Things you should know about your iPhone or Android phone, student or not.

So today’s post is inspired by the three people who’ve told me they recently lost their phones as well as my own well known inability to hang on to my phone in my house. I’ll be sharing some information on both iPhones and Androids so stay with me, or skip to the part that applies to you.

It’s also worth mentioning, at this point, the merits of using Dropbox to back up pictures and videos on any phone. If you create a Dropbox account and download the app, by simply opening the app while you have internet access on your phone the app will upload all new pictures and vids to your online Dropbox account, which can also be linked to your PC to push files back and forth between the two. Never lose a precious memory again!

I’ll start with the iPhone.

Probably because of the high price of Apple’s iconic product, iPhones get stolen on nights out more than any other type of phone of any of my friends, but it was when a friend of mine had hers stolen from her locked car after (stupidly) leaving it on the passenger seat that I learnt of the extensiveness of the backup capabilities of the iPhone.

If you’re familiar with the merits of iCloud, then maybe this post won’t be much use to you. Apple has their own back up cloud service, the iCloud, in case it breaks, gets stolen or in case you just want to upgrade to the latest Apple phone. Once you’ve created your account, the iCloud (https://www.icloud.com/) automatically stores contacts from your phone, so you’ll never lose them again, as well as storing any appointments, your calendar and notes saved on your phone.

The iCloud can also be used to locate your phone using GPS. Whether you’ve lost it cleaning your house or misplaced it between the house and driving to the shop its position will show up by tapping the ‘Find My iPhone’ icon on the iCloud menu. Once you’ve found the phone, you can set it to ring from your laptop if it’s on silent, lock it to only allow it to ring one number if you’ve misplaced it until you retrieve it, or if it has in fact been stolen you can set your iPhone to erase itself before whoever has it sees those bikini shots from Magaluff last summer. http://en.wordpress.com/post/On top of these functions, iCloud also allows photos stored in the photo stream of your phone to be retrieved or viewed by downloading iCloud Photos to your PC.

Now the part for the Android users out there.

I found a lifehack for lost androids on one of my favourite sites to read at night, 9gag. This one is for how to find your phone if you’ve misplaced it but left it on vibrate (found at http://9gag.com/gag/aWZ18Zd).

My brother is currently rocking an android and he has tried and tested this for me and it works. You’ll never have to tear the house apart again. The Android Device Manager can be found here.

Don’t forget, keep an eye on your service providers website too. They often offer student promotions or special offers for customers, like Meteor’s Goodie bag (http://www.meteor.ie/goodiebag/ ) which offers gifts depending on your top ups every month as well as discounts at Pizza Hut, FCUK, Converse etc, or 02 Priority from 02 ( http://www.o2online.ie/o2/priority/ ), who offer discounts, opportunities to buy concert tickets ahead of release dates and cheap cinema tickets.

Another life hack for those of us that play Candy Crush or Suduko on our phones . (http://1000lifehacks.com/post/55132822236)

And to finish off, one quick tip. If you want to quickly and easily amplify the sound on any phone while listening to music, put it in a glass. For serious. The glass amplifies the sound as it travels. Don’t you love science.

Type again soon, but in the mean time, drop questions and suggestions in the comments.

Toodles!!

 

Lizzie

Entertainment stuff – Snapchat, TV, Free stuff to do

Ok so I’m going to skip the intro and launch straight into what will probably be the most interesting thing about this post to most students. Snapchat.

I was sent a Snapchat life hack a few weeks ago by my friend Sassy Shelly from the Life Hackable website and I tried it and had no luck. Fortunately my housemate Susie mentioned it today and I retried it, and SUCCESS.  So here it is (from http://lifehackable.com/post/56901160743), you can now annoy your friends with pictures of your contorted face in black and white, sepia or negative.

I have literally spent the last half hour sending various pictures in all these tones. If you’re reading this and you’re my friend on the lovely app itself, sorry, not sorry. Also, if like me some of the colours are missing from your colour panel to draw with, just drag the cursor over your image and other colours like black and brown will appear.

Another tip for Snapchat is if you want to add more colours when drawing on your pictures, like black and white, try this one and a half min video. Its easy peasy.

Ok so if you’re still reading this and I haven’t lost you to that last hack, my next tip is about TELEVISION.

