GG, I love you but I have to ask…does it sound like a deflating bagpipe when you lie down?
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Not quite that bad. I’ve upgraded from squeaky dog toy to this weird wheezing sound that sort of reminds me of baby birds – not the chirpy kind, but some species where the adults don’t chirp either, like hawks or seagulls.
I’ve moved on to fever and chills though. Not as sleepy during the day, but more dopy than usual.
Exciting times!
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Ah, hell. You have my sympathy. This year’s is brutal. Not as bad as a century ago, mind, but still brutal.
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As a five-year-old, I spent a week in an oxygen tent in the hospital. It was the longest week of my life. Mainly because I was five years old.
I wish you a speedy recovery. Here’s an inspirational Mickey photo from the movie Rocky.
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Local Site “Technicians” that don’t know how to figure anything out except in spectacularly wrong ways.
The sheer willpower to not reply with
was incredible.
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I congratulate you on your restraint.
I recently had to rather heroically (if I may say so myself) resist the urge to send an after-the-fact email to a consultant with a link to the documentation that says exactly the opposite of what he claimed it said when he was on site.
It’s not that he was wrong (we all make mistakes, especially me), it’s that he was such a smug asshole about it. 
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Well.
I’ve FINALLY joined the 21st century and have a smartphone! But I’m having problems activating it. That dost grindeth mine gears most grievously.
(look for a post in the “Victory! I’m a Rockstar!” thread when I finally DO get it activated)
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My first smartphone, they accidentally activated everything EXCEPT voice calls. That took a while to explain.
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That would have taken me weeks to notice. I find I carry a pocket computer that incidentally can receive phone calls. Which I let go to voice mail.
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Voicemail think I’ve heard the legends.
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Netzero. 
I used to use their 3G stick to get my laptop online. But given I use my phone more often, and my dad and I both have Kindles, it seemed like a good time to upgrade to a WiFi hotspot.
And that’s where the troubles started…
The first hotspot I was sent (two weeks ago!) refused to activate on their network (and threw up a Sprint customer support phone number every time it failed.) It took multiple calls to Netzero’s Customer So-Called-Support for them to recognize the device as defective. Getting informations and directions out of them was difficult; one gentleman I spoke to seemed to be trying to rush through our interaction as quickly as possible to get to the next caller. After multiple attempts to access the network with both laptop and phone, via multiple browsers, in multiple locations (I had to haul the whole kit and caboodle to my local park, since they insisted I needed to try to connect in a wide, open area!) they finally acknowledged I got a bad device and decided to send a new hotspot.
It came in today’s mail. I gleefully set it up, it completed the activation… only to land me at a Boost Mobile setup page.
What? I’m a Netzero customer. I call again…
…“Our offices are closed. Please call again during business hours…”
I search for a live chat option. Can’t find one.
In desperation, I find a Boost Mobile number and call them. The device isn’t on their network, but they’d be glad to set up an account with me… for more money.
At this point, they’re probably lucky nobody’s on the line at Netzero, because I’m boiling mad and about five seconds from cancelling my account. It must be really nice to take people’s money all month long, yet only offer support during business hours. Nice way to value their customers, huh? Especially when the nice Boost Mobile operator tells me they’re willing to give me 10 GB a month for $50, when I’m paying more at Netzero for only 4 GB…
Monday’s phone call should be very interesting.
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Seems legit.
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True, and I understand why they asked. There was a chance something nearby was interfering with the device’s ability to connect. Going to the park proved that wasn’t the case.
It’s just been a long and frustrating process. And now that I know another provider might be able to give me a better deal, I’m really tempted to switch.
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We get redlines to work instructions. So many things overriding the drawings, formfitfunction. I call them Dude-fallacies, because that’s like, just, y’know, your opinion, man. Rejected.
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Tobacco smoke coming through the ventilation, shutting down my throat.
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Mice in the ceiling. I hear you racing.
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Poison in the ventilation system, getting worse. Trouble breathing. Open window to dilute poison, then go outside to get fresh air. Poison blasted at me from behind a corner. Get away. Poison again. Throat burning. Stay alert, watch for poison, keep my distance, keep my mask handy…
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I’m so sorry, I should have included the /sarcasm tag in my post. I was using the ironic/sarcastic meaning of the phrase, where “seems legit” = “this is an obvious con and/or BS”.
I just meant that it sounded like they were giving you the run-around to keep from sending you a new device, and that the “try it in the park” bit sounded especially egregious. I feel like if it doesn’t work at your house, it kind of doesn’t matter if it works at the park (unless that’s where you plan to use it most of the time 
).
Best of luck getting it resolved.
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Oh, that definitely ran through my head at the time! (I thought I was being overly grouchy.) But… I know just enough of computers to consider that just might have been an issue. And testing it in the park meant I could say, “I did everything you told me to and it still doesn’t work, now you fix it,” and make it stick.
Though it’s getting “better”… I fired off a grouchy-but-still-polite email Saturday night about the connection issue and the lack of help. Today I got a reply asking me for device and SIM card ID numbers. I sent them (without any further comment.) The answering email was full of stock-phrased sympathy for my frustration and all kinds of promises that they’d have it fixed soon. They’re putting one of their senior technicians on it, don’tcha know. But since senior technicians collaborate to solve problems, it could still take another one to two days to find the solution… 
I have my suspicions. I believe they’re sending out used, reconditioned equipment. Which is fine-- if it worked. It would explain why the first unit gave the Sprint # when it failed (due to a botched repair), and the second unit attempts to connect me to Boost Mobile. I’m still highly tempted to drop Netzero and sign up with Boost… but I’m wondering just how far this “technical support” is going to go. 
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The T-Mobile signal at my house is terrible. The signal IN MY ROOM is particularly terrible, forcing me to wander around the house when somebody calls me on the phone.
Online resources for mapping cell towers and carriers seem to have improved a lot. AntennaSearch.com says the tower that’s both closest (about 1600 feet) and most elevated above the horizon (by 2.7 degrees) is operated by Sprint (dba “STC Five”), so I guess I should be looking at Sprint, Boost, or Virgin.
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