Three weeks ago several members of the account I work on were asked to switch roles with each other. I was one of 6 or 7 asked to move to a different role, a move I welcomed. Several of us have questioned why management decided to do this switch but after talking to a few of the team I think I know why.
One of the people who switched had expressed an interest in project management. The role he was doing is very process oriented and they asked me to fill it.
I was not happy in my current role and to be honest, it was not a good fit for me. It required a degree of network knowledge that I did not possess and that made things awkward on a team that was already very short staffed.
They backfilled the role I was performing with someone who had done the role many years ago and had the skill set to fit in better with the team. He seemed indifferent about the switch, but he does not seem disappointed about it.
His role is being back filled with a guy who used to assist the person whom I am replacing. Like many people on the account, we do a hodge podge of functions and handing them all over to one person usually is a little chaotic. So what has happened is that some of the functions are being moved to the logical person. The problem with that is that the logical person is me and now I am doing a new role plus parts of other people's roles as well. It makes for a hectic day. They work is not hard (I still ask a lot of "Where do I find ..." questions) but the volume over the past 2 weeks has been insane. I am getting about 150 e-mails a day, most all of which need research. Delegating any of it is difficult because the person who did this before me liked to be involved with everything. I guess he wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly, but it had a price. He got very little sleep and his health is somewhat frail. He did manage to do a super job of documenting things and that has been a big help.
As for the other people, I am not sure how they all fit into the puzzle, although one of them has been asking me do things for him that he can do on his own (following up with on site people regarding asset management) but after talking to him he is okay with doing those talks himself now.
The funny thing is that what my boss wants me to do, what I do, and what others think I do are three different things. I actually could use an assistant (Yes I am that busy) but I am not sure how that would all work. We have one I could leverage, I am sure since she is not overly busy but I am not sure how my boss would like that.
Something to think about.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Animal Issues
First up, "The Wabbits".My wife decided that having them in the yard was just too much of a temptation for our curious senior dogs (who love to chase bunnies) so she scooped the half dozen babies and took them to animal control. My wife then proceeded to fill the hole with fresh dirt. The mother came by that night and looked for them. We knew this because the hole had been emptied. Momma misses her babies, I guess.
Next up, our newest Golden mix (the Irish Setter / Golden Retriever that I call my Golden Irish) has melanoma (Skin Cancer). We rescued her from a shelter and do not know her exact age. She is at least eight but I think she is closer to 10 due to the amount of grey she is getting around her face. We took her to the vet who removed one of the masses (she has a couple that w have found) and had the pathology done. While he did not think it was cancer when he saw it, the report shows otherwise. The mass was on her left front paw and was causing great pain when she tried to walk on it. The wound is healing now (we had to take her back to get staples put on the incision because the glue/stitches did not hold) but if the mass comes back, the vet has to be more aggressive, meaning My Golden Irish will lose a big part of one of her paw pads.
The Golden Irish is relatively new to our family...about a year or so and I have grown really attached to her due to her sweet disposition. She does not have the stamina to hang with me on geocaching hikes (she can go about 2 miles before tuckering out and I tend to go 5+ when I am out), so I am not sure how much fun she would be on those. That was one thing I wanted to be able to do with our next dog, geocache.
I am hoping the surgery will take care of the melanoma on her (both grows are on her paw pads, the second one has not grown any). God can do anything but I also know that he uses every situation to teach us something that we need to learn.
The pic is of The Golden Irish wearing my boonie hat while we vacationed at the beach. Her paw was really beginning to bother her so we had to walk her on the softer sand when possible.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wabbits!
My wife and I discovered a small nest of six rabbits in the back yard. The dogs were at first afraid of them but now that they know what they are, they won't leave them alone. We have only seen the momma once and that was at night. Not sure what to do about them. Call me a wuss but I just don't want to kill them outright but they will become a nuisance later on.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Back from Vacation
My wife and I, along with our two Golden mixes got back from our yearly vacation in Florida last night. It is about a 15 hour drive (not counting stops) so we broke it up over two days to make it a little less painless. We had a great time and we both were able to relax a bit.
The realization that I had to go back to work hit me on the way back and I was dreading what I would see when I got back. I had only 253 new e-mails from work...not bad really since that is only about 40 mails a day. I am not looking forward to playing catch-up but I am not going to stress about it.
The beach house we rented was pretty nice overall. It was older and the beds were not very comfortable at all but it had wireless internet, new appliances, a washer/dryer and was closer to the beach than the place we normally rented. Our newest dog had trouble with the stairs and she also has a problem with her foot that is keeping her from walking properly (some weird growth is on her paw...the vet will look at it this week)
I have my work cut out for me this week since I have three lawns to cut before it rains again. I need to start them tonight. Hopefully I can knock out two of the three lawns this evening. The grass is not overly high, but it is very thick which can be harder to cut than tall grass.
Attached is a sand castle that someone built. It is small but interesting.
Wiki articles on where we stayed:
St. George Island
St. George Island Bridge
St. George Island Home Page
The realization that I had to go back to work hit me on the way back and I was dreading what I would see when I got back. I had only 253 new e-mails from work...not bad really since that is only about 40 mails a day. I am not looking forward to playing catch-up but I am not going to stress about it.
The beach house we rented was pretty nice overall. It was older and the beds were not very comfortable at all but it had wireless internet, new appliances, a washer/dryer and was closer to the beach than the place we normally rented. Our newest dog had trouble with the stairs and she also has a problem with her foot that is keeping her from walking properly (some weird growth is on her paw...the vet will look at it this week)
I have my work cut out for me this week since I have three lawns to cut before it rains again. I need to start them tonight. Hopefully I can knock out two of the three lawns this evening. The grass is not overly high, but it is very thick which can be harder to cut than tall grass.
Attached is a sand castle that someone built. It is small but interesting.
Wiki articles on where we stayed:
St. George Island
St. George Island Bridge
St. George Island Home Page
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Why?
Why is it that when you are trying to wrap things up so you can take some time off that more and more things get thrown at you? In the past four days I have had more project managers come to me literally demanding that I my team work on things for them, even though the team is stretched very thin. Most of these are projects that are due in less than 30 days (the PM's have known about them for months) and just the standard process to complete these projects (with all the checks and balances) will take longer than 30 days.
Crazy.
Crazy.
Work
I had an interesting thing happen at work a few days ago.
