Saw this as one of the top posts on del.ico.us and thought it was worth sharing: 50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn’t Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition.

Among the more random things learned in 2006:

• Cheese consumption in the United States is expected to grow by 50 percent between now and 2013.
• At 68.1 percent, the United States ranks eighth among countries that have access to and use the Internet.
• At least once a week, 28 percent of high school students fall asleep in school, 22 percent fall sleep while doing homework and 14 percent get to school late or miss school because they overslept.
• The common pigeon can memorize 1,200 pictures.
• One of the most effective ways for athletes to recover after exercise is to drink a glass of chocolate milk.

The only thing I can think of that’s not on this list… Pluto isn’t a planet after all.

I came across an article, A Primer on Electronic Communication, at Inside Higher Ed that discusses basically the way you should approach professors when making first contact with them. From some stories I did this summer where I needed expert advice from academia, I don’t think I did too bad following the general guidelines. Also, I think these guidlines are worth remembering for anyone you contact:

• Write a clear and descriptive subject line.
• Address the person politely.
• State your reason for contact.
• Introduce yourself.
• Explain what you have already done.
• Restate your question, elaborate if necessary.
• Say thank you and sign off with a formal signature.
• Read your letter.
• Get in touch again in a week if you receive no response.
• Think about the larger context.

Seems like a few universals for e-mail professionalism, especially when contacting potential sources.

So, although I bought the domain earlier this week and I set up the WordPress blog a few days ago, it has taken me a little while to figure out the design I want. After copious amounts of time worrying how to craft the perfect online presence for myself (OK, so actually it was mostly me snapping photos of items on my desk before I went home for Thanksgiving and then sitting in my mom’s kitchen with my MacBook playing with Photoshop and worrying about fonts and drop shadows), I’ve managed to come up with a layout I like.

In my journey to this layout (which isn’t up yet, but should be up later tonight) I discovered a few things I either didn’t know or didn’t realize until I started.

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