If you’re missing the soaps cos the lads have hijacked the tv for the match, or you just haven’t got digital since the aerials stopped working, you’ll be happy to know there’s a website out there streaming all the Irish channels for free. Aer TV (http://www.aertv.ie/) streams RTE1, RTE2, TV3, TG4, 3E, RTE Junior and a few other bits and pieces, and you just flip through them like you do on your t.v. You need never miss an episode of Nationwide again. 🙂

Finally, if you’re planning a day out around the country and have a Tesco Clubcard, it’s worth checking their days out page on their website, which you can find here. They offer free passes to a long list of places like the Zoo, The Guinness Storehouse, The National Wax Museum and Kartmania for just €2 to €3.50 worth of points on your card. There are some serious savings on passes when you consider the price of entry to some of these places, and tokens can be redeemed for normal adult passes as well as student passes. And if you do make plans to visit Dublin or a major city, check out http://www.buseireann.ie/ for their €5 expressway tickets or 5% discount on tickets bought online.

So that’s it for today but I’ll post again before the end of the week, in the mean time you can contact me with ideas or suggestions in the comments. 🙂

Lizzie.

Discounts and free stuff for students

So this week I’m hoping to blog some general stuff that’s handy to know as a student.

This post focuses on money and how to save it, or better yet how to get something for free.

McDonalds

My first life hack is one I generated myself on Imgflip.com, as it didn’t exist yet. I felt it deserved to be immortalised in life hack form.

Yup, if you, like most students I’ve ever had this conversation with, weren’t aware that if you present your student travel card to the cashier in McDonalds, you can order a student meal, which is either a Big Mac, a quarter pounder, 6 McNuggets, a McChicken sandwich or a Fillet O’ Fish sandwich with medium fries and medium soft drink for just €5 then this one is for you.

Available in all republic of Ireland chains, even though the offer is technically valid with a student travel card, a friend of mine that works in McDonalds says they will accept a student card in towns with a college in them, with exception of Dublin who only accept the student travel card.

I’ve only handed in my WIT student card for the last year in Waterford and never had a problem getting my student value meal. Cheaper than the Eurosaver menu and the perfect hangover cure. Bargain.

Unidays

My second tip for saving money is joining student discount sites. Currently my favourite is Unidays, which you can find at http://www.myunidays.com .

By joining up for free, you gain instant access to student discounts on men’s and women’s clothing of 10-25%, and sometimes more. Discounts are available online and in store from this site, which I love, as I still like actually going to the shop to buy my clothes. 🙂 Some discounts are continuously available through them, like their 10% Cath Kidson, ASOS and Missguided discounts, but others are limited time offers, and these tend to be of greater value. It’s worth keeping an eye to the website for these, or following their Twitter and Facebook accounts for updates.

Currently Unidays is offering limited time discounts for 20% off at H&M in store, 20% off at BooHoo.com, 20% off at Urban Outfitters online, and a 30% discount at Forever Unique, from their website. With popular student brands like these it’s well worth clicking on to the site and seeing if you can shave a few euros off the price of those new shoes you were about to order.

Acumen Panel

My final tip for this post is to join the Acumen Panel. It was actually a lecturer from the school of business in W.I.T. that put me onto this tip.

If you haven’t heard of the Acumen Panel ( http://www.acumenpanel.ie ) it’s basically a website that rewards you with points for doing surveys they send you. A very clever way to get people to help with market research. Once you set up a profile, they will send you surveys (usually one or two a week) and based on how long it’s estimated that they take you to fill out, they will reward you with points. Most surveys take five to ten minutes to complete and you get about a hundred to two hundred points for your time. I’ve done them sitting on the bus to college, waiting for lecturers to arrive, here, there and everywhere to fill a five-minute gap.

The important part though is the points. The points, worth a cent each can be added up to purchase gift cards for sites like Amazon or Brown Thomas through the website’s partner, AllGifts.ie. The rewards may seem small but it requires minimal effort, and you’ll be surprised to see how they add up by the time you start Christmas shopping, and the difference it makes.

Hopefully this helps you guys out a bit. As always, if you’ve any suggestions or feedback, or tips you think are worth sharing leave me a comment.

