Did I miss something? There seems to be a sudden vitriolic backlash against some new, er, 'neighbours'.
I'd venture to make a suggestion or observation, but, the possibility of being perceived as one of the...um...interlopers??? newcomers?? illegal immigrants??....is just too obvious.
There used to be something called Netiquette, and it was an unwritten rule that EVERYBODY followed the guidelines. That's pretty much why I quit commenting on the political blogs.
I guess that wasn't good enough....for an interloper.... (Oh, wait. I managed to comment ANYWAY!!)
It took me about a month to get over the cravings...or at least until they dropped to a manageable level. And yeah, you're right that there are lots of triggers.
One thing I did was to put strong flavored candy (peppermint Life Savers, Altoids, etc.) in the pocket where I usually kept my smokes. I remember that I'd reach for a cigarette without thinking, and that little trick helped a LOT. You'll find too that the longer you go without a cigarette, the greater the feeling of accomplishment. Also, it's almost impossible to succeed on the first try. Keep at it!
Man. This blog filled up a lot faster than I thought it would!
Here's MY impression of posting in forums versus blogs, from a Windows 95 perspective (i.e. Late To The Party): In the pre Windows universe, postings were accomplished in DOS. Memory was low, processing speed just as limited, and usernames limited to seven digits or so. (Remember, I'm speaking of pre-Windows, or BX--"Before Xquseme".) Hard drives were nonexistent, and amount of available memory was limited to the free space on your floppy disc--a paltry 1.4 MEGAbytes!! Consequently, messages were short, to the point, and somewhat curt. BBS's were the rule of the day (um, "Bulletin Board systems?? Remember, I'm post-Windows!). Transmitting images was unheard of, and the closest one could come was ASCII imagery--and at the time, THAT was awesome!
The Windows environment, as time went on, brought greater capability, remarkable storage space, (nearly) unlimited username lengths, jaw dropping processing speeds, well, you get the drift. One could then post images, sounds (imagine!) and eventually music and movies (Unheard of 25 years ago!) Suddenly blogs were possible, DOS code was unnecessary, and, indeed, windbaggery could be accomplished in a few minutes of key tapping and by hitting "Send".
IMHO, the difference between forums and blogs is simply the progression of computing capability, rather than strict rules that forbade the posting of questions, etc. In the few discussion groups I've participated in, such rules were extremely flexible, and Mods never seemed to appear until flagrant trollike activity became the rule, rather than the exception.
I do recall a time, though, when nettiquette, or good posting behavior, was the rule of the day. Sadly, that seems to be what is missing these days. Just sayin'.
Oh, yeah. One more thing:
Seems to me, in that last statement, all THREE of us spent time at that site. Again, just sayin'
I don't remember Fender. She must've come and gone before I made it to MD.
AMD and this site have one thing in common with MD in that there's lots of talk, but very little action. That is, you're more likely to meet someone in real life than on the boards here, or the other two sites. Especially at AMD, not much was going to happen in the first place, due to the seedy nature of the site's goals. Additionally, the long distances between members, together with the relatively low numbers of members, prevented much success in finding a suitable match anywhere close.
The fun (for me, anyway) was always reading (and sometimes participating in) the banter, and checking out the quirky senses of humor. That's where Borty came in. He presented such an odd character, but it was obviously tongue-in-cheek.
I started at AMD in about 2005, and switched to the "vanilla site" when AMD closed. For a long time I rarely commented, as I wasn't acknowledged by the regulars very often, but I eventually blended in.
Lots of people complained about MD being too political, but that wasn't the case at AMD. If you could bear the off-color nature of AMD, that was the fun place to be!
The ebony with power, The ivory with the grace, The willingness to take the sudden sting, Her tears that form the shower, His dominance in place, The interplay that makes the union sing!
My gaze alights beyond the crystal pane, Where waters cease and only air remain. Retained by grip of love, beneath the foam, You hold me helpless, frigid, wet, alone....
Why, you ask?? Welll, those with the loudest mouths (insert nickname(s) here) would accrue the most points most quickly, leaving those with the occasional salient point(s) to founder in the muck.
So, you might ask, why don't I increase MY blogging frequency?!?
Well, that's the whole point.
I don't post, and/or reply, often because I don't have all that much to say. When I DO, though, I'd like for it to be heard. The Foghorns can blast their bilge all day long if they like; I'll just ignore them.
I used to participate in the political bickering from time to time, but I'd soon find that I'd wasted up to several hours in one sitting, and I probably hadn't changed any minds. Meanwhile, the opposing blowhard would/could be sitting halfway around the world, patting himself/herself on the back for a job well done, when I had probably logged off half an hour ago.
I'll stick to my computer backgammon, TYVM....but I'd STILL like the ability to comment from time to time..!
I hear ya, Chat. I found out awhile ago that I needed to keep a humidifier in my case, or the guitar acts kinda squirrelly. If I don't check it every 2-3 days, I find that the sponge inside has curled up and completely dried out....which tells me how badly I'm neglecting my instrument.
I never had a problem with string breakage on my acoustic guitars, mostly because I prefer to fingerpick (I guess), rather than strum. I manage to maintain my volume level in the same manner.
People will usually let you know if you're disturbing them. If they like your music, they'll quietly listen, or even drop a quick compliment on you in the hall. If they DON'T like it, the local Law could possibly pay you a visit (or you might receive a couple of cranky calls). You don't sound like THAT type of musician!
Since I recently upgraded from a cheap instrument to a Martin, I find that my dynamic range has increased (That is, the highs are clearer and somewhat louder), so I can upgrade from thin strings to mediums (thus minimizing string breakage, I hope!) and adding some body to the music. (I just wish I would've shopped a little more carefully...! )
Must be nice having a music store within walking distance. I can get to the discount place after a 30 minute bus ride, or to Guitar Center after an hour ride, TWO busses, and a transfer!
Years ago I had a subscription to a handguns magazine that featured the Luger as the subject for the month. I was always curious about that particular firearm, mostly due to its style (appearance).
Apparently, Lugers were produced in several calibers, but were initially small caliber handguns. Later, larger caliber Lugers were produced, but didn't function as well as the original Luger. (I wish I still had that magazine; guess I'll have to dig around a little!)
Of the handguns I own, none is more than a few years old. Checking out older productions (like Winchester rifles, for example) is always kinda cool.
But, hey. Why don't we ALL release OUR tax returns to the general public?!? Doesn't that sound like a GREAT idea?? OF COURSE it doesn't!! These are private matters, that NOBODY should be required to disclose!
xquseme Blog Comments (126)
)
RE: R. I. P. Mr. Peanut
Yup. That'll get you "offed" pretty darn quick!