Author: luken7

An avid and passionate sailor, drummer and technologist. My career focuses around computing and storage technologies. My passion is sailing and playing drums. I love music, especially progressive jazz and rock.

AT&T Suffers Massive Mobile Data Outage In Northeast, Midwest T

Posted on by luken7

Just a day after Apple kills off Google Voice and GV Mobile (probably at teh behestof AT&T), their network is suffering a massive outage in the northeast. Could this be Karma? More bars in more places? More like more flatlining in more places. This is yet another example why the exclusivity deals are bad, and I don’t fault people for unlocking their phones. It seems that all AT&T wants to do is collect money, and provide as little service as possible. I’m looking forward to the day when the phone is available on other networks. Sprint, T-Mobile or Verizon.

With recent earnings reports, it’s clearly stated that AT&T’s growth is dedicated solely to the iPhone for the wireless division. Heck, it’s the only reason why I’m with them, so they need to keep the phone exclusive. They know that when it comes available on other networks, there will be a mass exodus, including me, even if I have to pay the termination fee. And with them doing things like blocking innovative applications, it only hastens my desire for a quick exit from them.

AT&T T appears to be suffering a massive outage in its data network in the Northeast, and some parts of the Midwest, according to Twitter reports. And our iPhones are offline, too.

Whatever the excuse is, in this era of always-on mobile communications, its not acceptable.

via AT&T Suffers Massive Mobile Data Outage In Northeast, Midwest T.

Cash for Clunkers Driving Cars off Dealerships Lots

Posted on by luken7

Cash for Clunkers are driving people into the showroom. the new problem is that there may not be enough cars since Detroit has scaled back. This got me thinking about how to create a permanent incentive for car purchases. How about no sales tax on purchasing a qualified efficient vehicle and no property tax on that same vehicle for the first four years? Wow, what an incentive, but that would be to practical. Providing real solutions to job creation would be out of the question.

Which leads to the never-ending debate. Either a national consumption tax or a flat income tax, one or the other. How about an experiment, alternate between the two on an annual basis for the net few years then compare it to the current system to see how it fares. I don’t think politicians would like that because it would obviously be successful and they would loose their biggest power tool, the tax code.

Car dealerships all over the country are bracing for a spike in sales thanks to the “Cash for Clunkers” program. However, some car dealers said they fear the program could end up being a victim of its own success.

The Federal Government is offering a credit of up $4,500 off the purchase of a fuel efficient and environmentally sound car or truck in exchange for old cars.

via Cash for Clunkers Driving Cars off Dealerships Lots – NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com | .

The switch from cable to uVerse

Posted on by luken7

So, here is the promised update on the switch from Time Warner Cable to AT&T’s uVerse. So goodbye to TWC. I got uVerse and then gave TWC that dreaded call. “Hello, I’m calling to cancel my service” Imagine the gasp of air by the operator to the sheer horror of my sentence. I explained to him that I was sorry that he ended up with my call and that there was nothing he could do to change my mind, and that I hope it didn’t hit his resolution quota too hard. He asked why I was terminating and I explained that I moved to AT&T uVerse. He says he wished I would have called earlier before I made the decision and that he would have been able to do something. I informed him that I called a couple of months ago when the cable was being laid, and I called again when I received the postcard with my availability. “I gave you guys many chances to do something”. So anyway, I cancelled.

So moving on to the AT&T installation and it’s service. I had an install date that was to be on a Monday. The previous Saturday a technician came out and spent an hour validating that my phone line was qualified. Then took another hour to determine that my phone line was connected to a different box than what they had on record. Two hours, understandably, it was CWA Union guy. Nothing is efficient with them. I spend the next 15 minutes with him hearing him complain about AT&T, how they want to cut his pay by $15 per hour to match the uVerse technicians who do the installations inside the home, and how it looks like in late August or September, there will be a strike. Which got me to thinking, just how much did this guy get for two hours worth of “work”, tracing and doing a signal test on a wire?

So moving on along to the installation. The Monday got moved to Tuesday and the uVerse guy came by. This guy had me up and running in less than 45 minutes, no installation problems or issues. Obviously he wasn’t a union guy. DVR’s up and running, programed, residential gateway configured and explained, just went smoothly.

So now on to the service itself. Wow, many more HD channels than TWC and as far as the broadband speed, I’m averaging over 16Mb/s down and almost of my 1.5Mb/s up. My Mozy backups finish in a couple of hours instead of the dreaded two day notification using TWC’s max upload of ~450K that I was getting.

No on to some sad news. Right now I’m doing this post via my wireless broadband because I’m suffering my first uVerse outage. That’s to be expected I guess. No TV or network, and so Vonage is down also. Calling AT&T is more of a challenge than calling TWC which surprised me. I get the impression that while TWC is just clumsy with their support and is not up to date, AT&T is up to date but just very efficient in trying not to provide service. Case in point, their endless looping of their voice response system.

And I learned something new which is troubling. I went to watch a recorded show but realized you can’t without the service fully working. Apparently, you have to have a connection even if you want to watch a recorded show. The system needs to connect to Skynet to notify them of what you are watching. I found a thread about that on DSLReports here. That’s really troubling, they are monitoring your every move, even when you watch your recorded shows.

At some point, I would love to drop TV altogether. Just an Internet connection and use Hulu, Netflix, and over the air broadcasts. But for now, we’ll see how it goes. It’s been rock solid for over a month, up until the last two hours anyway.

YouTube – Hitler Finds Out Sarah Palin Resigns, too funny

Posted on by luken7

Alright, this one is just way too funny not to post. It’s a take from the movie Downfall, where Hitler goes ballistic because he finds out he’s loosing the war. But in this version, the subtitles are about Hitler blowing a gasket because he finds out Sarah Palin resigned and now had nobody for his fundraiser.

The best lines from this clip are “the GOP has lost itss balls and now its’ ovaries as well” and “that’s what Alaska gets for electing a MILF instead of a Stalin”.

via YouTube – Hitler Finds Out Sarah Palin Resigns.

Going to be a long Flight back for Obama

Posted on by luken7

Our president better stop hanging around French president Nicolas Sarkozi, he’s starting to pick up some bad habits and he doesn’t look tough enough to take on Michelle when he gets back home.

So after some fun poking at the President (hoping that it’s still allowed) here’s the video clip clearing it up. Note that Nick is still a horn dog.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07102009/news/nationalnews/tail_to_the_chief_178552.htm

0709_obama_11032342_h8320192_landov.jpg 500×442 pixels.

In the Name of … God …

Posted on by luken7

Whether it be radical Islamists or Christian fanatics, Dream Theater’s lyrics for the song “In the Name of God” comes to mind. Apologies but I just had to post it, hope I’m not violating their work but these are just deep and to the point.

How can this be?
Why is he the chosen one?

Saint gone astray
With a scepter and a gun

Learn to believe
In the mighty and the strong

Come bleed the beast
Follow me it won’t be long

Listen when the prophet
Speaks to you
Killing in the name of God

Passion
Twisting faith into violence
In the name of God

Straight is the path
Leading to your salvation
Slaying the weak
Ethnic elimination

Any day we’ll all be
Swept away
You’ll be saved
As long as you obey

Lies
Tools of the devil inside
Written in Holy disguise
Meant to deceive and divide
Us all

Listen when the prophet
Speaks to you
Killing in the name of God

Passion
Twisting faith into violence
In the name of God

Blurring the lines
Between virtue and sin
They can’t tell
Where God ends
And mankind begins

They know no other
Life but this
From the cradle
They are claimed

Listen when the prophet
Speaks to you
Killing in the name of God

Passion
Twisting faith into violence
In the name of God

Hundreds of believers
Lured into a doomsday cult
All would perish
In the name of God

Self-proclaimed messiah
Led his servants
To their death
Eighty murdered
In the name of God

Forty sons and daughters
Un-consenting plural wives
Perversions
In the name of God

Underground religion
Turning toward
The mainstream light
Blind devotion
In the name of God

Justifying violence
Citing from the Holy Book
Teaching hatred
In the name of God

Listen when the prophet
Speaks to you
Killing in the name of God

Passion
Twisting faith into violence
In the name of God

Religious beliefs
Fanatic obsession
Does following faith
Lead us to violence?

Unyielding crusade
Divine revelation
Does following faith
Lead us to violence?

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!

Obama's economic advisor comes out of the tax cut closet?

Posted on by luken7

I was watching the evening news last night and they were doing a fact check on Obama’s claim that he created 150,000 jobs. Christina Romer who chairs the Council of Eeconomic Advisors and is Obama’s top economic advisor said the following:  “When we have the tax cuts that we’ve had and the spending that we’ve had, historically it has shown that jobs has been created”. And that the number is a statistical figure so it can be presented as fact. So the point is that the numbers aren’t factual, but statistical, so can be presented as fact. I pondered over that but then something hit me.

Whoa, did she just say that tax cuts creates jobs? Well….. we won’t see her on camera anymore. The notion that tax cuts spurs the economy is the antithesis to the idea that government must do all to create jobs. At best, the government can create temporary jobs, mainly on infrastructure and those jobs are not sustainable. Tax cuts essentially make people who have all that excess cash, invest in things to make more money which creates jobs, which is sustainable. If government creates jobs by increasing the size of the government, then mathematically, there will eventually be less private sector jobs to support the government payroll. Take a look at the state of New Jersey. Private job payrolls are falling while government job payroll is increasing. The result? Increased taxes to support government and an exodus from the state. But back to my original point. The chief economic advisor states that tax cuts creates jobs. Following that rationale, the more taxes are cut, the more jobs are created? Is that possible?

Direct video link here…

The AT&T U-Verse Installation Saga Begins….

Posted on by luken7

logo_attuverseWell, here we go. I figured I’d document this because you know there will be a story. About six weeks ago, I noticed fiber being laid to my neighborhood. I asked the construction guy and he confirmed that it indeed was AT&T U-Verse. Imaging my joy as I immediately summarized that I would be fred from the shackles of TWC.

So a couple of weeks ago I get a flyer in the mail advertising that U-Verse is here and available in my neighborhood. I immediately run inside, go online to their site and check the availability of my address. Wham-o, it’s available !! So of course I immediately order U-Verse, just the broadband and television. Not phone, I use Vonage. I get an install date of June 8th, from noon to 2pm.

So on Saturday the 6th, the doorbell rings and it’s an AT&T guy. He says, “Hi, I’m from AT&T”. I say “wow, you’re a bit early”. he laughs and tells me that he is here for a pre-site survey and qualification. Wait, you’re not sure if I’m qualified? Your website says so. He explains that he needs to check the quality of the line and that I’m within 3000 feet of the DSLAM. Well, I’m a couple of hundred feet from it (it’s behind our subdivision) and it’s a new neighborhood, lines couldn’t have rotted that fast. About an hour later the doorbell rings again and he’s looking real sad. I know that look. It’s the look of “we have a problem and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it” look on his face. He proceeds to explain.

First the simplified explanation. My phone line is connected to that little phone box about four houses down, instead of the box that is actually between my house and my neighbors. Go figure. That in itself isn’t a problem. The problem is that in their many databases, it shows me connected to the wrong box. He explains that it is simply a matter of doing a change of record, a relatively simple data entry tasks that takes about two minutes, and that he could do it himself, but he would get in trouble because that’s not his role. Also the maintenance dept. is closed on Saturdays. And that this process usually takes up to 48 hours.

Now for the wild part. He begins to confide in me about the internals of AT&T. YOu see, he’s a union guy, and the U-Verse division is non-union and they hate each other and don’t get along, and they’re not treated well. Also, if you’re going to get U-Verse, better get it now because it looks like a strike is coming in August because the evil AT&T wants to pay the union guys $15 less per hour to put their payscale in line with the non-union U-Verse folks. So the union guys do all the exterior work and the non-union guys do all the internal work for U-Verse. And it’s not fair. Well…thanks for that primer. I think because I’m a minority he thought I was in full agreement with him, but that’s another post in the political category.

So, on to yesterday. A complete no-show. So, on to this morning. I call…. navigate the voice response unit trying to avoid getting trapped in the VRU flowchart of death. I finally get a voice that’s backed by a temperature of ~98.6, a blood pressure of 122 over 80, and a heart rate of 86 beats per minute. After providing all the relevant information about my first born, sexual preference and what I ate last night, I could tell that her vitals were quickly going out of whack after I mentioned that yesterdays’ U-Verse installation was a U-Verse stranded at the alter event. So three people and two long on hold transfers later, I get the selected scripted apology based on the computerized detection of the stress level in my voice (that’s actually a real system, btw). So, the change of record was done yesterday (probably between noon and 2pm) and I was told that someone was “probably” going to call me today about it. Ok, whatever. So I’ve been prioritized and have a new appointment between 8am and 10am tomorrow morning. So stay tuned for part II of this post, it should be a fun filled day but I have faith and Im looking forward to U-Verse eventually…. possibly….. hopefully.

The Nelson Family Crest….oh yes

Posted on by luken7

nelson-crestWell, well. I think its time that I traveled back to my homeland, my native United Kingdom, and head up to the highlands of Scotland to reclaim my family land and rebuild the family castle. Next, head back down to England and check out some of the tributes to some of the great Nelsons’ in the family, such as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. I’m in a cynical mood this evening….

Where did the English Nelson family come from? What is the English coat of arms/family crest? When did the Nelson family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

The name Nelson is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from Nell, an Irish name. Nelson means “the son of Nell.” It came to England by a rather circuitous route. Adopted by Norse Viking settlers in Ireland in the first millennium, it traveled to Scotland and Norway. From there it traveled to France with the Normans who settled there in the 9th century after dispossession of their lands in Norway and Scotland by the respective kings of those realms. Eventually, of course, the Normans, led by Duke William of Normandy, invaded England and defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At this point the name entered England proper.

via Nelson Family Crest.

Cash offerings vs. stock offerings.

Posted on by luken7

A friendly piece of advice for a certain tech company being courted right now. In recent history, a telecom company turned down a $28 billion all cash offer and instead, had a twinkle in their eye and opted to take another offer that was $57 billion in …. stock. The result? A massive hangover.

To put it simply, cash is king, cash rules. Taking a stock offering over cash is not exactly a wise choice as the stock has no value until it’s sold, and there is no guarantee that the stock value will go to where you want it. Taking a cash offer gives the flexibility to then channel and invest where and how you want, and not be tied to a single stock waiting to rise. Trust me on this one.