I made a small program called iTunesScroller. Obviously, you can only use it if you're running a Mac. It's a floating window that shows the currently playing song in iTunes. It's really only useful in conjunction with SizzlingKeys4iTunes, which allows you to assign global hotkeys to control iTunes. I've been notified that it might quit itself if left running for a few hours, if this is the case for you, please contact me.
Current Mood: Headachey
Current Music: "Highlife" by Cypress Hill on the album Skull [iTunes]
I spent the last few hours developing a search feature for the iTunes Music Store which I'm now using on my blog entries. It's not guaranteed to work. I think that Apple's end of the bargain is flaky. Whoa, I'm tired. That could be because it's 6:15 in the morning. And that's it. I'm going back to bed.
Current Mood: Starving
Current Music: "Down Slow" by Moby on the album Play [iTunes]
My rents were down near Kansas City this weekend, I went down and saw them. It's only a three and half hour drive from here, but if you get lost, it takes a lot longer. They brought out my Sega Saturn, I've been playing NiGHTS. It brings back memories like no other, mainly of my late great friend Alec, Master of All Video Games Period and Better Than You, Loser, so Don't Even Try to Beat Him Because You Can't. I also went ahead and picked up Crazy Taxi for the Dreamcast. As you undoubtedly know, that's a lot of fun. Aside from playing those games, it seems like I'm suddenly being crushed under homework, like a two-ton heavy thing. I have this speech due sometime in the future, for which I'm struggling to figure out what I have to do. Then there's some Discrete Math (are you supposed to capitalize that?) stuff, which I don't understand because my teacher is usually high or stoned when he teaches us. I only wish this were a joking matter, but the other day he got confused during an example and said, "I'm a little stoned guys, I'm sorry". Did I mention that he spent a few semesters over at the University of Amsterdam? Then there's this test also at some future date, and it's one of those ones where the questions are all over the book and not the lecture, and it shouldn't be a problem because you should have been reading the book the whole time but you weren't because who cares, right? So I need to read that book. All five or six chapters, I don't even know how far into it we are. At any rate, I'm not sure that the homework load is really all that heavy, it may be that I'm just recovering from the pure laziness of break and then the several weeks of snow days and other associated days off. I'm sure I had to work harder than this in high school. I mean, class started at seven in the morning and I went for, what, seven hours? That's insane!
It's time for me to take out my trash, there are a couple of apple cores in there from apples that just weren't very good in the first place and now are even worse. It's beginning to smell quite awful. This smell would be in addition to all the other vile, and wet, smells that infest and infect the rest of my dorm room. This place is a veritable cornucopia of wretched stenches steeped heavily into the walls since the brilliant, and might I also say handsome, designers of our building somehow neglected to put ventilation into the bathrooms. Every time somebody takes a shower, it is like evaporating several gallons of water into the air, which then has no place to go but the cold cold windows, so that it can then run down and pool on your window sill, frying any electronics that in your absentmindedness you had set there. Some people I know wring out towels of water from their window sill every day.
But I don't want to sound like I'm complaining too much. The folks who made the Saturn decided it would be nice if you could put the games in your CD player and listen to the game music, so I've been doing that lately, realizing how much I actively like most video game music. This alone, I think, is enough to put me solidly in the nerd category. But when you couple this with my other love, which is rolling a D20 and getting a 20, it might rocket me past nerd and into some worse, even more antisocial category, with thicker glasses, greasier hair, and more of a nasal whine.
At any rate, I guess that sort of wraps up my exposition for a while. I've been making an effort to write longer posts since I have this vague idea that "Yeah, uh, I haven't updated in a while cuz I'm a loser" posts aren't very exciting. At the same time, I must keep them short enough to be manageable, and not expose myself to the hated data miners perpetually crawling the web, pooling information about people for various sinister purposes of the government. And aliens. Geez, this trash smells. I'm going to empty it right now.
Current Mood: Sleepy, with mild heartburn
Current Music: "some song from the Virtual On: Cyber Troopers video game" [iTunes]
We had another snow day today, which surprised me, given that last Monday was also a snow day, and the monday before that was a holiday. Also, it really isn't that bad outside:
Current Mood: Ready to Go
Current Music: "Damaged (Antillias UK Remix)" by Plummet [iTunes]
I have a rather serious problem, one of the nature that could easily ruin a man if not checked early. The issue here is that, since I got SimCity 4 for Christmas, I have not been able to stop playing it. I mean, it's two thirty in the morning. I should be sleeping, or at least heading in the direction of my bed. But, as the bags under my eyes grow daily, I continually sacrifice sleep for the sake of just one more turn. Although SimCity doesn't have turns, those of you familiar with Civilization will know the syndrome, the disease. It's an addiction, and I can't stop.
Current Mood: After Easy Mac
Current Music: "Zombie" by The Cranberries on the album The Cranberries: Stars - The Best of 1992-2002 [iTunes]
My top drawer is full of small bags of chips. Every time I go to the cafeteria, I take one, that way I've always got as much as I want, and I don't have to buy it. I'm to the point where I don't even realize I'm doing it, I just pilfer the bag and store it, and then I look in the drawer and there's another bag. I thought that was interesting; I'm so bored right now. I installed Splinter Cell and played that a little bit, it's okay. I mean, it's really good, it's just not all that fun. Also, if you want the best candy ever, swedish fish are your avenue.
Current Mood: Bored
Current Music: "Foolish Games" by Jewel on the album Batman & Robin [iTunes]
I think I should probably wash this hoodie soon, it's starting to reek. And you know that's never a good thing. At any rate, my new classes are all started, I dislike most of them (except programming). My discrete math teacher, instead of being Dr. Liu, is in fact a grad student from the University of Amsterdam. And, yes, he does look like it. He also sounds like it. He's very... strange. For example, I guess he was nervous, so about halfway through the class he says, "I'm starting to calm down. It must have been that Valium I took. *nervous laugh* Please don't tell the powers that be that I say these things." In case you were wondering just what discrete math is, then maybe you could do a little research and tell me, because I have no idea. In my Intro to Mass Communications class, we have to buy these remote controls. They're to be used for attendance and in-class multiple choice quizzes. I think that's really cool, it's actually surprising that these aren't in more widespread use. I guess the reason is that people are afraid of them. Like a vicious leg-eating monster, people shy away from them. I was astonished. I guess I had thought that people of my age group had a relatively good grasp on technology and the implications of it, but I was wrong. We spent an hour being prepped on how to register the things online. It is a four step process, and simpler than signing up for other things I've seen online. People didn't get it. They had fears, like "What if the thing doesn't receive my answer?" It's strange to me how a person could talk on a cellular phone for an hour, and then be afraid of using a remote control for attendance. One girl sitting in front of me wanted a list of all classes using this remote so that she could avoid taking them! Gracious!
At any rate, I've run out of things to say, so I'll end with the small note that if you were bored, you can now sort my desktop pictures by date or name. Whee.
Current Mood: Drained
Current Music: "Structure::Cynic SmackDown!" by The Cynic Project [iTunes]
I've said this before, but it might be worth repeating: driving is hard work. I don't know what it is, exactly, but it just takes it out of you. Out of your hide, so to speak. In case you were thinking of visiting Nebraska, and you were wondering whether it has anything to offer in the way of tourist attractions, the answer is yes, there is one:
On another note, my brother and his wife are thinking of quitting their jobs, buying a motor home, and cruising the country for several months. I have taken to calling it their HippieTrip, since anymore only old people can do that else it smacks loudly of the 60's. And since they're not old, well, let's just hope they don't name any kids after stars, planets, or flowers.
Current Mood: Sleepy
Current Music: "Andromeda" by Chicane on the album Behind the Sun [iTunes]
The fluorescent light in my room is dying and it's more like a strobe light now. I feel like maybe I should go talk to Ralph on the big phone.
Current Mood: Sick
I'm here in the Adam's Mark hotel in Denver, Colorado at a conference. It's quite good, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. 2500 other people are here with me. Last night I played elbow tag for several hours, I was exhausted when I finally went to bed at three in the morning. As it turns out, if you're going to be doing lots of quick manuevering, Vans are not the shoes you want. My toes feel like someone has been hitting them with hammers. Multiple hammers, yes. At any rate, there is another seminar I need to go to, soon. But I was using one of the internet-enabled computers here and I was bored so I thought I might just update you, all three of you, who read this.
Current Mood: Satisfied