Indecisive

Just because...

exark237 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:26:29 GMT

My listening history this morning:

Franz Ferdinand -> Green Day -> Opeth -> Kelly Clarkson -> Mastodon.

Yesssss

(this post mostly exists because I am in love with my new userpic)

Waste of Time

exark237 — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:24:04 GMT

Installed Vista.

God is that an understatement. First, I spent two hours fucking around in my stock PC case so that I could put a second hard drive in. Then, I spent fucking three hours installing the goddamned beast (8 gig base install) because the setup hung for 15 to 20 minutes on EVERY STEP. JESUS! Then, setup otherwise was easy and painless. Though, I noticed after I installed my audio drivers that the sound was bit tinny. I turned up my sub but it still came through. Odd, but bearable. So it's a relatively gorgeous OS, a little bit more functional than XP (I wasn't cussing at the interface too much...) but still, as Benron kept asking, it doesn't best OS X, at least not in my opinion.

So, this morning, I realize why the sound was tinny: the rear speakers weren't working. I tried to reinstall the driver, and i tested a different driver. No luck. So, after a 10 minute switch, those 5 hours of work are wasted. But that's okay. XP is doing fine for me.

Soda + Cookies

exark237 — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 22:54:58 GMT

This is a very yummy snack. Yes, yes it is.

I realyl like the length that my hair has reached. It's nice.

Oddity

exark237 — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 22:48:58 GMT

Got a Meshuggah album. Very interesting. It comes off as just one nice long song. I was very meh about it the first listen through, but it comes off as a very nice ALBUM the second time. I'm not so sure about listening to individual songs off of it.

I've had a strange attraction to work, of recent. Like, I got home today, looked at colleges for an hour, did research, kept notes, etc. I really like the look of U Mass and U Oregon. ANd U Mass would be really nice, because there's a good chance I'd end up going to college in the sound town as a couple of my friends. Then again, if I just fall in love with Reed when I visit..

But I've been doing my homework. On time. For the first time in like, forever. ANd I haven't ditched a class yet. I know that's nothing incredible, seeing as I haven't even been in school for two weeks, but...I dunno. It's been nice.

I suppose.

moo-lah

exark237 — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:29:35 GMT

So, Apple updated the iMac line today, making my decision up about what the next desktop I'm going to buy is going to be. In general, I would have just stuck with the PC, unwilling to pay the same premium on my desktop as I will for my laptop (since I live on my laptop and merely use my desktop) but now, it doesn't seem to be a premium. The 20-inch iMac is imminently affordable and it would make an awesome desktop.

But, I want power, right? So, I go to check on the Mac Pro, to see how much these beauties cost. And imagine my surprise...
Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon
2GB (4 x 512MB)
250GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB (single-link DVI/dual-link DVI)
Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
One 16x SuperDrive
Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English

for w whopping $3,500. Now that? That is NOT affordable. An HP with almost the same configuration (one less proccessor, better graphics, better monitor, better sound) is fucking $1500 less. So, in theory, if I skimped a little bit on the HPs, I could get 2 PCs for the same price as the fucking mac.

C'mon Apple! You almost had me!

Vegetable Pasta

exark237 — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 03:22:08 GMT

So, I spent the weekend up in Colorado. Kelly was totally and completely surprised, though she said she did have a possible inkling. But still, her reaction was quite beautiful.

I think the biggest problem I see hanging out with my friends is indecision. No one ever knows what they want to do. All they know is that they don't want to be doing whatever they are doing. And agreeing on what to eat seems to quite possibly be one of the hardest things in the world. At least for my friends.

I've been told i need to see Little Miss Sunshine. I kinda want to, but I don't really feel like paying to go see it.

I started watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It's okay, but certainly nowhere near amazing. I'm very "meh" about it in general. Ah well.

The guy on the plane on the flight back that sat next to me, he was in Colorado for a Tool concert. What the hell, right? Bastard.

xxx-c0re

exark237 — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:45:17 GMT

I just ran a 9:08 minute mile. And I walked for about 1/8th of it. I feel awesome. Minus the whole feeling like death part.

Jesus Fucking Christ, Billy Corgan

exark237 — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 21:44:53 GMT

Corgan is the fucking connection everything. Not only was he a "consultant" on Marilyn Manson's Mechanical Animals, but ALSO, he played with fucking Pink Floyd during their inception to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

WHAT. THE. HELL.

