Ice Climbing

Residential ice climbing could be a profitable business. The ski tourists will enjoy the sport, and they will also like relaxing in the hot tub.

Socialized Medicine

"Swedes facing long waits at home for state-funded medical treatment and operations will soon have the option of going to Thailand for private care, a travel organizer said on Tuesday.
"In Sweden, the waiting period for an operation or treatment can be anywhere from two to 80 weeks. That's a long time to wait if you're in pain...We think this offer will appeal to many Swedes," Leif Erre, the head of the Swedish company RelaxU which is organizing the trips, told AFP."

Comcast Hockey Over Internet

I heard I could watch hockey games over the internet with a comcast.net subscription. I learned they broadcast only one selected game each night. I contacted support to find a game I was interested in watching, and support was not very helpful and installed an unwanted toolbar in the web browser. I still haven't seen a game through the internet, so I don't know the viewing quality. Here are the two transcripts from support:


Curtis(Mon Nov 21 22:24:22 MST 2005)>
Thank you for contacting Comcast, my name is Curtis,
may I ask who I am speaking with and how I may assist
you?

(Mon Nov 21 20:24:50 MST 2005)>
How do i watch colorado avalance hockey through your
web site? do you have a link for me

Curtis(Mon Nov 21 22:25:28 MST 2005)>
In order to view the online NHL games, , you will
need to log on to www.comcast.net with your username
and password. Are you able to log on to the Comcast
webpage at this time?

(Mon Nov 21 20:26:19 MST 2005)>
yes i did log on. i cant find the link. do you have
link for me? thank you.

Curtis(Mon Nov 21 22:28:31 MST 2005)>
Yes, . What I can do for you, is send you a link
to the Comcast webpage that will allow you to verify
that you have the minimum system requirements in order
to view the NHL games online. As well, once you have
logged on, you will be able to view the NHL games
using Flash Player for Internet Explorer. Would you
like me to send you that link?

(Mon Nov 21 20:29:09 MST 2005)>
Please.

Curtis(Mon Nov 21 22:29:17 MST 2005)>
Alright, the link is:
http://www.comcast.net/help/faq/index.jsp?faq=Comcast_net_SiteHockey_Live18354

(Mon Nov 21 20:30:39 MST 2005)>
OK, that is the FAQ. How can I find the link to watch
the game?

(Mon Nov 21 20:35:22 MST 2005)>
hello?




============================================================




chat id : 6ced72ee-990f-40ff-8551-f23c81b62750
Problem : Comcast.net Site/Content not displayed
properly/Internet Explorer
Paul > Hello! Thank you for contacting Comcast, my
name is Paul, how may I help you today?
> Was talking to Curtis and he hung up on me.
Am looking for colorado avalance game at
http://www.comcast.net/sports/nhl/hockeylive/schedule/.
I dont see it. How do I watch it? Thank you.
Paul > I can provide what information we have
available regarding the sports game. Am I speaking
with this evening?
> Yes.
Paul > Great, thank you. The game you are wishing to
view is not listed in the line up here, correct?
> I dont see it at the link I provided.
Paul > Okay, what is the time and date of the specific
game you wish to view?
> I wanted to watch the avalanche hockey
tonight, if you provide it for me.
> The game is playing right now.
> 21 - Mon - 7:00 Calgary Home Pepsi Center
Paul > Okay, if you are not able to view it, we may
not be broadcasting that game online. You may be able
to refer to your television service to view that game.

> Oh. So you only show one or two games, not
every game? (also, i dont have tv, just your
internet.)
Paul > It does seem according to this lineup that only
one game is available online at a time, the current
service is being used for another game on this date.
> Okay. Next question - when I started chatting
with Curtis a yahoo toolbar was installed. Can you
help me get rid of it?
Paul > Unfortunately that software would be supported
by Yahoo directly. I can however provide information
on general ways to uninstall toolbars. Usually this
can be done by going to the Control Panel and to
Add/Remove Programs. The Yahoo Toolbar should be
listed there. You can also find plugins used by
Internet Explorer by going to Tools, then to Internet
Options, and then to the Programs Tab. there will be a
button called Manage Addons.
> This was installed when I started the chat
session with you guys... I guess I will figure out
how to remove it.
Paul > It was likely installed along with the Flash
plugin.
Paul > Customer has closed chat and left the room
Paul > Did you have any additional questions for me
today?
Paul > Thank you for contacting Comcast and have a
great evening.

TV On The Net

It is nice that TV is moving to web broadcasts. NBC nightly news can be seen on the net, with delay.

