A starfish in a shallow pool at the aquarium on Maui. One of a number of photos from our trip to Maui last year that I uploaded recently into my Flickr photostream.
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AT&T DSL Out; Sonic.net In
A couple of months back I tried to add Wi-Fi hotspot access to my AT&T-Yahoo DSL account while I was away from home. Unfortunately, nobody could help me do this unless I had my last phone bill with me (one support person even asked why I didn’t have it with me, as if I should carry it everywhere I go!). Having spoken with as many people as they would let me (they eventually transferred me to a dead end), I decided to dump them as my ISP. Luckily for me, and unluckily for them, my contract expired around the same time so it was only a few weeks before I could cancel without any penalties.
My research for an alternative lead me to sonic.net. My email question about the process for transferring was answered in under an hour. My phone call a few days later was answered by a human being in a couple of rings – no annoying menu to bypass (just keep saying ‘agent’ until the AT&T menu gives up and transfers you in case you need it).
Once the transfer was complete, I called to ask about port 25 blocking (like most ISPs, they block port 25 to any server other than their own). Rather than fighting with an automated menu to eventually speak to somebody with no clue about anything technical, the phone was answered by somebody who not only understood what I was asking, but was able to suggest solutions for my MacOS and Linux systems. Refreshing.
All good, and I thought I was rid of AT&T internet services. Until tonight when my phone bill arrived with internet service still being billed, and now at a higher rate than when they were actually providing it. I had called them when my Sonic connection went live to confirm that they had terminated the account. I also received a postcard from them confirming the termination. Still they bill me.
A call to their support line got me nowhere until I asked for a supervisor, then suddenly the support person could confirm that my account had been cancelled. But she had to transfer me to billing to do anything about it. After 40 minutes on hold I gave up and called back. This time I asked to speak to a supervisor immediately. He informed me that there was nothing he could do though since the billing department was closed. So, the dummy I spoke to first transferred me to a department that was closed, and, even better, that department doesn’t have an answering service that tells people that. Instead they leave you listening to their lies about how they can help you set up your computer. Don’t these people work for a telephone company?
Anyway, he promises me that they will call me back tomorrow to resolve this issue. So, we’ll see how long it takes to get AT&T to cancel my service, stop billing me for a service they’re not providing, and refund the money they’ve illegally billed me for in the mean time. With interest.
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a DSL provider in the bay area, check out Sonic.net. So far, they’ve already proven that they are better than AT&T by so far it makes me wonder why people even bother talking to AT&T for internet service.
Amtrak Surfliner
Actually the back of the train; this one was heading north from San Diego, and not going slowly through the crossing either. It is odd that the train’s designers spent time making it at least somewhat aerodynamic, and then its operator chooses to drive it backwards!
Oh, and in case you were wondering whether there was an engine on the other end too, look at the photo of the same train approaching.
Oops
Just as I pressed the shutter release, the wave took its revenge and separated the surfer from his board.
Del Mar Amtrak
Running between the beach and the rest of town is a single track railway. I was expecting some kind of tourist railway, perhaps even a little steam railway (something like this one).
Instead, it turns out to be the Amtrak track between San Diego and the rest of the Pacific coast! Oh, and they don’t slow down as they pass through either.
La Jolla Pelican
While I see pelicans around the bay area regularly, it is rare to find them in a location where I can get good photos of them, at times when I have my camera with me. This one, taken on the rocks at La Jolla, just outside of San Diego, was in the middle of preening itself. They truly are magnificant birds.
Nature’s Bell
Another flower from the San Francisco botanical gardens, in the Golden Gate park.
No idea what this is called, but it caught my eye as we walked around the park.
Plant On Premises
One can only wonder how important the plant must be to warrant its very own neon sign in the window of this store announcing that it was on the premises 🙂
Botanical Gardens Butterfly
Most of the photos I took in the SF Botanical Gardens a few weeks back were flowers, and there were many beautiful flowers in a range of sizes and colours. While walking in a more shaded area though I noticed this butterfly on the ground, wings opened in a perfect pose for my camera.
In Flight
On the way back from our Cancun trip last year we stopped in Houston for a few days. While there we took a day trip to Moody Gardens, down in Galveston. One of the attractions there is a ride on the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat; these birds were flying alongside the boat for most of the trip, enabling some close up shots of very graceful flight, like this one.