pretty cool since most of my time and organization is done via email…

howdy all

if you’ve been comparing dates on postings you’ll notice it’s been awhile since the last post.

thankfully it’s not because of lack of internet access — it’s because of the relative abundance of it this week…

yes, i finally have broadband at the flat! i did the happy dance for a long time when i verified it actually worked. so this week i’ve been catching up on past-due internet stuff. this weekend i hope to post some stuff here.

lots of research going on so i’ll post things here as they come up. hopefully you all can learn from my experiences here!

it’s been HOW many weeks since i came here?

march 22 was a long time ago…

woo hoo! successful move for this blog to my new web server. now i don’t have to worry about losing all this information if blogger.com goes under…

which i’m certain it won’t but then again dot.coms were bulletproof in ’99.

13 days till broadband in flat

i’m spending my free time with kris and the kids and my parents chatting online or on the phone so this poor blog is sitting unattended… i will make time to update this with more meaningful information, i promise!

i’m currently fighting to try to figure out how to host this blog on the webserver i’m renting… wish me luck!

also i’ve been recovering from a hd crash back home that broke connection for my church’s online library, amongst other things. i’m slooooowwwwlllyyyy rebuilding the library on my rented web server and transferring the docs there. it’s a bit frustrating since i don’t have admin rights on the web server (i shouldn’t since i’mjust renting it). Good Points: unlimited web & email space, quick response from the support guys. Bad Points: can’t use frontpage subwebs, can’t set up ftp access inside frontpage web, can’t set up ftp or frontpage security settings. It’s a bit of give and take but i’m slowly figuring out what i can and can’t do on this server. mom. vira, this means your web sites will still be offline until i can sort out the details.

14 days till broadband in flat

broadband in flat = 15 days and counting down…

it’s cold as hades out here in the rain!

Thursday
Chance of Rain. High: 48° F / 9° C Wind North 8 mph / 14 km/h

Thursday Night
Chance of Rain. Low: 44° F / 7° C Wind NNE 13 mph / 21 km/h

Friday
Chance of Rain. High: 55° F / 13° C Wind East 8 mph / 14 km/h

Friday Night
Partly Cloudy. Low: 48° F / 9° C Wind East 4 mph / 7 km/h

Saturday
Partly Cloudy. High: 59° F / 15° C Wind ENE 4 mph / 7 km/h

Saturday Night
Partly Cloudy. Low: 46° F / 8° C Wind South 4 mph / 7 km/h

Sunday
Scattered Clouds. High: 62° F / 17° C Wind SSW 2 mph / 3 km/h

Sunday Night
Scattered Clouds. Low: 46° F / 8° C Wind WSW 4 mph / 7 km/h

Monday
Scattered Clouds. High: 62° F / 17° C Wind WSW 11 mph / 18 km/h

Monday Night
Chance of Rain. Low: 48° F / 9° C Wind SW 8 mph / 14 km/h

cold. tired. sick. yuck.

jason you were right about me keeping up with this blog…

hopefully i’ll be better once i get internet in the flat. this hippie-wifi lifestyle wears thin after awhile.

“excellent”- rated wifi hotspot in front of “the castle” pub near angel tune stop.

automobile insurance broker directory:
UK Car Insurance & Motor Insurance – Broker Directory

wow communications have gone a long way. i just had a “telephone” conversation with each of my parents from back home… with them sitting 1) at home and the other 2) at work, with me sitting near a cafe in london… using a wireless laptop connection… and in-between “calls” my dad “im’ed” mom to let her know i was going to call.

then i calculated that a 55 minute telephone call to london from home costs only $2, using a well-known long-distance carrier prefix number.

try THAT in 1950.

today i witnessed the strangest thing.

the entire (quite large) room here at work erupted in applause. i inquired about what was going on and a colleague said that it was probably someone’s last day with the company. he said it was quite common for peers to applaud one’s performance and contribution on his last day of work.

wow. i’ve been pleasantly surprised to have ‘attaboy’ and ‘farewell’ lunches in the States, but to have a room full of colleagues stand and applaud is really an awesome thing to experience. puts a lump in the throat.

london is a nice place to work.

compaq tech support rules. i’m back online.

i needed to purchase a new hd but i can send my lappy in with the dead drive (they pay the courier cost) and i should have my machine back in a few days.

the setup cd’s that came with the laptop were a dream. fully functional again after about 2.5 hours of reinstalling stuff. i had to download things (trillian, skype, etc.) from this internet connection that didn’t come with the base machine so that added to the resetup time.

crud i think i broke my laptop’s hard drive. apparently laptop hd’s aren’t built for massive amounts of video capture and processing.

more later.

woo hoo another wifi hotspot just outside (or very near) my workplace!

this one is almost on the way to work and a little more convenient than some of the others. plus the owner labeled it with ‘public’ in the name so i can assume that it’s ok for me to use — ethically.

westberry station has an ‘excellent’-connection strength wifi lan nearby — kinda flakey it seems though.

i’ll be monitoring this closely though since it’s on a DLR station that is easy to get to.

ok the wifi connection at the flat was a fluke…

who woulda thunk i’d find a broadband wifi connection in hackney?!?! on downs park road near ferncliff…

more later. en route to applying for ni number.

is it surprising that trying to get my ni number (National Insurance Number) in person was ultimately fruitless (except for the fact that i now know how to get to the social security building?

there are about 9 different numbers to ring to set up an appointment. can’t make an appointment in person (which i didn’t know until this morning), although the ni interview takes place at the social security office, which i just visited.

calling isn’t a problem… except… the lines are always busy, and the few times the phone picks up, the person at the other end hung up on me three times. making the calls from work seems to be the only way to make this happen since i’m charged 20p every time the person picks up and hangs up — or the line picks up an an automated voice tells me the line is busy and i can’t leave a message and please call back.

since i know the address to the place i need to eventually visit, my logic goes like this: i’ll stand in line and visit the folks who answer the phone, and then i’ll have priority over the callers. cost: one half-day of work.

web site says the place opens at 8:30 on mon, wed, fri. the reality is that they open at 10 am on fridays. then once i get in and see a real person, the conversation goes like this:

me: “hello i’m here to make an appointment for a ni number”

him: “sorry mate can’t make an appointment in person but you have to call first.”

me: “i understand i can’t apply at the moment but i’d like to make an appointment for an interview.”

him: “sorry mate the people who make the appointments can only be reached by the telephone. you can fax your details or mail it in”

me: “the postal address you just gave to me is this address. where are the people who get my letter? can i just go in and see them in person?”

him: “sorry mate it doen’t work like that. you mail or fax your details in and we forward the information to the chaps who make the appointments. when you get your appointment details you come back here for the interview.”

me: “let me make this clear. i have to call telephone numbers that no one answers or mail my details to you here in the office so i can make an appointment here in your office, but i can’t make the appointment here?”

him: “yes, i’m sorry mate that is what has to happen.”

me: “can i just leave my details with you since mailing them would make them appear here anyway?”

him: “sorry mate you can’t make an appointment here. you have to contact the people who make the appointments by ringing them or faxing or mailing your details to the numbers i just gave to you.”

seeing the circle of conversation starting to come round to the beginning again, i gave up and left.

funny enough, on my way back the the office i was able to get through to a real person on the phone who didn’t hang up on me, and even arranged to make an appointment. won’t it be funny if i ended up visiting with the polite yet simple gentleman with whom i visited this morning.