Till next time 🙂

Lizzie

Freshers Week 3: Everything but the spirits (W.I.T. edition)

Hey fellow W.I.T. students.

This post is specifically for you guys, to show what you may have missed this week in Waterford Institute of Technology if Freshers Week was too much of a distraction.

Clubs and Societies!!

Clubs and Societies open day was held during Freshers week on Tuesday in College Street campus and on Wednesday this week in Cork Road campus. Clubs and Societies in WIT grow in number every year and there’s something for everyone to get involved in. Most cost just €3 to join for the year and membership often offers discounted event ticket prices. They often hold events like quizzes, social nights out and specialist events based around the society’s theme.

Other than upward of 20 sports clubs, like soccer, rugby, pool and karate, other societies include cultural, political as well as entertainment. These societies include the L.G.B.T. society, the comedy society, the Christian Ethos society, the Fianna Fail society, the Psychology society, the Foróige society, the Islamic society, the Irish society and the business society (currently W.I.T.’s largest society). So if you missed the open day for whatever reasons there’s still plenty of time to become involved.

You can contact the Clubs and Societies Office in Cork Road campus to get the full list by e-mailing them at clubsandsocs@wit.ie, phoning the office on 051 302 238 or visiting their Facebook page through this link, https://www.facebook.com/WITclubsandsocs .

Fitness Suite Classes are back next week!!

Even I missed this bit of information. The Fitness Suite here on campus begins offering their evening fitness classes again from Monday.

You can find the image posted above, as well as more information on the classes and their gym membership packages and prices on there Facebook page, at https://www.facebook.com/pages/WIT-Fitness-Suite/289718841076485?fref=ts

WiFi Printing now available

My final tidbit of information you may have missed this week is that printing is now available through wifi on campus. This may not sound like a big deal if you’re in first year, or if you don’t have a lot to print off for your course (you don’t know how lucky you are) but if you’ve spent any amount of time trying to print off hand outs on the library, no longer having to offer your first born child to the library computer Gods in exchange for having your computer log you on in under ten minutes or actually sending all your print jobs to the printer an entire floor away makes the future a marvelous thing indeed.

The steps are below in a pic I took by the printing kiosk in the business building, across from Centra. Another kiosk is located where the top up machine was formerly located in the main building, near A.I.B.

Another tip about these new kiosks is that they allow you to top up your WitCard online if the queue for the machine is too long (when is it not) or the wifi is too slow to top up using the WitCard app (which always is).

In my next blog post I’ll be back to my usual mix of general student orientated life hacks and tips. If you have any questions or suggestions, leave them in the comments.

Till then friends,

Lizzie.

Freshers Week 2: Exercising the spirits

It’s the end of Freshers week and your temple has seen better days. Today I’m posting tips I’ve tried and tested on how to restore your body to its former shining glory in the quickest way possible.

One of the first life hacks I remember coming across years ago is one to clear up skin, which I thought would be a good one to start with. If the heavy makeup and late night sessions are starting to wear away at your complexion, a dab of Listerine on any reddening breakouts will reduce redness and minimise visibility. I swear by this tip as my skin isn’t great at the best of times. It’s especially handy when time is of the essence in the post-session depression state.

Secondly, if you are planning a session, and still intend on going to college the next day (good choice), preparing for a few minutes the before will save you all manner of headache in the morning. Simple little things like pulling together a comfortable outfit and leaving it beside my bed, ready to go in the morning has been the difference between me making it to college and not making it to college in the morning. Get your bag for class together the night before so you’re not fumbling around trying to remember and find everything you need at the last minute. Leave a bottle of water beside your bed so you can start re-hydrating as soon as you’re awake. Planning saves time and headaches when you’re not feeling your best.

Another tip for the girls, although I’m sure a lot of you already know this one – fake tan streaks can be tackled head on with lemon juice. This hack came from a great site called Student Beans. The acid in the lemon juice helps cut through the fake tan quicker than just washing it off, and by rubbing it with a hot wet face cloth, it works that much better.

(The image from below is from  http://www.studentbeans.com/student101/a/leisure/21-life-hacks-for-girls4907.html )

Lastly, and I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times already but water really is the key. If you didn’t hydrate while drinking it’s not too late to start. Your body is pushing out all the toxins left over from the night before and will continue to do so all day, so replace the liquids you’re losing and recovery will be that bit quicker. Tea is lovely and comforting, but at the end of the day the tannins in tea stop your body from absorbing iron, which can make you nauseous, tired and light-headed, and give you headaches. Today is not the day to ‘put the kettle on’ I’m afraid.

