Netflix has made yet another ridiculous policy change, but this time it is sure to lose them customers. You have probably heard by now about the incredible price hike Netflix announced this past week, which will start in September for all customers. By splitting DVD and Watch Instantly subscriptions, making the minimum cost of each service $7.99/mo, Netflix has almost doubled the cost of subscribing to both services. The reason for the change seems to be because Netflix was getting too many streaming customers to maintain certain studio contracts (with Sony and Starz, I think) without renegotiating, a process that could cost them a lot of money, so by splitting the services, they intend to lose streaming customers to prevent having to renegotiate these contracts. Pretty deviously clever, eh?
I can tell you, they have certainly lost a streaming customer in me, but to my chagrin I have been unable to find an alternative to Netflix that will allow me to get my DVD on at a similar cost and scope (Netflix outshines almost every other similar service in terms of number of titles available by thousands upon thousands). It would feel so good to be able to cancel my service outright, but it sounds like that's not going to be possible.
So my question for all you other Netflix users out there is: What do you plan to do as a result of this price hike? Will you cancel one service and keep another? Cancel altogether? Have you found an alternative service? I'd love to hear your ideas.
-----
MQOTW
Truman: Blocked at every turn...
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Reeeed Robin, YUM.
The food was delicious, the service was superb, and the atmosphere was fun and funky, light and airy, which was a welcome change from most American pub food joints, which like to keep their interior lighting dim and moody. I must say, I will be going back there very soon, club card in hand.
P.S. They also have one of the catchiest 'jingles' ever.
P.S.S. Shawn Spencer was right!
-----
TVQOTW
Shawn: Don't be the American adaptation of the British Gus!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
How Netflix is slowly ruining their web site, one deleted feature at a time
Remember lists? I do. I had one that kept track of my queue overflow (I continuously have more than 400 titles on there), and a couple “top ten” style lists, one of which I sort of remember and the other of which is now lost forever.
Lists were removed (I think? They might still be on the site, but if you find ‘em, you’re up there with Indiana Jones…) around the time when the entire “Community” section of the site was destroyed. That means you can no longer connect with friends who also use Netflix to see their reviews, ratings, queue items and/or notes on movies. It’s also much more difficult to find your own movie reviews. I finally did, after some searching. (Click on Your Account & Help; “See your reviews” is listed under “Preferences”) But since the Community section has been obliterated, we are talking needle in a haystack time here.
Then there’s the site redesign. Inexplicably, Netflix is determined to play up their Watch Instantly feature, and has been downplaying the regular DVD rental service, even though a vast majority of films offered on the site are still not offered to watch instantly. The site redesign highlights this, but also does something very detrimental even to the WI feature – they have eliminated the ability to sort titles.
Face palm, my friend. Face effing palm.
Now you can’t sort suggestions or genre titles by year, or potential user rating (the most effective way to sort). You just get a mishmashed (Not even alphabetized! It is truly a random sample.) selection of options, and I can just see a Netflix executive throwing up his hands and mumbling, “Hopefully you’ll find something you like in there somewhere…”
And then today, Netflix decided to no longer associate any user movie reviews with the individuals who wrote them! I’m not sure exactly what that will look like, but from what tey describe it will mean at the very least getting rid of avatars and usernames associated with any (existing?) review. I have no idea what logic (aka complete lack thereof) led to this decision, but it has once again rightly enflamed the Netflix user community.
Probably the most annoying thing about this whole demolition process is the “reason” they give for it:
...by removing these little-used features we are simplifying the review process.
First of all, what does “simplifying” mean? Oh right, that’s just a buzzword. And secondly, simplifying for whom? You?
Honestly I would love to hear an executive explain how removing identifying information from personal reviews counts as “simplifying” anything except maybe the coding of the web site itself, which is a spectacularly shitty reason for getting rid of yet another small piece of what’s left of the user experience on Netflix.com.
Sadly Netflix is the only DVD rental service still intact these days, so we are forced to use it. But man do they make it difficult to recommend their service to anyone. :(
-----
MQOTW
Derek: Do you understand that the world does not revolve around you and your 'do whatever it takes, ruin as many people's lives', so long as you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied along the way, just so long so you can make a name for yourself as an investigatory journalist, no matter how many friends you lose or people you leave dead and bloodied and dying along the way?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Nervous
I know I've written the last few posts about weddings, and I promise I'll stop soon. But this is on my mind, and I figured now is as good a time as any to dive into this subject. (For the record, this is about marriage, not weddings, which are two entirely different entities.)
Before my wedding, I remember a strikingly large number of people asking me if I was nervous. I'm sure the first few times I was asked this, I just sort of shrugged it off as small talk that people say. ("Oh you're engaged! Exciting! When is your wedding? Are you nervous?") But after hearing it over and over again, it really started to bother me. The time that most disturbed me was just a few days before the wedding when I had to go to a Catholic Church (not the one we got married in, but the one I was baptized in as a baby) to pick up a copy of my baptismal certificate to give to the lady at our church. And while I was there, I told them that I was getting married on Saturday and the church lady asked if I was nervous. I just calmly said (like I did every time), "Nope, not nervous. Just excited." But this really bothered me.
Here's the thing. I wasn't nervous about getting married. Not even a tiny, tiny bit. No small part of me was even slightly nervous. I was, and am, so confident about my relationship and my marriage and I can say with absolute certainty that our marriage will work. I am sure we will have unknown struggles ahead of us, but I have no doubt in my mind that we'll get past them together. So when they asked me if I was nervous, it just threw me off a bit. I see it all the time in movies. Cold feet, last minute freak-outs, etc. But marriage is supposed to be a happy thing, and also a "we are rock solid, confident in our relationship, we are going to be together forever" thing. So I don't get where nervous fits into the equation.
Maybe because I'm a newlywed I'm especially sensitive to the whole thing, but it just seems like not only is the divorce rate astronomically large, but the cultural acceptance of it is growing as well. Not that divorced people should be ostracized, not at all, but I just mean that since divorce is so common, it feels like marriage isn't valued as highly as maybe it used to be. By that I mean that when I talk to my single mom neighbors, they aren't like, "Oh how exciting, you are married!" but more like, "Cool, newlyweds." with a hidden undertone of "I was that once. We'll see how long you last."
I know plenty of people who have gotten divorced, and almost all of them for very, very valid reasons. Women who have found out terrible things about their husbands after marriage, wives or husbands who couldn't break a certain addiction, or returned to the addiction after the wedding, people who were abusive, or deceptive, or didn't have the same ideas about how to raise children. And it's all so sad. No one thinks they're going to get divorced on their wedding day. I'm sure few people say, "Well, if it doesn't work out, we'll just get divorced." Probably most people think like I do, that we're in the percentage of people who will make it.
I'm not trying to be holier than thou here, I mean, what do I know? I've been married a whopping three months. But what I do know is that the man I married has the same values as me. We want roughly the same number of children and with the exception of a certain video-game argument, we are on the same page about how they will be raised. We go to the same church. We vote slightly differently but we understand each others opinions and they don't contradict. We have similar family backgrounds. I know his family well - as well as my own - so there are no hidden surprises.
When people asked me if I was nervous, I think it bothered me because it gave a sense that there was something to be nervous about. When the church lady asked if I was nervous, it just really rubbed me the wrong way. We are all supposed to value marriage and want it to be a lifelong commitment, but especially within the church. Maybe they meant nothing by it, but to me, it carried a lot of weight. It meant that marriage is something to be scared of, not excited about. To me it just seemed odd that for so many people, that was a first reaction.
I'm not trying to come across as preachy and judgmental, maybe I just really lucked out. And I truly have no idea what a marriage heading straight for divorce feels like, so I can't speak on behalf of people who do. I guess all I'm saying is, it is my wish for everyone on their own wedding day to feel so confident in their marriage that their is absolutely nothing to be nervous about.
Am I totally off track here? Were you nervous on your wedding day? I hope I didn't offend anyone, but speak up if you have something to chime in!
Before my wedding, I remember a strikingly large number of people asking me if I was nervous. I'm sure the first few times I was asked this, I just sort of shrugged it off as small talk that people say. ("Oh you're engaged! Exciting! When is your wedding? Are you nervous?") But after hearing it over and over again, it really started to bother me. The time that most disturbed me was just a few days before the wedding when I had to go to a Catholic Church (not the one we got married in, but the one I was baptized in as a baby) to pick up a copy of my baptismal certificate to give to the lady at our church. And while I was there, I told them that I was getting married on Saturday and the church lady asked if I was nervous. I just calmly said (like I did every time), "Nope, not nervous. Just excited." But this really bothered me.
Here's the thing. I wasn't nervous about getting married. Not even a tiny, tiny bit. No small part of me was even slightly nervous. I was, and am, so confident about my relationship and my marriage and I can say with absolute certainty that our marriage will work. I am sure we will have unknown struggles ahead of us, but I have no doubt in my mind that we'll get past them together. So when they asked me if I was nervous, it just threw me off a bit. I see it all the time in movies. Cold feet, last minute freak-outs, etc. But marriage is supposed to be a happy thing, and also a "we are rock solid, confident in our relationship, we are going to be together forever" thing. So I don't get where nervous fits into the equation.
Maybe because I'm a newlywed I'm especially sensitive to the whole thing, but it just seems like not only is the divorce rate astronomically large, but the cultural acceptance of it is growing as well. Not that divorced people should be ostracized, not at all, but I just mean that since divorce is so common, it feels like marriage isn't valued as highly as maybe it used to be. By that I mean that when I talk to my single mom neighbors, they aren't like, "Oh how exciting, you are married!" but more like, "Cool, newlyweds." with a hidden undertone of "I was that once. We'll see how long you last."
I know plenty of people who have gotten divorced, and almost all of them for very, very valid reasons. Women who have found out terrible things about their husbands after marriage, wives or husbands who couldn't break a certain addiction, or returned to the addiction after the wedding, people who were abusive, or deceptive, or didn't have the same ideas about how to raise children. And it's all so sad. No one thinks they're going to get divorced on their wedding day. I'm sure few people say, "Well, if it doesn't work out, we'll just get divorced." Probably most people think like I do, that we're in the percentage of people who will make it.
I'm not trying to be holier than thou here, I mean, what do I know? I've been married a whopping three months. But what I do know is that the man I married has the same values as me. We want roughly the same number of children and with the exception of a certain video-game argument, we are on the same page about how they will be raised. We go to the same church. We vote slightly differently but we understand each others opinions and they don't contradict. We have similar family backgrounds. I know his family well - as well as my own - so there are no hidden surprises.
When people asked me if I was nervous, I think it bothered me because it gave a sense that there was something to be nervous about. When the church lady asked if I was nervous, it just really rubbed me the wrong way. We are all supposed to value marriage and want it to be a lifelong commitment, but especially within the church. Maybe they meant nothing by it, but to me, it carried a lot of weight. It meant that marriage is something to be scared of, not excited about. To me it just seemed odd that for so many people, that was a first reaction.
I'm not trying to come across as preachy and judgmental, maybe I just really lucked out. And I truly have no idea what a marriage heading straight for divorce feels like, so I can't speak on behalf of people who do. I guess all I'm saying is, it is my wish for everyone on their own wedding day to feel so confident in their marriage that their is absolutely nothing to be nervous about.
Am I totally off track here? Were you nervous on your wedding day? I hope I didn't offend anyone, but speak up if you have something to chime in!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Operation Bethenny
When it comes to water cooler fodder, Bethenny Frankel has sucked up more time at work then I should probably admit on the internet. Everyone (who is female) in my office loves her. But who doesn't these days? As I can
Que Monday morning, when I completely outed myself for being on Facebook at work when I shrieked from my office "BETHENNY FRANKEL IS COMING TO DALLAS!" My coworker quickly ran into my office where we absorbed the details: bottle signing, various liquor stores in the Dallas metro area, Friday during the work day.
We let out a collective groan. How were we going to see her? That's where we devised Operation Bethenny, the details of which are, obviously, still classified.
On the day of the signing we executed our mission perfectly with one minor hiccup. Even though we got there over an hour early, we did not get one of the coveted 100 wristbands that guaranteed you to get in. Standing outside, rain clouds looming overhead, we decided we would wait regardless. Assured that she would sign as many bottle as we bought, we stocked up on a bunch of Skinny Girl and waited passionately in line.
Bethenny arrived early (awesome) and started ahead of schedule. My one complaint was that when we got inside the store we were informed she would only sign one item. This isn't really her fault, rather, it was the liquor stores evil plot to get us to buy more bottles. I decided I would rather she signed the book because I didn't know that the bottle would survive in a moment of weakness.
I got to the front of the line within 20 minutes, which is pretty impressive as I was about 200th in line. I quickly realized the the short wait was because you got approximately 5 seconds with Bethenny and a professional took your picture. I didn't mind though, I would rather everybody in line get through as opposed to some people being turned away.
When I go to signings, and I have been to my fair share, I have a bad habit of saying something stupid when I get to the front of the line no matter how much I have thought about what I am going to say. Bethenny was no different. I just yammered on and on, and ended with "Big fan."
BIG FAN? Dear God.
I was even more horrified when I found my picture AND I WAS STILL TALKING WHILE THEY WERE TAKING THE PICTURE.
Not to mention I was the only person in line in a suit. Oh well, it was still fun and I get to add Bethenny's book to my shelf of autographs. Sadly, no sighting of Julie, Jason, or Baby Bryn.
Now I am off to enjoy a cocktail, since I bought 100 bottles for all my friends/coworkers. However, putting all these bottles to good use is a plight I am sure I can handle.
[see more of Melissa over at Duoly Noted}
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Book Recommendation, Anyone?
The last book I read was called Boston Noir, a collection of short stories written by Boston-based authors and edited by Dennis Lehane. When I took it out from the library, I was unaware it was part of a series of noir collections of stories based in several cities around the globe, from Wall Street to Copenhagen. I got so excited about the idea, I immediately reserved a few more of the collections to read when I was done with the Boston book. But to my chagrin, I didn't really like the Boston stories very much, and when I sat down to start the next book, I couldn't get myself interested enough to read anything past the introduction.
Then I realized what I was really in the mood for. Something elusive; something I haven't read in a while... a romance. But a real one, you know? None of this teen angst, fanfiction-style, chick lit, vapid crap. I can't remember the last time I found something like that to read.
So, I'm opening it up to you, dear readers (all two(?) of you)...
What do you consider your favorite and/or the best romance novel ever written?
The next book I pick up depends on you!
(P.S. No Jane Austen, s'il vous plait. ;)
-----
MQOTW
Roy: You should ask someone else. There's no happy ending with me.
Alexandria: I still want to hear it.
Then I realized what I was really in the mood for. Something elusive; something I haven't read in a while... a romance. But a real one, you know? None of this teen angst, fanfiction-style, chick lit, vapid crap. I can't remember the last time I found something like that to read.
So, I'm opening it up to you, dear readers (all two(?) of you)...
What do you consider your favorite and/or the best romance novel ever written?
The next book I pick up depends on you!
(P.S. No Jane Austen, s'il vous plait. ;)
-----
MQOTW
Roy: You should ask someone else. There's no happy ending with me.
Alexandria: I still want to hear it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Top ten reasons why our wedding was the same as the Royal Wedding
I know the royal wedding is so two weeks ago, but I have been thinking up this post since then, so I have decided to share. On the day of the royal wedding I wrote on facebook, "The only difference between our wedding and the royal wedding is about 1700 guests." Ever since then, people have been pointing out similarities and I have since concluded that, basically, our wedding was the same as the royal wedding. A few differences of course... the aforementioned 1700 guests, the queen as a front-seat attendee (and grandma), and the fact that Kate became a princess, but other than that... pretty darn similar. Let's list the top ten reasons why they're basically the same, shall we?
10. Date
We got married two months apart from each other. In a lifetime of possible wedding dates, two months isn't much time. And considering that the majority of people opt for summer weddings, both late winter/early spring weddings counts as an unusual circumstance.
(Difference: February is winter and April is spring)
9. We both carried simple white flowers
In my case, I didn't want a big bouquet because I just simply didn't want to carry anything large, and I chose white because it was winter and we had mostly white and silver as colors, so I went with it. I can't speak to Kate's reasoning, but I assume it was about not detracting from her gorgeous dress and all that.
(Difference: Hers were actually more simple than mine! I win! Oh, wait...)
8. We selected the same reading
When I was watching the wedding, I was like, wait a minute! I recognize this! Her brother read a Bible passage that was the same as the one we selected from Romans.
(Difference: not really any. Theirs was read by her brother and ours was read by my cousin.)
