Ajaxed Wordpress, come on down!
Do you, the audience, like how my "Click to continue reading" link, and my comments section, folds out of the post, instead of loading as it's own page? I love it. It lets you check out comments or finish the post without diverting you from catching up with other posts you may want to read next. No more opening multiple tabs for one site, as I have to do with many other blogs. That's all thanks to Ajaxed Wordpress.
Now I feel crappy, posting how great it is, knowing I've never given the people who've worked on it a cent in return. It's on my list of things to do once I get paid next, which could be be weeks (sad but true).
In the meantime, thank you, creators of Ajaxed Wordpress, your plugin is amazing. Why, just today I set up an additional plugin allowing users to subscribe to comments. Did I have to dig through code to get it to show up on AWP's special comment form? No! I didn't have to do anything but activate the plugin. I don't know how it works, but I know I like it.
David
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Google Ads
Is it just me, or are Google's ads getting better and better? More dead on? Better at delivering ads to me that I am interested in?
I'm the type of person that never clicks ads. Probably ruined by those old banners for free Ipods or "You've just won a free!!!" Obvious scams. Now in the past month I've clicked on 4 ads. 1 on a web page, 1 from a Google search result, 2 from youtube videos.
I could be that the more I understand about Google's ads, and how they work, the more I'm trusting of them. It's relative cheap and easy for anyone to throw their ads in the mix. Also, I've seen a lot of ads for business and products I know are legitimate. It's a definite possibility that the difference is me.
Anybody else?
David
I'm the type of person that never clicks ads. Probably ruined by those old banners for free Ipods or "You've just won a free
I could be that the more I understand about Google's ads, and how they work, the more I'm trusting of them. It's relative cheap and easy for anyone to throw their ads in the mix. Also, I've seen a lot of ads for business and products I know are legitimate. It's a definite possibility that the difference is me.
Anybody else?
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Mobile sites suck. Mostly.
First off, let me just say shame on any website that forces phones to use mobile pages. Google has it right, let us choose. I'm talking to you, banks. Amazon.com, don't think you're getting away with it either.
Some mobile versions of sites are decent, and I understand the reason for them. However, my Touch Pro is capable of viewing and navigating most complex web sitesWhen I log in to my bank's site on my phone, it's usually to check my balance. I have to go through so many screens to get to my balance, it's maddening. If my bank would just have a link to allow me to use their regular site, a la Google, then there would be no problem.
Opera does have the option to be seen as a desktop browser by most sites, bypassing any mobile pages. Depending on the version of Opera, however, it may or may not work. My bank isn't the only one. Amazon.com? Your alternate mobile page is probably great for weaker phones. My phone CAN use the normal version of your page, quite easily. When you let me...er, when the version of Opera on my phone lets me? Okay, I don't know who's fault it is, but I know these sites could give people the option to choose, if they wanted. Right?
David
Some mobile versions of sites are decent, and I understand the reason for them. However, my Touch Pro is capable of viewing and navigating most complex web sitesWhen I log in to my bank's site on my phone, it's usually to check my balance. I have to go through so many screens to get to my balance, it's maddening. If my bank would just have a link to allow me to use their regular site, a la Google, then there would be no problem.
Opera does have the option to be seen as a desktop browser by most sites, bypassing any mobile pages. Depending on the version of Opera, however, it may or may not work. My bank isn't the only one. Amazon.com? Your alternate mobile page is probably great for weaker phones. My phone CAN use the normal version of your page, quite easily. When you let me...er, when the version of Opera on my phone lets me? Okay, I don't know who's fault it is, but I know these sites could give people the option to choose, if they wanted. Right?
David
In defense of the using the Internet
In defense of connecting most computers to the internet, even MRI machines and those with sensitive information, Cory Doctorow wrote this interesting article for the Guardian, comparing teen sex and computer networking. As always, abstinence isn't much of a solution.
Later, he wrote:
It's a very interesting article, definitely worth a read. One thing he barely touches on is how IT employees (in my experience) are the most abusive of security policy. They feel like since they know the reason for the rules, they can safely break them. Like they're above it. Above it--wait, where have I heard that before?
Operating systems are getting more promiscuous about net connections, not less: expect operating systems to start seeking out Bluetooth-enabled 3G phones and using them to reach out to the net when nothing else is available.
Later, he wrote:
In the era of cheap and easy virtualisation and sandboxing, there's no reason users shouldn't be able to partition their computers into "dirty" public-facing sides and "clean" private sides. Of course, a user might subvert this separation deliberately, but the only way to comprehensively prevent that from occurring is to make it possible for a user to get the job done without needing to do so.
It's a very interesting article, definitely worth a read. One thing he barely touches on is how IT employees (in my experience) are the most abusive of security policy. They feel like since they know the reason for the rules, they can safely break them. Like they're above it. Above it--wait, where have I heard that before?
Labels:
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It must be a day of the week,
Because here comes another sleep update. Even though I was with family at the hospital till 1am, got to bed around 2am, and didn't get to sleep until 3am, I still woke at 8:10am and jumped straight into the shower. I notice that sometimes I'm up in 5 minutes, sometimes 15. 20-minutes is a good time. And there's been no more groaning, no more struggling to get out of bed. The repeated alarms sufficiently wake me up. It's a good thing I'm not sharing a bed with anyone right now, 20 alarms in a row would be annoying for someone without my condition. Although I have considered strapping my phone to my ankle at night and setting it to vibrate, when I'm visiting family or something. That could do it.
David
David
Saturday, June 27, 2009
New Version of Wordpress.
I've got it. I did get it, 4 days ago. It's tag system is different. I thought I was tagging all my recent posts. I wasn't (Apparently am supposed to click Add, not just fill in the form and hit Publish). I had to re-do 12 posts. 12 posts in 4 days, that's got to be a record for me. Hope I keep it up.
David
PS - I know I've just revealed which version of Wordpress I use, which is a security hole. But maybe I've reverted to an earlier version because I like the old tagging system. Did I? Did I? Hmm?
PPS - Just messed it up again, and had to go back and properly tag this post.
