NERDS !!! -*-

Nerd is a term that refers to a person who avidly pursues intellectual activities, technical or scientific endeavors, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests, rather than engaging in more social or conventional activities. It often carries a derogatory connotation or stereotype. The nerd may be awkward, shy and unattractive.^[1] Therefore, a nerd is often excluded from physical activity and considered a loner by peers, or will tend to associate with like-minded people.The stereotypical nerd is intelligent but socially and physically awkward.^[11] In film and television depictions, nerds are disproportionately white males with very large glasses, braces, severe acne and pants highly lifted up.^[12][13] It has been suggested by some, such as linguist Mary Bucholtz, that being a nerd may be a state of being "hyperwhite" and rejecting African-American culture and slang that "cool" white children use.^[14] However, after the introduction of the Steve Urkel character on the television series Family Matters, nerds have been seen in all races and colors as well as more recently being a frequent young Asian male stereotype in North America. Portrayal of "nerd girls", or Bluestockings, in films such as She's Out of Control, Welcome to the Dollhouse and She's All That depicts that smart but nerdy women might suffer later in life if they do not focus on improving their physical attractiveness.^[15]

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH FRIESS :)

Nothing beats homemade French fries! They're much better than the fast food version, and healthier too! Listed below are the steps involved in making French fries. You can get cooking tips and learn how to make tasty, healthier versions of other fast food favorites at home with the wonderful Copycat Cookbook: Fast Food Recipes. These cooking instructions will show you how to make a homemade French fries recipe.

Step 1

Ingredients

• 2 large baking potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (for baked fries)
• Several cups of oil (if frying the French fries)
• 1 teaspoon each: paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder
• Kosher salt

Supplies

• For baked fries: Baking sheet
• For frying method: large pot, slotted spoon
• Platter with paper towels for cooling the fries

Step 2

Prepare the potatoes. When making homemade fries, you can leave the skins on or peel the potatoes first. Cut the potatoes into wedges. You can make the fries as thick or as thin as you want, but keep in mind that larger fries will take longer to cook, and will be difficult to cook evenly. They will cook best if they are about 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide and thick. Then mix the other ingredients together, and coat the potatoes with the mixture.

Step 3

Bake or deep frying the fries. There are two ways to make French fries: baking and frying. If you are baking them, place in a single layer on a baking sheet. If they still have the skin, place the skin sides down. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes in a 450 degree oven, until golden brown. While baking is healthier than the frying method, when you deep fry French fries, most of the oil is left in the pot. If you are deep frying your French fries, do it in small batches. Heat the oil in the pot as hot as you can, and then drop in your French fries in one layer. Be careful, because this may cause the oil to pop, so stand back. Frying each batch should take about 4 to 5 minutes. Once they have turned a golden color, remove them with a slotted spoon and drop them onto the paper towel-covered platter.

Step 4

Salt the fries. Before the French fries have cooled, salt each batch of fries with kosher salt. Then lay the next batch on top of it on the drying tray. Repeat this process until all of the fries have been cooked and salted.

Step 5

Enjoy! Serve the fries warm. Don't try to reheat them in the oven, or they will become soggy.

French fries make a great side dish at any barbecue. When you're making hamburgers, make your own French fries to go with them! You can make as much or as little as you want. Just slice more potatoes, and make more of the oil/spice mix to coat them with. You can also experiment with different spices on your fries. Try basil or Parmesan cheese, for example. When you make homemade French fries, you have much more control over the flavor than when you use frozen fries, and they're much healthier than the restaurant ver

Facebook (stylized facebook) is a social network service and website launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc.^[1] As of January 2011^[update], Facebook has more than 600 million active users.^[5][6] Users may create a personal profile, add other users as friends and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common interest user groups, organized by workplace, school, or college, or other characteristics. The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by university administrations in the US with the intention of helping students to get to know each other better. Facebook allows anyone who declares themselves to be at least 13 years old to become a registered user of the website.

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow computer science students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes.^[7] The website's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities before opening to high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over.

A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social network service by worldwide monthly active users, followed by MySpace.^[8] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "How on earth did we stalk our exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?"^[9] Quantcast estimates Facebook has 135.1 million monthly unique U.S. visitors in October 2010.^[10] According to Social Media Today as of April 2010, it is estimated that 41.6% of the U.S. population has a Facebook account.