- Despite being told that I have diabetes on both sides of my family, I am able to process TONS of sugar every single day.
- Despite being a pretty nice guy and being relatively cool with most of humanity, I really hate everyone when I'm out shopping. To be fair, they probably hate being there as much as I do.
- Despite stating that I am socially aware and not a typical capitalist, I will jump on bargains for things that were probably made cheaply.
- Despite saying that I don't really need anything for Christmas, OMG I REALLY WANT A NEW COMPUTER OR AN ESPRESSO MACHINE OR SOMETHING ELSE COOL BUT NOT REALLY NECESSARY/ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY.
- Despite liking to travel and drive pretty much anywhere I want to, I don't really like driving in holiday traffic.
- Despite being a pretty nice guy, I get that weird holiday, "if I've hurt anyone I'm super sorry let's be friends" mood going.
- While most Christmas songs are kind of cheesy to begin with, what is the deal with that "Last Christmas" song? It has no reason to be a Christmas song. If you take out "Christmas" and put in any other holiday, you get the same effect. "Last Flag Day, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away."
- Despite liking traditions and parallelism in writing, both are sometimes fun to break.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
How To Be Awesome: Music
Actually, this should probably be titled "How To Be Cheap." In these times, you've got to prioritize where you get your entertainment and art. I don't know about you, but I can't drop a sack of cash on vinyl all the time, especially when I'm funemployed. (also, Beware: whenever someone uses the phrase "in these times" you can pretty much guarantee that the ensuing argument might be full of crap. I hope that I do not disappoint.) So without any further delay, I bring you...
Ways to get music that are cheap and also not going to get you in a buttload of trouble.
Online Streaming with ads
There are a few different sites out there that stream music to your computer or "mobile device." These sites tend to be favorites if you happen to work anywhere with an internet connection in your immediate vicinity. Basically, if you work at a desk, you'll probably end up using Pandora or Last.fm at some point in your career.
Pandora is pretty spiffy. If you don't know, Pandora queries for a song name or artist, and then finds other songs that are similar to that song or artist. Once you have an account, you can create and save your own "stations" of these artist-driven playlists. You can also "add variety" to the station by linking other artists to it. I've got a "jakethejake radio" station that consists of various artists from various genres (alt rock, singer-songwriter, folk, and techno/electronica) The one downside to Pandora is that if you want to listen for more than 40 hours a month, you'll need to pay for more listening. Bummer.
Last.fm is another great music streaming site (and in my opinion, a little bit stronger than Pandora, for a couple reasons). Like Pandora, you stream music that is paid by ads, and you search for an artists and get a playlist back with similar artists. What's more awesome about Last.fm is that you can install a scrobbler on your computer that will upload info about the music you're listening to in iTunes or on your iPod. Those scrobbles are then added to your profile on Last.fm and can be used to build an online station that essentially mirrors your station on your home computer. If you want to have your whole iTunes library with you, you can essentially get it at any computer if you've scrobbled enough tracks.
Traditional Radio
Yeah, right.
I'm kidding, sort of. The biggest trouble here is finding a station that really seems to get you. Because it's pretty common for a station to play about three songs that you really enjoy and then play about ten minutes straight of advertisements. Sure, that's what makes it free, but you'd think they could get a better ratio of ads and music in there, you know?
Your own iTunes
If you do things right, you can discover new music (and old music) that's right under your nose. In the iTunes Store, you can get up to three free tracks every week (Single of the Week, Discovery Download, and the Single of the Week for iTunes Latino) I've got my GTD task manager set up to remind me to raid the store for free stuff on Tuesdays. It's free, so grab it!
I've also made spiffy Smart Playlists that use playcount and last played info to pull songs together. A lot of people will fill their iTunes libraries with music, but actually don't listen to all of it, which seems awful silly to me.
Using playcounts, you can create some smart playlists that consist entirely of songs that you've never listened to before, so that way you are guaranteed to hear something new every time you click play. You can also set up a playlist of songs that have only been played a few times, so you can find some of your more obscure tracks.
Last Played data is probably the most fun to mess with, since you can create really great "Marathon" playlists. In November 2008, I decided that I shouldn't buy any more music until I had listened to everything in my iTunes library. So I made a smart playlist with the rules to include tracks that had a Last Played date before November 1st, 2008. Enable live updating, and your playlist will grow smaller the longer you listen to different tracks from your library. It took about a month to power through 3200 songs. I'm currently working on a similar feat, but over the summer, so there's less of a rush.
