2012/07/16
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Yesterday, late in the evening, my modem/router started to do free games and I lost my internet connection. I don't own the router, it's rented by the month so I called my provider (Bell Sympatico) and they said it was either the AC/DC adapter or the modem itself. They are sending me an adapter, which I will receive god knows when, not to mention that I'm pretty sure that's it's the modem/router which is at fault, thus more delays to expect. I was very pissed, because I was just about to post a comment on a blog in a local paper, on which I had worked for hours. But more than that, I will pass a good part of Wednesday in a hospital for some biopsy which I don't care to talk about right now but which is serious enough to have me wanting to check on the internet today what it involved.
With the plan I have with them, I am allowed 10 hours a month of free dial-up (by phone) internet. If I remember well, the buck stops there. There is no 'more than 10 hours' for which you can pay, if needed. I have two older computers which I never use, one which has a 33k modem but with Win 98 and a turtle as a processor and no browser that still works. Only good for direct transfers like with FTP. I have another one, with Win XP, a little more up to date but barely, but with no modem and furthermore no old-style slots for that 33K modem in case I'd want to switch it from the very old to the less old. I checked in the paper version of the yellow pages (which I had the hindsight not to throw away in the recycling bin, my first thought when I got it) and found out there is a store on St-Hubert a few minutes from my pad which sells old refurbished computers, Macs etc, so I went there just in case they would have a 56K PCI-slot modem. They did, he found three stashed in some corner. He sold me one, five dollars. After two hours of trying to get it recognized by Windows, I gave up and returned to the shop, and left with the two others, this apparently being no problem to the guy tending shop, who wished me luck. I didn't pay for the extra one, I just told him I'd be back one way or the other, either because both wouldn't work, or one did and I would bring back the other. I installed the one with a brand name on it (GVC) and bingo, instant recognition and configuration. I had nothing to do. I returned to the store with the extra one I didn't need, asked if the second I tried and kept was the same price as the first, he said yes, so it was just an exchange. I was quite happy about the whole situation so I gave him an extra five bucks, also considering he was a real nice guy. A North African, he spoke French fluently.
Happy here is very relative. I did have access to internet, but my XP not being up to date, Opera won't work. Firefox and Internet Explorer do but at 56K in these days where they throw zillions of images which for most we don't give a damn about (ads, ads, and ads) it's like racing on a Formula One circuit with at 1954 Volkswagen Beetle. I tried to upgrade Opera. It took one hour (out of the ten) to download and at the very end, when it was over, it flashed a message about an unrecoverable error. Great! One hour down the drain. Besides Gmail (my Xanga one), the Sympatico and hotmail emails, which both use those mind-boggingly crappy and invasive systems loading everything there's on earth from Messenger to god knows what, are just a mess. At least I can access my Xanga (with lots of patience, I'm picture heavy) and I could google that stuff I mentioned earlier. So until things get back to normal, my presence on the net will have to be at a minimal. I passed the whole day doing nothing but trying to be able to post this little thingy, and tomorrow WILL NOT resemble today, I can guarantee that.
Hotmail and Sympatico keeps bugging me with infos they need "for my security". As if I'm stupid and can't remember my passwords. The only security I need is being away from them. They want an email, I give them one : trou@du.cul (that's like the@ass.hole) I hope they try to reach that account. And they want to know where my mother was born, so I told them: Chez Elle (At Home). And I gave a 514 phone number at random, which may or not exist, I don't care. I mean, give my phone number to Microsoft? For gawd sakes, are some people that stupid?
What's really nice is that they may knock on my door (Purolator, Post Canada, whoever) on Wednesday when I won't be here and I will have to cross town to fetch that parcel they will send me which probably won't even fix the problem to start with.
I'm not in a very good mood. Let's call it negative. It will be better in an hour. I'm making myself quesadillas.
If there are typos in the above, I won't be back to correct them. I have to keep some time for sleeping.
Laterz: I had forgotten you need flour tortillas to make quesadillas, not corn tortillas. And provolone is not Oaxaca cheese. Mozarella would have been better. All in all not a very good day.
Comments (6)
Sorry to hear all this not very good news. I hope all goes well with the biopsy. I'll send some good vibes your way.
At least your Internet is working somewhat. I'll send a few hugs too, just for good measure. 
Some days are just like that. Better go early to bed and wait for the new day.
Passwords are insane. I also use very bad words as password when I get mad.
Hope the rest of this week has been an improvement over Monday for you! I don't know if I ever blogged about it or not, but my first car was a 1954 Volkswagen Beetle...and from Canada no less!
@johnpierre - My first car was a second (or multiple) hand 1965 Vauxhall Viva, a little shoebox with a rear differential the size of a grapefruit and a tiny stick shift that went kerpluck-kerpluck-kerpluck when I had the pedal on the floor and it reached 65 MPH. I had decorated the hood and the trunk with tiger pattern mactac. Hey, we're only young once!
But my real first car bought new (the only one ever) was a 1971 Renault 12 TL which was made here but could not be sold in the U.S. because at the time sealed beams were mandatory down there and that car had bulb headlights like nowadays, which were then much more effective. It also had front-wheel drive which was also a rarity in the States at the time. I remember when Americans came out with their first front-wheel drive, the Cadillac Toronado, and talked about it as an advancement in technology while in Europe they had them since 1935. It's like deconstipating about Cuba, in some way. Some things take more time than others. 
BTW those Beetles were such a fantastic car. Defaults by the ton, but unkillable. 
A student friend of mine in college had one and we sometimes left late in the night to go down to Moncton, a two to three hour drive, five in that tiny thing plus a case of beer, and we'ed come back later in the morning. Those were crazy days. Do you remember how stable it was on highways when it was windy? Silly question... who can forget! 
@Banyuls - Sadly, I never had a chance to drive it. I was 15 when I bought it here in California, had work done on it to get it in running condition and moved it up to Oregon with us. Got some body work done on it up in Oregon and had it painted. Went off to college without having ever driven it (didn't get my license until later). Never really needed a car in Eugene when I was a student, so the car sat at my parent's house. The house up there was sold and the car just spent one winter out of the garage, but it was enough to freeze up the engine. Had the car towed to Eugene, then ended up moving back to Tillamook shortly thereafter. So I traded the VW for a 1981 Pontiac Phoenix coupe, that was less than inspiring, but ran well and was more practical. I'll post some pics in my next blog entry.
By the way, wasn't in Oldsmobile that made the Toronado?? Okay...we'll let Google settle the argument....Yes, the Toronado was by Oldsmobile, but apparently related to the Eldorado by Cadillac. What did we ever do before computers?
@johnpierre - You're absolutely right. It's the Cadillac Eldorado that copy-catted the Toronado the year after. And yes, the internet is so precious for failing memories like mine!
The worse is that when I think of the Toronado, I mean the first big bulky one that inaugurated the front-wheel drive, I immediately visualize in my mind the Oldsmobile dealership garage (now a vacant lot) in my home town, back then. Wait... they were ALSO the Cadillac dealership. 
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