i watch the daily show on a semi-regular basis. it’s entertaining for the most part. i get a kick out of jon stewart poking fun at politicians and such. it’s a little more liberal, but perhaps that’s part of what i enjoy. (note: i’m somewhere in the middle of left and right)

anyway. check out this article on cnn where daily show viewers are shown to be more informed and in turn perhaps more intelligent…not just “stoned slackers” and “dopey kids.”

get 25 .info domains for 1 yr for FREE!! i just registered the following domains:

myfatass.info
missypants.info
candypants.info
prandom.info
perpetualrandomness.info
ithoughtirememberedthat.info
rachelk.info

who knows whether i’ll renew them in a year. it certainly won’t be with dotster, but that’s only because godaddy.com is so much cheaper. can’t get much cheaper than free.

i know many foreigners express disdain for american media, and i don’t blame them. that’s why i don’t pay much attention to them.

i think any corruption that’s inherent to our media will be it’s downfall. all things will come around full circle, and i think CBS is a prime example. *shrug*

i love my free country though. *smile*

some days, i amaze myself.

this morning, i woke up way late and had only 15 minutes to get ready.

1 minute brushed my teeth while shower warmed up
5 minute shower
1 minute dried off
2 minutes put clothes on
3-4 minutes dry my hair (i’m keepin’ the short hair!)
2 minutes to get shoes, socks, my bag, and head out the door

incredible feat for a woman, i’d say.

if i had a $1 for every time someone called and said this:

typical phone call directly from user to me (bypassing all methods of requesting help)

phone rings

rachel: this is rachel
user: hi rachel. i have a quick question about .
rachel: i’d love to help you, but all requests should go into track-it.
user: well, it’s not really a request. i just wanted to know
rachel: i don’t know right off the top of my head but if you put it into track-it, i can help you better.
user: it’s not that important. i was just wondering if you knew right off the top of your head.
rachel: no. please enter it into track-it and i’d be more than happy to get you an answer.
user: oh no no. it’s not that big of a deal. thanks.

WTF?! it’s not important enough to enter it into track-it, but it’s important enough to interupt my busy schedule to chitchat. i’m not answering the phone anymore. i’ve had someone from AT&T #0 call me 3 or 4 times, but they won’t leave a message. if it’s not important enough to leave a message or enter into track-it, then it’s not important enough for me to help you.

argh.

*track-it is software for tracking requests; primarily used as a help desk tool

i think this little elevation map is so neat.

at the risk of sounding not patriotic (anti-patriotic?), i must say that i’m tired of hearing “never forget” in regards to the tragedy that occurred 3 yrs ago. it makes me angry even.

i’ve been trying to put into words why it makes me angry, and perhaps it’s the assumption that americans forget the people who give their lives for their country (voluntarily or otherwise). i find it insulting that we are drilled on remembering something so horrible in order to keep bush satisfied. perhaps that’s how it appears to me…that it’s all part of bush’s little scheme to keep himself in office. keep americans angry at the extremist muslims and keep bush in office.

i don’t know. i simply can’t keep it to myself any longer.

and please don’t think i think any less of the 9/11/01 events. tears well up in my eyes even thinking about what i witnessed that day–what all americans witnessed.

i heard a commercial on the radio on saturday that made me mad–bush was speaking and it was obviously fairly recently. he made the statement, “i fear we are forgetting. i see fewer american flags being flown. i see fewer american flag pins being worn.”

ya’ know what? love and patriotism for your country does not lie in how many flags you fly or wear or how many times you chant “U-S-A”!!! it’s the love you hold in your heart for your country. it’s moving on from evil things (9/11) and doing the right things to prevent more tragedies, but understanding that our freedoms should not be sacrificed! it’s learning about the potential leaders/current leaders of our country and voting!! it’s about making this place a better place to live and fulfill our dreams, just like those who have come before us! patriotism isn’t an old navy flag t-shirt.

actions are stronger than any icon or words or any passive attempt at patriotism. how about we see some real patriotism and see some people doing something good for the people of this country!!

argh.

i finished my first chemistry quiz today in under 10 minutes. i would say i had it in my possession for only 5 minutes or so. makes me a little nervous. we shall see tomorrow how it turns out.

i studied my ass off though.

this chemistry class is rumored to be a weed-out class…which basically means it’s harder than your average class. finally–something interesting AND challenging. i hope this quiz is indicative of what’s to come for me in this class. i could really use another A for the good ol’ gpa.

stumbled onto breedart.org in perusing the winamp skins (found some interesting skins that linked to the site). check out the art section. wb dali.

i just purchased timetrax so i can record songs from xm! TAKE THAT RIAA!!! rumor has it that xm is discontinuing their xm pcr hardware. they haven’t made any official announcement as far as i know, but no one’s been able to purchase the pcr hardware (for use on your pc) within the last month or so.

and in reality, it’s perfectly legal for me to record songs from xm…especially since i PAY FOR IT!!! it’s not recording or copying music that’s wrong, you idiots! as a kid, i recorded music from the radio onto tapes and you didn’t sue me for that!

timetrax has lots of functionality though. LOTS. you can schedule a recording for a specific program (thump funk radio on “81-the move”) or live concert or whatever. you can also setup the grab/kill list which tells timetrax what songs and artists you want to record (or not record). the kill list will be compared to recorded songs. if the artist/title is on the kill list, it will delete what it recorded.

i love this app, and i’ve had it only 10 minutes or so. keep an eye out for postings with new music that i’m recording (that’s pr’y what all the fuss is about lol). no sense in keeping it all to myself.

wb new music.

i began the search for a new winamp skin this morning, and have settled on this one. i like the clean lines. the buttons are clearly marked (clearly enough for my tastes), and the colors are soothing.

plus, the neptuno theme goes right along with my various starry (ever changing) desktop backgrounds.

the BEST part of this skin is that the playlist and the main window can be quasi-minimized to a one-line bar that i can keep at the top of my desktop.

ahhh…the simplicity of it all.