The Good Life... a weblog about life, technology, and the Opera Web browser

Today was the last day of classes this semester. This comes as a great surprise to me, as it feels much more like the middle of the semester than the end. I have three exams this week, along with a take-home. Of course, I also have various projects to complete for classes that should have been done weeks, if not months, ago.

This year has been a good year. I've learned some things; less than I'd like to have learned, but more than I realize. New friendships have blossomed, I've grown in love for God (our InterVarsity mission for this school year), and past friendships have deepened. I've learned a lot about myself and about life. I'm growing up. Cool.

I have no idea what the future holds, but I know God has some really cool things planned for me. I'll keep y'all updated as time permits.

From a newsgroup posting:

I asked my Magic Eight Ball what email program to use. It told me Outlook not so good. Good ol' dependable Magic Eight Ball.

Today was yet another splendid Monday. This evening was our spring Handbell Choir concert. My parents (all three of them) and my mother's parents came down to see the concert. I even got to spend some time with my dog.

I think handbells is one of those things in life that is a simple joy for me. It's a heap of fun, lifts my mood when I'm having a bad day, and reminds me of my blessings when I'm already having a good day. I have such a passion for them and get a joy any time I'm involved with them.

Thanks to everyone that came. I hope y'all can make it to our winter and spring concerts next year.

My sister is 24 today (the 21st of April). Happy Birthday, Corri!

In my never ending journey to find the infamous perfect instant messenging client, I downloaded Psi, a client for the Jabber initiative. With Jabber, you can connect to other IM networks (ICQ, AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.) and communicate with those users easily (at least, that's how it's supposed to work).

This system is still young and blossoming. Unlike other IM networks, Jabber has different servers that you can connect to with different capabilities (specifically, not all servers support communication with all other IM networks). The server you join becomes part of your username and cannot be easily switched, so be careful.

Like any young system, Jabber isn't without its problems. I've yet to find a way to simultaneously use my ICQ and two AOL IM accounts and importing contact lists is messy at best. However, Psi enables me to get in touch with the Jabber and ICQ users I needed to reach, so it does exactly what it's supposed to in that respect.

Given time, I think Jabber has what it takes to be the best IM network. However, like most open source software I've used, it seems to take forever for that to happen.