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So my father in law has been going on for years about how great Ameritech/ SBC/ AT&T’s new broadband service is gonna be once it was activated. I personally like the idea of having fiber to the curb, so I’ve been looking forward to it for a while.

A few months back they sent a rep out to let us know they were offering ‘U-verse’ in our area. I wasn’t home at the time, so Jackie got information and said I’d get back to them. I didn’t bother since we’re looking for a house. I figure I can look them up after we find a house.

Well, they came back Wednesday. They had already been by when I got home, and Jackie told them to come back later. I hadn’t been in the door more than 20 minutes when they knocked again. I then listened to them go through their spiel about how they were going to save me money by charging me more per month than I was paying already. ($30 phone+ $30 DSL + $15 static IP < $59 TV + $30 fiber)

I managed to get them to understand that I didn't want the TV or telephone service- just the internet connection. I also asked them one question that proved to be their undoing:

"How much will a static IP cost?"

I asked that question 10 minutes into the 2 hour conversation- most of the time was spent with the rep on hold with AT&T's customer support, who gave the following responses:

* What's an IP?
* What's a static IP?
* You mean dynamic IP?
* Yes, we have those, it's an extra $15/mo for DSL
* We don't have those.
* You can change the setting in your router so your computer has the same address.
* We don't have those in Michigan.

The first five we receive several times, the 6th I was told by one of their "technicians" who didn't get that I wanted the router's external ip to be static so I could host this site. Finally the rep called a friend of his who was a "technology director" and found out they didn't offer them in Michigan. I told them that was a dealbreaker and bid them farewell.

Two hours later, they came back- apparently he called someone else and was told that U-verse does in fact have static IPs, and they're $15/mo. That would bring the total price to $45/mo (once I cancelled the TV portion), where as now I'm paying $45/mo + $30/mo for a phoneline I don't use. Quite a deal, right? Sign me up. He tells me that the form he has doesn't cover the static IP and I'll have to call in the morning to have them append that to my order.

So the next day I call to have this set up- and guess what? After 3 hours standing outside talking and now 30 minutes on the phone, they decide they do not in fact have static IPs available for U-verse customers. I ask the phone lady to call the rep I talked to and figure out who's right. after another 5 minutes on hold, she says his source was mistaken, and he will correct whoever he talked to.

So I cancel the service I just signed up for because it didn't provide the only feature I requested. I'm not sure what's more disappointing:

• The fact that NO ONE seemed to know what a static IP was
• The sales rep was given the run around just like us customers
• They apparently don’t offer this very simple service
• The fact that most of the support people couldn’t find this information
• They charge $15/mo whereas Jasnet charged a one-time $15 fee
• That the sales rep probably misled me to get the sale so he could get a comission

So, if anyone knows of an ISP in Madison Heights, MI that offers a static IP, decent upload speed, no blocked ports all at a decent price, please let me know.

I do my best to avoid politics on this site because it’ll always piss someone off. I don’t like the bible-thumping direction the republican party has taken over the past decade or two, and I can’t stand the democrats demands that we give up personal freedoms to save the children.

I’m gonna talk about politics today because I’ve noticed something happening that’s so surreal I had to say something. I’ll use the names Candidate A, B, etc to represent the players in this little scenario.

After watching how the Michigan and Florida democratic primaries went down, I started to wonder if maybe there was an underlying conspiracy to guarantee those delegates to a certain candidate. Imagine the following scenario:

1. Candidate A has supporters in a position of power that helps move the state’s primary forward on the primary schedule against party rules.
2. Candidate A has connections in The Party that disqualifies the state and have it’s delegates stripped in punishment.
3. Candidates make a pact not to campaign in the state. All act ashamed of the State’s behavior.
4. Candidates B,C,D, and E remove themselves from the ballot in deference to party rules, while Candidate A leaves their name on the ballot.
5. Candidate A gets the lion share of votes in the state since they’re not only the only one on the ballot, but any votes for names not on the ballot (B,C,D,E) are thrown out.
6. After everything is said and done, Candidate A petitions for the state’s delegates to be reinstated, essentially saying “the citizens shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their leadership”.
7. Candidate A’s connections in The Party change their minds and decide to reinstate the delegates, essentially handing over the delegates to Candidate A with no competition.
8. The delegates handed over to Candidate A is enough to give them enough to get the nomination for the party.

