What's Bothering You? (The thread about what is bothering you.)

[iri]

A five-year-old boy has died after a car crash on a main route into Cardiff...

[Belfong]

This morning, I was screwed by the post office lady for not responding that I wanted registered email. I thought I was quite clear having just sent a couple of packages last week. Anyway, it's very stressful sending parcels out these days. I often wonder if I am the client or not! Whatever happened to client first?

[demik]

i want a motorcycle really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.

[tp4tissue]

i want a motorcycle really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.

Well,  yea, but make sure you only ride @ the track,  cuz you know.. you'd probably die on the streets because some dumbass decided to make an unsafe lane-change towards a drive through..

People do stupid things like this all the time,  the difference is, if you're on a motorcycle, you're almost certainly going to die or get seriously injured

[demik]

i want a motorcycle really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.

Well,  yea, but make sure you only ride @ the track,  cuz you know.. you'd probably die on the streets because some dumbass decided to make an unsafe lane-change towards a drive through..

People do stupid things like this all the time,  the difference is, if you're on a motorcycle, you're almost certainly going to die or get seriously injured

bro, i know all about that. i live in LA, ****ty drivers everywhere. ****ing texting and driving. make up and driving. -insert **** you shouldnt be doing while driving- and driving.


but i still want a bike. ive seen all the crash videos u can see. i've seen actual crashes in front of me. still want one. for streets too.

[katushkin]

Is there absolutely NO WAY you can get anyone else's service on Comcast lines?

In 1984, the divestiture (ie breakup) of AT&T (the American Telephone and Telegraph company) was mandated along with a variety of "sharing" provisions that required them to accept "foreign" equipment and assist competitors in some ways, sometimes including sharing physical plant.

The US has always required "common carriers" to be regulated in order to enjoy other privileges, and it worked fairly well until the 1970s when cable TV came into play.

Ever since, the largest carriers have been working mightily to consolidate their positions and erode consumer protections, and today have achieved nearly as much (or significantly more) monopoly than they had generations ago.
 

All the major ISPs have deals where they have divided up the country into regions and they don't compete.. There are tons of areas with only 1 true broadband provider, and the ISPs have been given billions of dollars in tax money to deploy infrastructure over the years.  They just save the money to try and buy out other companies instead of building infrastructure tho

Wow.

[fohat.digs]

Wow.

This surprises you?

The US government is owned by billionaires and large corporations who have convinced millions of citizens to avoid voting. And because of years-old "traditions" of procedures in the operation of the Senate, a couple of dozen senators can easily hold the country hostage for almost any purpose.

Social programs which actually help people have been slashed drastically and repeatedly since the Reagan years, and companies like auto makers, BP/Exxon/etc, and even Google(!) get billions of dollars in cash as government handouts each year.

http://mic.com/articles/85101/10-corporations-receiving-massive-public-subsidies-from-taxpayers

[katushkin]

Wow.

This surprises you?

The US government is owned by billionaires and large corporations who have convinced millions of citizens to avoid voting. And because of years-old "traditions" of procedures in the operation of the Senate, a couple of dozen senators can easily hold the country hostage for almost any purpose.

Social programs which actually help people have been slashed drastically and repeatedly since the Reagan years, and companies like auto makers, BP/Exxon/etc, and even Google(!) get billions of dollars in cash as government handouts each year.

http://mic.com/articles/85101/10-corporations-receiving-massive-public-subsidies-from-taxpayers

It does because similar things happen in the UK, just not on such a large scale, obviously because we are smaller and have less businesses based here. We hand out almost a hundred billion pounds a year in corporate bursaries of one form or another, but our voting system is not influenced by corporations in the same way yours is.

The thing that surprises me the most is the fact that there is just such a flagrant disregard for the consumer. We have independent bodies that monitor monopolies, and there are processes in place to stop corporate buyouts to prevent a lack of competition. The fact that you have absolutely no choice in what ISP you use, I think is just mind boggling.

[iri]

We have independent bodies that monitor monopolies

So those independent bodies are OK with BT?

[katushkin]

We have independent bodies that monitor monopolies

So those independent bodies are OK with BT?

BT own the infrastructure, but don't hold it to ransom over other companies. The only discrepancy is the rural broadband contracts that were almost exclusively handed out to them, but some rural groups have been able to gather funding to put their own fibre lines in the ground.

It wouldn't really make sense for anyone else to put in their own cables in and around urban areas because it's all there already, and as "bad" as copper wiring is for bandwidth, plain old telephone lines still carry most of the internet traffic to the suburbs...

