Moving (Sucks)

[Pradeep]

Well I had numerous cold Kileny Irish Red beers to see you thru. Wierd thing over here in the US is that they don't tell you what the alchohol % is or how many standard drinks it contains on the label. Must make it bloody hard to avoid getting busted for drink driving.

 

[Mercutio]

1. Link
2. Didja hear about the australian woman who blew a .41 when she got pulled over last week? Set a world record. Most Drunk without being dead (female). I imagine y'all can probably find a link to that one on your own.

 

[Pradeep]

Bloody hell, I'm halfway thru mopping up the toilet floor after the dunny just backed up and flooded out. Sadly the US design of having the bowl half full of water before flush means that overflow is almost inevitable, a superior Aussie dunny has bugger all water in the bottom and can take a full tank without spillage.

High point of this arvo is that at least I'm not cleaning up the remnants of a Beer Dump Just yellow water.

 

[e_dawg]

What are you doing in the US for such an extended period of time, Pradeep?

 

[Pradeep]

Waiting for deer season to begin :mrgrn:

 

[e_dawg]

That's nice... but what about work? Did you transfer here? Living in an apartment, from the sounds of it... I thought you were on vacation before... I'm confused.

 

[flagreen]

I think he should start paying Taxes. Deer don't grow on trees you know.

 

[Pradeep]

e_dawg: I'm staying with a friend. It's a long vacation.

flagreen: I paid close to US$200 for my non resident big game and small game hunting permits last year. I think I've been taxed enough. Especially when a resident Super Sportsman (which includes hunting pretty much anything that moves, including underwater) license costs around $60. Super sportsman non resident is about US$250.

And needless to say I spend plenty on taxes at BustBuy, CompUseless and CircuitSluts

 

[flagreen]

Pradeep you do know I was only kidding right?

BTW what does one hunt underwater? We have alligators down here but you don't have them in NY do you?

And what do you hunt when you're back home in Pullywhateveritis?

 

[mubs]

e_dawg, the man is independently wealthy. :wink:

 

[Pradeep]

Pradeep you do know I was only kidding right?

BTW what does one hunt underwater? We have alligators down here but you don't have them in NY do you?

And what do you hunt when you're back home in Pullywhateveritis?

Yeah I know

One hunts fish underwater. Tho they do seem to frown on the use of explosives for such things.

Wallabies mostly, and rabbits. This year I think I may go out in muzzle loader season, gives me a week of early hunting.

 

[e_dawg]

e_dawg, the man is independently wealthy. :wink:

I see. So he's keeping it real by slumming it with the homies at SF? :mrgrn:

 

[Mercutio]

Just today I managed to clear a space in my garage large enough to park a car. The more of this I do the less comfortable I am at the whole "owning a home" thing.

 

[e_dawg]

Did you consider buying a condo before you went down the path of buying a house? I say that because us single guys tend to prefer condos/lofts over houses. What made you decide on a house?

-----------------

On a related note, I have been condo shopping recently and have been wondering how do people choose the "right" one. I know which one I want, but (obviously), it's more than what I would like to spend, and the $/sq ft ratio isn't as good as some of the other units on my list. But how much value should one assign to things like a better layout/design, better finishes, extensive glazing, double exposure, and of course, location?

Anybody have any advice for valuing condo units?

 

[Mercutio]

I ordered DSL service today from Verizon. Supposedly I'll have it by the 8th of the month. Hopefully I'll have my own wiring done by then.

I'm pretty sure the service I'll get will be crappy and pathetic, but it'll be faster than a modem and always on, which in my opinion is a good start.

 

[Buck]

I ordered DSL service today from Verizon. Supposedly I'll have it by the 8th of the month. Hopefully I'll have my own wiring done by then.

I'm pretty sure the service I'll get will be crappy and pathetic, but it'll be faster than a modem and always on, which in my opinion is a good start.

That should be an excellent start Merc. You'll be able to allow for images while browsing the net.

 

[flagreen]

Merc,

I've had Verizon DSL for over a year now and I'm very happy with it. It's fast enough (177kbs downloads) and very reliable. It does hurt that the monthly rate dropped from $59 to $39 recently either.

