Subj : Re: nuts was: logs and To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Fri Sep 20 2019 00:17:36 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 12-Sep-2019 15:45 <=- NB>> One more on 7 Sept, this one at about 9:30pm.... BM> Almost beddy-bye time! ...And that probably makes more sense when one BM> is reminded of the time zone difference and ETZ's 11 o'clock news is BM> CTZ's 10 o'clock news -- I'm an hour ahead. And I tend to keep later hours anyway... Maybe a little less so when at the Pond, since I'm not able to telnet from there, so often do just go to bed instead... But at home, midnight is pretty common.... BM> That reminded me: my Mother doesn't "do" computers, so no e-mail, BM> etc., therefore it's print-and-send. Envelopes take postage, and the BM> Forever Stamps and nice/handy but after a while get a little boring so BM> I have been buying a small quantity of fixed-price stamps which have BM> various pictures, portraits, etc. Some are 'retro': George Washington, BM> Lincoln, etc. -- just looked and those are Forever Stamps. Yup, they have the rolls of Forever stamps, and then they have all sorts of commemorative Forever stamps too, now... They don't have to print all those little make-up postage stamps that way.... just the extra ounce/ oversize additionals... ;) NB>>> I was mostly not driving my car, since I'd put over 300 miles on the NB>>> space-saver spare already, just getting myself first to my destination NB>>> (it happened about halfway there), a little necessary driving there, NB>>> and then back home (the Pond is 200 miles from home)... BM>> Those space-saver spares aren't designed for higher mileage but BM>> sometimes one doesn't have a choice and just hopes. NB>> This was definitely one of those times... no choice, and just hoping NB>> for the best... ;) At least the space saver is a Pirelli, and about NB>> the same height as the regular tires... it appears to still have a NB>> goodly amount of tread on it, so I guess it still has some life to NB>> it... I managed to get up to the Pond this time without incident, NB>> thankfully... BM> And hopefully back without issues! That, too... ;) And, AIS, for this next trip (leaving Wednesday to NC) I decided not to tempt fate, and am renting a vehicle... over 1200 miles just for the round trip itself... and needing to drive on both the Baltimore and the Washington Beltways... much better safe than sorry, I figure... :) NB>>> Worst part of it was that when the tire finally came in, they'd sent NB>>> an 18", not the 17" that was ordered and needed.... The manager NB>>> caught it right away, and the supplier got the replacement into his NB>>> hands at 9am the next morning... BM>> Glad the error was caught before you were called in for the BM>> installation. NB>> The tire manager there does seem to be on the ball... :) BM> Good! Obviously the people on the shipping end weren't. Exactly... and I don't think it was their warehouse, but the tire company's warehouse... BM>>> One of the backburner projects is to get the spam call blocker utility BM>>> working; not sure how I can link it into the Caller IDs (integrated BM>>> into the phones and separate boxes). NB>>> That could indeed be a rather convoluted project... :) BM>> Yes, that's one of the holdups, other than moving the electrical. As BM>> for the NCID unit itself, that can be plugged in to the phone line BM>> anywhere; it's the getting the 'updated' data out I'm not sure of BM>> (changing the '563-123-4567' to display 'Michelle' on the other Caller BM>> ID devices). NB>> Sounds like it might end up being somewhat trial and error to get NB>> that working optimally.... :) BM> For the way I want to, yes. "Had time" to start playing with it BM> (again, since the repair to the line on the pole a block or so from BM> here) but decided to hold off: waiting for a new motherboard. etc., for BM> the Frontend to go in the TV Room in the basement -- original just not BM> worth upgrading. So decided to hold off starting/restarting projects. Probably a good idea... :) BM>> Right now 'back to the drawing board' with one of the Frontends (for BM>> MythTV -- the system for recoding and viewing television programmes). BM>> The computer I replaced the power supply and then updated the system BM>> isn't working right: locks up semi-randomly -- pausing can cause a BM>> lockup. Downstairs where its home will be had semi-frequent problems; BM>> testing