[GL1TCH3D]

i want a motorcycle really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.

Well,  yea, but make sure you only ride @ the track,  cuz you know.. you'd probably die on the streets because some dumbass decided to make an unsafe lane-change towards a drive through..

People do stupid things like this all the time,  the difference is, if you're on a motorcycle, you're almost certainly going to die or get seriously injured

bro, i know all about that. i live in LA, ****ty drivers everywhere. ****ing texting and driving. make up and driving. -insert **** you shouldnt be doing while driving- and driving.


but i still want a bike. ive seen all the crash videos u can see. i've seen actual crashes in front of me. still want one. for streets too.

Just last year IIRC a lady slammed on the breaks on the highway to go pick up ducklings on the side of the road.

A father and daughter on a motorcycle behind her died from that.

[fohat.digs]

It wouldn't really make sense for anyone else to put in their own cables in and around urban areas because it's all there already,

A century ago, in the US, AT&T was granted the "right" to have a monopoly on the conditions that they allow themselves to be regulated as to what they did and how much they charged for it, and that they build out plant to all but the most remote rural areas. Then charge everyone the same fee. So my telephone service, with a house not very many feet from the main line running down the street, saw the same bill as a farm that took miles of wire just to get to it alone.

This was an inducement to build out the infrastructure quickly, and it worked. And, as long as price increases could be realistically justified, the Federal Trade Commission was usually cooperative.

During WW2 and the Cold War, AT&T got deeply in bed with the more secretive arms of the government, who relied heavily on that infrastructure for all kinds of communication and spying. That, too, worked for a couple of decades, but got completely out of control and was finally reined in.

[HoffmanMyster]

I am not against supporting a good cause especially for someone who needs it, but having it displayed around the site like a badge of pride seems super elitist.

I don't really care about the destiny badges but can't people just do good things? Why do we need to be "given" something for being a decent human?

I don't know of anyone that asked to be given one. I've seen people asked to be allowed into the sub, but no one asking for a badge. My understanding is that they were provided as a way to advertise the subforum, so that if someone wanted to join they could ask. It was a mod decision, not a decision made by the people with the badges. I sincerely doubt that anyone is opting to join in to the discussion at this point solely to get a badge. If they are, that is very sad indeed.

And not directing this at anyone in particular, I don't think this should be bothering anyone.  If they took the badges away tomorrow to totally hide the sub, none of the people with them currently would care, at least from what I've seen.

Holy **** people, seriously?  I anticipated that there might be some kick-back from the decision, but this just sucks.  You're bothered by the fact that I chose to take the easy way to grant people access to the hidden section (adding people in large groups at a time causes the badge to be displayed publicly, rather than the more cumbersome one-at-a-time adding and removing the badge), thus reducing the time required from many hours to just a few minutes scanning the thread and adding those who have showed support of any kind (a thoughtful "hey, we're here for you" all the way up to monetary support).  Why does this bother you?  Do I really need to go through and remove the displayed badges for you to feel better?  If you had any clue what you were talking about, you'd have seen that I specifically mentioned that any user could have the badge removed if they'd like (any many have asked for that, since they don't want to draw attention).

And a final note, the usergroup that I've added everyone to is much like the "stars" that we have.  The star usergroups take priority, so those of you who were already a member of a star group will still have the star by your name.  Those of you who did not will see Destiny Supporter by your name.  I can remove that title if you'd prefer.  Just ask. 

Not to mention that after everything is taken private, there is no record of anything on the forum, so newcomers won't know a thing about it unless they ask an existing supporter after seeing the badge (as inanis mentioned).

And the whole thing was brought about by concerns with publicly posting updates and potentially threatening the safety of those in question.  A large group of people cared enough about the updates and the people involved to go through this trouble.  This (the loving nature of our forum members) is the sort of stuff that people continually appreciate about this site vs other sites with a less personal feel to them.  Sure, I was well aware that creating a hidden section for this might cause a stir and might be controversial, but I still think it was the right thing to do.  You are free to disagree.

But...really?  This is the most bothersome thing in your life right now?  I envy you.

[demik]

Shrekt.

You soft ass mark.

[Snowdog993]

I do like the personalized monikers below the nicknames.  An example is demik himself.  "ENLIGHTENED CHERRY USER".
I'd like one myself, but I am unsure of what it would say.  Maybe something like "Model M Aficionado"

Who knows?

[absyrd]

i want a motorcycle really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.

