Has anyone else experienced any problems logging into MySpace? Right now I can’t log in at all, but it does acknowledge that my account exists. Earlier I was able to log in but all of my Friends were missing (deleted profiles) and my profile had been reverted to how it looked when I first logged in. At another point in time when I logged in, my profile was in tact but I couldn’t access the new message I logged on to get.

Anyone else? Bueller?

I have been addicted to web syndication since the moment I read about the concept. I have been using a feed reader (mostly desktop readers until Google Reader’s second incarnation came long) for almost four years now (scary). It all started with Shrook on the Mac which I fell in love with. It also helped me to find topics to blog about initially and saved me a couple of hours a day trying to find the news stories I was really looking for.

I remember when my OPML only had 20 or 30 feeds in it. I am currently subscribed to 193 feeds in Google Reader right now. I recently removed the 15 or so job board feeds I read regularly because I am currently employed and don’t need to read them everyday. I’ve also started to get rid of feeds that seem to only provide me duplicate information (I recently dumped Engadget for Gizmodo which is far more sarcastic and punchy). A few months ago I dropped all of my feeds based on Windows related topics which cut back about 15 or so. I realized that I just wasn’t reading the content because I had no love left for Windows.

I used to read the feeds of all of the old TechTV personalities especially shortly after the mass exodus and before it became G4. I haven’t kept up with them for about two years now with the exception of Leo who is unavoidable especially if you are a Mac user or fan. Right now I seem to be finding and subscribing to more DIY, GTD, and blogs run by individuals than anything else. My reading habits seem to change like the direction of the wind.

I am going to try to cut back on my feeds and purge the feeds of sites that aren’t updated on a regular basis. I have also noticed that the time I spend reading feeds in Google Reader is getting longer and longer each day. I spend far too much time during the day stopping to browse the feeds. I am going to limit my feed reading to twice a day and see if I can make it through the withdrawals. Wish me luck.

After a couple of weeks of use I decided to remove the Snap website preview functionality from my site. I don’t mind it personally, but it gets tedious after a long day of browsing. It is a great idea for sites that are very link-heavy like Wikis so that the reader can catch a glimpse of where they’re going before they click on a link. I just don’t think its right for my site. I would like to enable it on a link-by-link basis but I think that would become tedious after a while.

There are enough people out there that are uncomfortable with Snap, and I have no idea how a screen reader would react to it. For now I think that it could work against me and annoy readers enough for them to leave without subscribing to my feeds. That’s a risk I’m not willing to take.

Apparently Google is trying to open an online bookstore which will bring the eBook back into the attention of the public. I love the idea of eBooks, but I am not ready to go that way until a solid eInk based eBook reader is introduced to the American market. Sony introduce the Librie eBook Reader to the Japanese market over a year ago and it was received with a resounding thud. Sony imposed too many restrictions on the reader, used draconian DRM measures, and essentially tried to force readers to purchase eBooks that would self destruct through the Sony bookstore. The unfortunate part of it is that the reader was well built, had a good form factor, and the battery life and readability were amazing due to eInk. Hopefully since Google wants to get involved
this time the hardware companies involved will take into consideration what the public actually wants and needs in a reader, rather than what they can put in the device to allow it to line their pockets more heavily.

My eBook reader would have to have:

• A small form factor (the size of the Librie was perfect for me)
• Wi-Fi for downloading books on the fly
• The ability to read PDF, DOC, RTF, TXT, and various other common document files (including secured docs and pdfs)
• A formidable amount of upgradeable memory (4gb plus)
• Web Browsing
• RSS Aggregator
• Backlight
• The ability to use both rechargeable and standard batteries
• The ability to read multiple types of eBook formats with or without DRM
• The ability to be used in tangent with multiple eBook services

I think my needs are a little more advanced than the average reader so I don’t anticipate that all of them will be met by the first few readers to hit the market (especially not the ability to be used with multiple eBook services). At this point I don’t think I would be so concerned with price provided that the readers that came out could accommodate my needs. I would easily pay $500 for a tweaked Sony Librie just as long as I am not tied down by DRM and locked into shopping for new books at one store.

The worst part about suffering Insomnia is waking up after you have actually gotten some restful sleep. It like being dragged from the depths of the ocean to the surface and if it happens too quickly it can ruin your day.

I know that some people use the snooze function on their alarm clocks regularly and it works for them. They wake up gradually at their own pace and I can see how that would be attractive. Unfortunately I had some snooze button mishaps in college that make me less inclined to use the snooze function on my alarm clock. Furthermore, the whole stop-and-go idea of using the snooze button to get a few minutes of sleep is not attractive to me because it is not restful sleep which I am lacking right now. A few minutes
of light snoozing while anticipating the alarm to go off again is just not something I need.

I bought an iHome iH5B alarm clock that i use with my iPod to wake me up. The good thing about it is that the volume on the music or alarm increases gradually over a short period of time so I don’t get jolted awake (which sometimes causes a headache of enormous proportion). I have also considered the Progressive Wake Alarm Clock which wakes
you slowly using lights and aromatherapy. The only reason I didn’t get it is because it’s not iPod friendly yet. The idea is wonderful and I will always be on the lookout for an alarm clock that uses light and sound together to reduce wakeup shock.

The older I get the harder I find it to go to sleep at night. My brain won’t shut down. In fact I think about more stuff when I’m trying to go to bed than I do working and piddling around all day. I have had several serious bouts with insomnia as an adult. Some of these have been the result of my heart arrhythmia which was misdiagnosed as depression and anxiety for several years. It turns out that I have a Magnesium deficiency and have to take Magnesium Oxide supplements to quell that issue. Since moving to Raleigh I had problems sleeping in my new apartment at first, especially after my new furniture came. You would think that an air mattress would strike fear in the heart of an insomniac before a big old Sealy Posturepedic would. At any rate, I have consulted a few web sites and read a lot of blogs to help me in my quest to re-gain my natural sleeping habits. I think part of my problem is that I am used to having a TV in my bedroom which always lulled me into a coma at night. I don’t have that luxury right now and my body is giving me hell for it. Here’s what I have done so far to try to ease myself to sleep:

• Eliminated caffeine after 6pm
• Re-oriented my bed so my bedroom reflects the layout of my old bedroom
• Purchased a memory foam mattress topper
• Purchased luxury (hotel quality) sheets
• Placed scented candles in my bedroom with relaxing aromas (don’t worry I don’t burn them when I’m trying to fall asleep)
• Purchased an iHome iH5B iPod compatible Alarm Clock Radio which I listen to before going to sleep (the headphones got painful)
• Worked on my GTD To Do List (on Tracks Train) to unload some stray thoughts
• Completed repetitive and boring tasks
• Read books and blogs
• Called and spoke with friends and family on the phone to the point of exhaustion
• Counted sheep (I am not lying)
• Kept a handwritten journal where I unload emotionally before bed
• Taken Melatonin and OTC Sleep Aids (sparingly)

The combination of these things has earned me a few nice nights of sleep, however I cannot seem to sleep more than 6 hours at a time with any consistency. I have had less than 7 total hours of sleep since this time last week and it is obviously frustrating. This sleep deprivation is also having a negative effect on my attention span when I work, and my drive to write and be creative. I have been woken up in the middle of the night and headed the computer because I have discovered that I had something to journal
or blog about, but being up for such long periods of time and not being able to create anything is crippling me.

People are quick to give advice and say that maybe I am indeed depressed or having bouts of anxiety, but I don’t feel either at all. I have been happier since I moved to Raleigh than I was the entire time I was in Florida. I miss my family but it’s no different than when I was in college. I do not experience any bouts of panic or nervousness. I would almost feel relieved if I could pick out what exactly is keeping me from resting even if it was depression or anxiety.

I plan on attempting the following to see if it will help me change my sleeping habits:

• Shower before bed
• Listen to Jazz (which can aid in creativity too)
• Read more books
• Schedule specific times for writing and working on my blog
• Journal every night even if it’s only a sentence or two
• Start a regular exercise plan (even if it’s only simple things I can do at home)
• Move to an apartment complex that was built more recently (these buildings have thin walls and the floors make too much noise)
• Drink warm milk or herbal tea before bed

If you are reading this and have any suggestions I would appreciate all the help you can give. Sleep deprivation is worse than water torture and I don’t wish it on anyone. I seem to have had more than my fair share over the past 6 or 7 years.