up here and of course no problems! The obvious difference is BM>> downstairs using a TV but tested with one up here and no problems. At BM>> least not bored! NB>> Yeah, I guess that's the silver lining... ;) Keeps the brain NB>> working.... BM> That lock-up, etc., issues were resolved but not quite sure how. Well, BM> I replaced the video card for other reasons and that seemed to solve BM> the lockups, etc. I don't think the card bad/faulty, just the TV and BM> the card are not happy with each other. LIS the card played nice with BM> the test TV up here. Some things just don't play nice together, and not always clear why or why not... :) BM>> I'm half-thinking setting it up in the basement at the Electronics BM>> Workbench (once clean that off!) as on the first floor there is no BM>> spot where a TV (use as monitor) is close to a telephone jack. At BM>> least get the spam blocking portion out of it. Update of the 'bad BM>> numbers' is done by local learning (679-999-1234 called and said they BM>> were Social Security) and/or by downloading a file from the FCC or some BM>> government agency -- guess the WiFi works into the basement, otherwise BM>> there is an Ethernet line available at the bench. NB>> Only problem I see with that is that nowadays many/most of the NB>> spam/scam numbers are spoofed (along with the names).... so the NB>> name/number might be a legitimate caller at some point, and the NB>> spam/scam will just keep using different names/numbers... it just NB>> keeps getting more complicated all the time.... BM> Yes: "known issue". The NCID software has the option to call the BM> FCC/whichever agency and download a list of spam telephone numbers - BM> updated daily or weekly, I've forgotten which. Though of course as BM> you indicated this is a reaction: the spammers get a new number forst, BM> do their thing, number gets reported, added to the list..... It's getting so I'm not sure if the updates can keep up with the bad numbers... NB>>>> Yeah... being gone does put a crimp in doing things at home... but NB>>>> as you say, probably the weather/temps would have kept that one still NB>>>> on hold anyway.... Now that fall is coming, maybe things will line NB>>>> up to do that project... :) BM>>> And then the other temperature extreme will be the excuse! NB>>> Not if you get going on it, and can get the electrician in before NB>>> the winter sets in... ;) BM>> There's always Indian Summer! Oh: _winter_! Umm, there's always BM>> next Spring! NB>> And yet another year passes.... BM> Cue the old movie usage of calendar pages being torn off! [chuckle] BM> ...LIS in an earlier message, lately Summer again and I'm not going in BM> the Storage Area when it's 90ø out and well above that in there! Nor BM> am I going to put someone else in there. But there should be some nice fall days still to come before winter does set in.... NB>>> The real trick is to be able to distinguish what might actually NB>>> be helpful from the "oh, look a NEW way to do things" sort of NB>>> thing... BM>> Yes, agree. A rotary phone does just a good a job of being able to BM>> talk to someone as a Touchtone cordless. Rotary phone doesn't have BM>> memory dial, volume, Caller ID.... For some telephone locations one BM>> doesn't need the fancy stuff. (And no, my Mother doesn't have a rotary BM>> phone; was just an example.) NB>> There could be a problem with being able to interact with those NB>> computer generated calls that want you to press different numbers... NB>> the rotary isn't recognized by the system.... BM> I wonder if I can find my adapter? TouchTone pad which connected to BM> the phone line -- once past the 'section' where rotary was needed to BM> get to the TouchTone portion used it! I take it you've used that successfully...? I do have one rotary phone still in service (it has pushbuttons, but what you get when you push them is the rotary "clicks")... it works fine for just answering the phone and talking to a real person, but I can't dial out on it any more, and it never did do the tones needed for computerized call responses... BM>> ... I have a rotary cell phone. NB>> Yeah, right..... ;) BM> You haven't seen them on the Internet?! Is it at all like the Jackalope....??? And you know how seldom I'm looking at things on the internet... :) ttyl neb .... What are the instructions doing in the trash?? --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .