It's a good thing I have 9+ Internet devices at home. When one fails, I often just mosey to another, since the outage is frequently very temporary.
Such was the case with my Mac mini, which .. about a week or so ago .. inexplicably stopped accessing anything related to Google .. the search engine, Google Reader, Gmail, Blogger .. you name it. I could get to everything else, just not Google-anything.
This happened on the 2 browsers I have installed in addition to (the default) Safari .. namely Camino and Firefox .. so it had to be something lower in the stack. So, I used Yahoo! search and typed "unable to access google" and wandered across a suggestion to use a different DNS server (than the one my ISP thoughtfully provides). Okay, worth a try .. so I changed that preference in OS X .. waited a few minutes for the Mac to absorb the impact (ha!) and now I'm happily browsing again.
I suppose I should credit the nice folks at OpenDNS although I'll be derned if I know why the rest of the boxes on my LAN can see the Googleplex and not the Mac mini - presumably they're using the same DNS -- go figure.
Unrelated: my 500 GB LaCie disc/hub arrived today .. setup was uneventful. Now I have more than enough space for my iTunes collection. Good: the price was right, and the extra (very accessible) ports are a nice touch. Bad: both the Mac mini and the LaCie have the old Firewire 400 interface, so there's a perceptible lag when I fetch video from my iTunes library (although the audio seems okay).
Showing posts with label broadband. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broadband. Show all posts
Friday, September 21
Friday, June 29
The Buzz is Gone
I have two landlines coming into my home. One of those has developed an annoying buzz/humm in the past few weeks. Given the (near record) rainfall in June, I attributed the degradation to the weather. Also, there was No Buzz on the other line, so .. I had a workaround. Turns out the weather wasn't the problem.
Wednesday: finally tiring of The Buzz, I call TPC [The Phone Company - a/k/a AT&T] and they say they can have someone out tomorrow. Hmmm. "Okay," (I humor them) "that's great." They ask if I'd like a call from TPCT [TPC Technician] when he'll be aiming in my direction. "That would be spiffy," I reply.
Wednesday, early evening: automated call arrives, says TPCT will be onsite tomorrow between 8am-8pm (0800-2000 for you military types). Do they really expect me to hang around the house all day? That fish won't hunt. I have places to go, people to see. If they happen to arrive while I'm here, that'll be downright dandy. Otherwise, they can return.
Thursday afternoon: I return home from a Day Out There. No door hanger saying "sorry we missed you" and no phone call. Hmmm. So maybe 8a-8p really means "after 5pm"?
5:30pm: TPCT calls: "I'm en route, will arrive in 10 minutes." "Spiffy," I say.
5:50pm: DSL goes out (a 5x daily occurrence, so not remarkable). I wait a few minutes and it's still down. I wonder if TPCT arrived and is Working My Issue. I look in my driveway and see The Truck, and (in my backyard) a Giant Ladder perched against TTP [The Telephone Pole], and a small human at the top. I suspect it's TPCT, who arrived and silently went to work.
6:28pm: phone rings. Automated call says "sorry our technician didn't arrive today. We'll try again tomorrow." I am Most Puzzled.
6:30pm: knock, knock. "Who's there?" TPC Technician, to advise Your Problem Is Now Solved. "Huh?" says I. Turns out there was a short in the overhead line, from TTP to TGB [The Great Beyond]. Having replaced said cable, my world is now whole again. I check the dialtone (portable phone having been in my hand when TPCT knocked) and verify that The Buzz is Gone. I am now giddy.
Being the curious type, I ask "Might this also be why my DSL (which rides atop my Buzzing Line) burps N times per day?" "You betcha!" says TPCT (sounding Eager). I mention the automated call at 6:28 and TPCT says "they do that when we didn't meet The Window (recall: 8a-8p)" and he laughs it off. I make mental note that TPC doesn't know that 8a<6:30pm<8pm.
Hmmm. We'll see if my DSL now stays up all day. I'm not holding my breath.
Tomorrow: my visit to the eye doc on Friday (and -- the news wasn't grand).
Wednesday: finally tiring of The Buzz, I call TPC [The Phone Company - a/k/a AT&T] and they say they can have someone out tomorrow. Hmmm. "Okay," (I humor them) "that's great." They ask if I'd like a call from TPCT [TPC Technician] when he'll be aiming in my direction. "That would be spiffy," I reply.
Wednesday, early evening: automated call arrives, says TPCT will be onsite tomorrow between 8am-8pm (0800-2000 for you military types). Do they really expect me to hang around the house all day? That fish won't hunt. I have places to go, people to see. If they happen to arrive while I'm here, that'll be downright dandy. Otherwise, they can return.
Thursday afternoon: I return home from a Day Out There. No door hanger saying "sorry we missed you" and no phone call. Hmmm. So maybe 8a-8p really means "after 5pm"?
5:30pm: TPCT calls: "I'm en route, will arrive in 10 minutes." "Spiffy," I say.
5:50pm: DSL goes out (a 5x daily occurrence, so not remarkable). I wait a few minutes and it's still down. I wonder if TPCT arrived and is Working My Issue. I look in my driveway and see The Truck, and (in my backyard) a Giant Ladder perched against TTP [The Telephone Pole], and a small human at the top. I suspect it's TPCT, who arrived and silently went to work.
6:28pm: phone rings. Automated call says "sorry our technician didn't arrive today. We'll try again tomorrow." I am Most Puzzled.
6:30pm: knock, knock. "Who's there?" TPC Technician, to advise Your Problem Is Now Solved. "Huh?" says I. Turns out there was a short in the overhead line, from TTP to TGB [The Great Beyond]. Having replaced said cable, my world is now whole again. I check the dialtone (portable phone having been in my hand when TPCT knocked) and verify that The Buzz is Gone. I am now giddy.
Being the curious type, I ask "Might this also be why my DSL (which rides atop my Buzzing Line) burps N times per day?" "You betcha!" says TPCT (sounding Eager). I mention the automated call at 6:28 and TPCT says "they do that when we didn't meet The Window (recall: 8a-8p)" and he laughs it off. I make mental note that TPC doesn't know that 8a<6:30pm<8pm.
Hmmm. We'll see if my DSL now stays up all day. I'm not holding my breath.
Tomorrow: my visit to the eye doc on Friday (and -- the news wasn't grand).
Friday, March 23
see ya'll again on Sunday!
