Journal - Why conservation doesn’t work

The day started out like any other, if anything there was a very nice sunrise and the light looked wonderful over the clouds:

morningClouds.jpg
The clouds this morning – click for viewing full screen

I was planning to take the cable modem back to the store because it gave up the ghost the other day leaving me with very limited Internet. I kept plugging and unplugging the power cord but to no avail and the cable modem sat there blinking its light at me a few times but doing nothing else. It kind of reminded me of the monolith from “2001: A Space Odyssey” and I felt like some type of big ape poking around at it and looking for a bigger hammer.

It had given me some warning signals a few weeks ago when the fan turned on full blast and nothing seemed to be working. Restarting it by power cycling it fixed the issue, after I got over my fear of the, “Do not unplug this,” warning label.

This time when it broke, I talked to technical support about it and they suggested replacing it. Rather than wait for a few days until a technician could come out and service the modem I decided to help out the company and change it out myself. I figured it would be faster for me and cost the company less. I decided to ride my bike down to the store to get the new modem to save some gas. It was around ten miles round trip so I figured it would not be that hard if I went down when it was cooler.

The bike ride down was pretty nice. I got stopped by a street person who had slept in the forest by the bike path and he wanted to sell me a “silver” locket for $10.00. I didn’t have a ten so I gave him a twenty and he really liked that and quickly disappeared with the cash. The locket wasn’t silver but what the heck, I knew that.

The place to get a new modem didn’t open up until 10:00 am and I got there right after it opened. There were already almost a dozen or so people waiting. As time dragged on some people gave up and left, and one person exclaimed, “I’m going to go buy myself some rabbit ear antennas, I’m through with this.”

modem.jpg
The monolith that gave up the ghost – click for viewing full screen

It seemed like about an hour by the time I was out of there for what took about 30 seconds for the person serving me to do once I got up to the counter. (Maybe it was faster but you know how time drags when your watching an inefficient process)

By the time I got out of there it was really getting hot, (people around here start to melt if it gets over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, please don’t laugh) and the ride back was less than pleasant.

I plugged the modem in and called the number they told me to call to get things setup. Nothing happened, not even a ring tone. Finally, after a minute I got a message telling me to call back again. After about an hour and six tries later a I got a technician on the line who kind of fixed things enough for me to get my main computer working.

He wouldn’t tell me how to change some of the settings because I, “wasn’t on the account.” I’m holding the freaking modem in my hand as well as documentation with its work order number, plus the last time I checked I’m at least partial owner of the house the modem is currently residing within. (The bank owns most of the house, I’m just the poor peon that pays the mortgage) Plus, I'm calling on a cell phone under the same account that his company bills to the address, which identifies my name and uses biometrics to make sure I'm the only one using it. Anyhow, I figured the conversation wasn't worth pursuing so I fixed the WIFI settings from my memory by myself but my Internet phone still didn’t work. So I had to call back the same number and luckily the automated process fixed the phone for me this time.

Thank goodness for automation - I'm getting to like the monotone messages, it is better than dead silence when you call.

I finally get all this done and my son needed to borrow/use the SUV to drive back down to basically near where I got the cable modem from, to buy a five dollar item that I could have picked up and brought back on my bike. So it ends up costing me $20.00 plus gas to try to conserve a bit of fuel.

Plus I’ve got to pay to fix the brake calipers and change the wheel bearings on the SUV tomorrow for $2200.

My theory is the more your try to conserve anything the worse it gets.

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Wonderful sunset tonight and my new cable modem is working great – click for viewing full screen

Sorry about the rant. It is actually good natured and I’m not really very upset about anything in case anyone is worried. It is very nice that the Internet works as well as it does, and most of the time my experiences have been much better. I do wish sometimes we could find a way to have everything that we need without having to go through so many obstacles to get there.


Thanks for reading! I always value your support and comments. The pictures were taken by me with my Galaxy S9+.

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Hi brother lightsplasher are you okay but I hope you are fine, I am waiting for the latest post from brother @lightsplasher.
Oh yes my brother wants to enjoy the new one from you. I have a nice phothography today I hope you like my photography.

Thanks brother, I will try to get busy and post something. I've been doing fine, relaxing recently and doing a lot of other things. I hope things are well with you too.

Yeah I understand brother @lightsplasher hopefully with brother is also good, oh yes my brother have new phothography hope you can enjoy it

Greet the spirit of brother

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Yes the view of the cloud was very bright indeed my brother was glad to be able to enjoy the clouds that brothers photo and look so bright. But I think walking by bicycle is very good for fitness and health of your body sometimes in the morning I also often enjoy my trip by bicycle.
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I have never seen a Monolit tool that handed a ghost might it look me very LOL 😁
But I believe your day is very nice thanks brother @lightsplasher have shared stories about your life today, hopefully your life far away will be better.

Thank you brother - a very funny comment on the ghost in the monolith machine. LOL.

I really enjoy riding my bike and used to commute to work on it almost every day. I still like to ride it a lot, but the roads and weather around here is not as friendly to bikes. It is very nice exercise and if I'm not riding my bike I at least like to walk the dog. The dog is getting so old now that he can't walk that far anymore though.

You are welcome brother,
I think the ghosts on the machine were indeed very LOL.

I also often ride a bike, but if the cold weather is also very good to maintain health, I also often jog with a bicycle.
Oh yes brother @lightsplasher I have two flowers in my new post I hope you like my flowers.

Photography is so remarkable,really a very good work my friend,@lightsplasher

Ha! Yes it does look like the 2001 monolith. That is one of my fave movies. It was ahead of its time in many ways and of course the brilliant framing by Kubrick is a lesson for any aspiring photographer! The man had an eye for symmetry.

In my opinion the take away from your ordeal is: one should try to conserve where you can, but not to the point of excessive worry. I cannot express it well, but the whole ying and yang of it...balance being key.

I really liked that movie and book too. Reading the book really helped me understand what was happing in the movie. Great stuff, I'm a big sci-fi fan.

Balance is really a key but tough for me to do. So many things are changing so rapidly it is tough to stay focused and balanced at times.

I like it a lot too. The book did help to clear up the movie somewhat. In fact I saw this elevator button while I was on vacation and had to take a pic. It reminded me of the HAL 9000 lol.

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I just need to crop it in. LOL

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Cool photo, nice job!

Haha! I really enjoyed the story, especially the conservation play on words and l ready for a nature post but, got a modem rant instead. Well, it was nature in a way, a good-natured rant.

Seems like the younger generation isn't as concerned with conserving because we are doing it for them. LOL I have been down that rabbit hole with the cable company and have used youtube to fix it.

I youtube almost everything nowadays

Thank you for the laugh this morning! Happy Monday! I am three days late and a tip short! I'm taking this home with me. Have a great week!

Thanks for your comment it made me laugh and smile! :)

Youtube is my go to place for video entertainment now too. It is so much better than the other alternatives. You still need a reasonable Internet connection to use it though.

Yes you feel really pathetic if your Modem is out of order or internet line line is dead. A lot of incident happened to you while fixing your modem. The end result is good that atleast you will fix the modem. so your part of the world 80 F is consider to be high temperature. In our region during summer days temperatures reach upto 120 F. Different region different problems.

My theory is the more your try to conserve anything the worse it gets

I agree with your theory. In my 2 cents opinion the more you concious about any thing it becomes worse. Any way every people have different thinking approach. Pics are amazing as well as your post. keep sharing @lightsplasher

Thank you. I do like the fact that it does not get that hot around here. Sometimes we visit hotter areas and it is very difficult to go from a more moderate climate to a very hot one. I've lived other places with more extreme hot and cold weather too, but like this climate here better even though it is very rainy and cloudy a lot. When you live in hotter places I think you get more used to it and your body can handle the heat better.

Here I use LTE modem with a sim card @lightsplasher. I bought the postpaid SIM in a black market because I do not have any sufficient requirements to get it, it comes with a cellphone SIM card for calling and texting though. I have an outdoor MiMo antenna for it so I can get a better signal.
I am sorry for your fake silver locket purchase LOL, but I hope you helped the guy a lot, maybe he needs the money to buy food, God bless him and you.

I have thought about using LTE myself but it is a more costly alternative for the amount of data I typically use. If I were living in my camper it would be very tempting to do. I think I would need to figure out some other way to mint my proof of stake coins though.

Actually I'm pretty happy with the silver locket purchase. (I see there could perhaps actually be some silver plating on it upon close inspection) Maybe someday if I am really down and out I can trade it back for a meal, LOL.

Thank you, and God bless you too.

Maybe you are just a little tired today if you have to find your new modem, I am very happy when your new modem is working and I also like to see the last shot of you @lightsplasher.

  ·  6 years ago (edited)

That was a clever play on words if it was deliberate. I was thinking of a different kind of conservation when I saw your title, lol.

What can I say? Maybe it's the season. Here I am sitting in a government hospital that used to provide exceptionally good service and it's a thorough shadow of itself! It takes them roughly 2 and half hours to even locate your records not to talk of you seeing the doctor. A patient had to go search for her folder herself. Another passed out during the long wait. Really inefficient service!

Just now though a nurse in the hospital tells me the staff's not been paid since February and I begin to understand where it's all coming from. There's a new government in town - how sad!

I've resolved to avoid the place for a while and explore other alternatives. And of cos play my part in voting this government out in the coming elections!

Forgive me if I ended up deviating from the discussion, lol! You caught me at the 'wrong' time.

I did intend to explain a bit better about how the article relates to conservation but I started to ramble on in my usual form and it kind of turned into a rant. It was starting to spend excessive time on it so I took a short cut and just labeled it as a 'journal' entry and posted it. I do think it kind of makes a point about conservation in a roundabout way but admittedly could have been better written.

Health care is so fundamental, I really hope that things can get straightened out for you with better government support. Prices on medications and health insurance have been going up a lot around here so I think it could be a problem in many places.

Take care, and I'm frequently deviating from the discussion so no worries.

Thanks!

That's really sky colour,, it seem that place is suitable for taking vocation @lightsplasher

@lightsplasher Hello, I can feel it when you have to go to the store to buy a new modem and the hot weather is very annoying when I had to go with riding a motorcycle. I will not laugh with a great story from you today.

At a certain temperature riding a motorcycle can be very unpleasant. I remember riding in the desert while sitting on my leather jacket but still feeling like I was in a blast furnace.

It is usually not all that bad with the heat around here, I was just kidding around. (Feel free to laugh, it was actually supposed to be a bit funny, lol)

hahahaha,, you really make me laugh and you make me smile. thanks for the entertainment from you.😊😊

Hi my friend! how are you today tonight buddy ?, hopefully you are fine and healthy always, oh yes my friend tonight I am bringing my photografy results hopefully my friend liked his thanks

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Hi friend! Nice flower pictures. I'm doing fine, how are are you?

Excellent photography Thank for the sharing post Many many thank my dearfriend

Wonderful cloud creation on the sky and you nicely taken it @lightsplasher. Final sunset so impressive. I think your network connection now OK. Smart description.

Thanks, I'm glad that the network is working well again. It's very helpful for me to post things, mine and trade.

Wonderful photography...the white clouds flying

Hahaha... sorry, but I kinda enjoyed that! Not being sadistic... Just enjoyed your story and I do agree with you! Cheers... :))

Hehehe... I'm glad you enjoyed the post, that is mostly why I wrote it - along with my own enjoyment of writing and photography. :^D

I was hoping you would have a picture of the locket. It does sound like a bit of a harrowing day for you but I am glad you came through with good spirits. And you are right the modem could double for the 2001 monolith ... which oddly enough I almost wrote a haiku about yesterday. I may still. Your modem was down, but we were on the same wavelength:):):)

Very nice! I think the story could have used a picture of the locket so here it is:
LocketAndModem.jpg
The new modem is behind it too. This is supposedly a slower modem but it has cool flashy lights and four Ethernet ports! The 'monolith' was cool but it only had two Ethernet ports - how can I truly geek out with only two Ethernet ports? LOL.

Anyhow, the cable company throttles my speed because I can't make enough crypto to pay for the higher speed access - oh well I'm happy. :)

That is a lovely locket. I like its etching and yes, let's hope crypto runs to the hills; so we can all have a super fast net speed:)

Well explained about not working modem of your computer and better one resolve it. Greatest smart photography collection of naturalize. Just excellent.

Wow that is very very beautiful photography and great article.
thanks @lightsplasher
have a great day.

articles that are very detailed,
I can take the positives.
"I do wish sometimes we could find a way to have everything that we need without having to go through so many obstacles to get there."
thanks for sharing @lightsplasher

Thank you. I do like to focus on the positives too.