David
PS - I know I've just revealed which version of Wordpress I use, which is a security hole. But maybe I've reverted to an earlier version because I like the old tagging system. Did I? Did I? Hmm?
PPS - Just messed it up again, and had to go back and properly tag this post.
Notes on the Zune Pass
Yesterday I was talking with a friend of mine about the Zune Pass. In defending it, I actually talked myself into subscribing. Ok, I haven't subscribed yet, but I did just initiate their 14-day trial. It hasn't even been 24 hours yet and I'm already sold.
First, let me explain what it is. It's a subscription service for music. For $15 a month you get access to most of what's available on the Zune marketplace. Music downloaded with the Zune Pass can be played on up to 3 computers, and also your Zune (of course). You can switch out one of said 3 computers with a different one once every 30 days.
The first question I asked myself after reading about this was, "What songs are available?" The first thing I did after I signed up was go through a short list of bands. Certain artists aren't available at all, and many others have a few songs here and there that you can't download (I'm assuming due to guest producers, certain artists not consenting, etc).
For instance, I didn't see any actual Beatles albums available, to buy or to download. George Harrison's 'Cloud Nine' was available for purchase but not to download (not to download 'free' though the Zune Pass, to clarify). The Living End's last few albums were available, but not the first half of 'Roll On' and not their self titled album either. My roommate had me check the Black Eyed Peas--their last three albums are available, but with 3 or 4 songs missing off Elephunk. They're not for sale with one version of Elephunk, for sale with another, but not downloadable (for 'free') with either.
Some albums have the bonus tracks included, some don't. I think they can only carry the version last produced by whoever has the rights. Take, for example, Elvis Costello's "My Aim Is True." An early demo of "Stranger in the House" is available, which is on both the Rhino reissue (second to last re-release of this album) and the Hip-O "Deluxe Edition" (most recent re-release). "Wave a White Flag," which is only on the Rhino version, has a spot on the Zune Marketplace, but isn't attached to any albums (that I can see) and is listed as "Not Available".
A quick glance seems to indicate that all the Bee Gees albums are available in their entirety, even the four reissues, with full bonus discs. I'll note here that it's better to expand all the search results instead of just clicking on the first version of that album that comes up, because sometimes the earliest version of a CD is shown, and all of it's tracks are unavailable. Go back and find a more recent issuing of the album, and usually they're completely available.
Another bonus is a lot of EPs are online and available. A lot of things I missed or that I don't really care enough about to buy are there. A lot of old rock bands are on there too, so you can get full albums for a lot of bands that you can only find the greatest hits of in most stores.
The worst part of this is, I couldn't see a way to tell what was and wasn't available without actually signing up for the Zune Pass. Not that big of a deal, because you can get a free trial. You could even use the contact form on the left sidebar there and I'll gladly look a band up for you, until I get fed up with too many requests (not likely). Electric Light Orchestra seems to be there in it's entirety, Eleni Mandell is only missing the last album (not even available to buy). No 'A Camp'. 'The Cardigans'' albums seem to be missing tracks for sale here and there. There are names next to their unavailable tracks, maybe because those parties worked on the song and don't consent to online sales? Very scattershot sometimes yet still very satisfying. I've legally downloaded at least 10 full albums so far today, and I'm not even close to being finished.
Oh, I nearly forgot the best part. I tag my music differently than the Zune Marketplace does. It would have been a breaking point for me if I couldn't re-tag the music I downloaded with the Zune Pass. Guess what? You can. You can completely re-tag the music you downloaded via the Zune Pass.
One more thing, for every month you subscribe to the Zune Pass, you also get 10 DRM-free songs to keep permanently, even if you ever decide to cancel your subscription. So for $15 a month you get access to a huge library and 10 free songs a month that you get to keep forever. I'm shocked I'm so pleased with it.
In fact, worse than the missing spots in the library, to me, is the interface of the Zune software itself (and the interface of the Zune mp3 player as well), which I may devote a full article to in the future.
Till then,
David
P.S. forgot to add, all songs I've downloaded are in wma format, 192 kbps, and sound as good as all the music I've ripped myself.
First, let me explain what it is. It's a subscription service for music. For $15 a month you get access to most of what's available on the Zune marketplace. Music downloaded with the Zune Pass can be played on up to 3 computers, and also your Zune (of course). You can switch out one of said 3 computers with a different one once every 30 days.
The first question I asked myself after reading about this was, "What songs are available?" The first thing I did after I signed up was go through a short list of bands. Certain artists aren't available at all, and many others have a few songs here and there that you can't download (I'm assuming due to guest producers, certain artists not consenting, etc).
For instance, I didn't see any actual Beatles albums available, to buy or to download. George Harrison's 'Cloud Nine' was available for purchase but not to download (not to download 'free' though the Zune Pass, to clarify). The Living End's last few albums were available, but not the first half of 'Roll On' and not their self titled album either. My roommate had me check the Black Eyed Peas--their last three albums are available, but with 3 or 4 songs missing off Elephunk. They're not for sale with one version of Elephunk, for sale with another, but not downloadable (for 'free') with either.
Some albums have the bonus tracks included, some don't. I think they can only carry the version last produced by whoever has the rights. Take, for example, Elvis Costello's "My Aim Is True." An early demo of "Stranger in the House" is available, which is on both the Rhino reissue (second to last re-release of this album) and the Hip-O "Deluxe Edition" (most recent re-release). "Wave a White Flag," which is only on the Rhino version, has a spot on the Zune Marketplace, but isn't attached to any albums (that I can see) and is listed as "Not Available".
A quick glance seems to indicate that all the Bee Gees albums are available in their entirety, even the four reissues, with full bonus discs. I'll note here that it's better to expand all the search results instead of just clicking on the first version of that album that comes up, because sometimes the earliest version of a CD is shown, and all of it's tracks are unavailable. Go back and find a more recent issuing of the album, and usually they're completely available.
Another bonus is a lot of EPs are online and available. A lot of things I missed or that I don't really care enough about to buy are there. A lot of old rock bands are on there too, so you can get full albums for a lot of bands that you can only find the greatest hits of in most stores.
The worst part of this is, I couldn't see a way to tell what was and wasn't available without actually signing up for the Zune Pass. Not that big of a deal, because you can get a free trial. You could even use the contact form on the left sidebar there and I'll gladly look a band up for you, until I get fed up with too many requests (not likely). Electric Light Orchestra seems to be there in it's entirety, Eleni Mandell is only missing the last album (not even available to buy). No 'A Camp'. 'The Cardigans'' albums seem to be missing tracks for sale here and there. There are names next to their unavailable tracks, maybe because those parties worked on the song and don't consent to online sales? Very scattershot sometimes yet still very satisfying. I've legally downloaded at least 10 full albums so far today, and I'm not even close to being finished.
Oh, I nearly forgot the best part. I tag my music differently than the Zune Marketplace does. It would have been a breaking point for me if I couldn't re-tag the music I downloaded with the Zune Pass. Guess what? You can. You can completely re-tag the music you downloaded via the Zune Pass.
One more thing, for every month you subscribe to the Zune Pass, you also get 10 DRM-free songs to keep permanently, even if you ever decide to cancel your subscription. So for $15 a month you get access to a huge library and 10 free songs a month that you get to keep forever. I'm shocked I'm so pleased with it.
In fact, worse than the missing spots in the library, to me, is the interface of the Zune software itself (and the interface of the Zune mp3 player as well), which I may devote a full article to in the future.
Till then,
David
P.S. forgot to add, all songs I've downloaded are in wma format, 192 kbps, and sound as good as all the music I've ripped myself.
Another sleep update!
Cause I know you're all dying to hear it! Oddly enough, I had some sort of alarm malfunction. If you weren't with us earlier, when I described my mostly untested method for getting up on time, it's very simple:
Decide what time you want to get up. Set your alarm for 20 minutes earlier. Then set your alarm for every 2-minute increment until you get to the time you actually want to get up. I'm at 8:00am, 8:02, 8:04, all the way till 8:20. Baby steps. I call it the 'brute force' method. I liken it to having someone work on your house, the noise constantly waking you up until it happens so many times you can't get back to sleep. As I've said before, this wouldn't be necessary except I work from home and can make my own hours. Like you might imagine, that's really messed up my sleep schedule, I'm trying to whip it back into shape.
Anyway, this morning my alarm stopped 3-4 alarms in (of 11 total alarms). I thought maybe I slept through them, but now I'm certain they didn't go off. I wonder if it's due to a glitch in my phone, or what. I'm going to try to look for a different alarm program later. Anyway, at 8:35am I roused, looked at my watch, and hopped in the shower. Crisis averted! YAY!!!
David
Decide what time you want to get up. Set your alarm for 20 minutes earlier. Then set your alarm for every 2-minute increment until you get to the time you actually want to get up. I'm at 8:00am, 8:02, 8:04, all the way till 8:20. Baby steps. I call it the 'brute force' method. I liken it to having someone work on your house, the noise constantly waking you up until it happens so many times you can't get back to sleep. As I've said before, this wouldn't be necessary except I work from home and can make my own hours. Like you might imagine, that's really messed up my sleep schedule, I'm trying to whip it back into shape.
Anyway, this morning my alarm stopped 3-4 alarms in (of 11 total alarms). I thought maybe I slept through them, but now I'm certain they didn't go off. I wonder if it's due to a glitch in my phone, or what. I'm going to try to look for a different alarm program later. Anyway, at 8:35am I roused, looked at my watch, and hopped in the shower. Crisis averted! YAY!!!
David
Labels:
alarm,
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Friday, June 26, 2009
The future is now.
Oops, now it's the past. So as I said earlier, I went to my bank today. I found out my bank is more secretive with their policies than the CIA (like I would know). I also got a chance to try out a new ATM.
This 'new' ATM has actually been around a while, however it's been in test cities only--this is the first time I've gotten a chance to use one.
It it envelope-less. You directly feed in cash (stacks of 40 or less at a time) and checks (one at a time) and the ATM scans it. Cash is made available immediately (although isn't technically available till midnight, see link above for more information). Any check made earlier than 8pm on a business day shows up at midnight. This is much better than how it goes inside the bank. Inside, any deposit after 2pm is put on the next day's business, so if I make a deposit at 2:01pm, I can't spend it till 12:01am, 34 hours later. Friday at 2:01 pm? 82 hours till I can get to it, I believe. It goes on Monday's business and shows up the following midnight.
Can't banks get this shit taken care of? Where are the 7 day a week banks (he says, knowing of at least two, though I don't know if they treat Saturday and Sunday as business days)? Where are instantaneous transactions? Or at least 5-minutes-later transactions?
The coolest part of this ATM--I put in a hand-written personal check and then waited for it to ask me the amount. It didn't. It read the check. I know, this might have been completely shocking ten years ago, but today a lot of devices can read handwriting. It's still nice to see progress. Oh, and I also had the option to get a copy of the check printed on my ATM receipt (sans account numbers, as expected).
All in all, a very interesting experience.
David
This 'new' ATM has actually been around a while, however it's been in test cities only--this is the first time I've gotten a chance to use one.
It it envelope-less. You directly feed in cash (stacks of 40 or less at a time) and checks (one at a time) and the ATM scans it. Cash is made available immediately (although isn't technically available till midnight, see link above for more information). Any check made earlier than 8pm on a business day shows up at midnight. This is much better than how it goes inside the bank. Inside, any deposit after 2pm is put on the next day's business, so if I make a deposit at 2:01pm, I can't spend it till 12:01am, 34 hours later. Friday at 2:01 pm? 82 hours till I can get to it, I believe. It goes on Monday's business and shows up the following midnight.
Can't banks get this shit taken care of? Where are the 7 day a week banks (he says, knowing of at least two, though I don't know if they treat Saturday and Sunday as business days)? Where are instantaneous transactions? Or at least 5-minutes-later transactions?
The coolest part of this ATM--I put in a hand-written personal check and then waited for it to ask me the amount. It didn't. It read the check. I know, this might have been completely shocking ten years ago, but today a lot of devices can read handwriting. It's still nice to see progress. Oh, and I also had the option to get a copy of the check printed on my ATM receipt (sans account numbers, as expected).
All in all, a very interesting experience.
David
Banks Continued
I first got the aforementioned bank account years ago in Florida, though work. We were actually friendly with one of the managers, she knew one of my co-workers (I don't think her title is really manager, but she could do things tellers couldn't. She had her own desk, whatever that means.).
Once I asked her why banks cut off transactions at 2pm, so that all later transactions don't show up until the next day's business, taking 36 hours +/- to finally show up.
Her- "What do you mean? Everybody does that."
Me-"I know, but why does everybody do that?"
Her-"Because that's when the business day ends."
That kind of response flabbergasts me. She actually thought she answered my question. I would say the business day ends at 5pm - 6pm. That's when most places close, that's when most of America goes home from work. For banks that are open till 6pm, why do you cut off transactions? Why can't you just answer the question?!?
This reminds me of another incident, also in Florida, with UPS. I called them to confirm that a package I ordered would arrive before 3pm. Their website and automated phone system plainly stated that the shipping option I chose would bring the package in by 3pm. It rolls in at 7:30pm, after I had just left for work. The next day I call to complain. They tell me that they don't consider the business day to be over in the area I live until 8pm, and that's why my package came so late. What the hell? "Why doesn't your UPS store stay open till 8 then?, was my response, but I might as well have been talking to a brick wall.
I didn't end up receiving the package until the 3rd day (2 days after it was scheduled to). The first day they attempted to bring it at 7:30pm, right as I was leaving for work. I was driving out, watching them drive in. Couldn't turn around. Day 2 they had to re-weigh it or something, it didn't go out at all (and I hadn't complained until later that evening). 3rd day, it arrived at 7pm. I was there. I was not happy.
David
Once I asked her why banks cut off transactions at 2pm, so that all later transactions don't show up until the next day's business, taking 36 hours +/- to finally show up.
Her- "What do you mean? Everybody does that."
Me-"I know, but why does everybody do that?"
Her-"Because that's when the business day ends."
That kind of response flabbergasts me. She actually thought she answered my question. I would say the business day ends at 5pm - 6pm. That's when most places close, that's when most of America goes home from work. For banks that are open till 6pm, why do you cut off transactions? Why can't you just answer the question?!?
This reminds me of another incident, also in Florida, with UPS. I called them to confirm that a package I ordered would arrive before 3pm. Their website and automated phone system plainly stated that the shipping option I chose would bring the package in by 3pm. It rolls in at 7:30pm, after I had just left for work. The next day I call to complain. They tell me that they don't consider the business day to be over in the area I live until 8pm, and that's why my package came so late. What the hell? "Why doesn't your UPS store stay open till 8 then?, was my response, but I might as well have been talking to a brick wall.
I didn't end up receiving the package until the 3rd day (2 days after it was scheduled to). The first day they attempted to bring it at 7:30pm, right as I was leaving for work. I was driving out, watching them drive in. Couldn't turn around. Day 2 they had to re-weigh it or something, it didn't go out at all (and I hadn't complained until later that evening). 3rd day, it arrived at 7pm. I was there. I was not happy.
David
Labels:
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My bank is weird.
Okay, all banks are weird. Here's the deal. I was on the verge of an overdraft today. I had a pending charge that, once it went through, would have caused an overdraft. No big deal, I mis-calculated the amount of my coming charges. The overdraft would have been by $2.50 or something. I had a check and some cash, however my bank has held checks (for 5 days) in the past when I deposit them while in overdraft (which they kindly told me AFTER they deposited the check, so I couldn't just go cash the check at it's bank and deposit cash solving all problems).
I go to my bank and talk to the teller, hoping to get a good idea of how their system works so I know how best to deposit this money.
First of all, I asked if pending charges all go through at midnight. If so, I could have deposited cash immediately to avoid any chance of an overdraft, or so I thought. The cashier says they're 'not supposed' to tell us when pending charges go through. So you know but you won't say? Also, why wouldn't all pending charges go through at midnight, same time my deposits go through?
But wait, there's more.
I let that go and continued. Since I'm not in really in overdraft, they won't put a hold on my check, right? She said the system is different than it used to be, it depends on the account the check is drawn from as well as other things. She couldn't tell me what the 'other things' were. I think A) she might have meant personal vs payroll checks, and B) these changes in their system are due to recent laws preventing banks for sitting on checks for, oh, five days. Once again, they know but won't tell me.
Okay, well if I deposit cash that goes into my account instantly, right? So the overdraft will be absolutely averted and then I can confidently deposit the check? She can't tell me that either (She was very apologetic about all the things she couldn't tell me. She was actually very nice and I could see her hands were tied). Cash doesn't get credited to my account instantly. It's available instantly, but it's not officially in my account until midnight, same as a check, and she couldn't say what would go through first, the pending charge or the cash. I want to point out that sometimes charges sit for days before going through, so it might not be a problem at all.
Moving on, I asked if she could at least cash the check so it can be deposited as cash. That way if there is an overdraft there at least wouldn't be a hold. No dice. She looked in the system and couldn't put it in as cash. She said it could be their account or my near-overdraft. This is a paycheck, and I've ones from the same account there before with no problems.
As a brief side note, it just occurred to me that they did put a hold on one of these checks before, but it was around $5000, and that puts it into the boundaries of checks they can hold for longer periods of time. Once again, they told me that AFTER they went ahead and finished the deposit. Because I probably didn't need access to that money, right?
Finally, she tells me that if I put the cash in with the check, there's a good chance the cash would prevent the overdraft and my check would be put in instantly (these transactions would all be going through at midnight, you follow?). I take this as her way of telling me this is what I have to do to prevent an overdraft. She's looking at my account on her screen, she can't tell me things but she knows them nonetheless so I decide to go along with her judgment. I start to deposit the check, and ask, "$100 will be available from this check instantly, right?" No, that's only with ATM deposits. That's odd, I guess it's because at the counter you can deposit a check and take cash from it at the same time, so you get a similar (consolation) option at the ATM.
I decide to go to the ATM instead. The ATM is new and cool, but I'll go into that in a later post. All in all I think I might have actually left more confused than I was when I came in. Why do they need to keep these things from me? Why can't banks do things instantly instead of waiting till midnight? Okay, scratch that last one, if they did everything instantly I would have had an overdraft. I've got half a mind to ditch my bank in favor of one of those pre-paid VISA cards. Hmm...
David
I go to my bank and talk to the teller, hoping to get a good idea of how their system works so I know how best to deposit this money.
First of all, I asked if pending charges all go through at midnight. If so, I could have deposited cash immediately to avoid any chance of an overdraft, or so I thought. The cashier says they're 'not supposed' to tell us when pending charges go through. So you know but you won't say? Also, why wouldn't all pending charges go through at midnight, same time my deposits go through?
But wait, there's more.
I let that go and continued. Since I'm not in really in overdraft, they won't put a hold on my check, right? She said the system is different than it used to be, it depends on the account the check is drawn from as well as other things. She couldn't tell me what the 'other things' were. I think A) she might have meant personal vs payroll checks, and B) these changes in their system are due to recent laws preventing banks for sitting on checks for, oh, five days. Once again, they know but won't tell me.
Okay, well if I deposit cash that goes into my account instantly, right? So the overdraft will be absolutely averted and then I can confidently deposit the check? She can't tell me that either (She was very apologetic about all the things she couldn't tell me. She was actually very nice and I could see her hands were tied). Cash doesn't get credited to my account instantly. It's available instantly, but it's not officially in my account until midnight, same as a check, and she couldn't say what would go through first, the pending charge or the cash. I want to point out that sometimes charges sit for days before going through, so it might not be a problem at all.
Moving on, I asked if she could at least cash the check so it can be deposited as cash. That way if there is an overdraft there at least wouldn't be a hold. No dice. She looked in the system and couldn't put it in as cash. She said it could be their account or my near-overdraft. This is a paycheck, and I've ones from the same account there before with no problems.
As a brief side note, it just occurred to me that they did put a hold on one of these checks before, but it was around $5000, and that puts it into the boundaries of checks they can hold for longer periods of time. Once again, they told me that AFTER they went ahead and finished the deposit. Because I probably didn't need access to that money, right?
Finally, she tells me that if I put the cash in with the check, there's a good chance the cash would prevent the overdraft and my check would be put in instantly (these transactions would all be going through at midnight, you follow?). I take this as her way of telling me this is what I have to do to prevent an overdraft. She's looking at my account on her screen, she can't tell me things but she knows them nonetheless so I decide to go along with her judgment. I start to deposit the check, and ask, "$100 will be available from this check instantly, right?" No, that's only with ATM deposits. That's odd, I guess it's because at the counter you can deposit a check and take cash from it at the same time, so you get a similar (consolation) option at the ATM.
I decide to go to the ATM instead. The ATM is new and cool, but I'll go into that in a later post. All in all I think I might have actually left more confused than I was when I came in. Why do they need to keep these things from me? Why can't banks do things instantly instead of waiting till midnight? Okay, scratch that last one, if they did everything instantly I would have had an overdraft. I've got half a mind to ditch my bank in favor of one of those pre-paid VISA cards. Hmm...
David
Success part 2!!!
Yes, I managed to get up at the same time today. Two days in a row!!! I'm awesome!!!
I'm awake! I'm easily impressed by myself! I'm David!!!
I'm awake! I'm easily impressed by myself! I'm David!!!
Labels:
alarm,
circadian rhythm,
General,
sleep schedule
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Antivirus Pt. 2
Oh, and I think it's kind of funny when you get that malware that pretends to be an antivirus program on your computer, asking for you to buy it. It's kind of legitimate. If you're current antivirus software is working, how's this shit end up there?
Antivirus software
I can't be the only one who isn't relieved at all when my antivirus software doesn't pick up anything. I know it may be irrational, but it just makes me feel as if it isn't working.
Or maybe it makes me feel sad because the data miners don't want my information anymore. :(
David
Or maybe it makes me feel sad because the data miners don't want my information anymore. :(
David
Labels:
anitivirus,
data mining,
Personal,
Technology
Uphill battle part 3
aka Strategies for early waking. So how about one more post about my sleep schedule? Keeping in mind my two earlier posts (here and here), I actually made myself get up at a set time this morning. I got to sleep about 4:15 am and woke up at 8:30.
I'll explain my method and touch on another method I've read about in a bit, but first let me go into my background.
Background
You see, my problem isn't a lack of desire to get up in the mornings, it's lack of mental presence. When my alarm sounds, I turn it off and go back to sleep. There's no decision made, I'm on autopilot. Okay, some mornings I do make a decision to stay in bed, but most of the time it's out of my control.
This is partly due to the fact that, as I mentioned before, I don't have to be up at any given time. I can do my work any time of day. I'll also point out that if I do have to be up for something important, I usually wake up a lot and check my clock, sleeping so lightly that I have no problems getting up when I need to.
I used to have a job where I had to get up at 5:30 am every morning. It was both lucky and unlucky that I worked with my roommate, because he could make sure I was up in time, but we also stayed up late a lot of work nights hanging out. The odd thing is, after the initial dread of waking up (still craving more sleep), and 30-minutes of grogginess, I was fine the rest of the day, and even capable of staying up pretty late even on that 4-5 hours of sleep.
That's probably been my biggest problem. No matter what my roommate would be doing--watching tv, typing on his laptop, reading books, whatever, once he got too tired, he'd fall asleep where he sat. I can stay up for very long amounts of time as long as my brain is stimulated. No, amend that, it's not that I can stay up, it's that I generally don't have a choice. If I have something to think about, I will, and that keeps me awake.
Previous attempts
I've tried going to bed earlier and earlier each night, but one bout of sleeping in throws off my schedule so much that I feel like I need something more drastic.
I also got on a normal schedule a couple of months ago, waking up at 6am regularly, but that was helped by the fact that I had to be up at 7 anyway to drive a friend of mine to work. I fell out of that habit before he got his car fixed--I would get home from dropping him off and crawl back into bed. This is because I got too little sleep too many nights. My bedtime slowly creeps backwards until I'm going to bed at 2 and I'm supposed to be getting up at 6? Fat chance. I also ended up taking naps, which I think is something I need to resist until I'm on a more solid schedule.
I have to be able to make myself wake up at the same time consistently, and force myself to go to bed at a reasonable time, 8 hours for sleep at first. I also need to avoid staying up late on the weekends, which is hard when hanging out with friends, but I think it'll be worth it to get on a steady schedule.
Reasons
I suppose I should explain my reasons for wanting to get on a steady schedule. I sleep too much. I stay up for long hours and then sleep for long hours, and I think in the end I have more sleeping hours per waking hours than I would if I slept even 8 hours a night. Ultimately, I hope that my sleep time will be reduced to around 6 hours of sleep a night once I get steady. The other primary reason for wanting to get on a schedule is because I have a lot to do in a day, and I waste a lot of time. I'm hoping I can get in the habit of doing certain tasks at certain times to ultimately be more efficient with my time. Sound fair?
Research
While looking up methods to get up in the morning, I found this. It's a very interesting blog post where the author talks about how he trained himself to get up without thinking when his alarm goes off. This is accomplished by many dry runs during the day. I didn't do this, but it sounds interesting and someone else might find it helpful.
I also have a book on sleep I thumbed through a bit, and it seems like the rule of thumb is to make changes gradual. Adjust your bed time by 15-minute increments per night until it's where you want it to be. I don't have a bed time, so I guess I'll have to try the hard way for now.
My Method
I consider this a brute force method, and I used a lighter version of it a few months ago when I was getting up at 6am every morning (for a few weeks). I got an alarm program for my cell phone. Any one with unlimited alarms should work. I set 12 alarms, starting 20 minutes before I wanted to get up, and ten 2-minute increments leading up to that time. So if I want to get up at 6, my alarm is set for 5:40, 5:42, 5:44...5:56, 5:58, 6:00. I tried it in 1-minute increments, but it had funky results, some alarms not playing.
Doing this actually reinforced some beliefs I had about my sleep state. The first few alarms that go off, it feels to me like as soon as I turn one off the next one sounds, when in fact 2 minutes has passed. This makes me wonder if I'm actually still in some state of sleep when I turn my alarm off.
I've tried this method it before with 10 minutes leading up instead of 20. It stopped working, but as I said that was mostly because my bedtime kept creeping back. I got very little sleep last night and was wide awake and in the shower by the sixth alarm (12 minutes). My personal bet--I'll have to expand the time the alarm sounds (to 16 alarms in 30 minutes) if I keep getting too little sleep, but I'll be up much earlier if I get to bed on time.
The point of this method is to make absolutely sure I'm up at the same time each morning so I can train myself to go to bed at the same time each night. I'll try to keep this site updated with my progress.
Till then,
David
I'll explain my method and touch on another method I've read about in a bit, but first let me go into my background.
Background
You see, my problem isn't a lack of desire to get up in the mornings, it's lack of mental presence. When my alarm sounds, I turn it off and go back to sleep. There's no decision made, I'm on autopilot. Okay, some mornings I do make a decision to stay in bed, but most of the time it's out of my control.
This is partly due to the fact that, as I mentioned before, I don't have to be up at any given time. I can do my work any time of day. I'll also point out that if I do have to be up for something important, I usually wake up a lot and check my clock, sleeping so lightly that I have no problems getting up when I need to.
I used to have a job where I had to get up at 5:30 am every morning. It was both lucky and unlucky that I worked with my roommate, because he could make sure I was up in time, but we also stayed up late a lot of work nights hanging out. The odd thing is, after the initial dread of waking up (still craving more sleep), and 30-minutes of grogginess, I was fine the rest of the day, and even capable of staying up pretty late even on that 4-5 hours of sleep.
That's probably been my biggest problem. No matter what my roommate would be doing--watching tv, typing on his laptop, reading books, whatever, once he got too tired, he'd fall asleep where he sat. I can stay up for very long amounts of time as long as my brain is stimulated. No, amend that, it's not that I can stay up, it's that I generally don't have a choice. If I have something to think about, I will, and that keeps me awake.
Previous attempts
I've tried going to bed earlier and earlier each night, but one bout of sleeping in throws off my schedule so much that I feel like I need something more drastic.
I also got on a normal schedule a couple of months ago, waking up at 6am regularly, but that was helped by the fact that I had to be up at 7 anyway to drive a friend of mine to work. I fell out of that habit before he got his car fixed--I would get home from dropping him off and crawl back into bed. This is because I got too little sleep too many nights. My bedtime slowly creeps backwards until I'm going to bed at 2 and I'm supposed to be getting up at 6? Fat chance. I also ended up taking naps, which I think is something I need to resist until I'm on a more solid schedule.
I have to be able to make myself wake up at the same time consistently, and force myself to go to bed at a reasonable time, 8 hours for sleep at first. I also need to avoid staying up late on the weekends, which is hard when hanging out with friends, but I think it'll be worth it to get on a steady schedule.
Reasons
I suppose I should explain my reasons for wanting to get on a steady schedule. I sleep too much. I stay up for long hours and then sleep for long hours, and I think in the end I have more sleeping hours per waking hours than I would if I slept even 8 hours a night. Ultimately, I hope that my sleep time will be reduced to around 6 hours of sleep a night once I get steady. The other primary reason for wanting to get on a schedule is because I have a lot to do in a day, and I waste a lot of time. I'm hoping I can get in the habit of doing certain tasks at certain times to ultimately be more efficient with my time. Sound fair?
Research
While looking up methods to get up in the morning, I found this. It's a very interesting blog post where the author talks about how he trained himself to get up without thinking when his alarm goes off. This is accomplished by many dry runs during the day. I didn't do this, but it sounds interesting and someone else might find it helpful.
I also have a book on sleep I thumbed through a bit, and it seems like the rule of thumb is to make changes gradual. Adjust your bed time by 15-minute increments per night until it's where you want it to be. I don't have a bed time, so I guess I'll have to try the hard way for now.
My Method
I consider this a brute force method, and I used a lighter version of it a few months ago when I was getting up at 6am every morning (for a few weeks). I got an alarm program for my cell phone. Any one with unlimited alarms should work. I set 12 alarms, starting 20 minutes before I wanted to get up, and ten 2-minute increments leading up to that time. So if I want to get up at 6, my alarm is set for 5:40, 5:42, 5:44...5:56, 5:58, 6:00. I tried it in 1-minute increments, but it had funky results, some alarms not playing.
