Intrigue

Billy Ferris: a graduate student, loads luggage into his car in preparation for a road trip. Road trips are a cheaper alternative to airline travel, and a fun way for students to take a break from classes. Kyle Cooper

Taking a road trip is one of the oldest college traditions and greatest freedoms. You have weekends, breaks and even slow afternoons to just pack up and go.

Now that the weather is warm and the sun is inviting you outdoors, it is the perfect time for a trip to the beach. Auburn is in a great location for a beach get-away, with the sun and waves only four hours away.

According to Google maps, Gulf Shores is approximately four hours and 12 minutes away, and Grayton Beach is four hours and 23 minutes away.

Alyssa Rachels, a junior in graphic design said she and nine other girls piled into two SUVs and headed for Gulf Shores one Friday last fall.

“I loved staying in a condo that wasn’t big enough for all of us,” Rachels said. “Meaning that everyone’s together all the time, joking, laughing and having tons of fun.”

Rachels said she loves road trips and would do it again.

“It’s something to do out of the ordinary with people you love to be around,” she said.

If you are looking for something other than the beach, some students enjoy road-tripping to places like Charleston, S.C.

Leslie McClenny, a senior in interior design said she and two friends went to Charleston for a few days over spring break.

“I love Charleston because I had never been there and was able to enjoy the coast but sight-see,” McClenny said.

According to Google maps, Charleston is a six and a half hour drive.

Wii Want to Play. Do you?: Trey Holland, left, a senior in marketing, and Parker Morris, a junior in civil engineering, play Nintendo Wii. A new game for the popular console, Wii Fit, is set to hit stores next month. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR“Sweatin’ to the Oldies” and the infinite number of weight-loss and workout DVDs at electronics stores will soon have some new competition from an unexpected place: the video game industry.

A new product for Nintendo’s Wii gaming console will offer owners the opportunity to keep track of and, like Fergie, work on their fitness.

The device, to be released in the United States May 19, is called “Wii Fit,” and consists of a game disc and a Balance Board capable of weighing the user and locating their center of gravity for the game’s different activities.

When the user inputs information like their height and age, the game combines this with the weight information and calculates the player’s body mass index rating. Throughout the player’s use of the game, the game will keep track of the user’s weight loss or gain.

Activities the game allows the user to do include a ball-rolling mini-game, which uses the Balance Board to let the player act as if they’re standing on top of a ball and must roll it towards a target, like multi-directional log rolling.

Other games include ski jumping, snowboarding, tightrope walking, and hula hooping.

The game also includes activities users could do without the game, like push-ups, jogging, step aerobics and yoga exercises, but the game tries to present them in a manner that is viewed as more fun than work.

Shane McDonald, an employee at a local games retailer, said his store has been accepting preorders for the game for several months.

“It’s selling like crazy in Japan, something like 1.5 million units, and if it sells like that over here at the $89.99 price point, it’s going to be huge,” McDonald said.

Jessica Fewell: a sophomore in psychology, works at Stamp in downtown Auburn. Many students apply for summer jobs to make some extra money during the summer. JD Schein / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Firecrackers on the Fourth of July, laying out by the pool and relaxing at home, spending time with family in 90 degree weather.  Sounds like summer, right?

Unfortunately, for many Auburn students, starting a summer job has also forced its way into that relaxing summer schedule.

The lifestyle of an Auburn student certainly isn’t cheap. Books and tuition are just the beginning of the spending; once going out to dinner and hitting up the bars with friends is factored in to the equation, it’s easy to find yourself in a financial bind at the end of spring semester.

Sometimes, that means sacrificing a good chunk of your vacation time spent away from the books, and taking on a good-paying job instead.

Kelly Young, a junior in public relations, said she plans on working multiple jobs this summer.

“I will be working 20 hours a week for a non-paying internship at a PR firm in Atlanta,” Young said. “I will also be working at J. Crew, as well as baby-sitting.”

Whitney Haddox: a senior in exercise science, cringes at the thought of seven years of bad luck after breaking a mirror. Kyle Cooper / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

What do rabbits’ feet, pennies and horseshoes have in common?

They all bring good luck, according to Auburn students who say they believe and follow superstitions.

Most students say they pick and choose the superstitions they follow, but they say they think almost everyone believes in at least one superstition.

Cody Clark, a freshman in fiber engineering, said he isn’t sure whether superstitions are real, but he doesn’t want to take any chances.

“I believe things happen for a reason, and I don’t want to cause anything bad to happen,” Clark said. “I believe they are mostly just in your head, but better safe than sorry.”

Clark said he has heard seeing black cats, breaking mirrors and spilling salt mean bad luck.

Clark also believes eating certain foods before an athletic event is bad luck.

“Back in high school, a buddy of mine and I would never eat hamburger meat on Thursday or Friday because we believed it would throw our (football) game off come Friday night,” Clark said. “We even went to a team grill out and would not eat anything but hotdogs.”

