Another Opinion Among Many

Friday evening,  I saw the “Message Waiting” light blinking on our phone, so I grabbed the handset to see what the message was.  When I turned the handset on, there was no sound coming from the ear piece.  We have another handset, so I tried that one.  Sure enough, no fast beeping and no dial tone.  However, our DSL connection was steady and strong.

Figuring that this might be a temporary problem, I let the issue go for the time being.  After all, we don’t really make too many phone calls.  Saturday morning came and the line was still toneless.  So, I unplugged our phone and DSL filter/modem from the jack and let it “clear” for about a minute, as I’d been previously advised to do at our old home (we had two cordless handsets there and when they were both in use, the dial tone would go - got rid of one).

This did not work, so I went to the local payphone and called for an appointment.  The call center agent went through some basic troubleshooting.  As I suspected, a visit was required.  So, the next available appointment was an “all day” one for today.  I was surfng the net about 1/2 hour ago and my internet connection died.  So, I checked the lights on DSL modem.  The connection light was blinking, which means that it was trying to sync.  It went solid, so I tried the phone beside the modem and my dial tone was back! Then, I heard a tech introduce himself and advise he had fixed the problem.  He must have been at the CO, as I saw no Aliant truck anywhere near.

On a lark, I check my modem’s line stats and it seems that my theoretical maximum line speed is now a bit faster.  Before, it was about 2.8MBits/sec, which is why I didn’t bother going for the “up to” 5MBit Ultra service for $10 more per month.  I wouldn’t see a significant change in speed from my 1.5 MBit connection to justify the extra cost.   The stats page shows now, a max of about 3.6MBits, so there is definitely an overall improvement in my telephone line connection.

I am impressed.  Thank you, Aliant.  You have delivered exactly what you said that you would.  There’s another company that offers services that you do, but they don’t deliver what they say that they will.  In my opinion, you may have competitors, but you don’t have any competition.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big noodle fan.  I don’t limit myself to pasta.  I also like Chinese noodles - quite a bit, actually.  I’ve gotten a bit of a craving for some lo mien or fried noodles today.  Its too bad that I’m not at home, as I cannot make them here at work.

If you like quick, cheap and tasty food, but you don’t want to work too hard at preparing it, try this fried noodle idea.  I like it (sorta made it up myself).

I start with chinese noodles from the Dollerama (one of the best and most stocked dollar stores here in Canada).  I get a brick of noodles that is equivalent to about 8 Mr. Noodles packages for a dollar.

The ingredients:

• chinese noodles
• 1 tbsp oil (vegetable or peanut)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster flavor sauce
• shot hot sauce (your choice - I prefer “Billy Bob’s” from Dollerama)
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• sliver ginger root (ginger powder tastes like crap) (optional)
• green onion (optional)
• 1 tsp brown sugar (optional)

Cook the noodles, according to the package or to taste.  Drain the noodles.  In a hot frying pan or Wok, toss noodles with oil and soy sauce.  Fry for 1-2 minutes.  If you’re in a hurry, you’re done.  if you want tastier, add the oyster sauce and hot sauce.  You won’t be sorry.  For a different flavor, add to this the rest of the ingredients on the list.  Smash the garlic with the side of a chopping knife, like a French knife or a Chinese vegetable cleaver (my preferred knife to avoid tendonitis and carpal tunnel) and chop it up to your taste.  You can do the same with the ginger.  Sliver the onion diagonally and either toss in or garnish with it.

If you choose to add the ginger, add the sugar as well.  They compliment each other well.  Enjoy! Pictured is the dish made with shredded carrot and smoked pork loin.  The sweet carrots complement the fiery zip of the ginger.

About 3 weeks ago, Abby constructed a chain out of construction paper.  She had counted the days until her 6th birthday and had created the chain with the number of links to correspond with the days left to her birthday.  She’s been taking a link off the chain every day since.  Today, the chain shortened from three to two.  That’s my imaginative girl! I would have just “X”ed the calendar if I was inclined to count something down (my birthday is not on that list of things, though. LOL).

Hi everyone.

I’ve been thinking about tweaking a few things on my site as far as how it looks.  I’m not looking at a total redesign.  I just want to do a few edits to make it more visually appealing to those who don’t read it in their feed readers.

Is there anything about the layout that I should consider? (I really like this simple two-column design but am open to suggestions)

What about the colors? Links? Text decorations? If you have a color suggestion, could you indicate the hex color# or RGB value so I can see what you mean?

Are there any features that should be here that aren’t?

I’m open to suggestions.  And, remember that I don’t moderate comments actively.  If you get past Simple Spam Filter (which means you can write anything you want, as long as you click the button to prove that you’re human) and Akismet, your comment will show up right away.

Thank you.  I await…

I’ve made a few additions to the original post about hacking your Hardy Heron to accept Java as it stands.  Check it out and read the comments too.  Jazz has added a lot to what I’ve said.  Don’t forget to visit the forum thread that started this all.

I watched I am Legend tonight. I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all, a zombie movie with Will Smith in it? But, I suppose that its not going to be quite the same as watching War of the Worlds, which didn’t quite have the “punch” that I thought it should have had.

This movie entertained me from beginning to end. It was far less grotesque than 28 Days Later but it had a similar plot line.

Based on the book, I am Legend, by Richard Matheson, written in 1954, this movie centers around a single surviving character who is determined to find a way out.

In the same way that you liked Will Smith in movies like Wild Wild West and the wildly successful Men in Black, you will be kept at attention until he lets you go…at the end of the movie. I think that Mr. Smith is coming into his own and we are just beginning to see what he can do. After seeing him play his role in The Pursuit of Happyness, I think that we are going to see even a few more surprises from Mr. Will Smith.

Synopsis:

Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague — The Infected — lurk in the shadows… watching Neville’s every move… waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind’s last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered… and quickly running out of time.

This movie gets my approval. If you want so entertainment and you like zombie movies, this one will keep your zombie craving satisfied. Along the zombie lines, I’ll be watching another one soon. Look for a review of Planet Terror next.