Mesomorph Plays The Right Card, Trumps Satellite Access
Mesomorph1 And Verizon Team Up To Attempt Rescue Of Internet Access
Readers may recall that I have, on rare occasions, expressed mild to moderate perturbation over our satellite-mediated Internet access.2 As problems have worsened, I have searched for a better performing alternative but here in the hinterlands we are too far removed from the telephone switching station for DSL and too far past cable’s end to tap into that pathway.
It turns out I was looking for access in all the wrong places. Mesomorph, pictured above, was more resourceful. After multiple efforts, he surmounted my misinformed resistance, persuading me to audition Verizon Broadband, a service marketed primarily to businesses whose employees need broadband access in a variety of locations.3
A Brief Semi-Technical Digression
The idea behind this system is that Verizon (along with a few other services) uses EV-DO4 technology for wireless data transmission via radio signals to provide broadband Internet access. This is not the same sort of Wi-Fi connection you use while sucking down your Starbucks fix or hijack from your neighbor’s wireless network that he never bothered to secure. Verizon EV-DO is available in lots of places, especially cities, but not everywhere. In situations in which EV-DO service isn’t available, Verizon provides Internet access through the regular cellular network, albeit at reduced speeds (still about twice as fast as dial-up). Because Verizon is our mobile phone network, we were able to check in advance that we could receive the EV-DO signal in our home.
The set-up was easy and quick: We installed the Verizon EV-DO Broadband management software program5 from the provided CD, inserted the PC card6 (displayed in the above photo by my son in model mode), booted up, clicked “connect,” and faster than you can say “Evolution-Data Optimized Broadband Access” we were online.
The Verizon Broadband Screen Test Thus Far7
While it is too soon in this experiment to declare Mission Accomplished, I can accurately summarize our experience after 2-3 weeks as So far, so wonderful.
We’ve been able to access Verizon Broadband reliably throughout the house at speeds fast enough to comfortably surf the Net, view graphics, watch videos, etc. I was also able to spend 30 minutes working on the computer yesterday in a medical center parking lot while my elder son saw his doctor. On our Thanksgiving trip from northern Illinois to southwest Missouri, we were routinely able to hook up to the Net while mobile until we entered the deep recesses of the Ozarks near my mother’s home.
This isn’t a solution for everyone. Service is not ubiquitous; we have the good luck to receive a strong signal in our home, but reports of weak or nonexistent connections still populate the wireless forums. The service costs more than the typical cable or DSL Internet access providers but about the same as my satellite set-up. There are also maximum download limits unlike the all you can eat contracts most cable and DSL providers offer. The limits are more generous, however, than those of my satellite provider.
And I’m waiting to make sure that the first month’s billing from Verizon is what I expect it to be before I say good-bye to the satellite in the sky.
Nonetheless we are well-satisfied thus far and I confess to cautious optimism, a condition rarely associated with me - and young master Mesomorph, of all people, is responsible. Go figure.
Thanks, son.
Footnotes
- The Mesomorph is also known as my 18 year old son ~back~
- Just for grins, I went to the Heck of a Guy blog’s WhereTheHeck site search, entered “satellite access,” and came up with three or four online rants about my problems with the satellite service, including one that grouped them in an “Axis of Evil” that precluded publishing posts for a time. Also included in the conspiracy was the selfsame Mesomorph. While my son has lately evidenced tentative signs of repentance and reformation, however, no such signals have been forthcoming from the satellite folks. ~back~
- The other major role in this crusade for access into the Holy Land of the Internet has been played by the magnificent Stubby, Mesomorph’s long-time boon companion and, not so incidentally in this case, the Manager of a local Verizon store, who spent much time and effort explaining the technology and the service options. ~back~
- EV-DO is an acronym for Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-Data Only, which is also abbreviated as EVDO and EV ~back~
- The software program can also be used to manage other (non-Verizon) wireless connections. ~back~
- The PC card we are trying out works with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Mac OS X. ~back~
- I have neither the expertise in general nor sufficient experience with EV-DO in particular to offer a comprehensive analysis; a recent review of Verizon Broadband, including specific speed and connectivity tests in different areas of Chicago, that is substantive, readable by those without a technical background, and congruent with my observations thus far can be found at Broadband on the go: the ups and downs of Verizon’s EV-DO network ~back~
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The Spectacular Hues Of Zion Canyon
The Lord of Leisure1 Photo Gallery
Zion Canyon
[Click on graphic for view of larger image]
Editorial Note: After a too long hiatus, the Lord of Leisure Photo Gallery returns with photos from Zion National Park. After previewing these, I find myself reverting to clichés such as “breathtaking” and “awesome,” which are so attenuated from casual use that they fail to convey how deeply impressive these scenes are. Thank goodness, we have photos, eh? Regardless, I think viewers will be as impressed as I am with these pictures.
Lord of Leisure writes:
From conversations with residents and photographers who were returning to Zion after shooting there previously, it appears, even after discounting for the inevitable “You should have been here last year” comments that locals are apparently obligated to make whenever they spy someone photographing an outdoor setting, that 2007 had been too dry to produce optimal colors in the Park.
We also shared our week at Zion with a high pressure system which resulted in sunny, warm days that were a pleasant environment for hiking but a subpar one for photographing fall panoramas, an effort abetted by overcast skies - or better yet, a bit of rain - to bring out the characteristic yellow, orange, gold, and red hues.
Zion Canyon is, however, so rich in dramatic content, opulent textures, and brilliant pigments that even when it is not at its photographic apogee, it rewards those who willing to trek through its trails and brush in search of the “right” location with tableaux featuring soaring sandstone cliffs with vertical drops of 2,000 feet into a labyrinth of slot canyons, interlaced with windows and tunnels like a piece of stone lacework, all presented in hues that range from muted grays and yellows to riotous, almost oversaturated colors that seem to put the viewer at risk of chromatic overload. Oh, and there’s also a river with a waterfall or two.
Today’s photo was shot with one of my favorite techniques, using with a long telephoto lens to reach out and isolate a small portion of the scene. This simplifies the composition and allows me to concentrate on form, color and texture. In this case, the attraction, in my eyes, is the fascinating variety of color (primary and pastel) in the vegetation against the backdrop of the canyon wall that was itself bathed in sunlight reflected from the opposite side of the canyon. Some of the colors are, at least to one raised in the less gaudy spectrum of the Midwest, so unexpected that I find it necessary to note that the photo is an accurate representation of the scene as viewed that day.
Footnotes
- Lord of Leisure was previously known in these posts as Mr. Science. Both Lord of Leisure and Mr Science spend most of their time disguised as Neil Ellis, mild-mannered, retired teacher at a great suburban school system, who can identify a bird by its call, complete the New York Times Friday Crossword in ink, and snap a heck of a photo. These days, he is also a very happy Mizzou football fan. ~back~
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Hooray, Hurrah, Mizzou, Mizzou
Missouri Is Number One In College Football
Say It Loud, Say It Proud, Say It Now For Goodness Sake
After this past weekend’s 36-28 victory over Kansas University,1 The University of Missouri Tigers, unranked in the preseason polls, are now #1 in the Bowl Championship Series, #1 in The Associated Press Writers’ Poll, and #2 behind West Virginia in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
This dizzy ascension of my medical school alma mater to the top of the computer-calculated BCS heap is sufficiently atypical to cause me to (1) acknowledge that a college football season is under way and (2) abandon my steadfastly maintained strategy of climbing on the bandwagon of any sports team2 only after it has crossed the finish line.3
It’s been a long time since Missouri has been #1 in its conference, let alone the country, and who knows when it will happen again - or how long it will last?
There’s a whole lot of gloating to catch up on while the gloatin’s good.
The Kansas City Star summarizes Mizzou’s situation succinctly:
And to keep that ranking, Missouri has to beat Oklahoma — No. 9 in the BCS — on Saturday night in the Big 12 Conference championship game in San Antonio.
That will guarantee the Tigers a berth in the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans in January. Then all the Tigers would have to do is beat an opponent that right now is likely to be West Virginia.
The Victory Song Celebration
Most schools have one or two fight songs. When I was enrolled in The University of Missouri doctor school back in the 1970s, Mizzou seemed to have dozens of fight songs. The count may be in the three figures by now.
Regardless, this quaintly ferocious refrain is The Mizzou Fight Song. Prepare to be moved.
Fight Tigers
Hit it, Hooray, Hurrah,
Mizzou, Mizzou,
Hooray, Hurrah,
Mizzou, Mizzou,
Hooray, Hurrah,
And a “Bully” for Ol’ Mizzou,
Rah, Rah, Rah, Rah,
Mizzou-rah, Mizzou-rah, Mizzou-rah,
Tigers!
Fight Tigers Factoid #1: This is only nominally a song. It is actually a cadence spliced between “Every True Son” and “Fight Tigers,” two of the many songs known as the Mizzou Fight Song.
Fight Tigers Factoid #2: 97.7% of those who join in signing/chanting “Fight Tigers,” know the words to only the first five lines. Beginning with the words, “And a ‘Bully’ for Ol’ Mizzou,” those folks substitute random nonsense syllables for the actual lyrics. Mizzou tradition hold that this is an acceptable alternative to the original version as long as those nonsense syllables are shouted at maximum volume.
Audience Participation
OK, play “Fight Tigers” once more and sing along this time. Making it through those first 5 lines after imbibing any liquor costing less than $4.65 per gallon, one or more pitchers of beer, or, at least in the 70s, a six pack of fruit coolers qualifies you as an honorary Missouri Football Tigers fan and a medical practitioner licensed to perform surgeries and psychotherapy throughout Kansas.
Footnotes
- Kansas plays the deservedly loathed villain to Missouri’s hero in the ongoing drama that is the intensely competitive Missouri-Kansas rivalry; it is also the school my first wife attended ~back~
- The obvious exception is college basketball which transcends the concept of “sport” to take its place in the metaphysical realm. It is, by he way, only 112 days until the March 18, 2008 start of the 2008 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. ~back~
- From Blog Reports On Crystal Lake Rowing Event Not Part Of Gay Games: I am, like most bloggers as far as I can tell, not only a fair weather fan but a fair weather fan who also demands a bit of glitz or at least a comfortably appointed bandwagon onto which to climb. … For that matter, bandwagons themselves must meet certain criteria. My official declaration that I was a Chicago White Sox fan, for example, became effective midnight 26 October 2005, just after they won the World Series. Many practical and fiscal compensations accrued from my precise timing in acquiring citizenship in ChiSox Nation. The savings in time, fuel, and parking fees alone garnered from my decision not to drive to games that season is impressive; add to that the hours and dollars I would have otherwise spent if I actually attended any games, and the totals approach remarkable levels. I am likewise confident that my intellectual and neurological states were protected from the damage that would have necessarily been inflicted if I had read beyond the headlines of the sports pages or listened to the sports broadcasts featuring wincingly painful puns (”Soxtober” and “Battle of the Soxes” come to mind); player by player and community characteristic by community characteristic comparisons of the White Sox, their then current opponent, and, of course, the Cubs; extensive classical, revisionist, and deconstructionalist takes on the Black Sox; and yet more examinations of the “Curse Of The [fill in the blank]” phenomenon in baseball. The primary advantage of deferred fandom is, of course, psychological. I simply bypassed the angst of the championship race as well as the bitterness of the late season slump and, without even pausing to pass Go, proceeded to the post-victory celebration and gloating. As one who was first seduced and then heartbroken by the late 1970’s-early 1980’s versions of Ray Meyer’s DePaul Blue Demons as they transformed from the NCAA Tournament’s Cinderella Team into the ugly stepsister, I can testify that the “Destiny” in “Team of Destiny” is not inevitably a felicitous state. In any case, given the pace of baseball, it certainly seems safe to climb on the bandwagon once it has crossed the finish line. ~back~
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Wall Street Journal On Medication Reminders and Dealing With Your Doctor’s Potential Conflicts of Interest
Two Issues With Immediate Impact On Your Day-To-Day Healthcare
Two topics that could significantly affect the healthcare of anyone taking medication or anyone under a doctor’s care, providing medication reminders and medical information via cell phones and devising the best plan for handling a doctor’s potential conflict of interest,1 are each the focus of separate Wall Street Journal articles featured in today’s AlignMap2 post, Medication Adherence Reminders and Doctor-Patient Communication In The Wall Street Journal.3
Spoiler: I agree with the WSJ assessment that text messaging by cell phone holds special advantages for the enhancement of medication adherence, but believe their take on dealing with the doctor’s conflict of interest is impractical and over-simplistic.
The link to the AlignMap post is
Footnotes
- E.g., a physician with a financial interest in an orthopedic device he developed might be tempted to prescribe it unnecessarily or a doctor might advise patients to undergo a CT scan at a given facility which he owns ~back~
- AlignMap is my professional web site and blog that focus on patient compliance, also known as adherence to treatment ~back~
- The Wall Street Journal articles were originally published 20 November 2007, during the AlignMap blog’s holiday hiatus, which accounts for the delay in their appearance in the AlignMap blog. ~back~
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Mom, This Is The Heck Of A Guy Blog - Blog, This Is My Mother
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Mom Meets 2500 Unique Visitors
One of high points of our Thanksgiving stay with my mother was explaining to her about the 2500 strangers who tuned in their computers over a 48 hour period last month solely to view the oil lamps, kitchen implements, tools, saws, mallets, knives, button hooks, seeders, meat grinders, ceramics, doodads, gadgets, widgets, and other objects she displays on the cabinets, shelves, tables, counters, and, most prominently, the walls of her home hidden away in an obscure corner of the Ozarks.1
My mother, whose previous interest in matter internetian could have been generously described as cursory, was enthralled by the phenomenon (described in a previous post, Mother’s Tchotchke Inventory Hits The Charts), including the role of StumbleUpon in triggering the flurry of hits and several positive reviews of and comments about her collections, the differences in the web stats from competing vendors, the distinction between the hits and page views, the definition of “unique visitor,” the international locations of the viewers, the importance of search engines, the various categories of blogs, … .
More to the point, she was genuinely touched and gratified by the interest shown by others in her accumulated miscellany.
And she was also genuinely proud of my work manifest in the Heck of Guy blog.2
Which gives me a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
The Carved Geese
At the top and bottom of this post are photos of two hand-carved geese that reside on the back deck of my mother’s cabin. She thought they might be a nice Heck of a Guy offering for a Sunday morning.
Click on graphic to view larger image
Footnotes
- The set of photos of Mom’s displays that captured the viewers’ interest are at Gallery Of My Mother’s Inventory ~back~
- It should be noted, however, that “genuinely proud,” “touched and gratified,” and “enthralled” do not translate into a plan or even a whimsical wish on Mom’s part to explore computers or cyberspace. That ship has, it seems, sailed, landed on the other side of the ocean, and been burned to preclude retreat. ~back~
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Post-Thanksgiving Post
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Dateline: The Ozarks
I took the photo atop this post early this morning from the back deck of my mother’s home, perched on a bluff overlooking Table Rock Lake.
Mom’s home is also at least a 45 minute drive from the nearest significant retail district.1 With that geographical circumstance and the tenuous, extraordinarily slow dial-up internet connection here abetting my characterologic reluctance to purchase goods or services within 30 yards of anyone else exhibiting similar behavior, we were well protected from the temptation to indulge in Black Friday’s traditional shopping ruckus.
Instead we spent today lolling about, reading, and, in place of tuning in to any of the three TV channels with signals capable of penetrating the airspace surrounding my mother’s abode,2 watching the DVD versions of the first seasons of MASH and Scrubs, which were the video selections da boyz shrewdly chose to bring along.
We also, however, donned our parkas to walk in the blustery cold to a boat launching area on the lake, pausing along the way to admire the cabin’s green metal roof installed this past year, which not only affords a less permeable barrier between the weather and the home’s interior than did its predecessor but also felicitously denies a perch to the local turkey vultures who had grown fond of using the ridge of the preceding roof as a roost. While turkey vultures appear less aggressively loathsome than some of their close avian brethren and are, as naturalists seem obligated to note, “one of God’s creatures,” a flock of vultures perching on the roof of the home of ones mother is not a vision that evokes comfort and serenity.
We also passed by and beheld the splendor of what is easily the local home most densely decorated with Christmas themed wire-frame, wooden, and blow-up figures, signposts for the North Pole, Candy Cane Lane, and other holiday destinations, huge Christmas cards, lights of all sorts and colors, wooden soldiers guarding the driveway, and, of course, signs supporting the Kansas City Chiefs. There is also a Duck Crossing warning sign that is, naturally, a permanent rather than seasonal installation.
Other Noteworthy Pastimes
While my mother explained to da boyz that her living room TV was inoperative since being struck by lightning and we discussed whether there was any sense in trying to repair it rather than purchasing a replacement, Mesomorph3 wandered behind the fried and frizzled television, pushed the reset button, and then hit the power button to simultaneously bring to an end the electromechanical problem and our now moot conversation about it.
Prodigal4 put a portion of today’s free time to set up the miniature DVD player that was one of our Christmas gifts to Mom last year and that had remained safe and sound in its unopened box since she removed it from its gift wrap 11 months ago. More significantly, he coerced his grandmother into learning how to use the thing, providing not only a tutorial but also a follow-up examination. We’re leaving Surf’s Up, a spectacularly well done animated flick, featuring penguins, the decade’s official #1 cartoon species.
A drive to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a town once known and visited for the medicinal powers of its waters and which has since become a magnet for ex-hippies, antique-buyers and –purveyors, motorcyclists, coffee shop sorts, admirers of Victorian and pseudo-Victorian homes, genuinely rustic locals, tourists of every ilk, and folks who seem to devote most of their energies to developing way too cute names for their shoppes5 brought the day’s activity agenda to an end.
After tonight’s traditional reprise of our Thanksgiving dinner in leftover mode, all that remains of this visit is packing, garnering a night’s rest, and making our way home.
While I always expect catastrophe to be lurking around every proverbial corner, this Thanksgiving trip to the matriarch of our tiny clan has been has gone so well that it has generated the suspicion that some vital flaw has been overlooked or, worse, that we’ve been doing something wrong all those other times.
It’s a nice kind of problem.
Footnotes
- There are, however, two huge tire wholesalers within three miles of us; had anyone on our Christmas gift list expressed an unfulfilled longing for a set of tires with an impressive warranty, we would have been golden. ~back~
- One of those channels appears to be the broadcast pathway of the all snow all the time station while the other two preferentially display electronically generated pointillist approximations of the programs we view at home ~back~
- My 18 year old son ~back~
- My 21 year old son ~back~
- For example, an establishment of the White Hen/Quick Trip/7-Eleven genre located next to the “Something Or Other Inn” is called the “Inn-Convenience Store. ~back~
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Thanksgiving 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
From our family gathered in the Ozarks to all of you in cyber-land,