I'm feeling better today. I spent some time thinking about what I think a portal should be (and writing it down), thinking about what it is that my supervisor is trying to accomplish (as much as I can discern), and talking about it with coworkers. In the end, however, I really have just decided not to let it interfere with my life.

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I've encountered a few interesting things lately. The first item is from ++jaeger : www.magnatunes.com. They purport to be a modest solution to the recording industry's robbery. The idea is simple: artists sign up and make their music available. You are then able to browse the music and listen to it, in it's entirety, as much as you like. If you like a particular album enough you may opt to pay some amount of money of your choosing. Half of that money goes to the artist. So far I haven't had enough time to listen to much but I've already purchased one album (ABA Structure Faces of Epiphany for US $12. Once you pay you are given wide variety of options for downloading your new album (Wav,FLAC,ogg,mp3s,etc). I recommend having a look.

The second item of note is Poppy Z. Brite's Dispatches from Tanganyika. To be honest, I've never read any of her work. The closest I've come was an article in the late, somewhat-lamented Mondo 2000. She is, I think, a horror writer. No idea, really. Distinctive name, though. I enjoy reading her LJ entries.

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The inimitable ++helixx has revived his blog (http://helixx.morpheus.net/mt). He's an interesting cat. Give him a read.

Ooh. And beanie has joined the LJ users. Check her out here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/karatop/. Woot!

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Just for reference: Portal Notes.