April 2007 - Posts
I used Comcast as an Internet Service Provider at the old house for nearly 2 years before moving to Sandy Springs. Last Saturday, the cable guy came to the house to "hook up" cable and the Internet. What no one told me was that because I was simply transferring service, I needed to bring my cable modem and digital cable box from the old house to the new one. so the guy couldn't actually test the connections with the real equipment. Instead he used some kind of fancy voltometer and told me the signal was good and I should just be able to plug everything in. I mean, I wasn't even moving out of the county!
So Sunday I hook up the digital cable box and to my surprise, the TV works! Yay. I hook up the cable modem and all the right lights come up. So I plug in the wireless router, the Vonage Internet phone box, and fire up my laptop. I detect wireless right away - nothing here has changed. I open up my web browser and here is where the typical Comcast experience begins.
I am immediately taken to http://cdn/download_installer.htm. This page appears to be a Comcast page which wants me to download some kind of installer. However, clicking the button "Download Installer" merely refreshes the page. No dice with an Internet connection. The phone handset, plugged into the Vonage box, helpfully tells me that "This Vonage phone has not been provisioned for use"
So at work the next day I fire up a chat session with a service agent who spends 20 minutes trying to understand the problem. When it finally sinks in, he gives me these details:
Scott(Mon Apr 30 09:01:32 EDT 2007)>
1. The first step is to clear the cache, cookies and history in Internet Explorer. Once cleared, close Internet Explorer.
2. If you are using a router, you will have to connect 1 computer to the modem until the account has been registered.
3. Next, power cycle the modem by unplugging the power supply cord on the back of the modem. Wait 2 minutes. During this wait, restart the computer.
4. After 2 minutes plug the power supply cord back into the modem. Do this even if the computer has not completed its restart.
5. Once the computer has completed restarting, use the right mouse button and select Open In New Window on this link: http://010.load.home.comcast.net/hsitools.setup.exe. It should open to a Walled Garden site. Download, install and then follow the steps to register the new account.
Scott(Mon Apr 30 09:01:41 EDT 2007)>
This is the registration site for Comcast. Make sure you select you already have an email account. Otherwise, the existing email ID's will be lost. Once you have completed the registration, your account should be fine.
I guess I get to test this tonight. If this fails to work, I did find this following bit of helpful advice in the Comcast support forums:
Call them back, tell them that the registration software wont download and that you need to have them provision the gateway for you.
Have the HFC MAC address and the serial number of the gateway handy. That info is located on a label on the bottom or the back of the device.
Me actually finding this advice and copying it into the window with the support agent is actually what resulted in the guy understanding my problem. I guess the original guy asking the question and this answer was more clearly stated than what I was typing. Whatever. I just hope it works.
Kim and I completed our move yesterday from Alpharetta to Sandy Springs. Man, I'm tired!
We closed on the house on April 2nd and took possession on April 10th. Since then, practically every evening has been the same for us. Pack a few boxes, take them down to the new house, possibly unpack them (we managed to unpack a bunch of the kitchen), and go back home.
Last week we hired painters to come in and change the colors of a few rooms. We also hired a carpenter to come out and extend our fence. Since we wanted to put our dog door in the basement, and the basement door opens to the unfenced side of the house, we required some corrective action. The carpenter did an excellent job with the extension, turning it into a separate dog run. If we want to close the back gate, the dogs won't be able to enter the back yard but can still go outside at will.
Speaking of the dogs, you should have seen them playing in their nice big new yard for the first time. Very cute. We found a plastic whiffle ball which Spicey will chasing around and fetch for me. Well, she'll go get it regardless of who throws it, but she tends to bring it back to me no matter who is playing with her. Oh well, she'll learn.
Sunday the movers came. Ivy League movers. I was very impressed with this company and the crew. Four guys came, but we only were charged for three. They moved the entire 2 bedroom house in 2 hours and 45 minutes with no perceptible damage to any of our furniture. I thought one drawer was pushed inside the cabinet, but it turns out that it's designed to do that and wasn't harmed in the slightest. The move cost us $360 and we gave them a nice tip for their speed and professionalism.
Sunday, after the mover's and Tom Larsson (the carpenter) left, Kim and I spent time unpacking and setting things up. It feels like we'll be living out of boxes for a while, but we're making good progress. I have done the important things already - cable TV is up and running in 2 rooms! I'm still working on the cable internet - I can connect to some Comcast page which apparently wants me to download some kind of executable, but it never actually downloads. I'll call Comcast tonight.
Brendon and Heidi joined Jacey, Charlie and baby Elana (Jacey was one of Kim's bridesmaids) and Kim and I Sunday evening for dinner at our local Mellow Mushroom pizzaria. We chatted about new houses, new jobs (Brendon and Heidi are buying a new house and Brendon starts a new job today) and old friends. After dinner Jacey and Charlie left to put the baby to bed while Brendon, Heidi, Kim and I went to go check out the Schwartz's new digs. A very nice house, and importantly, less than 4 miles from Kim and I. This is a significant improvement over their current domicile, which is something like 30 miles away!
Anyway - to sum up. Packing, moving, unpacking, random eating, small home improvements, people visiting. That's about it!
Oh - one more note before I forget. Today is Kim and my first anniversary! We have the top of our wedding cake in the freezer and I'm going to force Kim to eat some of it. Beyond that, we're going to celebrate with some extremely sensual unpacking and organizing.
Do you have questions about SharePoint 2007? Come and ask your questions and talk about the new features of SharePoint.
Make sure to register for the event. http://blogs.msdn.com/geekspeak/archive/2007/04/19/next-geekspeak-wednesday-april-25-sharepoint-development-with-brendon-schwartz-and-matt-ranlett.aspx
Here is a quick note below to anyone that wants to be an MCA Architect. We have an organization that I particate in Atlanta called IASA and we are trying to get the best people into the program.
If you are interested send me an email Brendon Schwartz (support@devcow.com)
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Hello Architects,
The International Association of Software Architects is seeking top-notch solutions and infrastructure architect candidates in the Atlanta area who are interested in pursuing the Microsoft Certified Architect (MCA) designation. An MCA Board review is tentatively scheduled in Atlanta for late July 2007.
It should be stated that this has zero to do with Microsoft related technologies. However, it was Microsoft who crafted the formula for the process and is allowing IASA to execute these certifications.
Many of the members of this list meet the MCA criteria and more importantly many of you work with other architects who can participate
as well. Please feel free to forward this request to anyone you
believe is interested in pursuing this professional designation.
MCA qualification criteria:
-Individuals that meet or exceed proficiency of the seven core
competencies: Leadership, Strategy, Communication, Tactical/Process, Technology Depth, Technology Breadth, Organization Dynamics
- Architects that know and can apply frameworks and methodologies to create and deliver an architecture through the entire IT lifecycle
- Architects that are skilled and can employ multiple technologies to solve business problems
- Can translate and deliver a technical solution to a business problem/need
- Can provide business metrics and measurements to describe the success/failure of a project
If you or anyone you know in your organization has aspired to be a certified architect please contact me ASAP.
Sincerely,
Burr
IASA Atlanta
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Kim and I recently bought a new house, so this past weekend we went out and purchased some living room furniture. This is what we picked, although the photo doesn't really do it justice. We picked the sofa and 2 of the chairs. We made the purchase Saturday morning.
Then we spent a good part of the day moving stuff into the house and trying to figure out accessories and paint colors for the living room. We think we have picked the paint colors but it wasn't an easy process. Kim and I don't agree frequently on style decisions.
Saturday evening, I had to spend the night in the hospital participating in a sleep study to get fitted with a CPAP machine. It turns out that I have a mild case of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a severe form of snoring where you essentially stop breathing for short periods of time at night. This disrupts your sleep and puts stress on your body, especially your heart. So the CPAP machine pushes pressurized air into your throat to prevent it from closing on itself. This is great in theory but is a bit like sleeping with scuba gear on. Anyway - I spent from 8pm to 6am in the hospital.
On my way home Sunday morning, I had a blowout on GA-400. So at 6:30 in the morning, on the off-ramp, in the dark, in the rain - I had to change a tire. That blowout cost me $500 in new tires and alignment. What a waste - I probably had 15,000 miles left on those tires. Oh well.
Brendon, Dan, and I have all taken and passed the two SharePoint 3.0 development exams (70-541 and 70-542). We're a bunch of test-taking madmen!
Now that Kim and I are moving, we're looking into getting a new home telephone provider. We're planning to get a home phone again, rather than just using our cellphones, for these reasons:
- centrally monitored alarm systems require phone access
- multiple handsets around the house eliminate the need to carry the cellphone around
- unlimited calling (at least locally)
- phone number won't be tied to a company (my current and previous cellphones were company issued)
Currently we're using Bellsouth to provide our phone service, but we're essentially paying $60/month to get services like unlimited local calling, call waiting, caller ID, voicemail, etc. Paying that much is just nuts these days but we were stuck with a traditional phone line thanks to our monitored alarm service provider who didn't have the capability to integrate with VOIP phone systems. Now they do... So now we can consider internet based telephony.
Comcast (our TV and internet provider) offers a $43/month VOIP service. I say $43 b/c you pay the $39/month normal fee and a $3/month rental on the VIOP adapter box. This gives us a great deal of services with a nearly $20/month savings.
Vonage offers the exact same level of service, plus a few extra features, for $24/month with no equipment rental fee (equipment is free after rebate). Nearly half of what Comcast is charging and nearly a third of what Bellsouth is charging. However, Vonage just lost a lawsuit filed by Verizon over patent infringement. I doubt this will put them out of business, but it surely won't help their situation.
Skype offers phone service for $29/month but offers completely free calling between computers. Unfortunately I don't know of anyone who I could call that uses Skype so this really doesn't seem like a good solution.
Does anyone have any experience or advice in this area? I'm looking to set tihs up before the end of April.
I just found out today that I passed the beta version of Microsoft exam 70-541 - Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 development. This is a technology specialist exam and doesn't count toward the MCPD level of certification, but is still a valuable addition to my company's partner statistics.
I don't know if I got food poisoning or some kind of stomach bug, but I've spent all weekend being fairly violently ill. Last night was not a fun experience at all! I kept waking Kim up as well - it's a surprise to me that she's able to be up and functioning today.
I'm deeply appreciative of this award from Microsoft and hope I do a good job of living up to the standard set by the folks around me, folks like Jim, Shawn, and Brendon.