Doing this actually reinforced some beliefs I had about my sleep state. The first few alarms that go off, it feels to me like as soon as I turn one off the next one sounds, when in fact 2 minutes has passed. This makes me wonder if I'm actually still in some state of sleep when I turn my alarm off.
I've tried this method it before with 10 minutes leading up instead of 20. It stopped working, but as I said that was mostly because my bedtime kept creeping back. I got very little sleep last night and was wide awake and in the shower by the sixth alarm (12 minutes). My personal bet--I'll have to expand the time the alarm sounds (to 16 alarms in 30 minutes) if I keep getting too little sleep, but I'll be up much earlier if I get to bed on time.
The point of this method is to make absolutely sure I'm up at the same time each morning so I can train myself to go to bed at the same time each night. I'll try to keep this site updated with my progress.
Till then,
David
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Uphill battle part 2
Finally got around to scanning articles related to the one I talked about in my earlier post. This was the next in line.
"'Night Owls' Report More Insomnia-related Symptoms" Basically there is a severe rise in insomnia-related symptoms in night owls.
Another for the "no duh" department, but it's nice to have a personal assumption proven.
I'm a night owl, and actually don't have that much problem sleeping. I sleep like a log. I used to have "confusional arousals," where I wake up confused, but that hasn't happened in years. Once, 9 years ago, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 2 am thinking I was late for work (at 10am). My roommate, who was still up, gave me the strangest look as I frantically ran around the apartment.
I wonder if "waking distress" is the same as a confusional arousal. Regardless, This has all reminded me that I actually own a book on sleep, written fairly recently by a sleep specialist. I should get to reading that.
Oh, one more thing, a pet peeve of mine, this article said if you are a night owl having insomnia symptoms, talk to your doctor and he'll refer you to a sleep specialist. I really hate that if you know what the problem is, insomnia, you should go to a doctor (and pay him) first before going to a sleep specialist. True, it's a referral, so hopefully you're being sent to a good specialist, but how much research do you think your doctor really did on sleep specialists, unless he had his own sleep problems? Mini-rant over.
David
"'Night Owls' Report More Insomnia-related Symptoms" Basically there is a severe rise in insomnia-related symptoms in night owls.
Another for the "no duh" department, but it's nice to have a personal assumption proven.
Compared to the morning and intermediate types, people with insomnia who prefer evening activities (i.e., "night owls") reported the most sleep/wake irregularities and waking distress, even after adjusting for severity of sleep disturbance.
I'm a night owl, and actually don't have that much problem sleeping. I sleep like a log. I used to have "confusional arousals," where I wake up confused, but that hasn't happened in years. Once, 9 years ago, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 2 am thinking I was late for work (at 10am). My roommate, who was still up, gave me the strangest look as I frantically ran around the apartment.
I wonder if "waking distress" is the same as a confusional arousal. Regardless, This has all reminded me that I actually own a book on sleep, written fairly recently by a sleep specialist. I should get to reading that.
Oh, one more thing, a pet peeve of mine, this article said if you are a night owl having insomnia symptoms, talk to your doctor and he'll refer you to a sleep specialist. I really hate that if you know what the problem is, insomnia, you should go to a doctor (and pay him) first before going to a sleep specialist. True, it's a referral, so hopefully you're being sent to a good specialist, but how much research do you think your doctor really did on sleep specialists, unless he had his own sleep problems? Mini-rant over.
David
Talk about an uphill battle.
I've just read this article. Apparently morning people and might owls have completely different brain function.
This kind of goes under the "Duh!" category, as I know my brain is more active at night. I was starting to assume that it was due to conditioning myself to stay up late, and now it looks like I might have been born that way.
More interesting stuff--morning people's physical strength is the same all day, night owl's strength increases throughout the day.
I've been trying to get on a regular sleep schedule, but I A) hate sleep too much when I'm awake, and B) love sleep too much when I'm trying to wake up. I resented the hell out of going to bed at a reasonable time as a kid, not out of rebellion, but because there was still so much I wanted to do. The only times I've gotten used to a reasonable sleep schedule was when I had a steady job, and I always messed that up on the weekends anyways. I started to get straight last week, but blew it by staying up till 3 am that weekend, handing out with friends.
Since I work from home, and can work any hours I want, I end up with odd hours. I can stay up 24-36 hours straight with no effort, more if I'm doing mentally exciting work.
Now I have to stop and ask myself--do I want to get on a normal schedule, which would result in trying to calm down and get ready for bed when my brain is readying for it's peak performance? Or is it relative to the time I wake up, and no matter when I get up I'll be most ready to work when the world says I'm ready for bed?
This is really frustrating. I honestly don't know what I goals I should be setting for myself regarding sleep patterns.
Damn.
David
Using magnetic resonance imaging-guided brain stimulation, scientists tested muscle torque and the excitability of pathways through the spinal cord and brain. They found that morning people's brains were most excitable at 9 a.m. This slowly decreased through the day. It was the polar opposite for evening people, whose brains were most excitable at 9 p.m.
This kind of goes under the "Duh!" category, as I know my brain is more active at night. I was starting to assume that it was due to conditioning myself to stay up late, and now it looks like I might have been born that way.
More interesting stuff--morning people's physical strength is the same all day, night owl's strength increases throughout the day.
I've been trying to get on a regular sleep schedule, but I A) hate sleep too much when I'm awake, and B) love sleep too much when I'm trying to wake up. I resented the hell out of going to bed at a reasonable time as a kid, not out of rebellion, but because there was still so much I wanted to do. The only times I've gotten used to a reasonable sleep schedule was when I had a steady job, and I always messed that up on the weekends anyways. I started to get straight last week, but blew it by staying up till 3 am that weekend, handing out with friends.
Since I work from home, and can work any hours I want, I end up with odd hours. I can stay up 24-36 hours straight with no effort, more if I'm doing mentally exciting work.
