Wow, it's been a while. I've gotten used to checking Facebook on a regular basis, but kind of forgot about Livejournal.

Ah, Qwest, Qwest, Qwest.

I dropped my long-time ISP, and went with basically a Qwest barebones DSL connection, using a shell-only account on another ISP for email, web, etc.

The physical transition went fine,this last Friday. I had some problems getting my old DSL modem configured properly, and was pleased to discover that Qwest's off-shore 24 hour tech support has both a short hold time and appears to be reasonably competent. I was up and running quickly.

Except:

I was still at my old Qwest "Silver" speed of 1.5/.768 Mbps, yet I had ordered "Platinum" which was supposed to bump me up to 3Mbps down. Called tech support, who did some line troubleshooting then transferred me to the business office. Turns out that even though the order was indeed written for 3, somehow that part never got communicated to the tech folks. So, another order was put in, to be completed by 5pm last night.

5pm last night comes, no change. This morning, I notice my speed has increased slightly, but not double. I check both my modem status and run some speed tests. My upload speed is now slightly over 1 Mbps, but download hasn't changed. That was bizarre.

I call tech support again, they run line checks again and again transfer me to the business office. Turns out that last night they switched me over to the newly-installed-in-my-neighborhood FTTN (either Fiber To The Node or Fiber To The Neighborhood depending on which source you read - the connection from the "node" to my house is still copper wire) but once again somewhere in the process my speed upgrade was overlooked.

The person I was talking to apologized profusely, put the order in (should be done Friday) and waived the setup fee, which was nice.

The saving grace of all this was that at no point did I have to wait on hold for an unreasonable amount of time, and everyone I talked to was very very nice. Also, I kind of expected something like this because every time in the past I've tweaked my other services with them, nothing ever went as ordered right off the bat.

Let's see if on Friday I actually do get my increased speed.

When I started with my current ISP, many years ago, it was small and local. It offered shell access, and and very few restrictions on what you could do with your connection. It was bought out, changed, and I am no longer happy with them.

So, I'm looking for another small ISP that will let me run my own web server if I want (non-commercial) without having to buy a business package, doesn't care how many computers are on my home network, doesn't think that Windows is the only OS in the world and isn't owned by some ginourmous corporation that dictates the terms.

So far, by web page alone, I'm really liking http://www.dsl-only.net. I like their terms, they have a toll free number, extended support hours (for a small ISP), plus I really like their Network Status page and they're also cheaper than my current ISP. They do serve the Seattle area.

Their reviews on dslreports.com are good, but most of them are several years old. Any of you PNW'ers heard anything about them, good or bad? Have any other recommendations?

How cool is this? I just discovered that MIT publishes the lecture notes and other materials from most of its courses, and they're free. Wow. http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/about/about/index.htm

Trying to decide whether my first endeavor will be Physics 1 or Topics in Indian Popular Culture: Spectacle, Masala, and Genre. Probably both.

Tonight is the 10 year anniversary of my Mom's death, at least in the Gregorian calendar. I've lit both the Shabbat and a Yartzeit candle, and will light another Yartzeit candle on Jan 25th, which is her actual Yartzeit (Jewish calendar anniversary).

Doesn't seem possible that it's been 10 years......life is just unfathomable.

http://consc.net/misc/moser.html

[Don't kill the messenger, please :-)]

First of all, Merry Christmas to those for whom this is an appropriate greeting. Oh, what the heck, everyone have a Merry Christmas, even if you don't believe in it. Just have a gosh-darn good day! And Happy Chanuakah to everyone also! And Happy Solstice.

One of my life's favorite moments was being wished a Merry Christmas by a Muslim shop owner. Don't know if he realized I was Jewish or not, but it tickled me.

It's snowing yet again......hard. Weather forecast said "light snow showers". I"m sorry, but there's no way anyone would define what I'm seeing out my window as light. And the thermometer outside of my window, which seems pretty reliable, shows that the temperature is steadily falling. ( Read more... )

With their very own regifting showcase!

https://www.upsregifter.com/#/showcase/

Not just that, but the top is frozen, so there's a crunchy crust on it. The dogs are not happy.

Glad I went to the store yesterday - they've suspended service on my bus route for now.

Tire chains that I can actually put on are on the way from Kentucky.......if all goes well, will be here Tuesday.

The north polar icecaps are merely moving south. To Seattle.

I've been here for over 30 years and we've had snowstorms and cold spells, but never this much continuous below freezing during the day (normally it's below freezing at night but warms up a little during the day). The sidewalks and anything other than major arterials (and even some of those) are sheet ice.

Luckily, I live 3 blocks from one of the bus routes that is still operating fairly normally. And power seems to be holding steady (knock on wood, which I actually have a good supply of, and will use once I clean several years of stuff that's accumulated on and around the wood stove).

And silk long underwear Rules!

But boy, I wish it would stop snowing.........at least it's supposed to go up to 34 degrees F tomorrow and stay above freezing (at least during the day) for a while.

Friend whose husband is in Arkansas right now reports that he's enjoying a balmy 60 degrees there. Sigh.