We’ve seen everything except the last two steps. The sane thing would be for the democratic party to have a “redo” on their election and make it fair for all candidates. Anything less will be bad news.

I am curious to see how this turns out- I think that if this does play out like I’ve outlined and the American public figures it out, there’s a good chance the resulting disillusionment will result in a republican president.

I’m claiming the win on this one… remember that the tinyURL that this bot messages is in fact a link to tubgirl.

15:14 -!- Pats-Sox [~no@fw.mdchomes.com] has joined #asp
15:18 < @lanshark> we dont want any chowda heads in here
15:25 < Pats-Sox> “chowda head”…I don’t know why that just caused a really really bad “yo momma”
         joke to pop in my head
15:28 < Pats-Sox> I just googled “chowda head” for the heck of it.  This site is pretty funny…
         http://www.boston-online.com/glossary/
15:28 < Pats-Sox> Chowdahead
15:32 < myles_> !search Chowdahead
15:32 < Crusher_> myles_ > Your search returned 12 results. Press alt + z to receive a link to them.
15:33 -!- edmundo [~bla@78-0-185-182.adsl.net.t-com.hr] has joined #asp
15:33 -!- myles_ is now known as myles
15:33 < myles> !search Chowdahead
15:33 < Crusher_> myles > Your search returned 12 results. Press alt + z to receive a link to them.
15:35 -!- edmundo [~bla@78-0-185-182.adsl.net.t-com.hr] has left #asp []
15:36 < Pats-Sox> !search chowdahead
15:36 < Crusher_> Pats-Sox > Your search returned 12 results. Press alt + z to receive a link to them.
15:38 < Pats-Sox> it can’t be a coincidence that edmundo left immediately after the post to press alt
         + z….twice
15:39 < Pats-Sox> once is funny, twice is HILARIOUS
15:39 < Pats-Sox> nevermind, one was a join.  jokes on me
15:39 < @morgajel> Pats-Sox: you think it’s funny, but you didn’t even see what happens AFTERwards
15:39 < @morgajel> the bot does send a link.
15:39 < Pats-Sox> do I dare ask to what?
15:40 < @morgajel> only one way to find out.
15:40 < unEZ> lol
15:41 < Pats-Sox> Don’t take it personally, but I’m not trusting you right now
15:42 < unEZ> what? after you’ve known me for 15 years? wait, thats someone else. I see your point
15:42 < Pats-Sox> I’m thinking that a bot can’t process the key combo because the key combo is
        processed by the irc client, therefore exiting the channel before the bot can catch the key press
15:43 < @morgajel> worst case scenario, I’m wrong, you pop out, pop back in, and I laugh like a retard.
15:44 < @morgajel> if I’m right, the bot messages you and gives you the blue pill.
15:44 < Pats-Sox> A normal key, z, could not possible work as well alt-F4.  It just can’t.
15:46 < myles> pornocracy
15:47 < @morgajel> Pats-Sox: only one way to find out
15:48 < @morgajel> my do-not-push-the-red-button sign, let me show you it.
15:48 < Pats-Sox> alright, I’ll take one for the team….
15:48 -!- Pats-Sox [~no@fw.mdchomes.com] has left #asp []
15:48 -!- Pats-Sox [~no@fw.mdchomes.com] has joined #asp
15:49 < Pats-Sox> …and my technical analysis of the situation was absolutely incorrect….
15:49 < Pats-Sox> and the IS THE SINGLE MOST REPULSIVE THING I have ever seen in my life
15:49 < Pats-Sox> and I am a farely demented individual

Whoops. This happened after work on Tuesday. Jackie was at home.

I was on a small service drive that T’d into a 4.5 lane road that was fairly busy. looked left, saw a car with it’s right turn signal on in the right lane. looked right, say a red light. looked left, saw the car with the blinker slowing down as if to turn down the road I was on. looked right, saw the red light turn green, meaning I had about 10 seconds to react. I had been at this intersection for about 3 cycles of that light, and saw this as my oppertunity. as I pulled out, the lady with the turn signal showed me that she actually was meaning to go straight. She sheared off the front of the car from the front of the front tire foreward- bumper, lights, hood, etc. radiator and engine were intact.

Cops gave me a ticket for failing to yield, but I’m gonna try and fight it since she had on her turn signal and failed to add that to her report. The witness on the scene saw the turn signal, but said it was because she was changing from left to right lanes and then just left it on.

So the car has $10k worth of damage because the frame is bent. They’re probably going to total it. I got away with just a sprained wrist.

Oh well, at least we’ll get a new car out of it (probably).

Did you?

Go try, even if you’re not registered.

So I just got hit with a new low…

Looks like I’m inelegible for unemployment. Apparently I haven’t been in michigan long enough to warrant helping me out. when I look back on my life, this will be the moment when I said “this is as bad as it got.”

I’m hoping it doesn’t get much worse at least.

The depression that I’m sitting in right how is the soul crushing type where you lose the will to do anything. Hell, I’m only writing this because I’m bored of playing disgaea 2- if that doesn’t tell you how bored I am, I don’t know what will.

So yeah, fuck you Sean. Fuck you for convincing me to trust you on this job.

I recently signed up for a form with a bunk email address for something or other… for my name, I put in something amusing rather than my real name because, hell with them, I don’t want them sending me stuff. I even checked the little box so they wouldnt…

sure enough, they spammed me. how can I tell? well, the bogus account I used gave it away, but they addressed each message by the first name I gave them…

Today I find myself a little of both.

I was called into the confrence room today and told that the company I was contracted to requested that today be my last day.

Yes, I am officially unemployed.

Fortunately I was laid off, not fired- turns out business wasn’t as good as they were hoping and they can’t afford someone to try and fix their broken infrastructure. Since they fired a developer a few weeks ago, and the lead developer put in his 1 week notice today, I can’t say it’s suprising- if they’re getting rid of me after losing two other people, they must be hemmoraging money pretty badly.

The worst part is, not only did I see this coming, but I worked my ass off there knowing it was coming. I was hoping they’d at least have the decency to give me some severance pay, but apparently since I’m just a contractor they don’t feel the need. They did however give me a nice 1 paragraph recommendation letter- I guess that makes up for laying off a guy with a kid on the way who they shouldn’t have hired if they knew they wouldn’t be able to afford him.

I’m pretty pissed off right now because I feel like I made a mistake coming back to michigan- I won’t be able to find work around here since I’m pretty specialized (michigan is Microsoft territory, and at this point I’m pretty specialized in linux) and the economy is crap to boot.

The worst part about all of this is jackie and I went so far into debt to move back and we still haven’t dug out. Now jackie’s pregnant and my hopes for employment are slim to none, and we couldn’t even afford to move somewhere else if we wanted to because our credit cards are maxed out from the last move.

I feel pretty bad for the other sysadmin because they’re gonna crap back on him again and he’s just gonna take it. The Devs are screwed because I did a lot to make their development environment more professional- seperate user accounts, testbeds, standardized development/beta/production servers, version control, etc- most of that will go down the shitter because it will all be neglected if it’s even kept at all. the other sys admin will probably either format them or ignore them.

It’s been a hell of a day, and I need to take a shower still after my walk- then I’m going to bed. If you know of anyone looking to hire a Linux Sys Admin or a perl/php/ruby developer (or some combination of either), send them my way.

So on our way home from getting the first ultrasound, jackie and I had the unpleasant experience ot driving down 44th street in rushour traffic. What made this different than any other day?

Abortion Protestors with giant fucking dead baby posters.

Thse are the same people who protested the passion of the christ for being too bloody. The same asswipes that forced Indiana Jones to get the first ever PG 13 because of melting people. The same fuckfaces that want to ban GTA:SA for showing two models having sex.

You know what? Fuck you, religious right, that’s goddamn unneeded. To force that shit on people who are stuck in traffic? Are you fucking sick in the head?

Jesus Christ, may god have mercy on your fucking souls for that shit.

For shame.

So apparently my problem yesterday with aw_foo.jmorgan.example.com didn’t work because _ is not a valid dns character. Every-freakin-other browser allows it to work except IE.

Figures- the one time microsoft didn’t embrace and extend and did the minimum amount of work, it bit me in the ass.