Web browsing frustrations

After many frustrations with Internet Explorer 7, I decided to give Firefox 2 a try. Yes, I know -- slightly behind the times again. My main complaint is that IE 7 would tend to hang on page load quite often, and once it did so, any subsequent browsing (even in a new tab) would also hang indefinitely. Only a completely new instance of IE would remedy the problem. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the corporate network and/or proxy server, as the problem seems to only occur at work. The irony of the situation is that IE is required to use the corporate intranet site -- Firefox is not "approved." So it looks like IE will still get some use, albeit begrudgingly.

One week into my trial, I must say that Firefox is performing quite well for me. Page loads seem to be generally faster, and I haven't experienced any of the annoying hangs that I was getting with IE 7. I switched to IE some years ago after wanting to try something other than Netscape Navigator, but it's looking more and more like Firefox will be my browser of choice from now on.

May 15, 2007 -- The day internet radio DIES

For more information on the CRB ruling, please visit the following sites:

SaveNetRadio Coalition
Small Webcaster Community Iniatitive
International Webcasting Coalition
Save Webcasting dot org

Perfectionists

A recent article posted on the Yahoo front page caught my attention. After reading only a few lines of Breaking the perfection habit by Penelope Trunk, I quickly realized this article was probably going to hit home to some degree.

While I don't agree with every assertion that she makes, and didn't care for her general disdain of those that "suffer" from perfectionism, there are a couple of points that I not only acquiesce to, but I find eerily relevant to my own life. Here are a few of her opinions on perfectionists, along with my perspective:

"Perfectionists procrastinate because they're scared of not being perfect."

I definitely suffer from the procrastination bug, but I disagree with the hypothesis that it is driven by the fear of being less than perfect. I would attribute it more to just plain-old being lazy. Yes, perfectionists can be lazy.

"Perfectionists are hypercritical to the point that they can't support people around them."

Perfectionism and being hypercritical are basically synonymous, but I don't necessarily think that they preclude the ability to work in a team setting.

"Perfectionists can't finish a project because they can always think of a way to improve it."

While I most certainly fall victim to this frequently (I can't tell you how many projects I've started and not finished), I think "can't" is probably a bit too strong of a word here. Maybe I'm not a true perfectionist.

"Perfectionists are phony, because no one's perfect and they can't handle showing that in themselves."

What!?!? I'm a phony because I often like things to be the best they can be? I guess I'd rather be a "phony" than celebrate mediocrity.

"You get more done if you don't sweat the details."

True to a certain extent, but the other side of the coin reveals that even the grandest project depends on the success of the smallest components. Or as the old saying goes, "The devil is in the details."

"You do better work if you aren't worried about perfection."

A bit of an over-simplified deduction, but the point is still somewhat relevant. I guess that statement doesn't preclude worrying about being accurate, which is how I initially perceived its meaning. So maybe it's not as much of an oversimplification as I thought.

"Working the longest hours doesn't mean you're doing the best work."

Very true.

If you consider yourself a perfectionist, I'd definitely recommend giving Penelope's article a read.

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

An alternate title for this post could be "Can an old dog overcome certain bad habits and learn how to do things the right way?"

The unfortunate truth of the matter is this post could refer to any one of my many bad habits, but the one in particular I'm referring to is not as far reaching or have as numerous (if any) life altering implications as my other wayward practices. It's still something I've been thinking about trying to rectify. So what exactly am I eluding to? I'd really love to take guitar lessons. Yes, guitar lessons. You were probably expecting something more profound, but that's it. Really.

Being a self-taught player going on 12 years now, I think I would really enjoy getting some "formal" training. Overall, I think my technique is mediocre at best, and could definitely stand to be tweaked for the better. Solo improvisation and general music theory are definitely where I need the most help, as I have basically zero skills in those areas. I feel fairly comfortable with my ability in the rhythm guitar role -- although I'm sure I've taught myself some bad habits, and surely have much to learn even in that regard.

Specifically, my interests currently lie within the acoustic realm of guitar playing, and have been pointed in that direction for many years now. I started off playing rock/metal tunes on electric guitar, but got bored quickly (c. 1998) and decided to purchase an accoustic-electric. I've been hooked ever since. For me, it just seemed like a natural progression as my (uh-hum) skills improved. In particular, the technique and complexity of classical guitar intrigues and amazes me, and is the "stretch goal" (read, pipe-dream) of my long, drawn-out guitar education.

Why do I even care to improve my playing abilities? Well, there are several factors involved here, but it's primarily just due to my enjoyment of playing guitar and music in general, in combination with a bit of perfectionism (or perhaps more aptly put, non-mediocre-ism). Add in the fact that every Sunday I play in the praise band at my church, and it only increases my longing to improve. In fact, our practice this evening is what spurred on this post.

Plus guitar players get all the chicks. Wait a minute, I'm already married. Damn, I missed the boat on that one! :-p

And so it begins...

I've entered the world of blog. The world of rants and opinions. The world of spilling your guts. The world of introspective reflections that most people could care less about. A little behind the times? Definitely. Better late than never, I guess.

I've been a reader of various blogs for quite some time now -- mostly those by friends, but occasionally I'll peer into the mind of a complete stranger. Up to this point, I've been a blog "lurker", hiding in the shadows. Sometimes I feel like I've stumbled upon someone's super-secret personal diary that I shouldn't be reading, and I'm getting a glimpse into their deepest, darkest secrets. While I know this isn't likely the case, I've got to think that sometimes, just sometimes, people might let down their guard a bit and reveal things they might not normally be willing to reveal in a face-to-face conversation - even with close friends. Or at the very least, people might let you know how they really feel. More-so than any other reason, these compel me to keep going back to read what my friends have to say. I hope this works both ways.

As a side-effect of my pseudo invasion of privacy described above, I haven't engaged others by commenting on their blogs. Not even my friends. But I imagine I'll be more actively involved now that I've thrown myself under the train and started one of my own.

On the rare occasion that I stray from blogs of people I know, there is one over-reaching thing I have noticed. In general, I find it hard to stay interested in blogs by someone I have no personal connection with, unless I can relate to the topic of a particular entry in some way. Otherwise, I could care less what some schlub has to say. If this holds true for others (which I assume it most likely does), I would expect very few people outside of my network of friends to actually spend the time to read what I've got to say. Do I really care if no one reads my ramblings? To some extent, yes I do care. But I'm fully ready to accept the fact that I might just be talking to myself here. These blog things are therapeutic though, right? Right???

Oh well, c'est la vie.