3 MAY 09: Tech-No-Logical
It was a late night at a poker table. I sat in my usual chair, dreaming of winning a nice stack of dollars before bedtime. But then suddenly, everything stopped -- and amazingly, it was NOT because Columbus Police staged a raid.
This was an online Yahoo Poker game I was playing for pretend money, practicing for my Thursday night live tournament. And the stoppage came because my broadband connection went out. Only the next morning did I discover my home phone line was out as well. I bundled service with AT&T - and a bit like poker, I lost the whole bundle.
The lack of phone and Internet service was why we had no blog entry Friday. But other people around me apparently weren't bothered by it. My older next-door neighbor doesn't even have phone service -- and I've now discovered that means I'm taking calls from telemarketers for two people.
Someone pointed out to me this weekend I could have avoided any problems by owning a cell phone. But I'm one of the estimated 95 remaining people in the U.S. without a cell phone. So if you see me walking down the street mumbling to myself, I really might be crazy....
Since I don't own a cell phone, I had to go to work to report my phone outage to AT&T. But that turned out to be a separate problem. On my first call to the repair number, I gave my name and address to the repair department -- then heard nothing. I somehow was disconnected. Was this a sign to change mouthwashes?
On my second call to AT&T, a computer voice said the repair department was unable to take calls for the time being. I should call back later, I was told. OK, but who does the repair department call to report its own lines aren't working?
After about an hour, I called AT&T a third time -- and the computer voice warned if the problem turned out to be with my home line, it would cost me an 85-dollar service charge. This was a bit scary. One stray hungry cockroach could leave me with a big bite in the wallet.
The computer voice promised my phone line would be restored by Friday. It was NOT fixed Thursday night. So you had no Friday blog entry - but on the bright side, I had a free night from annoying calls offering extended warranty coverage on my car.
The AT&T repair man came to my front door Friday morning, as I ate breakfast. After a quick check of my inside phone lines, he determined the problem was with an outside connection. I thought I heard explosive pops shortly before losing service. But then again, someone might have been lighting fireworks to mark President Obama's 100th day in office.
The phone and broadband service was restored at mid-morning Friday - but the outage reminded me of how much I've come to rely on the Internet. I blog with it, research stories with it and play online poker with it. But because of continual problems with printers, I still haven't saved much money with grocery coupons from it.
The phone outage actually is the latest of a series of problems I've had with electronics and technology -- and it's not merely printers. This year alone....
+ On 1 February, I bought an iPod Shuffle at a discount price. It was new out of the box, yet to this day the battery refuses to charge. Now I understand why Circuit City went out of business.
+ Then I went to Radio Shack and bought a long extension cord to connect my HDTV audio to my stereo - only to find it didn't work at all. Perhaps that was because my stereo is a hand-me-down from someone I knew in Atlanta. Perhaps I should have visited Goodwill Industries instead, and bought a tape for the stereo's eight-track slot.
+ During spring cleaning, I gave up on my dual cassette deck above the stereo and unplugged it. Both players refused to play tapes properly, looping tape inside the machines instead. But I traded up - because the boombox which took its place actually picks up AM radio stations much better.
+ A couple of weeks ago I bought a new TV antenna - one that supposedly works better when you plug it in an electric outlet. It's only a little better so far. And I'm practicing my salsa steps in the living room, trying to get the hesitant signal out of 6:00 p.m. newscasts.
+ When I arrived home from church Saturday afternoon, I rolled up the drivers' side window - and the plastic roller broke off in my hand. OK, that's not really "technology." But maybe it's a clue to the larger overall problem - I've simply become too strong for the gadgets around me.
E-MAIL UPDATE: We'll start on a stack of messages today, but we won't get caught up completely. The first one revealed we're sharing an e-mail list with the Columbus Police Chief....
The following is directly related to sorry police Chiefs who just don't care anymore. This includes Ricky Boren.
Oh and Ricky....I haven't forgotten when I was at work and saw Byron Hickey chase a theft suspect in an unmarked police car several miles while shooting at them out of the car window and you did absolutely nothing to him. I wonder if Sandra ever found her brand new POLICE ISSUE PISTOL she lost. In case you are wondering...I am holding a grudge.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Columbus%2C-Georgia
Columbus has an overall crime rate of 7,850.6 per 100,000 residents; this EXCEEDS the national average of 4,479.3 crimes per 100,000 people by 75%. By way of comparison, New York City's overall crime rate was 2,517.1 per 100,000 residents.
