Dying devices and technologies

Chuckanut said:
The towers went down making it difficult to make calls for many people. I had my neighbors using my land line to call relatives and friends.

I believe the newer towers have more backup power.
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Were the earthquakes and storms post 2007? I poster earlier in the thread that the FCC required cell tower power backup as a result of problems experienced with Katrina.

REWahoo said:
Not sure they were fixed, but the FCC did take action in 2007 to require back-up power: FCC ruling requiring backup power for cell towers

EDIT: Here's an article on how the above ruling improved the availability of cell service after Hurricane Sandy:In Sandy’s wake, here’s why millions of Americans have cell service but no power – Quartz
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REWahoo said:
Were the earthquakes and storms post 2007? I poster earlier in the thread that the FCC required cell tower power backup as a result of problems experienced with Katrina.
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I was in Alabama during the big tornado outbreak of 2011 and yes, cell phones went down for 3-4 days while the landline kept working just fine.
 
Sounds to me like land lines are a better bet in a disaster than cell phones. I wouldn't think that would be the case when I see all those above ground poles and wires, but it is difficult to argue with real-world experience.
 
Because part of my career has been designing IT infrastructures for availability, I tend to shy away from the "putting all the eggs in one basket" approach for technology. Sure, a single smartphone for calls, pictures, web, GPS, etc is great, but lose that one device (or have it stolen) and you've lost multiple functions. So at the moment I'll keep my GPS in the car, use a point and shoot camera for events and vacations, and use my laptop and computer (tough to write a lot of code or design things on a tablet), and keep my landline as backup for my cell phone. Sure it costs money but it is within my budget, and I like having the flexibility and availability. :)
 
REWahoo said:
Sounds to me like land lines are a better bet in a disaster than cell phones. I wouldn't think that would be the case when I see all those above ground poles and wires, but it is difficult to argue with real-world experience.
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While nothing is 100% reliable, for Frank and me after Katrina the internet was more reliable than either cell phone or landline. (That is, after we regained internet access.) I suppose it was different for different people; I have no idea because I was so busy repairing my own Katrina damage that I had minimal time to communicate with others. Cell phones worked locally (better for texting than calls) but did not connect outside New Orleans very well for quite some time, IIRC.

You can't protect yourself completely but one does the best one can. :(
 
jollystomper said:
Because part of my career has been designing IT infrastructures for availability, I tend to shy away from the "putting all the eggs in one basket" approach for technology. Sure, a single smartphone for calls, pictures, web, GPS, etc is great, but lose that one device (or have it stolen) and you've lost multiple functions. So at the moment I'll keep my GPS in the car, use a point and shoot camera for events and vacations, and use my laptop and computer (tough to write a lot of code or design things on a tablet), and keep my landline as backup for my cell phone. Sure it costs money but it is within my budget, and I like having the flexibility and availability. :)
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You make to much sense. Go away.
 
W2R said:
While nothing is 100% reliable, for Frank and me after Katrina the internet was more reliable than either cell phone or landline. (That is, after we regained internet access.) I suppose it was different for different people; I have no idea because I was so busy repairing my own Katrina damage that I had minimal time to communicate with others. Cell phones worked locally (better for texting than calls) but did not connect outside New Orleans very well for quite some time, IIRC.

You can't protect yourself completely but one does the best one can. :(
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I have an old landline phone plugged into the wall, and it will get a dialtone, even though I closed my service a few years ago. I could call out in an emergency.

I would think that the infrastructure has improved a lot since Katrina and other storms, so that cell service and internet will probably be better in the future. Or that's my hope!
 
Sure.

When I travel with my motorhome and its 2000lbs+ cargo carrying capacity, I can carry all that you mentioned and then some. For example, despite the built-in genset, I have a portable little generator just in case. I have been thinking about having a smaller stand-alone A/C, despite having the standard roof-mounted A/C. Redundancy, redundancy... :cool:

And then, I also contemplate having a cross beam welded to the chassis to have an extra battery-bank holder hidden under the floor so that I can run above mentioned A/C from a beefy inverter. More is better than less... :cool:

jollystomper said:
Because part of my career has been designing IT infrastructures for availability, I tend to shy away from the "putting all the eggs in one basket" approach for technology. Sure, a single smartphone for calls, pictures, web, GPS, etc is great, but lose that one device (or have it stolen) and you've lost multiple functions. So at the moment I'll keep my GPS in the car, use a point and shoot camera for events and vacations, and use my laptop and computer (tough to write a lot of code or design things on a tablet), and keep my landline as backup for my cell phone. Sure it costs money but it is within my budget, and I like having the flexibility and availability. :)
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Chuckanut said:
Percolators. Does anybody perk their coffee anymore?
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YES!
I bought mine about a year ago and love it. Was so tired of lukewarm drip coffee I had to put in the microwave to drink. I know percolators have a bad reputation now, but I have to say I think it makes better coffee for me.