Feel better guys!

Lizzie

Freshers Week 1: Getting in the spirit

The theme for my blog this week is Freshers week, as its presence is strong here in college.

Freshers week for any student is one of the most important social events of the year, along with Little Christmas and Rag Week. Bonding with your new classmates and celebrating the college life are what it’s all about, but being responsible is a must this week and a healthy balance of socialising, college and re-hydrating is the key.

But with that said, today’s blog will provide you with some information on how to make the perfect vodka jelly shots and a few life hacks regarding how to open a beer bottle without an actual bottle opener.

The perfect vodka jelly shot

Vodka jelly shots always go down well at parties, they don’t cost an arm and a leg to make and are perfect to use during drinking games. There’s a vodka kick to them, but they’re still fairly low in alcohol compared to other shots so they’re handy when you know it’s going to be a night fairly heavy on the drink.

I’ve spent years perfecting my technique and can break it down to 2 steps for getting them right.

1. Vodka to water ratio
2. Preparing the shot glasses

So when making up your jelly solution, the trick is  the ratio.

Only make 3/4 the suggested amount of jelly, with 2/4 hot water and 1/4 vodka. If the jelly packet says to make up a pint of jelly, the trick to making sure the jelly sets with the vodka added is  to only make 3/4 of a pint of jelly, with 2/4 pint hot water and 1/4 pint vodka. Jelly needs to be a little bit stronger than usual to allow for it to set with the vodka. It’s a science thing apparently.

The second part of the perfect vodka jelly shot is preparing the shot glasses. Without preparing them properly you will spend the entire night with your finger in the shot glasses trying to loosen the jelly, cursing having ever made the blasted things. The secret here, as told to me by my bar man friend is cooking oil. Wipe cooking oil gently on the inside of all the shot glasses to allow the jelly to come away easily.

1. Wrap a piece of kitchen roll or tissue around your index finger.

2. Put the tip of your finger in the neck of a bottle of cooking oil to soak it a little bit.

3. Rub the entire inside of each shot glass with a little oil, making sure to rub oil on the bottom. This creates a barrier for the jelly so it won’t stick to the edge and will fall out easily when turned upside down.

Jelly shots all ’round!!

How to open a bottle without a bottle opener.

So to finish up, I thought I’d show you some handy life hacks I’ve found online on how to open a beer bottle when someone’s misplaced the bottle opener and all hope is gone. I’ve gotten friends to try them at parties and they do work. To see the original just click on the link above the picture.

The first is from The Chive.

http://thechive.com/2013/07/19/a-few-alcohol-related-lifehacks-to-try-over-the-weekend-13-photos/alcohol-lifehacks-12/

The second hack comes from Cheats Sheeter.

http://www.cheatsheeter.com/how-to-open-a-beer-bottle-with-a-lighter/

So with that, enjoy Freshers Week, be sensible and safe, and drink lots of water.

Lizzie

WELCOME

Welcome to The Hack Ah Ya, a blog for students by students full of life hacks and tips to make your life a bit easier. I’ll be searching the internet for hacks and tips, and bringing my favourites to you through this blog.

Firstly, what is a hack?

If you’re not familiar with the term ‘life hack’ (often just called a hack), a life hack is a one sentence tip imposed over a related picture that in some way or another makes something easier to do. That’s a fairly long way of saying useful meme, but there you go.

A simple example to start us off is the one below that I found on Panda Whale ( http://pandawhale.com/post/19867/interesting-uses-for-ordinary-things)

If, like me, since moving to college you now have 3 dark gold Yale keys that you can’t tell apart (back door home, because the front door is for visitors, and both front and back of college) then this simple hack could save you valuable minutes fumbling your keys in the rain or coming home form a night out.

So if hacks like this, or tips like how to make a quick, easy, cheap cake to impress mammy when she comes to visit may be of use to you, then this is the blog for you.

For the first week of blogs, keep an eye out for tips and hacks about how to get through Freshers Week. And if there’s anything you want to see here, leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do.

Lizzie