Things that annoy me

[simont]

Occasionally I will see somebody post something – on LJ, Usenet, Monochrome, wherever – and think ‘ah, I have something useful to say in response to that’. So I'll start writing a response, and part way through writing it I will realise that it's coming out as complete drivel: what seemed like sensible and relevant points when they sprang into my mind on reading the post in fact look rather less relevant, or less coherent, or both, when I write them down. So I decide I can't make a useful contribution after all, abandon my half-written reply, and go on my way.

That's all fair enough. But often what happens is that I later have another look at the original post, and in spite of my previous failed attempt to post a response, I find myself thinking ‘no, look, that stuff I wanted to post really is useful and relevant and I should post it’. So I try again, and the same thing happens. And then, the next time the original post crosses my line of sight, I go through the same cycle again.

That annoys me. Why can't the two parts of my brain talk to each other, reach some sort of synthesis, and stop alternately bombarding my top-level consciousness with their conflicting opinions? Gaah.

Comments

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

I was going to comment to say "I do this too", but then that seemed irrelevant so I deleted the comment.

[simont]

*tsk* ;-)

[meihua.livejournal.com]

I find that this happens when it's a complex issue, and I'm trying to have a conversation with myself about it. When I look at my incoherent post (as yet unposted), I find that it's split into a number of statements. I then post only the first of those statements, starting the conversation.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. (For what it's worth, when you do comment, I generally find it interesting :))

I often make throwaway responses that may not be worth it. When I have something of substance to say, I often end up rewriting the whole thing for half an hour, as I realise that these things could be summed up thusly, and those things are actually just backscatter from some other larger point. Perhaps a compromise would be to store the half-written comment in a text file, so that at least you can see what it says, and maybe the first half of your brain, if it's insistent it has something to say, could work forwards from whatever it had before rather than spending effort trying to get you to think about it at all...? :)

[filecoreinuse.livejournal.com]

From now on, if you comment on my journal and surround things with [drivel] [/drivel] tags, I'll make the required allowances. Now you can post without fear that your inane chatter will annoy :).

Welcome to the world of AOL.

[eponymousarchon.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't the world of AOL require [notdrivel][/netdrivel] tags for the sentences that aren't drivel?

[sphyg.livejournal.com]

Bugger coherence. It's the thought that counts.

inadvertent poisoning

[khalinche.livejournal.com]

Hallo Simon, it was lovely to talk to you last night, but I fear I may have done you damage :( After sneering at the idea of people finding gluten-free cooking being difficult, I gave you food seasoned with soy sauce. Idiot! I realised mid-morning today what I'd done, and hope you aren't feeling too many ill effects today. I take full responsibility for them, any more. Very sorry.

Re: inadvertent poisoning

[khalinche.livejournal.com]

any more anyway

[simont]

Oops :-( An easy mistake to make, and does illustrate the sort of thing that tends to be a problem: people stick wheat flour into no end of random things that you wouldn't naïvely expect to have it in.

I've not noticed anything that would qualify as an obvious ill effect (yet), but then I wouldn't necessarily expect to: to the best of my knowledge I've never had any visible symptoms of coeliac disease in my life. (Only invisible symptoms, which are detectable only by medical professionals; but if those persist they put me at risk of long-term Bad Stuff, which is what makes it worth avoiding them.)

I had a completely messed-up night's sleep last night for no reason I could think of at the time, but it seems relatively unlikely that that's related: it doesn't seem to be listed among the possible symptoms on Wikipedia, and in any case it would have seemed a bit prompt.

It was very nice food, though, and the thought was much appreciated! And well done for spotting it in retrospect.

[khalinche.livejournal.com]

That's a relief, I had visions of your day in London being interrupted by nasty illness. I hope everything went well despite lack of sleep.

Coeliac - does that mean you're intolerant of oats, rye, spelt, barley etc too? I can see how that would make things _very_ limited. But there's quite a lot you can do with quinoa, cornmeal and other things, as I'm sure you well know.

[simont]

That's a relief, I had visions of your day in London being interrupted by nasty illness.

No, nothing like that; you can set your mind at ease.

(I admittedly did have a stomach ache starting shortly after you told me about the incident, which I therefore have to assume was purely psychosomatic. It seems deeply unfair that even though I had unmasked it, it still hurt!)

Yes, rye, barley and oats are general no-nos. It is a bit of a pain in places; it's taken me some years to find bread I'm willing to eat for pleasure. (Though, having managed to find some a few weeks ago, I am now eating EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD ON TOAST. Om nom nom.)