I've also used the Last Played data to make a "Fresh" playlist, where each song in the list has not been played in the last 30 days. This list is limited to 100 tracks, just so it isn't a huge list to manage. While iTunes playlists aren't technically free (you should be paying for your music) you can really make your investment appreciate if you listen to your tracks. A great track for $0.99 that's played 100 times is pretty cheap.
With all of these different options in music, it's likely you'll find a free (or free enough) option that works for you.
Ways to get music that are cheap and also not going to get you in a buttload of trouble.
Online Streaming with ads
There are a few different sites out there that stream music to your computer or "mobile device." These sites tend to be favorites if you happen to work anywhere with an internet connection in your immediate vicinity. Basically, if you work at a desk, you'll probably end up using Pandora or Last.fm at some point in your career.
Pandora is pretty spiffy. If you don't know, Pandora queries for a song name or artist, and then finds other songs that are similar to that song or artist. Once you have an account, you can create and save your own "stations" of these artist-driven playlists. You can also "add variety" to the station by linking other artists to it. I've got a "jakethejake radio" station that consists of various artists from various genres (alt rock, singer-songwriter, folk, and techno/electronica) The one downside to Pandora is that if you want to listen for more than 40 hours a month, you'll need to pay for more listening. Bummer.
Last.fm is another great music streaming site (and in my opinion, a little bit stronger than Pandora, for a couple reasons). Like Pandora, you stream music that is paid by ads, and you search for an artists and get a playlist back with similar artists. What's more awesome about Last.fm is that you can install a scrobbler on your computer that will upload info about the music you're listening to in iTunes or on your iPod. Those scrobbles are then added to your profile on Last.fm and can be used to build an online station that essentially mirrors your station on your home computer. If you want to have your whole iTunes library with you, you can essentially get it at any computer if you've scrobbled enough tracks.
Traditional Radio
Yeah, right.
I'm kidding, sort of. The biggest trouble here is finding a station that really seems to get you. Because it's pretty common for a station to play about three songs that you really enjoy and then play about ten minutes straight of advertisements. Sure, that's what makes it free, but you'd think they could get a better ratio of ads and music in there, you know?
Your own iTunes
If you do things right, you can discover new music (and old music) that's right under your nose. In the iTunes Store, you can get up to three free tracks every week (Single of the Week, Discovery Download, and the Single of the Week for iTunes Latino) I've got my GTD task manager set up to remind me to raid the store for free stuff on Tuesdays. It's free, so grab it!
I've also made spiffy Smart Playlists that use playcount and last played info to pull songs together. A lot of people will fill their iTunes libraries with music, but actually don't listen to all of it, which seems awful silly to me.
Using playcounts, you can create some smart playlists that consist entirely of songs that you've never listened to before, so that way you are guaranteed to hear something new every time you click play. You can also set up a playlist of songs that have only been played a few times, so you can find some of your more obscure tracks.
Last Played data is probably the most fun to mess with, since you can create really great "Marathon" playlists. In November 2008, I decided that I shouldn't buy any more music until I had listened to everything in my iTunes library. So I made a smart playlist with the rules to include tracks that had a Last Played date before November 1st, 2008. Enable live updating, and your playlist will grow smaller the longer you listen to different tracks from your library. It took about a month to power through 3200 songs. I'm currently working on a similar feat, but over the summer, so there's less of a rush.
I've also used the Last Played data to make a "Fresh" playlist, where each song in the list has not been played in the last 30 days. This list is limited to 100 tracks, just so it isn't a huge list to manage. While iTunes playlists aren't technically free (you should be paying for your music) you can really make your investment appreciate if you listen to your tracks. A great track for $0.99 that's played 100 times is pretty cheap.
With all of these different options in music, it's likely you'll find a free (or free enough) option that works for you.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
What the Furniture section on Craigslist looks like to Me
Coffee Table - $50 - (SLO)
Horribly disfigured lamps - $30 - (Grover Beach)
Bar Stools - $15 ea - (Atascadero)
Awkwardly Stained Mattress - $100 - (SLO)
Antique Coffee Table - $150 - (Templeton)
A Level Surface To Place Your TV That Isn't The Ground - $250 - (Paso Robles)
Brand New Futon - $5000 - (SLO) [this is real]
**PRICE REDUCED**Sloping Desk - $49 - (Pismo)
Vintage Coffee Table - $300 - (Paso Robles)
Dirty Recliner I Found That Isn't Too Smelly - $25 - (Avala Beach)
Modern Scandinavian Thing (I think it's a chair?) - $45 - (SLO near Cal Poly)
Finding furniture for my new apartment has proven to be an entertaining adventure. I'm caught between dishing out a ton of cash for brand new IKEA stuff and crashing on the mattress I found in a dumpster near campus.