On a number of occasions, when I have had people over, they comment on the coffee, something like "this is good, what kind of coffee do you use?"

I am sure there are other techniques that can brew a better coffee, but IMHO most of the usual drip machines don't.

Disadvantages: There is a cleaning ritual that you have to do each time, more time consuming than with a drip machine, and you have to wait for the entire pot to brew before getting your first cup. But I am beginning to love the morning ritual, the sound of the perk, the aroma, the hot coffee.

Oooo, cant wait for morning....
 
REWahoo said:
...BTW, whenever I first saw this thread title my initial thought was guillotines, hanging, electrocution, drug overdose...
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This is the first thing that crossed my mind too, and is what caused me to check out this thread!
 
CaliforniaMan said:
YES!
I bought mine about a year ago and love it. Was so tired of lukewarm drip coffee I had to put in the microwave to drink. I know percolators have a bad reputation now, but I have to say I think it makes better coffee for me.
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There! Another sensible San Diegan. I have a little four cup Oneida that makes perfect coffee every morning. Good coffee needs hot, hot water and a percolator won't siphon the water from the bottom of the pot unless that water is at the right temperature. While I wait for it to perc, I feed the dogs and clean and refill their water bowl. No more lukewarm, under extracted coffee.
 
AllDone said:
Bookcases!
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I am a dinosaur yet once more in this category. I have cut down significantly the number of books that I buy, but when visiting the public library, find the donated book offers simply too hard to resist at $1. Many of the books are in pristine condition too. And I want to make a donation to help the library.

I prefer to read printed books rather than ebooks. It's a diehard habit.

Chuckanut said:
Actually, I believe the modern LP's come with a code that allow the buyer to also download digital versions of the music.
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Ah, so the LP is just an artifact for the buyer to hold in his hands, and to add to his physical collection. Then, it is not much different than my printed books.

I wonder if book publishers would catch on and offer ebook versions with each printed book. Well, maybe not.
 
jollystomper said:
Because part of my career has been designing IT infrastructures for availability, I tend to shy away from the "putting all the eggs in one basket" approach for technology. Sure, a single smartphone for calls, pictures, web, GPS, etc is great, but lose that one device (or have it stolen) and you've lost multiple functions. So at the moment I'll keep my GPS in the car, use a point and shoot camera for events and vacations, and use my laptop and computer (tough to write a lot of code or design things on a tablet), and keep my landline as backup for my cell phone. Sure it costs money but it is within my budget, and I like having the flexibility and availability. :)
Click to expand...

I feel exactly the same way. Good points Jolly. Each tool has it's own function and I like keeping it simple. I do not for see changing much in the future when you have a good workable system, now.
 
Arifriekinel said:
I am so torn with this. On the one hand I like ebooks much better than paper, but on the other, I just love bookcases.

I've got at least 6 in my house, mostly filled with action figures, comic books, and trinkets :LOL:
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We had several bookcases in our last house. We moved to a smaller (less rooms) place in December. The scores of books in those bookcases were a pain to box up and move. Some made it, some went to the library and returned (they didn't want them). They went in the dumpster.

We have a few built in bookcases in the newer house and we only put certain books on them. Like Anfriekinel's post above, some bookcase space was reserved for trinkets and sentimental stuff.

Someone else will have the pleasure of throwing out the rest of the books someday.
 
The Weather Channel....who needs it now that you can get weather from so many other devices?

( DirectTV just took it off thier lineup....they are the largest sat TV in the US......)
 
Even TWC realizes they've been obviated: their prime time lineup is mostly non-weather content.
 
NW-Bound said:
Ah, so the LP is just an artifact for the buyer to hold in his hands, and to add to his physical collection.
Click to expand...

Not quite. At least not for me. The LP is for when I want to sit down and enjoy the music. The mp3 is for when I'm on the go and want some background music.
 
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