Passport With RFID Chip

US Passports are still being renewed without the radio chip in the cover and digitized picture data. Get your passports renewed now and they are good for a decade. It takes a couple weeks and $67.

SSN/Tax Payer ID is not needed for a US Passport.

Redwood Rejected

This is much of the old (original?) redwood from the deck. Cut, bundled, and $20 wasn't enough for the Waste Management guy to take it. I thought he would take it for $20, and I had my gloves on and was ready to help load it.
My neighbor offered to take it to the dump. Dump fee was $30. Now that it is gone I can continue to clean out junk so we can park both cars inside the garage.

Second Only To

From the link in the title, "Audible’s Wordcast podcasting platform will play on the Apple iPod and 160 other devices in Audible’s .AA file format, which the company said is the most widely playable file format on portable devices, second only to MP3."

- most widely playable
- second only to

How is something that is the "most" also the "second"?

Phone Lines and Energy Pipes

In the US in the 1990s, phone lines had regulations that allowed competitive phone companies to use the lines from the incumbent service provider. The incumbent provider (owner of the copper) was paid a monthly fee for use of the copper. (This regulation has recently been restructured.) The competitive phone provide would provide new service packages and often cheaper service to the consumer.

In Canada, the natural gas pipes to homes are owned by the pipe infrastructure provider. Users can contract with any gas provider to provide gas through the pipe, which is measured at the residence. The user pays a pipe transmission fee along with the gas usage fee. The gas provider can provide different plans, such as locking in a gas rate before price rises in the winter.
In the US, a regulated utility provides the gas along with the pipe. Allowing other companies to rent the transmission pipe from the incumbent provider would allow other companies to provide choice to the consumer. This would lead to more innovative pricing (such as price hedging).

Boogie Woogie

Boogie Woogie and Steve Dore have a few songs available on their web site for download and listening.

SILVER SOLUTION
CONTEMPORARY SOLUTION
GOLDEN EAGLES
HISTORY REPEATS AGAIN
HOLE IN THE WALL
Check them out.

Sonic Device

The cruise ship that should not have been too close to Somalia and was attacked by pirates apparently had a sonic defense. Maybe the captain was emboldened by his defense and his over-confidence led him to sail too close to a dangerous country.

Long Distance Non-Line-Of-Site Networking

Navini networks has some wimax deployed in the field. A base station near an internet connection pointed at the remote wimax modem can provide a connection. Craft a reflecting antenna around the back side to direct the beam. Navinia sells the base station with either omni or sectional antenna. The sectional antenna base station should peform better.

The Junxion Box takes a PC Card and shares the connection via Ethernet or wifi. This is useful with Verizon BroadbandAccess wireless data service, and could be used to back up the primary connection.

Lumin makes a portable wifi repeater with solar cell and battery. This could be a nice package to squat on a ridgeline that has line of site between the source and destination. A backup link such as IDSL or Verizon wireless broadband would be useful as a fall back.

FCC and FAA allow towers up to 200 feet without paperwork and a flashing red light. If this could provide line of sight, then it might even be possible to sell tower space to a wifi provider or Verizon. Remember to ground the tower and consider wind loading and power supply.

Speakeasy can provide DSL, IDSL for those further away from the CO, and T1. Speakeasy has a reputation for good reliability and low ping times. They provide quotes via email by submitting a service address and service phone number.
IDSL is usually more expensive than ordinary DSL and bandwidth is about 130K. With a bandwidth shaper, this could be used for interactive command line work or as a backup link.

Bandwidth prioritization can make a small pipe feel more snappy.
Hawking sells an inexpensive appliance named Broadband Booster that can provide traffic prioritization, though it is not very configurable. This would be useful if running VOIP in a home office. You can also roll your own with an old PC, linux, and bandwidth shaping software. More expensive enterprise class products are available.

For power outages, install a large UPS with a generator or solar cells. Or get a tiny (10 miunte capacity) UPS with a whole house generator. A 10kW Cummins Onan generator (natural gas or propane) with automatic transfer switch is nearly $5000 (including shipping, plus installation).
This wind turbine looks interesting, if you have large UPSs for times when there is less wind.

Ascared

My neighbors' Halloween spookiness has me ascared.

Comcast Outage, Again

Comcast internet was out again today for a few hours. I spoke with Frank and he said that a one day credit is issued if the service is out for 24 hours. The hours don't accumulate over the month.

When it works it works and when it don't it don't. Maybe it is time to go to DSL and a provider like speakeasy.net. Last time I checked the copper here was only good for IDSL.

Soviet-Era Compound

NEW YORK (AP) -- The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement, the Washington Post reported. The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries...