Culture

Geeky stuff—thousands of file types

October 11th, 2017

This is some of the basic computer technical information you have to know to be comfortable around Windows computers.

Long ago and far away, someone thought up some very basic definitions of computer files -- you know, the things you create on a computer to hold your writings or pictures or whatever.

Then someone decided that he or she needed a different type of file with a different name for his or her brand new software.

That is where naming of computer files really went off the rails.…

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Janet Mock: the power of storytelling

October 11th, 2017

Janet Mock is a legendary figure within the transgender community, especially for transgender people of color. In her career as a writer and journalist, her work has been defined by dignity, fierceness, passion, honesty, and grace.

Recently, I was surprised, honored, and intimidated in equal parts when I was given the opportunity to interview Mock in anticipation of a Q&A event she'll be doing at NDSU. As a trans woman I was excited about this opportunity to engage with Mock and her…

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Local actor lands Hollywood roles, and he did it all from Fargo

October 5th, 2017

FARGO – Daniel Pinder doesn’t necessarily have a process, or even the background many Hollywood movie stars try desperately to conform to. The 23-year-old is from Fargo. He found his opportunities in Fargo. One day he plans to return to Fargo, and he brings none of Hollywood’s glamor to the table.

Standing tall at five feet four inches, a stunt skateboarder, dressed in a nondescript black baseball cap, tan hoodie, black jeans, and slightly used slip-on Nike sneakers, he flashes an…

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Annoying advertising on the Internet

October 4th, 2017

In a previous column, I mentioned ad blockers. These are usually extensions to your browsers. I am speaking specifically about Firefox and Chrome browsers and the new Edge browser. There are other browsers but those three are the most common.

For anyone new to the Internet, to connect to the internet you need one of those three pieces of browser software. You can download extensions to your browser either on you laptop/pc or phone, that will allow your browser to do many things on the…

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​Bonanzaville: spooky paranormal investigations

October 4th, 2017

October is finally here, which means that Halloween is not too far away. If you’re anything like me, this time of the year is best celebrated not by the pumpkin-spiced goodies or warm fall-themed sweaters, but instead by marathoning all my favorite horror films and decorating my home with creepy creatures, spider webs, and severed limbs (plastic, of course). Ah, yes. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

If you wanted, you could also usher in this very Spooktacular time of the…

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Therapy options for transgender and low-income individuals

October 4th, 2017

The closing of the NDSU Family Therapy Center was a blow to a lot of community members, both transgender and otherwise. It was a place that offered a sliding scale fee, where no matter a person’s income or ability to pay, they would be seen. With this service now closed there has been a lot of community anxiety about where to go.

Much of what is at issue relates to the concepts of sliding scale fees and letters of referral. Sliding scale refers to therapy organizations that charge…

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​Hitting your thumb with a hammer

September 27th, 2017

That hammer can really do a lot of damage to your thumb. Please be careful if you are doing some DIY carpentry. The hammer can also do a lot of damage if you hit your thumb drive with it. Your hammer should not be anywhere near your thumb drive. Now do you know what a thumb drive is? Let me explain.

Also referred to as a USB flash drive, a thumb drive is that little square thing sticking out of the side of laptops that you may see in a coffee shop, the student union of a university, or…

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​Capsized canines and caring hearts

September 27th, 2017

Extraordinary circumstances often tend to bring people together. When faced with overwhelming odds, people look past their superficial differences and join together for a common good.

Those sentiments can extend beyond just our fellow human beings to our four-legged friends as well, as Caring Hearts Rescue of Perham, Minnesota and Shaggy’s Dog Washing and Grooming found out firsthand in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which has not only displaced thousands of people, but many animals as…

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Transgender-affirming therapist in Fargo

September 27th, 2017

North Dakota State University’s Family Therapy Center (FTC) was recently closed due to a variety of factors, ranging from budget cuts to restructuring. It will be closed for the duration of this school year.

This was a place that offered therapy on a sliding fee scale for everyone in our community. It’ll be a resource that many people in Fargo -- and myself -- will sorely miss.

While the FTC served a plethora of clients and needs, they also functioned as the biggest provider of…

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​From Algeria to Fargo: Ibtissem Belmihoub

September 21st, 2017

photo by Meg Luther Lindholm.

Ibtissem (pronounced Ib-tiss-em) Belmihoub is both enjoying her time in Fargo as a doctoral student in Rhetoric, Writing and Culture at NDSU and a community volunteer. She is currently the Project Coordinator for The World in Fargo Moorhead social media project. Ibtissem is an Algerian citizen and is in the Berber ethnic group in the Kabyle area of Algeria.

First coming to the United States four years ago on an undergraduate exchange program, Ibtissem studied…

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