*very nice post I like very much, the color of the sky is a trash like a box kotat very carah, before him I apologize my friend is not his I praise, still the reality of it, my friend dangat smart how to take pictures, so that, kagit also looks very beautiful , I really like it, my friend, thank you for my friend has shared a very beautiful scenery *

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I am very salute with your friend @lightsplasher. With your lightness and generosity towards the street people who sleep in the forest, when you already know the LIONTIN SILK that want to sell oarang street is fake goods instead of the original SILK, but you are so good with those street people! and you are willing to pay a price that is more than the price it offers on the fake silver. you have a very good conscience, I am proud and salute with your kindness @lightsplasher.

Thank you! I do think we are all in this planet together and none are any different from another at the core level and all are equally loved. I do not always act in the way that I feel I should though, but I try when I am able.

very nice dear friend I @lightsplasher I really like what you have said, we live on this planet all the same no one is much different her, for example its leaves of the tree of course not far fall from its tree, thanks my best friend

Good work my friend @lightsplasher.

Your posting on a problem that starts badly and continues and worse is very well done and even ... broken out of life. I have suffered this many times and I considered, as a pessimist what I am, that it is part of my lack of luck. Your story relieves me and shows me that these things happen to anyone. I also agree with your theory: the more you try to conserve anything the worse it gets. Thanks for this very good post!

Your welcome and thank you. I think we all have had some times like these.

If we do not have such moments ... it means we will not be alive!

very nice post I like very much, the color of the sky is a trash like a box kotat very carah, before him I apologize my friend is not his I praise, still the reality of it, my friend dangat smart how to take pictures, so that, kagit also looks very beautiful , I really like it, my friend, thank you for my friend has shared a very beautiful scenery ..

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Thank you. The sunrise and sunset pictures look interesting together like that.

You do things when opportunities come. I have experienced times in my life when I have many ideas coming, and I have a long dry period.
and I am sure you will succeed in this social media,
because a lot of your work is very good and extraordinary,
The contents of this post is very interesting.
I'm sure many people who want to enjoy your post,
always successful greetings

That's very nice, thank you. Things do come and go. Sometimes I don't know what to write or photograph but I usually take some type of action if wait peacefully for a bit. Always successful greetings to you too.

Hi my friend How are you today buddy ?. hopefully your health is healthy always and no less than anything and continue to work with your work is very my friend like, may you sekses always. Eh, yes today I send the photografy flower somoga buddy I like his gratitude.

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Nice flower photography - looking good.

Hi my friend! how are you today tonight buddy ?, hopefully you are fine and healthy always, oh yes my friend tonight I am bringing my photografy results hopefully my friend liked his thanks

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Good post

Good photography

Hi my friend! how are you today tonight buddy ?, hopefully you are fine and healthy always, oh yes my friend tonight I am bringing my photografy results hopefully my friend liked his thanks

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How are you today brother, how are you now brother, i always wait for the latest brother, oh yes my brother has a good photography about butterfly hopefully @lightsplasher brothers can enjoy my photography.

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beautiful natural photography...awesome to look at

Hi my friend! how are you today tonight buddy ?, hopefully you are fine and healthy always, oh yes my friend tonight I am bringing my photografy results hopefully my friend liked his thanks

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Hello brother.
How are you today brother, how are you now brother, i always wait for the latest brother, oh yes my brother has a good photography about butterfly hopefully @lightsplasher brothers can enjoy my photography

Beatyfull sky good job

Hi my friend! how are you today tonight buddy ?, hopefully you are fine and healthy always, oh yes my friend tonight I am bringing my photografy results hopefully my friend liked his thanks

image
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*very nice post I like very much, the color of the sky is a trash like a box kotat very carah, before him I apologize my friend is not his I praise, still the reality of it, my friend dangat smart how to take pictures, so that, kagit also looks very beautiful , I really like it, my friend, thank you for my friend has shared a very beautiful scenery *

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Lovely photography…thanks for sharing

Amazing sky showed in ur camera. Last one also great.
Brother how are you.
Please upvote my every post. It can help me. Please

Wow. Dua pemandangan yang sangat indah yaitu disaat matahari terbit dan waktu akan terbenam, saya sangat suka teman @lightsplasher.

hi, my friend @lightsplasher how are you doing there. i really like photography. which friends show.

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hello brother @lightsplasher how are you today good day my brother, oh yes my brother has a new post, in phothography if brother is not busy now try saudar see my new phothography, i'm glad you see this phothography thank you brother

The sunset is really Wonderful ❤️