Get this one in honor of your fallen friend.



But seriously don't get one because I dun wan u die.

[trizkut]

I recently moved to South Carolina, and with it into a new housing development.  I went to sign up for cable internet and found out that the builders signed a contract to only use comcast lines in the plans.  So I am only able to have cable internet through comcast.  This is also an area where they are testing out the new 300gb data caps, lucky me.  I stream movies and television so I use a large amount of data, not to mention my kids who watch youtube.  I signed up for higher data plan since the rep told me that plan, and ones with faster speeds, do not have a data cap.  So I bought into there bull**** and went with it, @125+Mbps.  Turns out, there is a data cap, and I have exceeded it last month, and am already halfway to it for September. 

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a lot of buffering, so to speak, while streaming movies using Plex or Netflix.  Many of the times it occurred when we were just using it for white noise, so it wasn't a huge deal.  Yesterday the wife and I wanted to watch a movie, and couldn't go more than 15 seconds without the movie stopping to load.  I check speedtest on WiFi, and it shows 0.5 Mbps.  I go to my PC and it shows 9 Mbps.  Then I connected through my VPN, to try and eliminate congestion concerns, and get higher speeds @25Mbps.  At this point I am in thinking that they are throttling me, due to the amount of data I consume on a regular basis.  I call them today and what do you think the rep does?  Troubleshooting 101, has me reset my router and modem.  I played along with no changes.  Then he runs me through clearing browser cookies/cache.  Of course no changes are seen.  Finally, after I start to get frustrated and push the throttling issue, I am put on hold for 10 minutes and told that it will be passed on to tier 2 support.

The thing that bothers me the most about all of this, is how oblivious comcast is to its customers.  Instead of actually listening to them, they force feed their **** service on people with no other options.  If there is one company I want to go down in a ball of flames, it is comcast.  They do not deserve to receive anyone's money, yet their micro monopolies are forcing consumers to have no option but to.

All the major ISPs are bad.  They have backroom agreements not to compete with each other and get to enjoy localized monopolies where their customers have no other options.  They put all this emphasis on the speed numbers but don't actually have the infrastructure to support people utilizing those speeds on a regular basis, so they use this to extort MORE MONEY out of people because no one with power will do anything abuot it.  Doesn't help that a good chunk of the old farts in government don't understand technology in the slightest and are accepting major campaign contributions from these ISPs 

[trenzafeeds]

I recently moved to South Carolina, and with it into a new housing development.  I went to sign up for cable internet and found out that the builders signed a contract to only use comcast lines in the plans.  So I am only able to have cable internet through comcast.  This is also an area where they are testing out the new 300gb data caps, lucky me.  I stream movies and television so I use a large amount of data, not to mention my kids who watch youtube.  I signed up for higher data plan since the rep told me that plan, and ones with faster speeds, do not have a data cap.  So I bought into there bull**** and went with it, @125+Mbps.  Turns out, there is a data cap, and I have exceeded it last month, and am already halfway to it for September. 

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a lot of buffering, so to speak, while streaming movies using Plex or Netflix.  Many of the times it occurred when we were just using it for white noise, so it wasn't a huge deal.  Yesterday the wife and I wanted to watch a movie, and couldn't go more than 15 seconds without the movie stopping to load.  I check speedtest on WiFi, and it shows 0.5 Mbps.  I go to my PC and it shows 9 Mbps.  Then I connected through my VPN, to try and eliminate congestion concerns, and get higher speeds @25Mbps.  At this point I am in thinking that they are throttling me, due to the amount of data I consume on a regular basis.  I call them today and what do you think the rep does?  Troubleshooting 101, has me reset my router and modem.  I played along with no changes.  Then he runs me through clearing browser cookies/cache.  Of course no changes are seen.  Finally, after I start to get frustrated and push the throttling issue, I am put on hold for 10 minutes and told that it will be passed on to tier 2 support.

The thing that bothers me the most about all of this, is how oblivious comcast is to its customers.  Instead of actually listening to them, they force feed their **** service on people with no other options.  If there is one company I want to go down in a ball of flames, it is comcast.  They do not deserve to receive anyone's money, yet their micro monopolies are forcing consumers to have no option but to.