My boss and I went up to the visitors area to greet two visiting employees from Sweden (on male, one female). When we spotted each other, we said hello ("Hej" in Swedish) and exchanged pleasantries. Then the during out greeting, the female comes over and hugs me. That threw me for a loop. She never hugged my boss, she just said hello to him. Oddly enough he never really paid attention that this woman whom we just me for the first time, gave me a hug but not him. Not sure if I am the hug-able type or I reminder her of he grandfather. I have been dealing with the Swedes for over 15 years and have never had one hug me, male or female.
Anyway, I just had to tell my wife so she could get a laugh out of it.
My boss and I went up to the visitors area to greet two visiting employees from Sweden (on male, one female). When we spotted each other, we said hello ("Hej" in Swedish) and exchanged pleasantries. Then the during out greeting, the female comes over and hugs me. That threw me for a loop. She never hugged my boss, she just said hello to him. Oddly enough he never really paid attention that this woman whom we just me for the first time, gave me a hug but not him. Not sure if I am the hug-able type or I reminder her of he grandfather. I have been dealing with the Swedes for over 15 years and have never had one hug me, male or female.
Anyway, I just had to tell my wife so she could get a laugh out of it.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Downside to Lifetime Warranties
I replaced the kitchen sink and faucet in our home 7.5 years ago at the request of my wife who was tired at looking at the stock "contractor grade" faucet and sink that was in the house when we bought it. The house was only 3 years old when we bought it but the previous owners did not take many (if any) upgrades when they had it built. But I digress.
When I replaced the sink and faucet (a real challenge for me) my wife had chosen a decent mid grade El-Kay sink and Delta faucet. Unbeknown to me at the time, it had a lifetime warranty.
Fast forward to last week. I am working from home and my comes rushing into my office and tells me she needs me to come into the kitchen, ASAP. I get there and she shows me a leaking faucet. Now the model that she picked out and I installed is one of those where the sprayer hose is built in to the neck of the faucet. The sprayer is the neck and the hose is inside the rest of the neck. If you get a leak there, you really cannot use the faucet until you get it replaced.
I drove over to Lowes to see about getting the replacement hose and when I got there the guy in plumbing told me about the lifetime warranty. "All you have to do is call them up and they will get you another one, free of charge.", he said. Armed with that information, I headed home to order the part.
I got home and went to Delta's web site and found the contact number for support and after a few keypunches later, I had a live person. I related my story to her and after confirming the part number I needed, she told me all she needed was proof of purchase. Hmmm...I had no idea the thing had a lifetime warranty until an hour ago but a good geek always saves the manuals until the item is in the trash. I wondered if that would do. My phone rep told me that if I took a pictured of the faucet with the manual beside it and e-mailed it to her, she could get my part ordered. She gave me the e-mail address and I got busy.
Two business days later I got a confirmation e-mail that my information had been received and that the part had been ordered. It was expected within 10-12 days. Argh.
So that is the downside to lifetime warranties. The part is free but there is a lot of time wasted.
BTW, had the part not been free, it was $85 from Delta...specialty part.
When I replaced the sink and faucet (a real challenge for me) my wife had chosen a decent mid grade El-Kay sink and Delta faucet. Unbeknown to me at the time, it had a lifetime warranty.
Fast forward to last week. I am working from home and my comes rushing into my office and tells me she needs me to come into the kitchen, ASAP. I get there and she shows me a leaking faucet. Now the model that she picked out and I installed is one of those where the sprayer hose is built in to the neck of the faucet. The sprayer is the neck and the hose is inside the rest of the neck. If you get a leak there, you really cannot use the faucet until you get it replaced.
I drove over to Lowes to see about getting the replacement hose and when I got there the guy in plumbing told me about the lifetime warranty. "All you have to do is call them up and they will get you another one, free of charge.", he said. Armed with that information, I headed home to order the part.
I got home and went to Delta's web site and found the contact number for support and after a few keypunches later, I had a live person. I related my story to her and after confirming the part number I needed, she told me all she needed was proof of purchase. Hmmm...I had no idea the thing had a lifetime warranty until an hour ago but a good geek always saves the manuals until the item is in the trash. I wondered if that would do. My phone rep told me that if I took a pictured of the faucet with the manual beside it and e-mailed it to her, she could get my part ordered. She gave me the e-mail address and I got busy.
Two business days later I got a confirmation e-mail that my information had been received and that the part had been ordered. It was expected within 10-12 days. Argh.
So that is the downside to lifetime warranties. The part is free but there is a lot of time wasted.
BTW, had the part not been free, it was $85 from Delta...specialty part.
Monday, February 14, 2011
"It's Too Expensive"
I was out with a friend of mine on Saturday after a successful morning of geocaching (yeah, I still do that on Saturdays) when we stopped at Steak and Shake for a quick bite. He owed me lunch so I let him pick the place. We sat down and we gave our drink orders to the server. I ordered sweet tea and my buddy ordered a water. "Why water? Are you on a special diet?", I asked.
"No," he replied "Tea is just too expensive to order when we eat out."
"DW, didn't you just spend $300 on a new iPhone 4 from AT&T?"
"Yes I did."
"And didn't you spend $200 a couple of years earlier on an iPhone 3GS?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Your wife has an iPhone, right?"
"Yes, she does, an iPhone 3GS we bought last year."
"And she also wants an iPad, right?"
"Yes."
"And SWEET TEA is too expensive?"
"No," he replied "Tea is just too expensive to order when we eat out."
"DW, didn't you just spend $300 on a new iPhone 4 from AT&T?"
"Yes I did."
"And didn't you spend $200 a couple of years earlier on an iPhone 3GS?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Your wife has an iPhone, right?"
"Yes, she does, an iPhone 3GS we bought last year."
"And she also wants an iPad, right?"
"Yes."
"And SWEET TEA is too expensive?"
Saturday, February 05, 2011
How High Can We Go?
Every day since our Texas Ice Age started, I have been desiring warmer temps. Every day we get a predicted high and a predicted low presented to us and every day the weather geeks have been wrong. I find that amusing.
It was predicted (as late as yesterday evening) that today's high would be in the low 40's. Well, it looks like this morning view into the crystal ball known as weather forecasting states it will be in the upper 30's. So it looks like the emergence from our frozen shell will not be as soon as hoped. Oh yes, it will be above freezing, but it would be nice to see the main roads clear of ice before summer hits.
The next 10 days or so show slowly warming until midweek when another cold snap comes through. My guess? This mess will be around a while.
It was predicted (as late as yesterday evening) that today's high would be in the low 40's. Well, it looks like this morning view into the crystal ball known as weather forecasting states it will be in the upper 30's. So it looks like the emergence from our frozen shell will not be as soon as hoped. Oh yes, it will be above freezing, but it would be nice to see the main roads clear of ice before summer hits.
The next 10 days or so show slowly warming until midweek when another cold snap comes through. My guess? This mess will be around a while.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
LISTEN to me, please!
Time Warner Cable called the other day, offering us a "special" deal on their bundle. We are TWC customers, primarily for the internet service. It ain't cheap, but it is fast and mostly dependable. We also have the absolute minimum analogue cable television service we could get to carry the internet service that we have. We are not big TV people and what we watch we can usually get free or low cost from the web.
Anyhoo, when TWC calls they offered me a "great deal" on their bundle which includes TV, internet and digital phone service for $99.99 a month for a year. While I can appreciate bundles to save money, we have no need for landline phone service...my wife and I both carry mobile phones, plus I have a company provided mobile phone on a separate carrier. We are covered for telecoms without paying $40-50 a month for a dedicated landline.
I tell the kind woman on the phone that while I appreciate her offer, I have no need for landline and she goes through a litany of reasons why I need their service. Each reason I politely but firmly shoot down. I tell her that to be honest, if I could find fast, dependable, cheaper internet service, I would drop TWC in a heartbeat. This scares her and asks me how long I have been a TWC customer. I then have to go into the story of how we signed up for AT&T cable services until Comcast bought them out, then TWC bought out Comcast's interest in this area. So in all we have been cable customers for 10 years. She then offers to get me to a supervisor to cut me a deal to stay with them. I am not really amused, but I give them a shot. A few minutes later, the rep comes back on the line to make me a counter offer, which includes...you guessed it, home phone service.
Was she not listening to me? Does my hillbilly accent confuse her?
Politely, but firmly I explain again that even if the service was offered free, I would not accept it...we have no need for it with three mobile phones in the house.
I ask her if she can make me a deal on internet and TV for a good price, since I am such a loyal customer and all but alas, she is unable. Only bundles with phone service are offered. Gee, I wonder why?
I am not up with current landline pricing but I bet 33.33 is not all that much of a bargain. I know that 4+ years ago, we paid a base of $30 a month for landline service and that included caller ID and 50 minutes of long distance.
I am happy with mobile only service in our home. While it did bother my wife (for a couple of weeks) not having a landline, she does not miss it now at all. I personally cannot see why anyone who does not have kids living at home even bothers with landline service.
Anyhoo, when TWC calls they offered me a "great deal" on their bundle which includes TV, internet and digital phone service for $99.99 a month for a year. While I can appreciate bundles to save money, we have no need for landline phone service...my wife and I both carry mobile phones, plus I have a company provided mobile phone on a separate carrier. We are covered for telecoms without paying $40-50 a month for a dedicated landline.
I tell the kind woman on the phone that while I appreciate her offer, I have no need for landline and she goes through a litany of reasons why I need their service. Each reason I politely but firmly shoot down. I tell her that to be honest, if I could find fast, dependable, cheaper internet service, I would drop TWC in a heartbeat. This scares her and asks me how long I have been a TWC customer. I then have to go into the story of how we signed up for AT&T cable services until Comcast bought them out, then TWC bought out Comcast's interest in this area. So in all we have been cable customers for 10 years. She then offers to get me to a supervisor to cut me a deal to stay with them. I am not really amused, but I give them a shot. A few minutes later, the rep comes back on the line to make me a counter offer, which includes...you guessed it, home phone service.
Was she not listening to me? Does my hillbilly accent confuse her?
Politely, but firmly I explain again that even if the service was offered free, I would not accept it...we have no need for it with three mobile phones in the house.
I ask her if she can make me a deal on internet and TV for a good price, since I am such a loyal customer and all but alas, she is unable. Only bundles with phone service are offered. Gee, I wonder why?
I am not up with current landline pricing but I bet 33.33 is not all that much of a bargain. I know that 4+ years ago, we paid a base of $30 a month for landline service and that included caller ID and 50 minutes of long distance.
I am happy with mobile only service in our home. While it did bother my wife (for a couple of weeks) not having a landline, she does not miss it now at all. I personally cannot see why anyone who does not have kids living at home even bothers with landline service.
Just a wee bit cold
North Central Texas normally has rather mild winters. While we have been known to get some snow in the winter, it normally melts the same day or the day after it arrives. Every now and then we get snow or cold weather that lasts for more than a couple of days, but it is pretty rare.
On Monday evening we started getting some rain. Early Tuesday morning, a frigid cold front moved in and turned the DFW are into an icy wonderland. Anywhere from .5 to 2 inches of ice covered the streets, alleys, sidewalks and cars in the area. The temps got down to about 10 degrees or so and have not gotten above 20 since. It is currently 16 degrees (we are talking Farenheit here, not Celsius) but it is supposed to get up to 26. Still below freezing and the roads are still covered in ice.
Why are the roads still covered in ice? With the lack of severe weather in this area, the county/city does not have the equipment to to treat the roads and since salt is corrosive, they will not put that down to aid in the melting of the ice.
Needless to say I have been working from home all week long and don't plan making it into the office until at least Monday.
Oh, the added twist to all this is that since the grid has been pushed to the limits, we had "rolling bloackouts" yesterday, all day long in this area. We lost power for 15-20 minutes at a time every 60-90 minutes. It made work a tad difficult, especially conference calls that were using "virtual meeting rooms" hosted online. So far we have stayed stable in regards to power. I hope it stays that way.
On Monday evening we started getting some rain. Early Tuesday morning, a frigid cold front moved in and turned the DFW are into an icy wonderland. Anywhere from .5 to 2 inches of ice covered the streets, alleys, sidewalks and cars in the area. The temps got down to about 10 degrees or so and have not gotten above 20 since. It is currently 16 degrees (we are talking Farenheit here, not Celsius) but it is supposed to get up to 26. Still below freezing and the roads are still covered in ice.
Why are the roads still covered in ice? With the lack of severe weather in this area, the county/city does not have the equipment to to treat the roads and since salt is corrosive, they will not put that down to aid in the melting of the ice.
Needless to say I have been working from home all week long and don't plan making it into the office until at least Monday.
Oh, the added twist to all this is that since the grid has been pushed to the limits, we had "rolling bloackouts" yesterday, all day long in this area. We lost power for 15-20 minutes at a time every 60-90 minutes. It made work a tad difficult, especially conference calls that were using "virtual meeting rooms" hosted online. So far we have stayed stable in regards to power. I hope it stays that way.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Outsourced Funnies
No secret...my company outsources/offshores a lot of the support that we use/supply. Because I am in a situation to work with some of these resources, I get to read some pretty funny notes in e-mails and tickets. Two that I saw the other day were (edited and paraphrased):
"...engineers are still investigating the issue and are working to determine what is borken..." ("borken" is a term some geeks use around other geeks when things are really screwed up. Here it was just some fat fingering on the keyboard)
"...during the meeting the engineers stated that they needed to get clean cash before the situation will be resolved..." (I have never heard anyone admitting to money laundering before...especially an engineer!)
I am not picking on anyone who speaks English as a second language when I post these. I admire anyone who is bi, tri, or multi-lingual...because I am not!
"...engineers are still investigating the issue and are working to determine what is borken..." ("borken" is a term some geeks use around other geeks when things are really screwed up. Here it was just some fat fingering on the keyboard)
"...during the meeting the engineers stated that they needed to get clean cash before the situation will be resolved..." (I have never heard anyone admitting to money laundering before...especially an engineer!)
I am not picking on anyone who speaks English as a second language when I post these. I admire anyone who is bi, tri, or multi-lingual...because I am not!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Me and my Pre
I stated a while back that I would give an update on the Palm Pre Plus that my wife and I upgrade to a few months ago. After using the device for over three months, I can safely say that I think the OS (operating system) on the phone (HP WebOS) is rock solid. While the hardware is a little weak, it still is a fine little phone.
I hope HP will continue producing phones with HP WebOS on them. I have always been a fan of Palm and since HP purchased Palm some time back I have been dying to see what the two of them can do together.
As I type this, it is rumored that HP will release two "pad" computing devices akin to the iPad. I doubt that HP will be able to unseat Apple but I am looking forward to the rivalry when HP releases there mobile computing device.
I hope HP will continue producing phones with HP WebOS on them. I have always been a fan of Palm and since HP purchased Palm some time back I have been dying to see what the two of them can do together.
As I type this, it is rumored that HP will release two "pad" computing devices akin to the iPad. I doubt that HP will be able to unseat Apple but I am looking forward to the rivalry when HP releases there mobile computing device.
Amusing
The past few weeks I have been catching up on past episodes of "Top Chef". While it is a reality show, I like it not for the drama, but for the crazy challenges the chefs have to compete in.
I also like it because I get to learn about various cooking techniques and being someone who likes to eat, I figured I should enjoy the process of cooking as well.
In one earlier episode (not sure which season), the chefs had to cook for some fancy party and one of male chefs created an "amuse bouche". One of the female guests tasted it and when asked her opinion, she replied with a bit of a sly grin, "My bouche was amused."
Well, I thought it was amusing.
I also like it because I get to learn about various cooking techniques and being someone who likes to eat, I figured I should enjoy the process of cooking as well.
In one earlier episode (not sure which season), the chefs had to cook for some fancy party and one of male chefs created an "amuse bouche". One of the female guests tasted it and when asked her opinion, she replied with a bit of a sly grin, "My bouche was amused."
Well, I thought it was amusing.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
8 hours of sleep does wonders
I confess, I do not get enough sleep. Five or six hours is usually all I get on any given night. However, the past two or three nights have been different. I have gotten at least eight hours of peaceful, uninterrupted sleep each night. The difference is amazing.
First off, I when I got up this morning, I felt great. I was full of energy and had no desire for my morning cup of coffee (okay, I missed the taste and smell but not the caffeine). To top that off, after being up for over five hours I am still going strong.
At my last physical (almost a year ago) my doctor told me that I would seriously benefit from at least eight hours sleep but somehow I keep avoiding that magic number. However, after this morning, I am seriously considering making that a priority.
First off, I when I got up this morning, I felt great. I was full of energy and had no desire for my morning cup of coffee (okay, I missed the taste and smell but not the caffeine). To top that off, after being up for over five hours I am still going strong.
At my last physical (almost a year ago) my doctor told me that I would seriously benefit from at least eight hours sleep but somehow I keep avoiding that magic number. However, after this morning, I am seriously considering making that a priority.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
An Upgrade
After upgrading our mobile phones to something a little more current (Palm Pre Plus) we figured that was all the upgrades that we were entitled to. How wrong we were. After finding out that the 11 year old Dodge Dakota needed close to $2000 in repairs (and a couple of hundred in scheduled maintenance, my wife and I decided to put the faithful truck out to pasture. In it's place, we bought this:
A Silver 2010 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab. V6, towing package, 6 disc CD changer. We got a pretty good deal on it, considering the 2011's have not made it to the lot as of Saturday.
A Silver 2010 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab. V6, towing package, 6 disc CD changer. We got a pretty good deal on it, considering the 2011's have not made it to the lot as of Saturday.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Joining the 21st Century.
Well, my wife and I are finally smartphone and wireless internet users. After getting by for the longest time with PDA's, my wife and I now have "modern" smartphones. No we did not get iPhones, nor did we get Windows based phones. Instead, I have decided to go the Palm Pre route.
I can just hear you now: "Are you nuts?" Palm got bought out by HP...they are dead!"
Yes, Palm did just get purchased by HP, but Palm is far from dead. While I cannot say with any certainty what the future holds for the technology that HP now owns, I can be relatively sure the WebOS which powers the Palm Pre will live on. I also believe it would be in the best interest of HP to keep the Palm brand name alive. There are a diehard group of Palm fans who love the products and have stuck by Palm through the good times and the bad. I am one of them.
My love affair with Palm started with my first Palm, a Palm V. That device was a work of art and one of the most dependable tools I have ever used. I used it until I upgraded and got a IBM Workpad C3, which was just a rebranded Palm Vx, the upgrade to the Palm V. I used that for some time until my coworker sold me his Handspring Treo 90. This was my first color device and was competing with the new Windows Mobile/Windows CE devices.
Now that I had tried a color Palm device, I could not go back. After the Treo 90 started to fail (screen/pixel damage...the first failure I had suffered with a Palm device), I started looking at color devices. I settled on a Tungsten E which I liked quite a bit with the exception the battery life, which was pretty bad. The other thing that disappointed me was that Palm released the E2 just a few months after I bought the E. Wanted to upgrade but Palm would not give in. I could see their point. The E2 had bluetooth and a better battery though.
I used the Tungsten for a few years until I got tired of carrying a phone and a PDA. I managed to secure a Palm Centro from AT&T (before the mandatory data plan on smartphones) and used it until my contract expired...just about the time HP bought out Palm.
Up until this time, my wife had gotten my hand me downs. She got my IBM C3 and used it until the infamous digitizer issue got too bad to deal with. Then when I got my Centro, I gave her my Tungsten E. She used that one until the battery had to be charged at the end of each day, signaling the end of that device. She wanted another PDA but the prices on what few were so high, I just could not justify the cost. So last year I got her a Treo 680 smartphone and she really liked it. We were happy. Well, we were until AT&T mandated (like other carriers) a data fee for all smartphones. Arrggh. Well, now she was back to using her flip phone for calls and her Treo as a PDA...she was not overly happy . She wanted to use her Treo 680 full time but I could not justify the cost of data on a phone that had very limited data ability.
Well, my Centro was beginning to act pretty bad in humid environments. The screen would blank out and it was locking up at weird times. Of course this all started after I had accidentally dropped it in the dogs water bowl. While it appears to dry, it was not the same afterwards.
Now with our contract up with AT&T I was investigating other carriers. Sprint was looking good for the price, but the hardware they sold was pretty weak and expensive. AT&T had better hardware, but the prices for smartphones were still rather high (to me), and besides, the data prices are high as well.
Well, all this happens just about the time HP buys Palm and starts selling the Pre and the Pixi at really great prices. With the exception of shipping, they were free.
We just got the phones yesterday and I did not get a chance to start working with them until late last night. I was able to get all my wife's data moved over to the new phone and now all I need to do is to get her wallpaper and ringtones set. I hope to do that tonight.
What do I think of my Palm Pre Plus and the WebOS? I like it so far. It does not have as many apps as the iPhone or Android, but it is rather nice. I do hope to see more apps soon.
I plan on giving a full update after I have played with it for a while. One thing I can say...it is hard on batteries.
I can just hear you now: "Are you nuts?" Palm got bought out by HP...they are dead!"
Yes, Palm did just get purchased by HP, but Palm is far from dead. While I cannot say with any certainty what the future holds for the technology that HP now owns, I can be relatively sure the WebOS which powers the Palm Pre will live on. I also believe it would be in the best interest of HP to keep the Palm brand name alive. There are a diehard group of Palm fans who love the products and have stuck by Palm through the good times and the bad. I am one of them.
My love affair with Palm started with my first Palm, a Palm V. That device was a work of art and one of the most dependable tools I have ever used. I used it until I upgraded and got a IBM Workpad C3, which was just a rebranded Palm Vx, the upgrade to the Palm V. I used that for some time until my coworker sold me his Handspring Treo 90. This was my first color device and was competing with the new Windows Mobile/Windows CE devices.
Now that I had tried a color Palm device, I could not go back. After the Treo 90 started to fail (screen/pixel damage...the first failure I had suffered with a Palm device), I started looking at color devices. I settled on a Tungsten E which I liked quite a bit with the exception the battery life, which was pretty bad. The other thing that disappointed me was that Palm released the E2 just a few months after I bought the E. Wanted to upgrade but Palm would not give in. I could see their point. The E2 had bluetooth and a better battery though.
I used the Tungsten for a few years until I got tired of carrying a phone and a PDA. I managed to secure a Palm Centro from AT&T (before the mandatory data plan on smartphones) and used it until my contract expired...just about the time HP bought out Palm.
Up until this time, my wife had gotten my hand me downs. She got my IBM C3 and used it until the infamous digitizer issue got too bad to deal with. Then when I got my Centro, I gave her my Tungsten E. She used that one until the battery had to be charged at the end of each day, signaling the end of that device. She wanted another PDA but the prices on what few were so high, I just could not justify the cost. So last year I got her a Treo 680 smartphone and she really liked it. We were happy. Well, we were until AT&T mandated (like other carriers) a data fee for all smartphones. Arrggh. Well, now she was back to using her flip phone for calls and her Treo as a PDA...she was not overly happy . She wanted to use her Treo 680 full time but I could not justify the cost of data on a phone that had very limited data ability.
Well, my Centro was beginning to act pretty bad in humid environments. The screen would blank out and it was locking up at weird times. Of course this all started after I had accidentally dropped it in the dogs water bowl. While it appears to dry, it was not the same afterwards.
Now with our contract up with AT&T I was investigating other carriers. Sprint was looking good for the price, but the hardware they sold was pretty weak and expensive. AT&T had better hardware, but the prices for smartphones were still rather high (to me), and besides, the data prices are high as well.
Well, all this happens just about the time HP buys Palm and starts selling the Pre and the Pixi at really great prices. With the exception of shipping, they were free.
We just got the phones yesterday and I did not get a chance to start working with them until late last night. I was able to get all my wife's data moved over to the new phone and now all I need to do is to get her wallpaper and ringtones set. I hope to do that tonight.
What do I think of my Palm Pre Plus and the WebOS? I like it so far. It does not have as many apps as the iPhone or Android, but it is rather nice. I do hope to see more apps soon.
I plan on giving a full update after I have played with it for a while. One thing I can say...it is hard on batteries.
How's The Weather?
I tell you, this year the weather has been bizarre. We had a a cool, wet spring and during the last 2-3 weeks of it, it turned HOT and very dry. Well, it did for a while. While it is still hot (90's) it is not as bad as it could be. No, the oddity is the amount of rain we have gotten off and on. It seems like we have been forecast for thunderstorms every day for the past month or so. Mind you it has not rained every day, but it has rained quite a bit over the past 2-3 weeks.
Of course, all that rain makes it hard to keep the grass in check. I normally cut the grass on Tuesday so they bagged clippings can be picked up on Wednesday. We have the trash, recyclable materials, and yard waste picked up in that day. Well, I was unable to cut it on Tuesday last week so the yard waste had to sit until this week. I did not cut the grass on Tuesday this week due to some scheduling issues with my wife. I was able to get it cut yesterday, right before the storms rolled in. The good news is that all the yard waste should be picked up today since we are on a one day delay due to most people being off on Monday for Independence Day.
Yesterday made the second time in a row that I was able to just finish cutting grass before the storms hit. God was watching out for me.
Considering how much rain we have gotten so far this past few weeks, I wonder how the rest of the summer will be. We started off hot and dry and now are moving into a period of heavy precipitation. I wonder if we will end the year wet like last year or dry like we normally do.
The northeast has been hot and dry. I am scheduled to go visit family and friends in near the end of August, traditionally the hottest and driest time of the year there. I wonder what the weather will be like then?
Of course, all that rain makes it hard to keep the grass in check. I normally cut the grass on Tuesday so they bagged clippings can be picked up on Wednesday. We have the trash, recyclable materials, and yard waste picked up in that day. Well, I was unable to cut it on Tuesday last week so the yard waste had to sit until this week. I did not cut the grass on Tuesday this week due to some scheduling issues with my wife. I was able to get it cut yesterday, right before the storms rolled in. The good news is that all the yard waste should be picked up today since we are on a one day delay due to most people being off on Monday for Independence Day.
Yesterday made the second time in a row that I was able to just finish cutting grass before the storms hit. God was watching out for me.
Considering how much rain we have gotten so far this past few weeks, I wonder how the rest of the summer will be. We started off hot and dry and now are moving into a period of heavy precipitation. I wonder if we will end the year wet like last year or dry like we normally do.
The northeast has been hot and dry. I am scheduled to go visit family and friends in near the end of August, traditionally the hottest and driest time of the year there. I wonder what the weather will be like then?
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Weekend Adventure
I am an avid (although not fanatical) Geocacher living in North Central Texas. One thing that Geocaching has done for me is get me out of the house and allowed me to explore my surroundings. It might be as simple as a city park that I was not aware of, a memorial hidden off the beaten path, or full blown weekend (or week long) adventure but nonetheless I get out of the house.
I have a partner in crime named Allen who invites me to go along on the more adventurous geocache outings. We have take several 8-10 mile hikes, camped in the cold, and as of last weekend, took a weekend to go canoeing and camping.
A few weeks ago Allen e-mailed me about the Brazos River Cache, Canoe, and Camping Event that was being held on June 11th. I have never really been canoeing before, but I figured it would be a great getaway. I like to camp and geocache so adding canoeing to the mix sounded pretty good to me. We worked the logistics out (who was preparing what, times, locations, etc) and before you know it, June 11th rolled around.
Our plan was to leave late on Friday morning and drive to Possum Kingdom Lake, grabbing some geocaches along the way. Allen had mentioned to me that there was a challenge cache that we both could fulfill (The Lonestar Busy Day Challenge) if we planned our route correctly. The challenge required us to grab six different types of geocaches plus a benchmark, all in a 24 hour period. Now getting four of these would not be hard, but getting the other two of the remaining ones would be more difficult. Virtuals are scarce and earthcaches, letterbox hybrids, and whereIgo caches are practically extinct. Earthcaches are making a comeback but still are scattered far and wide. Yes, I know I also did not mention Cache In Trash Out caches, Event caches, Mega Event caches, Project A.P.E. or GPS Adventure Mazes Exhibit caches. These were excluded from the challenge and are many of these are rare.
The good news for us was that we were heading west and many of the caches we needed were right along the route (give or take a few miles). To make a long story short, we grabbed all the caches needed for the challenge and all we need to do is go get the challenge cache and log our find.
Once we made it to Possum Kingdom (PK), we set up our tent in the wind (with the help of some other geocaches), helped a few people set up their tents, and had dinner. Once it got dark we headed off into the woods to search for the night cache hidden by the host of the event (Doug). After searching for (and finding) the night cache, we headed off deeper into the woods to grab yet another cache hidden by Doug. We enjoyed he three mile hike from the trail head to the caches and back. Hanging out and talking with new people is always fun.
After the hike I grabbed a shower (which consisted of cool lake water pumped from the lake...no hot water) and it felt great. It was one of the most refreshing showers I have ever taken.
Most of the people were still kind of wound up so they stayed up, despite the fact we needed to get up early and break camp so we could make launch at 9 AM. We still needed a few miles to the canoe rental shop, then they would shuttle us to the launch point.
Allen and I were both tired so we did our best to get some sleep but sleep did not come for some time. It was still rather hot and humid, not to mention noisy as people continued to have a good time.
6:00 AM came and both Allen and I struggled to wake up. I unloaded my single burner and put on water for coffee and oatmeal (my normal camp breakfast) and started to pack up what we would need for the canoe trip. I no sooner than finished my breakfast when Doug shouted for everyone to hurry up. I was a little bewildered by this since it was only 7:00 AM and we did not need to leave for at least an hour. Allen and I quickly packed up the gear and loaded it into my truck. We then rushed off to Rochelle's Canoe Rentals several miles up the road on Route 4. After getting to Rochelle's we learned it was first come, first launch. We got our people in line and filled out the paperwork so we could launch as soon as possible. Finally around 10:00 AM, we launched the canoes on our 20 mile trip down the Brazos River.
As I said earlier, I have never really taken a canoe trip before. I have floated on inner tubes on rivers in WV and even used rafts to cross rivers, but I have never taken an extended canoe trip before. I was in unfamiliar territory the minute the canoe slid into the water. Nonetheless I was excited and anxious to get this trip underway.
Now if you could not tell by the name of the event, this was a canoeing, camping, and CACHING event. Along this 20 mile section of river were 32 geocaches to be found. A few of these had just recently been placed and had not been found yet so we were in for a special treat.
The view along the Brazos is pretty amazing. While the water is shallow enough int spots to cause your canoe to drag, you can avoid walking the canoe if you watch the current closely. Being green at canoeing, I did not watch the river closely enough and we had to walk the canoe several times the first day.
After canoeing and caching 13 miles, the team decided to beach the canoes on one of the islands dotting the river so we could spend the night. After investigating a couple of spots, we made our decision and began to set up camp. Allen and I quickly unloaded the canoe and within a short time had our tent pitched on soft, sandy soil. The wind was a little strong but the tent held even in the soft soil. One of the more interesting things we noticed on several of the islands was the abundance of cow patties dotting the ground. Local farmers let the cattle roam and they cross the river at the shallows and eat the bright green grass on the islands.
After we set up camp, the event coordinator Doug began preparations to get dinner together. He had smoked some brisket earlier in the week (a Texas thing...) and packed it up in his canoe for dinner that night. Other people pitched in to provide sides and drinks. At first I had not plans to eat (I brought MRE's) but they had plenty and insisted we join them. Allen pitched in some money to cover the cost of food since we did not bring anything to share. I kinda felt bad for not bringing something, but I did not want to try to keep food cool while canoeing.
After dinner most of us were pretty tired. We had paddled 13 miles as well as climbed in and out the canoes dozens of times looking for caches or dragging the boats through the shallow water. Since people were so tired, the camp was quiet by 10 PM. It was an odd thing compared to the previous night when everyone was up until way past midnight.
Before bed, Allen and I discussed the plan of attack for the next day. We planned on getting up early and hitting the water by 8 AM. We hoped to get out and finish first, then move on down the road to get home early. However, even though we were the first to wake up, we were almost last team to leave the island. One of the reasons was that I brought a big tent (Allen did not have one) and it took a while to set up/breakdown. Next I let someone use my single burner stove and he did not get it back to me until right before we launched. In the long run it did not matter. We may have been almost last leaving the island but we were right in the middle of the back when we arrived at the pickup point.
I was pretty proud of Allen and myself as we got within three miles of the pickup point. We had not tipped over the canoe once (considering all the gear and water we brought) although we had come close a few times. However our good fortune did not last. Just about 2.5 to 3 miles from the pickup point we hit an area of fast moving water and we lost control of the canoe. We drifted straight into a fallen tree and got turned sideways. The force of the water against the side of the canoe tipped the canoe over on its side. I managed to pop out and right the canoe just before it tipped over completely. After the canoe was upright, I noticed it was almost completely full of water. My gear, which was water resistant but not water proof, was soaked. We pulled the canoe out of the swift current (no easy feat) and started to bail the water out. Once most of the water was out, we went on our way towards the pickup point. We were wet, but safe.
After arriving at the pickup point, we posed for a group picture and grabbed a few more caches in the area before heading home. We managed to get all but five of the 32 caches in the area. Of those five we thing all of them are missing. Several good people looked for them without any luck. The owners have been notified and I hope they will be replaced.
Allen and I took the more direct path home but we still stopped a few times for caches and to try to dry out some of our sloppy wet gear.
I had a great time canoeing on the Brazos River. I will remember that weekend for a very long time.
I have a partner in crime named Allen who invites me to go along on the more adventurous geocache outings. We have take several 8-10 mile hikes, camped in the cold, and as of last weekend, took a weekend to go canoeing and camping.
A few weeks ago Allen e-mailed me about the Brazos River Cache, Canoe, and Camping Event that was being held on June 11th. I have never really been canoeing before, but I figured it would be a great getaway. I like to camp and geocache so adding canoeing to the mix sounded pretty good to me. We worked the logistics out (who was preparing what, times, locations, etc) and before you know it, June 11th rolled around.
Our plan was to leave late on Friday morning and drive to Possum Kingdom Lake, grabbing some geocaches along the way. Allen had mentioned to me that there was a challenge cache that we both could fulfill (The Lonestar Busy Day Challenge) if we planned our route correctly. The challenge required us to grab six different types of geocaches plus a benchmark, all in a 24 hour period. Now getting four of these would not be hard, but getting the other two of the remaining ones would be more difficult. Virtuals are scarce and earthcaches, letterbox hybrids, and whereIgo caches are practically extinct. Earthcaches are making a comeback but still are scattered far and wide. Yes, I know I also did not mention Cache In Trash Out caches, Event caches, Mega Event caches, Project A.P.E. or GPS Adventure Mazes Exhibit caches. These were excluded from the challenge and are many of these are rare.
The good news for us was that we were heading west and many of the caches we needed were right along the route (give or take a few miles). To make a long story short, we grabbed all the caches needed for the challenge and all we need to do is go get the challenge cache and log our find.
Once we made it to Possum Kingdom (PK), we set up our tent in the wind (with the help of some other geocaches), helped a few people set up their tents, and had dinner. Once it got dark we headed off into the woods to search for the night cache hidden by the host of the event (Doug). After searching for (and finding) the night cache, we headed off deeper into the woods to grab yet another cache hidden by Doug. We enjoyed he three mile hike from the trail head to the caches and back. Hanging out and talking with new people is always fun.
After the hike I grabbed a shower (which consisted of cool lake water pumped from the lake...no hot water) and it felt great. It was one of the most refreshing showers I have ever taken.
Most of the people were still kind of wound up so they stayed up, despite the fact we needed to get up early and break camp so we could make launch at 9 AM. We still needed a few miles to the canoe rental shop, then they would shuttle us to the launch point.
Allen and I were both tired so we did our best to get some sleep but sleep did not come for some time. It was still rather hot and humid, not to mention noisy as people continued to have a good time.
6:00 AM came and both Allen and I struggled to wake up. I unloaded my single burner and put on water for coffee and oatmeal (my normal camp breakfast) and started to pack up what we would need for the canoe trip. I no sooner than finished my breakfast when Doug shouted for everyone to hurry up. I was a little bewildered by this since it was only 7:00 AM and we did not need to leave for at least an hour. Allen and I quickly packed up the gear and loaded it into my truck. We then rushed off to Rochelle's Canoe Rentals several miles up the road on Route 4. After getting to Rochelle's we learned it was first come, first launch. We got our people in line and filled out the paperwork so we could launch as soon as possible. Finally around 10:00 AM, we launched the canoes on our 20 mile trip down the Brazos River.
As I said earlier, I have never really taken a canoe trip before. I have floated on inner tubes on rivers in WV and even used rafts to cross rivers, but I have never taken an extended canoe trip before. I was in unfamiliar territory the minute the canoe slid into the water. Nonetheless I was excited and anxious to get this trip underway.
Now if you could not tell by the name of the event, this was a canoeing, camping, and CACHING event. Along this 20 mile section of river were 32 geocaches to be found. A few of these had just recently been placed and had not been found yet so we were in for a special treat.
The view along the Brazos is pretty amazing. While the water is shallow enough int spots to cause your canoe to drag, you can avoid walking the canoe if you watch the current closely. Being green at canoeing, I did not watch the river closely enough and we had to walk the canoe several times the first day.
After canoeing and caching 13 miles, the team decided to beach the canoes on one of the islands dotting the river so we could spend the night. After investigating a couple of spots, we made our decision and began to set up camp. Allen and I quickly unloaded the canoe and within a short time had our tent pitched on soft, sandy soil. The wind was a little strong but the tent held even in the soft soil. One of the more interesting things we noticed on several of the islands was the abundance of cow patties dotting the ground. Local farmers let the cattle roam and they cross the river at the shallows and eat the bright green grass on the islands.
After we set up camp, the event coordinator Doug began preparations to get dinner together. He had smoked some brisket earlier in the week (a Texas thing...) and packed it up in his canoe for dinner that night. Other people pitched in to provide sides and drinks. At first I had not plans to eat (I brought MRE's) but they had plenty and insisted we join them. Allen pitched in some money to cover the cost of food since we did not bring anything to share. I kinda felt bad for not bringing something, but I did not want to try to keep food cool while canoeing.
After dinner most of us were pretty tired. We had paddled 13 miles as well as climbed in and out the canoes dozens of times looking for caches or dragging the boats through the shallow water. Since people were so tired, the camp was quiet by 10 PM. It was an odd thing compared to the previous night when everyone was up until way past midnight.
Before bed, Allen and I discussed the plan of attack for the next day. We planned on getting up early and hitting the water by 8 AM. We hoped to get out and finish first, then move on down the road to get home early. However, even though we were the first to wake up, we were almost last team to leave the island. One of the reasons was that I brought a big tent (Allen did not have one) and it took a while to set up/breakdown. Next I let someone use my single burner stove and he did not get it back to me until right before we launched. In the long run it did not matter. We may have been almost last leaving the island but we were right in the middle of the back when we arrived at the pickup point.
I was pretty proud of Allen and myself as we got within three miles of the pickup point. We had not tipped over the canoe once (considering all the gear and water we brought) although we had come close a few times. However our good fortune did not last. Just about 2.5 to 3 miles from the pickup point we hit an area of fast moving water and we lost control of the canoe. We drifted straight into a fallen tree and got turned sideways. The force of the water against the side of the canoe tipped the canoe over on its side. I managed to pop out and right the canoe just before it tipped over completely. After the canoe was upright, I noticed it was almost completely full of water. My gear, which was water resistant but not water proof, was soaked. We pulled the canoe out of the swift current (no easy feat) and started to bail the water out. Once most of the water was out, we went on our way towards the pickup point. We were wet, but safe.
After arriving at the pickup point, we posed for a group picture and grabbed a few more caches in the area before heading home. We managed to get all but five of the 32 caches in the area. Of those five we thing all of them are missing. Several good people looked for them without any luck. The owners have been notified and I hope they will be replaced.
Allen and I took the more direct path home but we still stopped a few times for caches and to try to dry out some of our sloppy wet gear.
I had a great time canoeing on the Brazos River. I will remember that weekend for a very long time.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Technical Support - A Sad State Of Affairs
I woke up yesterday to find that our broadband internet service, provided by Time Warner Cable was not working. I performed my normal troubleshooting (Working in IT tends to give me an edge in this department) and after several minutes, I decided to call TWC customer service to see if there was any service outages. After navigating the voice prompts I finally was connected to "Daniel", a seemingly nice guy with a slight Latino accent. He "tested" my cable modem and verified it was working and also confirmed there were no service outages in my area. Having a customer service background, I tend to go through life trying to have some sympathy for those doing customer service based jobs so I let "Daniel" ask me all the mundane questions and I did everything he asked.
After a few minutes, I was cold transferred to a Latina (with a much thicker accent...I never understood her name) in L2 support. Again, I allowed her to ask me all the questions "Daniel" did, including verifying my name, service address, home phone number, and account number. After a while she informed me that my cable modem was "quarantined". I asked her why and she said that she did not know, but most of the time it is because of viruses and spam. Knowing this was not the case, I informed her that I was working from home and needed my broadband connection to do my job. She then gave me the toll free number to the security department. Why she could not do this, I don't know. I thought that customer service was about a single point of contact?
Nonetheless I called the number as was greeted with a very long and unprofessionally recorded message asking me to leave my contact info and a brief description of the issue and they would call me back. I left the required info and hung up. In the mean time I pulled out my Sprint Aircard so I could at least log on to work and check mail.
A few hours later I received a call from an Anglo female who told me that I had been mailed several notices to come in and have my cable modem swapped out. I told her that my modem was mine...I bought it 8 years ago and there was nothing to swap out. I also told her I was only sent one notice (about a week ago) and we already called TWC customer service to see if needed an upgraded modem and we were told beyond the shadow of a doubt that we were fine. The lady from security told me there was a breakdown in communication at the CS level and my modem (a DOCSIS 1.0 compliant Linksys) was not going to work on the new network they were rolling out and I needed and upgrade. I was informed that TWC does not charge for the cable modems like Comcast does (or did) so I could just drop by any TWC office and get one. I informed the woman at security that I was working from home and needed my internet service up and running to do my job. She agreed to release my modem for two weeks until I could get another. My wife picked one up that afternoon and I hooked it up a few hours later. No problems getting it to authenticate. As a matter of fact, my speeds are much greater than they were with my old modem.
I was pretty torqued when all this started, but am over it now. I guess what occurred to me is just a reflection of what most American's deal with when needing customer service or technical support.
After a few minutes, I was cold transferred to a Latina (with a much thicker accent...I never understood her name) in L2 support. Again, I allowed her to ask me all the questions "Daniel" did, including verifying my name, service address, home phone number, and account number. After a while she informed me that my cable modem was "quarantined". I asked her why and she said that she did not know, but most of the time it is because of viruses and spam. Knowing this was not the case, I informed her that I was working from home and needed my broadband connection to do my job. She then gave me the toll free number to the security department. Why she could not do this, I don't know. I thought that customer service was about a single point of contact?
Nonetheless I called the number as was greeted with a very long and unprofessionally recorded message asking me to leave my contact info and a brief description of the issue and they would call me back. I left the required info and hung up. In the mean time I pulled out my Sprint Aircard so I could at least log on to work and check mail.
A few hours later I received a call from an Anglo female who told me that I had been mailed several notices to come in and have my cable modem swapped out. I told her that my modem was mine...I bought it 8 years ago and there was nothing to swap out. I also told her I was only sent one notice (about a week ago) and we already called TWC customer service to see if needed an upgraded modem and we were told beyond the shadow of a doubt that we were fine. The lady from security told me there was a breakdown in communication at the CS level and my modem (a DOCSIS 1.0 compliant Linksys) was not going to work on the new network they were rolling out and I needed and upgrade. I was informed that TWC does not charge for the cable modems like Comcast does (or did) so I could just drop by any TWC office and get one. I informed the woman at security that I was working from home and needed my internet service up and running to do my job. She agreed to release my modem for two weeks until I could get another. My wife picked one up that afternoon and I hooked it up a few hours later. No problems getting it to authenticate. As a matter of fact, my speeds are much greater than they were with my old modem.
I was pretty torqued when all this started, but am over it now. I guess what occurred to me is just a reflection of what most American's deal with when needing customer service or technical support.
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