Most of us are guilty of slugging down a cup of coffee to get our morning started. Drinking a cup before we study or start in on a project. The coffee tends to make us focus a little more and be a little sharper so this delicious elixir must be bad for us right?

Well not necesarily, they just haven’t found enough evidence in all of their studies to prove that it IS bad for us. They have been testing the affects of coffee for years and they haven’t found enough substantial evidence to confirm that it is bad for you! Actually, because it improves alertness and function small amounts can actually be good for you.

EnergyFiend.com states,

“Caffeine Increases Dopamine Levels in the Brain Which is Why it Feels Good.

Caffeine is a natural stimulant which increases adrenaline in your bloodstream and increases your respiratory rate. In your brain, caffeine intercepts adenosine, the chemical that slows down our nerves and signals the need to sleep. It also increases dopamine levels, stimulating pleasure centers. That’s why people truly enjoy their caffeinated drinks.

Coffee has been found to improve cognitive functions by blocking that brain-slowing adenosine, says Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a food chemist at the University of Scranton. When given caffeine, severely sleep-deprived Navy Seal trainees improved their alertness, vigilance, learning, and memory by as much as 60%, according to Dr. Lieberman, who administered the test.”

Now its not all roses… caffeine is a drug so you can get addicted just as you can to any other drug. Your body gets used to having that dose of caffeine to get you through the day and when it doesn’t get that dose your body goes through withdrawal symptoms. (Headaches and Irritability) So you must be careful and not over indulge in this miracle drink or I assure you there will be someone playing the drums behind your eyeballs when you don’t get your fix!

-Research says that you should limit yourself to no more than 4 cups a day.

-Coffee can stay in your system up to 8 hours so make sure you consume your coffee early to ensure it doesn’t mess with you catching ZZZ’s.

Coffee=Friend

…so turn that mug up!

-Jared, CP Staff

You shouldn’t be drinking and driving but there is an alternative that can be quite an interesting game.

Drunk Mario Kart

Here’s how it works. You can play this game with up to 4 people. It is quite simple. Everyone starts with the beverage of their choice. Once the race begins you must hold your beverage and your controller at the same time. If you set your drink down to steer at anytime during the race and get caught, you must chug your drink and grab another.

The second and last rule is that you must finish your drink before you cross the finish line in order to win. If you don’t finish your drink before crossing the finish line your opponents can come up with some sort of punishment. Be creative.

A few tips for playing this game. The first tip is to use a straw. Though you may get harassed by your opponents you’ll have an edge. The second tip is simply worry more about finishing your drink and less about the race. These races are fairly short so get it down quick.

Have fun and safe driving!

Paul, CP Staff

For all of you who are not real big into buying, downloading, or ripping music this site may be for you. This site is a place to discover and listen to free music online, create your own free playlists, and share it all on your favorite social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and more.

You can create an account and have several of your own playlists. The songs are streamed so if you always have an internet connection the songs you put in your playlist might as well be your own songs! But without the internet you have no music…but who isn’t connected these days?

I have found the site to be very helpful at parties when people are wanting to play something that isn’t on your ipod. They can search for the song and then play it. However, there are no videos on the site, it is truly a song streaming site.

Create your own study, party, and chill playlists then listen to other people’s playlists.

Check out the site and let me know what you think!

Hunch Punch…

Just saying those words together makes me feel like partying. Hunch Punch is seen on college campuses across the nation. This drink comes in many different containers, colors, and is often called by different names. You may see it served out of a 5 gallon jug, bathtub, trash can, or a punch bowl. No matter what you call it, how you make it, or how you serve it…this is one beast of a drink.

If you are throwing a party or just wanting to experience this awesome drink here are some good recipes to try:

Recipe #1

-1 Liter of Everclear

-1/5 of Vodka

-3 gallons of Fruit Punch

-2 Liter of Ginger Ale

-Sliced Fruit (Apples, Oranges, Melon, Pineapple, etc)

Recipe #2

-1 Liter of Everclear

-1/5 of Rum

-2 Gallons of Fruit Punch

-2 Liter of Sweet Tea

-2 Liter of Sprite

-Orange Juice Concentrate

-Lemon and Lime Juice

-Sliced Fresh Fruit

Recipe #3

-1 Liter of Everclear

-1/5 of Malibu Rum

-1/5 of Vodka

-2 Cans of Pineapple Juice

-1 Gallon of Fruit Punch

-2 Liter of Ginger Ale

-Slice Fresh Fruit

Good luck and drink responsibly!

___

Most people think that you need to select a major before you go to college. Others think that they’ll attend a Junior College and knock out some University Core classes before deciding (usually consisting of a bunch of senseless Biology classes or Art/Craft classes that don’t relate to your final choice of study; I’ll rant about mandatory Core classes some other time). Well there are lots of resources to help you in your decision. Continue reading "Choosing a Major" »

I assume that all of you at least vaguely understand the concept behind beer pong.  This is not the place to find the rules of this frothy contest of precision and accuracy.  If you are looking for exact instructions on the rules of the game, take the scrunchie out of your hair and try Google.  I am here to talk about something else.  It may seem like an insignificant part of the game, but it can drastically shape the way you are perceived by your peers.  I am talking about handling your success.  I am talking about your victory celebration.  Whether its a cool and calm high five to your partner or doing the dirty bird after a clutch, game ending shot, your celebration says a lot about you.  I’m not saying you should go home and choreograph a signature dance move before you go to that special house party, im just saying its something to think about.

