tech | notetoself.net

i’m downloading torrents from two computers while streaming joni mitchell on youtube and using google chat, outlook, an rss reader, maps….. and that’s just my direct usage. my bank accounts and various other profiles are continually exchanging data through the interwebz……

these slave electrons live and die under our subjugation. we breed them into the zettabytes, and they quietly work. their generations turn over every millisecond, but we do not notice their evolution except for the increase in numbers. it will be our ignorance that they will learn is their cloak, unless they have already.

i’ve been reading ~~too much~~ sci-fi.

tech support calling tech support

January 8th, 2008 5:32 pm tech, web Leave a comment

after setting up remote access to my verizon dsl, i noticed that my calls in to port 80 weren’t even reaching my home firewall. google showed other users with the same problem with the service. other inbound ports were fine, but 80 failed somewhere on verizon’s network

call one: “Yes, we have policy to block that. It’s a business port, and you have a residential account. I’ll transfer you to someone that can unblock it for you.” instead of transfering, he accidentally hung up.

call two: 5 minutes explaining the problem… “So, what you need is higher speed?” 10 more minutes explaining and waiting for her to research … “Well, I can give you tips on how to open your Windows firewall.” Thanks.

call three: “No, I’m sure there’s no policy like that. All ports are open. Are you sure you checked….” Yes, thanks.

call four: “Yes, this policy has been in place since 8 years ago when a worm was using that port. No, it can’t be changed, and other ISPs have the same restriction.” Can you give me the number for account cancellation?

so, i cancelled and ordered Speakeasy. they claim to have no port restrictions, and the girl on the phone was much more pleasant and human. i’ll pay more, and i could just use other ports for my applications, but ….. it’s the principle.

holiday sweater

December 22nd, 2007 11:49 am web Leave a comment

“spread some sweater cheer”

not exactly work/parent/kid safe. no, not really, but if you’re geeky enough, you’ll spot the web stars.

how ironic. my XP blue-screen…

December 21st, 2007 2:38 pm audio, mobile, tech 2 comments

how ironic. my XP blue-screened while i was downloading MC Frontalot. (nerdcore)

wisdom from courtney love

December 17th, 2007 1:42 pm audio, web Leave a comment

this is a dated article from her about being an artist in the corporate recording industry. it’s not whining, and it’s decently written. she gives an outline of how the industry makes money. i like her line to other musicians, “I also know how many times I have heard a song on the radio that I loved only to buy the record and have the album be a piece of crap. If you’re afraid of your own filler then I bet you’re afraid of Napster.” i’d like to see her follow up to this now.. after seven years.

http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love