Author: Michael Wyszomierski

Apple ID password troubles

For the past few weeks, I’ve had to deal with this message almost every time I try to do anything with my Apple ID:

This Apple ID has been disabled for security reasons.

This is incredibly annoying. I think it might have something to do with the whole iTools/.Mac/MobileMe disaster, so I tried changing my ID to a non-iTools/.Mac/MobileMe address to see if that would help. I was unable to do this:

This change is not allowed. This account name was originally set up as a .Mac account and upgraded to MobileMe. An Apple ID has already been automatically set up for use with this member name. You can access this Apple ID by using either .Mac or MobileMe addresses (e.g. membername@mac.com or membername@me.com), but you cannot change the Apple ID. If you would like to use a new account name, please create a new Apple ID.

Ugh. Let’s see if they let me transfer my store credit to the new account. I’m guessing they won’t.

Packing

Submitted via the Personal Wyszdom request:

Hey Wysz,
What things would you recommend to pack for an extended trip away from home?

The first thing I’d say is don’t worry about it too much. Packing is a pain and always seems to take longer than it should. Recently I’ve been telling myself, “If I forget something and really need it, I can just buy it when I’m there.” So don’t sweat it. Just throw in a bunch of clothes, get your toiletries, pack your computer and camera (and camera, computer, and phone chargers), and you should be all set. I don’t think there’s really that much different that you need to do for an extended trip; as you’re less likely to live out of your suitcase in that situation anyway. The only things I would consider adding are one or two sentimental items from home. Maybe a picture, maybe a favorite item from your desk. With the Internet, you’ll still be connected to everyone, so everything will be fine.

Hugs

This is my 200th entry on this blog. Exciting.

Tonight, I was told that people assumed I would not like to be hugged, so let me quickly address that here on my blog, the official source of all things Wysz. I like hugs. They feel good. My grandfather wrote a poem about hugs, but unfortunately I don’t have a copy of it with me to share. I do not mind being hugged.

I think that there are two things that may have caused people to assume that I do not like hugs:

  1. I tend not to initiate hugs, since I don’t want to risk hugging someone who does not want to be hugged.
  2. I’ve probably mentioned that I think some people hug too soon/often.

The first thing I can’t do much about. It’s just the way I am, overly cautious. But as for the second one, allow me to explain myself. Some people are overly huggy. It’s not that they hug certain people too much; it’s that they hug too many people too soon. I’ll illustrate with a few examples as guidelines for how I feel, but keep in mind that these are not explicit rules. An overly huggy person may hug in any of these situations. I’ll let you know for which ones I would feel comfortable with a hug:

Meeting someone for the first time.
I would prefer not to.

Greeting a friend who I haven’t seen in a while
Bring it on.

Greeting a non-friend acquaintance (coworker, teacher, store clerk, friend of friend, friend of parent, etc.)
I’d really rather not. But this rule no longer applies if I consider the person to be a friend.

Saying goodbye to a friend who I won’t see for a while
Let’s hug it out.

Anytime with a really good friend or family member
Sounds good to me.

Online haircuts

My name is not easy to spell. I’m used to this, and am not offended when people have trouble. I’ve spelled it incorrectly myself. However, there are times when the proper spelling of my identity really does count: email. I was giving my email address over the phone yesterday, and after I hung up, wondered if I would ever receive the message. The primary address that I usually give out to people is wysz@thewysz.com. But if I simply say it, someone might think that “Wysz” is spelled “Wiz.” Or, if I spell it out, it could become “Wifc.” Fortunately, I did get the message, but I decided to take action to make the process go smoother in the future.

So how did I address this? Well, first I needed a domain name that was easy to type and hear over the phone. Onlinehaircuts.com should work. Next, all I needed was a name. Wysz is too complicated, and I’ve seen people misspell Michael. Bob is easy. bob@onlinehaircuts.com. Yes, onlinehaircuts, all one word. Yes, “Bob” as in The Bobs.

I can’t wait to use it. Matt already thought it was hilarious; you should have seen him laughing.

The news

I generally don’t watch traditional news media, because I too often find it inefficient (mostly a series of teasers to keep you through the commercials) and irrelevant (celebrities).

Another thing that bothers me is that they so often leave obvious questions unanswered. Online, I often find myself wondering, what’s the URL of the company (or site!) they’re talking about? Nelson recently sent me this video of a car crashing into a diner (the patron is fine), but after watching it I was surprised to find that Reuters left two obvious questions unanswered: Why did a car drive into a diner, and was the driver injured?

Advice

Submitted via the Personal Wyszdom request:

Wysz, is there anything that you need advice on from your dedicated readers?

Awwwwwwwww, you guys……

Nah, I’m good. I have the Internet. World’s information at my fingertips. Thanks for the offer.

Money woes

Submitted via the Personal Wyszdom request:

Money woes

The economy doesn’t seem to be doing so hot, gas prices are rising, and banks are doing poorly.  What are some ways to save money? How can I take a girl out on a date that’s practically free, without looking cheap?

When it comes to general money-saving advice, I keep like to keep it simple: don’t go into debt. How do you avoid debt? Don’t buy stuff that you cannot afford. Here’s an instructional video:

And that “savings” thing they talk about in Chapter 3? Here’s how I handle it. I keep the money that I need in a checking account. This is where I get the money to pay my rent, credit card balance, and other bills. My paycheck gets deposited into this account. When I have more money than I need in my checking account, I move the stuff that I don’t need into the savings account. I never take money out of the savings account, because I’m saving it.

Now, onto relationship advice. First of all, if you’re dating a girl you should try to splurge once in a while. It’ll be fun for both of you, and what better things could you spend your money on? But of course that’s not something you can do all the time, so looking for more affordable activities is certainly reasonable. The specific venue for your date is a matter of personal preference, so I’ll just list a few ideas to show you that not every date has to involve buying a meal or a ticket. In fact, I prefer a movie night on the couch over eating in a restaurant with potentially terrifying food and confusing tipping practices.

Here are some possibilities to get you started, but I encourage you to be creative and build off of these for even better experiences:

  • Rent a movie or pick out an old favorite from your DVD collection and just hang out at your place or hers with some microwave popcorn. It’s simple and nothing new, but who doesn’t like it? Bonus points if you cook her dinner before the movie, if you don’t suck at cooking.
  • Find a nice isolated place with limited or no light pollution and watch the stars. Reid has noted that the Perseid meteor shower peaks in August!
  • Picnic
  • Sneak over to where she’s babysitting and hang out with her after the kids have gone to bed. Just make sure you sneak back out before the parents get back early because they forgot the tickets for the show after dinner. <- DO NOT DO THIS! Haven’t you ever seen a sitcom?

Have more ideas for a cheap date? (Oh, yeah, make sure you avoid the phrase “cheap date.”) Leave a comment below.

Slim

Submitted via the Personal Wyszdom request:

Wysz’s Body

Wysz, how do you keep your body so slim and trim? Do you have “trouble areas” and if so, how do you deal with them?

I don’t like a lot of foods, and I almost always sleep through breakfast. I stick to a strict diet of spaghetti, potstickers, In-n-Out, pizza, and Oreos. My figure also probably has something to do with genetics or math or some other science that I’m not good at. I don’t have any “trouble areas” that I’m aware of.