Dear Friends,
Here are some things that might make your lives happier:
Last.fm: Internet radio has evolved. Last.fm is free. It stalks your iTunes or WinAmp to see what you like, and then plays you more of it or finds new things you might enjoy. It lets you play what your friends like. It lets you listen to an entire radio station that "sounds like" a particular artist you happen to like. It lets you skip tracks, tag tracks as awesome, and ban tracks entirely from your Last.fm life. It likes Windows and OS X. It's awesome:
icehatchling,
meekohi,
hapypsycho, and
homingpigen will back me up on this one.
3hive: "Sharing the sharing". When the guys at 3hive like a new, obscure (or not so new and obscure) band, they write up a one tiny paragraph review that tells you what the music sounds like rather than blathering about how awesome it is. Then they post two to six direct download links to songs by that band that are legally available on various sites. The past few days are also available as RSS/Podcast.
Mvelopes: FYI--this one costs money. This is an on line version of the old-school way of budgeting. Back in the day, people would cash their paychecks, and then divide the cash into envelops for "Car", "Movies", "Groceries", etc. I know this is true because I remember people doing it. Anyway, you make a digital version of this system in Mvelopes. Then Mvelopes links to your banks and credit cards, and everytime you buy something, Mvelopes ganks that transaction info. You tell Mvelopes what "envelope" to take the money out of. I explain badly. Just go read their commercial. It's legit.
Electing a student to Williamsburg City Council: If you live in Williamsburg, try to register to vote there. If not, throw this guy a bone on Paypal. ELECTION IS IN 11 DAYS. I know him; he would be a good councilman. He is also a Sorensen graduate (CTP 2005)!
Saving Palladium: In short: Palladium, the company that makes Rifts, is going under due to embezzelment. The president is selling a limited edition print for $50 in an appeal to fans to save Palladium. I just suggested to the mofo that he put a Paypal donation button on his site, since no college student is going to drop $50 for his print, but hundreds might be able to drop $15 just to help. That button should be up by tomorrow sometime.
All for now.