Posted on by mwhybark

Batting the bits

After getting off the phone with Qwest, it seems that my ISP was under no technical obligation to run a separate ADSL line to the house, although Qwest notes that the locale is speed-restriced for DSL to 256k, which is a pain and has made clear to me that I was running well over that speed back at the apartment.

Here’s the interesting bit; I think I could cancel my Qwest DSL entirely and just go with the new ISP and save $15 a month, especially if Qwest notes the speed restrictions are hard-wired. The outstanding question in my mind is, “Are there technical advantages to a non-separate DSL line as opposed to the new POTS line they dropped with ADSL on it? Can I get more bandwidth by lighting fewer wires?”

It seems unlikely, actually.

The next question, of course, is “Can I multiplex the lines, especially without paying for the circuit that may or may not be attached to the Qwest line?”

Of course, I should really be doing stuff like unpacking boxes instead of wrestling with ephemera such as bitstreams.

Posted on by mwhybark

Ricks and Cords

Getting closer to figuring out the firewood thing, and I hope to have a cord slated for delivery on Friday.

I noticed that after burning the fire very hot for a short period of time, the masonry in the back of the hearth turned white for a while. I’m curious about this, but Googling yields singularly crappy results. Surely the fire is not heating the bricks to the point of glowing.

Overall, I remain in the gloomiest frame of mind, despite reconnecting with my firebug preadolescence. All I can do is wait it out, really; I hate life changes and I also hate the holidays, and I’m reliably unhappy at this time of year. Finding myself entering into a rerun of my adolescent living circumstances, with fewer financial options, would naturally tend to accentuate this frame of mind, I think.

But what the hell! I only stayed that angry for ten or eleven years, right?

Posted on by mwhybark

Fire

a) conventional wisdom hereabouts notes that firewood should be stored away from the mists of our winters. Alas, my home currently mostly lacks such a place.

b) what’s the going rate for a cord of dense wood hereabouts, anyway?

c) no, really. where does you alls keep the good burnin’ wood? Izzit near? ‘Cuz I’m needin’.

Posted on by mwhybark

Hello, goodbye!

Adam Engst announces the end of Info-Mac in today’s Tidbits. Over ten yeas ago, Info-Mac was the best place to get the most interesting shareware, freeware, and demos online for the mac, and provided a crystal-clear glimpse into a future where much software was free and disposable bits and shiny things ruled the eye of the online magpie. One hopes the archives were preserved in time such that future cybarcheologists can sift the bits for clues and treasure.

Posted on by mwhybark

Hogler gun

FINAL SCORE.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: I concur, the best of the films to date. I fear it may be a high water mark. Better than any of the books I’ve thus far read, richer and more convincing.

New clutch: installed, snappy, and quite different in feel from the other one.

Holiday, work, and move exhaustion: quite powerful.

Posted on by mwhybark

Sightless

The previews at the movie theater were missing any picture at all for well over ten minutes. As far as I can tell, not one person arose to register a complaint.

Posted on by mwhybark

Snofall

later, Viv and I are eating dinner at that Thai place in the big downtown mall, Pacific Place, waiting for the car to be ready, when the PA annoinces the indoor snowfall feature.

Apparently (and I can confirm this) the mall hosts these artificial snow displays during the holiday shopping season.

It’s like a scene from a 1980s dystopian comic book or from, specifically, Harlan Ellison’s A boy and his Dog. At the same time, I assure you, it’s pretty neat to look at. Unfortunately, it does not reproduce well on cell phone camera.