Tag Archives: internet

When We Go Without or: The Mess of It All

25 Thursday Jun 2020

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Salutations™!!

Yesterday, the internet went down at Le Château de Beeman. It went out at 245p or so. It came back on around 10-ish. Six and a quarter hours isn’t a long time and yeah, we used to be without the internet all day, every day. But, here’s the thing: my business is internet-based. Everything I do, everything I am. It’s internet-based. Okay, that’s an over-exaggeration. But, my reliance on the internet is heavy. Internet_of_Things

I had to operate on some “data” plan yesterday and everything else that I do, being mostly internet-based, kept me from doing just about anything else. The BCPF, who is working from home, spent some time out in the yard. We listened to some records and spent some time together. That part was great. We grabbed food to go and ate a bit before the pipeline opened back up.

Really, it wasn’t so bad. Merely an inconvenience. However, it did reiterate to me my reliance on technology and especially the interwebs. Another thing that I realized is this: I am okay with that. I have no problem being so dependant on the internet. The only time I have a problem is when it isn’t there. Whether on my computer, my cell phone, my Amazon Fire TV, Alexa, my Napster, any of it, I have to have my internet. I need it and I will get cranky when I don’t. I know I got on the nerves of the Spectrum customer service Twitter account. I apologize to them for that. Just keep the danged service up!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“There is an underlying, fundamental reliance on the Internet, which continues to grow in the number of users, country penetration and both fixed and wireless broadband access.” – Vint Cerf

New Eps or: The Network

02 Monday Mar 2020

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Salutations™!!

Yesterday The Less Desirables Network released three episodes of the latest podcasts from The Man Who Ate the Town, The Beer Dads and Wheeler’s Dog. tldn screen 3320

I think they were all good spots but then again, I’m pretty biased.

You can listen to each of those if you visit the TLD Network page here. And, it isn’t just the three latest eps from the shows, but nearly all of the past shows in the order they were submitted.

It’s good stuff!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“We do have rum but she’s been abusing the hell out of it…” – Wheeler’s Dog Podcast Episode 4

A Decade of Decadence or: The Most Desirables?

03 Monday Feb 2020

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Salutations™!!

Today is the 10th anniversary of The Less Desirables’ first-ever episode, both recording and airing. February 3, 2010, was a Wednesday and I went to the area between Reynolda Road, Silas Creek Parkway and Wake Forest Road and picked up Brian from work as his car was in the shop.

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10 Years Old Today (the podcast, not the logo)

I took him to my house only to realize that I didn’t have the right mic or mic cable in my house for more than one person to talk. So, we had to run over to where the bands that I had been in had practiced and grabbed the right mic and cable and headed back to my house.

We sat in the “media room” (what is now 3B’s room) and looked at each other. “What are we going to talk about?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he said. I replied, “I tell you what… I’ll hit the record button and we’ll just see what happens. If we don’t like it, we can try again.”

The point was to have a 20-minute podcast, this newfangled kind of “radio-on-demand” or recorded audio thingy because 20 minutes is about the length of an average commute here in the Triad. Some are longer, some are shorter, but it’s about average at 20. How we were going to come up with something to talk about for 20 minutes was wracking our brains.

I hit the button. 38 minutes later, the first one was recorded. An hour later it was on a web server and I had half-arsed written an RSS feed, the best I could figure, and was ready for people to listen to. I don’t know that anyone did. I still don’t know if they hear them now. I just know that there are plenty of downloads. That first one was a bit rough and I think neither Brian nor myself would argue that.

It wasn’t fascinating stuff. But, you know what? Few people were doing it. We essentially had our own radio program, a morning-type show, and we were proud of that. And, here we are 10 years later and I am still proud of what we did that first day and all 520 episodes since. I am pretty sure Brian would agree with that.

This Wednesday will be the 10th-anniversary recording, number 521. I know that Eugene, Caitlin, Beer Guru Jay Platt, Danielle and Bethany will be there. There is a slim chance that Brian and Bruce will come but I’m not really sure. I’d love to have all of us in a room at once. Heck, it would be great if Superfan Damien could be here, too. But, he’s all the way out in Super Bowl Champion World (that’s Kansas City). It would be great, though. That first show even predates The BCPF by a few months.

Without that first show, there probably wouldn’t be any Fan Interference, any Camel City Dispatch News Hour, Tart & Tangy Triad, The Beer Dads, The Man Who Ate the Town, Apartment 5B, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. No The Less Desirables Network. No, Rule 1 Podcast, Owner’s Manual, No Mask No Cape Podcast, Forsyth Mags Podcast, Open the Blue Door Podcast, Wine About Real Estate Podcast, Margaret’s SpeakEasy Podcast, Transformative Conversations Podcast, Lunch Link Podcast, Thrive with Dara and Garth, or any of the ones that I should be starting in the next few weeks.

