Spectrum PS

 

graphics by Bing AI and MadSnapper

My first thought Christmas morning, when I found the internet gone, that I had lost my tether to the E-World, was, oh no, do I have enough books downloaded in kindle to have books to read if I have no internet?

 My second thought was, its OK Sandra, you are 2 miles from the library and can go there and download books to the kindle or even check out a big print. 

I also realized, Spectrum comes with hundreds of HOT SPOTS all over the town where I could hook up on my laptop and download books OR even sit in the car and chat with bloggers all over the earth. I just have to remember to take the Spectrum password. 

Next I decided to see what I could do on my desktop that required no internet access. While waiting for the cable guy I sat at the desk top, typing  my yesterdays post and this one, into Neat Office which is the free version of Word that I refuse to buy since it is now monthly not one time purchase. I found it works without the tether to the E world. 

While checking out what could be used without the tether, I also stumbled on a new edit program that works offline that I did not know was there. 

Doesn't this AI creation look just like me? And I was praying over what to do with out access to the E-world. What would you do if you lost your E-world access?

Christmas Miracle???

 

For the past 3 days, several times a day, I saw the error come up, that what ever I was doing, had been dropped. Intermittent Loss of Internet. I thought, Spectrum will repair it, we have all new Modem and Router.  

Christmas Eve, we were watching a movie on Netflix and about 30 minutes from the end, Pouf, it was gone.  I found it and it loaded and loaded and loaded. I went out and came back and we watched to the end.

Got up Christmas morning and NO INTERNET, nothing worked, no phone. 

Christmas Eve, intermittent dropping of internet, on/off/on/off. I thought, its Christmas Eve, I can live

with this until Tuesday.

WRONG!

4 AM, Christmas Day! NO INTERNET!  I did the reboot thing, nothing happened!

Thinking I will call Spectrum but it IS Christmas morning, but I will try it.

The help me line at Spectrum is 611 on our home phone. Oy Vey! no home phone. I remembered my What if Self  had entered the number in my contacts and named it Spectrum 611 allowing me to say Call Spectrum and it began to ring. 

The young woman who answered was as nice as Santa Claus. I said Merry Christmas, sorry you are working on Christmas day but my tether to LIFE, INTERNET and phone are GONE…She laughed out loud and said I do know what you mean about that tether to life.  

She directed me through the steps of tests, explained modem and router, which is which, AGAIN. One step was dragging bob from the DVR on the Big Screen, to unscrew/screw back the cable, since my fingers have no strength.

 An hour later, she said, please hold, I will check to see if you can get a repair appointment tomorrow. (don’t be alarmed at the hour long call, we were chatting and laughing and exchanging Christmas stories about gifts we did not want) we both made each others day.

She came back after hold, with, Merry Christmas, there is ONE available appt left for today, between 9 and 10.

 Will that work? Ha ha ha OF COURSE IT WILL. 

The repair man appeared at 10:06 and left at 10:45, and I was tethered back to all of you, my friends. He simply replaced the modem, the brand new, one week old modem, and every thing was fine. 

God bless these people who work on Holidays and Thank you Spectrum... 

Coming to you from my bed

 

My veins in my leg have me finding ways to blog without legs hanging down. the plaid is the tips of my toes, they are propped higher than my heart to let the veins drain back up, the valve at the bottom has stopped working, I used a pillow, a neck pillow and my chromebook, with 3 pillows to let me recline..

This is the reason for all the  photos and fewer words.

I had planned and almost done a post for today to show you all the decorating I did when I said I would not. 

Then I got a message from Spectrum Cable, that said YOU STILL have not replaced your router and modem and dvr. please call and order it. I did, even though 4 different people said I did not need one.. 

I met the nicest young man on phone, it was only a FIVE MINUTE call and the next day a huge box of three things that said Spectrum Equipment Replacment to be SELF Installed. 

Friday, clean bathrooms, shop WM to avoid Tropical Storm coming for Sat/Sunday vist, walked my beautiful Boy Beau and all before 9.

We Self Installed Equipment in the mind blowing 2 and 1/2 hours. that included an hour of ACTIVATING what we did by using the computer.. also included, Prime, Netflix, Chromebook, Desktop, Printer, 2 phones and a Kindle reader to the NEW and better internet by typing FOURTEEN digits password, given to us to use in all devices. The printer nearly killed me, HE (I know its male, because it woud do nothing I told it to do) would not connect, I ended up uninstalling the printer and reinstalling and finally done at 11:30 JUST in time to make lunch and type this stuff for Saturday. It is sad that a year ago I could have done this all in half the time because my memory worked and I did not have to stop and THINK before I did each and every thing....

Proof I did put out 5 Santas and I did put out another tree.. 

Spectrum Part 3

 

Bing Creator AI and MS this is what she sounded like to me

continued from Spectrum Part 2  

Before I tell you about the chat, in case you are to tired to read it, the sweet girl took my bill down by 20.00 a month. The router works well.  When I got the thank you for changing to your upgrade, fine print said, you are now good for 1 year. I am thinking the 20 will come back at the end of the year. 

My chat with the Sweet Young call center girl started with words I can't remember while she ran a program for me.

 

She said: I can’t go anywhere without my phone. My granddad said put your phone down and handed me a map and I said, what is this? He said this is a map, to find your way where you are going. I said I just ask my phone. He said, what would you do without your phone? What if you lose it? What if it dies. 

I said to her, I am good with a map, I mapped our trip from Maine to Napa Valley CA, using an Atlas when we were driving a semi. 

Her answer “what’s an Atlas? 

I answer: It's A book with a map of a state on each page, you follow the one, to find how to get to the next highway.

   

She says, REALLY?? I've never heard of one. I had not seen a map until Grandpa handed me one.

I said, if I ask you for directions to McDonalds, could you tell me the streets?

she said, no, not without asking my phone. I said, do you know what street it is on, the one nearest to you? She answered I can drive to McDonalds without my phone, but, No, I would have to look it up on my phone to get the address.

Remembering the lost pizza delivery girl a few weeks ago, I said to her, if you were delivering pizza to my house, and you called and said you needed help, and I asked if you were going East or West on 17th could you tell me? She said absolutely not. I said do you know directions, North, south, east west? the answer was No… I said, if you called 911 and they said, which side of the road are you on? North or South bound, would you know?  She said I would just tell them my GPS coordinates and they would come.

she laughed and said when grandpa said, find your mile marker, I said what's a mile marker?

She is helpless without her phone. Her generation can't use a phone book, or a map, or give someone directions. 

It is not just that generation, both my sons are in their late 50's and so is the lifeguard at the Y. I once asked her where she got her hair cut and she said, next to McDonalds. I said which street. she said, it's not on the street with Walmart on it, it's on the other street that goes to the beach. I said Manatee Ave? she answered yes, I get Cortez and Manatee mixed up.  She knew they both go to the beach but could not tell me where her hairdresser was. there is a McDonalds on both streets.

The basics of knowledge are gone from 2 generations. 

I told the girl, I should start a class online, and call it What to do if your phone dies or is lost. 

 She said I would take the class. OY VEY! it has just occurred to me to wonder how the young soldiers find their way on the battlefield! Does the Sergeant say SEE that Hill? point to it and say take your jeep up that hill I am pointing at, when you see 3 more hills, turn left. No, your other left. Maybe they have GPS in the jeeps?

Does anyone know if they teach basic skills in school now? Alphabet? NSEW? Numbers? I wonder if the call center girl could walk in a library and find a book by its title? 

All this is written and pondered by a person who used Walmart App to find Push Pins Saturday morning. Who buys those anymore? I did. hey were on aisle F 29, I almost gave up finding the F but did find it. 

WHAT WILL THEY DO WHEN ALL OF US ARE DEAD AND GONE AND THE POWER GRIDS GO DOWN TAKING THE INTERNET OUT?

Spectrum part 2

 

The mail person brought the above letter from our cable tv/internet/phone provider, explaining changes going into effect 12/23/23 and letting us know we needed a new router to accommodate the new better faster Internet and info on how to pick one up and install ourselves. Instant flashback to the last self-install and the words that were shouted at each other, I decided to call Spectrum, simply dial 611 and dive into

The Automated System, trying to get to a REAL person.

 Auto-Person gave the long list, none of which I wanted, Auto then said, tell me what you need in your own words, HOWEVER, that did not work because I heard the words, sorry, I did not understand. 

 10 minutes working my way through automated maze to ANDY, and I asked the charge for installing the new router explaining about the letter we received.

 He had no idea we got a letter or that changes were coming and put me on hold several times to discuss with whomever might know. Third hold was the charm, Andy said you do need a router, it I 80 dollars to install, but if you let me order it for you, call us when its received, we will walk you through installation and if you can't install, we will place a rescue order, and send a rep to install it for you. 

Rescue is FREE! Great, that will work, please order it. 

Please Hold. Andy says, thank you for holding. You do need a router, but I am told if we transfer you to billing, they will make this effective immediately and they will order the router for you, and it may save you money. I will explain to billing before I transfer you, since you have been on hold so long, to save you repeating your information. Transferring now, please hold. 

and sweet young thing answers. She said Andy explained the details, but she must place me on hold while Talking to a supervisor!

FIVE (feels like 30) minutes later, she returns with, my supervisor says you do not need a new router, the one you have will except the changes from 100 mp of internet to 300 mp and that I will change your plan, because it is very old and it will save you money, and be effective within 24 hours, no need to wait until December.  

(Letter says I need a router, Andy & his supervisor say I need a router, Billing says I don't. whom do I trust?)

It's done, it took 2 hours on the phone, but I got 3 posts. Below is AI rendering of Sweet Young Thing in Billing. Can't tell you her name, this is what I heard when she gave it, Teeekpjgesas. Got it?

I want to tell you part of our conversation, while she changed The Plan!

this is excerpts from the link I gave you yesterday about giving up your phone for a week. no emails, no google search etc.  no internet. SHUDDER to even read that sentence.

“Our goal is a return to pre-digital for those who knew what it was like, so not the Gen Z nor stressed-out people who are seeking to detox. Not having a phone will just boost their anxiety.”

“Travel is complicated without a phone, figuring out where to get the info, how to get from A to B by asking people for directions. It makes you exit your comfort zone.

“I walked around the city for hours without a phone, got lost, talked to people. I love asking locals how to get somewhere, trying to communicate and overcome language barriers.

Sweet Young Thing said to me "My Grandfather handed me a ________________

to be continued.............

SWEET Thing To BE Continued

Seflies Sunday with a twist ha ha

 

. Last week this is what I saw while Facetiming with my Brother and his wife.

The faces are blurred because neither of them have any profile or photos on the Internet.

No Photos allowed, no names allowed. 

I created this because I was afraid to snip the screen for fear I would cut them off. behind the two heads were walls of books, their dining room is a dining/library combo.

Imagine their heads leaning, my mouth open talking on a background of books.

Whatever you are thinking. ha ha, So was I. It is ok to talk, they never read my blog. ha ha

Would you pay for a vacation that requires you to leave your cell phone at home?  No email, no internet, no phone contact 

HERE is the link  

For you homework, follow the link and Read the part GET LOST! not required of course, but tomorrow we will discuss that part. A tale of MS and the Spectrum Call Center Operator

to be continued....Tuesday 11/20