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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
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3:00 pm - Odd Tales from a WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider)
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I got a call one day saying that the internet was out. I checked the Access Point, and sure enough, her name didn't show up. It was a client I had never heard of before. That usually means that they are new and that I haven't received the paper work yet. However this woman kept insisting that she had been using our service for several months. It didn't make sense. I know our paperwork is slow some times, but it usually arrives within a couple of weeks at the latest.
She was asking for the password for our access point so she could connect. I informed her that I never, ever gave out that information to anyone. No one connects to our network directly from their laptop. They all go through a subscriber unit which has the password programmed into it. It wasn't the first time I'd had to give this explanation, so I didn't think more of it.
I asked her to reboot her subscriber unit. "What's that?". I asked if she had a router. "What's a router?" I'm use to people not knowing much about their networks. Frequently it's the tech savvy person in the family who sets things up and everyone else is clueless. Since she was basically alone, I said I'd pop over to see what was going on.
The first thing I like to do when I arrive is check the subscriber unit, to make sure it's operating properly. So after ringing the doorbell, and explaining what I would do, I went around to the shore-side of the house to find the subscriber unit. I couldn't find one. I went back to the door but was told not to worry, as the internet was working fine again. I asked to see her computer.
It was a standard laptop running Windows XP. I saw that it was connected to a wireless network named "dlink". I went back outside to the shoreline and looked left and right. Sure enough, there was a subscriber unit next door. I knocked on the door there. "Do you have a DLink router?" I asked. "Yes." "You've left it unsecured and your neighbour is stealing service from you."
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| Sunday, June 14th, 2009
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10:34 pm - Bugs, bugs, and more bugs!
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It's been a bad year for black flies. That's what everyone around here is telling me. They're also saying the mosquitoes are bad but mosquitoes have never bothered me much. But the black flies have been drawing large amounts of blood and making me sick. It's been like that.
And just to make matters worse, the new radios I built from scratch, don't work quite properly yet. There's some kind of flaw in the software and I don't know where it is yet. Another bug and very frustrating.
And then there's the house. We moved in January and we're still no where near unpacked. The dining room is a mass of boxes. I don't know where half my summer clothes are. And the house needs minor repairs here and there, and alterations, and paint, and ... It's really bugging me. The witch isn't able to help much because of her physical condition, which places an inordinate amount of responsibility on my shoulders. There's too much that needs doing and too much which needs doing soon and no one else to do it. That bugs me too.
At least the central air conditioning works.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, March 14th, 2009
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12:41 am - Still alive
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Yep.
I'm still alive.
We've moved out to rural Ontario. I'm now a full time net-admin.
A major wind storm in the area knocked out power and phone lines to our network. They came back up yesterday, but some people's dishes were also knocked out of alignment. It's keeping me busy while I try to get over this cold or flu or whatever.
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
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11:02 pm - Anyone need a slightly used Embedded Software Developper?
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The WISP I run is no longer suffering the major problems it has been. This doesn't mean I won't get complaints from people saying their internet isn't working because a tree fell on their dish, but at least they aren't going to be saying it's not working because Mike (remember the guy who baked the DSL modem into modern art?) set things up in a badly ignorant manner. We've had to spend the entire summer deMikeing the network. But now that's done.
Now I need a paycheck. The WISP isn't paying enough right now and because of the delays and problems, likely won't until spring. That means, I need gainful employment.
So if anyone out there knows of someone looking for a slightly used embedded systems software developer, please let me know.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Friday, June 20th, 2008
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12:01 am - Migrant Workers on Roller Coasters
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On Monday, one of my co-workers commented that working in high-tech is like being a highly paid migrant worker. I commented that I have long said that working in high-tech is like living on a roller coaster.
This conversation occurred after I was informed that my contract was being terminated. One week short of a year.
I'm not worried. We have enough money to see us through to the end of September. I'm going to take the rest of June off and try to get some stuff done that I've really been meaning to do.
current mood:  apathetic
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(comment on this)
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| Sunday, February 17th, 2008
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12:24 am - Time and Energy
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When we are born, we are given a most valuable of commodities, LIFE. It consists of time and energy. We each receive one lifetime's worth of time (how ever long that is). Each day, we are given an allotment of energy and 24 hours in which to eat, sleep, and work to obtain what we need to survive. Any energy and time left over, is a rare and precious commodity.
Anyone who knows me knows I work two jobs and that my darling wife, Whirlwitch, has fibromyalgia. We do not have much extra time and even less extra energy. Still, we try to use it wisely, trying to brighten the hearts of our friends and to make the world, at least some small corner of it, a slightly better place, even if only for a little while.
Recently, we gave a friend and her daughter, each a valentine day's card and some chocolate. This was the same friend who's partner blew up at us last summer. She has repeatedly told us that she doesn't like us, that she doesn't want to even try to be friends with us, and to go away and leave her alone. That seems to be how she deals with everyone. Needless to say, I and the Witch, have much better things to do than waste our rather minuscule amounts of so-called "free time" on our friend's partner. Of course, this has made maintaining our relationship with our friend somewhat difficult, but not impossible.
Despite the difficulties, we have continued to repeatedly give this friend, open-ended offers of drives to the grocery stores and laundromats, the use of our own washing machine and dryer, and even free food. We knew that she could certainly use the help. Never did she take us up on our offers.
