|
[17 Dec 2009|01:32am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 content |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer |
] |
I pretty much never update this anymore. I keep finding myself too busy to even remember to do things like this. Also, I'm prone to shorter, fleeting thoughts more often than sitting down and writing my thoughts and stuff like this, so I've been on Twitter more than here (for shame, I know).
Seriously though, not much has changed. I keep busy, mostly with work. I feel pretty normal most of the time, but for some bizarre reason I seem to experience anxiety more than depression - a couple of months ago, it was like suddenly a switch was flicked and I went from mostly depression and a little anxiety to the other way around (I had at least one mild panic attack, which probably wasn't as severe as I thought it was at the time, but nevertheless we made a trip to the emergency room, which mostly resulted in a diagnosis of dyspnea and a bunch of tests that mostly indicated nothing serious was wrong with me). I still have mild anxiety occasionally, feel like I have trouble breathing, but right now all is fairly well. Will probably continue stirring the medical cocktail, but not until after the holidays (so hopefully I won't have a breakdown and ruin anyone else's holiday). Okay, that's enough ranting on my personal problems...
On a pretty happy note, I'm going to Colorado for Christmas, and might to go skiing, something I've never done before. In case I don't get on here before then, Merry Christmas (or equivalent) to all of you, I miss you and hope to see you sometime, if the real world would just let me.
|
|
|
[03 Aug 2009|01:51am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
content |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Led Zeppelin - Dancing Days |
] |
I really should post about my trip to California a couple of weeks ago.
|
|
|
[21 Jun 2009|02:53am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
happy |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down |
] |
A little while ago (about two weeks ago, to be a little more precise) I said that Jackie and I did something really cool and that I might post about it later. Well...if you're curious, check behind the cut. ( Click here! )
Today we went to a family reunion in Wimberley. It was nice to get away, go outside, and hang out with family for a while. I wish I got to do that more often. It was a pretty good day.
|
|
|
[08 Jun 2009|01:07am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
calm |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Live - I Alone |
] |
Well, I haven't updated this thing in several months. Those of you who actually read this might infer that my mood's been better and more stable. And you'd be right. It's not without any setbacks, of course, but hopefully we'll work the kinks out without regressing in the mood stability department.
In the meantime, it doesn't look like we're going to have a company soccer team this summer, so I'm playing softball to keep somewhat in shape (as much as I have been in recent years, I mean). We had our first game last week. We lost 14-0. I played right field for 5 innings and didn't get a ball hit to me (this is slow-pitch softball, so most batters pull the ball - so because most of them are right-handed, most of them get hit to left field, not right), though I did get to pick it up once when the right-center fielder let one sneak by. In the last inning, I was benched for the guy who was previously designated hitter (he batted, but didn't play in the field) to go to right field for me. I don't think it was because I played badly (I mean, I didn't really do anything up to that point) so it didn't bother me at all. But, amusingly, in the 1 inning he was out there, he had at least 1 ball hit to him. Over the course of the game I batted twice. The first time I got a hit just out of the infield, and the second time I grounded to the left side, and I nearly beat the throw for an infield hit.
You can tell my life's not that eventful when I'm posting about a D-league company-sponsored slow-pitch softball game. Actually, Jackie and I did something really cool this weekend, but I'll post about it later. Maybe.
Of course, I should include my obligatory mention of work, but it's really no different. In spite of the economic troubles we're facing, my department still has plenty of work for us to do, and we keep as busy as usual. I haven't worked that much overtime lately, which is always good. I still have plenty of things to keep me busy outside of work that I don't have nearly enough time for.
We might be going on vacation this summer. I haven't done that enough since I got my job. I'm looking forward to it.
|
|
| Thoughts on soccer |
[22 Feb 2009|06:49pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 cynical |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Tori Amos - The Power Of Orange Knickers |
] |
Well, we lost yet another soccer game today. And I think I've figured out why. Most of the teams we play have a number of players on their team that play above the average skill level of people in the division. I don't think most of these are intentional sandbags, but nevertheless it is frustrating me.
See, there are 3 divisions of 7-man soccer: Divs. 3, 4, and 5. Div. 3 is for the most skilled players, Div. 5 for the most casual, and Div. 4 is in between the other 2 obviously. Now, I'm guessing what happens most of the time is this: a team gathers some players and signs up. They're told there are 3 divisions with different skill levels. They think about it for a moment, and they decide that, overall, they have mostly people with intermediate skills, and sign up for Div. 4. And, of course, judging the skill levels is completely subjective, but the self-assessments can vary widely - some people are harder on themselves than others, etc. In reality, this hypothetical team may be judging themselves according to a standard of people they've played with elsewhere, who may be significantly more skilled than most of the people in our league, and perhaps they actually belong in Div. 3.
The same thing can happen for Divs. 4 and 5. Sometimes it's really obvious to everyone, including the league officials, that a team is actually way better than they let on or thought themselves to be, and they're moved up to the next division. However, more often what we have instead is a big discrepancy between teams that might be on the edge of the line dividing skill levels (on opposite sides, of course) assigned to the same division. For those of you that don't play or watch soccer, when the skill levels of the players on the 2 teams in a game vary more than a little bit, you often have runaway games with lopsided scores.
In essence, it seems, we're being punished for following the rules. We do have some people at work that are above the average skill level of people in, say, Div. 4. Most of them choose to "play up" in Div. 3. Nothing against any of the players on my team, but I think most of them are at or below the average skill level in our division. Now I usually enjoy our games to some extent, but it's starting to get frustrating losing to practically every team we play.
This problem is twofold. Besides the above problem, we also have the issue of a constantly rotating roster. Regardless of the skill level of the members of a team, it can rarely play at its full potential immediately. It takes practice to develop the cohesion that makes a team play its best. With many new people each season, any cohesion we develop over the course of a season is set back significantly the next season when a third to half of the players (occasionally more) are new.
Some people might argue that it's best to play teams that are better than yours because it helps you to become better. While that might be true for many people on many teams, I don't think it really applies to me. I've become significantly better as a goalkeeper over the last few years, but I don't think I'm going to get much better. I do not mean this in an arrogant way; obviously I have seen many keepers that are more skilled than I. What I mean is, any significant increases in my skill level will probably be largely offset by aging. I'm 28 years old, and playing with mostly people in their late teens and early twenties, I can tell already that I'm starting to slow up a little bit. It's not a huge handicap (yet), and I can obviously get in better shape than I'm in currently, but I've obviously passed my highest potential physically.
At the risk of coming off as a drama queen, I think this might be the last season I play for my company's soccer team. We'll see. Besides, I'm pretty sure I like 11-man soccer better than 7-man, and the last few times we had an 11-man team, we had trouble consistently filling out the field, and sometimes when we did, we didn't have any or enough subs. I might sign up to be a free agent for an 11-man team next season instead.
|
|
| Today's music meme |
[01 Feb 2009|07:38pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 okay |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke |
] |
1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List (and upload, if you feel like it) 5 songs that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.
Well, I was given the letter W. Now, the casual observer will notice that I didn't post just 5 songs; in fact, I posted 23. However, I'll note that I probably spent less time on this meme doing it this way than I would have if I'd have gone through every single song I have that starts with W and tried to pick my 5 favorites. These aren't necessarily my favorites, of course, but I did make sure not to pick more than 1 song per artist, nor did I pick more than 1 song starting with the same word.
Alrighty, here's my list:
- Wait A Million Years - The Grass Roots
- Wake Up - Rage Against The Machine
- Walk The Walk - Poe
- Wanted Dead Or Alive - Bon Jovi
- War Pigs - Black Sabbath
- Water's Edge - Seven Mary Three
- We Do - The Simpsons
- Weenie Beenie - Foo Fighters
- Welcome To Paradise - Green Day
- Werewolves Of London - Warren Zevon
- What I Am - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
- When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin
- Where It's At - Beck
- Whipping Post - The Allman Brothers Band
- White Room - Cream
- Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground
- Why Can't We Be Friends - War
- Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
- Wild Wild Life - Talking Heads
- Without You - The Doobie Brothers
- Wonderwall - Oasis
- Woodstock - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- Would - Alice In Chains
Now, the more careful observer will notice that I included songs starting with "who", "what", "when", "where", and "why". As a final note, I'll mention that I tried to find a song with the word "how" in it that started with the letter W, but unfortunately I couldn't find one in my collection.
