[The Call For Guest Entries has been updated/modified]

Wow, excuse the title, some days I'm just more creative than others. Today isn't one of my creative days, it's one of my "I have an entire day of toolage ahead of me" days. A quick break from 2.001 will be good though, and I have a couple of things I need to tell y'all.

First, Blendie (the Rrrrrrr part of the title). I could devote an entire entry just to this, but I'll spare you and just add it to this entry. I was exploring the Internet the other day and stumbled upon a website that touted a video of "Blendie" as one of the most entertaining things ever filmed that involved a blender. I was a skeptic (how can you beat WillItBlend?) but I decided to watch the video to test my hypothesis. Besides, according to the description it was a video about a blender designed by an MIT student.

While Blendie looks like an ordinary blender, it is in fact a voice activated blender -- with a catch. Blenders don't speak English, so in order to activate it you need to speak blender to it. I could describe it for you all day long, but I think it'd be best if you just watched the video.

Yep. Blendie.

CPW is screaming up on us guys! I'm excited, it sounds like you guys are excited, and in a little over a week you will all know just how much fun MIT can be. Being the blogger that I am (willing to spend far too much time blogging and on the internet) I decided last year that I would try to catalogue EVERYTHING! I took my camera, two memory cards, and multiple bottles/cans of caffeine. I ended up taking 384 pictures of CPW, so many that at one point I had to transfer all of the pictures I had taken to a flash drive because my memory cards were both full. When I got home I spent the next 2 months compiling, editing, and creating a massive blog (not entry, blog) that followed my adventures during CPW from start to finish. If you haven't read it yet and are still curious just what exactly CPW is going to be like, give it a read. It also includes links to other entries written by '11s about their CPW experience.

Click here to read my CPW 2007 blog

One of the really cool parts about CPW was that it gave me my first chance to foray into the land of MIT Admissions Blogging. Bryan '07 offered all of the prefrosh blog readers a chance to write a guest entry about their CPW experiences, which he posted on the MIT blogs. He's doing it again this year, working with Paul and me. Here are some of the criteria that I'll be looking for in the guest entries I publish:

> You have to attend CPW to write an entry
> You must use paragraphs in your entry (personal peeve, I hate writing that is just a continuous block of text)
> Pictures are mucho preferred
> You should have your entry written sometime during the week after CPW
> Go ahead and upload all of the pictures using the blogging software of your choice and just send me a text file containing the HTML code for the entry. I'll go through it and make sure there are no formatting issues or dead images when I post it.
> Make it awesome! Nobody wants to read a boring blog entry about CPW.

If this sounds like fun or something you'd be interested in then e-mail ALL THREE OF US at snively [at] mit [dot] edu -- ask-paul [at] mit [dot] edu -- bryanblogs [at] mit [dot] edu and we can work out further details.

Challenge
Guest entry not enough for you? Want a better record of your CPW? I'd like there to be another blog similar to the one I created last year, something with insane amounts of pictures and that details step-by-step the CPW experience. If you're up to it, I'd challenge anybody to make one. You won't regret it, I still go back and read mine from time to time. Let me know if you intend on making one of these blogs, I'll tip my hat to you and look forward to the end result.

On Sunday we find out who our prefrosh are so expect an e-mail or a phone call shortly thereafter, and then get ready for 4 days of craziness!

Oh, and did I mention that my 2.001 professor moved our test date to Wednesday because of CPW? Prepare for awesome!

Comments (Closed after 30 days to reduce spam)

Nice CPW blog, Snively...

Completely and shamelessly unrelated, this is what it feels like to post first... Big whoop.

Posted by: Q '12 on April 1, 2008

It's pre-primetime, therefore no competition.
Regardless, I'm glad your 2.001 exam has been moved, now we can uber pwn you :D

Posted by: Bassil `12 on April 1, 2008

... I don't know whether to be amused or horrified by that video... But CPW is going to be awesome! Would you be just as happy as a multi-prefrosh compiled blog for this years CPW though (I think someone else might enjoy taking those pictures more than myself)?

Posted by: |Lex! on April 1, 2008

what's CPW?
(I'm not american)

Posted by: 0 on April 1, 2008

@Anonymous
CPW (Campus Preview Weekend) is a weekend in April when all of the students recently admitted to MIT get to come and preview the campus.

Posted by: Snively on April 1, 2008

I'll totally take you up on that challenge. I was planning on doing one anyways, but if you're actually going to sanction this on the blogs, I've got to go through with it.

I'll also shoot you an email regarding guest blogging.

Woo CPW!

Posted by: Shannon on April 1, 2008

Great idea with the blog guest entry, especially for those of us who won't make it to CPW *sniff*

Posted by: Dima '12 on April 1, 2008

*Spasm-n-gasp* I can't wait!!! I still need a ride, or a flight, but those are mere details, amigos! Prepare for a rockin' CPW!

Posted by: E. Rosser '12 on April 1, 2008

@Snively

If a lot of people make blogs about CPW will you make on big blogs or seperate blogs or will you choose the best one and post it?
Have you eve thought about filming parts of CPW and posting the video on the blog?

Great CPW everyone

Posted by: Ivan on April 1, 2008

I plan on giving seven people the opportunity to write an entire entry, meaning that there will be 7 unique entries posted, not compiled into one monster entry.

Videos of CPW will probably end up on MIT TechTV, courtesy of MIT's video bloggers (didn't know we had those didja? That's right, now you get to waste MORE time on MIT blogs) here

Posted by: Snively on April 1, 2008

Guest entry? Awesome! I was planning on doing a blog about my [mis]adventures at CPW anyway (you inspired me =), so that's just more incentive to make it great. I can't wait!