I’m not saying that none of these last group of podcasts wouldn’t be there, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t be the one making them happen if it weren’t for the first-ever recording of The Less Desirables 10 years ago today. I wouldn’t be called “the Podfather.”

When I started this journey in 2010, no one knew what a podcast was. I had to explain around seven times a day what it was. Now, I only have to explain it once every seven days. Now, almost literally everyone has a podcast and when people around here want to start one, they at least come to me first. That makes me feel good. It makes me feel important. It makes me feel like I truly am the “father” of the podcast culture around this area.

All this because Brian and I sat in a room in my house and made stuff up for about 40 minutes. Since that first day, there is only one thing that has stayed constant since the very first show. Not me, I haven’t been on every show. Not Brian, he left in 2014. Most would think it is the theme song (which I wrote, by the way). Nope to all of that. The only thing constant since the first-ever show (which was recorded on that day) is the disclaimer at the very end. It still has Brian’s voice on it, here, five and a half years since his leaving. So, even though he’s not here, he’s here every week.

If you’d like to hear this (very rough) first episode, you can do so here. Listen to that one and then listen to the one this week and hear the difference.

Well, here’s to another 10 years (at least) of The Less Desirables and The Less Desirables Podcast Network. Thank you for listening and reading…

Until tomorrow, same pod channel at some pod time (your choice)…
Scorp out!

—
“The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the contributors and not necessarily those of our distributors or hosting company. This podcast is copyrighted and any use of this product cannot be reproduced without the expressed written consent of Such-N-Such Limited, Inc. So don’t do it…” – The Less Desirables

Running Late or: Live!

21 Thursday Mar 2019

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Salutations™!!

I know I’m late. I was going to post about a Facebook Live that I participated in tonight to discuss what it is that I do. I say was going to, but I really did do the event but I think the event is private so I don’t think I can share it.

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Nike Roach

But, I was on Nike (pronounced Nee-kay) Roach’s Facebook Live show where he talks about marketers and business folk that do good in the world. I guess I qualify for that. I’m going to try to link it HERE.

Nike is a great guy and was on The Less Desirables a few weeks back. I was returning the favor.

I had fun. Check it out. If it doesn’t work, I’m sorry.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Business folks, moms and dads, cats and dogs, chickens and frogs, it doesn’t really matter, no matter what you do, you are in the right place at the right time…” – Nike Roach

Down But Not Out or: Without the Net

03 Monday Dec 2018

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Salutations™!!

When I went into the studio today, the internet was down. Nate at X1 Communications figured that the main router was just unplugged as it wasn’t showing up internally. It was showing that the signal was getting to the building. I asked if it was located in the telecommunications room where most of the stuff like that was and they said yes. What they thought it was was an old server room on the other side of the building. But, I had to get the key to open the door to the communications room, then the other room had a keycode lock and we had to figure that code out (by calling the building owner).

It turns out that someone over the weekend tore all the stuff out of that old server room because it was (mostly) just that, old. The router wasn’t old, but they didn’t know that. Plus, the whole cable system was removed (or eliminated). I don’t think anyone was at fault, but it happened. Well, what I do is an internet-based business and without it, it was hard to do work.

We did Fan Interference without the intro (although I haven’t loaded that, yet) or any sound effects because I couldn’t get to the internet. We recorded The Man Who Ate the Town, but as I was without the internet, I couldn’t upload it to the server, so it will be a day late, tomorrow. We recorded The Beer Dads tonight and finally was able to put stuff on the ‘net. It worked. But, I’m thrown behind. Again, this is no one’s fault. Just a lot of inconvenience and miscommunication. So, The Beer Dads got up and the others will tomorrow.

But the point I wanted to make was that I knew but didn’t know how reliant I have become to the internet. Without it today, it crippled my business and it crippled my ability to communicate with our listeners. That was rough. But, for now, it’s back up as we had to be a little creative (running a cable the length of the building to my wi-fi router). It was just rough, as I said. Thanks to Nate and Josh at X1 Communications for going above and beyond.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Technology is neutral; it depends on how it’s used.” – Rick Smolan

A New Sponsor or: X1 Marks the Spot

29 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in Blogging, Life as We Know It, Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

So, the entire The Less Desirables Network got a new sponsor this week! I am so very proud to announce our partnership with X1 Communications, the standard of internet providers in the downtown WSNC area!X1 Logo

Nathan Geipel, the owner-operator of X1 Communications is a member of TBD Referral Group that I’m part of (that stands for The Best Damn Referral Group) and I know that most of the businesses in the downtown area rely on them for their internet needs. So, when I was going into The Lab at Industry Hill, I called on him to see if they serviced that location. Wait, what? Don’t all internet providers in the area service all the area?

Nope.

X1 Communications are different than traditional internet providers in town. First of all, X1 uses “Fixed Wireless” technology. According to their website: Fixed Wireless is the process of enabling communications between two locations, using a radio as a wireless link. Say what!? Yes, they do not use wired technology. They’re not renting lines from bigger communications companies. They have radios on a few of the taller buildings downtown. In order for them to service your business, they have to have a line-of-sight connection with your business from those points. At that point, the data is transferred between radios using passwords and high-level encryption to ensure fast and secure data transfer. This stuff is high speed!

Does the line-of-sight provision limit their reach? Well, kind of, but what it does is allows Nate and Josh to take care of and provide high-level service to the folks they do serve. I think that’s important.

They own their entire network. Unlike their competitors who rent wires from the phone company, they are not beholden to those primitive measures and can guarantee 99.99% uptime. Which, is imperative to business owners, especially those like me who are internet-based. I didn’t have to buy any special equipment, either. They put the radio on the roof of the building and the building was already wired internally. I plugged my router into the port and BAM! I’m surfing and uploading.

I don’t have to worry about weather problems, either. Their network is on the 5Ghz bandwidth so it is “weather resistant.” I’m not really sure what that means and it doesn’t matter if I know or not, it’s taken care of.

I know what you’re asking. “Is it safe?” Oh yes. X1 uses AES 256 Encryption – the same
level of security as the Dept. of Defense. So, my info, data, properties and all that are quite secure. And, man… it’s fast. The only thing worse than slow internet is no internet. X1 guarantees consistently high speeds, so you focus on your work, not your broadband service. That helps.

Are you like me and tired of dealing with Spectrum and AT&T? Well now, you don’t have to. No more hassle in dealing with the major telecommunications companies. You’re in the capable hands of a local provider, with a history of excellence.

Have I done an ample job of pushing X1 Communications? I hope so, because not only are they my sponsors, I think they have a great product and we know that I love promoting local businesses, especially the ones that I can get behind. But, if you’re looking for more testimonials, I’m sure you can ask Alma Mexicana, Krankie’s, Inmar, BB&T Ballpark, The Ramkat, WBFJ, Camino Bakery and fellow TLD sponsor, Underdog Records. I am sure all of them would give you raving reviews of X1 Communications, too. If you’re in line-of-sight of the taller buildings downtown WSNC and want high-speed broadband internet, contact X1 Communications at (336) 773-9950.

Here’s welcoming X1 Communications to the CrewTLD family! Thanks, Nate and Josh!

Until tomorrow, broadcasting at breakneck speeds…
Scorp out!

—
“With more than 20 years of combined experience in the field of Digital Communications, X1 is proud to provide custom internet solutions to a variety of businesses and residents.” – X1 Communications

Prodigy No More or: So Long Old Friend

11 Tuesday Aug 2015

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Salutations™!!

For years, close to twenty, actually, I’ve had an auxiliary email account which used to be my main email that was an @prodigy.net email. Many years ago, 1994ish, I was part of Prodigy, the online service that, much like AOL, had everything self contained. It had bulletin boards (I was a member of the KISS Board, it was my main one), weather, shopping and a Sabre booking system. As a matter of fact, I booked my first ever air ticket, to Orlando, of course, from that service. I spent a lot of time listening to that handshake sound running over that 14.4k modem signal. I had a @prodigy.com email at that time. I believe that was my first ever email. There was a “web browser” available to us users but it was kind of rough. Websites weren’t very popular or abundant at the time, anyway. But, you couldn’t play Quake on it because it wasn’t a true ISP.

PLogIn

Login screen for Prodigy Classic

In 1996 or so, Prodigy started their very own ISP and I was part of that. $15.95 a month, I believe. They kept the self-contained service for a bit, calling it Prodigy Classic, but most everyone was ported to Prodigy Internet and its email domain, @prodigy.net, to differentiate that this was actually an ISP and not just a networked community. Prodigy Classic was phased out in 1999, due to “incompatibility to Y2K,” (I was one of the 209k subscribers that was still left when it went dark) and we were able to move about freely with the “net.” I used dial up for a good bit until I grew into the broadband/cable world and Prodigy Internet was my vessel.

