PurpleCar - Latest Comments

Re: 3 Surprising Ways to Overcome Internet Addiction

PurpleCar — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:33:15 -0000

Reporting to others is a great one! Thanks Otir!

Re: 3 Surprising Ways to Overcome Internet Addiction

Otir — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:56:53 -0000

I am not so surprised at the techniques offered, except maybe the paradox of surfing the web first. After all, breaking habits is also a matter of very personal practice, and needs to be tailored to one's personality I guess.

I found that my best control of my surfing time is by going on a routine: within a framed time (and with the help of the timer!), I will follow the list of sources I have printed in front of me. Therefore, I rarely surf aimlessly!

I also found that my best way of controlling my addictive-like behaviors was accountability: I journal a lot, and I make myself accountable for the use of my time, in one way or another. And reporting - whether to myself or to social network friends - can make a huge difference! I don't like making a fool of myself and being unable to report positive outcome of my spending time online. After all, that is still where I like to be the most, and that is why I am happy to be living "in" the web!

Great blogpost, I am glad I checked you out!

Re: 3 Surprising Ways to Overcome Internet Addiction

PurpleCar — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:17:46 -0000

Yup, slower, smaller machines get frustrating. Also, I suppose a person, if desperate, could go with the DSL or dial-up! (shudder)

Re: 3 Surprising Ways to Overcome Internet Addiction

Rick Wolff — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:38:45 -0000

Along the lines of disruption: only browse using a less-than-ideal device, like a smartphone or tablet. I've relegated my social streams (and link ratholes therefrom) off my main work computer and onto my iPad.

Re: Pinterest:The Wikipedia of Search

Mike S — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:58:21 -0000

I asked for one, and they said they'll get back to me soon. Thanks!

Re: Pinterest:The Wikipedia of Search

PurpleCar — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:26:45 -0000

do you need an invite?

Re: Pinterest:The Wikipedia of Search

Mike S — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:19:03 -0000

I've never looked at Pinterest... Thanks for the tip!

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

PurpleCar — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:14:51 -0000

I thought you looked familiar. :)

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

M. R. Sellars — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:08:09 -0000

Pretty much... Now, if they sent her texts...

On the used thing, probably. She doesn't care much about the boxes - in fact, she wasn't even able to find all of the cases for her used games she traded in. Fortunately for her, that didn't adversely affect the trade in value - as you have discovered...

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

M. R. Sellars — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:04:59 -0000

Now you're scaring me. You sound just like my wife. ;-)

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

PurpleCar — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:00:17 -0000

99% of his customers aren't enough to keep the business afloat. They're sinking. They need me and my daughter, and the next generation of girls after her. I doubt that women gamers are going to get assimilated into the culture; Women are the Borg and All Your Base Are Belong To Us. GameStop accommodates us or dies.
-Christine

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

PurpleCar — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:57:35 -0000

MR,

Yes tween girls don't wait much. Would your daughter have bought a used Wii? What if it came in a crappy box? Would she have still bought it? Good for you for making her work for what she wants, though. I commend you.
I wonder what your daughter would think of the GameStop flyers/emails. Oh wait, she's a tween. She think emails are for old people.
-Christine

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

M. R. Sellars — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:20:48 -0000

Yep, they pay much, much less. My daughter just traded in ALL of her DS games, as well as her DSi. She had a ton of games, and they gave her anywhere from 2-5 bucks apiece, as I recall. Now, she was actually in the market for a Wii, so when she traded them in she took store credit instead of cash, which is higher (they tack on a couple of extra bucks per game.) As I understand it they base the price they pay for each game on its current demand. In the end, my o-spring came up with enough store credit to walk out with a brand new Wii (they didn't have any used units to push) and a used game she wanted.

Whether or not she got the best deal she could have, I can't say. Our other option was e-bay, and we may have been able to get her more money, but being a tween she was on the impatient side, as I'm sure you understand. So, as it was, it came out a wash for her - she gave up all of the games and the DSi she was no longer using, and walked out with the Wii she wanted.

I guess it largely depends on what you want to get out of the deal - However, they DEFINITELY push the used games and equipment because that is where the dollars are for them.

Re: GameStop Won’t Survive

BradyDAle — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:18:50 -0000

He should have listened and it sounds like he was being the typical awkwardly over assertive type that you see in a lot of tech retail types. I can also see where he's coming from. During my brief tenure as a DS user, I carried all my games (cartridge only) in my DS case. I just threw the boxes aside.

The used factor isn't too big of a deal either. Generally, those nice, smartly closed up plastic cases hold up pretty well. All my old Nintendo NES games (the original) still play fine, and they are -- what -- twenty years old? So why spend more?

But he was pushing his own margins and not really helping you. On the other hand, he'd already made most of the money you spent, anyway. He would have made more if you'd never redeemed it, so what did it matter either way to him?

I think probably 99% of his customers would rather buy used, so that's probably where he was operating from.

Re: Book Review: The Psychology of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

PurpleCar — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:20:15 -0000

I saw the swedish film... it wasn't very good. If you didn't read the book, you'd have no idea what was happening. Noomi was good though.
-Christine Cavalier

Re: Book Review: The Psychology of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Fresketic — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:13:53 -0000

Why don't you recommend the swedish film? I'd definitely say watch that before the new American version!

Re: Book Review: The Psychology of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Cathyfever — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:20:57 -0000

I'm the one writer out there who hasn't read any of these books. I'm very hard-headed. Once a book is main stream, I'm out. Until I realize I'm wrong, lol. This post has me even more intrigued than the word on the street and trailers I've seen. Can't wait to read the first book! I know, I'm a loser for not having read it already.

Re: Automatic Direct Messages on Twitter

PurpleCar — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:56:45 -0000

What do you mean "clog up?"

Re: Automatic Direct Messages on Twitter

Noah Murphy — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:36:06 -0000

I use ADMs so I don't clog up mention feeds.

Re: Tax Rebates for PA Elderly, Low Income Families.

PurpleCar — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:03:10 -0000

Forward a copy of the blog post to your representative and ask. All states have similar programs. Good luck.

Re: Tax Rebates for PA Elderly, Low Income Families.

Kim Anderson — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:51:29 -0000

Does this apply for Pennsylvania only, and if not what other states are included.

Re: Book Review: Twilight Series Is a Primer for the Mormon Religion and Is Boring.

jicay — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:07:53 -0000

In summary;
1.)Women are not oppressed by men
2.) Redemption is an individual thing, doesn't matter if you're a woman or a man.

ONE MORE POINT: The reason why the movies are a bit R-rated is because the producers decided that. The author would be against it, but the producers have the money, so they make the decisions.

Re: EFTPS (Electronic Tax Payment) Scam

PurpleCar — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 20:58:14 -0000

Good for you, Cat, for looking it up on the Web first. Always look! There will usually be some sort of spam report.
If you can't find anything right away, add the term "spam" or "scam" onto your search string, and then search only BLOGS in Google (you can use the advanced features or use the pull-down menu under "More" in the top left corner). Bloggers out there post these kind of phishing scams all the time, and someone somewhere will be talking about it.
Good luck and stay safe!

P.S. Please teach at least one person the "search for scam posts" lesson. Thanks!

Re: EFTPS (Electronic Tax Payment) Scam

cat0627 — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:21:30 -0000

Hello, Thank you for posting this!!!! I have been receiving these for a couple of months. At first I thought the IRS wouldn't be sending me e-mails just as you stated. Then as I kept receiving them I started thinking maybe this is real. So today I checked it out and found this site:-) So again thank you.

Re: Why You’re Addicted to the Internet

PurpleCar — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:11:14 -0000

Yeah I am not so sure this applies to tech folks. We've had enough "search dopamine" (I should send you the poem I wrote about this) to get desensitized to it. The other side for us is the guilt we might feel for ignoring our social networks for weeks at a time. I feel guilty when I drop Twitter... not so much about Facebook, though, to be honest. Although, I am getting, from "normal" people: "You didn't see my Facebook post?!"
The key is to stop searching when you've learned enough... but the challenge of our society is to recognize when enough is enough. This is our problem. The abundance of information-inducing opoid and dopamine of the Internet makes "enough is enough" a truly valuable skill.
-C