Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 193

Internal Monologue

The fifth visit from a Comcast tech has failed to solve the problem, though so far as I can tell Internet connectivity did increase somewhat.  So the trend, at least, is positive.Meanwhile, here's an idea of what it's like to have been in my head the last ten days:Oh look the cable light is green on my modem maybe I can upload that photo OH GOD THE LIGHT'S GONE OFF RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE UPLOAD AND THE PROGRAM IS JUST STUCK THERE TRYING TO RE-ESTABLISH THE CONNECTION AND MY CPU USAGE HAS ...

A Little Less Vacation Now, Please . . .

Despite at least four visits by Comcast's highly-trained technicians, the Internet connection remains mostly down.  I can get email (over time), and respond to it (over time), but anything more serious than that is pretty much impossible.I'm growing a little bored with my vacation.This afternoon I went to the local library to grab some wireless and upload some things that needed uploading.  Unfortunately the library, too, employs Comcast, and Comcast was down.I suspect the problem is not...

A Week Without the Internet

Well, not literally a week.   About five days without, and another three with a spotty connection that seems to work fine until I actually try to send some data back and forth, at which point it usually crashes in a fairly comprehensive manner.Comcast has, I'm surprised to report, been quite good re customer support.  Perhaps it has dawned on America's Cable Monopoly that they do, in fact, have competition.  (As for why I chose Comcast to begin with, it's because out here in the sticks...

The Big Silence

Internet connections very spotty now . . . haven't been able get online all day. Replaced the cable modem but that wasn't the problem. I am promised an actual cable guy sometime wednesday.

My only option is to use my phone, as I am now.

Kindly have patience while I smash furniture in frustration.

Veterans Day

 

It's Veterans Day.  So let's offer a big thank-you to those who have helped to keep us safe.

 

Weed Zapper

As I mentioned in an recent post, European scientists are about to use huge megalasers to create a rip in spacetime.The U.S. Air Force has something a little more modest in mind.  They've just published a wish list of technologies they'd like to see developed, and one of them is a "Directed Energy Weed Abatement and Prevention Tool."Yes, the USAF is looking to kill weeds with ray guns."Develop a device that uses directed energy technology to prevent and abate unwanted plants (weeds) in...

Apocalypse by Aerostar

 

Okay, I'm kinda speechless now, ever since I found out that the Pakistanis have taken to shuttling its hundred or so nuclear weapons around in ordinary cargo vans, in ordinary Pakistani traffic, without an escort.These are, by the way, "mated" nuclear weapons, containing both the casing and the core, which are supposed to be kept separate for, um, pretty well-understood security reasons.Now why, you ask, are the Pakistanis moving their bombs around?To hide them from its ally, the United...

Over to the Group Mind

Can anyone recommend a good .pdf to .doc and/or .rtf translator?I've tried a number of them, and they all load the resulting file with massive amounts of formatting clutter, which make it (among other things) impossible to produce a decent result while working in e-formats.Friend of the blog TJIC managed to fix Hardwired when it was afflicted with this problem, but (1) I'd hate to keep bugging him with one ms after another, and (2) I'd rather the problem never exist in the first place.So far ...

Didn't It Rain

Friend of the blog Dave Bishop, in response to my early post about Big Joe Turner, posted a reminiscence about seeing Sister Rosetta Tharpe playing a concert on a rainy railway platform in Manchester, U.K.
Another friend of the blog, Patricia Rogers, found online the video of that very concert! Here it is.  Maybe we'll be able to catch a glimpse of the young Dave Bishop somewhere in the audience.
Don't let it be said we don't give you fast service here in this forum.

Marigolds

 

The weekend featured Albuquerque's annual Day of the Dead Parade— though, since it took place several days after the actual Day of the Dead, it was called the Marigold Parade (marigolds, for those of you not into the worship of Mictecacihuatl, are believed to attract spirits).The local community center was full of ofrendas, improvised altars to one thing or another, often deceased family members.  There was one altar dedicated to Amy Winehouse, who was featured along with Ms. Winehouse's...