I’m always talking & writing about how I trade books, cd’s & dvd’s I have for the books, cd’s & dvd’s that I actually want. I’ve always used the following three sister sites & I’ve never had a problem with them.

Basically the way these sites work is that they are free to use, although there is a $.50 surcharge on the CD site when you order a CD. So say you sign up for the DVD site. All you have to do is post 10 DVD’s that you want to trade & you’ll get a free credit. Then you can choose from the entire database & pick whatever DVD you want. (Paperbackswap has over 1,800,000+ books to choose from). Every time you send a dvd to someone else, you get a credit to spend how you wish. If you order a DVD & the person doesn’t send it, you get your credit back.

I’ve always loved the way the system worked, but someone commented that I should try a different trading site which I won’t name here because I hate giving bad press. They said that the site didn’t use credits like it was a good thing. So I thought I would give it a shot because I’m a swapping addict. The way this site worked is that the members traded directly with each other. So if I had West Wing Season 1 & I wanted West Wing Season 2, I’d have to wait until someone with West Wing Season 2 wanted West Wing Season 1. This meant a lot less trades for me. It’s also meant that the other person might not send their DVDs which happens a lot, & I wouldn’t have any recourse. I eventually paused my account at this site because it was too much a risk & so many members on the forums seemed unhappy. The credit system means that people can’t cheat. Credits also gauge the value of an item. On the other site everything was equal, so you might trade a boxed TV set for a paperback book. If anything this experience furthered my resolve that Paperbackswap, Swapadvd, & Swapacd are the best trading sites out there & the only ones I need to use. If you want to read more about how these sites work I wrote an in depth post about swapping sites. What are your experiences with trading sites?

Technorati : book, cds, dvd, free, paperbackswap, swap, swapacd, swapadvd, trade

It’s funny that one of my favorite TV relationships of all time was where we only saw half of the marriage. On MASH Colonel Potter was a staple, but we never met Mrs. Potter. We just saw her picture on the desk. We heard about her. She just seemed to be so patient & understanding of her husband. She even saved up to pay the mortgage off early. They exchanged letters back & forth to really communicate what was going on with their lives, nowadays Mrs. Potter would probably be writing about the latest in green products. In turn, the Colonel really seemed to respect & take care of her & worked on courting her even though he was gone for much of their marriage because of the army.

Technorati : dating, mash, romance, valentine’s+day

For Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided to take a closer look at some of my favorite TV relationships. For some reason, the first show that came to mind was M*A*S*H. This show always makes me want to buy a medical id bracelet. The show is just so complex, with so many different relationships. Colonel Potter & Mrs. Potter. Hotlips & Hawkeye. Hotlips & Frank.

If I ever was trying for a Ph.D in Sociology & had to come up with a thesis it would probably be about why Hawkeye & B.J. were friends & everyone hated Frank. I wish tvology was a major. I don’t think we’ll be calling me Dr. Sarakastic anytime soon.