SERIOUS

You definitely don’t want to be super serious and only care about the W’s.  But then again nobody really likes “Over the Top Guy” either.  He’s always funny at first and everyone envies his enthusiasm, but about 20 minutes in, he starts to get under your skin.  The best thing for me is to find a blend.  You want your celebration to stay classy and say “I’ve been here before,” but you also have to have the marbles to rub it in the opponents face just a bit.  I personally like the chest pound.  If you are ultra competitive like me, after a great shot, sometimes it can be a good thing to turn your back to your competition and let out a little scream where only you and your partner can hear.  That way you don’t look like such a psycho for being so pumped up about winning a drinking game.

A Bit Over the Top for Beer Pong

It can be a tricky thing, but it can also be beautiful.  Stay graceful, but aggressive.  Be confident, but not necessarily a smack talker.  Beer pong can be a great thing if you let it.  If you get the chance to be involved in a beer pong contest, you should take it, even if you don’t like beer.  There are plenty of thirsty people around who would be glad to take your drinks for you.  Although doing this may make your victory feel less rewarding, and it will also lower your value as a beer pong teammate.  Believe me, the quickest route to becoming the college pro that you dreamed of as a kid, is to become a master of THIS game.  I realize that to some, this will seem like the worst advice you have ever heard, and it may be, but take it for what its worth…  good, clean (or sometimes dirty), college kid fun.   Stay thirst my friends.

We all can agree a big part of college is saving money in certain areas, so you’ll have more money to spend on partying. Well, there can be side effects of saving too much money. We can also agree on the fact that ramen has to be the cheapest way to save money and fill your belly at the same time. However, a diet consisting of ramen only, can be dangerous.

A fellow college pro decided that it would be a great idea to start saving money for the fall semester. He decided to start the all ramen, all day diet. For 3 weeks he spent  only $1 every day on ramen only. At the end of the 3 weeks he wound up at the local hospital due to severe loss of balance. At the conclusion of the visit, the doctor diagnosed him with ”labirynthitis,” loss of balance due to inner ear infection. For nearly a week this college pro was miserable because he struggled walking a straight line. Doc told this wiley college pro that it could have been caused by an increase in sodium in his diet or a few other things. Right away he knew what had happened and what needed to be changed.

Lesson learned!

If you wish to save money by eating the delicious ramen, please eat sparingley and maybe add some other foods into your daily diet. This will help you maintain your balance and stay away from the dreaded doctor.

Check out Jared’s post for ramen recipes!

Paul: CP Staff

Submitted by Steph

“So, going to college is all about getting an education, right?  WRONG.  If you go into your college years with that kind of mindset, you’ll come out on the other side wondering why everyone said it was the greatest time of their lives.  Now, I certainly encourage attending class and spending an adequate amount of time studying, or else Mom and Dad may be tempted to start making you buy your own pizza and beer.  But keep in mind that a degree is simply a nice side effect of attending college.  The PURPOSE of college is simple: to party. Continue reading "Guest Post: Spice Up Your Party Style" »

“Wait, what’d you just say?!?”

Yeah that’s right kids, this game has a gross title. But hey, you can call it whatever you like if that makes you uncomfortable. But let’s get down to business and talk about how to play. This is one of the more complicated card-based drinking games around, but it’s extremely fun. We’ll lay it out for ya:

Number of players: 4

Materials: Deck of cards and drinks (a few cans of beer are necessary as well)

Game ends: When you want it to Continue reading "Captain Dick Head" »

Ok so I know this is not something that may be beneficial to your college experience, but I just want to let off some steam here.  Lebron James will never be the hero that I want him to be.  Period.  Now this doesn’t mean that I was a huge Lebron fan before ESPN’s embarrassing special entitled ”The (bad) Decision,” I just feel like maybe I wanted Lebron James to be a great player more than he wants to be a great player.  I want to see him do it on his own. I want to see him take over a game against Dwayne Wade where they go back and forth on each other all night long, not team up with him so that neither one of them has too much pressure on their shoulders to play perfect.  It just seems like the easy way out to me.   Continue reading "Another Lebron James article? Surely not." »

This is a great game that I have recently stumbled across. Pass the Pitcher, unlike a million other drinking games, the title almost says it all. Play this game with at least 3 people and is best played around a round table. Continue reading "Pass the Pitcher" »

Okay kids, I thought for a total of 7 seconds on the title of this until I came up with cheesiest thing that popped into my head.  Well, I am aware that we are well into the summer, it’s actually damn near the end but I decided to add some musical spice to this new fangled inter-web page.

Starting off strong, do we have any fans of America in the house? Well I should hope so or else you should probably just get the hell out of here.  The first band I’m giving a shout-out to absolutely screams USA!  The Black Keys is a two man blues-rock band from Akron, Ohio that own some of the rawest sounding electric guitar riffs I’ve ever heard.  I had the pleasure of seeing them live in Birmingham, AL at a private show this past spring and the front man, Dan Auerbach, literally ripped my face off; not literally, what are you nuts?  Their new album entitled “Brothers” hit the shelves a few months ago in May and if you love America then you should buy it. Continue reading "Sizzling Summer Jams" »

Submitted by Lisa

“You Can Read This Post in Direct Sunlight!”

E-Book readers have been a hot topic of discussion for the past several months. Between the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes and Noble Nook and the Apple iPad, there are a myriad of choices to suit any buyer. Continue reading "Guest Post: On E-book Readers" »

How do you make sure you have the most stylish dorm room pad to rock out your freshman year? Or how do you spritz up your apartment? You definitely want to decorate your room but soooo many options….

…You can’t get advice from your friends because they also are in the same predicament . You can’t get advice from your parents either because when they went to school they just probably didn’t even own a TV, jammed out to record players, and soda pop was only a nickel. You have to get a fresh take on the matter, let the college pros help you out! Lets start with posters! Continue reading "Get your POSTER on!!!" »