Sunday afternoon update:
At midnight Friday, my home became eerily quiet. When I shutdown everything, the fans inside my PCs ceased their background noise. Several times throughout the day Saturday, I started to wander in and Google something, but then caught myself. That night, I could hear not only the crickets chirp, but the dew dropping off the leaves outside (not to mention the Love Sounds of the Neighborhood Cats, but that's another story).
One of the decisions I had to make was what to shut down (most everything has an IC in it these days) .. so I opted for anything with local storage. So, I powered down my (Linux) server; my 4 "desktop/deskside" PCs; and even my TiVo (although it still records stuff even when on Standby). So I wouldn't tempt myself, I turned off the DSL modem/router, too. I didn't power anything back up until Insomnia Time this morning (about 0330) and even then, only one thing at a time - several PCs are still off.
I tried to give feedback on the Shutdown Day website, but got a rather rude reply:
| Your IP address is banned |
Saturday, March 3
my first YouTube
After being mesmerized by Jill's videos of the snow in Hoosierville, Indiana; her cats; and American music playing on the car radio while driving the Autobahn, I decided to upload a few videos from my own collection to YouTube. Indeed, this was mostly uneventful since the files were already in an acceptable format (my Pentax digicam produces 640x320 AVI files .. some of my earlier videos were saved as 320x160 MOV files).
First impression: it takes a lot longer to upload the files than it does to view them (yes, I know DSL download speed is usually much higher than upload).
It'll be a bit harder to upload stuff from my [Sony CCD-TRV75] camcorder, which is (probably) one of the last analog camcorders. I bought it in 1999 and still haven't used it enough to get my money's worth! ($835)
A few months ago, I bought the Pyro A/V Link but haven't had the time to use it yet (it works on either Mac or PC - the input is a Firewire cable).
Update: I finally went to sleep around 1am, after uploading 24 videos. That should do for now; others will probably be added on an ad hoc basis.
Friday, June 9
Thank you for calling at&t;
how may I annoy you today?
Disclaimer: all rates mentioned in this entry are rounded up. Years ago, some Marketing Fool was led to believe that the Great Huddled Masses (consumers) will flock to a $17.99 price, yet bypass the same item for $18. That doesn't work on me, so .. deal with it.I've had DSL service for several years, the last few with SBC. Now that they've changed their name to "at&t" they're starting to annoy me more. I'm sure it's just coincidence, because the old AT&T (all caps) used to annoy me with a passion.
The "DSL Pro" package* I'm on offers reasonable speed (~2.5 Mbps up / ~512 Kbps down). The Full List Price has been $35 a month for quite some time, but promotions are available to reduce that to $22 a month. The problem is that when the promotional period ends (6 months in the recent case) the discounts are no longer applied and -- surprise -- your next bill rises accordingly.
* renamed "AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet Pro Package" just because it rolls off the tongue betterSo, today I called to complain about this defacto price increase. After being put on hold for 8 minutes - twice - total 16 minutes - the human advised: "We don't have the $22/month plan for 6 months anymore, but we are offering a $20/month plan for 12 months." Okay, fine.
After the call was over, I moseyed over to their website to investigate the various calling plans available - perhaps one of those packages would be a good fit? While there, I noticed that the DSL package could've been had for $18 a month if I'd just signed up online. They never mentioned that during the call, so the $2 must go to staff the call center, huh?
Downside: now I can't move to Minot until after 15 June 2007, when this plan expires and at&t silently raises my rate back to $35/month.
Wednesday, May 10
a solid F
Yesterday, HayJax' DSL was down. Today, it was my turn for a DSL outage.
SBCat&t's Tech Support ["ATS"] was less than perfect; when they asked what model modem I was using, I told him "Zoom X6".
After hanging up, I muttered (to No One In Particular), "Thanks for Nothing."
I give them a solid F for the day.
The link came back online a few hours later, no thanks to ATS. Now, I notice that my contract expires in the next few days, and they're running a $17.99 promo for new subscribers only. I'd give Verizon a call, but they're one of the trio of phone companies that handed over my phone records to the NSA, so I'm not in the mood to give them my business, either. I wonder who else would like my DSL business?
This is not the modem SBC supplied when I signed up, years ago. When i upgraded to the faster "DSL Pro" package, the SBC modem (a SpeedStream 5360 from Efficient Networks) couldn't take the higher speed of ADSL 2/2+, so I bought the Zoom from CompUSA rather than pay SBC's inflated price.Almost immediately, ATS said my modem was at fault, and I'd have to buy one of their (overpriced) modems if I wanted support. At the end of the call, I thanked ATS, and assured him it wasn't the modem. Being more perturbed than usual (!), I said something like "well, I guess i'll just have to wait until the DSL link magically reappears" and he said "yes, that's correct".
After hanging up, I muttered (to No One In Particular), "Thanks for Nothing."
I give them a solid F for the day.
The link came back online a few hours later, no thanks to ATS. Now, I notice that my contract expires in the next few days, and they're running a $17.99 promo for new subscribers only. I'd give Verizon a call, but they're one of the trio of phone companies that handed over my phone records to the NSA, so I'm not in the mood to give them my business, either. I wonder who else would like my DSL business?
Saturday, April 8
over 1 million points served
I've been running the UD Agent for over 4 years on my oldest PC, and I just noticed that I bypassed one million points on/about January 21st. I'm currently at 1,082,944 points* and adding 1,070 more each day, running three instances of the UD Agent. Pity this software doesn't run on anything except MS-Windows. It's quite unobtrusive, but I wish they'd make a tweak to the way it handles proxies. One of my PCs goes that route part of the week, and the UD Agent isn't smart enough to bypass the proxy when the VPN is disabled. I have other software that is smart enough to look for alternatives when the network connection fails.
A few years ago, I was asked to join a team; now there are 45 active members, and I've moved up to 6th place in Points, and 9th in Results. I wonder when I can expect my Certificate of Achievement in the smail (snail mail).
* 583,753 since joining The TeamThe active projects haven't changed in awhile: United Devices Cancer Research and Human Proteome Folding. I wonder how much of the data from earlier, now completed projects (United Devices Cancer Research Project, Phase I; Smallpox Research Grid Project; United Devices Anthrax Research Project) was found to be useful?
