The Republic of T.

Tip Toe Through the Dog Poo

Listen, if you're a dog owner in DC, I understand that you have to walk your dog no matter what the weather. Even in the snow. But realize, please, that eventually the snow and ice do melt. That means that the dog poo you left behind to be buried in the snow (instead of picking it up and trashing it like you're s'posed to) will eventually be revealed, leaving a rather disgusting obstacle course for the rest of us pedestrians - who don't care to bring home your pooch's frozen & thawed leavings - to navigate.

I Hate Monopolies

We lose phone service all the time. If it rains, we lose phone service. If the wind blows, we lose phone service. If an an farts in the next county, we lose phone service. It wouldn't be so bad if Verizon didn't suck; if they didn't miss repair appointments; if they didn't keep us waiting all day; if they didn't tell us a problem was fixed, only for us to lose service again by the end of the day.

After going through this a few times, I tend to go off. Suddenly my peaceful, Buddhist side gets surpressed, and the raging, bitchy queen emerges in all his horrific glory.

Telephone Operator: Well, I'm sorry we missed you. Please give us another chance to fix the problem.

Me: Another chance? Do I have a choice? Believe me if there were another phone company around here I'd be talking to them right now.

We have service again. For now. I'm convinced we'll lose it again before the end of the day.

The DSL Drama

... may have abated. The ISP called this evening and said that maintenance had been performed on the line and that may take care of the problem. I've only been online sporadically today, but the DSL has been working when I needed/wanted it. So I'm going to monitor it for a day or two and then call them if there's a problem, or they will call me in two days, whichever comes first.

The DSL Drama

... may have abated. The ISP called this evening and said that maintenance had been performed on the line and that may take care of the problem. I've only been online sporadically today, but the DSL has been working when I needed/wanted it. So I'm going to monitor it for a day or two and then call them if there's a problem, or they will call me in two days, whichever comes first.

Dial-up Sucks

I am soooooooooooooooooooo pissed. My DSL connection has gone haywire. I haven't been able to get a realiable connection for the last two days. Basically, I haven't been able to connect, or if I have been able to connect I can't maintain the connection for very long. If I try to visit a website or check email the "Ready" light on the DSL modem goes from steady to blinking. Sometimes it does it when I'm not doing anything.

I've power-cycled the modem countless times. I've relocated the modem up above everything else on my desk. I moved my halogen lamp to the opposite side of the desk. I've moved the cordless phone across the room. I've unplugged all the cordless phones in the house and plugged the modem directly into the wall jack. I even tested the modem by connecting it to the phone box outside the house. Same result. No steady signal. So now I have to wait for techs to come out here in the next week or so and find out what the problem is.

Until then, I'm busted back down to 56K dial-up. It sucks.

Dial-up Sucks

I am soooooooooooooooooooo pissed. My DSL connection has gone haywire. I haven't been able to get a realiable connection for the last two days. Basically, I haven't been able to connect, or if I have been able to connect I can't maintain the connection for very long. If I try to visit a website or check email the "Ready" light on the DSL modem goes from steady to blinking. Sometimes it does it when I'm not doing anything.

I've power-cycled the modem countless times. I've relocated the modem up above everything else on my desk. I moved my halogen lamp to the opposite side of the desk. I've moved the cordless phone across the room. I've unplugged all the cordless phones in the house and plugged the modem directly into the wall jack. I even tested the modem by connecting it to the phone box outside the house. Same result. No steady signal. So now I have to wait for techs to come out here in the next week or so and find out what the problem is.

Until then, I'm busted back down to 56K dial-up. It sucks.