Canine Crisis!

I'm a pretty patient guy. I'm relatively quiet, and I like alone time and, especially, sleepy time.

So imagine my dismay at having been awakened twice this week by the sound of a dog in the apartment below me howling like crazy.

If it were just baying briefly, I suppose I would understand. But the mutt's howling carries on for hours at a time. This morning, for instance, he started crying out around 8:30am, and continued to do so until almost 11:00am.

Now, I'm not really sure how to deal with this, so I need some friendly advice from anyone who might actually read this blog.

I'm not a big fan of confrontation, so I really don't want to go down there and get all up in this guy's/girl's grill. By the same token, I could call the main office of the complex, but they tend not to get involved in inter-tenant relations. I could also call the cops or the SPCA, but I feel like those are both extreme reactions.

So...what the hell do I do?

Great Success in E-Commerce

The online world, as you may have noticed, has not been terribly kind to me lately. I am pleased, however, to offer an unquestionably strong recommendation for a website that sells books, movies, and assorted other print products.

And no, it's not the one you're expecting.

Barnes & Noble is like the reliable, friendly neighbor who's always willing to lend a hand when you need something done around the house. Sure, they may not have everything, and they may not be able to give you exactly what you need right at that moment and for the most reasonable compensation, but damned if they aren't at least consistently willing to give it a try.

I make this comparison because I've been a Member for nearly three years now. For the low price of $25, I score 10% discounts (at least) on all purchases, and, as I recently discovered, an instant upgrade to Expedited Shipping on all my online orders, whether or not those orders total $25.

This is a far better offer, in my view, than Super Saver Shipping, because Amazon, God bless their souls, may offer everything under the sun, but can often drag their feet when processing your order. So while the 5-9 day shipping estimate is often correct -- and more times than not, the order arrives in less than 5 days -- it takes longer than it should to get the order shipped.

Consider my experience with Barnes & Noble today. I needed to buy a book (Marina Lewycka's Strawberry Fields [or Two Caravans]) and a DVD (the 1997 adaptation of Mrs. Dalloway starring Vanessa Redgrave). Upon making my purchase, I realized I didn't know which credit card I'd used.

In mere moments, I was on the phone with 1-800-THE-BOOK, talking to a real, living, breathing human being who helped me confirm my order was placed correctly. I then checked my e-mail. At 11:17am, I received my order confirmation. And at 11:35am, another e-mail, telling me my order was scheduled to ship.

18 minutes. To receive and pack my order. That's fucking impressive, no matter how you slice it.

Perhaps Amazon has overstepped its bounds a bit in an effort to be the world's foremost online retailer. I love their pricing, I love their selection, and I've never had a problem with their services. It's just that, for books, movies, and music, Barnes & Noble just seems to take care of its Members better. So even if it costs a couple bucks more, I feel like I'm getting a better value for my money, and that's something you don't find often nowadays -- and especially not in e-commerce.

21st-Century Computer Failures and Why They Should NEVER HAPPEN

The Decemberists make me happy. Facebook allowing me to be a fan of The Decemberists also makes me happy.

Receiving a notice through the Facebook fan page that Decemberists tickets are going on-sale early for fan members makes me very happy. Learning that one of those shows is in Montclair, NJ (mere miles from my humble abode) makes me extremely happy.

You know what doesn't make me happy?

When the pre-sale ticketing is done through a shitty, cut-rate website that can't handle the server traffic for a group of people trying to buy tickets to an indie concert.

I understand that The Decemberists are becoming so popular a group that the "indie" moniker just isn't gonna cut it for very long anymore, and that's fine. However, for right now, I think it's fair to say that The Decemberists cater to a rather specific musical niche -- namely, the folksy, classically-influenced, sea shanty-tinged narrative pop-rock crowd. They have just over 11,500 Facebook fans (as of this writing), as compared to, for instance, Dave Matthews Band, who have well over 200,000.

When DMB wants to do a pre-sale, their fans have an easy time navigating this. And all the pages on their websites load properly. I know this because I've done it before. Me, and easily millions of other people.

The Decemberists don't have numbers nearly into the millions of fans looking to order pre-sale tickets. As such, it is completely inexcusable that MusicToday's servers should repeatedly drop connections on the day of the pre-sale.

It's the 21st Fucking Century (with a capital F, even). How can you host a major website (which apparently caters to lots of fans of lots of lesser-known but still rather reputable bands) and still have your servers go kaboom when a bunch of people try to buy tickets? How can not handle what is, in the long haul, a less-than-substantial spike in your traffic in the middle of the afternoon?

The Decemberists make me happy. Going to see them live for a third time makes me happy. MusicToday, you do not make me happy. To thee I say, go screw.

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EDIT (4:44pm): Although it took over an hour for things to go smoothly, the page finally reloaded and I was able to secure my much-desired tickets. This does not, however, forgive the hour of cybershit I had to muck through to get said tickets.

Conclusion: thank you, MusicToday, but you're still on my shit list.