i'm a user

my first major purchase was an Asus Z63a, back in February 3rd, 2006 and by all counts i am pleased with my decision. i try to stick by my decisions.

anyway, the process of obsessively researching and forming an informed opinion prior to making my decision led me to various pieces of free software with which to complete the experience. feel free to make suggestions.

Anti-Virus/Spyware/Adware/Malware/Junk: paid software suites (Norton, McAfee, etc) are generally bulky and memory hogs, slowing down boot-ups and performance in general. here is what i am using.

Anti-Virus: avast!
a memory-friendly and freely available anti-virus solution. easy to use, skinnable and fairly customizable. the only thing is that registration needs to be renewed every year. a 20 second copy and paste job once a year is nothing. AVG is another option (sans yearly registration) but it is slightly more taxing on my battery life (15 minutes) and the security tool used by UTSC to scan computers for the wireless network cannot detect AVG.

Anti-Spyware: not every anti-spyware solution can cover everything, so it is recommended that you use a suite of them. see Ars Technica's review.

Ad-Aware SE 6 Personal
a very thorough scanning tool that is quite easy to use. after scanning, it is a bit confusing, but the tabs will allow you to view each category of removable file (critical, non-critical) and select which ones to remove.

Spybot - Search and Destroy
this one has the coolest license agreement ever.

I. Freeware
First of all, the reasons why Spybot-S&D is free:

I.a. Dedication
Spybot-S&D is dedicated to the most wonderful girl on earth :)

I.b. Binary
What do you get if you buy software? Lots of ones and zeros, nothing more. If they were distributed as art, I could understand paying it. But if the main goal of their order is to earn money - by fees or ads - I don't like it!

I.c. Conclusion
This means that I grant you the license to use Spybot-S&D as much as you like. But if you like it, I ask two things of you: say a prayer for me (and the most wonderful girl while you're at it ;) ) to your god - or whatever you believe - and wish us some luck.

Spyware Blaster
for pre-emptively blocking known spyware from installing. the name is quite nerdy too. speaking of nerdy, when i'm bored at work, i run anti-virus and anti-spyware scans. i race them on different computers. the races are not even because my work computer is pitiful. it makes me feel good.

Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
this is a back up procedure for me. i don't know how well it works because i've never detected anything with it. i assume this is testament to the effectiveness of the software above it.

RegScrubXP
not an anti-spyware or anti-virus tool, rather it scrubs XP's registry of entries that are no longer associated with anything in particular. this usually occurs after uninstalling an application that does not clean up after itself.

CCleaner
system cleaner, to get rid of temporary files, deleted files, application history, cookies, etc in one fell swoop. small, fast, and stands for crap cleaner. how neat is that?

Tools: stuff that i regularly use either for work, or fun, or both

Audio/Video:
winLame: a compact and flexible audio encoder
Audacity: audio editor with a clever name
VideoLan - VLC Media Player: plays just about any codec you throw at it
iTunes: not small or particularly memory friendly, but i like the look and the library search capabilities, among other things. i use this because i'm shallow and it matches.
DeepBurner: free CD burning tool (also DeepRipper for the reverse process)

Instant Messangers:
MSN Messenger 7.5: because i'm a lemming. i see no reason to use Live Messenger 8.0 at this point. Aero MSN if you really want the Live/Vista look.
Google Talk: small, simple, Google.

Internet Related:
Mozilla Firefox: securer, customizable, open-source browser.
i use the iFox theme, AdBlock Plus (for blocking advertisements), IE Tab (for those visits to microsoft.com) and FoxPose (for sifting through many tabs, OS X Expose style). also available for use is Keyword Bookmarking.
Mozilla Thunderbird: securer, customizable, open-source email client.
i use the Tiger Mail theme, and Lightning (Mozilla's experimental calendar extension - it's not nearly as good as Outlook 2003's calendar, but maybe in 2 years)

Application Launching:
ObjectDock: basically a shortcut bar that resides on your desktop that allows you to reach commonly used applications or files without sifting through folders or the start menu (like OS X's Dock) with some visual amenities. fully customizable icons (provided you have the icons).
Launchy: command line-style application launcher, similar to Google Desktop Search or OS X's Spotlight search. Launchy allows you to pick which directories to index, as well as the file type. for example, i've indexed the My Documents folder for .docs, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .txt, but not .mp3 so other files are left alone. however, Launchy does not index the text within files like GDS or Spotlight does. still, it has things sped up greatly (mousing is generally much slower).

Other:
Paint.NET: because Photoshop is Adobe and therefore clunky.
Console Calculator: i like typing in equations, rather than trying to key in an operation using a graphical interface.

Porphyria's Lover

The rain set early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:
I listened with heart fit to break.
When glided in Porphyria; straight
She shut the cold out and the storm,
And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;
Which done, she rose, and from her form
Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,
And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
Her hat and let the damp hair fall.
And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,
She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
And all her yellow hair displaced,
And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair,
Murmuring how she loved me -- she
Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me for ever.
But passion sometimes would prevail,
Nor could to-night's gay feast restrain
A sudden thought of one so pale
For love of her, and all in vain:
So, she was come through wind and rain.
Be sure I looked up at her eyes
Happy and proud; at last I knew
Porphyria worshipped me; surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew
While I debated what to do.
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good: I found
A thing to do, and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her. No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain.
As a shut bud that holds a bee,
I warily oped her lids: again
Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.
And I untightened next the tress
About her neck; her cheek once more
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:
I propped her head up as before,
Only, this time my shoulder bore
Her head, which droops upon it still:
That smiling rosy little head,
So glad it has its utmost will,
That all it scorned at once is fled,
And I, its love, am gained instead!
Porphyria's love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard.
And thus we sit together now,
And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!

Robert Browning (1835)

so creepy...

back to school

ENGB34 - The Short Story
Professor: Alexandra Peat
i like short stories. they are shorter (duh) and are generally more artistic in nature when compared to novels. they're like prose poems. the professor is the same as the one i had for a class last fall (critical thinking in narrative). some of the short stories from then are repeated here as well (James' The Real Thing, Joyce's the Dead - the good ones). our first study was on Chekhov, the russian playwright/doctor (like how Dr. McNinja is a ninja/doctor). he is well known for his ambiguous stories and inconclusive endings and banal dialogues. i love it.

ENGB35 - Children's Literature
Professor: Michael Boughn
i'm quite excited about this course, but only because i get to read Roald Dahl (The Witches), C.S. Lewis (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass) and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone). but i also have to read things like Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, the Secret Garden and Little Women. the professor is a good speaker but flies off on tangents farther than i do (because he is more knowledgable). i like his stories about his kids though. i don't think it is womanly to want to have children, so that's what i want.

ENGB08 - Collisions of Culture and the Emergence of a Liberal Nation: Early American Literature
Professor: Ian Macrae
this course i picked because it fit my schedule and i will likely see it through because i wish to become a more diverse reader. however, this course doesn't have too much going for it. the professor is decent and he also has a nice monotone voice like my own. i sit in the very front so that i cannot fall asleep.

ENGC02 - Major Canadian Authors
Professor: Marlene Goldman
i was very much looking forward to this class because apart from Roald Dahl, C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling, my favourite authors are Robertson Davies and Maraget Atwood. unfortunately, this class is only studying Atwood, Alice Munroe and Timothy Findley. i remember one of Munroe's short stories (How I Met My Husband) and i've heard good things about Findley. should be an excellent class to articulate my Atwood obsession many thanks go to Jacqueline for stealing a huge stack of Atwood novels from her local library's donation pile, to Reach for the Top for awarding me a copy of Dancing Girls and Other Short Stories in a raffle and to Sharon for prompting me to read Oryx and Crake (which will be studied).

ENGC20 - Victorian Prose and Poetry
Professor: Natalie Rose
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

my crush

Jenna Fischer, aka Pam Beesly on The Office (US):


i like...
- the way she doesn't need a layer cake of makeup or fancy frills to be attractive, but she can still pull off glamourous
- the way she writes (see her blog - link above)
- her facial acting range
- her silliness

the office

season premiere
Thursday, September 21
8:30 pm
NBC