Yet.
|
|
| Attempting to deal with depression still |
[28 Jan 2009|08:03pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 depressed |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The Edgar Winter Group - Free Ride |
] |
The current concoction of treatment for depression/bipolar for is 1 part Lamictal and 2 parts Bupropion (also known as Wellbutrin). I've been on this course a couple of months now, and frankly, I don't think I've made much progress. Recently we tossed in a pinch of Clonazepam (also known as Klonopin) to help with the anxiety I experience periodically. While I realize being anxious isn't good for me, and is probably related to being depressed, the anxiety I have isn't usually frightening, and I think I could live with it a lot more easily than I could with depression.
I also realize I'm prone to hypochondria, which manifests itself significantly more often at times like this, when I'm experiencing a down mood swing and am trying different courses of treatment. All the same, I don't think I'm so out of it that I can't tell whether I'm improving or not. The mood stabilizers and antidepressants typically take at least a few weeks to work...but I think I've been on it long enough. We increased the dose of Lamictal from 100mg to 150 at my last visit to the psychiatrist, but I haven't been able to bring myself to up it and I'm still taking 100. I think at least part of me knows I shouldn't be ignoring doctors' orders, at least, not without talking to them, but I think it's probably because I haven't really noticed any improvement on it, which makes me skeptical that I'd respond to a higher dose (I guess I'd think I would respond at least a little to this dose, and it doesn't really seem like I have). Also, I was led to believe the Klonopin would make a difference much faster, and I haven't really noticed any change there, either. Further compounding my problems is the fact that I seem to have had a cold off and on for a few weeks now, and I vacillate between thinking the symptoms might be caused by the medicine(s) and that they're just completely unrelated.
The whole thing's really bothering me; it's starting to interfere with work (I'm having trouble concentrating sometimes), and it's just getting difficult to bear. I haven't had this much trouble, at least, not for so long, since I started being treated. Of course, at times I wonder if the antidepressants I was taking for the last few years worked at all, since it kinda seems like they just stopped working back in the fall.
...and through all of this, I can't stop thinking about God. Why can't I let this one go? And why does my depression so often lead me down this road of doubt and discontent? I've thought about this many times, but somehow I keep coming back to it, especially when I experience mood swings. It's like part of my mind can come to a conclusion, but other part fights it, questions it, refuses to buy it wholeheartedly. I don't get this...but I should probably stop ranting before I spend the whole night rewriting things I've already written and gone over many times before. Actually, writing a lot of these things down and discussing them with my therapist (whom I've begun seeing regularly again) has helped me clarify my position, and realize that this course of thought and my depression are not one and the same. Nevertheless, it continues to occupy my mind a lot, especially when I'm depressed, and I've been unable to sever the two trains of thought completely.
I'm now reading Undoing Depression, and it's shedding more light on this condition (like Feeling Good, which I mentioned previously). Maybe one day I'll understand it enough to be able to beat it without medicine...but not anytime soon, I fear.
On an unrelated note, I've also enrolled in a correspondence guitar course. I've received only a few lessons so far, but already I'm pretty impressed with what he can teach me. We'll see if it's actually helpful or not, but I'm fairly optimistic about this right now.
By the way, I don't want to give the impression that this is a cry for help. It's not, I promise. I'm not so far gone that I think I'm beyond hope, and I'm definitely not suicidal. All the same, any of your thoughts would be appreciated, as well as any advice, anecdotes, wisecracks, or whatever else you'd like to throw my way. Just don't throw too hard. 
|
|
|
[09 Jan 2009|12:36am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
content |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Tom Petty - You Wreck Me |
] |
We came home from the holidays out of town to find an advertisement from our apartment office for a special on a larger apartment. We checked it out and liked it. So now we are moving across the apartment complex, in the middle of winter. Fortunately, it's been pretty warm most of the time we've been moving, so we haven't frozen to death.
Last Friday we went to IKEA down in Houston, and we were pretty much blown away. The whole thing is an experience unlike any other shopping in which you've ever partaken. In case you haven't been there yet, they have a restaurant and several other "man, I like shopping at this place, but we need to take a break; it would be great if they had a" things there. We bought some shelves and stuff, and found a dining room set we rather like and we might get once we're done moving.
Oh, yeah, the holidays were nice.
|
|
|
[07 Dec 2008|06:11pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
depressed |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Marcy Playground - Sex And Candy |
] |
I've been fairly depressed for the last week or so. Most days it's been worse in the morning, and gets a little better in the evening. At times like these I often wonder if it's ever going to get any better, even though somewhere in the depths of my mind I'm pretty sure it will. And, of course, it will most likely come back at some point.
Everyone that wished me a happy birthday, thank you very much. I had a nice day, other than the fact that it was somewhat dampened by depression. I slept late, ran a couple of errands, got a haircut, then came home. Jackie and I went out to eat that night. First we tried Olive Garden, which was packed (it was around 8:00 on a Wednesday, so I didn't think it would be quite so busy), so we went to Fish Daddy's instead. We both got catfish and shrimp, which I was quite happy with. The shrimp was good, but the catfish was great. My mom got me a ton of books, mostly from my Amazon wish list, and some other cool stuff. Jackie bought me Magical Mystery Tour, Catch Me If You Can, The Coen Brothers Movie Collection (which includes Fargo, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Raising Arizona, and Blood Simple, for those curious), and a Rubik's Cube, which I used to play with occasionally as a kid and recently got interested in again after a conversation with a friend. I was never able to solve one as a kid, but after reading the solution guide that came with it and staying up until about 4 a.m. on Friday night, I solved it Saturday in probably half an hour.
Don't laugh. I know that seems bad, but it was my first time and I can do better, I swear. Anyway, I'm now 28 years old, and not sure what to do with myself, as ever. I'm currently reading Feeling Good, on the recommendation of my doctor (and several of you as well) to attempt to get a better hold on my mental state. I'm probably going to see a psychologist soon, and perhaps try cognitive therapy with him or her. Hopefully, between my psychiatrist and him or her, we can get this under control for good.
On a tangent, I've noticed I post in my journal more often when I'm depressed. Hmm.
|
|
|
[03 Dec 2008|02:02pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
okay |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The Manas and the Papas - Dedicated to the One I Love |
] |
I'm taking the day off from work, since it's my birthday. And I'm a little depressed, so I'm not enjoying it as much as I should. Yesterday, my psychiatrist reminded me not to let depression ruin my special days. Well, this one isn't ruined, but it could be better.
Jackie says she's going to try to take off early from work. I'm hoping the day will improve a little more. We'll see, I guess.
|
|
|
[27 Nov 2008|02:28am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
hopeful |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People |
] |
Happy turkey day, everyone!
...and now for a bit of soapboxing.
If your job, or any of your hobbies, involves working on the web in any capacity, I humbly suggest that you support web standards if you don't already (there's also a Facebook event page). One person at a time, we're changing the web world. I hope you'll get on board, too. There will be no losers in this battle when it's over.
Well, that was pretty melodramatic. Seriously though, it's a really good cause - one I strongly support, and I hope you will too.
You may notice I'm actually using a different picture right now - in fact, I'm willing to bet some of you didn't even recognize a post from me without the ever-present Silent Bob. Anyway, the link above explains why.
Again, happy holidays. Hope everyone has a nice long weekend.
|
|
|
[04 Nov 2008|10:14pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
hopeful |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Stone Temple Pilots - Down |
] |
I voted today for the first time. It felt good. I hope you all of you that can voted too.
NBC just called the presidential election in favor of Obama. Interesting times ahead, indeed.
|
|
|
[01 Nov 2008|03:12pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
okay |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The Kinks - You Really Got Me |
] |
I saw a psychiatrist on Thursday. He thinks the depression I've been experiencing might actually be indicative of bipolar disorder. He wants me to start taking Lamictal instead of Zoloft, and continue to take Wellbutrin. I must say, I'm a little bit apprehensive, a little bit because it's just something different, and a little because I'm concerned I may not know what the problem with me really is.
Recently I heard something about cognitive therapy from a co-worker. A cursory search of the net yielded a few studies that indicate it's possible to achieve remission from depression with it, with success rates comparable to antidepressant medication. Anyone know anything about this?
|
|
|
[20 Oct 2008|01:00am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
worried |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Come Down |
] |
Soccer so far is 2-3, but I haven't been injured since that first game (knock on wood). Had a couple of episodes with depression in the last couple of weeks, so it may be time to re-examine my treatment there. It bothers me that it happens now, though (since I've actually had a pretty good year, for the most part) because I'm supposed to go on vacation this next weekend, and if I do nothing, I fear I'll be mopey and depressed on vacation (which would just really suck, and not just for me, but probably for anyone else around me), but if I do make a change, it may be a while before it takes effect (sometimes it takes up to a few weeks to see the results of a change in medication) or I might also have reactions to the medicinal change (which are common enough when starting something new, but probably less common when just changing the dose). Either way, I'm a bit apprehensive, because there are a number of other people besides myself (and Jackie) who are going to be on vacation, and I really don't want to ruin their weekend or my own. Sigh. It would have been nicer if this had happened a few weeks ago, or hadn't happened for a couple more weeks.
Other than that, life's pretty normal. At the risk of sounding a bit arrogant (not just on my part, but on that of my teammates' too), you wouldn't know our economy's in the toilet right now just by looking at our department - we're working hard and there's still plenty of work for us to do. (Again, knock on wood.)
|
|
|
[18 Sep 2008|01:09am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
sore |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Blues Traveler - Stumble and Fall |
] |
Tonight we played our first soccer game of the season. It was both a good night and a bad one.
I played the first half better than I have most games after several weeks of inactivity. Our teams seemed to be of comparable skill levels, but we managed to score a couple of goals while maintaining a clean sheet on our end. Then, with merely a few seconds until halftime, I found myself facing at least 2 opponents (there might have been another, I can't remember all that well) with (I think) only 1 defender to help me out. As one passed the ball to another, I approached the one receiving the pass. He took a shot, and I made a less-than-stellar movement which deflected the ball (it was reasonably close to me) but was immediately hit in the stomach by, I presume, some part of this guy's body, possibly his knee.
This guy was a bit taller than I, and (not surprisingly) probably had 40-50 pounds on me. He was also running faster than I (since I was more concerned with deflecting the shot), so it shouldn't surprise you to hear I took a pretty decent hit. I didn't have the best view of the situation, but I imagine it looked a little like a cartoon scene as I tumbled backwards. Presently, I discovered I couldn't breathe. I think at this point I kind of lurched off the field while everyone else regrouped for a few seconds of more soccer before the referee blew his whistle.
Fortunately, we were at halftime, which afforded me a few minutes to catch my breath (literally and figuratively). And we were still up 2-0. I remember that, just after we scored our second goal, thinking about something Duane said a while ago - that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead you can have. The exact reason(s) for that isn't important to this story though, so I won't distract you any more with it. I just think that was interesting in hindsight because of the way the game turned out, though it had nothing to do with the other team coming back.
Anyway, the second half started out like the first, except I was a little bit woozy. And about 10 minutes into the half, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation - facing a couple of opponents and, if I remember correctly, not a ton of defenders around. So one of them has the ball and is dribbling up, preparing to take a shot. So, I approach him head-on. Predictably, he takes a shot. And I catch it. Right in the crotch.
I suppose you can imagine what happened next. Well, I was able to get up (eventually), but I had to take another breather. My replacement did an admirable job covering for me while I sat down, stood up, walked around, and tried to think of anything else. I went back in a few minutes later, but I wasn't playing anywhere near full potency (I couldn't very well run or do much in the way of any kind of extension, like jumping and whatnot) and eventually gave up a goal I think I would ordinarily have had a good chance of stopping. Fortunately, it was the only one (at least, the only one I remember) so we ended up winning.
Both guys that hit me were pretty apologetic. I hope they didn't feel too bad; I wasn't blaming them for something I'm pretty sure they didn't do intentionally. By the way, if you've ever seen a goalkeeper approach an opponent one-on-one, you might think this happens a lot more often than it really does. I'm obviously not the man most difficult to best physically, as I can almost disappear when I turn sideways, but it's really not that often that I take a hit from which I can't get back up immediately, let alone 2 in the same game.
I can still feel it. Here's hoping the rest of the season isn't so fraught with danger.
|
|
|
[27 Aug 2008|10:36pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
blah |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Sheryl Crow - Superstar |
] |
Type, type, type....backspace, erase, fix typos, type some more....backspace again...I just can't get started right.
I wish there were more hours in the day, and that I didn't have to spend so many of them at work.
I'm tired.
And somewhat bored.
And I have a zillion things running through my mind.
Today was pretty ordinary.
|
|
|
[23 Aug 2008|02:23am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
mellow |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The Beatles - Something |
] |
Here's something I probably should have posted a few weeks ago.
So Jackie and I are out just before 2 a.m. trying to get some dinner. (Hey, it was Saturday night.) We're driving down University when we're cut off by a deer crossing the road - so I slow down, and he makes it across.
Then another deer shoots out. Of course, I don't have nearly enough time to stop, so he juggernauts into me. I find out later that he caught the front left corner, managed to take out a headlight, and careened off my door.
That's right, a deer ran into me. Not the other way around.
Well, I'm rather startled, but I stop the car and turn around. The deer is sitting in the middle of the road, obviously injured, but alive, with its head up as though I'd just awakened it. At this point, another car is coming from what is now behind me, so I put on my hazard lights and try, slightly, to get out of the way. The car slows down, and when the driver (presumably) sees the deer, he turns on his brights. Not really sure what to do in this situation (I'm still pretty shaken), I follow suit.
Eventually the deer gets to its feet (at least a couple of them) and shambles off the road with an obvious limp, and that's pretty much where the interesting stuff (such as it is) ends. We drop by Toxic Cabana to get some food (though I suddenly notice I'm not very hungry anymore), probably half an hour later, and then head back home, where I check out the damage. As I mentioned earlier, my door is slightly dented, along with the side panel and bumper cover in the front, and I'm out a headlight (interestingly, not the whole thing - just the main one in the middle; the bright and parking lights still worked).
So I got my car fixed a few days later, and it took about a week. In the meantime, I drove a rental (a Chevy Cobalt) in which the air conditioning and the CD player were probably most prominent on the options list. This thing didn't even have power doors or windows. I didn't even know they still made cars that didn't have those features. Even though it was an '08 (and therefore probably newer than my car), it still felt like a huge downgrade. It was then I realized how much I'd spoiled myself.
Since then, all I can think is, if I'd been just a little slower, he might have ended up on my hood or coming through my windshield. It seems I was pretty lucky, given some of the other possible outcomes.
And that, my friends, is by far the most newsworthy thing that's happened to me in a very long time.
|
|
|
[21 Jul 2008|01:08am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
okay |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The Businäss - A Million Days |
] |
Hey guys, it's time for my monthly (or so) update.
Work keeps me busy most of the time. When I'm not working, lately, I'm playing with either of the 2 somewhat-active bands of which I'm a member, building yet another website, or reading Web Design in a Nutshell by Jennifer Niederst Robbins, et al. From this book, I've learned such interesting tidbits as the fact that there is a standards-compliant alternative to the IFrame: believe it or not, you can use object to "embed" one document in another (though its use now is still questionable as user agent support probably isn't consistent enough yet). Apparently the W3C intends the object element to replace images and applets and all kinds of other stuff, as well. It's one epiphany after another with me, isn't it?
You know you've got a song in your head bad when it isn't even playing and you can hear it clearly and it sounds better (maybe? I'm not completely sure) than the recording you have of it.
|
|
|
[17 Jun 2008|02:32am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
amused |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
The Eagles - Lyin' Eyes |
] |
Here's something that's been grating on me, very gradually, for a long time now. It's PayPal's checkout process. I can see the potential for a great amount of vexation here, but so far it's been just a trifle annoying.
I buy a lot of stuff on eBay. And I pay for almost all of them through PayPal, with a credit card. PayPal accepts credit cards, albeit grudgingly. They're sure doing their damnedest to make sure it's as difficult as possible for us to pay with them without driving away the business or crossing a line.
For example, they won't let me set my credit card as the default source of funds - that remains my bank account. So, every single time I pay for an item (I try to pay for as many as it will let me at a time, obviously), I have to explicitly set the funds source for the transaction to my credit card. However, they aren't going to let me get off that easily.
"Maybe he just clicked that button by accident," they might be thinking. Or, perhaps, "he's not sure what he's getting into. Let's remind him." Or, realistically, it's more like, "credit cards cost money to use. Regardless of how much of that charge we pass on to the seller, we don't need some other company taking its nickel off the top. Let's make sure he really, really wants to use a credit card to pay for this transaction."
I do. I really do. I've given it way more thought than should be required. I've done it a thousand times before, and I'll probably do it a thousand times again. Why can't you let me set it as the default option and not nag me about it every time?
But they don't care. "Are you sure you want to pay for this with a credit card?" Yes, I'm sure. I'm as sure as can be. I'm as sure as I am of anything. I am willing to stake the entirety of this transaction on my decision here. I'm putting my financial well-being in the hands of this credit card company.
It's times like this I wonder just how much technology is doing for us here. "Paying with a credit card? You don't want to do that," it seems to say. "Here, look at this vast array of benefits you'll have if you pay with your bank account." And they proceed to show me a list that's about five times longer than it should be, and includes things like "no finance charges to pay", which isn't an issue for me at all, since I always pay my credit card in full every month. I haven't accrued finance charges on this credit card in years. "We keep your bank details private." Well, no shit. You best be keeping my credit card details private, too. There shouldn't be any difference in the amount of protection for these accounts. And I'm not worried about you giving my bank account information out - I trusted you enough to give it to you in the first place, didn't I?
It feels like the Microsoft Office Assistant paper clip is trying to "help" me out here. "It looks like you're trying to pay with a credit card," it might be saying. "What would you like to do? - Use your bank account, which is preferable for all of these silly "reasons"
- Go ahead and use your credit card, against our advice and your best judgment and in spite of the fact that all of these things will make you regret it later
For the last time, I want to use my credit card. Why is this so hard?
I can see Monty Hall opening all the doors at the same time. "If you pay with your bank account, you get the '65 Corvette with these 3 hot chicks and the million dollars...but if you pay with your credit card, you'll have to settle for this '52 Packard with a bag of shit in the trunk." The audience is shouting at me; most of them are telling me to use my bank account. A few are vehemently trying to get me to use my credit card anyway, thinking Monty's got something up his sleeve instead of the Packard. As if I needed more convincing.
"I'm going with the credit card," I say. The nice car and the chicks and the money all disappear, and I'm left with a car I have to push home myself like Al Bundy used to do on Married...with Children. But at least I didn't give in.
Why not, you might ask? Why am I so stubborn about this? My credit card pays me back for using it. Every few cents I get for putting a few dollars on my credit card when I use it on PayPal, I think, "up yours, nag screen." It's just a stab in the dark, but I'm pretty sure as much as I've bought with PayPal, I've probably gotten more than $100 just for using my credit card, against their wishes and advice, and my own "better judgment". Free money? Now that's vindicating.
|
|
|
[12 Jun 2008|01:30am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
amused |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up |
] |
There's nothing like the bastard offspring of internet memes, which is why I bring you this, in case you haven't seen it before. Apologies if you have, but I'd hope it would be a nice chuckle for you.
Tonight I was using Guitar Pro, which is a program that allows you to create songs with MIDI, based on a guitar fretboard. They have quite a few other instruments available as well, besides a large assortment of stringed instruments, they have a variety of keyboards, percussion, brass, reeds, etc., including such lesser-known gadgets as the sitar, glockenspiel, shehnai, and some I've never even heard of, as well as a host of noises that purists probably wouldn't consider "musical". Anyway, I'm telling you this because I ran across a track called "Bottle Blow", and I made a short clip of the song Lisa blows on her jug in Homer the Vigilante, prompting Homer to scold her, "Lisa, never ever stop in the middle of a hoedown!"
Also, some of you may notice my more liberal use of HTML tags in this entry, which is my way of putting into practice the knowledge I've learned from HTML Mastery by Paul Haine, which I'm currently reading. How trendy of me, right? Yeah, the fun never stops with me.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
othersider's journal