A few years ago, I was asked to join a team; now there are 45 active members, and I've moved up to 6th place in Points, and 9th in Results. I wonder when I can expect my Certificate of Achievement in the smail (snail mail).
| Reference architecture | Processor | Memory | Storage | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | "High-end Desktop System" (Pentium IV) | 1.5 GHz | 384 MB | 5 GB | 1.54 Mbps (T1) |
| and then my 3 instances in comparison: | |||||
| 124 | AMD Duron | 0.8 GHz | 512 MB | 10 GB | 2.68 Mbps (DSL) |
| 205 | AMD Sempron 3000+ | 2.0 GHz | 1 GB | 10 GB | 2.68 Mbps |
| 220 | AMD Athlon XP 3200+ | 2.2 GHz | 2 GB | 10 GB | 2.68 Mbps |
Tuesday, February 28
low man on the totem pole
The DFW-SJC flight last night was mostly uneventful. It's the first time I've flown on business in about 2 years; at one time I was spending a week in California every month, so yes .. this is a novelty, although I did "practice" a trip to the same DFW Terminal D earlier in the day (to fetch Jill-Bob).
Most of American's flights on this route are MD-88s, which have about 30 rows of 5-across seating, and I heard the Flight Attendants [FA] saying that nearly every flight except Saturdays are full lately. This was no exception. I don't know if anyone was denied boarding (I wasn't in the gate area long enough to hear them say it was oversold, looking for volunteers for the next flight). Once we pushed back from the gate, the FA instructed us to turn off "anything with an on/off switch" which was better than the long list of stuff they used to read .. while I hoped they missed one/more of my omnipresent gadgets.
The worst thing about the Travel Gap is that I'm back to "Square One" in the Frequent-This and Frequent-That programs (airline, car rental, hotel, parking). This means I now must sit in the back of the bus (seat 28F on the outbound and 26F on the return) with the rest of the rifraff, and can't even qualify to use the upgrades I bought years ago, until I reach a minimum of Aadvantage Gold (unlikely anytime soon).
Some good things have happened since I last flew frequently: American Airlines' Rapid Check-In machines are a welcome departure from dealing with a Human ticket agent (which seldom speaks English). The machine which scans boarding passes at the gate have finally become fast (I used to groan whenever a flight was assigned The Boarding Pass Machine .. meaning the boarding would take twice as long as those conducted by Humans).
First, there was the obligatory TSA scan (metal detection; X-ray of my rucksack, shoes, laptop). Once on the plane, I found myself sitting next to a female "terrorist" - the only woman on the plane wearing an hijab. I was prepared to stab her with my plastic butter knife if she made any wrong moves. I must get some better noise cancelling headphones .. the earbuds I have from Turtle Beach are effective, but didn't shut out the nearby malevolent Demon Child shreiking for an extended duration at a pitch slightly less annoying than fingernails on a chalkboard.
Due to the (HR-induced) delays in marking me as an Active employee, I didn't get in an early queue for hotels in TBA* so I ended up at a $60/night Zero Service Hotel .. no daily maid, no room service, no onsite dining (I defy you to find anything open other than Denny's after 10pm in TBA!) and .. (gasp!) .. no Ethernet (just a quaint analog modem plug). They did offer wireless networking for $4/stay, and the hotel had indoor plumbing. I avoided the room's phone: 75¢/minute for long distance (and $2.78/minute for international calls .. after the first $14.62 minute) struck me as an absurd ripoff. The Ford Fusion rental car -- in the rain -- wasn't awful .. it's just not like JAC (Just Another Car) here at home.
Most of American's flights on this route are MD-88s, which have about 30 rows of 5-across seating, and I heard the Flight Attendants [FA] saying that nearly every flight except Saturdays are full lately. This was no exception. I don't know if anyone was denied boarding (I wasn't in the gate area long enough to hear them say it was oversold, looking for volunteers for the next flight). Once we pushed back from the gate, the FA instructed us to turn off "anything with an on/off switch" which was better than the long list of stuff they used to read .. while I hoped they missed one/more of my omnipresent gadgets.
The worst thing about the Travel Gap is that I'm back to "Square One" in the Frequent-This and Frequent-That programs (airline, car rental, hotel, parking). This means I now must sit in the back of the bus (seat 28F on the outbound and 26F on the return) with the rest of the rifraff, and can't even qualify to use the upgrades I bought years ago, until I reach a minimum of Aadvantage Gold (unlikely anytime soon).
Some good things have happened since I last flew frequently: American Airlines' Rapid Check-In machines are a welcome departure from dealing with a Human ticket agent (which seldom speaks English). The machine which scans boarding passes at the gate have finally become fast (I used to groan whenever a flight was assigned The Boarding Pass Machine .. meaning the boarding would take twice as long as those conducted by Humans).
First, there was the obligatory TSA scan (metal detection; X-ray of my rucksack, shoes, laptop). Once on the plane, I found myself sitting next to a female "terrorist" - the only woman on the plane wearing an hijab. I was prepared to stab her with my plastic butter knife if she made any wrong moves. I must get some better noise cancelling headphones .. the earbuds I have from Turtle Beach are effective, but didn't shut out the nearby malevolent Demon Child shreiking for an extended duration at a pitch slightly less annoying than fingernails on a chalkboard.
Due to the (HR-induced) delays in marking me as an Active employee, I didn't get in an early queue for hotels in TBA* so I ended up at a $60/night Zero Service Hotel .. no daily maid, no room service, no onsite dining (I defy you to find anything open other than Denny's after 10pm in TBA!) and .. (gasp!) .. no Ethernet (just a quaint analog modem plug). They did offer wireless networking for $4/stay, and the hotel had indoor plumbing. I avoided the room's phone: 75¢/minute for long distance (and $2.78/minute for international calls .. after the first $14.62 minute) struck me as an absurd ripoff. The Ford Fusion rental car -- in the rain -- wasn't awful .. it's just not like JAC (Just Another Car) here at home.
* The Bay Area
Thursday, December 29
your battery backup last intervened on ...
Today was the first annoyance with my shiny new ADSL 2/2+ modem ..
My home took a "power hit" this morning, around 8:45. All my computers are attached to a UPS; the local electric current is too unstable for computers, otherwise. In addition to providing backup power, all modern UPS provide a clean, filtered power source. Power here is interrupted once a month or more .. durations between a few milliseconds and a few minutes. APC PowerChute says:
Regardless, now I'll prowl the house, seeking devices with a blinking [12:00] indicating no battery backup.
My home took a "power hit" this morning, around 8:45. All my computers are attached to a UPS; the local electric current is too unstable for computers, otherwise. In addition to providing backup power, all modern UPS provide a clean, filtered power source. Power here is interrupted once a month or more .. durations between a few milliseconds and a few minutes. APC PowerChute says:
Your battery backup last intervened on 12/29/2005 at 8:46:26 AM.When the power blipped this morning, it interrupted the DSL circuit. It took me a few minutes to realize that the DSL modem had not restarted the WAN (PPPoE) interface, and I needed to relogin via the mini-webserver on the modem. It only took a few seconds but .. will this happen each time power is interrupted? Or, did I neglect to write my login/password to the modem's flash memory when I installed it? (I'll add this to "Things That Make Me Go Hmmm In The Night")
Regardless, now I'll prowl the house, seeking devices with a blinking [12:00] indicating no battery backup.
Thursday, December 22
chokepoints
Ah, it's so nice to have a (relatively) snappy Internet connection again.
The DSL field tech was here this morning, ran some tests, and decided that my DSL problem is due to an old modem. "Really?" I asked. "Just yesterday, the front-line support guy (in India) told me that all DSL modems operate at line speed so they can easily process data as fast as my ISP could send it!" As it turns out, that was wrong.
The Efficient Networks SpeedStream 5360 (part number 060-5360-002, for those of you who enjoy Google'ing obscure stuff) is apparently a real dinosaur. The tech actually laughed when he saw it. He called one of his co-workers and said something like "you won't belieeeeve what this customer still has installed - remember those old silver-and-black modems, about the size of a VW bug?". He says that DSL modems seem to grow obsolete every six months.
The old modem (Siemens bought Efficient, apparently) maxes out at a 1.5 Mb downlink, explaining why I experienced lots of packet overflow (and the backoff retransmissions - slowing me to sub-56 kb speeds) when a large datastream (up to 3.0 Mb downlink) was thrown at it.
I'm still trying to find the tech specs for the 5360 to confirm the 1.5 Mb limitation, but my replacement (a Zoom 5654) quickly clocked a 2.5 Mb downlink, mid-afternoon. That's the first acceptable speed I've gotten since The Upgrade. The specs say it's good for download speeds of up to 24 Mbps .. so it'll be obsolete slower than the Efficient 5360. Perhaps the 5360 specifications are only available on papyrus?
Wednesday, December 21
pushing the envelope
Being in a major city (ha!) has its rewards sometimes. Then there are other times when I'm left to scratch my head. Today's one of those days.
A few years ago, when DSL was first offered, I signed up with DirecTV's (wired) unit. That worked okay .. in the winter months. But when summer arrived and the temperature hit 90F the DSL circuit would dive, like a cheerleader at a silent auction. Each day, the circuit would tank earlier (I learned to do more of my work in the wee hours of the morning). Turns out that was because of the physical route my phone line takes to reach the CO [Central Office]; although I'm about 2 miles ("as the crow flies") to the CO, the route taken by the phone lines stretched that about 2500 feet past maximum. Technically, I was in "denial range" (a term which still amuses me).
That debugging experience allowed me to become conversationally fluent in DSL, spewing terms like NID and DSLAM as if they were my children. I never determined why the temperature had anything to do with it, but it aided my ability to predict when the circuit would fail each day.
Eventually, DirecTV got out of that (wired DSL) business, and sold the remnants to my current provider, who gave me a shiny new DSL modem (SpeedStream 5360) and a dynamic IP address. That's been mostly fine.
So today, it didn't surprise to understand the Indian (who are we kidding? .. his name isn't really "John") tech's suspicion that the "DSL Pro Package" (1.5-3.0 Mbps down and 384-512 Kbps up) is stretching the ability of my circuit to hold a carrier. Small files (most email, web pages with small-medium graphics) transfer fine, but if I try to grab a PodCast, or watch a streaming video, or (POP3) fetch an email of more than 75 kilobytes, I'm seeing frequent timeouts. Most of the time, I use WebMail to inspect and delete messages before downloading them (if at all). I've already tweaked the settings on my POP3 client (I think a 3 minute timeout is waaaaaaaay overly generous) and nosed around my IP settings (PPPoE, MTU of 1492, etc) so am confident the problem's not on my end.
A few years ago, when DSL was first offered, I signed up with DirecTV's (wired) unit. That worked okay .. in the winter months. But when summer arrived and the temperature hit 90F the DSL circuit would dive, like a cheerleader at a silent auction. Each day, the circuit would tank earlier (I learned to do more of my work in the wee hours of the morning). Turns out that was because of the physical route my phone line takes to reach the CO [Central Office]; although I'm about 2 miles ("as the crow flies") to the CO, the route taken by the phone lines stretched that about 2500 feet past maximum. Technically, I was in "denial range" (a term which still amuses me).
That debugging experience allowed me to become conversationally fluent in DSL, spewing terms like NID and DSLAM as if they were my children. I never determined why the temperature had anything to do with it, but it aided my ability to predict when the circuit would fail each day.
Eventually, DirecTV got out of that (wired DSL) business, and sold the remnants to my current provider, who gave me a shiny new DSL modem (SpeedStream 5360) and a dynamic IP address. That's been mostly fine.
So today, it didn't surprise to understand the Indian (who are we kidding? .. his name isn't really "John") tech's suspicion that the "DSL Pro Package" (1.5-3.0 Mbps down and 384-512 Kbps up) is stretching the ability of my circuit to hold a carrier. Small files (most email, web pages with small-medium graphics) transfer fine, but if I try to grab a PodCast, or watch a streaming video, or (POP3) fetch an email of more than 75 kilobytes, I'm seeing frequent timeouts. Most of the time, I use WebMail to inspect and delete messages before downloading them (if at all). I've already tweaked the settings on my POP3 client (I think a 3 minute timeout is waaaaaaaay overly generous) and nosed around my IP settings (PPPoE, MTU of 1492, etc) so am confident the problem's not on my end.
Thursday update: turns out the problem was on my end - but it was hardware! See the 22/12/5 post.So, tomorrow morning a Real Live Technician (complete with meters) is due at my NID to see what kind of signal I'm really getting from the RT. If it's marginal, I may regress to the DSL Standard Package (assuming they can't tweak the latency for the packet timeout). I'm happy they're staffed to have someone here that quickly .. now, I'll see what they uncover.
Tuesday, December 20
Excitement reigns while it rains
Pure joy. Unparalleled excitement. Yeah, that describes today .. spot on.
I called Bruce The Barber at 9am, asking if he had any appointments. Yes! If I can be there at 10:30 I'll get the only appointment left this week. SOLD! So now, I have a shiny new 30-minute haircut. When I left, it was raining .. looks like it has "set in for the day". Hmmm.
