Perhaps someone should tell Jochen Wiedmann, Alligator Descartes, Gary Shea, Andreas Konig, and Tim Bunce. ;) Why? I got the original error checking code straight from the DBD::mysql pod. I was reading through it again this weekend and said "Hey! That's where I got it from!" :)
And yes, I do talk to myself. And it's perfectly normal. Just ask my shrink. :D