ISP 2

 

Braving the crowds on market day, especially as the market was having a 'Queen Jubilee' day, I sought out the hesitant salesmen of Gigaclear.  Friendly, helpful but hesitant about whether the new infrastructure would be in place soon.  This is a shame as I need it now.  It may be in a week or two, they claimed, but we are not sure.  Though the rest of the town is ready for this my street in the centre is not, why?  I am 5 minutes from the green box!  There are plenty of potential customers elsewhere but they appeared desperate for a sale.  Hmmm.  "I think," said the boss when he arrived, "I think it may be June 1st." I shook them off as they were licking my shoes and made for home  

I eyed the stalls full of home made spirits at expensive prices, beer, cakes, women's trinkets, fudge, candles, honey and lots of burgers, chilli's and pizza on offer.  I went home to my cheese sandwich.

 

 

Later, I trawled through the Broadband bargains.  

All bright and shiny, all marvellous, and all more or less the same, bar BT's which looked expensive.  Tired and weary straining my little mind at the comparisons,  I logged back into PlusNet and agreed the easy way to renew once again.  I am not happy, I feel I am missing out of higher speeds.  

However, on the other hand I am just extremely privileged to be able to use such a system as a laptop.  Another famine is sweeping Africa and I whine about speeds on laptops!  I need to sort my attitudes here.  There are also folks suffering in the UK, suffering from Hunger!  In the UK!  Before Brexit the 6th richest nation on earth!  With over 2000 Food Banks already in action, and more required, I find I am buying things which I once regarded as luxuries during the days of unemployment.  I buy luxuries, many struggle to buy needful.  I have been there, I understand how easy it is to find yourself with large bills and no money.  Yet I still grumble I want more!

I am worse than Boris Johnson! 

 

 

Talking of whom I note he has found a way to avoid being caught out according to the Ministerial Code!  He has amended it to suit himself!  Brilliant!

If you did not realise the UK is a under his Fascist Coup then you had better start  believing it!  The press are his, he bought them just to make sure, the BBC is his,  he placed his own men in charge, and he is limiting the courts, Parliament, and anyone who speaks against him.

Yet the Conservative Party still support him, the MP's bow to him, and it is they who will lose out come a general election, he himself will land on his feet, or at least someone else's feet.

 

ISP Time Again

So, in a few days time the ISP runs out.  The choice now is to renew with these chancers 'Plusnet,' or find a new ISP.  As always things have changed since last time.  Now we know that 'Fibre,' is just between the telegraph pole and the house.  'Full Fibre,' we now know comes all the way from that wee green box to the house, thus not using BT's copper wires and enabling superfast speeds, improving from 50 to 600!  I want this!  However, this means the landline phone is dead.  The local Superfast does not mention Wi-Fi except as an add-on, why?  

And as far as I can see half the town has this superspeed but not the centre of town!  

A quick check of other ISP prices reveals the same deliberately confused pricing schemes as always.  Each one increases you price faster than it increases your speeds.  In the end it may be easier to remain with 'Plusnet' as it saves bother, though the speed on offer appear slower than before.  I may have to phone and threaten to leave to see what I can get from them.  

The 'Superfast' mob will probably have a display at the market tomorrow so I will drag myself around there are be lied to Boris style by their man.  If they have not installed the 'Fast Fibre' they have had it.  I have no time to wait and I will have to use the common folks.  Tsk!

Trapped Happily by DPD

Trapped all day I have been although I was not too despondent about this.  For one, I was waiting on a parcel being delivered and for another the weather was too hot for my weary bulk.  
I got an e-mail informing me my latest expensive buy (£2 each) was on it's way and that by just downloading the 'app' I could follow the van drivers progress.  This interested me as I recall the days sitting in the van driving around London (before today's van driver was born) using the high tech available at the time, namely one sheet of grubby paper with deliveries written thereon and a pen, unless that had been nicked by a comrade.  Today, they said, the 'app' allows you to trace the van as it reaches each delivery (I was 29 in the list and he would arrive between 12:06 and 13:06) and I considered this a marvellous idea remembering just how many times we arrived at closed doors.  Our best advice was the driver working out his route and scribbling whether we would be 'a.m.' or 'p.m.'  If traffic occurred, as it did do in London, then we could be late.  
There is a problem here however, I attempted to download said 'app' and discovered that 'DPD' doing their best omitted to generate an 'app' that worked on laptops.  Being a mere grumbling pensioner I canny afford a mobile phone costing £300, especially as I have no friends to call, and lose out on such things.  However I e-mailed back to DPD and within a short time the display arrived on my screen.  I strongly suspect that this was clear enough on their website but daftie here could not see it.  So I relaxed as I made my lentil soup, with far too much cayenne pepper, did some (for some read 'little') work on one of my projects and generally lazed around in the heat.
In the cool of the day the temperature is still in the 80's, that is around 27 to those of you out of kilter with the real world.  It was much higher when I opened the door to the van driver at precisely 12:06 would you believe.   I am much impressed with this system I must say, well done DPD.  
Global warming is no myth, in spite of what the naysayers naysay it is real, the temperature and the weather in general is shifting whatever the reason.   I sat here exposing my beer belly to the windows, er no I mean sat here working near the windows to get what air there was as it circled around.  It was too hot for me, much as I like this, but once the parcel had been opened and satisfied my desire for shiny things I remained happy to sleep rather than walk the streets.

