Stupid AT&T … or stupid me?

I’m on the phone right now with AT&T help. We’ll see how well they can do to help me with my problem. The problem is the connection is really slow. I might not have even thought this was an issue and just something with my distance from the CO. The only problem is that this all started when I switched modems and started using the shitty one they sent me.

I switched since my neighbor downstairs that I share with was killing the connection. I thought switching to the original equipment and my fancy new router would be better. I moved to the speedstream 4100 modem with the Netgear WGT624 router.

Here they are…… ( Sun 5:08 ) …  we’ll see how things go….

Back — ( Mon 10am )

Wooo hooo.  Speed was 250K -> 350K.  Now I’m up to 1.2 mbps.  I knew there had to be more speed in the connection.  I was on the phone with various techs for about 2 hours.  It ended up being worth it.  When I finally got to the right people at AT&T they fixed the line in about 15 mins.  Their tests said my line could support up to 7 mpbs.  Not sure if I’ll go that high, but its nice to know.  I may move up to the 3mbps package since I’m thinking of trying to get rid of Comcast.

I created a Yahoo Mobile Widget

The widget I created is kinda lame but I wanted to see what the framework was like and get a little feel for mobile application development. Here’s a link to the widget:

Click here for the widget

Here’s the description:

This is a simple widget to help dial numbers like 1800-Call-ATT or 1866-store-it. If you have a QWERTY or other non-legacy keyboard (Blackberry, Treo, etc.) then this widget is for you. Enter the number as you see it. The widget will give you the numeric equivalent and a call link so you can simply press to dial.

Michelin Guide ( Taken from Chez Pim )

 

The new Michelin Guide for San Francisco is out. Let the critic’s critics get to work.

THREE STARS
The French Laundry

TWO STARS
Aqua
Chez TJ (new)
Cyrus
Manresa
Meadowood (new)
Michael Mina

ONE STAR
Acquerello
Ame (new)
Auberge du Soleil
Bistro Jeanty
Boulevard
Chez Panisse
Coi (new)
Cortez (new)
Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton,
Farmhouse Inn
Fifth Floor
Fleur de Lys
Gary Danko
K & L Bistro
La Folie
La Toque
Madrona Manor (new)
Martini House (new)
Masa’s San Francisco
One Market (new)
Quince
Range
Redd (new)
Rubicon
Sushi-Ran
Terra

BIB GOURMAND (Under $40)
A 16
Annaliên
Bar Tartine
BarBersQ
Bay Wolf
Betelnut Pejiu Wu
Café Gibraltar
Celadon
Clementine
Cook St. Helena
Cucina Paradiso
Delfina
Gaylord
Hong Kong Flower Lounge
Insalata’s
Junnoon
Kokkari Estiatorio
Koo
Le Charm
Mamacita
Mirepoix
Namu
Nopa
Olivia
Osake
Perbacco
Poleng
Pres A Vi
Rin’s Thai
Risibisi
rnm
Sauce
Scott Howard
Slanted Door (The)
Slow Club
Sociale
South Park Café
Tablespoon
Tamarindo
Tokyo Go Go
Tommaso’s
TWO
2223
Universal Café
Vanessa’s Bistro
Venticello
Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar
Willi’s Wine Bar
Yank Sing
Zuzu

Me vs. Balut

mmmmmmmm…… Just like grandma used to make.

A few weekends ago one of the silly things i said came back to haunt me. I boasted to Derrick and Jaeca that if Jaeca would find and buy a Balut Egg then I’d give it a try. For those of you that don’t know what one of these bad boys are here’s the wikipedia page. Basically Balut is a fertalized duck embryeo. Its eaten in the Philippines and Vietnam.

The taste wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, kinda like chicken gizzard or giblets cooked when you’re making gravy for Thanksgiving..  Its more of a visual thing to get over.  I was pretty full already since I didn’t have much notice when they brought the egg by.  Note the little duck guy wasn’t that bad.  The real nasty part is the yoke.  It seems like a ready made heart attack.

So if you ever think of eating one it isn’t so bad.  Give it a try 🙂

On Age

My grandmother was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. She’s getting up there in age and has decided that the cost of surgery or Chemo would affect her life more than the cancer will. I applaud her decision but I still feel bad. It was weird since my second thought after realizing that she was going to be alright was … what about me?

I felt like a real shit heel. Then I realized (or hoped) this is probably a common reaction. I realized that Grandma is doing the right thing for her and the rest of us. As she begins to decline modern medicine will make her have a pain free or mostly pain free accent to whereever we go. For the rest of us we see this from the outside. We have to see her get weak. We remember her as she was when she was healthy and vital.

What would you do?