 

[e_dawg]

That's excellent news, Merc! Pass the cigars around Broadband is truly one of god's (or your deity of choice) gifts to computer users.

 

[CougTek]

It does hurt that the monthly rate dropped from $59 to $39 recently either.

Really? Strangely, I would be quite happy if my provider would do something similar. Guess it's another cultural change between Québécois and Americans ;-)

 

[Mercutio]

No deity of choice here, e_dawg.

And flagreen, DSL service levels are in large part a function of distance from a CO. Which is why the lucky guy across the street from the Central Office can get 7Mbps service while the guy a half-mile away only gets 384kbps, for the same money.

As it happens, some DSL providers then offer service tiers and artificially reduce bandwidth, but it doesn't look like Verizon is doing that.

Are you using using PPPoE for connectivity and authentication?

 

[flagreen]

Are you using using PPPoE for connectivity and authentication?

Nope.

 

[flagreen]

Merc,

BTW - I have 1.5 Mbs service which Verizon checked for availability in my area before installation and then confirmed by testing afterwards.

Using an online testing service I get the following results from testing performed by a server in Los Angeles (I'm in Florida);

2003-10-01 14:42:10 EST: 1132 / 108
Your download speed : 1132709 bps, or 1132 kbps.
A 138.2 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 108932 bps, or 108 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

I frequently get 170K/bs transfer rates while downloading files. Not as good as cable but fast enough for me.

I can use tweaks to up that speed a bit but it's not worth the BS to use them.

We have three PCs connected through one modem currently and if I remember correctly we are allowed up to eight PCs on my connection.

 

[Howell]

Which is why the lucky guy across the street from the Central Office can get 7Mbps service while the guy a half-mile away only gets 384kbps, for the same money.

I am 5 blocks from the CO and I get the maximum 1.5. The top rated speed is good for 1500ft or something like that.

 

[Mercutio]

Your provider is artificially limiting your bandwidth, Howell.

Every once in awhile you'll hear from someone close to a CO whose DSL ISP doesn't do that.

Example from the "How Fast is Your Connection" thread from some time ago:

I'm very spoiled..

 

[Howell]

Steve has a cable modem.

ADSL is different from HDSL, IDSL and VHDSL and requires different equipement. You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is artificially bandwidth capped.

 

[Mercutio]

That is my understanding based on conversations with telco guys in my area. I also know that GTE's first DSL rollout in Indiana had some customers reporting 5Mbit connections.

 

[e_dawg]

You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is artificially bandwidth capped.

??? You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is NOT artificially bandwidth capped. Most broadband service is bandwidth capped to my knowledge.

 

[e_dawg]

I am getting much higher throughput these days, BTW. My service is officially 1 Mbit/s down / 160 kbit/s up, but DSL Reports measures it at:
2003-10-01 21:38:09 EST: 2609 kbps down / 672 kbps up

 

[e_dawg]

Arggghhh! I now know why my throughput is so high: my ISP switched me to the Ultra plan without even asking me! I am not happy about that at all. I was just about to yell at some poor customer service shmuck, but they are not open past 8 PM. They will feel my wrath tomorrow.

 

[SteveC]

You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is artificially bandwidth capped.

??? You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is NOT artificially bandwidth capped. Most broadband service is bandwidth capped to my knowledge.

Yep. ADSL is capable up to 8Mbps at 9000 ft, and 2Mbps at 12,000 ft (see the bottom of this page), but I don't know of any DSL providers that provide that as the standard service. Also, all cable providers in the US are capped, except Cablevision, which is what I have.

 

[Howell]

You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is artificially bandwidth capped.

??? You are the first person I know of to suggest that ADSL is NOT artificially bandwidth capped. Most broadband service is bandwidth capped to my knowledge.

Yep. ADSL is capable up to 8Mbps at 9000 ft, and 2Mbps at 12,000 ft (see the bottom of this page), but I don't know of any DSL providers that provide that as the standard service. Also, all cable providers in the US are capped, except Cablevision, which is what I have.