   
i did spend some time on a thing called 'USwitch' trying to find cheaper energy.  I also looked at the cheaper smaller energy companies and was not impressed much.  To save a few pounds here you lose a few there.  Unless you catch a special offer I could not see much advantage in changing from one company to another, not for me at any rate.  How they rip us off!  
However the council has a place in a nationwide scheme where they say energy companies will make us an offer, possibly cheaper than that we now have.  The only thing is to register and await their offer which arrives sometime in October!  Ah well, my name is down I now await.
I also had a look at the ISP broadband and fibre packages and am interested in one or two of those.  Just what the catch is I am unsure but I am now paying £45 for this and even with BT Sport this is too much.  All BTS wish to do is watch Rangers and Celtic, I want Scottish football on my laptop not the bigot brothers.  I can watch the games on those chancer streams instead.  I don't want to do this but BT force me to.

Life Returns

After another two calls to Mumbai this morning, I cut the call off by accident myself the first time, I was convinced by a pretty young Indian lass that all would be well. Yet again this was an operator who had to stick to the script!  She did very well and was only perturbed when I asked where she was.  "India," she replied somewhat confused as people are not supposed to leave the script and she was more troubled when I indicated 'India' was a big place. Possibly she thought I might visit, fat chance, however she was somewhere I didn't quite catch, near Mumbai. Lunchtime and the Internet ceased once again and a noise outside forced my nose to the window.  There I beheld, and almost enfolded in my arms, the man from BT fixing the wires on the telegraph pole outside my window. Later, with one or two blips as he played around with the connection back at the exchange, I was left with the normal slow speeds that I have come to expect from 'Pipex,' or 'TalkTalk' as we must call them now. I checked my mobile phone for cost.  I have £3:62 left on the phone, (Virgin, 'Pay as you go') and I reckon there was about £16 in it to begin with, but cannot be sure!  Whatever, today's calls cast about £7 in themselves. Good job that phone was filled up some time ago when rich! Maybe I will once again compare prices of these ISP's. Still, all is well now and I no longer have to go outside and talk to real people.  



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Now I am not one to Complain but,

So after the e-mails I phoned using my dying mobile phone. I ensured I charged the battery as I expected to listen to "Your call is important to us," several times before getting anywhere.  This indeed occurred and starting from being "Seventh" in the queue I soon moved up to "2nd," although I was beginning not to care when the man in Bangalore answered. We went through the whole thing again, he following his script well, and in due course sent me on to the 'Technical' people.  I can well understand a need for one to remove all the simple fault, check the connections, pay your bill etc, so I happily (ha!) waited as the music played.  What the music was I know not, the sound distorting on the phone, although it may have distorted over the ten thousand miles it was travelling of course. Eventually a lovely young Indian women cheerfully and pleasantly went through the script and tested the line.  "There is a fault on the line," she told me helpfully, and asked of she ought to call my mobile while she did what she had to do. I had informed her the battery would run out but happily (again) decided to wait the "two or three" minutes this would take.  On minute later the battery died!  She never called back, I fear to do so especially during the day, and I have now no idea if the thing will be fixed or not.  The staff were indeed friendly and efficient but I wondered how they cope with strong accents?  I speak clearly to such as they, my time in London taught me this when dealing with 'Foreign Johnny's,' but upset folks from Newcastle or Cornwall may not be so considerate!  At the moment the Internet works, but does collapse at busy times or stops for no reason, the phone remains dead.  Ah well another 24 hours may well explain it all, possibly. 

   BBC

As I type my spelling mistakes I am listening to the 'BBC Democracy Live' programme offering live debates from the UK House of Commons.  I like this site as it allows us to watch Parliament at work both in the House and in Commons Committees.  We are also offered the Scots Parliament, Welsh Assembly and the European Parliament (for what that's worth) and within a few minutes we can find live, or recorded, all our politicians lying in their teeth in every part of the nation and indeed in Europe!  This is indeed a find!  The debates never vary, the government defends, the opposition attempts to pick faults, the 'other side' is always in the wrong and facts are used to support any argument! The best occasions are when the House is almost empty and a Bill, of major or minor importance, is being debated by those with a particular interest in it. Often these can be knowledgeable or just plain funny!  The wit and friendliness of many debates are rarely reported however I find some better than the usual TV offerings. Others of course debate long and hard on Bills of major importance and very serious indeed.  Today we debate the NHS, "The other side was at fault." "Oh no it wasn't, you are."  Money amounts, in the millions, are quoted by both sides, but in the end we know the Tories will kill of the NHS if they can, and the 'other side' (Labour) want to save NHS costs also.  In the end we lose out as hospitals close, queues lengthen, and those office workers I once worked amongst still squander millions with no thought for patients anywhere!  What is the answer?  The Tories want to sell it, Labour keep it (Tony Blair would sell it also as he is well off!) but cut costs.  In short none of them know what to do!  In the end ideology, not facts, will tell.

Turner painted this in his 'impressionist style. Some tell me his paintings like this of the later part of his career are fabulous but I wonder?  I went to the gallery some years ago and saw many of his pictures 'live' and it appeared to my mind that in the end he had just got to much yellow and white paint delivered and didn't wish to waste it. As each was produced they became more or less white and yellow mixtures with added darker blobs. On a decent day I get similar experiences simply by removing my glasses.  This does not give me an 'impression' of the world around me it just leaves me falling over litter bins and park benches.  While I admired much of Turners work and I love the bright colours of such a painting I must wonder if it deserves the respect it receives, although much of that comes from fawning critics who don't wish to be different from the crowd. I would rather see the train, the sky, and the colours.  My twisted and perverse brain can accommodate these and supply a suitable impression when required. What say you?

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The Day Dawned Brightly...

How soon before it all goes wrong?


Not long!
Rotten day, foul mood, tired, aching, and the oven does not work.
Luckily I am using the microwave and electric rings mostly at the moment.
Worse, the Broadband keeps cutting out!  Horror of horrors!  How can I live with no Broadband?
However after fiddling with the plugs the Broadband works, slowly.  Too slowly at times, and it was not fast to begin with.
But the phone is dead!
I never call unless I must, and I must log in the replacement credit card by phone, and it is dead.


How do you call when you have no phone to call with?
I e-mailed the only address I know and immediately received a reply stating I must go elsewhere!
I did, and filled in the form, hopefully the right one, and by the time I finished both engineers will have gone home. (I say both because there can only be two, and one is off sick, as they are slow!)
'Pipex' have sold out to 'Talk Talk,'  who have a bad reputation, so I am wondering if anyone will be there to read this ( and I am typing slowly so the Broadband does not get flustered.).


Now I am tired, flustered, anxious, and staring into the abyss - again!


It's being so cheerful wot keeps me going!



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ISP's

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The German vessels were nine miles away when the Royal Navy began firing. As the chase progressed huge shells soared through the air between the fleets. HMS Invincible suddenly turned into a ball of flame and sank within 90 seconds. Only six men were to survive. The battle continued into the night with huge shells flying miles to land on or near their enemy. Ships sank and others were damaged, still the fight went on.  As the Grand fleet pursued the enemy the phone rang. I put aside the plastic warships and climbed out of the bath. Dripping wet I went to the phone. It had stopped ringing and the caller was murmuring unwillingly into the ansafone. It was my sister asking advice about ISP's as her daughter had dumped placed a PC in her house for her to use. I excused myself, dried off and returned still with my mind in the North Sea of 1916. She declared at one point that her use of the phone was limited, although she took fifty minutes to say this, and we eventually decided what her chosen option ought to be. 


It is very hard to pick an ISP. Even though I have used this wonderful device for years I do not easily follow the lies offers that are proffered. Her daughter had printed out several, some which sounded good, but from this distance it is not possible to easily explain all the ins and outs of these companies. It is at times like this I wish I was back north. Each ISP offers cheap prices but then you require careful reading of the downloads, the allowance if there is one, whether a contract is required, if the phone is free all day or only at certain times, and so on. With different rates for 'Business' and for 'Home' and several offers for each the new user requires a lawyer to understand what they are reading. However she will eventually get something working, and then complain about the 'pap' that I keep sending her. I have wanted her to get this for years and while both her and her man will grumble I know they will be on the thing all day! How did we live without the PC in times past I wonder?

I attended the JobCentre again as per usual. My regular man was off and I was attended to by a kind gentleman who carried a pot belly that made me appear thin! How glad I was to see him, so glad when I got home I stuffed my face! However I am on what is called 'New Deal, ' and after a poor job search with my chap I went to meet the 'New Deal' woman. Nice lass tries hard, looks bored. The 'New Deal' entails a trip  to the big town for a discussion with what I am assured is a wise lady I who will find me a work placement in the area. Several weeks on the trip has not appeared, the work placements are hard to find! I could have told them that! However as the majority on this system are young I guess they are getting priority. From today's short meeting it is apparent I may never see big town after all. In short this is a government idea, pushed through against the JobCentre's best advice, that doesn't work as there are NO JOBS!  I will be sixty in a few weeks, I wonder if I will ever work again sometimes. However I am not downhearted, I know who looks after me, in spite of all this, and something good will happen, eventually! In the meantime, back to Jutland!

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