Dear Internets

[matgb]

Please to be not crashing every 5 minutes. I know the house wireless network is both beyond my control and a little not very good, but it would be nice if I could actually open up a page and/or hit 'submit' for a comment without getting a 'server is taking too long to respond' message, m'kay?

Also, Gmail? It would be nice if you stopped crashing as well, 18 months no problems, and now you've opened up to all without the need for an invite code you decide to start crapping out on me? Not good, not good at all.

No cookies for you.

Best regards, Mat

PS, once you're fixed, if you could tell the company that makes the conference badge printers that having to define which USB slot they're plugged into when you install the driver onto a laptop that will be set up by a different person actually at conference is a bloody stupid thing that breaks the point of USB, I'd be grateful, because the install software is annoying to use once...

Comments

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

No, no, no. You're being far too nice. Threaten it with violence!

[matgb]

But then I might break it permanently, and that would be bad.

Don't think I could deal with no internets; it does come to something when net access is the most important aspect of my phone contract. It was then I confirmed my addiction. One I'm happy with, naturally.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, you see, because I am sad and have no life and never leave the house apart from for work and exercise (which I haven't done today *guilty expression*) I don't need mobile internet access.

[matgb]

If I hadn't just moved up to London, I'd be pretty much the same. And at least you do exercise, I dont in any organised way.

I plan to, but never actually get around to it.

One of my main uses for mobile internet has now changed anyway; I used to check my email when I woke up from bed, now the PC is in my room, it's not needed.

Letting Gina read the comments on her latest post while we were in the Fox last night was amusing, if a little silly.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Sorry, too mesmerised by your icon to make coherent reply. There's not taking things seriously, and then there's making a picture of yourself about to lick Tony Blair's head...

[matgb]

I didn't make it, mapp did; it was the icon Freddie was referring to the other day, I finally uploaded it last night.

It's taking me ages to fill up my 109 icons, which I think is a good thing...

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Hah, yes, I remember the "I'll never fill all THOSE icon slots!" feeling...

* eyes that sentence *

Worryingly, I'm now able to get into old and jaded mode WITHOUT gin, it seems LOL.

[matgb]

I've been like that for a few years now, you get used to it.

OTOH, I have whiskey downstairs. Hmm...

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

You see, that's a nice easy choice; whiskey or not-whiskey. I have gin, rum, or wine to choose from.

I know gin will make me maudlin, but then David Cameron has made me maudlin already. Rum will make me randy, but I have no-one to help me out with that (and I think the poor rabbit might need a day off - stop me if this is TMI LOL). And the bottle of wine has been open for Wetherspoonish lengths of time and has probably gone manky.

And now you've mentioned whiskey I could just go for... well whisky with no E actually. A nice malt...

Bah. Stupid easily-led brain.

[matgb]

Grah! Stupid Americanisms corrupting me, it was bad enough when I had to relearn how to spell centre.

It is of course Scotch Whisky, with no E. Oops.

*shoots self, then hides in corner*

And also, dropping the ice tray on the floor when trying to be quiet was a cunning plan.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

You put ICE in SCOTCH?!?! SACRILEDGE!!!!

Bah, if I hadn't already poured my rum I'd be coming down there to confiscate it.

[matgb]

Google informs me there is a book, a film and a TV show called 'scotch on the rocks', so I fail to see why this is wrong.

Different to your tastes, perhaps, but not wrong.

A year ago, the only alcohol I would have was cider, now I'll go for a lot more, but normally it'll be scotch on the rocks, sometimes with lemonade. Horrifying, isn't it?

Oi be a Debunsher lad y'see, we baint be unnerstandin these weird northern drinkin abits.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Not my tastes, but the tastes of the people who make Scotch. Who also, I believe, object to it being called scotch. "Scotch on the rocks" is an American term, and if we trusted THEM on food and drink...

* pokes you for being a bloody southerner *

...

Damn.

You know, I'm spoiling for a fight but I don't want to fight with you.

