Ah homeownership…
Some Things Are Super, Others Notsomuch
Yesterday was a fairly long day of waiting for AT&T to install U-Verse service. Needless to say the ITP Estate put up much resistance — I’m not sure if anyone who worked on the house after its construction ever knew what the fuck they were doing! — and after much wire-tapping and head-scratching the technician figured out where he could install the gateway. As it turned out, this was not where I paid to have a new outlet installed (dammit!) as it got installed into the “game room” (where I cleverly hid it once the technician left), but that new outlet was used for the powerline broadband connector which connects the gateway to the data central nervous system of my house.
The U-Verse internet connectivity was/is fantastic! Last night I streamed a movie from Netflix and watched it on my laptop. NEAT! (fwiw – I watched a 2006 indie film called Cashback. I rather enjoyed it, but it definitely won’t be everybody’s cup of tea.)
After successfully reconfiguring my internet connections within the house I called my, soon-to-be-former DSL provider to cancel my service with them. The person to whom I spoke was almost astonished that anyone would ever cancel their service and directed me to a PDF on their website which I must fax to them today in order to execute the cancellation. Unbelievable.
Not all was perfect with yesterday’s installation, however. The phone line contains massive static so I’ll have to have AT&T come back out in order to fix it. I fear that this will be deemed an “inside wire” problem which, by the terms of their service, is not their problem to fix. Anyone know someone who is good with phone lines?
I wish that I could commit to this house for another five/ten years; if so I’d start the sort of major improvements that I planned and should have done when I bought the house eleven years ago. My current commitment to this house is to sell it, though I admit that I might become addicted to super-fast internet connectivity.
A Flickr Pic Of ITP
Something a little different today. This is a photo of me, positioned fittingly in front of a sign which reads “Island of Misfit Toys.”
This shot was taken by ITP-Reader Maigh.
Pimpin’ The Hood
If you are a Scoutmob user you should check out today’s deal for 50% off a purchase (up to $10) at Urban Cannibals (no real website but they do have an Urban Cannibals Facebook Page.
Urban Cannibals is a market of sorts in East Atlanta; they provide ready-to-eat meals and such niceties as locally-produced honey, milk, and bread.
While I’ve known about Urban Cannibals for months I’ve yet to make it there. Perhaps this Scoutmob deal is just the sort of nudge that I needed.
And Tonight For Something Completely Different
Tonight I’ll be dipping my toes into the unknown waters that are the Atlanta iPhone Developers group. The group’s meetings are held at 6:30pm on the third Tuesday of each month in an office building in midtown.
I’ve really been trying to catch on to iPhone development. I’ve been spending a lot of time and effort, but thus far have seen little in the form of results. I plan to soldier on, and perhaps meeting other similarly-committed geeks will help me.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – mixed
Current Music – silence as I get things situated
Website Of The Day – Well I’ll be darned! I just realized that I’ve never picked Scoutmob as a “Website Of The Day.”
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 202 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 20
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 16 (16)
Vegetarian Days – 2, Carnivorous Days – 13
Marta Rides – 0
March Goals
– Not get fired from my job
– Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
– Get the new LLC moving…
2010 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
– Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Try this-
http://communication.howstuffworks.com/clear-phone-line-noise.htm/printable
Basically disconnect things from your network one by one and see what might be causing the static. Move phone lines away from electrical lines. Just basic stuff.
As much rain as we’ve had lately, I’m suprised the phone system works at all.
-FP
Hmm, may have to see if I can read that today. Thanks.
The ITP Estate has had a somewhat storied past with regards to telephony.
I believe one of the previous owners worked for BellSouth and did his damnest to eff things up. I have lines running everywhere, none of which are labeled.
There is the security system, installed before my purchase, with which to deal as well.
Then, during my tenure a truck driving down my street ripped the phone line off the house. When BellSouth came out to repair the line they decided to originate from a different pole, installed a new NID, ran a cable from that NID to the separator located in the back of the house, which enters into the basement *somewhere*.
Ah, homeownership…
I’ve be to UC twice, first time I picked up some apps for New Years Eve, pretty good stuff, duck wings and chesse dip. The second time Michelle and I ate in, food was good, my only ‘complaint’ was we showed up at the same time a play group at Brownwood park was letting out…WAY TOO MANY kids in such a small place and its not very child friendly (too much stuff at toddler level, kids kept touching and eating from the displays).
I’m really, really wanting to get some big stuff done with the house, I just can’t seem to pull the trigger or really even know where to start. Jerry and I are at the beginning of the great house debate…so its only going to get worse.
When I had a land line I always had problems with it, still not as bad as the rental I had in Grant Park…actually found gum used to hold the wires in one of the phone outlets?!?
Who wouldn’t llike a film with so many exposed breasts?
Ah, so you’ve seen “Cashback” Andrew?
One might imagine that the facial expression in today’s photo also occurred a time or two during my watching of the film.