Once I had moved on to broadband, I had gained a lot of use for and of the @prodigy.net address so when I moved over, I continued to pay for the Prodigy Internet dial-up service to keep the address. Eventually Prodigy was purchased by SBC in 2001. SBC also formed a “strategic alliance” with Yahoo not long after that. When that happened they stopped allowing new Prodigy accounts and put people over to Yahoo instead. We were allowed to keep our Prodigy email address. Then, eventually, SBC purchased AT&T and our beloved address was held under the AT&T brand.

Eventually, I think my credit card had been declined or something and from what I remember I just left it at that. However, my email address was still working. I figured all was in the clear. About a year ago, I was going over the company’s (that’s my ‘Rents’ company) credit card and there was a charge for $29.95 to AT&T Internet Services and I called AT&T to figure out what it was. NO ONE was able to figure out what it was for. I complained to AmEx and eventually (after a year) they acquiesced my request to put a block on that charge. We had canceled all services with AT&T at that point and since no one could tell me what it was, we put a block on it. Well, you get three guesses as to what that charge was really for and the first two don’t count. Yep, it was for my “AT&T Dial Up” service. Somewhere along the line I had added that CC to take care of it.

Well, things being what they are now, I can’t afford it any longer and almost 20 years later (I’m counting the Prodigy Classic time, too), I’m having to give up my @prodigy.net address. Everything that requires a subscription over the years, this has been my go to. I’m sick to my stomach, too. I know that’s silly but I have been very, very proud of my longevity and it’s almost like a loss of a pet or something. Almost. Still, Dear Reader, I’m sad, but I’ve already made another @yahoo.com address to replace that for my subs and such.

I feel, too, like I’m turning my back on an old friend. I was once part of AOL and that was okay (it was a better service really), but it didn’t have the charm of Prodigy. I stayed true to it. I still miss the time in the old KISS boards, really. Those were awesome times. I’m sighing and I’m moving on.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“The Internet will win because it is relentless. Like a cannibal, it even turns on it own. Though early portals like Prodigy and AOL once benefited from their first-mover status, competitors surpassed them as technology and consumer preferences changed.”

Caught by the Net or: Quite the Disruption

28 Tuesday Jul 2015

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Salutations™!!

I’m in an industry that is internet-based. Actually, I’m in two industries that are. The travel agency I own is about 90% internet and only a few people actually call me anymore; it’s all online. The podcast industry is the internet. You have to be online to get any content beyond your own house. The same goes for the video production part, too.

Another thing that I do is review films for the “Movie of the Week” for The Less Desirables. 95% of those are watched via Netflix and Amazon. That, too, obviously requires the internet. Research that I do for The Less Desirables show material is all done on the internet. Right now, I’m talking to you, Dear Reader, via the internet with this blog.

So, when the haven of the interwebs is interrupted for whatever reason, it throws the universe out of balance and things are bad. It’s bad on the travel side, it’s bad on the podcast side, it’s bad on communications. Sure, we can use the telephone, still, but I prefer to do my business via email. Not because of the lack of human interaction, but because everything I do then has a readable record and “paper trail” if you will. So, yes, I do still use the phone, but I’d rather use Skype to talk to the person I’m communicating with in the business world.

When I’m on my “own” time (which technically is never since all my jobs I consider my “half time” jobs) the loss of connectivity is really just an annoyance more than anything. But, like I said, I’m not on “personal” time because I’m always working. I’m working on research (everything is pop culture if you look at it right), films, music, etc. Everything is reliant on that internet. So, the inconvenience is more than just annoying.

I use two different internet companies right now. I’m going to call them out because they both give me grief whilst giving me “life.” They are Time Warner Cable and X1 Communications. I have TWC at home and X1 in the studio. I’m not placing blame on either individually but on both at the same time. I will say that TWC does it more than X1 anymore.

I’ve never had a problem with TWC at home until the last few months. Netflix and Amazon are constantly buffering because, somehow, as much as I pay for internet, it doesn’t seem to be getting enough back end to push through the signal. I never really believed the “throttling” thing and I’m not so sure it’s real now, but something is definitely going on. Last night the internet went down and I couldn’t do anything. I was stuck. I could watch regular TV and did, but I had things that I wanted to watch but couldn’t. Stuff happens and I get that. Can TWC help it? Maybe or maybe not.  But it’s not helpful.

I want to reiterate that I love technology and I love what I do. It just shows that I am so reliant on tech and the internet and really, I’m okay with that. But, I also reserve the right to be upset when the companies let me down. Just how it is. How reliant are you on tech? Social media? Let’s talk about it!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” – Bill Gates