:/

I don't suppose you could pass me on to the LJs of some eminent Tories and I could go pick fights with them instead?

[eccles.livejournal.com]

Having recently had similar "annoying wireless" issues may I share something I learnt.

The basic question to ask is whether there a cordless phone nearby? If it's yours it is then easy to check its frequency 5.8GHz will be ok, 2.4GHz is possibly the problem. Of course a neighbour might also have one. The solution I found was slightly counter intuitive.

Either using your PCs wireless software or a program such as Netstumbler see what other wireless networks are out there and what channels they use. Usually 1, 6 and 11. Change the channel of your wireless router (I realise this might be tricky if it isn't yours) so that it shares the same channel as one or two other networks.

Apparently 2.4GHz is unregulated. Wifi is careful about which precise frequency it uses hence the dozen or so channels. Cordless phones scan the band and find an empty bit and rather roughly at that. So by making sure you use the same channel as other wifi networks you are ensuring the cordless phone will prefer a different more empty patch of bandwidth. The other networks on your channel are unlikely to cause a problem unless they are more powerful than yours which should be closer anyway.

[matgb]

If I want a fight, uk_politics is always worth posting to. Alternately, flydanman has always been their resident troll. Personally, I tend to end up going for authoritarian NuLabourite, they're more fun to wind up, Tories are generally either too easy or actually smart, depending on whether they're Boris style liberals or Maggie/Tebbit style 'victorians'.

There's always the more widespread blogs; ConservativeHome is always a giggle to read (so stupid), and devils_kitchen has a fine line in crude insults to all things Left. Especially Polly Toynbee.

And I'm not trusting any 'merkins, but how the creator of something wants it to be used is irrelevent; whole point of freedom of choice is that I'll do what I want with it, which is whisky and lemonade on ice, and salad cream with every meal, thankee muchly ;-)

(also, my net connection is really dead, so if I disapppear, it's because I gave up)

[matgb]

No cordless currently working that I know of, but it'll be worth looking. There are three local networks, all seem to be channel 11, but I'm new to all this stuff.

Will look into more after the weekend, thx.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Hah! I attempted to go to sleep and look where THAT got me.

* stabs brain with Q-tip *

whole point of freedom of choice is that I'll do what I want with it

Oh, you're just BLATANTLY trying to turn me on now.

which is whisky and lemonade on ice, and salad cream with every meal, thankee muchly ;-)

... or maybe not.

Isn't a merkin a pubic wig?

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

* eyes your layout *

Oops.

Note to self: start more new threads.

[octalbunny.livejournal.com]

That's Microsoft being stupid with USB, not the printer manufacturer.

They had to work out what to do when two identical USB devices are connected. They could have done something special when the second device was plugged in, instead they made it awkward even with only one device.

[matgb]

Yeah, it threads really badly, 30 pixels embedded per comment; keep meaning to bug chasethestars to fix it, but it's rare I get long threads...

I've hit it with ?format=light already...

[matgb]

6.07am? Ouch. A merkin I think is a pubic wig, yes, but it's also a nice little abbreviation thing for our friends across the pond, seems to work well...

As for the other?

[matgb]

As is probably clear above, I'm not techie enough to get the details on whose fault it is, I do know that even the most current version of the install software is incredibly bad from a UI perspective, so I'm blaming the manufacturers just because.

Um, how did you get here then, friendsfriends?

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit of a style-mine nazi anyway ;)

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Rawr, talk FU to me baby... ;)

[octalbunny.livejournal.com]

Yes, via friendsfriends.

Sorry for the dry tone of that. I've spent the week writing bug reports and translating my thoughts ("you're a bunch of muppets, you've had the cheek to admit that your stuff isn't properly tested, why are you asking the rest of the company to use it") in to neutral-toned comments.

[matgb]

Randomly found my way back to this post, thought you'd like to know. After much investigation, in which your suggestions were noted, we found the problem.

The landlord had put the router on a side shelf surrounded by heavy encyclopaedias. Moving it out into the room a bit so the signals could broadcast got it working fine.