Wednesday, March 19, 2008

ABC Wednesday - I is for Ice cream & Internet Connection


ABC Wednesday - I is for Ice cream & Internet Connection.

My apologies first for my inability to comment on more than a handful of blogs at present. The reasons for this will come clear, if you care to read the rest of this post.

As those who saw my early-posted piece for last week will know, I was on holiday in Paignton last Wednesday which is when I took this photo of an Ice Cream Kiosk on the beach. It wasn't there the day before. If it had been put there much earlier it would have probably been blown away by the gales that pounded these shores on Sunday night. A kiosk on the pier was blown over and much sand was deposited on the promenade.

Whilst in Paignton I battled my way through the stormy winds to the local library where, as a vistor, I was allowed half-an-hour's free internet access each day. I could keep abreast of my emails, and since I always get email notification of comments made on my blogs, I could keep up to date with what was being said. I couldn't however visit any blogs as Torbay in their wisdom have put a block (though they call it a filter) on all blogspots. I could visit wordpress and aminus3 blogs and even blogger profiles but no blogspots! There was a link, supposedly to a page explaining why the sites were filtered, but the page had a javascript error or something that prevented it being displayed.

Ah well, no huge worries, one can't do much more in half an hour than check emails, dump the spam and reply to the more urgent messages and check the weather to see that back home it was just as cold but a little less windy.

After we had arrived home on Thursday, I switched on my router. When I tried to access the internet, I discovered that my DSL connection was down. After fiddling for a while, I phoned my ISP. At least they answer quickly, use a normal, geographical number, do not keep you hanging on and will phone you back if they are busy. They said there sounded to be a lot of noise on the line and to ring BT on 151 to get the line checked.

But I'm not with BT and pay my rental to another telecoms company. I had to phone a premium number and go through two menus to get to someone who sounded as though they were based in a different continent! They said that before they could get someone out I needed to plug a corded phone into the socket and try that first. Well of course I didn't have one!

For a short period in the evening I found my router had kicked in and I got some access to the internet but it was running at around 100kps instead of the normal 5Mbs. Later it failed again.

On Friday I had to wait for the postman to deliver the week's mail that had been "kept safe" before I could go out. He turned up at 12.30pm. So in the afternoon I bought a new old-style phone for £7 and on my return home phoned my telecoms provider again. They had me unscrewing half the socket off the wall and connecting inside the socket. They said that if I requested an engineer to come round and the fault lay with my equipment it would cost £120.

I tried again with just the router and corded phone plugged in and I got online at treacle-speed. I phoned my ISP who got me to run the BT speed test and give them the result. The line profile is 135kps instead of 6000kps. It would appear that the fault lies with my old (18 months?) cordless phone. They say that now the cordless phone is disconnected and a corded phone attached, the line should stabilise over the next three days.

On Saturday evening I lost the connection altogether. On Sunday morning I messed about a bit completely unplugging the bits and pieces of the cordless phone and unravelling all the wires. When I phoned my ISP they moaned at me (in as nice a way as possible) saying that I shouldn't have disconnected the router from the line and that the three day stabilisation period would now start over again.

All of a sudden at 10.45am on Sunday it kicked in, still at only around 100kps but at least I could get a few things done. At 6.30pm I lost the connection again. When I got up on Monday morning I was back connected again. That is still my position as I write this Tuesday evening. I have a dismal 100kps internet connection, an old-style phone, no answer machine, no caller-ID, no portable handset.

I can do quite a bit on the internet but visiting photo-heavy sites is painfully slow and video-clips are unwatchable. We shall see if normal service is resumed soon. If not, I fear for my blood pressure!

Links to other ABC Wednesday I posts can be found at Mrs. Nesbitt's Place.

34 comments:

  1. Awwwwwwwwwwwww! Bless!
    Love it!

    Pure Yorkshire!
    XXXX

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  2. good luck with your IP. And, I liked your 'internet" entry. :)

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  3. Oh how very frustrating!! I feel your pain. I love the shot of the Ice Cream stand!!
    Well done.

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  4. oops left the wrong link, sorry, this one is for I

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  5. Two of my favorite I'S. Good luck with your connection!

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  6. Oh wow! That's bad news about the internet connection. Ice cream sounds good tho!

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  7. Wow! sounds kind of like what happens every once in a while with my Outlook. It goes "down" and I think it's my computer. This time I just left it down and got my email thru a different route. Then suddenly a few days later, it worked! Heaven only knows what it was! Hope you're up and running at full speed soon. Great post and story about the internet. :D

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  8. Oh, what an ordeal. It is a bit like mine a week or so ago, when tech support did not return my call and did nothing about my lack of e-mail till my husband stopped in their office on Monday. By the time they decided that oh, no sorry we shouldn't have closed your mailbox after all, I had lost five days of e-mail and several of my subscriptions had cancelled themselves.

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  9. Glad your back on line and were able to post the ice cream palor. I used ice cream this week too, but mine is a bit different from yours. Come on by if you have time.

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  10. Interesting about your internet very frustrating i know I hate when i can't get connected. Good luck hope it all works out.
    Love the Ice Cream stand too now i must go and have a bowl of ice cream

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  11. We once talked to someone in India (from Texas) about a computer problem. They shuffle you all over the world. Sounds as if you could use some ice cream!

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  12. There is nothing more frustrating than internet troubles. All day at work it was as slow as molasses...I work in a library all the databases were unavailable...OMG ...I needed a drink by the time I left...the students were frustrated not to mention the card catalog would not show up either due to some cross over. I have never been so glad to get home and have reliable service. The sad part, the tech person could find nothing wrong at work....I give Jules big marks if this is what she has to deal with daily!!! good luck!

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  13. Can ice cream be classified as comfort food? It is for me!

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  14. Hope you solve your internet woes before your blood pressure gets too high!

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  15. Ice cream. My favourite sweet! :)
    Your story wore me out.... ;)
    Hope you get it all sorted out really soon! Good luck.
    HAPPY EASTER! :)

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  16. Sorry about your connection, I would be mad as Hell
    Your hotel looks like Basil Faulty should be running the place.
    Dave

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  17. These two words was not in my mind at all
    Shame me

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  18. That is such a typical ice-cream stall, isn't it? real British traditional.

    Hope your internet is sorted soon. It's like having your life-blood cut off.

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  19. On holidays, we often eat ice creams!
    miss Yves

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  20. Never mind, have a wonderful holiday even if it's icy.

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  21. I hope you get back up and running on hi-speed soon .. and while you're waiting dont let the ice cream melt!

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  22. Oh how frustrating. We were without the internet for two days last week when our router went out. I was lost.
    I love ice cream. Great I post.

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  23. Love the way the ice-cream kiosk appeared overnight!

    I sympathise with your problems. Being without the internet is a nightmare. I hope it can be sorted soon.

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  24. I would love some ice cream right now.

    Sorry about your Internet connection

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  25. Nice shot and good luck with your internet provider!

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  26. Great choice for I! I love ice cream. Now I have to go and find some....yummi:D

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  27. Hello there! Cool photo for the letter I. This ice-cream stand looks like a cartoon to me, really sweet. I'm sorry for your via crucis with Internet! Hope it's totally ok by now.
    Have a great day, kisses from Nydia.

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  28. Oh what a pain! You suddenly realise just how much we've become dependent on our little machines.

    Love the Ice Cream van photo and I hope you're back with us in a more speedy fashion soon!

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  29. Getting an internet connection can be frustrating at times! Good choices for I....especially the ice cream.

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  30. I'm sorry about your troubles with your phone company. I guess the overseas phone companies are no better than the ones in the States. I really feel for you. I cannot live without my internet connection. Anyways, glad to hear you're back from your weather-adventurous trip and you're home safe & sound.

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  31. Sorry that you have had some trouble...But now you have fixed it;-)...Good....

    Happy Easter

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  32. Oh my, a lot of trouble, better take an ice cream.

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