All the major ISPs are bad.  They have backroom agreements not to compete with each other and get to enjoy localized monopolies where their customers have no other options.  They put all this emphasis on the speed numbers but don't actually have the infrastructure to support people utilizing those speeds on a regular basis, so they use this to extort MORE MONEY out of people because no one with power will do anything abuot it.  Doesn't help that a good chunk of the old farts in government don't understand technology in the slightest and are accepting major campaign contributions from these ISPs 

One of my favorite things about where I live is the government-subsidized, publicly-owned telecom company Burlington Telecom. They're not always the best customer-service wise, but check out their internet prices, it's some good ****.

[HoffmanMyster]

I do like the personalized monikers below the nicknames.  An example is demik himself.  "ENLIGHTENED CHERRY USER".
I'd like one myself, but I am unsure of what it would say.  Maybe something like "Model M Aficionado"

Who knows?

Those text fields are "Custom Titles" and are different from "Usergroups" (what are being called "badges" on the previous pages).  Custom Titles can only be assigned by mods, and are just another fun way to customize things.  Then there's the Personal Text field that any user can edit themselves.

[demik]

i want a motorcycle really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really bad.

Get this one in honor of your fallen friend.

Show Image

But seriously don't get one because I dun wan u die.

#bringbackmoose
#mooselivesmatter
#.
# :eek:


Nobody trusts me on a bike :(

[Sed8op8]

I recently moved to South Carolina, and with it into a new housing development.  I went to sign up for cable internet and found out that the builders signed a contract to only use comcast lines in the plans.  So I am only able to have cable internet through comcast.  This is also an area where they are testing out the new 300gb data caps, lucky me.  I stream movies and television so I use a large amount of data, not to mention my kids who watch youtube.  I signed up for higher data plan since the rep told me that plan, and ones with faster speeds, do not have a data cap.  So I bought into there bull**** and went with it, @125+Mbps.  Turns out, there is a data cap, and I have exceeded it last month, and am already halfway to it for September. 

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a lot of buffering, so to speak, while streaming movies using Plex or Netflix.  Many of the times it occurred when we were just using it for white noise, so it wasn't a huge deal.  Yesterday the wife and I wanted to watch a movie, and couldn't go more than 15 seconds without the movie stopping to load.  I check speedtest on WiFi, and it shows 0.5 Mbps.  I go to my PC and it shows 9 Mbps.  Then I connected through my VPN, to try and eliminate congestion concerns, and get higher speeds @25Mbps.  At this point I am in thinking that they are throttling me, due to the amount of data I consume on a regular basis.  I call them today and what do you think the rep does?  Troubleshooting 101, has me reset my router and modem.  I played along with no changes.  Then he runs me through clearing browser cookies/cache.  Of course no changes are seen.  Finally, after I start to get frustrated and push the throttling issue, I am put on hold for 10 minutes and told that it will be passed on to tier 2 support.

The thing that bothers me the most about all of this, is how oblivious comcast is to its customers.  Instead of actually listening to them, they force feed their **** service on people with no other options.  If there is one company I want to go down in a ball of flames, it is comcast.  They do not deserve to receive anyone's money, yet their micro monopolies are forcing consumers to have no option but to.

All the major ISPs are bad.  They have backroom agreements not to compete with each other and get to enjoy localized monopolies where their customers have no other options.  They put all this emphasis on the speed numbers but don't actually have the infrastructure to support people utilizing those speeds on a regular basis, so they use this to extort MORE MONEY out of people because no one with power will do anything abuot it.  Doesn't help that a good chunk of the old farts in government don't understand technology in the slightest and are accepting major campaign contributions from these ISPs 

I have Comcast and subscribe to the 125mbps blast service. Its a freaking joke if I saw one tenth that speed it would be a miracle. Fortunately I have not seen any of this data cap Bill I can't believe they actually have that

[trizkut]

I recently moved to South Carolina, and with it into a new housing development.  I went to sign up for cable internet and found out that the builders signed a contract to only use comcast lines in the plans.  So I am only able to have cable internet through comcast.  This is also an area where they are testing out the new 300gb data caps, lucky me.  I stream movies and television so I use a large amount of data, not to mention my kids who watch youtube.  I signed up for higher data plan since the rep told me that plan, and ones with faster speeds, do not have a data cap.  So I bought into there bull**** and went with it, @125+Mbps.  Turns out, there is a data cap, and I have exceeded it last month, and am already halfway to it for September. 

