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Apr
29
Comcastic!
Filed Under internet | 5 Comments
My Comcastic — could that end up being a swear word one of these days — home network is back up to full strength after a little experimentation.
Here’s a tip for people with the Netgear wireless router that seems to give everyone so many problems. It requires obtaining another router — I already had one from my DSL days just waiting to go back into service, so I didn’t have to put down any money.
Since the Comcast supplied router seems to have issues getting to certain parts of the internet — I could get to Google properties to search, but couldn’t get out of Google and I could get into my ChristopherHedges.com domain but other areas wouldn’t load — I decided to experiment with solutions since we haven’t had a cable guy out yet to look at it.
Comcast contractors did bury the cable at the house today, so kudos to them for doing that before we grade the yard for grass seed. A tech is supposed to come out later on to fix the problem. I suspect he or she will just need to swap out the Netgear wireless router since that’s where the problem is.
My first plan was to directly connect to the ARRIS cable / telephony modem located in the depths of the basement to see if it would work. I plugged in my computer and had to download software to be able to get out onto Comcast’s system. I didn’t want to do that since I don’t plan to use comcast’s email address and have been using the wireless with my laptop. I also don’t want to have to directly connect to wires since I enjoy sitting with the laptop in the family room or in the kitchen. Wires limit flexibility. And, like many other people, I don’t know my cable company account number since my wife handles the bills.
I decided to take the path of least resistance which lead to the solution to the Comcast wireless home networking router problem.
I plugged my alternate wireless internet router into the Comcast Netgear router to see if it would work. Indeed, the trusty old router worked where as the sparkly new Comcastic version is still failing to get out into the greater internet beyond Google, Blogger and ChristopherHedges.com. Not that those aren’t bad destinations, but it felt like I was living on a small island and running out of interesting things to look at online.
It’s not the best solution in the world, but until we get a new box (or the tech does something to fix it — I’ve tried power cycling and resetting the router with no differences in results) having the alternate wireless router in place seems to be doing the trick. If you need wireless access and can’t wait for a tech to show to swap out the box, try getting a cheap wireless router from your local discount or big box store and plugging it into your ailing Comcast wireless router.
Apr
25
The Cleveland of China
Filed Under economy | 6 Comments
I took my son to CCD the other day. My wife was busy working on something at the house, so we didn’t do our usual Wednesday night date while our son was in his class. (The grandparents always do a good job taking care of the littlest one, if we don’t bring him along with us).
I stopped by the local bookstore and was looking at the various magazines. For some reason, the current edition of World Affairs Journal caught my eye — especially intriguing was an article by P.J. O’Rourke titled “The Cleveland of Asia. A Journey Through China’s Rust Belt.” A limited abstract is available online, but a subscription is required for the full article.
The thing that struck me is that there is great wealth being created in China these days. They are probably comparable to the way America was earlier in the 20th century when we were developing ways create and sell the items we produced. Doesn’t it seem strange to think that Russia and China are now havens for millionaires? However, we must not forget that China is still not free, despite their openness to international and domestic trade.
I’ve been thinking that we better find a solution to our educational problem. Many of the shootings in Chicago and Gary are probably directly linked to failures of students to learn, of parents to encourage learning, and the educational system to figure out a way to reach students in ways that will keep their attention. If someone doesn’t have the skills to survive in the mainstream economy, they’re going to end up working in the underground economy that causes so many problems in the urban core.
If we don’t keep learning, America is going to fall behind as more and more work and jobs — including intellectual work — are sent overseas.
Widgets and industrial items aren’t the only projects being sent across the ocean.
Debt collection, according to a New York Times article, is the latest thing to be sent overseas. (My internet can’t access the NYT right now, otherwise I’d link to the article). Even the service industry — such as legal work — can be sent to Indian lawyers who work during our night hours so that projects can be completed for the next morning for Americans returning to their offices.
Outsourcing has become such a trend that the Indians are outsourcing their work to the Philippines in an effort to arbitrage and make a profit — in much the way that our outsourcing companies have done.
Why can’t Americans seem to catch the entrepreneurial spirit that seems to be sweeping across Asia? Why does it always seem that Americans want a handout — usually financed by some corporate tax that is just passed along to consumers or that causes companies to seek to move to jurisdictions with lesser taxes?
Don’t think high businesses taxes aren’t causing businesses to flee — London might overtake New York as the business capital because of favorable tax rates and business regulations.
It seems that we’ve become lazy and weak with our wealth. We’re like wastrels content to spend our time living in our parents’ basement because we’re too afraid to take a risk at the change of making something of ourselves. We’re too caution and too inclined to turn to the government to provide for us. We ask our government to give us what we need, instead of figuring out ways to make our own destiny.
We’ve become like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian with all of our excess that is provided by our rich nation. We’ve been stunted by spoils of the hard work and successes of prior generations.
Sure, we’re beautiful, but when push comes to shove, there isn’t much behind our beauty except for a well manicured hand extended out waiting for the big government mommy and daddy to give us our allowance so that we won’t need to strain ourselves working or otherwise improving ourselves. We must ask ourselves who is going to finance all of our desires if all of our jobs are sent overseas because the American educational system isn’t teaching students enough to compete against the billions of people in Asia just waiting to do the work we won’t — or maybe can’t — do.
We need to catch fire again with an optimistic “can do” spirit, instead of looking and waiting for the government to do for us what we should be doing for ourselves.
Apr
25
I would have been in more often, but my cable modem hasn’t been working properly for the last couple of days. I can get into my blog — which is a good thing — but I can’t check email or go to major websites. If I search for something on Google, I can get Google to work, but I can’t go to the sites listed in the search results.
A tech is supposed to come by the house sometime tomorrow, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the problem can be fixed in a short period of time.
One interesting thing — I went to Panera Bread today — I love their free wifi — and discovered that Vocalo.org is blocked by their free wifi service.
I did see some posts that Comcast has been having DNS problems lately. I don’t know if it is better that the problem is something local that can be fixed on the pole or in some box in the neighborhood, or if it is the whole system that isn’t working right.
Update: I can get Google properties, including Blogger.
Apr
23
Carly Smithson | Going Home | American Idol
Filed Under American Idol, Brooke White, Carly Hennessey Smithson, Carly Smithson, David Archuleta, David Cook, Jason Castro | 8 Comments
Carly Smithson is going home tonight.
I can’t say that I am surprised to see Carly Smithson go home from American Idol because she never really made a connection with me. Carly made it into the Top 6, so she should be proud of making it so far in American Idol’s 7th season.
I am happy to see Syesha Mercado and Brooke White stay another week.
The top dogs of American Idol going into the Top 5:
1. David Cook
2. David Archuleta
3. Jason Castro
4. Syesha Mercado
5. Brooke White
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