Just like last year (see my 22/12/4 blog entry) I found two SBC telephone directories (a/k/a phone books) on my front stoop. Makes me want to reenact the great thespian scene where Steve Martin ran onto his lawn, shouting
Maybe if I was the POTUS? I'll bet He could stop the unwanted phone books. After all, He is Above The Law (as shown in Sunday night's speech where He effectively proclaimed that He can do anything He wants to, anytime He wants to). Splendid. Just bloody splendid.
Speaking of waste products, I emptied Samantha's litter box into the rollcart but am not brave enough to roll it to the curb. After all, it's raining .. and I might melt.
DSL update: web browsing and email is still slow (although a speed test at 2am showed acceptable speed). I've traded a half-dozen emails with Tech Support on the issue, yet nothing's changed. I'm wondering if I should call the billing department, asking that I be allowed to pay dialup rates while my DSL is slower than dialup?
I called Bruce The Barber at 9am, asking if he had any appointments. Yes! If I can be there at 10:30 I'll get the only appointment left this week. SOLD! So now, I have a shiny new 30-minute haircut. When I left, it was raining .. looks like it has "set in for the day". Hmmm.
Just like last year (see my 22/12/4 blog entry) I found two SBC telephone directories (a/k/a phone books) on my front stoop. Makes me want to reenact the great thespian scene where Steve Martin ran onto his lawn, shouting
"The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!!"Pity there's no obvious way to opt out of this distribution. Each year, when the new phone books arrive, I dust off the prior year's copy and toss it in the recycle bin. The chance of me picking up a paper phone book to seek a number is so remote as to be laughable.
Maybe if I was the POTUS? I'll bet He could stop the unwanted phone books. After all, He is Above The Law (as shown in Sunday night's speech where He effectively proclaimed that He can do anything He wants to, anytime He wants to). Splendid. Just bloody splendid.
Speaking of waste products, I emptied Samantha's litter box into the rollcart but am not brave enough to roll it to the curb. After all, it's raining .. and I might melt.
DSL update: web browsing and email is still slow (although a speed test at 2am showed acceptable speed). I've traded a half-dozen emails with Tech Support on the issue, yet nothing's changed. I'm wondering if I should call the billing department, asking that I be allowed to pay dialup rates while my DSL is slower than dialup?
Saturday, December 17
snug as a bug in a rug
Earlier this week, I mentioned that I returned the PalmOne hard case for my shiny new* Tungsten|T5. Yesterday, the replacement (from RhinoSkin) arrived and I'm giddy!
I also acquired a "Multi-Function Cradle" (charging base - model TT5-FC) made by Insten which appears more durable than the one sold by PalmOne. I wonder how many other people are so displeased with the (relative poor quality) peripherals from PalmOne, that they buy third party ones, like I did?
Unrelated #aleph_Ï€: HayJax and I moseyed to the Magnolia for the 5pm showing of [Good Night and Good Luck], the story of how Edward R. Murrow and CBS battled "commie hunter" Senator Joe McCarthy. The timing of this movie cannot be a coincidence, in that the FCRP is acting much like McCarthy did in the 1950s, using their USA PATRIOT Act as a way to suspend Habeas Corpus, convict people without a trial, torture people in secret gulags, and so forth. Also, if David Strathairn doesn't get an Oscar for his portrayal of Murrow, you'll know the vote was rigged. HayJax says she remembers Murrow's live broadcasts, from the time she was 7, until 17 .. and confirms that Strathairn's performance was perfect.
Amusing sidenote: the parking structure at the Magnolia was full .. all 6 levels (including the roof). We overheard most people buying tickets for Brokeback Mountain (GN&GL is nearing the end of its run, and only a dozen or so people were in our theatre).
Unrelated #4: My DSL provider contacted me via email, and said (as I predicted) that there is nothing wrong with my broadband connection, and that I'm imagining it all. Meanwhile, I have resorted to started a download (file, email, whatever) then going to another room to watch a 30-minute episode of something on TiVo. When I'm done, I now come back in to see if the task has been completed. Sometimes, to avoid monotony, I go take a nap instead. At least I'm catching up on my sleep.
* well, okay .. I got it from The Big O and it was listed as being "blemished" but I'll be hornswaggled if I can tell the differenceNot only does the PDA not rattle in the RhinoSkin case ("Palm Tungsten TX/T5 Aluminum Hardcase") but there are openings for:
1- the charger/HotSync cable (argh! did they have to change the connector from the Tungsten|T ?);The PalmOne hard case had no openings of any kind. Did I mention the PDA rattled when inside the case? Conversely, the RhinoSkin case has slots for two SD cards, and holes in the rear to provide speaker access (although the quality ain't great .. good MP3 earbuds are better for audio than the built-in speakers)
2- the stylus;
3- the power switch;
4- the audio (MP3) connector;
5- the SD card slot;
6- the reset button.
I also acquired a "Multi-Function Cradle" (charging base - model TT5-FC) made by Insten which appears more durable than the one sold by PalmOne. I wonder how many other people are so displeased with the (relative poor quality) peripherals from PalmOne, that they buy third party ones, like I did?
Unrelated #aleph_Ï€: HayJax and I moseyed to the Magnolia for the 5pm showing of [Good Night and Good Luck], the story of how Edward R. Murrow and CBS battled "commie hunter" Senator Joe McCarthy. The timing of this movie cannot be a coincidence, in that the FCRP is acting much like McCarthy did in the 1950s, using their USA PATRIOT Act as a way to suspend Habeas Corpus, convict people without a trial, torture people in secret gulags, and so forth. Also, if David Strathairn doesn't get an Oscar for his portrayal of Murrow, you'll know the vote was rigged. HayJax says she remembers Murrow's live broadcasts, from the time she was 7, until 17 .. and confirms that Strathairn's performance was perfect.
Amusing sidenote: the parking structure at the Magnolia was full .. all 6 levels (including the roof). We overheard most people buying tickets for Brokeback Mountain (GN&GL is nearing the end of its run, and only a dozen or so people were in our theatre).
Unrelated #4: My DSL provider contacted me via email, and said (as I predicted) that there is nothing wrong with my broadband connection, and that I'm imagining it all. Meanwhile, I have resorted to started a download (file, email, whatever) then going to another room to watch a 30-minute episode of something on TiVo. When I'm done, I now come back in to see if the task has been completed. Sometimes, to avoid monotony, I go take a nap instead. At least I'm catching up on my sleep.
Thursday, December 15
speedy DSL? not necessarily
There's probably a word for the sound made when tapping my fingers atop a desk, waiting. My thumb is stationary, but the finger strumming becomes faster and faster as my impatience rises. I'm about to place a copy of "War and Peace" next to the computer, so that I'll have something to read while waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
As William-Bob said, network speed is dependent on a pantload* of factors (well, actually he didn't say "pantload" - that's my interpretation).
74.3 kbps (08:45) CNet's Bandwidth Meter speed test
54.2 kbps (09:45)
35.3 KB/sec down and 53.1 KB/sec up (09:30) DSL Reports
Slower than dialup? - sadly, yes. Sure, I could call DSL support and complain, but there are problems:
1- it'll require that I be on the phone for at least 30 minutes (probably to an ESL operator named Bambi - reading from a prepared script, somewhere in India);
2- odds are they'll then tell me that they'll have to order another - local - test, which will (undoubtedly) show there's nothing wrong, and that it's all in my head. Oy, veh!
As William-Bob said, network speed is dependent on a pantload* of factors (well, actually he didn't say "pantload" - that's my interpretation).
* Blogger's Spell Checker suggested the correct spelling of "pantload" is "ventilator".My DSL connection - once speedy - gets slower and slower every day. I'm supposedly on the "DSL Pro Package" (1.5 to 3.0 Mbps down and 384 to 512 Kbps up), but when I tested this morning it clocked at:
74.3 kbps (08:45) CNet's Bandwidth Meter speed test
54.2 kbps (09:45)
35.3 KB/sec down and 53.1 KB/sec up (09:30) DSL Reports
Slower than dialup? - sadly, yes. Sure, I could call DSL support and complain, but there are problems:
1- it'll require that I be on the phone for at least 30 minutes (probably to an ESL operator named Bambi - reading from a prepared script, somewhere in India);
2- odds are they'll then tell me that they'll have to order another - local - test, which will (undoubtedly) show there's nothing wrong, and that it's all in my head. Oy, veh!
Thursday, December 8
the pinnacles of success
Maybe it's because the servers are overloaded, but I couldn't get a decent download of any podcast Wednesday. I've been playing with iTunes & Podcasts for a few days, but honestly ... pig vomit in North Dakota in February runs faster than this. Several days ago, the podcast downloads were nicely quick .. not so anymore.
If there was a rational way to blame SBC's DSL speed on the sub-32 temperatures (Fahrenheit : a quaint scale), I'd do that.
Honestly, what a bunch of wimps. Texas is dead last in education in this country, so driver's education couldn't have been much of a priority. Certainly nothing like high school football, or being a cheerleader (the pinnacles of success in Texas). Then again, somewhere between 25-60% of the Dallas population was born in Mexico, and I suspect Driving On Ice wasn't even the subject of Science Fiction class.
If there was a rational way to blame SBC's DSL speed on the sub-32 temperatures (Fahrenheit : a quaint scale), I'd do that.
Aside #sqrt(-e): the SBC Self Support Tool is about as worthless a piece of software as I've ever encountered (unless of course, your Internet connection consists of exactly one Windows PC directly connected to the Internet, which is another quaint remnant of the past).Now, Dallas is virtually shut down due to the 0.03 inches of sleet that fell Wednesday. Grown men are shaking in their ostrich-skin boots, fearful of driving their F350s out of their driveway. Instead of road noise, I can hear crickets chirping (for the first time since gasoline hit $3/gallon).
Honestly, what a bunch of wimps. Texas is dead last in education in this country, so driver's education couldn't have been much of a priority. Certainly nothing like high school football, or being a cheerleader (the pinnacles of success in Texas). Then again, somewhere between 25-60% of the Dallas population was born in Mexico, and I suspect Driving On Ice wasn't even the subject of Science Fiction class.
Wednesday, May 4
hysteria averted
It's easy to depend on Fry's or MicroCenter, but you can't always get what you want (apologies to the Rolling Stones). Hence, I found myself en route Altex Computers & Electronics for a 2-line DSL filter. The vast majority of DSL filters are single-line, which Baffles My Bananas; how much extra would it cost to connect those extra 2 wires - a nanopenny?
I thought I had enough of these, but then decided to equip one RJ11 jack with a CallerID box without an associated phone. Why? I work at that desk sometimes, and would like to know if I need to jump up and run (screaming?) for the nearest phone (whether it be cordless or corded) when Pavlov's Bell goes off.
Speaking of bells, I see that this Saturday is the first one in May, meaning that it's time for the Kentucky Derby. When I lived in Louisville, I never attended The Derby, but was always glued to the telly by post time, as was required by Kentucky State Law. This year, they appear to have a kennel-ful of horses, which means that one of them will probably end up tripping another, and there will be a disaster. When Gene Bob becomes King, the Derby field should be limited to 12 horses.
Now, it's time to get my white (post-Easter) shoes out of the closet, along with my best Sunday hat, and prepare for The Running Of The Roses. Yeee haaa!!
I thought I had enough of these, but then decided to equip one RJ11 jack with a CallerID box without an associated phone. Why? I work at that desk sometimes, and would like to know if I need to jump up and run (screaming?) for the nearest phone (whether it be cordless or corded) when Pavlov's Bell goes off.
Speaking of bells, I see that this Saturday is the first one in May, meaning that it's time for the Kentucky Derby. When I lived in Louisville, I never attended The Derby, but was always glued to the telly by post time, as was required by Kentucky State Law. This year, they appear to have a kennel-ful of horses, which means that one of them will probably end up tripping another, and there will be a disaster. When Gene Bob becomes King, the Derby field should be limited to 12 horses.
Now, it's time to get my white (post-Easter) shoes out of the closet, along with my best Sunday hat, and prepare for The Running Of The Roses. Yeee haaa!!
Friday, January 14
yeah, sure .. and my name is Prabeeb
DSL was down for 10+ hours, starting at 4:30pm Thursday, so this is what I looked at several times last night. I called SBC's DSL Tech Support line, and finally got hold of someone in India who said her name was "Blossom" at which point I finished the conversation, hung up the phone, and promptly rolled on the floor, laughing.
Sunday, December 5
in search of The Perfect Cable
About 5pm yesterday, I decided It Was Time to do something with the poor PC that's been rotting in the next room, for the better part of 4 years. I didn't remember much about the configuration, and was amused to find a (whoosh!) 200 MHz AMD K6, with a whopping 128 MB of core RAM. From the look of the logfiles, it was last turned on in 2001, so at least all the Y2K patches are there.