As you can see, my site seems to have experienced some technical difficulties. What had happened was I upgraded to Wordpress 2.1 and was having problems with categories (namely I couldn’t create new ones or save anything to existing categories, and forget about the list of category names on the writing page). There were also problems with UTW and various other plugins which the individual authors are working to resolve. Anyway, I posted my issues in the Wordpress Support Forum and waited a couple of days but got no potential fixes so I decided to blow everything away and start on a fresh install. When I re-imported my posts everything was placed into a generic Uncategorized category so now I have to go back and re-file them. I was planning on adding some new categories and trimming down some of them that had become too general so this incident has given me a great chance to do just that. I am a little disappointed at this Wordpress update. I know it fixed over 500 bugs but it seems to have generated a couple hundred new ones. We’ll see how this all pans out. Overall I like the changes that have been implemented.

I have recently renamed both my content and comments feeds (I know it’s bad webmastering but it’s part of my grand scheme). Please update your subscriptions!

Full Content Feed is now: http://feeds.feedburner.com/itsreallyjustme_fullcontent
Comments Feed is is now: http://feeds.feedburner.com/itsreallyjustme_comments

Why is every other blog telling bloggers how to blog? I read a lot of blogs. I am a feed addict. My OPML file from Google Reader would make you weep. Recently I’ve noticed that I’ve been reading a lot of blogs that are telling me how to blog. If I do these 20 things, I will drive more traffic to my blog, sell more ads, and soon my blog will pay for itself (and possibly a nice Georgetown-style townhome here in Raleigh). If I stop doing these 15 things, I will be a more effective blogger. If I link here and here, use tags, hop on my right foot in a circle while patting my head and rubbing my tummy in a videoblog posted to this site it will be regurgitated to YouTube, then it will be Dugg, and I will be the famousest of bloggers for about two hours. Lately it just seems that I am getting hammered with blogging tips and tricks. The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) gurus are out there pushing their tips on the masses. Oy! A lot of the tips are great and make a lot of sense. If you’re a professional blogging consultant and the sole purpose of your blog is to teach other people how to live off of their blogs, blogging about blogging and telling people how to blog makes sense. If you are just a blogger and you spend half of your time regurgitating the awesome knowledge that the SEO gurus have blessed you with, and your daily link roundup is simply an ode to Problogger.com, what excatly have you done? You probably haven’t used any of the tips you’re regurgitating, furthermore you’ve just taken your eyes off the prize and wasted time you could’ve been working on your own content. You’ve just given lip service and driven more traffic from your blog to a blog that already gets astronomical hits and has a loyal following.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t read the SEO guru blogs and try to use the tips. I just think it’s a bad idea to spend a lot of your own time advertising someone else’s ideas. Time which you could’ve used to write a compelling post or tweak your blog’s appearance.

At any rate, I feel as though I’ve just done what I’m complaining about (says the chick who filed her post about blogging about blogging in a category she has defined on her blog about blogging). Thanks very much I’ll be here all week.

It disappoints me to see a good actor like Isaiah Washington in a groundbreaking drama shoot himself in the foot. There are so few black men playing characters that can be considered role models on TV. Furthermore, there are so few talented black actors surrounded by an amazing cast like that on Grey’s Anatomy. There is something for everyone on that show which is why it is a monster hit. When you are in the public eye with as much exposure as any member of the Grey’s Anatomy cast is, common sense should tell you to keep cool and keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything good to say. I wish someone told Isaiah that.

Not only did Isaiah almost come to blows with Patrick Dempsey on set, but he called T.R. Knight a faggot. This forced T.R. Knight to come out publicly. As if that wasn’t bad enough and didn’t cause enough of a media storm, Isaiah denied that the incident happened to the press after the cast’s Golden Globes win. This irritated members of the cast including Katherine Heigl and of course T.R. Knight who voiced their opinions on Access Hollywood and the Ellen DeGeneres Show respectively.

It is bad enough that Isaiah made a homophobic statement and let his temper get the best of him on set, but his actions forced another cast member to reveal more to the public than he was ready to. Furthermore, denying the incident happened after publicly apologizing for it is puerile and speaks to his lack of integrity as an actor and as a person. Mr. Washington should take some time to look around the landscape of prime time television and realize how few men of color have been given the type of opportunity he has. Maybe he would think twice about his actions and humble himself on set. If not, I don’t see any reason why his character needs to remain on Grey’s Anatomy at all. Just make his character fail to recover from the second neurological surgery and have him lurk off into the Seattle gloom with his trumpet to play jazz. Let’s see how well his career does after he leaves (or is asked to leave) Grey’s Anatomy. He can be the next Eriq LaSalle. Anyone remember seeing him in anything after leaving ER aside from One Hour Photo? Me either.