Horribly disfigured lamps - $30 - (Grover Beach)
Bar Stools - $15 ea - (Atascadero)
Awkwardly Stained Mattress - $100 - (SLO)
Antique Coffee Table - $150 - (Templeton)
A Level Surface To Place Your TV That Isn't The Ground - $250 - (Paso Robles)
Brand New Futon - $5000 - (SLO) [this is real]
**PRICE REDUCED**Sloping Desk - $49 - (Pismo)
Vintage Coffee Table - $300 - (Paso Robles)
Dirty Recliner I Found That Isn't Too Smelly - $25 - (Avala Beach)
Modern Scandinavian Thing (I think it's a chair?) - $45 - (SLO near Cal Poly)
Finding furniture for my new apartment has proven to be an entertaining adventure. I'm caught between dishing out a ton of cash for brand new IKEA stuff and crashing on the mattress I found in a dumpster near campus.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Standards of summer job/internships
Beginning of Spring Quarter:
I'm only applying to positions that can help further my career goals and/or earn me big $$$!
- Congressional intern
- law clerk
- Investment firm intern.
...
Middle Spring Quarter:
OK! Bump in the road. Maybe I should just work and pick up a non-pay on the side.
- bagboy / admin assistant
- painter/ media intern
- ticket guy/ city council intern
...
End of Spring/Begin Summer:
College should be about adventure and risk! The entrepreneurial spirit will take me far!
- Sell cutlery. (Everyone needs the ability to slice through drywall!)
- Fill Envelopes @home. (Might as well just bathe in money!)
...
Now:
I wonder who I call about my flickering red light?
I'm only applying to positions that can help further my career goals and/or earn me big $$$!
- Congressional intern
- law clerk
- Investment firm intern.
...
Middle Spring Quarter:
OK! Bump in the road. Maybe I should just work and pick up a non-pay on the side.
- bagboy / admin assistant
- painter/ media intern
- ticket guy/ city council intern
...
End of Spring/Begin Summer:
College should be about adventure and risk! The entrepreneurial spirit will take me far!
- Sell cutlery. (Everyone needs the ability to slice through drywall!)
- Fill Envelopes @home. (Might as well just bathe in money!)
...
Now:
I wonder who I call about my flickering red light?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Earth Day, or Why You Ought To Show Some Respect
Earth Day is one of the more interesting holidays we've come up with in the last century. It's the one day a year that you can ride your bike to work, totally pitting it out, and have a little bit of forgiveness for doing so. It's the one day where you can build a compost heap for your backyard. It's the one day you can use a reusable cup. All other days are off limits, it seems. During the rest of the year, we don't have to care about the environment.
But, to be frank, the environment doesn't have to care about us, on any day. Sure, when you're hiking through the woods on a trail that you swear is your favorite, munching on some trail mix, watching the sun trickle through the branches, hearing a babbling brook babble (are there ever any coherent brooks?), it's very easy to feel like you've got a great emotional response from nature, that you and nature are super great buddies that are going to get matching tattoos and maybe start a band together. But in reality, nature's doing it's own thing the whole time, and you, with your somewhat emotional response to everything, imagine that the earth cares back.
Face it, the Earth doesn't care about you. I mean, sure, you've been with the company for a long time, but you don't get a whole lot done when you're on the clock, and what you do get done tends to make work for others. You're just as expendable as the next guy; the day we as a species get fired is the same day a new species will get the promotion and take our comfy office with a view. But too many people these days know what it's like to get a pink slip, so let's try to figure out how to not get ourselves in such a position.
It's in our own interest to take care of the environment, or, rather, act in a way that keeps us from messing with the environment more that we already have. It's important to understand that, being bound by physics, the natural world will react in ways in line with science. Put too much carbon dioxide in the air, we get more carbon dioxide in the oceans, the oceans get more acidic, fish can't handle that acidity and die, people have less fish to eat. Clear cut a forest for land development, all kinds of species get displaced, coyotes come wandering around your neighborhood to try to find food to eat. Push too hard in one direction, and the natural balance of things will swing back, sometimes slowly, sometimes violently.
It's also important for us to understand that we are relatively powerless against the earth. Have you ever been in an earthquake? A tornado? Have you ever tried to find water during a drought? When the earth swings back violently, sometimes there are lucky ones that can get out of the way before the punch connects. Sometimes.
So how does this all tie into remembering to recycle bottles and cans on the 22nd of April? In short, it has nothing to do with Earth Day. Nature doesn't have days. Nature doesn't stop being nature. Therefore, people should never stop respecting the power that the earth has. Living just one day like the earth actually means something and then spending the rest dumping garbage everywhere is a pretty good way to get the earth out of equilibrium, and that's asking for a swing of the pendulum. The best way to avoid losing a battle is to take precautions not to be in a fight in the first place. I suggest we all take a look at our lives and figure out ways that we can really respect the Earth, 365 days a year.
But, to be frank, the environment doesn't have to care about us, on any day. Sure, when you're hiking through the woods on a trail that you swear is your favorite, munching on some trail mix, watching the sun trickle through the branches, hearing a babbling brook babble (are there ever any coherent brooks?), it's very easy to feel like you've got a great emotional response from nature, that you and nature are super great buddies that are going to get matching tattoos and maybe start a band together. But in reality, nature's doing it's own thing the whole time, and you, with your somewhat emotional response to everything, imagine that the earth cares back.
Face it, the Earth doesn't care about you. I mean, sure, you've been with the company for a long time, but you don't get a whole lot done when you're on the clock, and what you do get done tends to make work for others. You're just as expendable as the next guy; the day we as a species get fired is the same day a new species will get the promotion and take our comfy office with a view. But too many people these days know what it's like to get a pink slip, so let's try to figure out how to not get ourselves in such a position.
It's in our own interest to take care of the environment, or, rather, act in a way that keeps us from messing with the environment more that we already have. It's important to understand that, being bound by physics, the natural world will react in ways in line with science. Put too much carbon dioxide in the air, we get more carbon dioxide in the oceans, the oceans get more acidic, fish can't handle that acidity and die, people have less fish to eat. Clear cut a forest for land development, all kinds of species get displaced, coyotes come wandering around your neighborhood to try to find food to eat. Push too hard in one direction, and the natural balance of things will swing back, sometimes slowly, sometimes violently.
It's also important for us to understand that we are relatively powerless against the earth. Have you ever been in an earthquake? A tornado? Have you ever tried to find water during a drought? When the earth swings back violently, sometimes there are lucky ones that can get out of the way before the punch connects. Sometimes.
So how does this all tie into remembering to recycle bottles and cans on the 22nd of April? In short, it has nothing to do with Earth Day. Nature doesn't have days. Nature doesn't stop being nature. Therefore, people should never stop respecting the power that the earth has. Living just one day like the earth actually means something and then spending the rest dumping garbage everywhere is a pretty good way to get the earth out of equilibrium, and that's asking for a swing of the pendulum. The best way to avoid losing a battle is to take precautions not to be in a fight in the first place. I suggest we all take a look at our lives and figure out ways that we can really respect the Earth, 365 days a year.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Year's Resolutions: A Journey in List Making
December 31, 2008
-Get in better shape
-Get more organized
-Read more
-Get out more
Hmm, that kinda sounds funny. I just keep "getting" things. Maybe I should be more specific.
-Get in better shape
-Get more organized
-Read more
-Get out more
-Exercise more (3-5 times a week?)
-Eat better food, do that fruits and vegetables thing
-Clean your desk every once in a while
-Keep better track of expenses
-Trash old files on your computer
-Read more books (real books, Moby Dick and stuff like that)
-Don't just look at cats with captions when you're online
-Read blogs that aren't just about tech stuff
-Maybe go to a party?
-Do more club stuff on campus
Even that doesn't sound complete enough. I should probably put something in there about making more time for myself. I'm always running around and doing stuff for work, and never really for myself.
-Exercise more(3-5 times a week?) Cardio MWF, Weights TRSat
-Eat better food, do that fruits and vegetables thing stop eating sweets all the time
-Clean your desk everyonce in a whileweek, stick to a filing system, put stuff back in the right drawers
-Keep better track of expenses Keep track of what you write checks for use your debit card for
-Trash old files on your computer Back up your photos and music and stuff for work
-Read more books (real books, Moby Dick and stuff like that) Moby Dick Wuthering Heights, War and Peace, a Stephen King novel, read more classic books
-Don't just look at cats with captions when you're online --> use your time more wisely when you're on the computer
-Read blogs that aren't just about tech stuff Read more political stuff, and find a good environmental blog
-Maybe go to a party? Be more outgoing in class so people from class might invite you to do fun stuff. Actually talk to other people in class
-Do more club stuff on campus Especially if it has something to do with your major. You want good connections, right?
-Take time to enjoy fun stuff just for yourself
-Just zone out every once in a while, listen to music, play your bass some more
Uh, okay. That looks a lot better. All right, I'm all set for 2009! This is going to be a great year!
January 12, 2009
-Exercise more (3-5 times a week?) Cardio MWF, Weights TRSat don't forget to stretch or you'll be sore
-Eat better food, do that fruits and vegetables thing stop eating sweets all the time. don't go overboard on the carbs!
-Clean your desk everyonce in a while week, stick to a filing system, put stuff back in the right drawers. Make a better system for filing stuff
-Keep better track of expenses Keep track of what you write checks for use your debit card for. stop buying random bargain CDs. quit eating out so much (that will help you eat better!)
-Trash old files on your computer Back up your photos and music and stuff for work Seriously!!
-Read more books(real books, Moby Dick and stuff like that) Moby Dick Wuthering Heights, War and Peace, a Stephen King novel, read more classic books. Research if there's a book for a movie you want to see, read the book before you see the movie
-Don't just look at cats with captions when you're online --> use your time more wisely when you're on the computer (stop using twitter to tell everybody that you're still stressed out about classes)
-Read blogs that aren't just about tech stuff Read more political stuff, and find a good environmental blog
-Maybe go to a party? Be more outgoing in class so people from class might invite you to do fun stuff. Actually talk to other people in class. go to class!
-Do more club stuff on campus Especially if it has something to do with your major. You want good connections, right? Stop missing club meetings!!
-Take time to enjoy fun stuff just for yourself...when you can
-Just zone out every once in a while, listen to music, play your bass some more
Stop wasting time!!
-QUIT MICROMANAGING EVERYTHING
-MAKE BETTER RESOLUTIONS FOR 2010
-Get in better shape
-Get more organized
-Read more
-Get out more
Hmm, that kinda sounds funny. I just keep "getting" things. Maybe I should be more specific.
-Get more organized
-Read more
-Get out more
-Exercise more (3-5 times a week?)
-Eat better food, do that fruits and vegetables thing
-Clean your desk every once in a while
-Keep better track of expenses
-Trash old files on your computer
-Read more books (real books, Moby Dick and stuff like that)
-Don't just look at cats with captions when you're online
-Read blogs that aren't just about tech stuff
-Maybe go to a party?
-Do more club stuff on campus
Even that doesn't sound complete enough. I should probably put something in there about making more time for myself. I'm always running around and doing stuff for work, and never really for myself.
-Exercise more
-Eat better food, do that fruits and vegetables thing stop eating sweets all the time
-Clean your desk every
-
-Trash old files on your computer Back up your photos and music and stuff for work
-Read more books (real books, Moby Dick and stuff like that) Moby Dick Wuthering Heights, War and Peace, a Stephen King novel, read more classic books
-Don't just look at cats with captions when you're online --> use your time more wisely when you're on the computer
-Read blogs that aren't just about tech stuff Read more political stuff, and find a good environmental blog
-
-Do more club stuff on campus Especially if it has something to do with your major. You want good connections, right?
-Take time to enjoy fun stuff just for yourself
-Just zone out every once in a while, listen to music, play your bass some more
Uh, okay. That looks a lot better. All right, I'm all set for 2009! This is going to be a great year!
January 12, 2009
-Eat better food, do that fruits and vegetables thing stop eating sweets all the time. don't go overboard on the carbs!
-Clean your desk every
-
-Trash old files on your computer Back up your photos and music and stuff for work Seriously!!
-Read more books
-Don't just look at cats with captions when you're online --> use your time more wisely when you're on the computer (stop using twitter to tell everybody that you're still stressed out about classes)
-Read blogs that aren't just about tech stuff Read more political stuff, and find a good environmental blog
-
-Do more club stuff on campus Especially if it has something to do with your major. You want good connections, right? Stop missing club meetings!!
-Take time to enjoy fun stuff just for yourself...when you can
-Just zone out every once in a while, listen to music, play your bass some more
Stop wasting time!!
-QUIT MICROMANAGING EVERYTHING
-MAKE BETTER RESOLUTIONS FOR 2010
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