Turns out I left it as a dual-boot machine, running Red Hat Linux in one partition, and Win98 in another. It was setup to use a (gasp!) dialup connection - remember 56 Kb modems? I remembered that Win98SE had a TCP/IP stack, so I thought I'd wing it and see if I could get it to talk to my DSL circuit via Ethernet. Turns out it was just like riding a bicycle : there are a few times when I fell off and scraped my knees, but it didn't take all night to get this ancient warhorse online.
The biggest pain was the sheer number of times (maybe 40?) that Win98 had to reboot, once it found the broadband connection and proceeded to insist on adding four years worth of Critical Patches. I suspect it was a bit confused to see such a pterodactyl online, but eventually it stabilized, and now it sits 2 metres away, connected to the same KVM Switch that my primary box runs.
"What's that?", you say .. "I didn't know you had a KVM Switch!" What's he doing with quasi-modern technology? Well, you see .. that's when the bee entered my bonnet last night.
I nosed around the web, looking for a KVM switch that would allow me to use one keyboard, mouse and monitor on both a new USB system, and my ancient relic which had (gasp!) RS232C serial ports and a DIN-5 keyboard connector (big enough to steer). I settled on Belkin's OmniView SOHO line, one of which sits atop my desk, oozing an amber speck letting me know which of two boxes is on at a time (as if I couldn't tell the difference between Win98 and WinXP, or Linux running GNOME).
To be honest, I stopped at MicroCenter first (preferring to do business with them) but I left after seeing that they wanted $150 for the Switch, and Fry's was willing to be rid of theirs for $90 ... I figured it was worth the 6 mile drive to save $60.
Naturally (after returned home), I decided to simplify things. Naturally, that meant that none of the hundred of thousands of cables in Fibber's closet would work, so .. it was off to Fry's in search of The Perfect Cable, which was a hybrid of USB A:B, VGA M:F and mic/speaker. I was amazed to find what I wanted, and was pleased not to catch a load of grief over my desire to return what I'd bought the night before (PS/2 cables).
Yes, there were hiccups. The keyboard suddenly disappeared after I thought everything was working (turns out the cable became unplugged when I replaced the removable shroud on the Switch. Then, the old PC doesn't support USB in the BIOS, so booting it requires an old keyboard (so that I can opt for Win98 or Linux at the lilo boot prompt (LILO being a a lovely old accounting term). Give me a few months (and a paycheck) and I'll upgrade the motherboard to 21st Century technology. Heck, it'll probably be liquid cooled by then.
Turns out I left it as a dual-boot machine, running Red Hat Linux in one partition, and Win98 in another. It was setup to use a (gasp!) dialup connection - remember 56 Kb modems? I remembered that Win98SE had a TCP/IP stack, so I thought I'd wing it and see if I could get it to talk to my DSL circuit via Ethernet. Turns out it was just like riding a bicycle : there are a few times when I fell off and scraped my knees, but it didn't take all night to get this ancient warhorse online.
The biggest pain was the sheer number of times (maybe 40?) that Win98 had to reboot, once it found the broadband connection and proceeded to insist on adding four years worth of Critical Patches. I suspect it was a bit confused to see such a pterodactyl online, but eventually it stabilized, and now it sits 2 metres away, connected to the same KVM Switch that my primary box runs.
"What's that?", you say .. "I didn't know you had a KVM Switch!" What's he doing with quasi-modern technology? Well, you see .. that's when the bee entered my bonnet last night.
I nosed around the web, looking for a KVM switch that would allow me to use one keyboard, mouse and monitor on both a new USB system, and my ancient relic which had (gasp!) RS232C serial ports and a DIN-5 keyboard connector (big enough to steer). I settled on Belkin's OmniView SOHO line, one of which sits atop my desk, oozing an amber speck letting me know which of two boxes is on at a time (as if I couldn't tell the difference between Win98 and WinXP, or Linux running GNOME).
To be honest, I stopped at MicroCenter first (preferring to do business with them) but I left after seeing that they wanted $150 for the Switch, and Fry's was willing to be rid of theirs for $90 ... I figured it was worth the 6 mile drive to save $60.
Naturally (after returned home), I decided to simplify things. Naturally, that meant that none of the hundred of thousands of cables in Fibber's closet would work, so .. it was off to Fry's in search of The Perfect Cable, which was a hybrid of USB A:B, VGA M:F and mic/speaker. I was amazed to find what I wanted, and was pleased not to catch a load of grief over my desire to return what I'd bought the night before (PS/2 cables).
Yes, there were hiccups. The keyboard suddenly disappeared after I thought everything was working (turns out the cable became unplugged when I replaced the removable shroud on the Switch. Then, the old PC doesn't support USB in the BIOS, so booting it requires an old keyboard (so that I can opt for Win98 or Linux at the lilo boot prompt (LILO being a a lovely old accounting term). Give me a few months (and a paycheck) and I'll upgrade the motherboard to 21st Century technology. Heck, it'll probably be liquid cooled by then.
Thursday, November 11
oxymoron: Comcast service
This afternoon, I heard the telltale beep-beep-beep sound that trucks make when they're in reverse, and thought "huh? - this is Thursday (not trash day) and it's Veteran's Day (explaining the lack of s-mail). I looked outside and saw a Comcast truck. Doh! This reminded me to call them and complain that my cable TV is still out (it's been down since Saturday).
This morning (after 5 days!), I deduced that the trouble is probably outside, since the TV in my bedroom no longer sees the cable, either. Yeah, I'm quick on my feet, huh?
A few days ago, I considered cancelling the Comcast service. But .. they do provide some things I don't get via satellite, namely (1) the local weather channel, and (2) that delicious thing called Channel 27 (aka "local access", where anyone with a heartbeat can "be on TV"). I love watching Singing Armadillo Stuffers, or Benny Hinn wannabees ... plus, the cable's useful when thunderstorms neuter the satellite signal. A monthly "basic cable" bill is a hassle, so I pay for 6 months at a time.
After seeing their service truck zooming down my alley, I dug out their customer service number (easier than navigating their website) and made the call. Cable TV outages must be the most common reason people call, since the options I needed to press were (sit down for this) 1, 1, 1, and 1. It's obviously tied into CallerID, since it never asked for my 16-digit account number. The prompts were:
1=English (versus Spanish);
1=service trouble;
1=cable TV (vs cable modem);
1=total interruption.
Eventually, I reached a recorded message saying something like
Now, wouldn't it have been nice for them to notify me of this "service upgrade" via (a) s-mail; (b) e-mail; (c) phone? I guess that was too much trouble. After all, a multi-day service upgrade is Just An Inconvenience, right? Now .. will they cheerfully deduct the percentage of downtime, since they've apparently taken my service offline to suit their schedule? I didn't think so.
Then again, this "service upgrade" could have nothing to do with my outage. It's still possible that an intelligent squirrel found its way into my attic, chewed up the cable TV then chewed through the power outlet next to the TV and fried itself in my attic. Funny, I don't smell squirrel carcass up there. The mystery continues.
This morning (after 5 days!), I deduced that the trouble is probably outside, since the TV in my bedroom no longer sees the cable, either. Yeah, I'm quick on my feet, huh?
A few days ago, I considered cancelling the Comcast service. But .. they do provide some things I don't get via satellite, namely (1) the local weather channel, and (2) that delicious thing called Channel 27 (aka "local access", where anyone with a heartbeat can "be on TV"). I love watching Singing Armadillo Stuffers, or Benny Hinn wannabees ... plus, the cable's useful when thunderstorms neuter the satellite signal. A monthly "basic cable" bill is a hassle, so I pay for 6 months at a time.
After seeing their service truck zooming down my alley, I dug out their customer service number (easier than navigating their website) and made the call. Cable TV outages must be the most common reason people call, since the options I needed to press were (sit down for this) 1, 1, 1, and 1. It's obviously tied into CallerID, since it never asked for my 16-digit account number. The prompts were:
1=English (versus Spanish);
1=service trouble;
1=cable TV (vs cable modem);
1=total interruption.
Eventually, I reached a recorded message saying something like
"We're upgrading the service in your area. This could result in service interruptions or a bad signal. This work is done Monday through Saturday from 7a-6p. Sorry for any inconvenience."At the end of the call, they say "thanks for your patience," which made me all teary-eyed. They really do care about me as a customer! {swoon}
Now, wouldn't it have been nice for them to notify me of this "service upgrade" via (a) s-mail; (b) e-mail; (c) phone? I guess that was too much trouble. After all, a multi-day service upgrade is Just An Inconvenience, right? Now .. will they cheerfully deduct the percentage of downtime, since they've apparently taken my service offline to suit their schedule? I didn't think so.
Then again, this "service upgrade" could have nothing to do with my outage. It's still possible that an intelligent squirrel found its way into my attic, chewed up the cable TV then chewed through the power outlet next to the TV and fried itself in my attic. Funny, I don't smell squirrel carcass up there. The mystery continues.
Thursday, May 6
what to be when I grow up?
I'm off for a late breakfast with Renegade, to hear the news of his horse barn and to catch up on life after Sun.
Jill-Bob (ever-so-helpful) suggested a blended opportunity: management at Waffle House! Now why didn't I think of that? It would combine my managerial talent (huh?) with that of my keen insights into the QSR business (see? I even know an acronym in another field!)
I spent much of yesterday trading emails with former co-workers, many wanting to know What The Heck Happened? Apparently [Gene Being RIF'd] was about as unlikely as [Scott Throwing In The Towel]. Many are dumbfounded, thinking that I'd be the last one to Go Down With The Ship. As Bugs Bunny opined: "He don't know me very well - do he?". I wasn't surprised, since I was an easy pick (the only remote member of a small [albeit very visible] team). I suspect the remnants are now expunging the fact that I ever existed. Heck, I'd do the same thing for [to?] them if the tables were reversed.
Honestly, I wish the best for everyone who's still there, but .. it's as if I've been able to breathe pure air for the first time in many, many years. It's nice not having to Drink The Kool-Aid every morning.
American High-Tech means living with layoffs. It was about 16 years ago when I found myself unemployed (in Los Angeles) and not really knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up. So, I turned on the autopilot and tried to make use of the lessons I learned, years ago.
I immediately spent time reducing expenses (lesson: do this early, not later). My DSL circuit is now $13 less (sign up for a year extension online to get a reduced rate). My cellphone is still $30 (okay, $29.99) but I have a much better plan (the only reason I had AT&T Wireless is because they had a feature allowing me to dial an internal extention with only 5 digits). Now that I won't use that feature, Cingular Wireless works better for me (a Nokia 3310 is en route).
I went to a different car wash and spent $5 instead of $15. You get the idea. I'm not hurting financially, but with an uncertain future (will I be out of work 5 days or 5 years?) I'm just Doing The Right Things.
Tonight, I'll feed on some bratvurst und schnapps (mit HayJax, Jill-Bob, Scott-Bob and Trish-Bob) at the Bavarian Grill. Rumor has it that a Special Guest may also attend.
Jill-Bob (ever-so-helpful) suggested a blended opportunity: management at Waffle House! Now why didn't I think of that? It would combine my managerial talent (huh?) with that of my keen insights into the QSR business (see? I even know an acronym in another field!)
I spent much of yesterday trading emails with former co-workers, many wanting to know What The Heck Happened? Apparently [Gene Being RIF'd] was about as unlikely as [Scott Throwing In The Towel]. Many are dumbfounded, thinking that I'd be the last one to Go Down With The Ship. As Bugs Bunny opined: "He don't know me very well - do he?". I wasn't surprised, since I was an easy pick (the only remote member of a small [albeit very visible] team). I suspect the remnants are now expunging the fact that I ever existed. Heck, I'd do the same thing for [to?] them if the tables were reversed.
Honestly, I wish the best for everyone who's still there, but .. it's as if I've been able to breathe pure air for the first time in many, many years. It's nice not having to Drink The Kool-Aid every morning.
American High-Tech means living with layoffs. It was about 16 years ago when I found myself unemployed (in Los Angeles) and not really knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up. So, I turned on the autopilot and tried to make use of the lessons I learned, years ago.
I immediately spent time reducing expenses (lesson: do this early, not later). My DSL circuit is now $13 less (sign up for a year extension online to get a reduced rate). My cellphone is still $30 (okay, $29.99) but I have a much better plan (the only reason I had AT&T Wireless is because they had a feature allowing me to dial an internal extention with only 5 digits). Now that I won't use that feature, Cingular Wireless works better for me (a Nokia 3310 is en route).
I went to a different car wash and spent $5 instead of $15. You get the idea. I'm not hurting financially, but with an uncertain future (will I be out of work 5 days or 5 years?) I'm just Doing The Right Things.
Tonight, I'll feed on some bratvurst und schnapps (mit HayJax, Jill-Bob, Scott-Bob and Trish-Bob) at the Bavarian Grill. Rumor has it that a Special Guest may also attend.
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