Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Why We Can't Have Nice Things

 Gosh, I think I just used up my entire internet allotment for the next month, loading this short video.  It is however, funny to watch and is exactly why we can't have nice things in this house.  This goes on every single day for hours on end.  It's part of the "ball" game.  

Well RATS ... try as I might, I cannot get the video to play.  Maybe you will have better luck.


 So ... on with the downloading saga.  Now that my phone is working ... sort of ... there are a few hiccups ... it was time to hit the road and try to fix my Apple watch.

Here's the problem.  The only internet I have is a small MiFi that looks like this.  I've had it for about ten years now.  Wherever you go, even to Alaska, it connects to Verizon towers and gives me internet access.  

Yes I could go to Starbucks and connect to their WiFi after giving them access to my computer (not a good idea) or even McDonalds.  Those are okay if you are just surfing the internet.  For banking and buying, that's not a very safe option.  

This one is password protected and I never leave it on so someone could hack it and use up all my data.


It just happens that at MY house, the signal is terrible.  That's one reason I'm up at 4:00 every morning when everyone else is sleeping, meaning I get access.  Otherwise I'm out of luck.  Driving down to the Church where the MiFi signal is five times as strong (don't ask me why cuz I have no idea) allows faster download speeds.

I headed off to the church to download the new update for my watch that now doesn't work at all.  I had everything plugged in and charged up.  This is the message I got once I hit the download button.  Yup .. SEVENTEEN hours.  Are you kidding me?  It only took 30 minutes (60 of actual time) to download my entire PHONE update.  

As you can imagine, I didn't sit there long.  I closed everything up and went back home.

 
I thought a little hot chocolate with a pound of whipped cream might give me some solace.  Don't let those marshmallows fool you.  They are less than 1/8 inch and by the time you stir the hot chocolate, they completely disappear.  Thus the whipped cream!!

What an exciting morning THAT was.  I am happy to say at least there have been no skunk smellings or sightings in the last few days.  Hard to believe that Big Momma was making all those holes by herself, maybe with the help of one baby.  

Today I'm plugging up all the holes I've left open.  If I see any new tunnels under the fence, I'll know to put the trap out again.  In the meantime, I've got water pipes to wrap since the temps are getting down to freezing every night now.

I hope your turkey is already thawed, or better yet, you have reservations at your favorite restaurant.  Order an extra plate to take home for leftovers!!  Thanksgiving is upon us!!

 

P.S.   I have now looked at my wrist 395 times to see what time it is.




17 comments:

  1. Of course you have to eat outside right? Sounds like a nightmare for you for sure! We had the Verizon wifi for years and really liked it, but got rid of it recently as we can use the hot spot on our phones, so we do and save the $$. Yes, it was the only way to travel with the little goodie! Video wouldn't play for us either :(

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    1. That video came from my phone, not the game camera, so it was probably operator error. Actually, thanks to the excellent example by our Governor, we are all following the guidelines exactly the same way he has. We are having big parties inside!!! Next time he might look for the cameras.

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  2. I had Verizon for years at $170 a month, but changed to At&t and use my phone for a hotspot. I get 37 GB for $40 a month

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    1. To get this plan I had to buy a $59 smart phone at Walmart

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    2. Sounds like a good deal to me! I tried to sign up for the AT&T hotspot, but they wanted to take away my unlimited everything plan. It was no deal. My Verizon MiFi costs $60 a month.

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  3. We are in the same boat as you. All we have is our MIFI with "inlimited" gigs. Which is throttled down after 15 gig, what a joke. We too have to get on line early in the morning as that is when it works the best. Even with that a lot of photos on blogs don't load and you can pretty much forget videos!

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    1. Any more, 15 gigs is nothing. I've found if I set the game camera to lower resolution, the videos load much faster and will work. I can't do that on my phone, so they take up a lot of data.

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  4. The video played just fine up here in the heart of the gold country. I think increased internet usage because of the virus China has inflicted on the world is starting to exceed the capacity of the backbone system that moves it all around and a lot of companies are scrambling to keep up with demand.

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    1. I agree ... all those kids sitting home doing nothing all day but play with their phones has definitely clogged the system, not to mention everyone working from home. Work seems to be a bad word nowadays.

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  5. I'd find a friend with Internet at their house, -OR-, call your Sheriff friend and see if he knows where secure Internet could be found. Some public libraries keep their Internet up and going 24/7, and can be accessed from their parking lot. BUT if the download is going to take that long, finding a friend's house that you can start the download, leave the watch and pick it up the next day might be your best choice.

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    1. I've been looking Dave, but have very few friends here. My plan is to make Apple do it when I go to my appointment tomorrow! LOL

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  6. Hot Chocolate and whipped cream a perfect combination!

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  7. Get a booster If you find the one you like if you use Amazon and you don’t like the booster they have a free send it back try it for 30 dayshttps://www.alternativewireless.com/hotspot-antennas-boosters/verizon-jetpack-mifi-6620l.html

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    1. Ooohhhh I didn't know they made boosters. That just might do the trick. Seriously, the tower is only two miles away. I just seem to be in a dead spot.

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  8. Hi NANCY- seems to me you could use a go to resource re: internet,Apple, & rv— you might find technomadia.com your very best answer for everything,lol- they are very good folks & sure have the answers,as they live it too.
    Apple only sends the watch update for me at 2:00 am-FYI,
    All the best.

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  9. A James. Chris and Cheri At techno are more to the high-end stuff more down to earth would be geeks on tour
    https://geeksontour.com Or kim Komondo.com her radio show takes it to another level

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