Here's a picture showing a test that I'm running to show how badly our internet connection is with Communicomm.


As you can see (you may need to click on the image to show the full size), there are a lot of failed packets. The test has been running for almost 3 hours, and almost half of that time, the internet was unaccessible. Also, you can note that the average response time for the data that does actually get through is high.

So, take my advice. If you have the choice between Communicomm and another ISP, choose the other. With Communicomm, we've had nothing but bad customer support, high prices, excessive downtime, low bandwidth, and filtered packets (see the post several days ago). Cox Communications is an excellent cable internet provider. If you have them in your area, go with them. I've used them for twice as long as I've used Communicomm when I lived in TX, and I can't remember more than 5 minutes of downtime. I can't say that their customer service is better though, because I've never actually had to use it. That's a good thing, though, heh.

Well, time for some pictures. First, my new pickup. It's nothing special, but we finally have that second vehicle, yay!



Next is a picture of our newest addition to the family, Elise Hannah Fox. In this picture, she is almost 7 months old, and, can you believe it, smiling!



Next is a picture of my cousin, Jamie. This picture is inside Anna's house in Detroit, TX. I believe this picture was taken the day after his father, James, passed away.



Finally, a picture of my other cousin, Amber, holding Elise. She is pregnant in this picture, although you can't really tell it, with her second baby. Her first baby, like ours, passed away.



Alright, well, that wraps it up for this session.

Ugh, my ISP hires such morons. I've been talking a bit with this person [edit: name removed] via email about peer-to-peer filesharing software, and his stance on why it is so important to filter it. By filtering, I mean removing the packets that I should be receiving, which basically slows my download speeds to a crawl. Here is how our emails look:

We have filters in place that reduce the amount of peer to peer programs that can be used on our system. These programs often allow the distribution of copyrighted material as well as little or no virus protection for customer’s networks. All of the legal means of retrieving music off the interent have no limitations on our networks. Examples of such sites are musicmatch rapshody and itunes. Please let us know if we can be of any more help.

Alright, I can understand why they would want to reduce the amount of peer to peer programs that allow the distribution of copyrighted material, but virus protection is something that should be done client-side, not server-side. Here's my response:

Torrents are also the fastest way to transfer legitimate software, such as various distributions of multiple CD/DVD software, like Linux. The other method of transferring this monstrosity (FTP) won't get near the speed and reliability that a torrent would. Many other services also provide for the distribution of copyrighted material (Gnutella, Kazaa, FTP, IRC, etc.). Why do you not filter these?

As for virus protection, the only likely thing you can filter would be data that is stored on the server (POP3 for instance). You're simply unable to process all the data that moves through your server, and even if you did, many viruses will be compressed using methods that your server wouldn't even recognize.

His reply?

We do filter gnutella and kazza. IRC is used for more than simply file transfers.

Peer to Peer software opens up for the spread of viruses due to the unknown nature of the remote computer sharing out the files. The pop3 references you make have no bearing on peer to peer programs. Our virus appliance strips out all attachments regardless of the files being compressed or not.

This will be my final reply on this subject. If you need any more help, please let us know.

Now, if you've been reading carefully, you'd note that my POP3 comment referred to virus protection, not peer-to-peer software. Also, as I haven't tested this, I'm almost certain that their "virus appliance" does not strip out attachments, as many attachments are legit, even so far as to say necessary, especially for businesses that might be transferring things like spreadsheets via e-mail.

Either way, wouldn't you agree that, for one, his attitude is abrassive toward me, and two, he acts as if I do not know what I'm talking about. "Gee, IRC is used for more than file transfers? I'm such a doofus for not knowing that... With an acronym that translates to Internet Relay Chat, I would never have known that it was only for file transfers!" In my opinion, I'm almost certain I've used IRC before he even had internet access. I can remember running through a shell on my BBS to connect to IRC.

I've also looked a bit into our technological wizkid here. Here's a link where he talks about banning a Communicomm user for sharing copyrighted data. Now, do you think he has absolutely no copyrighted data on his home PC? I would like to think that he does, as anybody who knows a thing about computers has some kind of illegal software on their computers. After more digging, I've found a few other tidbits about him, although I can't say this is fact.

1. He met his wife from IRC.
   
2. He's an avid gamer. Hooray!
   
3. He's older than 26, but I'd like to say 28.

Peace out, [edit: name removed]!

Income tax time! Yay! This year, we've decided to use Jackson Hewitt for a faster refund. So far, we've bought a new TV (since the old one was kinda dying), a printer, a futon, which I am assembling as we speak. I would like a couch, but I don't want to pay $1,400 and up for one, bleh. The TV supports S-Video, so I'm thinking of purchasing a S-Video adapter to connect the PS2 to the TV. Eh, oh well...

All news isn't good news, however. My Uncle, James, is dying of cancer. How I have heard is that at the most, 6 months is as far along as he'll live, but that's at a 30% chance. I feel so terrible for Anna, but there is nothing I can do. I can't imagine the pain of losing your lifelong partner, because it's simply indescribeable.

So anyway, keep the comments going, and keep clicking for the advertisers. I can't wait to see a $50.00 check in my mailbox for doing nothing, heh. Later.

Aren't dreams funny? I had a dream last night where, in my dream, I was telling someone about a dream I had inside my dream. It was some kind of joke in my dream, and I wish I could remember what the joke was, but I can't. It probably wasn't funny, anyway, as some things that happen in dreams only seem to invoke emotions that don't necessarily apply to the situation. This is most likely the case in my dream.