Now I have to stop and ask myself--do I want to get on a normal schedule, which would result in trying to calm down and get ready for bed when my brain is readying for it's peak performance? Or is it relative to the time I wake up, and no matter when I get up I'll be most ready to work when the world says I'm ready for bed?
This is really frustrating. I honestly don't know what I goals I should be setting for myself regarding sleep patterns.
Damn.
David
Labels:
circadian rhythm,
General,
morning people,
night owl,
sleep
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Twitter badge now permanent.
I've been fiddling around with a twitter badge of some sort for this blog. I've gone back and forth for a few reasons. Mostly, I couldn't find any to fit on my page, but I'm taken aback by the fact that a lot of people are adamantly anti-twitter. These people are probably also the assholes that were anti-cell phones five years ago. Instead of realizing they're unable to overcome their hatred of anything new in order to properly determine the usefulness of a new product or service, they continue to bash everything.
Wow, was that defensive or offensive? I CONTINUE:
Another reason I hesitated to install a twitter badge is because I'm on twitter mainly to follow a few people, who know things before I do or are very entertaining. Twitter is a nesting/proving ground for memes. That's why I use it. So true, I mainly post boring daily shit--hey, that's what it's for, but at the very least when I go through a dry spell on this blog people can use it to see I'm still alive.
Hear that people? I'm still alive!!!
And for people who say twitter won't be around in a few years, that may be true. But that's beside the point. How many people use AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) anymore? But millions of people still use instant messaging, be it Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. Same with twitter. Sure, some people may use Facebook's updates, or some generic twitter knock off, and a lot of people are using themes to make their blog more twitter-like. Perhaps someday some new app will de-throne twitter. It's almost certain, I guess. That doesn't discredit the idea--so many people are ripping it off it's already officially a success. Officially.
David
Wow, was that defensive or offensive? I CONTINUE:
Another reason I hesitated to install a twitter badge is because I'm on twitter mainly to follow a few people, who know things before I do or are very entertaining. Twitter is a nesting/proving ground for memes. That's why I use it. So true, I mainly post boring daily shit--hey, that's what it's for, but at the very least when I go through a dry spell on this blog people can use it to see I'm still alive.
Hear that people? I'm still alive!!!
And for people who say twitter won't be around in a few years, that may be true. But that's beside the point. How many people use AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) anymore? But millions of people still use instant messaging, be it Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. Same with twitter. Sure, some people may use Facebook's updates, or some generic twitter knock off, and a lot of people are using themes to make their blog more twitter-like. Perhaps someday some new app will de-throne twitter. It's almost certain, I guess. That doesn't discredit the idea--so many people are ripping it off it's already officially a success. Officially.
David
Labels:
Admin,
anti-twitter,
badge,
blogging,
Personal,
Technology,
twitter
Monday, June 22, 2009
Pity post
I have been busy, but not too busy to quickly drop a pity post. I pity all of you with nothing better to do than read this. More interesting posts to come, I promise.
xoxo
David
xoxo
David
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Every keyboard I ever loved has left me...
Every USB keyboard, that is. I've just had two keyboards fail in very close proximity. True, one was a second-hand keyboard, and one was the cheapest one I could find (and I also spilled pop on it). Add that to my first USB keyboard failing last year, and I'm feeling a little rejected.
I just plugged in my old PS/2 keyboard, which is the keyboard I started really writing with. Just typing on it now, it takes a really hard press to use, I don't know how I used it so much. I was all excited about going back to my old keyboard, but I can barely use it. Wow. Technology, huh? Oh well, I do most of my writing on my eeePC 901 anyway (which I switched to and am writing this post on now).
David
I just plugged in my old PS/2 keyboard, which is the keyboard I started really writing with. Just typing on it now, it takes a really hard press to use, I don't know how I used it so much. I was all excited about going back to my old keyboard, but I can barely use it. Wow. Technology, huh? Oh well, I do most of my writing on my eeePC 901 anyway (which I switched to and am writing this post on now).
David
Labels:
keyboard,
Personal,
ps/2,
Technology,
USB
FYI cats can fart.
I don't mean to be crude or anything, but I was in the middle of writing a blog post (to come later today) when my roommate's cat walked into my bedroom. It walked around, sniffed everything, I mean EVERYTHING, farted, then left. It's almost like it was trying to find the right smell to compliment it's fart.
Cats can fart, people. I've only seen it when they're fed table scraps or something, but apparently they also do it if they don't like the smell of your bedroom decor.
Who knew? (I did) (I'm super smart!)
David
Cats can fart, people. I've only seen it when they're fed table scraps or something, but apparently they also do it if they don't like the smell of your bedroom decor.
Who knew? (I did) (I'm super smart!)
David
Labels:
cat,
farting cats,
farts,
Humor,
Personal
Sunday, June 7, 2009
I'm not dead...
...and neither is this site. Wow, moving can really kick the shit out of you. Especially cause I've accumulated so much stuff over the past two years. And not stuff I can discard, but stuff like a homemade orbital scanner, a full 88-key keyboard. 3 more computers, a shitload more CDs and a few more DVDs.
I have so much more room now, and I can keep most of my stuff in my room without it looking, as some people have claimed my old room did, like Mel Gibson's apartment in Conspiracy Theory.
Add this to the fact that the internet here sucks, and that enough is why I haven't posted in a long, long time. I've been trying to find a good Windows Mobile app to let me post from my phone. I can do it through my regular Dashboard, it's just a pain. And if the app doesn't allow me to set up a post to be published at a specific time in the future, it's really no good to me at this point.
Oh, there I go again, blathering on. Well, expect to see more posts now that I'm settled.
Till then,
David
I have so much more room now, and I can keep most of my stuff in my room without it looking, as some people have claimed my old room did, like Mel Gibson's apartment in Conspiracy Theory.
Add this to the fact that the internet here sucks, and that enough is why I haven't posted in a long, long time. I've been trying to find a good Windows Mobile app to let me post from my phone. I can do it through my regular Dashboard, it's just a pain. And if the app doesn't allow me to set up a post to be published at a specific time in the future, it's really no good to me at this point.
Oh, there I go again, blathering on. Well, expect to see more posts now that I'm settled.
Till then,
David
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