Lists and Notes

exark237 — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 23:26:36 GMT

So, I've gained a minor addiction to lists and note taking things. Currently, I have four major lists: Books, Music, Movies and Stuff to Buy. Anyone else suggest lists that come in handy?

FIckle

exark237 — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:45:58 GMT

On the album "Dude Ranch", there's a song called "Josie". It extolls the virtues of (I think) Mark's girlfriend.

Two albums later, on "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket", track 2 begins with "Josie, You're my source of most frustration"

I know I shouldn't be looking for healthy relationships in rock and roll....but still...I dunno. I got a not so happy kick out of that.

Visits

exark237 — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:49:39 GMT

I just signed up for a college visit at Reed. Eee! Yay!

Mr. Bloom?

exark237 — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 06:29:20 GMT

The Inevitable

exark237 — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:43:29 GMT

I have finally destroyed my stereo headphones. I am now only down to one pair, but surprisingly, this is the oldest pair I have. Either way, they're dying. And they weren't that comfortable anyway.

I suppose I just have to stop off by Best Buy soon....

C'est vrai!

exark237 — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 03:20:57 GMT

Ah the memories I get from this song. Oh. The. Memories.

I've been re-reading my old poetry, and sorely wishing that my new stuff didn't suck ass. Because in 9th and 10th grade? I was writing some incredible shit. Meh. Whatev.

My calculus book is going to cost fucking $250! Don't they know that I could fly to colorado on that?

It's terrible. When things are expensive, I measure them by how many trips to colorado they would get me. Silly zachy.

Help?

exark237 — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 21:27:30 GMT

How should I organize my CDs? Alphabetically by band? By album title? In order of release date? Alphabetically by producer? By genre? From lightest to heaviest? Numerically by release number?

Shareware Dilema

exark237 — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:57:57 GMT

There are so many shareware applications that I love. Not so much for Windows. In general, I've seen that most shareware for windows is relative crap. No offense to those out there with genuinely good stuff for Windows, I'm sure you're software is incredible. But mostly, Windows doesn't have the wealth of amazing programs as OS X when it comes to productivity. I know that's against the general argument, but shush.

The problem is, as a student without a credit card of my own, I can't buy shareware. My parents find it ridiculous to spend money on something like software unless it is absolutely necessary. I've asked for licenses for shareware before on my birthday and never gotten any. And even after offering to pay my parents back, they still won't let me use the paypal account.

So, I'm stuck with a dilema: find alternative, much worse programs, survive on free trials and hope that I can survive the limitations, or crack the software. Again, cracking seems something almost expected when on Windows, but on the mac, I just get giant pangs of hurt whenever I even think about cracking software.

It's relatively ridiculous

In case anyone wants to be super nice (chanukah isn't for a while, but still!), or just to get some more people addicted to this wonderful stuff, here's a list of the software that I have much trouble living without that requires a license:

- NetNewsWire: An RSS reader. There's a lite version that I use, but i would LOVE to give them the what, like $15 they're asking for the full version.
- Inquisitor: A search thing for Safari and Camino. It's beautiful, and thanks to a generous David Watanabe, I now have a license. I've tired out NewsFire, and while I liked it, the trial ran out and I was relatively bummed
- Awaken: A beautiful alarm clock. Luckily, this will truly come in use at college, and by then, I'll have my own paypal account. But still. Isn't it just gorgeous?
- AppZapper: The uninstaller that Apple forgot is about the best description possible. This immensely polished app is worth it's weight in gold. Only 5 uses, so I use them sparingly. I think I have 2 left.
- Chat Transcript Manager: Adium may have a rather nice built in log manager, but Unsanity's is just....amazing. Too bad it won't open for me anymore.
- TextMate: The most amazing text editor I have ever used. Chacnes are, if there was an app, I could convince my 'rents to pay for, it would be this one, just because of it's useful applications. Unfortunately, I really don't code enough to even come close to justifying the $50 price tag. *sigh*
- Yojimbo: A beautiful note taking app. Recently however, I've been just using this cute little wiki (TidllyWiki) to keep my notes. It does work very well....

*sigh*

Amazing Search

exark237 — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 23:24:19 GMT

So, for the past couple of months, I've been drooling over this amazing search tool called Inquistor. Then, today, I learn that if you buy NewsFireRSS, which is written by the same person as Inquisitor, you get a free Inquisitor license. So those of you with macs...

GO FORTH AND BUY!

