Nightmares By The Sea...
The sea in this case being the information superhighway, and how I crashed and burned most spectacularly.
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18/02/2003 1545: Talon heads out with Haynes book of lies for K11. His mission....to find the fuselink box in the engine and check fuse for left headlight. After much fiddling around, find the fuse and pull it. His thoughts are confirmed, it's blown and looks a bit corroded too. He checks the main fusebox, but alas, the 15 Amp spare has been used. No problem, he decides to get one the next day.
16:15: Talon heads back to the house. There is a message from Talon's mum waiting on the answer phone. Talon decides to call back if only he can find the number (which he can never remember....)
16:30: Armed with number, Talon picks up the downstairs phone. The usual dial tone has been replaced by a voice saying "...hang up and try again. Please...." *Click* Funny, he didn't remember leaving a phone off the hook. Logic dictates to check.
16:35: A search of the house reveals no phones dangling off the hook. Strange. He picks up the living room phone and hits the Talk button. The same thing, except the voice has been replaced by a dead tone. But there is a dial tone there too. Talon decides to call his mother. A brief conversation ensues above the droning background noise. Talon has a plan. It's time to call the heavies....
16:50: First things first. The logical conclusion is a fault, but Talon knows that reporting a fault if the cause is faulty telecoms equipment could be expensive in the long fun. So he begins running diagnostics. Usual suspect? The Internet. He turns off the ADSL router, which appears to be running fine. No change. He disconnects DSL splitters on all telephones. No change. He unplugs phones one by one. No change. He moves different phones around the house. No change. Logic dictates. The fault is out there....in the matrix of wires. It's time to call British Telecom.
17:05: After digging up the number, Talon calls BT to report the fault. Ah yes, it appears to be a fault somewhere. An estimated response time is given. 22/02/2003. Talon, protests...that's like....4 days away! He's assured they will do their best. Talon sighs and hangs up. The noise was starting to do his head in. No matter, at least the internet still works....
17:30: Talon decides to sooth himself by venting himself on his livejournal. He turns on the ADSL router back on. It clicks into life. He makes himself a cup of tea. Alas, it still has not connected. Talon has a theory as to what has happened. To him it is crystal clear, and yet to others it is not (so I won't try to explain here :P) Talon faces the grim prospect of having no access to the net for 4 days. Horror of horrors.
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So.... that evening I had to live without the internet for a change. Ended up watching a few things on TV. Film 2003 was on, and the first review was of "The Ring" which opens here tommorow I believe. His review was excellent. It turns out he too is a big fan of the original movies. His conclusion.
"If you're a fan of the original Ringu films, don't go out of your way to see this one. But if you haven't, then it's well worth going to see."
He even showed a clip of the original Japanese "Ringu". You have my repect, Mr. Ross. His opinion was that he was very tired of seeing Hollywood films with kids who say profound things like adults (comparing this new "The Ring" to the likes of "The Sixth Sense") He definently has a point.....
Anyway, back to the matter in hand. As TV started to die, I checked the phone again, just incase some miracle had happened, but alas it had not. Then saw "Mortal Kombat" was on and had the urge to remind myself how bad it was. Heh, I certainly wasn't dissapointed... It definently cheered me up. Finally turned in at about 3am.
Woke up this morning and made a cup of tea. Then picked up the phone. Hurrah! it sounded normal again! Like a giddy schoolgirl I rushed to the router and turned it on (faster than you can say "giddy schoolgirl") After a few seconds it connected. Phew... Thought I'd better get onto BT and find out the score.
It seems though that BT have done nothing though, and there is still a fault. Ah well.
So if I suddenly dissapear again. You'll know why.....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18/02/2003 1545: Talon heads out with Haynes book of lies for K11. His mission....to find the fuselink box in the engine and check fuse for left headlight. After much fiddling around, find the fuse and pull it. His thoughts are confirmed, it's blown and looks a bit corroded too. He checks the main fusebox, but alas, the 15 Amp spare has been used. No problem, he decides to get one the next day.
16:15: Talon heads back to the house. There is a message from Talon's mum waiting on the answer phone. Talon decides to call back if only he can find the number (which he can never remember....)
16:30: Armed with number, Talon picks up the downstairs phone. The usual dial tone has been replaced by a voice saying "...hang up and try again. Please...." *Click* Funny, he didn't remember leaving a phone off the hook. Logic dictates to check.
16:35: A search of the house reveals no phones dangling off the hook. Strange. He picks up the living room phone and hits the Talk button. The same thing, except the voice has been replaced by a dead tone. But there is a dial tone there too. Talon decides to call his mother. A brief conversation ensues above the droning background noise. Talon has a plan. It's time to call the heavies....
16:50: First things first. The logical conclusion is a fault, but Talon knows that reporting a fault if the cause is faulty telecoms equipment could be expensive in the long fun. So he begins running diagnostics. Usual suspect? The Internet. He turns off the ADSL router, which appears to be running fine. No change. He disconnects DSL splitters on all telephones. No change. He unplugs phones one by one. No change. He moves different phones around the house. No change. Logic dictates. The fault is out there....in the matrix of wires. It's time to call British Telecom.
17:05: After digging up the number, Talon calls BT to report the fault. Ah yes, it appears to be a fault somewhere. An estimated response time is given. 22/02/2003. Talon, protests...that's like....4 days away! He's assured they will do their best. Talon sighs and hangs up. The noise was starting to do his head in. No matter, at least the internet still works....
17:30: Talon decides to sooth himself by venting himself on his livejournal. He turns on the ADSL router back on. It clicks into life. He makes himself a cup of tea. Alas, it still has not connected. Talon has a theory as to what has happened. To him it is crystal clear, and yet to others it is not (so I won't try to explain here :P) Talon faces the grim prospect of having no access to the net for 4 days. Horror of horrors.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So.... that evening I had to live without the internet for a change. Ended up watching a few things on TV. Film 2003 was on, and the first review was of "The Ring" which opens here tommorow I believe. His review was excellent. It turns out he too is a big fan of the original movies. His conclusion.
"If you're a fan of the original Ringu films, don't go out of your way to see this one. But if you haven't, then it's well worth going to see."
He even showed a clip of the original Japanese "Ringu". You have my repect, Mr. Ross. His opinion was that he was very tired of seeing Hollywood films with kids who say profound things like adults (comparing this new "The Ring" to the likes of "The Sixth Sense") He definently has a point.....
Anyway, back to the matter in hand. As TV started to die, I checked the phone again, just incase some miracle had happened, but alas it had not. Then saw "Mortal Kombat" was on and had the urge to remind myself how bad it was. Heh, I certainly wasn't dissapointed... It definently cheered me up. Finally turned in at about 3am.
Woke up this morning and made a cup of tea. Then picked up the phone. Hurrah! it sounded normal again! Like a giddy schoolgirl I rushed to the router and turned it on (faster than you can say "giddy schoolgirl") After a few seconds it connected. Phew... Thought I'd better get onto BT and find out the score.
It seems though that BT have done nothing though, and there is still a fault. Ah well.
So if I suddenly dissapear again. You'll know why.....