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a lot of buffering, so to speak, while streaming movies using Plex or Netflix.  Many of the times it occurred when we were just using it for white noise, so it wasn't a huge deal.  Yesterday the wife and I wanted to watch a movie, and couldn't go more than 15 seconds without the movie stopping to load.  I check speedtest on WiFi, and it shows 0.5 Mbps.  I go to my PC and it shows 9 Mbps.  Then I connected through my VPN, to try and eliminate congestion concerns, and get higher speeds @25Mbps.  At this point I am in thinking that they are throttling me, due to the amount of data I consume on a regular basis.  I call them today and what do you think the rep does?  Troubleshooting 101, has me reset my router and modem.  I played along with no changes.  Then he runs me through clearing browser cookies/cache.  Of course no changes are seen.  Finally, after I start to get frustrated and push the throttling issue, I am put on hold for 10 minutes and told that it will be passed on to tier 2 support.

The thing that bothers me the most about all of this, is how oblivious comcast is to its customers.  Instead of actually listening to them, they force feed their **** service on people with no other options.  If there is one company I want to go down in a ball of flames, it is comcast.  They do not deserve to receive anyone's money, yet their micro monopolies are forcing consumers to have no option but to.

All the major ISPs are bad.  They have backroom agreements not to compete with each other and get to enjoy localized monopolies where their customers have no other options.  They put all this emphasis on the speed numbers but don't actually have the infrastructure to support people utilizing those speeds on a regular basis, so they use this to extort MORE MONEY out of people because no one with power will do anything abuot it.  Doesn't help that a good chunk of the old farts in government don't understand technology in the slightest and are accepting major campaign contributions from these ISPs 

I have Comcast and subscribe to the 125mbps blast service. Its a freaking joke if I saw one tenth that speed it would be a miracle. Fortunately I have not seen any of this data cap Bill I can't believe they actually have that

I think my BLAST is only 50mbit and it comes with a 300gb data cap, I hate Kabletown!  )

[HoffmanMyster]

I recently moved to South Carolina, and with it into a new housing development.  I went to sign up for cable internet and found out that the builders signed a contract to only use comcast lines in the plans.  So I am only able to have cable internet through comcast.  This is also an area where they are testing out the new 300gb data caps, lucky me.  I stream movies and television so I use a large amount of data, not to mention my kids who watch youtube.  I signed up for higher data plan since the rep told me that plan, and ones with faster speeds, do not have a data cap.  So I bought into there bull**** and went with it, @125+Mbps.  Turns out, there is a data cap, and I have exceeded it last month, and am already halfway to it for September. 

Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a lot of buffering, so to speak, while streaming movies using Plex or Netflix.  Many of the times it occurred when we were just using it for white noise, so it wasn't a huge deal.  Yesterday the wife and I wanted to watch a movie, and couldn't go more than 15 seconds without the movie stopping to load.  I check speedtest on WiFi, and it shows 0.5 Mbps.  I go to my PC and it shows 9 Mbps.  Then I connected through my VPN, to try and eliminate congestion concerns, and get higher speeds @25Mbps.  At this point I am in thinking that they are throttling me, due to the amount of data I consume on a regular basis.  I call them today and what do you think the rep does?  Troubleshooting 101, has me reset my router and modem.  I played along with no changes.  Then he runs me through clearing browser cookies/cache.  Of course no changes are seen.  Finally, after I start to get frustrated and push the throttling issue, I am put on hold for 10 minutes and told that it will be passed on to tier 2 support.

The thing that bothers me the most about all of this, is how oblivious comcast is to its customers.  Instead of actually listening to them, they force feed their **** service on people with no other options.  If there is one company I want to go down in a ball of flames, it is comcast.  They do not deserve to receive anyone's money, yet their micro monopolies are forcing consumers to have no option but to.

All the major ISPs are bad.  They have backroom agreements not to compete with each other and get to enjoy localized monopolies where their customers have no other options.  They put all this emphasis on the speed numbers but don't actually have the infrastructure to support people utilizing those speeds on a regular basis, so they use this to extort MORE MONEY out of people because no one with power will do anything abuot it.  Doesn't help that a good chunk of the old farts in government don't understand technology in the slightest and are accepting major campaign contributions from these ISPs 

I have Comcast and subscribe to the 125mbps blast service. Its a freaking joke if I saw one tenth that speed it would be a miracle. Fortunately I have not seen any of this data cap Bill I can't believe they actually have that

Might be a dumb question, but you're sure you're comparing bits to bits / bytes to bytes?  That 125 Mbps is really only 15.6 MBps, and most applications (Steam, etc) will tell you the speed in Bytes.  So it's very unlikely you'd see even 1/10th the *number*, when measure in Bytes.