Yummy tummy!

exark237 — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 20:44:39 GMT

I really do love Cream Soda. And Chocolate Chip cookies. And cheese. Cheese is good.

rocks out

exark237 — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 05:21:30 GMT

So, a couple of days ago, I realized that at 17, I only have a couple years left in which I can take advantage of being able to pull off gothy outfits. Now, being the consumer whore that I am, with the money that I have, I went out and spent money at Hot Topic. Though, it feels a lot better shopping there knowing that I'm not trying to "be goth" but merely enjoy the style. Still, it does seem like an awfully big premium to pay for such shoddily made crap. Ah well. here's to hoping it's better than before.

I got:

A tool shirt (lateralus era)
A NIN shirt (which I feel kinda bad about, but it DOES look cool...)
A chain wallet
A rainbow studded belt
Bondage pants.

One of the ADVERTISED features of the pants was "removable pockets!" Isn't that ridiculous? But yeah. I traded Aly her old long black sweater for her pleather jacket and it looks really good. I was pleased with the outcome.

And Jesse, if you're reading this, I still want to borrow your pants.

snip snip

exark237 — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:08:40 GMT

I hate to go all two_pi_r on you, but...

I need a haircut.

"Maybe we could run away..."

exark237 — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:07:55 GMT

So, I woke up to King James Version this morning. It's still an absolutely incredible CD and, arguably, it has some of the best lyrics of any album released in the last 10 years, if not 20. I definitely think that, writing wise, it is the most advanced Harvey Danger album. There's some great stuff on LBL and on Merrymakers, but KJV is just, well, at the top.

Listening to the album makes me think of Snow Crash. I got both the album and the book fro Chanukah my freshman year. It also reminds me of Avery and Patrick. Avery got me a copy of the album along wiht my parents that year, so I gave one of the extras to Patrick.

Now that's an interesting thought. Harvey Danger (in general) is a world of it's own to me. Flagpole SItta reminds me of my Capital friends and my Colorado friends, Private Helicopter reminds me of Heather, as does Pike St/Park Slope. But otherwise, on the firs two albums, I don't connect the songs with anything except how happy they make me. I'd never really thought about that.

Heh. And to think, I merely started writing this to pimp HD.

What to do, doop dee doo!

exark237 — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 01:05:47 GMT

I have a spare G4 tower, 400mhz with 512mb of RAM, and two 20GB hard drives. Any suggestions on what I should do with it?

exark237 — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:49:08 GMT

Bored again, and I realized that I couldn't find a link between Evanescence and the rest of the music world. But, I did finally find one. Evanescence records under the record label Wind Up records. Scott Stapp ALSO recorded under the same label. On Stapp's solo record, he collaborated with the artist Goneblind. Goneblind recorded under Roadrunner Records. Then, from Roadrunner, you can either pick up the Dresden Dolls, who toured with NIN, yielding both Trent Reznor and Danny Lohner, or, for the obscurity, you can go through the band Fear Factory. Burton Bell, the lead singer of Fear Factory, was, before he was famous, an extra in Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit video.

How's that for a lame way to spend my time?

For lack of a better word

exark237 — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:22:05 GMT

What with my lacking a life and all, I've gotten into trying to connect bands through members, albums, producers and record labels. For example, I connected Sean Nelson to Maynard James Keenan through a series of bands and record labels. This is mostly because I'm bored and in a small part, to buff up on my music knowledge.

Generally, Zwan and APC provide fairly decent connecting points, just because of Danny Lohner, Paz Lechantin, Matt Sweeney, Billy Corgan, and Keenan and the fact that they all have been in so many other projects.

However, I was having the hardest time connecting Barsuk records into the mix. But, I finally found a way. Rilo Kiley was signed to barsuk, but moved to Saddle Creek records. The Faint recorded with Saddle Creek. The Faint's next album is rumored to be produced by Rick Rubin who has produced AC/DC, Aerosmith, Run DMC, The Smashing Pumpkins, Slayer, Johnny Cash, System of a Down, Rage Against the Machine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Audioslave, Weezer, Shakira and many MANY others. Which makes him a reasonable centerpoint for all of those releases. I also think that Alan Moulder and Flood could both be considered major centerpoints (also, probably Brian Eno).

But then again, does using producers make this too easy?

"Stopped believing your answer is my friend"

exark237 — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 11:26:45 GMT

EEE! I got a Hollis Wake t-shirt! It has sheep. It's cute. It makes me happy.

...I am a consumer whore (and how).