evilangela

Seattle Storm - Ride the Train!

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:17:13 -0700

This happens at every Seattle Storm game, during the 4th quarter. This song comes on, the Storm dancers and Doppler come out, and kids rush out onto the court and do the train! It's a tradition, and a great one.

Kitty bowling

Sun, 06 May 2007 15:29:51 -0700

Dreads!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:50:59 -0700

smallback

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:04:28 -0800

desktop

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:27:18 -0700

My desktop on my work machine. Dual monitors FTW!

GamerchiX Logo

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 16:53:03 -0700

IMG_0947

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:52:00 -0700

evilangela

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:41:02 -0700

Can we kill MySpace now?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:52:18 -0700

I hate MySpace.

I will clarify that. I specifically hate MySpace. I don't hate the concept of social networking (obviously, since Last.fm is a form of it), and I don't even hate the specific functionality that's on MySpace. I like what they're trying to do, and a good, popular social networking site is needed.

But the only thing that seems to be keeping MySpace popular is its popularity.

It's horribly ugly - one of the worst designed websites I've seen in a long time. It's full of ads - and not even good ads, but the crappy worst-of-the-web ads, chock full of sites that shove spyware and adware onto unwilling peoples' computers. It's buggy. It is really hard to customize, meaning most people do it via third-party websites that throw more garbage into a user's profile, and the limitations mean most customizations are also very ugly. The profile is also very rigid, meaning that when you want to add stuff that doesn't fit into any of the topic headings you're given, you have to shove it into one of them.

Oh, and they play up the whole grassroots thing and pretend that one person created MySpace (Tom), but that's far from the truth. A subtle marketing campaign managed to convince people of such things and somehow got MySpace moving. But there's nothing grassroots about it.

But now we have Virb. It just launched recently - I think it left beta just last week. It already seems to do most of what MySpace does - and it does it with much more style.

Virb user profiles are ad-free. They're easily customizable - change your colors, fonts, text sizes, and arrangement of profile boxes without any HTML or CSS knowledge at all. You can even add custom profile boxes for whatever you want to add - Last.fm charts, for example, fit nicely into them. :) It even integrates with Flickr - instead of having to upload photos to the site separately, link it to your Flickr and it will show your lastest pics on your profile. And if you know CSS, or are willing to learn, you can tweak the hell out of a profile there. For example, someone made their profile look like a MySpace profile, but it still looks better than MySpace. Someone else made theirs look like something totally different. I'm highly impressed, and it's encouraged me to play with my own and see what I can do.

I hate feeling like I'm shilling something - it's very much not the type of person I am. But I just really want to see the ugliness of MySpace stop polluting the internet, and Virb seems like it might be the place to do it. So I would like to encourage everyone to abandon their MySpace and head on over - or if nothing else, at least create their own Virb profile and play with it.

Oh yeah, by the way - Virb has their own mini-Last.fm knockoff on there, called VirbTunes. Essentially, it does the scrobbling part of Last.fm, and adds it to your profile. Ignore it. Use Last.fm charts instead! :)

101 goals in 1001 days

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:20:21 -0700

A couple months ago, my sister told us about this interesting thing she was doing. It was called 101 Things to do in 1001 Days. The idea is simple. Create a list of 101 things to do - goals - and then give yourself 1001 days to do them all. We thought the idea was great, and have not only decided to do it ourselves, but got a bunch of friends to join us. We decided to start it at a point where it would finish up on a significant day. Which is why we start it this Friday, April 4, 2008. 1001 days later is December 31, 2010. So on 1/1/11, I should have a list of 101 things I've done! And perhaps have another list to start at that point. We'll see. Anyways, here is my full list!

