Top 10 Free Smartphone Apps of 2011

There’s plenty of jammin’ iPhone apps that won’t cost you a cent. 2011 was another great year for Apple, despite the loss of its fearless leader, Steve Jobs. In honor of the media giant, or as I like to call it, the Big Apple, here’s my top 10 apps of 2011. 

1. Facebook

Let’s not try to pretend you waste spend far more time on this site than MyMtech. And why not when it’s just as easy to update your status strolling between classes as it is from the comfort of your classroom. Notice: Facebooking while walking may result in running into doors, light posts, railings, and other pedestrians. Facebook may also decrease your grade point. 

2. Angry Birds Free

Unlike Facebook, which one could argue can also be used for the “research” and “educational” purposes, as well as sheer time-wasting; Angry Birds is a one trick time-wasting pony. But spend a couple Angry hours chasing pigs and you’ll discover what a gratifying waste of time it is. 

The 3 W’s For Better Sleep

Imagine this situation: You’re bright-eyed, energetic, and happy. Today you’re looking and feeling good. You’ve got the attitude, “Today is my day! I can do anything! Bring it on world, I’m ready.” Go get ‘em tiger!

Now imagine this situation: You had to drag yourself out of bed this morning, you’re tired, cranky, irritable, and feeling less than your best. It feels like everything is hard today! Your attitude is more like, “I just want to skip today. Why does everything bad always happen to me? What next?” Now, recall your last week and ask yourself this – which situation more closely matches your average day? I hope you can say the happy-go-lucky one, but if you can’t, then definitely don’t stop reading now! Let’s solve your “bad-day syndrome” once and for all. 

Tim Tebow Coming To Butte

It’s Tebow Time! Fuel Fitness & Nutrition is holding a Habitat for Humanity event right here in Butte, MT on March 6, 2012 at the Butte Civic Center. Special guest? None other than the highly inspirational and publicly spiritual superstar: Tim Tebow, NFL quarterback for the Denver Broncos. The event starts at 1pm, and tickets are on sale now on the Butte Civic Center web site, starting as low as $25.00! Even better, you can get a free ticket if you sign up for one year membership at Fuel Fitness at either the Helena or Butte location.

Although the focus can easily be placed on the celebrity appearance, the true meaning of the event is not so superficial. According to KBZK.com, Michael Burks, the owner of Fuel Fitness, said “the reasons for the event are to bring in an exciting, positive role model to the Butte community as well as to raise enough funds to allow Habitat for Humanity to build a new house for a family in need. We have priced the tickets so that anyone can afford to come to the event, and if we can fill every seat we will raise enough money to allow Habitat to provide a brand new home to a local family.” 

Top Ten Reason Charlie Oredigger Is Single

There’s no doubt that our school’s fearless leader, Charlie Oredigger, is built like a brick house, has outstanding confidence, a commanding presence, and a fighting spirit. So why would a man with such knight-in-shining-armor qualities find himself single on Valentine’s Day? I’ve done some research on this perplexing issue, and I have discovered the top ten reasons why Charlie Oredigger is single (and perhaps many other engineers).

1. He will promise to take you out to a 7-course meal on your first date, which will turn out to be a pasty and a six-pack of beer. 

Make The Most Out Of Winter Break

I’ll be the first to say I am looking forward to the up-coming month long break from school. I love the holidays, and actually having some free time for something fun is the best gift anyone could give me for Christmas!  As busy college students, free time is not something we’re used to though. And if you’re not careful, the absence of the stress and demands of college during break can create quite a time void in your schedule, which can easily lead to spending the entire winter break plopped down on ma and pa’s couch and not doing anything fun! To ward off cabin fever and give you a jump-start on planning some fun activities for the break, here’s a few simple winter stay-cation ideas to keep you from wasting break hibernating in your parent’s basement. 

Have a Healthy Year!

Thinking back over the last year you probably don’t really remember much about what you ate. You know that you did eat, but when it comes to what you ate that probably doesn’t seem too important. Well, I challenge that! It turns out that what we eat affects us in more ways than we’d like to admit. The trouble with good habits is we don’t necessarily see a “reward” for doing them (like getting a prize for eating veggies), but we can definitely avoid many health problems by keeping good eating habits. These health problems range from seemingly harmless things such as headaches and stomach aches, to more serious condition such as depression, hormone imbalances, heart disease, and cancer. Bad habits tend to snowball into bigger problems if left unchecked, so now is the time to change things and set some new healthy habits for the New Year. If you make the initial effort and do not let harmful habits creep back in you will reap the rewards of more energy, fewer sick days, and a longer more fulfilling life. Let’s get started! 

