A couple of matters, and I need to do this quickly. Our Internet signal degrades as people awake and turn on their devices. I can already see things slowing down at 7AM MDT. Later in the day, as people turn on streaming services and little Johnny decides to do some gaming with his friends, our signal will be so intermittent as to be unusable.
This has always been the problem we face with Centurylink (CL) Internet service. We moved here in 2010, and at that time CL offered 1.5 mps, and oddly, that was all we needed. Our TV was supplied by DirectTV, and we did no streaming. For a brief period we switched to a company that beamed their signal from a nearby mountain. The installation technician said that day that signals could range as high as 7 mps, but he was lying. It was 1.5 mps. The company cut back all of its clients to that level to allow for more customers and to make a few more $$$. Since that was all that CL offered, no one up here in the foothills had choice. The dish on our front porch was ugly, so we gave it back to them and went back to CL.
CL has slowly, over time, improved the strength of its signal, so that right now as we speak we are receiving 14.197 mps, and that will stay relatively constant throughout the day even as our modem goes on the fritz, the signal dies, and little Johnny wins at Dungeons and Dragons (pardon me if I am behind the times, that is the only online game that comes to mind). If I attempt to watch TV say at 5PM today, I will get that little revolving circle that says “go do something else.” That should be Centurylink’s brand logo on all its products.
We got rid of DirectTV a couple of years ago, as their business model is defunct now. They will not budge, however – to watch one favorite channel requires that we buy 60. I asked the salesperson on quitting if we could pick and choose … no, she said. The movement away from Direct and Dish is soon going to place them in the same league with Blockbuster.
So our problem with CL is that there is a switch box two miles away from us, and a long line of customers, and we are at the end. What is happening now, as I write this, signal degradation, will always be the case. So on Monday a satellite network, Viasat, will come and install a dish and we will convert everything, phone and Internet, over to them. (Our only other choice was Hughes.) I have a $200 C4000LZ modem that I will sell on Craigslist for maybe $100 – half price seems to work there.
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And, the ankle. I had an MRI a couple of weeks ago, and indeed have a torn tendon. All the while before seeing a foot and ankle specialist, processionals (including a podiatrist) were telling me that I had a ligament problem, and that it would heal. The physical therapist that I went to spent the several appointments massaging those ligaments, a nice lady, and clueless. I went to a local clinic for an unrelated matter, and a MD saw me instead of a PA. I noticed right away that he was sharp and quick on his feet, and we quickly resolved the unrelated issue. He noted on his screen that prior to that time I had seen a PA regarding the ankle, and he asked to have a look. He poked around the swelling, eight months after the fact. “That’s a tendon,” he said, not a ligament. The ski boots I wore on the day of the accident would have protected the ligaments. He suspected a tear, and suggested I see a specialist.
It is a torn Peroneus (Longus or Brevus I do not know) tendon, and will not heal on its own. On October 3 I go under the knife once again, and this time recuperation will be a real interruption in my life. I’ll be on crutches for two weeks, then a walking boot for another three.
During that time I will not be able to drive. We live in a house with three floors, and two staircases with 14 steps each. Our front and back deck are raised and have ten steps each. So I have decided that during the two week initial recovery period, I will stay home, no gym or shopping. I will live on the main floor, and to move from floor to floor, if necessary, I will sit down and move on my rear end.
The doctor said that stitches in the tendon will be like those on a baseball, and that recovery will be full. He said I should be up and moving naturally for the next ski season. For my wife and I, we plan, when skiing, to stay in communication and view of one another, so that if one of us falls, the other is there to help. That was my o problem that day, January 30th, that I fell, was alone, and to get up I placed full weight on my poles and forced the ankle from flat to straight up, tearing the tendon. Man that hurt.
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Ha! Internet it auto saving this post, meaning that the signal is degraded in full. The “autosave” is not happening. Little Johnny must be up and at his console this Saturday away from school. I now need to reboot the modem, and when it comes back on, I will post this before the signal goes away again. No more Internet today. Thanks, Centurylink.
Piece of Mindful 