I have been using Mozilla Firefox as my secondary browser for the last few weeks, and I am impressed. I use Avant Browser most of the time, but I am noticing that I am gradually increasing my use of Firefox. I chose Avant over Internet Explorer because it has tabbed browsing and cool middle mouse button stuff. Firefox has all of the features that made me choose Avant, except it does not use IE to render the page (as Avant does). This is a dual-edged sword. Firefox has PNG transparency and all the fancy standards-compliance stuff. IE lacks this but, in reality, whatever IE supports is the standard since everyone uses IE.
I can see that Firefox will replace Avant as my main browser, but for the time being I must also use IE. Basically, the only things that keep me using IE are the toolbar support and DHTML Edit Control (for writing blog entries).
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Written on 30 May 2004
by darryn under
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Tagged with tech
Kirsten just said ”God I love technology”.
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Due to the Issues mentioned in a previous post, we do not have a high-speed connection in the Melbourne office at the moment, and this is where I am. We are currently making do with a dialup connection, which basically limits us to email and the most basic of services. I have had to set exchange to reject all emails with attachments just so that we can survive.
I have not used dialup since I first got a cable modem in January 1999. O.M.F.G. It is so unbelievably slow. It is no wonder that your Average Joe’s life is not dominated by the internet when he is limited to dialup speeds.
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So here I am in Melbourne. Once again there are problems that might prevent me from going home. Once again this is because of Telstra.
Our Melbourne branch is in the process of moving offices, which means that new phone lines need to be installed before the move, and one of the analog lines needs to be activated for ADSL. Luckily this was all organised weeks in advance so that the time there would be no problems. Sigh.
I found out on Tuesday that Telstra had supposedly never received the application for ADSL from my chosen ISP, it had magically disappeared. I asked the ISP to re-submit the application and kept pestering them repeatedly until I got escalated. At least the analog phone lines were ready, once the line is provisioned for ADSL it will be plug and go. I delayed my flight for a day so that I wouldn’t be wasting any time. I arrived in Melbourne at around 8:15PM on Wednesday night.
This morning I called the ISP call centre to check on the status of my application. It had been escalated and was being provisioned, it should be working by Friday. But there was a problem with my other application, the new one I had made on Tuesday. It was going to be denied by Telstra. The kind lady at the end of the phone explained to me that you can only have one ADSL service per phone number, so I shouldn’t have applied twice. I re-explained the situation. She was very helpful and called Telstra to chase up for me, calling back within 5 minutes. I may very well get to go home after all.
I arrived at the new office this morning ready to get things going. I had anticipated Telstra ADSL shenanigans so opened a dial-up account Just In Case. I went to plug the modem into the wall, but there were no analog outlets. I checked the patch panel. None. The frame. None. Sigh. The cabling contractor explained that although Telstra had installed the lines through to the building’s MDF, they did not have dial tone (only side tone, whatever that is). Icy hands grabbed my heart. If there is no dial tone, then the line might not be activated, if the line isn’t activated, they might not provision for ADSL. Such a familiar feeling.
I called the Telco who logged a fault with Telstra, they tested the lines remotely and found a problem, they would respond within 8 hours. I could feel my weekend slipping away from me.
A Telstra tech arrived within two hours. He checked everything and found that the cabling to the MDF was fine, he found dial tone. Someone had connected it in the last 2 hours. I called the cabler and he will supposedly be here by 3:30. So maybe I will get analog by the end of today and at least have dial up. BTW I am in an Internet café now downloading drivers and firmware.
I will update through comments.
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Tonight I fly to Melbourne for 2 days. It won’t be two days. It never is. If I am back in a week it will be a miracle. Telstra is involved.
I wish that Telstra was a person, so that I could murder them.
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That I have Asperger’s Syndrome.
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poor little kitty
This afternoon I buried Stimpy, my beloved pet and friend of 11 years, at her favourite spot in my Dad’s garden. She led a very happy life and was loved by everyone.
Stimpy has lived with me since March 1993, when she was 5 weeks old. Being so young, I think, she imprinted on me as her ‘mother’ and has loved me as such ever since. I tried to fulfill my duties in this role as best I could being provider, protector and friend. She has reciprocated: Stimpy has been by my side through thick and thin, in darker hours she has seemed to be my only friend. She could always sense when I was down and was then especially affectionate, helping me to feel better.
Stimpy was a smart cat, she knew several words and obeyed a few commands. She knew ‘sit‘, ‘out‘ (of a room/area), ‘outside‘, ‘no‘, ‘inside‘, ‘jump‘ (off my lap), ‘comeonup‘ (jump onto my lap), ‘carm-on‘ (dinner time), ‘bad kitty‘, ‘yougettit‘ (attack something pointed to eg. cockroach) and ‘good kitty‘. Of course, she knew her name as well: after the dinner call it was the most powerful word. Of all these commands, only two would provoke a negative reaction: ‘outside‘ and ‘jump‘, both of which would elicit low growls and would have to be repeated before she grudgingly obeyed, still growling. During Stimpy’s formative years I was a uni student studying psychology, and practised my new knowledge on her, which probably explains her expansive repertoire.
Shopping bags were the subject of a strong attraction for Stimpy. In particular, licking them. As a kitten she used to climb inside the bags to lick the plastic. I tried to discourage this behaviour by picking up the bag and hanging it on a door handle, with her still inside. This did not deter her, probably the opposite - the door would act as a large sounding board, broadcasting her already-loud purring throughout the apartment. As we get older our tastes change, and so it was for Stimpy. In the last few years she has preferred to lick the outside of the bag, whilst the shopping is still in it.
Stimpy’s four favourite things were food, sleep, warm and pats. Of these food was probably her favourite, and prawns were her favourite food. The first time that we moved house I helped the transition by placing prawns through the yard for her to discover. She liked that house, prawns grew in the yard. Many people will not understand, but after prawns Stimpy’s favourite food was cucumber. Next on the list was fresh fish, followed by lettuce (it’s true), corn and meat. Stimpy loved 2 minute noodles, but hated salmon in every form.
I think that in Stimpy’s heaven she will lie on something warm, at the highest point in the room. She will be asleep and I will be patting her. On occasion she will wake to catch some live prawns from the bowl in front of her. Sometimes, out of the corner of her eye, she will see small lizards dashing past.
I will miss my Stimpy cat. I already do.
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