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I had an interesting experience last night. I was drinking a glass of milk as I am known to do when not drinking alcohol. I find that milk does a body good :) Actually I'll go through periods of craving dairy (just as I'll go through cravings for sugar, or meat, or massive amounts of fluid like juice, gatorade, and water). Whatever the reason, I tend to follow my cravings as opposed to trying to overpower them. I believe if my body is asking for something, then as co-owner of said body (my subconscious and I share it), I should provide for it. I've gotten a bit off subject. Let's bring it back on track...I choked.



I guess a bit went down the wrong part of my throat. I think most of us have choked on a drink before. You can't talk right away, you cough a bit and then everything is fine and back to normal. I've never been actually frightened or worried in that situation...embarrassed perhaps but never worried. This time, however, my throat just closed up shop and decided not to take any more orders. Completely shut down and that's a bit of a challenge for things like breathing and well...mostly breathing.



Here I am then, gasping for air as if I'm drowning or in a vacuum. Going pale, then blueish. Nothing is clogging my throat anymore, it's just that the throat has constricted and is now blocking itself. I've woken up before at night with this issue but it's a relatively quick process and you find yourself ok in seconds. This however involved me staggering around my kitchen like a fish out of water, pounding my fist against the counter and wondering just how long before I pass out and if passing out would solve the problem (by relaxing my throat) or worsen it (by errrm dying :).



You know some wierd thoughts occur at that point. There is of course a certain amount of panic. I tend to think of myself as pretty calm and collected but in that moment, I can't deny a bit of panic at the thought of passing out with a blocked airway. Then I'm thinking of my 'spirit' rushing off to be with someone I care about maybe by possessing a great big 'turkey' and speaking through it. Certainly an interesting visual. You wonder if death always involves panic. Then you go a bit calmer and think that it shouldn't and it won't. Here's the funny part. Once I went calm like that...my throat relaxed and slowly but surely, I got some air. Then in minutes, I wasn't blue and I was breathing regular like nothing happened. So in the end, it was my acceptance of death or at least the acceptance of what death could be, that saved my life. Funny that eh?

COMMENTS

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EnlightenedxDarkness
22:27 Jan 16 2008

Hmmmm....no more milk for you o.O

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mimiminx
23:03 Jan 16 2008

Yesterday had the potential to be a very sad day :( David Holmes track "Don't Die Just Yet" should be dedicated to you.

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I suppose there was a time when the biggest concern over VR stamps was that the size of it could mess with the formatting of your page. There was also the blow to the ego about whether or not a person stamping has read your profile.



Now it seems, some have learned that stamps allow for other html like music files and movies. While this does seem like a great way to add even more creativity to your stamp, it does pose certain problems. The easiest of these to see is how annoying it can be to have someone elses favorite song or sound effects now embedded in your profile (embedded at least until you receive three more rates). If you have your own music on your profile, this also leads to some issues with both playing at the same time.



Here's what's key about embedded sound files in a stamp. You can block the stamp, but you can't block the embedded sounds. So even if a person blocks the comment, whatever sounds or songs are embedded will continue to play. It certainly opens the door for abuse when someone wants to profile bomb with something annoying or mean (use audio and it can't be blocked) and so long as they continue to keep that file in your top three most recent comments, it will continue to hit you when you're on your portfolio or when anyone else is viewing your portfolio.



I don't think that this type of feature is being used enough to create a panic persay but it does deserve some thought about how to either block the embed or keep them from being used altogether.

COMMENTS

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meeper
21:23 Jan 15 2008

My concern is merely the more we talk about it, the more people are aware that they can do it.

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Vampirika
01:44 Jan 16 2008

There are is a lot more at bay. Me, knowing probably more HTML and coding then anyone on this site, knows many "tricks" so to speak that can change VR forever.





I try to keep them away though..safe and hidden. ..A good way to easily counter an audio stamp is make one of your own and rate yourself.

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So for some reason that we all probably have, I'm in a mood. Not a terribly sad or terribly depressed mood, but the results of this are that I tend to be anti-social for a bit. Go figure.



I think we probably all get a touch of this and in the online community I think we probably do more so than others. We reach a saturation point where we have talked to everyone we know online for days and days - hours and hours and we're just done for a bit. I certainly hope that both my house and my friends don't take offense to that as it is strictly related to computers, messaging, emails, posting and the like.



I was sick for a bit so when you couple being out sick with being anti-social, I suppose I end up looking the part of the hermit for the last few weeks. Just poking my head in occasionally to spout off like a twat on the general forum or to drop a hello in my house. But that is online life isn't it. It's the fact that you can turn it off that not only helps us sometimes but seems generally acceptable as an online trait of life.



My return is inevitable as well as desirable by me but for now, I will be less punctual than usual. However...my even taking the time to type this is usually a sign of imminent return :P