Are You Too Busy?

In college it’s rare to not be busy - busy studying, busy working, busy attending class. We’re all so busy I bet most of us don’t even notice how busy our classmates are!  Busy isn’t necessarily bad, it’s good to be productive and involved; but too busy means you’re overcommitted, neglecting important priorities, and constantly feeling exasperation and anxiety.   

One of the ironies of being too busy is wanting to cut back and change, but not having the time to figure out how to do it! I want to help you avoid ending up a frazzled mess by Thanksgiving break, by giving you a check-list of 5 signs you’re too busy. Do any of these signs fit you? If so, make the necessary changes now! 

Halloween Candy Guide

Everyone loves Halloween sweets. How can you say no to the endless abundance of (free!) fun-sized candy bars and loads of home-baked goodies around every turn? I love Halloween candy just as much as anyone, but if you are like me and are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, then Halloween can be a horror movie come true for your fitness goals! It doesn’t have to be scary, even if you’re determined to stick with your diet plan for muscle building or fat loss you can still give in to  your candy cravings without too much damage by choosing wisely. 

Stretching (The Truth)

Stretching probably isn’t on the top of your to-do list. We’ve all heard that we should stretch to maintain flexibility, and that you should always warm up before exercise to prevent injury, and stretch afterwards. But do you really know why?  The reason why we often neglect stretching and write it off as the “optional” part of our workout is that we don’t necessarily see any adverse effects from not stretching, so we don’t think it matters if we skip it. What you don’t know is all of the benefits of stretching you’re missing out on! Do any of the following results appeal to you? 

Local Food - Crêpes!

In fall, there’s nothing like sitting in a cozy restaurant and looking out at the season’s beauty while enjoying the warmth of a great cup of coffee and a hearty plate of wholesome food. Doesn’t that just sound inviting? If you fancy a similar experience then look no further than The Copper Crêperie, located in uptown Butte on Park Street, just a block off Montana Street towards Montana Tech. This cozy little restaurant offers up an abundant selection of delicious and wholesome comfort food, all wrapped up in the uniquely delectable packaging of a “crêpe.” 

Is Diet Soda Good For Your Diet?

Chances are if you’re drinking diet soda you’re either trying to lose weight or you consider it a “healthier” option that regular soda and are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Diet soda has no calories, no adverse effects on your diet (or your waistline!), no guilt, and the same great taste as the sugary-calorie-laden variety. What could be better right!? Well, not so fast. Many people have bought into diet soda as a “healthy” food, but that just isn’t the case! Let’s take a closer look at what’s really going on with diet sodas. 

Gender Stereotypes In The Gym

If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, then Mar’s gyms must be full of weight benches and dumbbells and Venus’s gyms must be full of ellipticals, treadmills, and abdominal machines. 

Some fascinating stuff stems from contrasting male and female attitudes, and differing views on fitness and working out is no exception.  If you’re a gym-goer, you have undoubtedly noticed how women tend to flock to any form of cardio and ab or butt-toning exercises. Men generally stick to the “grunting and groaning” variety of exercising, more properly known as resistance training. 

5 Frugal, Healthy Tips

Your schedule may not seem daunting yet, but the stress of college can turn many a good intentioned student into a stressed out, sniffling, and sleep-deprived mess. That’s why now it’s an excellent time to make a few small investments to keep your health and sanity during the school year. Here’s five frugal finds to stay healthy this year: 

Avoiding The Freshman 15

Entering college for the first time is exciting. Life is suddenly filled with an array of new freedoms, and without Mom and Dad’s supervision you can do whatever you want! But if you’re not careful, your new-found freedom can have some disastrous effects. I’m not talking about missing the no-shorts-or-sandals-memo in Chemistry Lab and getting a little too much exposure to the experiment, I’m talking about over-indulging in the freedom to eat and drink whatever you want. The product of this reaction is all too often the dreaded freshman fifteen.