Okay so my bridesmaid dresses came from Nordstrom and were nowhere near as fabulous as Pippa's but both were floor length and light-colored. MOST people do not choose light colored bridesmaid dresses, and in fact, most don't choose floor-length anymore either, so I'm counting this.
(Difference: a lot of money)
6. There were tourists there
We took our wedding photos in a trendy part of town where the reception was, and a tourist approached us and asked to be in our photos.
(Difference: They had millions of tourists, we had one.)
5. Both were streamed live
On that same note, both weddings were streamed live for viewers. Both our wedding and reception were streamed for people who weren't able to attend to tune in online.
(Difference: I think something like 38 computers were tuned in to ours, and lord knows how many people watched theirs live. But! An entire hall of a dorm where Tony's cousin lives did tune in for a bit there. I'm sure that happened for both.)
4. We both rode in a carriage
Well, more like, a bike carriage guy asked if we wanted to hop in and go for a ride down the block and back, and we obviously said yes, but it still counts.
(Difference: Theirs was an actual carriage.)
3. Same first dance song
Our first dance was to Elton John's "Your Song" because Tony sang it to me back when we were friends and he liked me and I didn't see that coming at ALL and he thought he was wooing me and I just thought he liked to sing.
(Difference: Theirs was a cover of the song. Also, Elton John was actually at their wedding.)
2. We both wore furry coats
After the wedding, Princess Catherine the Copycat changed into a different dress accompanied by a furry coat. Um, hello. So did I.
(Difference: Mine was furrier.)
1. The dress
Both dresses had lace on top over a strapless bodice. Considering the millions of wedding gown styles that exist in the entire world, you've gotta admit... they're strikingly similar.
(Difference: Hers was custom designed, had a longer train, was a million times more fabulous, and cost much much more than my off-the-rack gown.)
So as you can see...
it's all basically the same.
Right?
10. Date
We got married two months apart from each other. In a lifetime of possible wedding dates, two months isn't much time. And considering that the majority of people opt for summer weddings, both late winter/early spring weddings counts as an unusual circumstance.
(Difference: February is winter and April is spring)
9. We both carried simple white flowers
In my case, I didn't want a big bouquet because I just simply didn't want to carry anything large, and I chose white because it was winter and we had mostly white and silver as colors, so I went with it. I can't speak to Kate's reasoning, but I assume it was about not detracting from her gorgeous dress and all that.
(Difference: Hers were actually more simple than mine! I win! Oh, wait...)
8. We selected the same reading
When I was watching the wedding, I was like, wait a minute! I recognize this! Her brother read a Bible passage that was the same as the one we selected from Romans.
(Difference: not really any. Theirs was read by her brother and ours was read by my cousin.)
(Difference: a lot of money)
 |
| disregard the purple shawl |
We took our wedding photos in a trendy part of town where the reception was, and a tourist approached us and asked to be in our photos.
(Difference: They had millions of tourists, we had one.)
On that same note, both weddings were streamed live for viewers. Both our wedding and reception were streamed for people who weren't able to attend to tune in online.
(Difference: I think something like 38 computers were tuned in to ours, and lord knows how many people watched theirs live. But! An entire hall of a dorm where Tony's cousin lives did tune in for a bit there. I'm sure that happened for both.)
4. We both rode in a carriage
Well, more like, a bike carriage guy asked if we wanted to hop in and go for a ride down the block and back, and we obviously said yes, but it still counts.
(Difference: Theirs was an actual carriage.)
3. Same first dance song
Our first dance was to Elton John's "Your Song" because Tony sang it to me back when we were friends and he liked me and I didn't see that coming at ALL and he thought he was wooing me and I just thought he liked to sing.
(Difference: Theirs was a cover of the song. Also, Elton John was actually at their wedding.)
2. We both wore furry coats
After the wedding, Princess Catherine the Copycat changed into a different dress accompanied by a furry coat. Um, hello. So did I.
(Difference: Mine was furrier.)
1. The dress
Both dresses had lace on top over a strapless bodice. Considering the millions of wedding gown styles that exist in the entire world, you've gotta admit... they're strikingly similar.
(Difference: Hers was custom designed, had a longer train, was a million times more fabulous, and cost much much more than my off-the-rack gown.)
it's all basically the same.
Right?
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