But I suspect you might already know this, in which case...carry on...!  I know I forget this all too often and get angry before mentally dividing by eight...  )

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I am the only Helpdesk tech at my company, and over the weekend we migrated one of our systems, so my entire morning was spent dealing with the fallout from that (migrations never tend to go smoothly).

Now our web hosting provider Hostway is experiencing a massive outage, which is affecting both our main websites. Just spent an hour on hold for them to tell me what I already knew, without giving me an ETA on when we would be back up.

Oh, and I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday.

[HoffmanMyster]

I am the only Helpdesk tech at my company, and over the weekend we migrated one of our systems, so my entire morning was spent dealing with the fallout from that (migrations never tend to go smoothly).

Now our web hosting provider Hostway is experiencing a massive outage, which is affecting both our main websites. Just spent an hour on hold for them to tell me what I already knew, without giving me an ETA on when we would be back up.

Oh, and I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday.

-_-

Sorry to hear... I'm not tech support or anything, but I have a lot of sympathy.

[inanis]

I am the only Helpdesk tech at my company, and over the weekend we migrated one of our systems, so my entire morning was spent dealing with the fallout from that (migrations never tend to go smoothly).

Now our web hosting provider Hostway is experiencing a massive outage, which is affecting both our main websites. Just spent an hour on hold for them to tell me what I already knew, without giving me an ETA on when we would be back up.

Oh, and I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday.

I feel you. As someone who has spent long days and nights in a Helpdesk role, I can totally understand where you are coming from. Those bunch of ungrateful users will ***** and moan no matter what you do. Just get through the day and then have a beer while eating a meal. Days like that suck.

Not to make you feel worse, but it doesn't get any better when you move out of the Helpdesk and on to something else. If nothing else, I guess it is good experience.

[Signature]

I am the only Helpdesk tech at my company, and over the weekend we migrated one of our systems, so my entire morning was spent dealing with the fallout from that (migrations never tend to go smoothly).

Now our web hosting provider Hostway is experiencing a massive outage, which is affecting both our main websites. Just spent an hour on hold for them to tell me what I already knew, without giving me an ETA on when we would be back up.

Oh, and I haven't eaten since dinner yesterday.

Can provide qute pictures of Pandas or Spock to make it feel less painful. Also TP4 probably suggest the dinner choice: The Almighty Ramen

[fohat.digs]

Those bunch of ungrateful users will ***** and moan no matter what you do.

As a user who never calls for help unless it is absolutely necessary, I can certainly understand how frustrating it is for everybody.

Particularly after being on hold, often for some extended time frame, tens of minutes or more, you just want the damn thing fixed.

My 2 pet peeves are helpers who feel compelled to begin by re-inventing the wheel: "do you have the latest updates?" and "have you re-booted the computer?" etc, and then spinning all manner of scenarios wherein the fault or blame is anywhere else in the universe besides the hardware or software that they are supporting.

AT&T took the cake after years of my complaining and them testing and analyzing and telling me that everything is just as it should be and that the problem must be in my computer gear or the wiring in the house. When about the 5th technician came to the house is about as many years, and I spent a few minutes in the front yard chatting him up, he admitted that "Yeah, our service is terrible in this area. We are losing tons of customers to Comcast every day."

It lost another customer for AT&T, because I knew for certain that they were a lost cause, but at least I got the satisfaction of knowing that one of their employees had the honesty to tell the truth.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

I shouldn't complain too much... I did just get a 25% raise. But even still, I'm making 20% less than I should be for someone in my role.

[inanis]

Those bunch of ungrateful users will ***** and moan no matter what you do.

As a user who never calls for help unless it is absolutely necessary, I can certainly understand how frustrating it is for everybody.

Particularly after being on hold, often for some extended time frame, tens of minutes or more, you just want the damn thing fixed.

My 2 pet peeves are helpers who feel compelled to begin by re-inventing the wheel: "do you have the latest updates?" and "have you re-booted the computer?" etc, and then spinning all manner of scenarios wherein the fault or blame is anywhere else in the universe besides the hardware or software that they are supporting.

AT&T took the cake after years of my complaining and them testing and analyzing and telling me that everything is just as it should be and that the problem must be in my computer gear or the wiring in the house. When about the 5th technician came to the house is about as many years, and I spent a few minutes in the front yard chatting him up, he admitted that "Yeah, our service is terrible in this area. We are losing tons of customers to Comcast every day."

It lost another customer for AT&T, because I knew for certain that they were a lost cause, but at least I got the satisfaction of knowing that one of their employees had the honesty to tell the truth.

You see the trouble is that most people who work on a desk are required to ask those stupid questions (and they are stupid). It is equally awful for everyone involved. Further, when doing a deployment that cause issues, more often than not when you call the desk you are dealing with the person that can log a ticket, not fix your problem. And your problem is the same problem that all the other callers have. You think it is tough being on hold for 30 minutes? It absolutely is, but try dealing with all those angry people yelling at you for a problem that you did not create and can not fix for 10+ hours, all while the people that can fix it, and did create it keep tell you to screw off because they are busy and you need to answer the damn phone. The desk is an awful place to work, no one appreciates any of it. And to make matters worse, it only makes you hate calling for help yourself more than the average person because even though you know that there is nothing that can be done about it, you hate it as a customer too.

There is an insane amount of turn over on the average help desk because it is basically hell on earth for an IT support person.

[PunksDead]

Started scarf shopping for fall,

Definitely more hipster than punk,

Can I have my old account back...

[iri]

have a beer while eating a meal

Having at least three meals a day generally helps. Don't forget to eat, CLiB!

[HoffmanMyster]

Started scarf shopping for fall,

Definitely more hipster than punk,

Can I have my old account back...

Wait til you get to 666 on this one.  Then I'll reset the old one and the cycle will continue. 

[CPTBadAss]

Started scarf shopping for fall,

Definitely more hipster than punk,

Can I have my old account back...

I can't wait to see Hipster in Burberry. I can't see you in anything but the finest.

[nubbinator]

Started scarf shopping for fall,

Definitely more hipster than punk,

Can I have my old account back...

I dunno, you sound fabulous to me.

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

Those bunch of ungrateful users will ***** and moan no matter what you do.

As a user who never calls for help unless it is absolutely necessary, I can certainly understand how frustrating it is for everybody.

Particularly after being on hold, often for some extended time frame, tens of minutes or more, you just want the damn thing fixed.

My 2 pet peeves are helpers who feel compelled to begin by re-inventing the wheel: "do you have the latest updates?" and "have you re-booted the computer?" etc, and then spinning all manner of scenarios wherein the fault or blame is anywhere else in the universe besides the hardware or software that they are supporting.

AT&T took the cake after years of my complaining and them testing and analyzing and telling me that everything is just as it should be and that the problem must be in my computer gear or the wiring in the house. When about the 5th technician came to the house is about as many years, and I spent a few minutes in the front yard chatting him up, he admitted that "Yeah, our service is terrible in this area. We are losing tons of customers to Comcast every day."

It lost another customer for AT&T, because I knew for certain that they were a lost cause, but at least I got the satisfaction of knowing that one of their employees had the honesty to tell the truth.

You see the trouble is that most people who work on a desk are required to ask those stupid questions (and they are stupid). It is equally awful for everyone involved. Further, when doing a deployment that cause issues, more often than not when you call the desk you are dealing with the person that can log a ticket, not fix your problem. And your problem is the same problem that all the other callers have. You think it is tough being on hold for 30 minutes? It absolutely is, but try dealing with all those angry people yelling at you for a problem that you did not create and can not fix for 10+ hours, all while the people that can fix it, and did create it keep tell you to screw off because they are busy and you need to answer the damn phone. The desk is an awful place to work, no one appreciates any of it. And to make matters worse, it only makes you hate calling for help yourself more than the average person because even though you know that there is nothing that can be done about it, you hate it as a customer too.

There is an insane amount of turn over on the average help desk because it is basically hell on earth for an IT support person.

I log all the tickets, resolve 95% of the tickets, and escalate the remaining 5% to outside companies because we don't have anyone internally who can resolve the ticket.

Although after reading your description of the helpdesk role, i feel much better about my experience, as it's not nearly as bad as you had described. I think the worst we ever got here was one frustrated department head saying "you want a Helpdesk ticket? Here's my ****ing ticket!" as he grabbed his junk.

[nickheller]

Started scarf shopping for fall,

Definitely more hipster than punk,

Can I have my old account back...

[HoffmanMyster]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still! 

[inanis]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still!

Anything involving the face is terrible. Nosebleeds suck cause sometimes you don't notice it right away, then you look like a monster to your co-workers. Or maybe that is good if you want have an air of intimidation about you.

[SpAmRaY]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still! 

It's all the chemicals your being exposed to at work!

[HoffmanMyster]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still!

Anything involving the face is terrible. Nosebleeds suck cause sometimes you don't notice it right away, then you look like a monster to your co-workers. Or maybe that is good if you want have an air of intimidation about you.

Haha, I think the height is intimidation enough to those that don't know me.  And those that do know me know I'm too much of a softie for any intimidation to work.  )

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still! 

It's all the chemicals your being exposed to at work!

  Thankfully there aren't too many obscure chemicals here.  Mostly standard stuff. 

[trizkut]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still!

Anything involving the face is terrible. Nosebleeds suck cause sometimes you don't notice it right away, then you look like a monster to your co-workers. Or maybe that is good if you want have an air of intimidation about you.

Haha, I think the height is intimidation enough to those that don't know me.  And those that do know me know I'm too much of a softie for any intimidation to work.  )

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still! 

It's all the chemicals your being exposed to at work!

  Thankfully there aren't too many obscure chemicals here.  Mostly standard stuff. 

Must be the high altitude from being so damn tall.  The air is drier up there!  )

[absyrd]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still!

Anything involving the face is terrible. Nosebleeds suck cause sometimes you don't notice it right away, then you look like a monster to your co-workers. Or maybe that is good if you want have an air of intimidation about you.

Haha, I think the height is intimidation enough to those that don't know me.  And those that do know me know I'm too much of a softie for any intimidation to work.  )

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still! 

It's all the chemicals your being exposed to at work!

  Thankfully there aren't too many obscure chemicals here.  Mostly standard stuff. 

I think it is your height to blame. Your blood just got tired trying to make it all the way up to your brain, said "**** it, let's just leave here".

[HoffmanMyster]

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still!

Anything involving the face is terrible. Nosebleeds suck cause sometimes you don't notice it right away, then you look like a monster to your co-workers. Or maybe that is good if you want have an air of intimidation about you.

Haha, I think the height is intimidation enough to those that don't know me.  And those that do know me know I'm too much of a softie for any intimidation to work.  )

I was just about to head out to the shop floor to locate some material for someone when I got a surprise nose bleed (from, I dunno, thinking too hard?).  Ugh.  :|

I know, I know, of all the health issues to have, this one isn't nearly as bad as others, but still! 

It's all the chemicals your being exposed to at work!

  Thankfully there aren't too many obscure chemicals here.  Mostly standard stuff. 

Must be the high altitude from being so damn tall.  The air is drier up there!  )

I think it is your height to blame. Your blood just got tired trying to make it all the way up to your brain, said "**** it, let's just leave here".

Buncha funny guys around here!

[absyrd]

I only poke fun because I have a crush on you.

[HoffmanMyster]

I only poke fun because I have a crush on you.

 

Don't tell wyfe! 

Unless she's into that... 

[Sifo]

it's so ****ing cold in my house

[demik]

it's so ****ing cold in my house

stop being canadian

[SpAmRaY]

The new outlook mail app is goofy, had to go find an apk for the old version.

[njbair]

Wow.

This surprises you?

The US government is owned by billionaires and large corporations who have convinced millions of citizens to avoid voting. And because of years-old "traditions" of procedures in the operation of the Senate, a couple of dozen senators can easily hold the country hostage for almost any purpose.

Social programs which actually help people have been slashed drastically and repeatedly since the Reagan years, and companies like auto makers, BP/Exxon/etc, and even Google(!) get billions of dollars in cash as government handouts each year.

http://mic.com/articles/85101/10-corporations-receiving-massive-public-subsidies-from-taxpayers

It does because similar things happen in the UK, just not on such a large scale, obviously because we are smaller and have less businesses based here. We hand out almost a hundred billion pounds a year in corporate bursaries of one form or another, but our voting system is not influenced by corporations in the same way yours is.

The thing that surprises me the most is the fact that there is just such a flagrant disregard for the consumer. We have independent bodies that monitor monopolies, and there are processes in place to stop corporate buyouts to prevent a lack of competition. The fact that you have absolutely no choice in what ISP you use, I think is just mind boggling.

But everybody happily pays their Internet bills, so what's the motivation for them to change?

In the US, I believe the best hope for change is actually Google, because they have an interest in bringing true broadband to the masses. That will close the gap between web-based and native applications. Every city where Google Fiber sets up shop, soon after sees the entrenched providers in the area start offering competitive speeds and pricing.

This is awesome for consumers because eventually it will reach a saturation point where Google won't have to keep expanding Google Fiber because the other ISPs will have already bit the bullet to bring actual broadband to the majority of the country.