The college admissions process can be overwhelming and tedious, but thankfully, there are pros who’ve built a career out of guiding students and their families through it all. Kate Stone is one of them, and she’s breaking down which extracurricular activities are most helpful for getting kids into college.

While being involved at school is great, not all extracurriculars are created equal. “Anything that thousands of kids are doing is always going to be less helpful for you," Stone explains. “It's not that you should completely avoid popular extracurriculars, though. It just means that you have to bring something creative or differentiated to it.”

The college admissions expert recently ranked a handful of popular high school activities according to their value on an application to a top tier university.

Newspaper editor: 7/10
Robotics: 3/10
Student council: 5/10
Winning academic competitions: 8/10
Playing viola: 9/10
Playing violin: 3/10
Taking an independent online course or college course: 8/10
Planning your prom: 7/10
Solving a real-world problem in your community: 10/10
Model U.N. and debate: 5/10
Eagle Scout: 6/10
Founder of a club: 3/10
Founding a club with a measurable impact: 9/10
Varsity captain: 5/10
Tutoring: 4/10
Internships: 7/10
DECA (student career organization): 5/10
Stone’s Tips for College Applicants:

Tip 1 - Differentiate Yourself
Tip 2 - Pursue Your Passion
Tip 3 - Make a Lasting, Measurable Impact
And her top tip? Find a mentor. “The new extracurricular is having a mentor,” Stone says. “If I could advise parents one thing, find your kid a mentor that you know will inspire them.” connecting your kid with a mentor who is living the life your kid wants can help them find the right activities and inspiration.?
Source: Today

Researchers examined 30 major U.S. cities to find the ones that make winter feel the most comfortable. Instead of focusing just on temperature, the rankings considered a mix of factors — like overall winter conditions, daylight hours from December through February, cost of living, and safety. They also looked at those little cold-weather perks that make a big difference, such as cozy cafés and indoor escapes like museums, movie theaters, and wellness spots.

Here are the top cities to escape the winter blues, according to the report:

Miami, Florida — 71.8 degrees average winter temp, 10.38 daylight hours
Honolulu, Hawaii — 75.5 degrees, 10.56 daylight hours
Orlando, Florida — 64 degrees, 10.27 daylight hours
Tampa, Florida — 65 degrees, 10.29 daylight hours
Las Vegas, Nevada — 52.6 degrees, 9.52 daylight hours
Tucson, Arizona — 56.8 degrees, 10.1 daylight hours
Austin, Texas — 53.8 degrees, 10.19 daylight hours
Houston, Texas — 57.7 degrees, 10.21 daylight hours
San Antonio, Texas — 55.4 degrees, 10.23 daylight hours
Atlanta, Georgia — 47.4 degrees, 10.27 daylight hours

Friday Flashback - MY SWEET LORD GEORGE HARRISON 1971

ONE LESS BELL TO ANSWER
KNOCK THREE TIMES
BLACK MAGIC WOMAN

1971
The New York Times begins to publish sections of the Pentagon Papers
The Voting Age in the United States is lowered to 18 yrs old when the 26th Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified
Border battles between India and Pakistan erupt into full-scale war
The Walt Disney World Theme Park is opened in Florida
The Soviet Union launches the first space station, Salyut 1, into low Earth orbit
Ibrox disaster in Scotland when On January 2nd 66 die in stairway crush at Rangers v Celtic football match
A new stock market index called the Nasdaq debuts
Decimalisation in United Kingdom and Ireland both switch to decimal currency.
Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher's ends free school milk for children over the age of sevenThe US table tennis team visits to the People's Republic of China (PRC) known as "Ping Pong Diplomacy"
Ladies 2 piece knit suites $9.98
Jiffy Peanut Butter 59 cents

Tape Cassette Recorder $29.88

2 Quart Preasure Cooker $7.77

Side By Side Fridge $704.95
Malibu Barbie $1.94

Etch-A-Sketch $2.83

Rock Em Sock Em Robots $8.99

Ladies Beret and Scarf Set $6.00
Popular Films

The Last Picture Show

Diamonds Are Forever

The French Connection

A Clockwork Orange

Fiddler on the Roof

Summer of '42

Dirty Harry

Shaft

Popular TV
All My Children

Mary Tyler Moore

McCloud

The Odd Couple

The Partridge Family

TOP 10 ITEMS PEOPLE COMMONLY MISPLACE … According to a new survey by Samsung

1. TV remote

2. Glasses/sunglasses

3. Receipts/vouchers

4. House keys

5. Mobile phone

6. Earbuds/headphones

7. Paperwork

8. Car keys

9. Chargers

10. Bank cards

Today, the second Friday in January is “Quitters Day,” the day people are most likely to give up on their resolutions — with 23% of Americans admitting that they didn’t succeed in accomplishing any resolutions they made. A study found that only 55% of participants stuck to their resolutions for a full month.
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WDIV says people are turning to "Grandma Hobbies’’ to boost their brain health. They are knitting, playing Sudoku, and baking to relax and sharpen their minds. These hobbies not only offer relaxation but also help memory and thinking skills. Research suggests regular engagement in such activities can lower the risk of dementia.
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Time Out magazine says the "Museum of Failure" is set to open in the UK later this year. The museum will highlight the biggest historical flops in history like the Titanic, Brexit, failed products, tech flops, failed food creations, and dark historical stories.
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Competitive eater Joey Chestnut is heading to Las Vegas to compete in a bagel eating contest on January 31st. He is battling for a championship title belt and $10,000 in prize money. During last year's competition, Joey downed 15 bagels with cream cheese in eight minutes. He beat the second place finisher by a half bagel
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Taco Bell is turning up the heat with the debut of Volcano Sauce and the Volcano Quesarito, both launching this week. The fiery new sauce is a spicier evolution of the beloved Lava Sauce and can be added to just about anything, while the Volcano Quesarito stacks beef, rice, sour cream, melted cheeses, and the new sauce inside a grilled quesadilla wrap. Rewards members get extra bragging rights with a limited-time Volcano Style Menu in the app, featuring spicy twists on favorites like the Crunchy Taco, Crunchwrap, and Steak Fries. If all that heat feels intense, the chain is also balancing things out with new frozen drinks at select Live Más Cafés.
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Stanford researchers have created a flexible material that can change both its color and texture, much like an octopus. The material swells when it absorbs water, revealing detailed patterns at tiny scales. Scientists used electron beams to control how much different areas would swell; the team even made a tiny replica of El Capitan that rises from the flat surface when wet. The discovery could lead to better camouflage, wearable tech displays, and advances in robotics, but we all know the “adult toy” industry is already taking notes and making plans.
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A researcher may have found one of the strangest new ways to deliver a vaccine yet — by drinking beer. Chris Buck, who works at the National Cancer Institute, has been experimenting with a vaccine carried by specially engineered yeast — the same kind used to brew beer. It could be a huge breakthrough because edible vaccines could make immunization cheaper, easier to distribute, and far less intimidating.

If you're worried about you kids putting a dent — or worse — in your new car, a new device can make sure that your teenage drivers are following speed limits to the letter of the law. The makers of the LifeSafer Intelligence Speed Assistance system claim that it plugs into any vehicle in a matter of minutes. The onboard speed-limit database controls the speed a vehicle can be driven using GPS tracking. If the posted speed limit is 55 and a teen keeps putting the pedal to the metal, the pedal will no longer respond. The company says that LifeSafer ISA also offers up real-time alerts, plus leads to using less fuel and reducing environmental impact.
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Each year the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas features companies unveiling gadgets to make our every lives better. And this week a company called Breakreal unveiled the R1, an AI-powered cocktail-making machine for the home. The company claims that this "AI-bartender" uses an app that will dig into your taste preferences, spirits of choice, and your specific mood at the time to generate a drink recipe that’s tailored specifically to you. (You can also have the R1 just make you a classic cocktail.) There is one catch — it can hold up to eight ingredients at once, including alcohols, mixers, syrups, and juices and can only make drinks that contain some combination of those eight.
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WFLA says a St Petersburg, Florida nursing student recently saved a dying man's life between classes. Lesly Pena was on her way back to class from lunch when she got stuck in traffic. She looked over and saw a man lying on the ground. Lesly exited her car and saved the man's life with several life-saving techniques.
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An uninvited guest that decided to invade the crawl space of a Southern California man's home for more than a month is now gone. Altadena's Ken Johnson says he was frustrated when state wildlife officials failed to remove the 550 pound black bear and were told to pull back. Once he threatened to sue the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for negligence and emotional distress, he got a call from Bear League, a nonprofit based in Lake Tahoe offering to help. It took less than 10 minutes using paint guns. The bear came back two days later, but got a mild shock from an electrified mat and took off again. The bear caused a ruptured gas line during his stay, so Johnson can now have that restored and enjoy hot water again.
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Staff at the Huntington Cabell Wayne Animal Shelter say a dog named Dawson somehow broke out of his locked kennel and ran to the front door, which he managed to unlock and open -- all while the shelter was closed. Security video shows Dawson standing up on his hind legs, fiddling with the door lock using his mouth, and then pushing the door open like he owns the place. The shelter joked online, "This guy is much smarter than he looks," adding, "This is NOT AI, though we wish it was." Luckily, Dawson didn’t get far. The shelter says he’s been found safe and sound. (WSAZ-TV - West Virginia)