Connection issues

At the moment, the MiFi pad is refusing to connect to the cellular network. This is not surprising. The underside of the Walmart Straight Talk UMX MiFi pad bears the name Tracfone and of course Tracfone is a hitch-hiker on Sprint's network. For the first couple of weeks all was well. The MiFi pad connected at both my home and my girlfriend's home.

Starting on Friday, the pad refused steadfastly to connect to the internet. A check using my mobile phone (which uses T-Mobile's network as a hitch-hiker) proved that the balance on the MiFi pad was 2.115GB and that it wouldn't expire until December 20th. Now that should mean there should not be any problem.

Ages ago Virgin was the cellphone of choice. Virgin was a hitch-hiker on Sprint's network. The modus operandi seemed to entail a reduced service at the towers. My workplace was right next to the phone mast yet at Christmas the bars which had read full service the rest of the year dropped to zero. It would not seem unlikely that Sprint inflicts this on all its piggyback users.

Needless to say, an email has been sent to custserv @ straight talk.com detailing the issue and giving the MiFi pad number. It will be interesting to see whether a response is received or whether the bargain MiFi pad turns out to be a $120 lemon.

Hurrah for the cheapasses of the world

A month ago to be precise, DSL internet was abandoned at this location, eliminating a monthly expense of some $55, mostly in anticipation of a truly mobile lifestyle, in the forthcoming School Bus Home. The experiment (for it has been an experiment) has been a rip-roaring success.

Around October 19th a Straight Talk MiFi pad was picked up from Walmart and $40 paid for 4GB of data. Connecting solely when a connection was needed, data usage has been minimal. The $40 card was good for 2 months before any remainder expired. At the one month mark, just a hair under 2 gigabytes of data have been used. The MiFi pad cost $80 and data usage has been running, based on the sample, at $20 a month. It can therefore be projected that it will be quite likely that the MiFi pad will pay for itself, assuming nothing changes, in about 3 months.

Interestingly, in the location where the School Bus is parked, the data connection to the cellular telephone can be described as downright miserable. That cellular telephone currently has a Family Mobile sim card (The sim card can be changed easily as the phone was purchased independent of a network). The MiFi pad has no problems connecting. That probably runs on Sprint's CDMA service which is unavailable to the cellphone.

Nowhere in South Carolina has the 3G service for Family Mobile (which is what's costing $46 a month) been visibly available. Certainly, 3G is available in Georgia because the 3G notation pops up to replace the H for high-speed data (which is only marginally faster than the more common E for extended service). Straight Talk has a cellular phone sim card running on AT&Ts network. It sounds well worth switching as there are strong rumors that AT&T actually works in the area where the bus is parked. More interestingly, the Straight Talk price is $1 less than Family Mobile. Incidentally, Family Mobile runs on TMobile.

The fact the MiFi pad running on Sprint works well is surprising since Sprint powered the Virgin phone that was in use here for about 9 years. Virgin got dumped even though the service was $25 a month for unlimited talk, text and data purely because standing right beside the phone mast at my workplace there was no reception at all around Christmas - every year - and reception elsewhere was spotty at best.

Rumor has it that Verizon has the best coverage though sadly at a high cost and as it's a CDMA service, probably isn't available for the current cellular telephone.

Incidentally, in terms of cost, communications here have been $55 a month for DSL and $45 a month (approx) for cellular telephone. Now, the telephone had to be purchased and that wasn't cheap but it has lasted well over a year so far. In fact two newer editions have come out since this phone was purchased. Even adding $20 a month for the phone to the connection, it still works out cheaper than the phone companies contract phones. And what's even better is there is no contract and hence no records, which is very desirable in today's over-data-shared world.

Just because most people in the Southern US believe in cheap houses with no insulation worth mentioning and certainly not the six to twelve inches recommended in most of Europe, most people pay $300 - $600 a month to keep their houses warm or cool. A typical summer electric bill here is $23 - $26. A typical winter bill is up to $55 but no more.

The overall plan is to move into The Bus and to run the electrics off solar/wind power. Photos and updates of the bus conversion project will be on The Bus website. For the moment, it's a self congratulatory pat on the back for discovering how to use the internet in a more cost-effective way. A cynic might say "but you get 5GB of data with your TMobile connection and can use your phone as a hotspot". That's absolutely true. However, the connection is appalling where the bus is located and not that great elsewhere in South Carolina. Also, when the 5GB is up, there's no more for the rest of the month. Data usage on the phone averages 2.8GB a month. This is, of course, where Straight Talk with 3GB of high-speed and unlimited slow speed data comes in handy with the cellphone, on paper.

What will happen in the future is unknown. It looks that a transfer to Straight Talk and the AT&T sim card looks likely. Inexpensive options are always welcome and any way of cutting expenses is welcomed. As far as uploading photos is concerned, there's no problem uploading from the cellphone - they upload automatically every time WiFi is available. What would be ideal is for a camera to upload pictures via WiFi, automatically. Currently there are very few that will do this which is of course why people prefer cellphone photography to using dedicated cameras.

No fall photos, sadly

Every year I plan a massive trip to Vermont or somewhere to take colorful autumnal foliage images. For the first few years, those I was with did not want to go and didn't want me to go without them. Then it became a case of finances. A couple of times, with finances, it has been more a case of forgetting until it was too late.

This year the pathetic excuse is a combination of lack of finances and lack of time. With luck, what with the bus project going on at www.myschoolbushome.blogspot.com, there will be an opportunity next autumn. Even though the bus does a whopping 8 miles to the gallon of diesel, it's still going to be way cheaper to drive the bus to where it's needed than to drive up in a vehicle that does 18mpg and pay for an hotel as well.

Plans for the bus have been underway for probably most of 2014 in some form or another. The idea is that it will become not only semipermanent accommodation but that it will tow the small vehicle as well. Having already driven the bus around West Columbia and from Augusta, it's possible to confirm that it is somewhat of a beast to maneuver. More so when the ridiculous back shelf was still attached to it. That took most of an afternoon and two angle grinders (one burnt out on the job) to remove it. The daft folding metal table attached to the side of the bus took no time at all to remove - again with the aid of an angle grinder on bolts that simply would not shift.

So, in its original colors, here is the school bus that's becoming a motorhome, both with and without the rear shelf.

Harassment from Amazon

Over the past few weeks I have been subject to continual phone harassment from Addeco (however it's spelt) robo diallers that have left recorded messages on voicemail. My telephone number is ON the do not call list. This harassment IS a violation of Federal law. Here's one of the calls in Google's voice recognition. Notice that the company seems to be using a call center based in India.

Hello, this is a ring down with that goes back thing Adecco is, screening poor warehouse Associates in the Columbia South Carolina area, it to you later. In this area. Columbia, South Carolina. I was interested in the light industrial warehouse, okay Packer position. Please contact me (631) 844-7967. I am scheduling orientation this week. The number again 631844797 I look forward to your response. Thank you. Hello. This is a ring down with that goes back being Adecco is, screening poor warehouse Associates in the Columbia South Carolina area, it to you later. In this area. Columbia, South Carolina. I was interested in the light industrial warehouse, okay Packer position. Please contact me (631) 844-7967. I am scheduling orientation this week. The number again 631844797 I look forward to your response. Thank you.

I will NEVER buy anything from Amazon given that they want to harass innocent individuals via their recruiter. From what I hear, Amazon cares NOTHING about the health of workers and works them 12 hours a day without breaks and under such appalling conditions that they pass out and die on the job regularly. I further hear that they strip search employees on the way out of work and don't pay them for their time. Amazon seems to be a minimum wage sweatshop and these phone harassment tactics seem to confirm that.

Have computers had their day?

Time was when people got home from work or school and sat down to hobbies, card games or reading. Later, radio took over as people's big interest. Not many years after that, television took over then computers and the internet. Have computers now had their day?

These days an increasing number of people use tablets for their internet consumption. Tablets are largely internet consumption devices though with an added keyboard, their role as netbooks and even laptop replacements has soared.

For years the sole computer at this location was an Apple Mac. That has almost been retired as a tablet takes over even for blog updates. A Chromebook is a cross between a laptop and a tablet but is neither one nor the other. We're almost at the stage where wifi is universally available, allowing use of online services that truly make the need for computers obsolete.

Photographers cry out that photo editing tools are simply not available for tablets nor are tablets powerful enough yet much photo editing can now be done online instead. Data storage has gone online too.

It looks as though we are at the cusp of a revolution where all data is held and processed centrally for people and where only simple devices are needed to access and manipulate that data. Has 1984 truly arrived?

Fall colors

The fall colors have finally arrived in South Carolina. Today, driving from the home of the big yellow bus, they were very noticeable. More of that later though. Today was notable because this was the final day of a course that has been undertaken. Thus, as the exam was today, from tomorrow the schedule is a lot freer. This should allow time to get out and photograph the autumn colors. Thus, there might be some posts of autumn colors in the next few days.

Photographically there has been nothing happening for a long time. The weekends are normally fully occupied and the days have been occupied with two jobs on a Tuesday, a job and a course on Mondays and Wednesdays. Thursday has been a hectic day of shopping and my main job. Friday starts slowly but after the job week ends, the weekend activity starts on Friday evening.

In other news, as mentioned earlier, the MiFi pad has taken place of a constant internet connection. With a combination of 5GB of data from a mobile phone and the MiFi pad, a constant connection has not been necessary. The MiFi affords connectivity when it's necessary to do something online but data conservation has been the order of the day. With the proliferation of free public access WiFi, the big stuff can be done when a WiFi hotspot is nearby. It's just a case of scheduling around personal and hotspot locations.

The MiFi pad didn't start too brilliantly, gobbling up 1.2 GB of data in 2 days until the background data activity was switched off. Now, 3 weeks later, available data from a 4GB data card purchased when the MiFi pad was put into use stands at a little over 2.5GB. That is really quite impressive and a quick calculation puts MiFi data usage at 100mb a week. Clearly smaller data cards might be in order. The 4GB card cost $40 and will be active for 2 months before it expires. The constant internet connection cost $55 a month with a $5 surcharge should the payment (for which there was no reminder) be forgotten. The data used for 3 weeks has cost a shade under $15.

In terms of speed, the MiFi pad is noticeably slower when accessing full websites but for mobile, it's pretty quick and most websites are now mobile compatible. The purchase price of the MiFi pad was $80 but at this rate, it should pay for itself pretty quickly. If a full $5 of data is used in the 4th week then it will have been less than half the cost of using a constant connection. If usage continues at $20 per month then the pad itself will pay for itself in about 3 months. Overall, the Straight Talk MiFi pad seems to be pretty darned good value.

In terms of connectivity, there has never been an occasion thus far when the MiFi pad has been unable to connect to the network. At the home of the big yellow bus, connectivity was poor but it was usable. This will of course be most beneficial when it is time to start living in the big yellow bus.

Still no Internet

There has been no internet here since October 19th. It is now November 10th. Aside from posting becoming less regular and less frequent, there has been no noticeable change. That says an awful lot about the worth of the internet.

Photos do get posted from my internet-connected smartphone but only when available public wifi can be used. Generally, aside from smartphone photos, my bigger cameras get barely any use at all at the moment. Things of a more pressing nature get done first. Right now, that includes work, a short course that ends in a few days and converting a bus into a motor home.

The Jury is still out on whether I will sell my current camera setup partially or in its entirety. Generally, I don't need the quantity of equipment that I have. For the most part, smartphone photos are so darned good that there's little point in lugging around huge cameras. The differences are that bigger cameras are better in low light and at higher ISOs as well as being able to take a zoom lens. Other than that, there's little to differentiate between a smartphone and a digital SLR when it comes to the final image - especially when most images are seen solely on computer and tablet screens

The question is more these days - is photography about the final image, capturing the moment or about posing like a prima ballerina showing off the latest and greatest cameras. I get more and more the impression that people prefer to pose than to take pictures. Indeed - look at internet camera forums and it'll be impossible to see any real photographers - all lost amidst a sea of poseurs.

Has it been a week already?

There's nothing really been happening in terms of photography recently. Certainly camera companies are probably churning out new editions of cameras but keeping up with it all hasn't been a priority. Even reviewing books has fallen by the wayside for the moment.

Those with good memories might remember a post about the new paradigm whereby internet connection is sporadic via a cellular phone and a MiFi pad. This has had a very interesting knock-on effect. Instead of spending hours viewing the internet every day, time is spent doing other things. Sleeping habits have improved tremendously and time spent blogging has decreased tremendously.

There have been a couple of new projects that have soaked up a lot of time recently. One was to do with the recent election in the US. Another is arguably the biggest project which is the conversion of an old school bus into a motorhome. This started from an idea about working in a different city and the problem of moving there combined with the idea that it would only be a short term job after which it would be a good idea to move again. Thus www.schoolbushome.blogspot.com was started.

For those that don't know, secondhand schoolbusses are dirt cheap because all the school districts are obliged to dispose of them after about 10 years or 100,000 miles. They're built for 500,000 miles and could last longer. Combine that with the thought of autumn color photography from a motorhome, following the colors and that's pretty close to the current plan.

Since connection time on the phone/mifi pad is precious, no viewing of interminable internet forums now takes place. Blogging is done more rarely now - more so because Google's Blogger app tends to lose entries rather than posting them. Thus, the side effect is that this blog has become somewhat quiet of late.