wi-fi networking 101

LOL – finally fixed issues with the home network and router introduction…hopefully DHCP renewals will be taken care of with this firmware upgrade, and as for the laptop…well, apparently the only reason I wasn’t getting back to the network was because suddenly my card is picking up five different ones and was waiting for me to choose which one to connect to! 😛

Pulling things offline for just a moment so that I can reset my access point and walk through the security steps from the beginning to ensure that my network isn’t wide open for anybody else…

VoIP – initial opinions

So I finally had my first chance to test out this whole VoIP thing tonight and so far, I think I’m pretty impressed. I spent almost two hours talking to my Mom long distance and didn’t hear any echos or fade-outs or anything. There was a bit of static for about fifteen or twenty seconds, but we couldn’t tell if it was my phone or her cordless up there. And unlike some rumors that I’d heard, I didn’t notice any duplex issues like only one of us being able to talk at a time, either. Mind you, we both can’t talk and listen at the same time, but it was good to see that the phone didn’t have a problem with it!

I figure I’ll probably give it about another week’s worth of testing before I make my final decision and send the paperwork off to port over my existing landline. Right now I’m using the service with a regular, corded phone, so I want to try swapping that out for the cordless for starters. I also need to try some local #s, cell phone #s, automated systems and 800 #s, just to cover all of the bases…oh yeah, and probably while downloading some huge, bandwidth-intensive files, too! One thing I did notice is that 200 long distance minutes might not stretch as far as I thought when I just used 99 tonight…it was nice being able to use a regular phone for talking so long a la long distance, so maybe it would be worth spending the extra $10 / mo for unlimited LD, too – we’ll see.

Either way, $14.99 / mo for unlimited local calling to ALL of Tampa (813) and St. Pete / Clearwater (727), not to mention Gainesville (352), Bradenton / Sarasota (941), and even Lake Okeechobee (863) certainly ain’t too shabby! What’s Verizon, again…most of 813 and most of 727??? 😛

Hurricane Preparedness

Just a tip for those living in Florida – the state will be waiving sales tax on most preparedness supplies through June 12th (next Sunday), so now’s as good of a time as any to stock up on batteries, flashlights, and first aid kits if you don’t already have them in your home. I went into Wal-Mart the other night and they already had pallets of supplies marked with special signs to let you know what qualifies and what doesn’t, so it should be a pretty straight-forward process…

http://www.myflorida.com/dor/tips/tip05a01-01.pdf

I need to remember to do this before next week … it’d be nice having an actual working flashlight in the house, just in case!

slightly newer old-school gaming…

By the way, did I mention that the good, old Super Nintendo is up and working again?! Luckily the replacements that I bought on eBay don’t overlap what I found up north too bad, so I’ve got about a dozen new games on the shelf to be thrown into rotation. I’ve been keeping it simple at first…just a little Super Mario World here and there between thoughts of actual work, but I also threw in Star Fox earlier just to make sure that it worked…and boy, did it!

It’s funny to look at those 16-bit graphics that used to be absolutely sweet and see how blocky they are now (hell, Star Fox was pretty much just polygons…) – amazing how far we’ve come with technology. Now let’s just hope that I don’t burn up the big screen with all of this nostalgia… 😛

LOL…DSL

Am I the only one who gets a kick out of Verizon DSL’s new marketing plan? “Blazing speeds now more than twice as fast as before!” Sure, 3 Mbps sounds great for your existing customers who’ve been limited to a measley 1 Mbps up until now…but Brighthouse is still giving us 5 Mbps

Hmmm…that’s almost twice as fast as the new DSL speeds…

Sorry, but “MSN Premium” just isn’t enough to make me downgrade my service at this time. Why aren’t they pushing FIOS harder than this, again??? 🙁

Is this what it feels like to be an emo kid???

LOL – do they even still use the term “emo” anymore, or has that one also gone wayside for something new and exciting that I can’t keep up with anymore? 😛

Anyways, I’ve never felt the desire to post lyrics before, but this one also got a lot of play during my recent 2764 mi. road trip…isn’t it neat when you find songs that you can relate to and stuff?

Song: Do You Remember?
Artist / Album: Jack Johnson / In Between Dreams

Do you remember when we first met?
I sure do, it was some time in early September
You were lazy about it, you made me wait around
I was so crazy about you I didn’t mind.

So I was late for class, I locked my bike to yours
It wasn’t hard to find, you painted flowers on it
I guess that I was afraid that if you rolled away
You might not roll back my direction real soon

Well I was crazy about you then and now
The craziest thing of all is over ten years have gone by
And you’re still mine, we’re locked in time
Let’s rewind

Do you remember when we first moved in together?
The piano took up the living room
You played me boogie-woogie, I played you love songs
You’d say we’re playing house, now you still say we are

We built our getaway up in a tree we found
We felt so far away, but we were still in town
Now I remember watching that old tree burn down
I took a picture that I don’t like to look at

Well all these times they come and go
And alone don’t seem so long
Over ten years have gone by
We can’t rewind, we’re locked in time
But you’re still mine
Do you remember?

…boy, do I need to find something to do!

inspirational / work-related

(I must’ve listened to this song 800 times on the way home…very motivational!)

[paraphrased from multiple choruses]

It’s my job…
…to be better than the best, and that enough reason to go for me.
It’s my job…
…and without it I’d be less than what I expect from me.

Song: It’s My Job [from Jimmy Buffett: Live in Hawaii]
Written by: Mac McAnally
Performed by: Mac McAnally and Jimmy Buffett

Re: homeward bound

UPDATE: Here’s an idea…maybe I should – right now – make a pact to keep it this clean!

I can think of at least one person who would appreciate it…we’ll see, hun… 😛