Beloit College just released its annual "Mindset List," which describes the, yes, mind set of the incoming Class of 2014 and serves as a reminder to college profs and parents everywhere that the bulk of their pop culture references may go flying right over freshman heads. That's because e-mail is old technology to teens born in 1992, Kurt Cobain is a golden oldie and Dan Quayle is... wait, who? Al Gore has always been cool, phones cordless and TV airwaves filled with 500 channels, and ... wait, you wear a clock on your wrist? How quaint! Man, we're old. On the other hand, curbs have always had wheelchair ramps, bandages have always come in a variety of skin colors, and all those fears about "Beavis and Butthead" destroying our children's morals and psyches never came true. And the latter is probably true about most things we parents worry ourselves sick over. Enjoy the rest of the list here.

Outfitting that new dorm room with some stylish, DIY desk supplies adds a little color, as well as practicality. A fabulous, custom-made desk blotter designates an "I work here" space, and might - possibly, maybe, one hopes - make the desk a less likely repository for wet towels, dirty dishes and, you know, piles. (A parent can hope anyway, right?) Anyway, this cool DIY desk blotter is so fast, so easy and so inexpensive, you'll end up making one for yourself too.

Related posts:

• Crafts for the Dorm Room
• Make a DIY Duvet Cover
• Make a Stylish Jewelry Frame or Bulletin Board

When kids go off to college or move out into the big wide world, it's tough to disconnect. And these days, it's almost impossible. Where once contact was limited to weekly phone calls and the occasional letter, now cell phones, Skype, Facebook and e-mail mean families can - and do - stay in close contact. How close? According to studies at Middlebury College and the University of Michigan, parents and their college kids are in contact a staggering 13 times a week, on average.

Yowza. I thought I called and texted my kids a lot, but I don't think it's that often! At least ... no, it couldn't be. Could it? How often do you?