do you really need a pimped-out picture of yourself for a social networking site? I mean, is this really necessary?

If you haven’t started carving your pumpkin yet, it’s time to get started. I found a bunch of geeky pumpkin designs to get your creative juices going . . .

Yoda Pumpkin

Corpse Bride Pumpkin Design

Death Star Pumpkin

Dwight-O-Lantern

Pumpkin Pi

Napoleon Pumpkin

Boba Fett

Here’s Johnny

Firefox Browser Pumpkin

Pac Man Pumpkins

Okay, now back to studying . . .