2009 April - All Narfed Up

Archive for April 2009

My DSL connection has returned

In Life on 28 April 2009 tagged AT&T with 1 comment

An AT&T data comm technician arrived today a little after 2pm. I was told the line wouldn’t support the “Elite” speed of 6 Mbps, which was one of the reasons why my connection “broke.”

After a phone call and restoring my account to the “Pro” speed of 3 Mbps, all was well. Sort of.

My modem wouldn’t connect, but his spare modem would. I can’t complain. It gave me about 11 years.

I had to order a standard DSL modem from AT&T, which should arrive by Thursday. Lame.

Fortunately, Chris Lin had a backup one¹. I drove to his place to pick it up, chatted for a bit, and accepted a few brownies² before going home. Thanks man!

I won’t use his DSL modem permanently. I have a Linksys WRT54GL router³ I’d prefer to use. Plus, Chris told me that the built-in wireless router in the 2Wire DSL modem/router isn’t good.

Although it was pretty stupid having to wait a week, it’s good to be connected at home again.

Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router (Compatible with Linux)

Linksys, Electronics, $59.99

Specifically a 2Wire HomePortal 1000HG, which has a built in wireless router ↩
“I have half a pan of brownies left over and I’m starting on a cheesecake recipe. What to do…” via Twitter ↩
Flashed with DD-WRT ↩

Goodie #1: Dell 22-inch LCD Widescreen Monitor

In Computers, Gadgets on 25 April 2009 with 1 comment

After waiting most of Saturday¹, FedEx arrived with my first of three goodies: a Dell 22″ S2209W LCD Widescreen Monitor.²

I unpacked the box, made sure it came with everything, then assembled it to replace my old Neovo F-417 17″ monitor with it.

Whoa. *in my Neo voice*

I went into Lightroom to play a slideshow of processed photos. Compared to my previous monitor, it looks incredible. Processing photos is going to be much more pleasant.

I also watched an episode of “House, M.D.” Yay, widescreen! I’m definitely not going to mind watching videos on my computer.

Now what to do with my old monitor? Bring it to work because I still have a gigantic CRT monitor, or sell it for $40?

Off topic: An AT&T technician is supposed to come on Monday to check the wiring outside my apartment. Yes, I’m still without DSL at home. I typed this from my laptop at Panera.

Dell S2209W 22-Inch LCD Widescreen Monitor

Dell Marketing USA, LP, Personal Computers, $208.99

Around 3:00pm. ↩
Not enough money for a 24″ monitor, nor enough desk space. ↩

Blah brings forth goodies

In Gadgets, Life on 23 April 2009 with 3 comments

It’s been rough not having internet at home these past few days.

It’s affected my mom because she uses Skype¹ and Netflix Roku Player.

I haven’t felt like processing photos because I won’t be able to share them yet. Also, the heatwave that we² just went through didn’t entice me to take any photos lately.

The Trigonometry test I just had didn’t help.

With my 6-year-old Celeron-based notebook, I tried WiFi in Starbucks. The airconditioning helped.

Monday isn’t too much further.

All of this is a good reminder that you should have a list of things to do when you’re without an internet connection at home.

Good news: My tax refund got deposited on Tuesday, so I think I’ll have a boost of excitement and inspiration. I used it to purchase a few new items, which should be delivered in the next few days.

Unlimited calls to landlines in the U.S. and Canada. ↩
Los Angeles-ians. -ites. ↩

I’m without internet at home

In Life on 20 April 2009 tagged AT&T with 2 comments

Consider me off the grid until further notice. AT&T¹ is tripping out. To make matters worse, a scheduled technician can’t come out until next Monday, April 27th.

I did try to escalate it for Wednesday, so we’ll see what happens.

Boo.

Update 4/21/2009 10:15pm — AT&T left me a message on my answering machine. My attempt to escalate a technician visit was declined due to a full workload. Fail.

In addition to the few days I work, I’ll be mooching WiFi at AT&T hotspots (e.g. Starbucks), friends’ places or the library until then.

Which hasn’t been down since August 2006 ↩

Dave, the chicken man

In Photos on 18 April 2009 tagged Los Angeles, public transportation, Union Station with no comments

While waiting for the Metro Gold Line at Union Station, Dave saw my camera in hand and approached me, asking if I wanted to take his photo.

Since I can describe the conversation like a moth in flight, bullet points might make more sense.

He explained that he wasn’t mentally right. He was talkative and easy going.
“I know the new Incredible Hulk movie. He has a special power,” which he then demonstrated as if he were generating a fireball or something.
He talked about his brother who fought in Vietnam, but wasn’t receiving benefits. Somehow, that was a segue into him not getting SSI.
“You know the Spiderman song?” *singing the Spiderman theme song* “I’m chicken man. Chicken man, chicken man…”
“A girl I know on the subway. She sees me, says, ‘Hey chicken man!’ I give her a hug and kiss.”
Lastly, he holds up a circular opaque object. Apparently, it’s a valuable ashtray. I tell him he should try to sell it, but he’d never part with such a priceless object.