In descending order of can't-do-without-it...

Internet

• Chrome
• Skype
• Google Video and Chat plugin

Academic/Writing

• Q10. Writing at its core.
• Some LaTeX client and BibTeX manager
• Some PDF client with ability to highlight and annotate (don't care which one, currently have PDF Xchange viewer)
• Some PDF printer driver
• Sadly, M$ Word. :/ (None of my academic advisors are comfortable reviewing PDFs.)
• Sadly, M$ Powerpoint (I am learning LaTeX Beamer class but progress has been slow. Like S.L.OOO.W)

Art/Diagramming

• Paint.NET
• myPaint

Utilities

• Winkey
• 7Zip
• Vistaswitcher (yep, it works on WinXP)
• CCleaner

Analysis:

• R

Media

• Foobar
• VLC
• SRS Audio Sandbox

When you find out that your credit card has been used fraudulently:

Okay, flat hunting in NYC for my brother has not been going so well. Thanks, (e:Heidi) for putting me in contact with Lisa! I have sent her an email.

My brother and I are visiting NYC to check out flats from Thursday to Sunday this coming week. It's making us really nervous. He needs to move to NYC in the second week of May. We have been looking at craigslist and nycdwellers.com for prospective places. Craigslist, NYC is like 100X dodgier than any craigslist I have looked at! Are we missing any good sources such as artvoice for NYC or something?

Do you know of any friends/contacts who are leasing out places in the range of $900 - $1500 a month? We have been told to hire a broker but I am inclined to take (e:lauren)'s advice and directly talk with people who are leasing their own places out.

Help!

Will definitely NOT be a boring old laptop or an ipad. Both lack the flexible stylus/tablet based solution I need. Though this is M$, you have to agree that the concept interface is pretty sweet.

If you are the one playing "metalcore"-ish music at full blast right now:

a) I resent the noise.
b) I am trying to write a grant here, and the signalling pathways are not getting any easier.
c) Your taste in music sucks. Bleh. Check out "Running Wild". At the very least, you will know how heavy metal can sound almost as good as baroque.
d) If you don't stop in the next hour, I may have to hotfoot it to the office or call the manager and be a pain in your existence.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh.

PS: The noise stopped. Maybe the neighbour reads (e:strip) or got tired of their own crappy music.