Be someone else for a day
Get a matching tattoo with Chelle
Get a new piercing
Design and get my wrist tattoos
Have lunch with Chelle once a week for three months
Go to a political rally
Secret (this goal redacted for national security purposes)
Secret (this goal redacted for national security purposes)
Write a letter to a Senator or Congressman about something I feel passionately about every six months (0/5)
Take care of birthday presents/cards for my family
Take care of will and health care decisions
Have professional pictures taken with Chelle
Say something positive about myself while looking in the mirror every morning and night for three months
Get involved in politics in some manner
Get a full set of synth dreads
Let the synth dreads stay in long enough for my real hair to become dreaded
Keep a notebook with me
Improve handwriting/signature
Become comfortable initiating conversations with strangers
Get down to my target weight
Have one totally awesome outfit and wear it to a concert or club
Secret (this goal redacted for national security purposes)
Learn to sew
Make my own clothing
Create something special, and destroy it
Learn a musical instrument
Take voice lessons
Take drum lessons
Take a picture every day (0/1001)
Create an a-life program
Read two books a year on subjects that I know little/nothing about
Read a book a year on a subject that I feel strongly about, but from a different point of view
Take a music theory class
Learn Spanish
Learn sign language
Go through "Your Own Worst Enemy" and do exercises and the like
Get rid of 101 material things (0/101)
Tell off someone who deserves it
Talk to my dad at least every 3 months
Learn to snowboard
Read through The Mental Game
Read a book on chess
Take class on making dreads/falls (if taught)
12 bowling lessons in a six month period
Learn to swim
Begin and maintain an exercise routine
Go to the gym at least once a week for a year
Be able to jog for 30 minutes without stopping
Be able to bike 10k
Do Pilates every two weeks for six months
Get a facial every year
Get a massage four times a year
Learn to meditate and make it a regular routine
Join a league to play a new sport
Learn to ice skate well
Go to the doctor once a year
Get dental work done
Go on 10 hikes a year
Wear sunscreen for outside activities
Go to the eye doctor and get new glasses
Fly my stunt kite
Hit Chelle in the face with a (soft) snowball
Buy a new bowling ball
Have a plan to climb Mt. Rainier, and be making progress
No fast food for one month
Diary what I eat for a month
Make homemade peanut butter
Make raspberry jam
Create a great pizza recipe
Find a new restaurant worthy of becoming a new favorite
Find a new wine that I like
Find one bread recipe to make regularly
Ascend in NetHack
Have friends over for an all-day game of Civilization (board game)
Beat all instruments on Rock Band on expert
Hit 100,000 gamerscore
Find a group to play M:TG with
Pay off student loan
Pay off credit cards
Buy a house
Put a dollar in an ING account every day for the 1001 days
Don't buy any bottled water for 1,001 days
Donate to a charity
Visit Alaska
Visit Yellowstone
Take an impromptu vacation for a long weekend
Go to a Vancouver/Detroit hockey game in Vancouver
Attend a concert every year
Get a passport
Attend a Halloween party in costume
Camp out in the mountains
Stay in a beachfront cabin for a weekend
Make emergency kits for the cars
Throw a party for no good reason
Unapologetically stop celebrating Christmas, starting this December
Get and use reusable grocery bags
Bake a cake for someone's (other than Chelle) birthday every year
Get NHL Center Ice every year
Find the perfect bra
Make "bad parking" notes and leave them on cars that are parked badly
Go on a helicopter ride with Jen

I'm still alive...

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:41:36 -0700

I'm still alive... really. I haven't completely forgotten about here. Of course, if the Virb team themselves hadn't seemed to forget about this place, maybe it would have helped. :) Anyways.... perhaps more will happen here. Perhaps not. Either way, follow me on Twitter!

Online Chess!

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:47:33 -0700

I've been on a chess kick lately, thanks to a friend challenging me to a game via email. Since then, I've been reading up on chess tactics and such. Today, thanks to Metafilter, I found the site RedHotPawn.com, and signed up. So if anyone feels like taking me on in a game, my username there is EvilAngela! I'll soon find out how good I am (or am not)!

Are you helping expand Last.fm's music selection?

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:16 -0700

While not all of us use the Last.fm streaming radio, many of us do. If we do, we have realized something - the collection they have is good, but not great. There are many holes, and very few smaller artists that are present. As that's where Last.fm excels when recommending music, this makes it hard to check out what it is you've been recommended.

Fortunately, music can be added to the streaming library. We can't do it ourselves, but we can have some effect on the situation. It's up to artists and labels to add their music, but as most of them aren't aware of Last.fm - or at least that they can add their music for more exposure - it's up to US to get them informed! We have to contact the artists and labels and let them know about Last.fm and the value of uploading their music.

I'm helping to change the situation - I've contacted three different artists about uploading their music here, and all have mentioned that they thought it was a good idea and would look into it. None of them are streamable yet, but I'm watching Autumn's Grey Solace, Reliquary, and now Ayria to see when they're streamable.

I also have a few other artists that I need to push toward Last.fm - Kinnie Starr, Rachael Sage, and Emilie Autumn. They all deserve to be on here, and are my next "targets".

So, are YOU helping too?

Update: Ayria is now streamable! I have brought my first artist into the Last.fm fold!

Revolt, Revolt, REVOLT!

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:16 -0700

There's this small group out there designed entirely for revolutionary fun.

Viva La Revolucion

Someone created it a while back just to have fun with Last.fm's group revolution system, but it turns out that system was broken - the group might have helped point that out, though I'm not sure. :)

Anyways, now it's working again - but sadly, the former revolutionaries don't seem to be as excited about the task. So I thought I'd mention it to everyone, in the hopes of picking up a few more folks looking for group excitement.

(and perhaps, in the future, we can put together plans to invade other groups and sieze control of them! MUWHAHA!)

Not around as much...

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:16 -0700

Just a note to anyone who feels like reading it that I'm not around here quite as much as I used to be.

It's not that I don't like Last.fm anymore - cause I still love this place. It's just that I've taken a new job recently, a job that I really enjoy and always have a lot to do at. So I'm spending a lot less time on various websites, including this one.

I'll still respond to messages, and probably even to shoutbox comments. But I'm not really checking forums and friends' journals and the like.

The Beta Makes Me Cry

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:15 -0700

And not tears of joy.

Once upon a time, Audioscrobbler fans got the shock of finding that their website was now Last.fm, and had a totally different look. And it was different. But it was not bad, it was good. It made a few people unhappy, but many people happy.

It was clean, it was simple, and it was very usable.

But the fun was not to last. Fortunately, the destruction is still limited to smaller spaces, and the masses do not yet have to suffer. However, this likely will not last.

Be prepared, because too much Photoshop is coming soon to Last.fm. And the masses will flee in terror.

Edit: If you're not in on the beta, but want to see what it looks like, check the beta forums. There are screenshots and images in a number of the threads, so you can see the insanity for yourself.

Driving in the Northwest

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:15 -0700

We've been getting unusual weather here in the Northwest recently. It snowed last Wednesday - which is unusual, but not unheard of. However, since then, the snow hasn't melted much at all. In fact, it's snowed twice more, and is snowing right now. We're not talking a lot - an inch here, a half-inch here. But the Northwest isn't prepared to deal with it. They don't salt the roads, and there aren't many plows. Many of the roads have just had to have the snow and ice get worn away from cars. Which doesn't always work...

...and some people don't know how to deal with the conditions. Definitely worth a view.

I hope that first person was massively ticketed - there's not knowing how to drive on snow and ice, and then there's being insanely reckless and dangerous.

1/25/07 Show - Ego Likeness, Ayria, The Cruxshadows

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:14 -0700

Last Thursday was my first show since seeing Dead Can Dance over a year ago, and the first one I can think Last.fm for letting me know about - without this web site, I might well have missed it, and would have been so upset had that been the case...

Anyways, the show was totally incredible, and definitely one of the best I've ever been to.

I got there about 9:30 pm, and it was my first time at the new Blacklight here in Seattle. It's not a very big place at all - I think less than half the size of the cafeteria here in my area of Microsoft. Looked like maybe 150-200 people could fit in there if we packed in. There was a little time, so I went ahead and made the necessary merchandise purchases - including an oh-so-comfy hoodie, along with finally getting their new CD, Dreamcypher.

Around 10, the opening act took the stage - Ego Likeness. I'd never heard of them before, but they looked promising, and they started off that way. But then the problem showed up - just about every single song they played sounded the same. At times, I couldn't tell if they were pausing in the middle of a song, or if it was a break between them. And the rest of the crowd seemed to agree - there was only a smattering of applause most of the time. I even felt a bit bad for them. Then they even chose to end the set with a slow song - definitely not the best choice.

There's definitely potential there, as the lead singer has a great voice, but it's going to take some work.

After a brief break, Ayria came up on stage. I've been listening to her for a bit, and while I've liked her stuff, I can't say it's been anything amazing. But it's always good to hear someone you know, and this was no exception. She started off with Horrible Dream, and the big thing I noticed was that either she's improved since doing her last album, or that the album tracks just can't compare to the energy of her live show - because I was loving it!

Yes, she has a lot of energy on stage - definitely someone who likes to perform. I like describing her as a "corrupt cheerleader" - all the energy of one, with the great harshness and darkness of her music. She was bouncing around the stage a lot, and really was playing off the energy of the keyboardist, who also had a ton - at times I thought he was going to knock his stuff over, he was so getting into it.

Amusingly, partway through her set, there was a pause as the guys running the show (from MusicWerks) told us that the police were telling them it was too loud, and to turn it down. There's a police station about a block away, and apparently they weren't happy with the volume. So it was turned down, and the music became cleaner, but we couldn't "feel" the bass the same way anymore.

Sadly, I don't know her stuff enough to be able to pick out what other tracks she played for certain, but almost all of them were easily recognizable, and it was just a great time, and I've found a renewed appreciation for her stuff, and a friend who came along (Sinned Soul) enjoyed her a lot too - I think she may have another fan.

By this point, I'd already felt that the $10 cost for the show was cheap, just for the two I'd already seen.

Then The Crüxshadows were set to take the stage. But there was an extended delay - apparently, something more going on with the police, more requests to turn it down. They made another announcement beforehand, with the guys obviously upset they had to turn it down.

But the lights dimmed, the music started, and Rogue started singing, and the whole thing was forgotten. Because they sure as hell know how to put on a show!

I'm a recent fan of The Cr

Random Cats

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:14 -0700

Just Because. Video of cat spanking at the end, too...

Post in this Journal!

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:45:13 -0700

No really, post something. Anything.

Or I'll feel really neglected and unwanted. And I'll go gouge my eyes out with icepicks and jump off a bridge.

But you can prevent that.