But since our friend's partner wanted us to leave her alone and we're not inclined to waste our time and energy on her, we did not get her a card nor any gift. What we got in return was silence from our so-called friend, and a rather nasty email from her partner. Last year, this same friend called to say "Thank you".
Neither I nor the Witch are under any obligation to put up with this kind of abuse, and I personally now feel that my small amounts of extra time and energy would be better expended elsewhere. Sadly, this means that so-called friend loses out, and her partner wins.
( Warning. Offensive material here. )
current mood:  angry and upset
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| Saturday, February 16th, 2008
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11:32 pm - The return of ... the Movie meme
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Here's how it works.
1. Pick 15 of your favourite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search or other search functions.
Because so many people had so much difficulty with it the first time around, I've kept the original quotes but added a second pair. Some time in March, I'll reveal any movies remaining.
( And here it is! )
current mood:  amused
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(6 comments | comment on this)
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| Saturday, February 9th, 2008
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10:16 pm - Octopocky through the alphabet
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| Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
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12:11 am - Contract renewed!
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As it turns out, instead of my contract ending, it has been renewed until the end of February.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
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7:16 pm - Snow Tires!
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Getting my new snow tires has been a bit of an ordeal.
First, I had to wait a month because I bought new glasses instead of the tires I wanted.
Last Saturday, I went to the nearest Canadian Tire to buy the new wheels (tires and rims). They had the tires, but not the rims. A bit of checking by computer and we found a store with tires and rims not too far away. So away I went.
No problem ordering the tires. Except, the earliest they could get the tires onto the rims would be Monday morning. So I ordered the tires.
Monday evening, it was snowing. After arriving at the Canadian Tire store, I found they had misplaced the tires and had to spend half an hour looking for them. It turned out, they were right beside where I was standing. However, the earliest I'd be able to get them mounted onto the car would be Wednesday.
So I put the wheels into the back of the car and headed to the first Canadian Tire. They said they'd be able to do it if I brought the car in early in the morning.
Tuesday, I was a little late getting up so I took the bus to work.
So today, I got up early and went to Canadian Tire. It was very cold. After work, I picked up the car, new tires installed. (Installation was included in the price of the tire.) I noticed the difference right away.
And yes, they put the hubcaps back on. (And I would have too if it had been me. After all, what else am I suppose to do with them?) Now all I need to do is to get the "all-season radials" out of the back of the car and to replace the spare "donut" with one of them. Driving around the back roads, I want a real tire, not one of those next to useless emergency spares.
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, November 23rd, 2007
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7:20 pm - Interesting!
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| You Are The Magician | 
You are powerful and wise - beyond what anyone can see.
Deeply complex, you have the resources to connect to the spiritual and material world.
You posses the knowledge to manipulate your life and the lives around you.
You also have a great healing power, should you choose to use it.
Your fortune:
You have unhidden powers that you have yet to tap into.
Soon, you will better understand how to use your intellect and intuition.
Believe it or now, you will discover how you can manipulate yourself and others for good.
You are at the beginning of a path of spiritual enlightenment. |
current mood:  blah
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
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7:43 pm - Waitting for the Axe
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When I'm not volunteering at the Wireless Internet Service Provider, I work to pay the bills as an Embedded System Software Development Contractor. This means that I program computers on a contractual basis.
My current contract ends on December 14, and I was very much hoping for a renewal. The place has been a wonderful place to work.
However, the company just laid off a large number of their permanent staff. Of the 14 members of the team, 2 were transferred to other departments and 5 were let go. We're all still in shock.
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, November 10th, 2007
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9:03 pm - Not fried but seriously baked!
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I volunteer for a not-for-profit wireless internet service provider in a rural area. Much of our equipment is on towers, but at the bottom of these towers, we have little plastic boxes to hold equipment such as routers. Unfortunately, these boxes are not insulated, heated or cooled.
The winters up here can get frightfully cold (-40 and lower) and most equipment isn't rated to work below freezing. After all, who in the right mind would put an office-style router in a plastic box out in below-freezing temperatures? More than just us, I can assure you.
A little trick developed by a radio station a number of years ago was to take an old no longer working fridge, and put the equipment in there. Fridges are well insulated and if the equipment doesn't keep itself warm enough, a single low wattage light bulb usually does the trick.
So we got ourselves a small no longer working bar fridge and equipped it with a couple of power outlets inside and a couple of light sockets. Now to my mind, a pair of 15-25W bulbs should have been plenty. However, one of my co-workers was worried it wasn't enough. To his mind, a 150W and a 200W would be sufficient since that's what he put in. Here's the result:
All rights reserved
Amazingly it still works!
The only reason the service actually stopped despite the inner guts of the fridge looking like a pile of ooze was that a hydro pole fell over (no fault of ours) leaving us (thankfully) without power for a day or so.
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Thursday, November 1st, 2007
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2:26 am - Happy (belated) Samhain everyone!
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| Saturday, October 13th, 2007
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7:11 pm - Latest Pet
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7:09 pm - Pet cat
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7:06 pm - Pet fish
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| Wednesday, September 26th, 2007
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7:31 pm - Nothing is working!
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Nothing but problems this week. Today at work, nothing worked. On my rural internet project, nothing is working. All in all, nothing is working.
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(comment on this)
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| Friday, September 7th, 2007
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7:12 pm - The original song for those who are interested
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| Saturday, September 1st, 2007
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7:50 pm - New Pirate movie coming this winter
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octopocky's journal
tired