Emily Venglarik, a sophomore in secondary science education, said she believes in a number of superstitions.

GIVE ME SOME WAFFLE FRIES: Dave Carrol, a freshman in business, hopes to be a server at Chili’s in his hometown this summer, and he will also be purchsing a Six Flags summer pass. He is not proficient with chopsticks, but he can use chopsticks if he has rubber bands.ABOUT JOE:
Major: Business
Age: 19
Hometown: Alpharetta, Ga.
Availability: Taken
Sign: Virgo
Greatest fear: Being shot (was almost shot in Atlanta in high school)
Hobbies: skateboarding, tennis
Random fact: He’s sponsored by California skate board company

What is the best road trip you have ever taken?
A trip to Charlotte, N.C., to see Hot Import Nights car show.

Are you planning on getting a summer job?
I’m taking classes at home and will look for a job when I get back, possibly a job at Chili’s as a server.

How secure do you think passwords are? Has anyone ever hacked into your Facebook?
I feel good about password security. I don’t save my passwords on my computer and have never had anyone hack into my Facebook.

Do you think shock value advertising is effective?
Yes, I know it makes me think about things and gets people talking about issues.

Are you superstitious? Any unusual superstitions?
No. I’ve stepped on the Auburn seal.

BUMPER STICKER LOVER: Anna-Marie Settine, an undeclared freshman, went to Peanut Festival in Dothan this fall and has locked her keys in her car once. Helen Northcutt / PHOTO STAFFABOUT JANE:
Major: undeclared
Age: 18
Hometown: Birmingham
Availability: Taken
Sign: Cancer
Greatest fear: Heights
Hobbies: Photography
Random fact: She won’t miss “Old Foy”

What is the best road trip you have ever taken?
I took a road trip to Knoxville, Tenn., with one of my friends. It turned out to be a bad trip because I ended up being the third wheel. My friend made too many stops trying to hang out with her boyfriend.

Are you planning on getting a summer job?
Yeah, I will be baby-sitting at home. I’m pretty excited; I am getting paid $100 a day, and I only have to work three days a week.

How secure do you think passwords are? Has anyone ever hacked into your Facebook?
I feel my passwords are pretty secure. I don’t tell my friends my passwords, and I don’t save them on my computer.

Do you think shock value advertising is effective?
I think it is effective for different people. I think it irritates some people and persuades others.

1. Avoid sun exposure; try to apply sunscreen everyday.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. Don’t over wash your face. Over washing can cause the skin to produce excess oils and contribute to future breakouts.
4. Make sure the word “noncomedogenic” is on all of your face cleansers, moisturizers and make-up.
5. Wash your face in the morning and at night with warm water and a cleanser.
6. Don’t touch your face to keep dirt, oil, bacteria from your hands at bay.
7. Exfoliate once a week.
8. Be sure to moisturize after washing face.
9. Don’t forget your skin regimen, especially during the stress of finals, because psychological stress is proven to be linked to breakouts.
10. Wash your pillowcases once a week.

‘Attack and Release’ The Black Keys

I always viewed The Black Keys, the guitar and drums duo from Akron, Ohio, as The White Stripes with a better drummer and no gimmicks. Not necessarily better, but a little more honest.

It’s like, “Hey, we’re white kids who like blues, too. No candy canes here.”

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Our Rating: **** 

I can’t remember who it was, whether I read it somewhere or it was a friend, that said “These guys take turns getting famous,” in reference to the clan of actors that have worked and grown up under the wing of producer-writer-director Judd Apatow, but they were definitely right.

And I hope Jason Segel, the actor in the movie whose character, Peter Bretter, is attempting to forget Sarah Marshall, stays famous, because he has long been a favorite of mine.

My favorite line in “Knocked Up” is when Segel and Jonah Hill are playing ping-pong and Segel’s character says “You know who I’d like to get pregnant? It’s that Felicity Huffman, man. Ever since ‘Transamerica’ I can’t get her out of my mind.”

Reading that it might not be so funny, but I’m about 80 percent sure that was improvised, his delivery made it, and as soon as I got home, I had to Google him to find out who that guy was.

And now he’s starring in a movie that he wrote, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

TigerMail: is a frequently accessed page which requires a password. Students should use a password that is easily remembered, but is also difficult to guess.

Passwords are meant to keep private information secure, but with the increasing availability of spyware and the growing number of fraudulent e-mails, individuals are finding it harder than ever to protect themselves with passwords.

Office of Information Technology specialist Seth Humphrey advises students to carefully select their passwords.

“We recommend having a mixture of upper and lowercase letters and numbers,” Humphrey said. “If your system allows you to use special characters, we recommend that, too. And the longer it is, the stronger it is.”

Humphrey said routinely changing passwords may also prevent strangers from accessing your accounts.