1 in the Back Pocket

2006-11-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

Ever had trouble finding mp3s in a search on Google? Maybe you should try http://www.altavista.com. At AltaVista, you can just click on mp3/audio, and search for music. It's not always the most effective, but at least you only get music instead of just articles or cd sales. It was really useful when I was in SED my freshman year making a website for children. I wanted a song about the moon, and I found a clip that was perfect for the website. This search engine lets you specify what kind of websites you want to go to. If I want to look for a cd to buy I'll go to Amazon, but AltaVista simply lets me find a brief clip to listen to. There are of course other search headings like Web, Images, Video, and News. This site is just so useful to limit your results to the type of website you want. "This led to AltaVista's development of the first searchable, full-text database on the World Wide Web." The website's "About AltaVista" section claims to have found every word used in every HTML site on the web, and to have catagorized it in an index, hence the statement above. The website seems to sort by the most relevent, meaning that if the exact words you type are in an HTML site in the order you typed them then that site will be the first on the list. They also search for many languages and connect with many different countries, so you can narrow your list down by making sure the country you are in or wish to be in is the one selected. I of course function under the USA segment. As I said earlier though, Google is the top search engine on the web as it seems, but AltaVista provides that extra musical kick providing me with more relevent information when I want to search, especially for music. While Google often seems to provide more information, I still believe that it has its set backs because it is so well known and so many sites go through it. Therefore, while Google can be better for some general searches, AltaVista prevails in its simplicity and mp3/audio searching capabilities.

2006-10-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Just a little update. My friend made a blog. His blog name is csbu. There is a link to his blog in my sidebar. Everyone should go visit it. Also, I would like to thank him for putting a link to my blog in his sidebar. It was really nice of him. So. to csbu, thank you! Anyway, I also put a link to Barnes & Noble's website in my sidebar. I love books, and Barnes & Noble is the best. That's all for now. Oh, and thanks again to csbu for putting a link to my blog in your sidebar!

2006-10-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that my blog has been visited by all of 2 people. I'm not sure if this Google Analytics thing is recording when I have visited or other people, but hey that is 2 visits more than 0 which makes me happy. Anyway, here's a little data from this blog's Google Analytics report:

Date Range	Visits	Pageviews
10/4 - 10/10	2	2

2006-10-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

When at http://theyrule.net, I decided to find a connection between Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. I chose these two because they sell books and media. Since I have an intense love for the written language I thought they would be appropriate companies to try to connect. I then noticed that they are more closely related than I expected. Only four companies appeared on the screen, and only three people connecting them. Viacom is a major TV corporation and Consolidated Edison is a financial corporation. Those are the two major companies that were the vertices connecting Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com together. Neither of those have anything to do with what the two companies sell. It is very interesting who tends to be powerful among different companies. Well, I suppose that is all for now.

2006-09-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from my favorite Broadway musical RENT. I love it! Click the picture to see what http://www.broadway.com has to say about it.

2006-09-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

There were some wicked cool sites on this bookmarking group I joined. One is http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/ which has some really funny quotes that people over heard on the street of New York City. It's very cool. Also, there is this funny dance evolution thing from youTube that was on the bookmarking site. It was really funny. I love dance so I was very amused. That site is http://youtube.com/watch?v=QGQMyN75LFQ. Also, I posted the Foamy the Squirrel site from an earlier entry. In case you want it again http://www.illwillpress.com/. The toons are just so fantastic. Anyway, those are the sites from the bookmarking site that I found or posted in the case of the last one I mentioned. Just so that you know again, the sites in the order they are mentioned are:

Over heard in New York
youTube Dance Evolution
Foamy the Squirrel

ENJOY!!!

2006-09-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

I know that no one really wants to steal my personal journal entries, but I suppose that it's a good idea to protect my stuff anyway. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License is the one that I chose. I chose this because it requires people to give me crecdit for my work. It also does not allow for people to use my work for commercial purposes, which I think is fair. I don't want someone using my work to make money or something. Also, the license doesn't allow for people to change my writing, which makes me happy. I am very protective of my writing and want it to be safe. That is why I chose such a restrictive license. I got the license at http://creativecommons.org. My license can be viewed at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/. I think I am happy that my writing is protected now. It makes me very happy. That's all for now!

2006-09-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I finally got an interview at my alma mater. Thank goodness. Unfortunately, my "one in the back pocket" professor and the head of the English department has decided to stay in his position even after everything that I put him through when I went to the school. Another unfortunate situation is that he will be interviewing me. How aweful is that?! Oh well, I suppose I will survive. Anyway, I've been on the internet bored a lot lately and have found some cool sites. The first one has this cute squirrel who complains and rants about everything. His name is Foamy. It's really rather funny. the link is http://www.illwillpress.com/. It is a wicked fun site. I recommend Squirrel Songs and Squirrel Songs II under the toons section of the site. The Amityville Toaster clip is really funny too. I recommend this to anyone with a good sense of humor and doesn't get offended easily because it is hilarious. Another site that I found was fantastic. It's http://www.addictinggames.com/. The games really are addictive. It takes a little bit of exploring but I really enjoyed the Text Twist game, as well as the Qbeez game. It's a good way to pass the time when I'm bored. Anyway, I need to continue preparing for my interview. I cannot wait. Enjoy the sites all! ~Suzy B.

2006-09-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Boy is job searching crazy. All I have ever wanted to do was teach. I have decided to become an English professor at the college that I attended as an undergraduate in order to pursue my dream. I never thought they would put me through so much. Well, I am searching other places and right now the evil rival of my alma mater seems to be winning the job race. They have practically thrown the job at me. If I take the job, I will be teaching creative writing courses in the English department and the music department. I am most excited about the later job assignment, though. I have been a song writer all of my life. Of course, my music has improved since I was three years old, but starting early is the way to go. Anyway, I would love to teach college students how to write music well, or at least give them insight as to why they write the way that they do. Well, accepting the job of my dreams will have to wait because the right now the job exists, but it is at the wrong school. I suppose that I will just have to keep the crazy fight going. Maybe my interview tomorrow will be fantastic. You never know until you try. I just hope the department head has changed since I went to the school 10 years ago. If not, I guess I just better hope that he doesn't remember me from the little fire incident. I still cannot believe that one little cigarette set his entire office on fire. I mean it was legal to smoke inside back then, and I never thought of the risks. I guess that was an issue in the long run though. Oh well, maybe he left after dealing with me for four years. One can only hope. He was one of those crazy weird men who loved collecting different versions of specific books. He had the most copies of Catcher in the Rye. It was his absolute favorite book. It was kind of creepy that he liked it so much. He must have had so many copies of that book. Every version ever made, and multiple copies of each one. He had at least a hundred copies total. He always kept one in the back pocket, too. I guess that's the most useful thing I ever learned from him. Collect something you love, and always keep one in the back pocket. I write journals full of music, and keep them all in a special collection, but I always keep my favorite journal in my back pocket. Wow, it has been years since I have thought about how my life used to be. It's amazing what finding a new job does to you. Well, I guess today has just been another ordinary crazy day in the life of Suzy Barness. Hopefully, my interview tomorrow will prove a little less crazy. Good luck to me!