My alarm system has successfully knocked out any and all phone connections from my house. It made a call to the alarm company (false alert) on Saturday and the system has been dead since then. Strangely enough, I still had intermittent DSL sync until late last night. I went to the phone box outside the house and was able to get a dial tone there. Then I checked where the phone line comes into the house. I was able to splice an old RJ-45 line into the wire. Got a dial tone there too. After that the line routes through the alarm system and back to the internal splitter. Checked the line after the alarm system loop and got big fat nothing. Once or twice around the house I got the 'fast disconnect' sound that happens when a phone is left off of the hook. My theory is that the alarm called the dispatch office, but never actually let go of the line. I'm afraid to reset the alarm system without notifying the company that I'm going to monkey with the thing lest they send the cops. So far no one at the alarm company is returning my calls. Joy be the homeowner.
We just got our summer interns here at BOTI. The have clearly been chosen for assets that do not directly relate to their scholarly endeavors.
Links
- I've been in a Zen like state with work lately so I haven't really had time to surf the outer edges of the Internets. Hence the tendency for links that are a bit more focused on my immediate interests. For instance, I was rather excited for the launch of Cucumber Pepsi in Japan (not that I have any way to get my hands on a case). Apparently Cucumber Pepsi sucks. As an aficionado of odd sodas, I can't tell you how much this saddens me. The same site with the very brief review of the odd Pepsi product pointed me out to this History of the Oregon Trail computer game. I sucked at Oregon Trail. I never bought enough ox handles or wagon wheels or whatever it was that would break every thirty seconds and end up stranding me all Donner Party style in the mountains. My video game news blogroll also pointed me out to this video of every NES title screen in five minutes. If you're looking for something seizure-tastic, well, I've got your back. Another site pointed me to this listing of the top five tower defense flash games out there. Say what you will but Desktop Tower Defense is still near and dear to my heart.
- On a non game related note, the schedule for Lollapalooza 2008 has been released. While strong, there's not a single day that has me saying 'Fuck me if I miss this I don't deserve to go on living'. Daft Punk would be fun, but not in those circumstances. Ditto LCD Soundsystem. Plus single day tickets are $80 each. Of course they'll be abundant on Craigslist day of show if you feel like rolling the dice on that. If you are going to lolla, you might want to import some of this ice in a can (maybe they can throw in come Cucumber Pepsi?) from Nippon.