Tag: laptop

Technological improvement

a router AND a modem?

Ah, I have a technological improvement! But, as usual, it took a bit of doing. I’ve been having real problems with my laptop of late. I assumed it was because there was not enough storage space, although the section was still in the Green Zone, and I’ve offloaded some things to a separate memory off the computer.

It was more of an irritation than anything. I’d leave the laptop for a few hours, and then I couldn’t easily get back onto the Internet. I had to click on something called Network Reset, which involved my computer shutting down and then looking for my Internet provider.  This was not onerous, but it was inefficient and irritating, as it was a real pain to have to keep re-entering the password, which was a lengthy alphanumeric gobbledygook, and which I almost began to memorize, which was terrible use of my brain cells.

Here comes the good part

I was looking through old emails, and Spectrum, my provider of Internet services, had sent an email suggesting that one should get an audit of one’s technological stuff.

So I made an appointment to exchange my current modem, which I’ve had since, I believe, 1693. I took my modem to the Spectrum store in Colonie Center on Saturday afternoon, and I received two pieces: a modem and a router, which I had to connect.

They told me I could go on to the app and read the instructions, but I know myself well enough to recognize that wouldn’t work because technology. Instead, I called the support desk, and the rep patiently walked me through the process. Ultimately, the Internet was working, but I didn’t notice that the phone was not. Ha, I plugged in the wrong phone line.

But a few hours later, the Internet wasn’t working, so I called again, and they said they didn’t know the problem. They could have somebody come over on Monday at 8:00 a.m., which I agreed to. I was frustrated because I didn’t want to wait that long, but what was I going to do?

In mild desperation, I did what one of the techs told me not to do: reset the modem. Lo and behold, this actually worked! I canceled the work order. Now I can return to my laptop and be on the Internet without rigmarole. (I love the word rigamarole; both spellings are acceptable.) Happy, happy, joy, joy, technological improvement.

Being plugged in or not

Summer solstice

Being plugged in or not has popped up several times earlier this year.

Memorial Day week

My wife suggested the family stay at a timeshare in Hancock, MA, just across the border from New York. I don’t know how relaxing it was for my wife because she had to travel to Albany and back, 45 minutes each way, almost every day for work. One of my daughter’s friends came as well. The entity allowed four devices to be connected to the Internet.

My daughter, her friend, and my wife opted to connect to their phones. But I chose my laptop. I could write blog posts, check email, and post to Facebook. More importantly, I played Wordle on my laptop, and I had a 515-game streak.

Still, I was surprised that I had such poor cell reception outside the resort. Indeed, I couldn’t use my phone until I got about five miles into New York.

June 5/6

About a quarter before midnight, my wife asked to use my laptop. She generally leaves hers at work.

I unplugged mine and gave it to her. When she was done, I put mine back in place, played Wordle, and went to bed.

During the morning, I checked my email and wrote a blog post, et al., until I noticed that my battery was running low. I had failed to plug it in. OK, easy, right? Not easy. I must have stepped on the end of the charger that plugs into the device.

I could get a new one from Amazon in two days, but that wouldn’t do, because Blog, Wordle, et al. So, I hopped on a bus to Best Buy and purchased a Microsoft 65W Wall Surface charger. (I’m writing this so I’ll know what I need in the future.)

June 20

It was the third of three days of 90F+ temperatures.  Around 5:30 pm, as the Times Union noted: “A brutal storm blew through Albany early Thursday evening, taking down trees, damaging buildings… National Weather Service meteorologist Brett Rathbun said it’s not likely a tornado tore through the city. Instead, hot and humid air was likely suddenly pushed downward as a cold front rolled in and ended this week’s heat wave, causing short-lived and intense wind gusts in what was likely a pulse, or single-cell, thunderstorm.” Also, power was cut for thousands, including us.

It was fine for a time. The restaurants at the end of Madison Avenue, less than two blocks away, still had power and were doing brisk business. (Actually, the real danger is that drivers, impatient with the nearby intersection, which I have described, nearly caused a dozen accidents.

As nightfall came, my wife took my daughter’s two soaked friends home. My wife and my daughter then went to get more flashlights and to charge our phones in the car.

I tried to read by flashlight, but that got old in six pages. Instead, I sat on the front porch in a lawn chair. Here’s the thing that’s interesting to me: I enjoyed it. A lot. I couldn’t be on my laptop, and I didn’t have my cellphone, so I embraced the moment.

Because of light pollution, city skies aren’t pitch black, so I could peruse the outlines of the massive trees nearby. Watching people negotiate the dark with flashlights and cellphones gave me the feeling that we were all in it together.

Of course, trying to go to sleep sans air conditioner or fan was a drag, but the power thankfully returned at about 11:30 pm.

Ramblin' with Roger
Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial