User comment history
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| News Comments > Out of the Blue |
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| 30. |
Re: No subject |
Aug 30, 2006, 20:56 |
Paranoid Jack |
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"I was looking forward to my first normal morning online in a while today, but no such luck. My connection keeps dropping and my DSL router's ready light keeps blinking. I picked up the phone and heard the familiar siren sound that phone techs use to troubleshoot the line. A look out the window confirmed what the siren already told me, that Verizon is again working on my funky phone lines. So for the record, the only day this week that my service wasn't working, they couldn't make it out here, but these two days that followed the problem clearing up on its own, they have knocked me offline to fix things. On the bright side, I spoke with this latest repair guy, and got a sense he is actually looking to permanently solve my problem, rather than slap on another band-aid. We, as the optimistic expression goes, shall see."
Sounds pretty unprofessional to me. The tech should call you prior to starting work on your line and after to verify he has restored the services. Not to mention when they arrive at the door you should be given a business card so that way when/if the line takes a dump an hour after they "fixed it" you have somebody to call and don't have to start from square one. Plus if you need to escalate the issue to management you have a name to give to the supervisor. Believe it or not the records systems are not always 100% accurate (I know it is hard to believe) so they may not be able to finger the last tech who worked the trouble.
Tell me they at least had id badges on when they arrived? If not that should be a red-flag as to the possible quality of their work. If a tech doesn't do those two things (wear a badge and give you his card) I immediately start to think of them as less than professional. No business card means no call back from the irate customer. That unfortunately is from first hand experience. I wish you luck, Blue.
edit: Not to mention the fact they never kept you informed as to the status of the trouble report. If the line was not fix the previous day why were you not kept informed? Just all around poor service if you ask me...
This comment was edited on Aug 30, 21:03. |
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| News Comments > Out of the Blue |
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| 24. |
Re: No subject |
Aug 30, 2006, 20:29 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Yeah, that works on some... or should I say most of the techs but I always check if the subscriber just added the repair plan to their services and/or had a recent visit.
So I trouble shoot it but I won't fix it free of charge if they just jumped on the band-wagon. 
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| News Comments > Into the Black |
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| 11. |
Holy Guacamole |
Aug 29, 2006, 21:09 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High (search).
The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.
"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," school Principal Diana Russell (search) said.
State police, Clovis police and the Curry County (search) Sheriff's Department arrived at the school shortly after 8:30 a.m. They searched the premises and determined there was no immediate danger.
In the meantime, more than 30 parents, alerted by a radio report, descended on the school. Visibly shaken, they gathered around in a semi-circle, straining their necks, awaiting news.
"There needs to be security before the kids walk through the door," said Heather Black, whose son attends the school.
And they wonder why so many Americans are over weight? Freakin 30 inch burrito!
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| News Comments > Out of the Blue |
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| 22. |
Re: No subject |
Aug 29, 2006, 20:48 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Blue, So did the Verizon tech say he found anything? You would think when he tested the line if there was trouble inside he would have said so even if you aren't on their repair plan. As far as the neighbor having no issues it is possible since everyone has their own pair of wires if you're copper fed. Maybe the squirrel only chewed the cable to where your line and a few others are now exposed to the rain.
Not sure how handy you are with wires and meters but if not you... maybe somebody else will benefit from this.
As far as yesterdays comments go if you have the old ceramic protector as a demarcation they should replace it with the new SNI, TNI, or NID. We call it a SNI (standard network interface). And for the last several decades they all come with a test port inside to isolate your inside wires by simply unplugged the line at the demarcation.
So if the terminal in or on the MPOE (minimum point of entry) has nut-heads sticking from a ceramic block and not screw-heads or some other type of connector insulated by plastic you most likely have an outdated demarcation. Call Verizon and ask them to replace it with the type which has a test port. That way next time this happens you can find out if the trouble is outside or inside within minutes. Before you even call them.
Again if you have the newer plastic demarcation with a test port next to a terminal where your inside wires terminate then it may have an MTU (see yesterdays post) behind it or on the Verizon side of the test port. They stopped installing those MTUs in the early '90s but depending on when your house was built or when they upgraded the phone box you may still have one.
If the trouble is inside and you are not on an inside wire repair plan it is fairly easy to isolate the defective wire/jack at the demarcation even without a multimeter. We use SideKicks (http://www.specialized.net/ecommerce/shop/seriesmaster.asp?series_id=SideKick) but all you really need is a simple multimeter to find the short or ground on the line. Or just do a process of elimination at the terminal inside the demarcation.
