Tech Nightmares

OK, I've decided that I'm going about this blog thing the wrong way. I read somewhere recently that you've got to blog at the moment, not wait until later, and I think that's my problem. I find it hard to write quickly (I reread and revise constantly), so I always figure I'll write about something later, when I have the time... and I end up posting once every few months! So here goes...

I HATE TECHNOLOGY at the moment. First we come back from a nice weekend in Philadelphia to find no DSL connection. I spend hours on the phone with Verizon tech support, who finally decide that my modem is screwed, and out of warrantly. So instead of paying $80+ for a new modem, I thank god that I had already decided to switch to Earthlink. Unfortunately, it takes a while for their modem to reach us...

We use a neighbor's wireless for a week (thank you belkin54g!), hoping he/she doesn't mind too much. Feel guilty that I never leave my wireless open in return.

Earthlink comes, yay! Takes me 2 hours to set up modem and wireless. I'm not sure what I did in the end, but it worked. Hmm, doesn't say much for my techabilities.

Then last night, outgoing email is not being sent. I use both verizon and earthlink's smtp servers, and no luck with either. In fact, every time I try to connect to the smtp servers, I get booted off earthlink! I mean, what is up with that?! I try pinging the server's IP addresses but guess what, I can't ping any IP address I try (I know 2 of the ones at BMCC). What's up with that? I'm puzzled, frustrated, can't stop thinking about it as I go to bed.

I go to the office and try the smtp servers via Mozilla's Thunderbird on my office computer and it's smooth sailing. Hmmph. I don't want to go home and tackle the problem again.

And hence my complaint - I feel like I'm spending hours wrestling with technology every day when I get home. This is a quality of life issue for me! This is not the promised land! Take all the computers and gadgets back!

What I'm reading now: lots of books about Alaska, planning our family trip there in August. The Listeners, by James Gunn - slow and somewhat socially dated sci-fi about searching for ET life. Reading on ebook format. Also finished on ebook Bimbos of the Death Sun, by Sharyn McCrumb. Comic murder mystery at a sci-fi convention. Stereotyped fans too stereotypical to be funny.