On the one hand I'm glad to learn that it's not a technical limitation. On the other hand...

 

[e_dawg]

How's this for cheap broadband service?

$27 CDN/month ($19 USD/month)
1.5 Mbit down
320 kbit/s up
10 GB combined up/down monthly limit
Add static IP for $4/month ($3 USD)
Add 10 GB extra monthly bandwidth for $4/month ($3 USD)
Does not include the ADSL modem rental, but you can use any modem that adheres to G.lite and G.dmt standards (going price for such a modem is ~$90CDN / $65 USD)

Ontario and Quebec residents
http://www.ontariodsl.ca/ontario_dsl_lite_edition.htm

 

[e_dawg]

Add 10 GB extra monthly bandwidth for $4/month ($3 USD)

Acutally, that should be $3/month CDN ($2.10 USD) for 10 GB of additional monthly bandwidth

 

[jtr1962]

How's this for cheap broadband service?

$27 CDN/month ($19 USD/month)
1.5 Mbit down
320 kbit/s up
10 GB combined up/down monthly limit
Add static IP for $4/month ($3 USD)
Add 10 GB extra monthly bandwidth for $4/month ($3 USD)
Does not include the ADSL modem rental, but you can use any modem that adheres to G.lite and G.dmt standards (going price for such a modem is ~$90CDN / $65 USD)

Ontario and Quebec residents
http://www.ontariodsl.ca/ontario_dsl_lite_edition.htm

I'm jealous. I can't get broadband for any less than $45 US per month(and that's Time Warner's "special rate" if you already get their cable TV, otherwise it's $60 per month). I would switch in a heartbeat for $19/month(10 GB bandwidth is enough for me and I don't care about a static IP). Maybe I'll run a 400 mile coax to Montreal. :mrgrn:

 

[blakerwry]

we definately need to do something. It's crazy. Decent cable/DSL Internet access should be like phone service. Available and reliable at a reasonable price.

$20-30 seems reasonable to me. I can see caping the speed, but I'd prefer reasonable traffic caps at say the same amount of data that can be transfered in 8 hrs a day at full speed over the course of a month. None of this 2-4 GB crap you have in Canada.

 

[e_dawg]

$20-30 seems reasonable to me. I can see caping the speed, but I'd prefer reasonable traffic caps at say the same amount of data that can be transfered in 8 hrs a day at full speed over the course of a month. None of this 2-4 GB crap you have in Canada.

Huh? 2-4 GB? Are you talking about monthly up/down traffic? It's usually 10 GB combined a month.

 

[blakerwry]

i guess it depends on the ISP. One of the few Canadians I've talked to personally Seemed to be in a crappy situation. DSL internet that was maybe $60 a month after all was said and done. And that was only downloading 5GB or so a month... Aparently he is charged maybe $40 a month and has a pretty low traffic limit.. maybe 3 GB a month. He goes over his limit very often and has to pay several dollars per GB... about $5-10 sounds about right...


Maybe he jsut isnt in as populated an area, but I think he really gets about as bad a deal as some of the more rural people here in the US who are forced to use only 1 company for phone, TV, and internet. They're usually stuck with high prices and reletively poor service.

 

[e_dawg]

Could be, but isn't he's paying in CDN dollars, which would mean it's 40% cheaper with the exchange rate? I have never heard of broadband ever being more than $44.95 CDN/month ($32 US) in Canada for the typical 1-1.5 Mbit ADSL/cable service. Conversely, I have noticed that many people in the US pay something like $40 US for half the speed (384-768 kbit/s).

 

[e_dawg]

Come to think of it, if there's one thing Canada leads the world in, it's cheap broadband available to 90% of the population... that, and of course, hockey, and donuts

 

[CougTek]

Thanks e-dawg for the pm about the broadband deal, but I just subscribed yesterday to a new promotional offer by Videotron. Haute Vitesse Extrême they call it. They gave me the cable-modem I've been renting for 10$/month for the last three years, plus remove my download cap (all : down and upload) and increase my bandwidth to 4Mbit down/640Kbit up.

And all this will cost me 39$CDN per month. I'm all :mrgrn: