Subj : Re: USB locking up - foll
To   : Barry Martin
From : Ky Moffet
Date : Thu Sep 17 2020 11:40:00

BARRY MARTIN wrote:
> Hi Ky!
> 
> Not-totally-unexpected follow-up to this portion:
> 
>   >   KM> Did I gripe about CenturyLink yet? they changed my loop -- it got
> 
> So latter portion of the morning.  I'm up here in the Computer Room with
> Autumn.  Not too much for her to do up here but it's different, she's
> somewhat interested in the computers and projects; the Computer Desk has
> a shelf that pulls out which she uses to draw.  I notice the phone is
> off-hook; figure a phone call is being made downstairs while Autumn is
> occupied up here.

Who is Autumn??

> Eventually getting to be lunchtime so we go downstairs.  "You were on
> the phone?"  "No, why?"  Quick check: phones are on the hook. Oh-oh!  I
> have an 'indoor demarc' which I created decades ago so if there was a
> problem with the phones could disconnect and plug in the 'emergency
> phone'.  Plug that in - dead.  Not even dead air.

Well, that's not promising!

> Call the landline from my cell phone: busy.  So the outside line probably
> shorted out.  It had drooped from when we had the derecho (big wind
> storm) last month.  Was going to call and have fixed.  So I'm thinking
> the phone line outside stretched a little more, tore the insulation  and
> now the two wires are touching each other.

Or just plain pulled loose at some point, but the copper break is 
invisible inside the stretchy insulation. Not surprising after the whole 
durn thing tried to blow away completely!

> Called CenturyLink's repair; fiddle with the automated portion for a
> while (four minutes?), then get to a live person -- we'll just say "not
> from this country", plus I could here another person nearby in the
> background with the same accent.  

Philippines. Being quite annoyed with their lack of usefulness, I asked 
their Twitter rep, who at least makes an effort, but couldn't do 
anything for me.

Tho the accent (all alike, all SIX of the different pleasant but useless 
people I spoke with) sounded to me vaguely African, so at a guess, 
migrants. Definitely not native Spanish speakers, nor like any Filipinos 
I've known.

> So I called Wednesday late morning; a
> tech won't be out until Friday sometime between 8:15 and 4:15.  ...Keep
> the cell phone near!

Indeed... I don't even have a landline anymore, other than what the DSL 
uses. I don't use the phone enough to bother beyond the cheap Verizon 
prepay (I have it set at $15/mo. but if you only use it two days per 
month, could pay as little as $5 -- it's two bucks per day of use, no 
limits) but someone gift me an older iPhone which I keep meaning to hook 
up with Ting... pay-as-you-use, no contract, $6.95/mo. minimum.

And found the number of the very good local Centurylink tech (knew I 
saved his card for a reason!), called him, he's still on the job and is 
supposed to come check things out later today. Whether he'll be able to 
FIX anything is a different matter.
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