I LOVE this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48

Going to spend my usual Thanksgiving with friends in a town about 30 miles away from my house. They have a big family, which I am lucky enough to be an honorary member of, and Thanksgiving is always a very fun event which goes on way into the night. Normally, I have to leave early because part of the drive is a twisty 2 lane highway with no lighting, with a 50 mile an hour speed limit, on which the average speed is usually around 70. I can handle it during the day, but scares the shit out of me to drive it in the dark. Also, the critters need care.

This year, it dawned on me: I have an RV! The friends have room for me to park it there and a handy electrical socket I can plug into. So, I sprang the RV from storage yesterday (filled with $4 a gallon gas, grrr - I filled it up before I parked it, and now gas is down to around $2 a gallon here! Oh well, could have just as easily gone the other direction instead).

Propane level is good (I can use the heater and the oven - will be heating up my dinner contribution in the RV, fun!) and the generator still works (won't need it, but always good to have a working generator). This morning, I will stock it with the human and canine necessities for an overnight or two, fill up the tires (buying my own tire inflator was a really good move - yeah, it takes a while, but I set the pressure, lock on the nozzle, and I can do other things while it's inflating), check the oil, put some water in in the water tank, and away we go!

Neighbor will watch the kitties. This is starting to feel like a real vacation!

Because I developed so many foot and leg issues in the last year, I am finding more and more that the only shoes in which I am truly comfortable tend to cost a whole lot more than the $30-$50 price range I used to be accustomed to, so I have become an expert in finding sales, ebay offerings, etc. As it turns to winter here, and I have to switch to closed shoes, I've discovered, much to my dismay, that most of the winter shoes and boots I have are no longer comfortable for extended periods of walking.

After doing the usual rounds of discount shoe stores, etc, I gave up yesterday,resigned myself that this year, it would be one or two new pairs of really comfortable shoes at retail price instead of the usual smorgasboard and found myself at Soul Food, an expensive trendy boutique store in what used to be a modest neighborhood shopping center which was remodeled a couple of years ago and now houses mostly trendy expensive stores.

I was really pleasantly surprised when they told me that for this weekend, they were giving 20% off all their regularly-priced stock to anyone who brought in at least one pair of their "gently-used" shoes, as they are donating them to a local charity (can't remember the name, but it was a good one). What a great idea, instead of just a regular sale.

Oh, and the very young very trendy saleswomen treated me with friendliness and respect, which was a nice change from some of the hip stores I've been in. Obviously they want to make sales to everyone, not just other young hipsters.

So, I came away ecstatically happy with a pair of Keen Palermo boots in black. OMG, they support everything that needs supporting, don't rub on any of the many hotspots on my feet, and are perfect for walking in the rain. The store was willing to credit me back the 20%, so today I'm taking them some of my in-good-condition footwear that I can no longer wear.

Gave me a whole new respect for this store.

The normal sleeping arrangement at my house is me on my back in the middle of the bed, with Angel stretched out on my left and plastered against me from just below armpit level to about my knees, Laika curled up in my right armpit, and Jazzy by my right knee. Sometimes Duncan the big cat joins us on the bed, normally curled up by my feet.

Last night, I was awoken by what sounded like a lawnmower in my ear and some weight on my chest. Duncan was on my right side, purring in my ear, reaching over and kneading my chest. Something didn't seem quite right, logistics-wise. I opened my eyes......Duncan was sitting on Angel. She opened her eyes, looked around and up at him, decided it was ok (I guess) and went back to sleep.

During the winter, I've seen the dogs and cats curled up together, but seeing one of the cats sitting on one of the dogs was a definite first.

For when our knees give out completely.

Be sure to check out the Getting Started page.

[My knee is almost well - I've signed up for agility classes for Angel and Jazzy starting Dec 27. Can't wait to get back into it!}

http://www.klezmonauts.com/index.html

Be sure to listen to the samples.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/03/wallace.kennedy.obama/index.html.

In 1968, at age 15, in a strip mall in Houston Texas, I walked past a George Wallace for President campaign office and glanced in. Almost immediately two young men, much bigger than me, cut me off and started threatening me for looking disrespectful. I mumbled something and ran.

I didn't realize, until I read his daughter's essay, that after he was shot, he changed his views.

You pay off the last one in the morning then in the afternoon out and buy a new recliner to replace the one you have that's 17 years old, fabric mostly shredded, and padding completely compacted.

It was delivered yesterday, and I LOVE it!!!!! La-z-boy, of course. Larson model, on an "in stock only" sale, dark rich brown high-grade microfiber. Was delivered yesterday. Slept in it last night. Love it.

It's morning and he's still winning. I am so happy - this is the first time in years that I've voted for someone I believed in, as opposed to voting against someone I didn't. I also feel a pride for the USA that I haven't felt for a long time, for showing that quantum-leap change is possible.

FYI, I'm not completely partisan - I voted for one Republican. I really like our state's Attorney General, and so far he's got 59% of the vote, with 53% of the precincts reporting.

Props to Sen. McCain for an amazingly graceful congratulation speech.

And for once, pretty much all the initiatives went the way I voted - that hasn't happened in a LONG time!

So, now we can settle back and see how he does. I have a lot of hope.

Got a letter with the results of my "tubes at both ends" procedures - everything looks normal. No ulcers, no Barrett's Esophogus, and the various smorgasbord of removed polyps were all benign. Too bad there's no profit in bodily lumps - I'm a veritable factory.