AT&T: Too Big to Care

Kludge first, tidy up later.

We're not power Internet users, i.e., we don't need to stream high-definition video for hours on end. We've been contented subscribers to AT&T's ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) service, which since 2005 has been fairly reliable (except for an episode last month).

Two years ago AT&T's 2WIRE modem finally gave out, and we replaced it with a $150 Netgear DGND300 (pictured standing, right), which broadcasts Wi-Fi signals throughout the house under the 802.11g and the faster 802.11n standards. All was copacetic.

Last month AT&T announced that:

1) All ADSL users in the area would be switched to VDSL (very high-data-rate digital subscriber line), which can't be read by the Netgear modem;

2) ADSL service would be discontinued by the end of September or when the subscriber switched to VDSL, whichever was earlier;

3) VDSL users would receive a "free" AT&T modem.

Rather than try your patience, dear reader, with a long(er) whiny post I'll just say:

AT&T turned off the ADSL connection without warning, so we had to convert to VDSL immediately to continue Internet service.

The new 2WIRE 3600HGV modem broadcasts in slow 802.11g and slower 802.11b only;

The 2WIRE signal is so weak that a wireless device has to be within 10 feet of the modem/router.

Fortunately, it was a simple matter to connect the modems via an Ethernet cable and use the Netgear's stronger signal. All is copacetic again, but the shabby treatment by a too-big-to-care company will make us look harder at alternatives to AT&T. © 2012 Stephen Yuen

Conventional Wisdom

Like many Americans, your humble observer pays some attention to politics--it's hard to avoid the subject because of news coverage and biennial political commercials--but hardly spends any time on explicit "political" activities. I vote regularly but only rarely attend City Council meetings or write letters to officials. Only once have I made a political contribution (and continue to pay for that lapse in judgment by fielding a daily tidal wave of phone calls and junk mail).

Make no mistake: I happen to believe that it will make a big difference who wins in November. But I already know whom I will vote for, and whether I spend four hours or none each day following the campaigns my ballot will look the same. Unlike school, there's no extra credit for showing the work.

For the national political conventions I only read the transcripts and watch snippets of the major speeches (just to check out how potential leaders sound and look). More time spent would not be personally efficacious. The conventions are a scripted show  where the outcome is known in advance. Little need to watch....it ain't Shakespeare.

That's why Clint Eastwood's speech and its reverberations are fascinating. The speech wasn't scripted in the sense that the Republican planners had no idea how it would fit into the final night's progression toward the Mitt Romney climax.

He indeed might have written and/or rehearsed it, but Clint Eastwood made his bit look like improv.  The very first thing he did was plunge expectations. Uh-oh, here's an 82-year-old man, voice quavering. Hope he can make it through without embarrassing himself. And then it got better. In the middle, as it looked like he was drifting off to an old-person's reverie, he recovered (or was the drifting part of the script?). A bad first impression, followed by an extended bit with an empty chair and one-liners ("we own this country" "we've got to let 'em go") that have legs that could last to November.

Here's the transcript. Here's the video.



[Update - 8/31: Bill Maher suspends his partisanship for a moment and comments as a practitioner of stand-up:

” he did a ten-minute bit with an empty chair and “killed.”.... 

Maher said that people normally complain about how scripted the conventions are, and wondered why everyone would be so upset over an unscripted, genuine moment. ]

© 2012 Stephen Yuen

Armed Robbery

Internet scams can steal thousands of dollars from victims who at least were in no direct physical danger....until crooks began luring unsuspecting car buyers through Craigslist [bold added]:

In Berkeley, police say, four victims hoping to buy cars off the popular Internet site have been robbed at gunpoint since June, possibly by the same two men. There have been several other such holdups in Oakland, and similar heists have been reported this month in Castro Valley and Fremont.

Authorities have pointed out warning signs:

"What we're seeing is the seller will change the location. That's part of the M.O.," said Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland police spokeswoman. "The buyer should be in control and designate the meeting location."

Car buyers should also be wary if the car they plan to purchase shows up with no license plates or with only paper plates, police say.

I use and like Craigslist, through which I've posted community announcements and bought and sold merchandise locally. Craigslist is now a for-profit organization but still retains the original Internet-should-be-free ethos from the mid-1990's. The site isn't flashy and on most listings doesn't charge its users.

Its shoestring overhead (29 employees in 2009) of necessity minimizes Craigslist's supervisory capability. The "Adult Services" section exploded in popularity during the past decade until the prevalence of illegal activities forced Craigslist to shut it down under pressure from states' attorneys general.

Here's hoping that Craigslist users become smart enough to protect themselves. Otherwise Craigslist will have to make changes that will make it less special, perhaps leading to the long decline that has befallen other Internet pioneers. © 2012 Stephen Yuen

Biennial Exam

Double doors' double entendres

We drove to Sacramento for the biennial neurological exam. Sam said that everything looked normal. Unless the patient displayed unusual headaches, lethargy, or any of the other signs of shunt failure, we could now stretch the time between appointments to three years.

We stopped at Joe's Crab Shack for a late lunch, donned a bib and attacked the crab legs. The Sacramento River flowed serenely under the hot afternoon sun. It was a beautiful day. © 2012 Stephen Yuen

Plebeian Appetites

"Blues Brothers" at Universal Studios

During our brief trip south we spent a day at Universal Studios. We could have gone to the Getty Museum--and I will go some day--but this vacation was for entertainment, not education. Speaking of art, the homage to the Blues Brothers was well worth 20 minutes of standing (seats were sparse). Young fans who were obviously familiar with the tunes were dancing in the aisles. Belushi lives.

Plane crash set from War of the Worlds

Being able to spare only a few hours, we took in the studio tour, the new Transformers ride, and the trained animal ("Animal Actors") show. The Transformers flight-simulator experience was a little too much for this aging boomer. Being tossed and turned while watching giant 3-D figures rapidly moving across the screen was literally a dizzying experience. A tech marvel indeed, but I'll take a real roller coaster, please.

Pork chop with berry sauce

Chased indoors by the Los Angeles heat and smog, we had a leisurely dinner at the hotel restaurant. Familiar dishes were prepared with flair--no multi-continental fusion cuisine here--and portions were generous. Our summer-long battle to reduce sugar intake suffered another setback when the dessert platter came. BTW, it's only a myth that calories don't count when one is on holiday. Or perhaps there's another explanation why my pants have mysteriously shrunk.

Final score Friday night: Giants 5, Braves 3

I-5 was crowded with trucks, and the return trip was exhausting. But there was still time (and energy) to head up to AT&T Park that evening. The Giants came back to beat the Braves and keep the Dodgers at bay for another day. Now that the new Dodgers management is throwing money around like a drunken sailor, the Giants (and every other team in the National League West) will struggle for years to keep up with the big money boys down South. I didn't care much before, but now...Beat LA! © 2012 Stephen Yuen