Posted by: Chris on April 1, 2008

Yeah she moved to Monday after NOT EVEN KNOWING WHAT CPW WAS TO BEGIN WITH.

Posted by: Harrison on April 1, 2008

You prefrosh better have lots of fun at CPW ! We don't want any entry with something along the lines of : "It was fun, but...".
I'm sure your articles will be great !

Posted by: Isshak on April 1, 2008

Hey guys! My name is Siya and I'm from South Africa I've got some exciting news to share with you. Last month I was devastated when I didn't get into MIT and was waitlisted at RPI. Yesterday I got into Stanford, UPenn and Harvard!!!!!!!!! So I'll definitely be cross-registering at MIT . Moral of the story, there's always light at the end of the tunnel . Best of wishes.
Check this
www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/scitech/fuelaward-110707.htm - 48k

Posted by: Siya on April 1, 2008

Siya, lucky you. Congratulations! Bet all your hard work finally paid off! Harvard's not a bad place either!

Posted by: Eirik on April 1, 2008

Woot for guest blogs, I'm excited to hear the pre-frosh's opinion of CPW. Bryan's going to put out more information about guest blogging this afternoon. Since there's three of us working together this year, hopefully we'll be able to get a bunch of pre-frosh entries on the site!

Posted by: Paul on April 1, 2008

Fantastic! I was planning a CPW blog anyway...

Posted by: KelseyK on April 1, 2008

Siya, how inspirational. I'll have to remember that next year when I'm applying.

Posted by: Paul Hoops on April 1, 2008

Quick question:

We have a cell phone on T-Mobile and one on Verizon, which would be better for CPW? Do both get good service @ MIT?

Posted by: 0 on April 1, 2008

LMAO blendie, what an amazing device, i seriously loled at that for a good 5 seconds.

Posted by: Chris '12 on April 1, 2008

Can I still register for CPW?

Posted by: 0 on April 1, 2008

Ah yes, CPW. I remember it fondly! Snively had to miss three days of school to go, and because it wasn't considered an official school-related absence he would wreck his 12 year perfect attendance record, so he appealed to his teachers, the principal, and the superintendent to get it classified as a school trip before finally giving up.

It's THAT sort of tenacity that will get you through MIT alive. Now if you'll excuse me, I must continue my state university liberal arts education.

Posted by: Truman on April 2, 2008

Yes, there will be ***OFFICIAL*** video footage of the whole weekend. I'm one of the video bloggers, and yesterday our boss emailed us asking to check out CPW, and since I'm hosting a prefrosh anyway, I'll be going to some of the events and, uh, capturing all the magic. Or whatever. So yeah, do not worry, people not going to CPW (awww). There will be some video(s) uploaded on TechTV sometime after CPW.


That said, go check out our videoblogs!!

Posted by: milena '11 on April 2, 2008

Does anyone know if they are going to have the bouncy balls drop off the roof again this year at CPW?

Posted by: '12 parent on April 2, 2008

CPW...

*sigh*

those guest entries better be phenomenal.

I hate living vicariously :S

Posted by: Aditi on April 2, 2008

@Anonymous
Verizon and TMobile are equally popular here (maybe Verizon slightly more?). I'd avoid AT&T though.

@'12 parent
Check with Keri for sure, but I can only assume that they will, it's an awesome part of CPW.

Posted by: Snively on April 2, 2008

@'12 parent:
Bouncy Ball drop will be in the Senior Haus Courtyard, 8:00 pm on Friday. (Check out all the events for Friday here.) I'm not sure what it is about that event, but for some reason it is very popular. I went.

Posted by: Paul on April 2, 2008

So no guilt then! hah!

P.S. love the blender.

Posted by: Davorama on April 2, 2008

You know what would make CPW awesome?

a DDR contest and some Hackers in action ^__^

Posted by: Judy '12 on April 2, 2008

WHOA! I didn't get to watch Blendie in action, being in school where they block YouTube for the past...forever. Blendie is awesome! Thinking of gifting one to Mum this Mother's Day... Then stealing it for my own twisted growling pleasure...

Posted by: E. Rosser '12 on April 2, 2008

AT&T works fine on campus and inside a number of the buildings.

Posted by: 0 on April 3, 2008

CPW sounds pretty awesome. I havent really heard of schools having admitted freshmen come that early to check out the campus. Although there are sort of similar programs.

Posted by: Shawn "Unversity Blogger" Thomas on April 4, 2008

AAARRRGH!

I can't come to CPW, and it sounds like SO MUCH FUN! I get to visit MIT from the 13th through the 15th of April, right as it is finishing. NOOOOOO! *heavy sigh* so close...

Posted by: moose on April 4, 2008

I'm planning on blogging CPW! You can check out what I have so far (an introduction post, mostly) at http://mitcpw2008.blogspot.com. I'll probably post some pre-CPW stuff, like packing and planning, and then after CPW, watch for some amazing pictures, stories, and videos! Woot!

P.S. I never told you thank you for the phone call, Snively. (I'm the Oregon girl who told you she reads your blog. And comments now, too, apparently.) I really enjoyed it. See you next week!

Posted by: Amy '12 on April 4, 2008

oh my god no you're off the front page! *cries*

I don't really know how to comment on Blendie. On the youtube page: "Exorcist" pretty much sums it up.

totally random: Wikipedia editors sometimes care a little to much. They sometimes start flamewars over the most nitpicky things, even blackmailing, making death threats, declaring holy war, etc. Like this, this started a zero-gravity cagefight here: What to call Mozart's buttocks?

Posted by: duketipquantumelephants on April 5, 2008

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