Disconnected from the rest of the world……

Ummm.. we've got a problem

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As normal, about 0500 hrs I’m up.  Work my way to the coffee maker to kick out a big mug of hot java.  Grab the smart phone off the charger and work my way back to the office.  Sipping my java at the laptop, opening up my email to check my work info.  Nothing.  That’s weird.  Must have been a quiet ten hours since I pulled the plug.  Check my personal email.  Nothing. The server times out.. oh well… so I press on to opening my browser.  Server Timeout.  Open up my Network/Internet Settings on the laptop: “No Internet, Secured”.  Great.  Open a window via “command prompt” .. you know.. that archaic DOS command that still resides in the windows OS .. and reset the IP address via the IPCONFIG command. No Go.   Open up my DSL Router Interface.  No Broadband.  No go with a soft reset.  Okay… more coffee.   Drag my butt over to the DSL Router and a manual reset…   a second reset.  A third.. as if this is going to help.  I’m dead in the water.  A call to Frontier Communications and shockingly, only a two minute wait.  Someone named Tiger takes my call.  Tiger?  I should have made a joke, but I’m not on my game this early.  I make sure to tell this guy exactly what I’ve done, etc. and for once, I’ve got someone that listens and understands not to pull out the idiot manual and have me do it all, all over again.   I expected to hear “we’ve got multiple complaints” .. or “ your area switch is down” …  but …   appears to be specific to my line.  My phone’s email app shows it did a check at 0400 hrs, so the damned router decides to go down an hour before I wake up?  Hmmmm…   Well, the Service guy is scheduled to show today between 9 and 5.  No DSL until then.  I live in the sticks, so my phone connectivity is spotty at best and I’ve got zero signal as I type this. I’ve got an M’Cell that pushes my cell traffic thru’ my router.  You know, that router that isn’t pushing data today?  If I had a single bar, I could tether my laptop off it, but no go.  So…   I got to watch a recorded movie this morning.   Every 15 minutes or so I look up for the ‘magic’ green light on the DSL.  Nothing.. .nada.   I’m starting to twitch.   I’m .... Disconnected!

When I’m off riding a motorcycle, I live for the ‘disconnected’ moments.   Hundred miles here, hundred miles there, nothing but ‘one and the environment’.  No emails, texts, drama.. .. nothing.  Perfecto’.     So, one would assume I’d be in a bliss of sorts this morning, smiling knowing I was unreachable.  But……..   I’m without Internet connectivity!  It’s driving me bat shit!  Funny how we have our habits.. our schedules ….that drive our behaviors.  If it was a Saturday morning, it’d probably be easier.  But for some reason, since it’s a week day …   I can’t 100% disconnect mentally.  Anytime I’m near it, I look up at the router.  Look at the phone for data pushing.   WTF?  

It’s 0930….. Frontier's automated system has dialed up my landline with a message letting us know there is an outage in the area.  Really?  You couldn’t figure that out when I called over 4 hours ago? Incredible.  Guessing my neighbors eventually woke up and went through a similar routine.  Maybe one of them was out of coffee and took out their frustrations on a clueless service person answering the phone over at Frontier?   Maybe I was too nice…

Find myself thinking about my landlines.  Many a person has asked me why I have a landline.  I’ve got a home line and a work line.  I guess I could actually eliminate one of them possibly, but .. it’s times like today, that I have them.  What good is a Internet based phone service…. If your DLS service is down, literally?  I get pissed off enough as it is due to the sub par service of it on a daily basis.  I swear it crawls a few hours a day.  Just when I’m about to throw in the towel and make a call to them for a fix, I do a “speedtest” and it shows it functioning at an acceptable level.   Really?  Why the hell did my email timeout the last fifteen minutes then?  Why is my browser crawling along?  Sadly, I have no other real choice.  For over a decade I had a Satellite dish based service the was brutally slow.  Hell, up to that point, in the late 90s, I was still using a 56k modem ( zoom zoom!). I can almost hear  the handshake noises now as my modem negotiated with the ISPs modem, only to give me a slower speed like.. .38k .. or … 28k .. or..  well, you get the idea.  The good ol’ days?   So, moving to a SAT system was the big time back then.. but… the ping rates were awful.  Uploads were awful.  Hell, I still remember the day I got an email from a neighbor of mine, and his email domain was Verizon.  I stared at it for the better part of fifteen or so seconds as my brain cells were swirling around that one.  Why does he have a Verizon email? Does Verizon have an ISP around here?  As the brain cells came together in unison, I quickly went to the Verizon website, located their high speed broadband section and put in my phone number on their DSL offering.   WTF?  How did I not know this?  Well, now I did and a few weeks later I had screaming fast DSL, dumped the SAT system and I was smiling!  I’m screaming along at 3 to 7 Meg a sec downloads!  Life is Good .  Was Good.  Now, I’m trapped again.  It’s functional.  I can usually get Netflix working okay.  VUDU works great; I’m convinced they’ve got a better algorithm.. better compression.. than Netflix because they work when it won’t sometimes.   But, when I go to Galveston where I’ve got cable that pushes 25MB all day long, I realize I’m on an archaic system.  Hell, Galveston is archaic in the big picture.  There’s something to be said about living in the ‘big city’ when you get fiber drops to your home pushing ridiculous blazing fast speeds.   But, I don’t see that happening in my lifetime.  I have no desire to live that close to someone else.  I prefer the country living where I’ve got at least a 100 yards between myself and my neighbors.  I guarantee you they like that distance from me? J   Still…..  what a sight that would be.  Seeing a crew digging a ditch down our road dropping some high dollar cable in for modern connectivity to the rest of the world…   hey .. it could happen.

1130 hrs.  No Connectivity  …  arrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh

1400 hrs.  No Connectivity  …  arrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh   …. but .. I did sneak off to COSTCO.  Soon as I hit the end of our Country Road turning on to the Farm Road…. Phone goes crazy.   Quick email check .. no fires .. I’m calm again!

1600 hrs.  No Connectivity  …  arrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh … ..  I should have gone to the gym .. but watched Tarzan instead.  Ol’ Tarzan’s been in the gym.  I need his trainer.  His dietician.  His Pharmacist?  Damned actors nowadays are doing some crazy shit.. or …  maybe it’s all Computer Generated .. who knows…

Day wasted (work wise).  Off to prep some chicken for dinner.  Question is .. Grill or Smoked BBQ?  Thinking grilling once I prep it with some rub and olive oil.  Passing the router I do a Power Cycle for the umpteenth time to show it who’s boss.  While my hands are in the mix with the chicken….   My phone starts going crazy .. Lucy’s is going crazy.  My laptop is chiming away with notifications. Huh.  After they fixed they switch, the router was still nutted up.  Crap.  Been home for the last few hours…. Guessing I should have hit that power switch when I got home?

Crap .. I’m connected again.  Have to admit.... was a nice lil break.  Almost felt like I was off the Grid.  Well.. almost.  Thank God Dish Network was up and running!

Literally, a few mintues ago as I'm getting ready to hit POST on this, the phone is ringing.  It's an automated Frontier Commutations call.  "Your internet issue has been fixed.  If you are still experiencing issues, please power cycle your modem.  If you continue to have issues, please contact us......" .. blah blah blah.... that's it. I'm posting this and DONE for the day!