The rate for violent crimes was 620.8 per 100,000, compared to the national average of 553.5 per 100,000; murders and robberies exceeded the national average, while rapes and aggravated assaults were below the national average. Property-crime rates, such as burglaries, larceny and motor vehicle thefts, significantly exceeded the national average (7,229.8 in Columbus, compared to the national average of 3,906.1). In recent years, drug crimes have also risen.
I don't know who Sandra is, and am 99-percent sure that pursuing the matter by calling police headquarters would get me nowhere. But the police chief seems to care enough to hire more than 60 new officers - and Columbus Council cares enough that every city employee now will wear badges.
By the way, I learned something from checking the Nationmaster listing for Columbus -- that there was a Civil War documentary made about it for public television two years ago. It certainly didn't get much local publicity. And nowadays, I suppose Port Columbus and the National Infantry Museum IMAX theater are fighting for the right to show it.
We've also heard from a former Columbus TV news anchor:
How cool to see my name and quote at the top of your blog this morning... especially since I'm in the Chattahoochee Valley this week. Being away for almost 2 and a half years now... it's interesting to come back and see how much things have changed. Hope all is well with you... and congrats on your recent "moving to Columbus" anniversary.
Best,
Blaine
That's Blaine Stewart, who still does TV news and weather in Norfolk, Virginia. He probably was stunned to see how much has changed at WRBL - including how much extra time staff members have to talk to him, now that several newscasts have been canceled.
BIG PREDICTION: Miami edges Atlanta today, in the seventh game of their N.B.A. playoff series. And at least once during the game, Hawks radio announcer Steve Holman will claim the league told the referees to fix the outcome so Dwyane Wade faces LeBron James in the next round.
(Steve Holman is getting national media attention for his accusatory broadcasts of the Atlanta-Miami series. And sad to say, he's become bigger than the Hawks team he's supporting -- almost like he wants to replace Charles Barkley, in those T-Mobile commercials with Dwyane Wade.)
Now we need to catch on several news items from the last few days....
+ Which repair worker is telling friends the Columbus Water Works tank collapsed because the ground underneath it gave way, after all the recent rain? This could have been the mudder of all ruptures.
+ WFRC-FM 90.5 finally came back on the air, 12 days after the tornado damaged its tower. The President of this Christian station is big on numerology - so he might tell you the outage was timed by God to test your knowledge of the 12 tribes of Israel.
+ Fort Benning announced a contained wildfire is being allowed to burn itself out northeast of Sand Hill. So if you see people on the east side of Columbus wearing face masks, it has nothing to do with H1N1 swine flu.
+ Muscogee County Judge Doug Pullen held Chief Deputy Sheriff John Fitzpatrick in contempt of court, and fined him 50 dollars. Sheriff John Darr reportedly paid the fine - and somewhere, that former Columbus police officer accused of aiding a bank robber wishes had applied at a different city department.
(The web site of 2012 Sheriff candidate Mark LaJoye claims Marshal Greg Countryman might also run for John Darr's job. That would open up the Marshal's office for - well, for whom? Does Sanford Bishop's daughter want to move to Columbus, for a full-time job?)
+ The evening news checked the Phenix City Streetscape project. Not only was a promised completion date missed, but officials now say it might not be finished until the end of May. The mayor and city manager picked a fine moment to both be out of town....
+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported the Tavern Off Broadway on 12th Street has closed. It will be replaced by a Thai restaurant - with the proposed name Tavern Way-Off Bangkok.
+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill toughening food safety rules. But did you notice he signed the bill on a peanut farm near Fort Valley? You'd think he would have gone to the source of the problem, and signed it in Blakely.
+ Instant Message to Saturn: That's a nice offer in your commercial - if I buy a car and lose my job, my payments are covered for several months. But the way General Motors is going, what happens if I buy a car and YOU lose your jobs?
SCHEDULED MONDAY: Revival fire, or political fireworks? An interesting local religious week begins....
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