If you plug a working regular (not cordless or requiring power) telephone into the test port outside and the line is dead that tells you the trouble is either the phone and/or cord in your hand or the trouble is on the phone companies side of the demarcation and should cost you nothing for a dispatch to repair it.
Hope this helps you or somebody else since rainy season is coming no matter where you live. And if you have any other questions send me an e-mail I'll be glad to help even if I am three thousand miles away.
This comment was edited on Aug 29, 21:31. |
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| News Comments > Out of the Blue |
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| 40. |
Re: Go with CAT6 if you can. |
Aug 28, 2006, 21:28 |
Paranoid Jack |
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LoL, I have had a couple beers and got the typing form or diarrhea mouth. Spouting all kinds of info that may not mean anything to him. 
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| News Comments > Out of the Blue |
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| 38. |
Go with CAT6 if you can. |
Aug 28, 2006, 21:02 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Go CAT6 the cost is not much more and the signal will be better. Or if you don't go CAT6 put in smurf tubing everywhere. That way when or if your neighborhood goes fiber (or who knows what in the future) you can replace it with whatever is needed if the CAT5/coax doesn't support the services you want.
Running the bundled stuff which has two coax and two CAT6s lines plus a shielded power wire may be a good idea if you don't go with the smurf tubing.
I put smurf tube everywhere and put cable/phone outlets every place I could ever want or need to have one. Back patio and garage(x2) both set up for phone and cable.
Use home-runs to every location no daisy chains if you can avoid it. Basically that means a dedicated line to every location with at least a four pair CAT5/6 and cable.
For fiber to the prem you'll need a shielded power line to run from your junction box where the outlet feed is (usually in the master bedroom walk-in closet) to the demarcation (or MPOE) outside because the ONT (optical network terminal) mount inside the demarcation requires power. Also get the biggest phone box you can find to use for your MPOE those new fiber fed units need a lot of space. Here is a link to the FTTP demarcation housing boxes they use here in central Cali.
( http://bnproducts.com/bn-products/terminal.php )
Also you may want to run two four pair CAT5/6. Most phone companies are going fiber and will provide you DSL and HD programing over either CAT5/6 or coax. So if you have two you have room to grow. One four pair could be used as Ethernet while the other carries phone and/or video services. Or one six pair may be sufficient depending on your needs.
Things are changing so I feel smurf tubing with a minimum of one inch inside diameter is the best choice. Makes it easy to change out your inside wiring if you can get attic access. So keep that in mind if you are running the tubing. Put the ends into your junction box or to an area of the attic that will be accessible after the house is complete.
So my opinion/choice is to run four feeders from the outside demarcation to the junction box in the master bedroom walk-in closet (if this is your preferred set-up, that is the preferred method here for FTTP) and from there run two home-runs to each room or jack location (at a minimum).
Also if you have even the slightest possibility you are going to have a home security system installed have it pre-wired. Only cost me $250 by a local alarm company. Remember to keep good notes on locations of hidden wire runs. I think that covers it... not 100% positive though.
Blue, go outside and open you demarcation box. Look for a small circuit board behind the terminal. It's called an MTU (maintenance test unit). It's outdated but a lot of lazy phone techs don't remove them as they should. The old switching system in your local central office would run the automated circuit test (randomly or employee originated) and the chip-set on the MTU would give the telephone provider an idea if the defect on your line was internal (on your inside wires) or external (their network). They go bad and have been know to call out. 911 411 etc.
Funny shit when a cop or sheriff keeps showing up to a house with no working phone service other than a quick-dial tone (used by people moving in to call for service activation, also know as a ghetto line by those working the system and using calling cards). I also remember when one went bad and started calling 411. The subscriber was looking at thousands of dollars in information calls.
This comment was edited on Aug 28, 21:07. |
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| News Comments > Saturday Screenshots |
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| 2. |
Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R |
Aug 26, 2006, 22:02 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Yeah, most definitely less impressive but still not bad. Just seems some of the shots look far better than others... as if some of the textures are less detailed or done with less concern for detail.
I wouldn't touch this game now unless I was extremely bored and had no other games of interest to play at that point in time. Which isn't very likely since I just spend six months going back through a lot of old titles I never finished.
I may change my mind if a proper demo is released but the entire time I am playing the demo I will have the memory of other recently released games that I bought (after playing a demo) that were nothing like their demos made them appear to be. In most cases the retail products were far less polished.
Either way I am curious as to how the final product will compare to the original design doc and all those promised features that met with the executioners axe.
At this point in time there are only have a dozen games that hold any interest for me. At the moment...
1) Age of Decadence (hoping Iron Tower will finish before G3 is released)
2) Gothic 3 (Please let this have ten times more depth than Oblivion)
3) Lord of The Rings Online (still waiting on my beta invite)
4) Company of Heroes (will scratch the RTS itch nicely I think)
5) Project T-BAR 3/4 (Tim Cain's indie studio Steam TB project in development)
6) Bioshock (where are the damned videos from E3 & Leipzig, I want to see this game in action very badly)
The full list is a bit longer than I thought it would be... these are the others I am fairly interested in but not sure if they will hold my attention until they are finally released or for long after purchasing the retail product.
7) NWN2
8) Fallout 3 (hoping they make this at the very least three times better than Oblivion as far as characters and role-playing are concerned but I am not optimistic)
9) Spore
10) The Witcher (Damn will they ever finish this thing?)
11) Mass Effect
12) Dragon Age
13) UFO Afterlight
Probably a few others I saw little info or media on that I can't remember at the moment. 
This comment was edited on Aug 26, 22:13. |
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| News Comments > Morning Previews |
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| 8. |
Bioshock |
Aug 26, 2006, 12:43 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Has anyone seen the Bioshock presentation on the net that they are talking about in that preview? Either the one from E3 or from Leipzig.... I am drooling to see the game in action.
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| News Comments > Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn Announcement |
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| 8. |
Re: UO |
Aug 25, 2006, 00:55 |
Paranoid Jack |
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I still have my free copy they sent me after buying Ultima IX in it's less than stellar state.
Plus the beta copy from '96 .... or was it early '97?
I may just try this out again. Game-play over graphics any day!
Though I must admit I am somewhat interested in LoTRs On-Line and still hoping to try it out if they select me to beta test.
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| News Comments > The Early Show |
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| 21. |
Re: No subject |
Aug 24, 2006, 22:15 |
Paranoid Jack |
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"What's the tentative release date, then?"
Q1 2007 as part of Episode 2.
I agree the game looks great because it isn't the same old thing. Funny how something old is now something new. I actually said, "Ah, cool. Rocket jumping is back." ... when that part played. I loved rocket jumping in Quake.
And if I remember right John Romero said in an interview that it was an unintentional feature. They were play testing and found out by accident and then started building levels that had area that could only be reached by rocket jumping. If memory serves me... didn't the first version of Quake come without mouse look?
I am adding it to my games to look forward to. Though I kind of wish the realistic military tactical version would have been released all those years ago and this version could have been TF3.
edit: I don't remember the invisible spies. I always thought it was a hacker...
Do they have complete invisibility until they come out to kill? Or is it kinda like the Predators chameleon effect?
This comment was edited on Aug 24, 22:18. |
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| News Comments > Guild Wars: Nightfall Dated, CE Details |
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| 12. |
Re: No subject |
Aug 24, 2006, 15:47 |
Paranoid Jack |
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"Is this gonna cost $50 again?:
If you buy the "highly-coveted" CE it is gonna set you back $60. If they package all three for that I may decide to finally check it out. I beta tested and I was not impressed at that time. I realize they probably (and rightly so) did a hell of a lot to change the game since then. But I was also addicted to WoW at the time. Different strokes and all that shit.. you know?
But saying Wow sucks or some other stupid blank statement is just that... a stupid blank statement. Give us a reason why you think something sucks and maybe we will consider you more than a troll posting non-sense. 
I myself am hoping to get in on the LoTR On-Line beta. And though at this point it looks to be WoW in a the LoTRs setting it still appeals more to me than any of the other new offerings. It just looks more like a RPG than some of the rest.
Nightfall does sound better than the original but we shall see. Doubt I am going to drop down 100+ bones to get both but maybe I will try this version.
This comment was edited on Aug 24, 15:48. |
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| News Comments > Company of Heroes Demo |
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| 24. |
Awesome? Oh, Hell Yeah! |
Aug 22, 2006, 20:20 |
Paranoid Jack |
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I must agree this game rocks. I got the bit-torrent this weekend and spent most of last night until 1 am playing. I got my ass handed to me a few times early on but the third or fourth time playing the Germans had lost almost 175 troops before even getting half-way to the river. I think three or so actual ran across up the center after the second massive arty strike. I hadn't even realized I had taken all their armor out until the reinforcements arrived and that triggered the end-game.
I am most definitely getting this now. I was on the fence until last night... 
This comment was edited on Aug 22, 20:23. |
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| News Comments > UO Revamp |
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| 19. |
Why pull the plug? |
Aug 21, 2006, 21:45 |
Paranoid Jack |
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If it profitable why pull the plug? And it must be profitable to still be around so many years later... the Grand Daddy Of Them All.
I beta tested... shit when was that '96 or '97 ... they have the old school crowd that don't need no stinking particle effects or any of that other shite.
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| News Comments > Evening Consolidation |
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| 3. |
Not Look Good |
Aug 19, 2006, 10:59 |
Paranoid Jack |
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"Heavenly sword is the only thing I'd say I might want to see an extended trailer for."
I was thinking the very same thing. I own the 360 but I'm not a console fanboi for any of the three. Our 360 mainly gets used during parties or family get togethers. We break out the race games and have a good time. Other than that its a great DVD player.
For my gaming needs I doubt I will ever leave the PC desktop for the sofa.
I have a friend who is or should I say was a huge PS fanboi (the biggest hard-core PS fan I know). He owns everything Sony. The TV, handhelds, consoles, phones... and he absolutely refused to buy a 360 because the PS3 was due out at or near the same time with better looking games and Blue-Ray DVD. Yeah, he fell for the hype. And Blue-Ray was one of the buzz-words that hooked him.
Now more solid info is out. Sony's first Blue-Ray ROMs are out and they don't even play Blue-Ray DVD Movies (WTF?). Not to mention the sticker shock for those DVD ROMs and the PS3. But I think the price point was a big one for him... besides all the other little negatives that have been rumored and/or released as info by Sony.
He swallowed the bitter pill and has not mentioned PS3 again unless I do first. Needless to say he is now saying he is not buying a PS3. And if he does it won't be for a year or two after release.
He told me they (Sony) are trying to stop the game rental industry from renting games for the PS3 by using some-type of hardware and/or coding. Has anyone got any info on this?
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| News Comments > Sudden Strike III Beta Demo |
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| 2. |
Re: No subject |
Aug 18, 2006, 20:28 |
Paranoid Jack |
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Oh, Jebus! Another WW2 game... here come the complaints.
Seriously though... there have been a boat load of RTS beta releases in the past month or two. Looks like X-mas is going to have one over-crowded RTS shelf. Mom won't know what RTS to buy little Johnny. Oh, NO!
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| News Comments > BF2142 Beta Plans |
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| 32. |
Same Ole Same Ole... |
Aug 17, 2006, 22:22 |
Paranoid Jack |
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"I'm looking forward to 2142 despite all the bugs it will have BECUASE the GAME PLAY is right on!"
And you know this how? It sounds as if you have played it or are playing it now... do you work for DICE or EA?
"What I don't really understand is how they can call this an open beta when it's open only to Fileplanet subscribers. One would think if they were truly interested in making sure the game worked for the widest possible audience they'd just open it completely."
"Huh... and I used to expect to be compensated in exchange for my time and effort in beta testing.
Limiting your testing pool to paid subscribers (read: fanboys) will do nothing but ensure that BF2142 will be just as buggy and bloated as every other Battlefield game."
Don't sweat it fellas in a week or two it will be open. SO whatever you do don't run out and buy a subscription. I know I've been there. Patience is a virtue... and can save you a bit of money.
This comment was edited on Aug 17, 22:24. |
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| News Comments > Company of Heroes Gold PR |
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| 5. |
Single-Player Demo? |
Aug 16, 2006, 20:35 |
Paranoid Jack |
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I am looking forward to this one but want to sample the single-player first. And I was hoping to get my hands on a single-player demo before buying this one. From the sound of it at least one of you has already played it single-player...
"DoW was a much better game, IMHO. Its storyline was much better... "
Myself I haven't played through the "storyline" of a RTS since Warcraft II. I prefer to play skirmishes or different scenarios on different maps. But I would have to disagree that the story of WWII isn't "much better" since in most cases these games are using actual history for their storyline. But then it is all a matter of opinion.
If you're not tired of the WW II genre games and you like RTS this is a great game. I just hope they have a speed slider so that I can slow the game down a bit more.
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1606 Comments. 81 pages. Viewing page 40.
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