My connection to the world wide Internets has been extremely slow since yesterday. At first I thought perhaps it was my router. I’ve had trouble with it lately in that my Internet connection completely dies and to get it back up in running, not only do I need to reboot it, but I have to return all the settings to factory default. I then have to go in and change everything back to where it was before it died, things such as wireless security and the wireless network name.
It’s a pain in the ass, but when it works, it works. I can go months before I have to do a major hardcore reboot to the router.
This problem is different. Some sites are extremely slow while others load up perfectly normal. I can quickly go to my blog, but the Feedburner widget and the Sitemeter image do not load. Other websites load, but some of the sidebar ads coming from other sites wont load and display.
Just to rule out the router, I disconnected it and plugged my modem directly into my desktop PC. It was just as slow and unresponsive.
I finally was able to go to my Internet provider’s website, MYACTV.net. The browser window would timeout the other times I tried to go there. They show that they are experiencing partial outages:
We are currently experiencing an issue which is causing slow internet speeds. We are aware of the issue and are working to correct it. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
I read over on the Consumerist that the bloated Internet auction giant eBay will be switching over to a PayPal or credit card only auction site. What this means is that if you win an auction, you have to pay for the item with either PayPal or a credit card. A credit card can be used only if the seller is set up to take credit card payments.
You can’t use a money order, a check, or even cash.
A part of me doesn’t really care since I’ve pretty much stopped using eBay entirely. I used to use it a lot. I even named this very blog after an eBay auction that went south. I had bid on and “won” an Alfonso Soriano baseball card that was advertised as being in mint condition. When I got it in the mail, I discovered it wasn’t quite in mint condition. It had a bent corner. I tried getting the seller to agree to take it back and refund my money, but he wasn’t having any part of it. This was right around the time that I was thinking about getting into blogging. I decided that I would try to extract something positive out of an experience that at the time I perceived to be negative.
EBay has just become too much of a hassle. No matter how simple the item up for auction is, it usually includes a plethora of rules and conditions. Then there is the whole feedback thing. I’ve kind of moved past caring about leaving or receiving feedback. I cared about it in the late 90’s, but not so much anymore. I purchased something off eBay a few months ago and the seller has been sending me an email at least once a telling me to leave feedback and he will do the same. Who cares? I just looked and he has a feedback of 317. I have a feedback of 437. Why should it be important to either one of us? I sure know it’s not important to me.
As it stands now, the only reason I buy something off eBay is when I can’t get it anywhere else. I would happily pay more for something if it meant I didn’t have to deal with eBay. [eBay]
I was probably the last one to know this, but Gmail is down and out and not working. I have half a mind to write a letter to them and include it with next month’s payment. Then again, I like the rest of the world, don’t pay for Gmail. I guess I have nothing to complain about.
What? Me have nothing to complain about? Never!
Who knows how long it will be down. If you feel the need to get into contact with me, feel free to contact me at rick@bentcorner.com or rick.rottman@myactv.net. Then again, if you use Gmail, you wont be able to email me so it’s really moot.
It’s like a cow’s opinion. It just doesn’t matter.
If you have Sitemeter installed on your blog and you expect people using Internet Explorer 7 to be able to read your blog, you need to remove Sitemeter. Accessing a blog running Sitemeter will cause Internet Explorer 7 to crash.
I use Firefox, but when I read about this problem over on Problogger, I started up Internet Explorer 7 and tried to view my blog. Sure enough, it crashed.
That of course is not true. I am a terrible speller. If anything, my lack of a spelling ability makes me extremely annoyed when companies attempt to be creative by dicking up the title of their website. I don’t know who they were trying to impress by placing a couple periods where they didn’t belong, but I was not impressed.
TIME has published a list of their 5 most overrated blogs and Slashdot comes in at #1. Not that I was suprised that Slashdot would make the list. I’ve never quite understood what was supposedly so bloody great about the site. What I thought was interesting was what TIME had to say about Slashdot:
Reading Slashdot these days is like visiting the IT guy at work. He’s infuriatingly smug and cares passionately about stuff you don’t care about, and views your lack of interest as further confirmation of his intellectual superiority. Enjoy.
I’m getting tired of websites that have keyword spam in the title. For example, go to MSNBC and bookmark it. Instead of it simply displayed as MSNBC in your bookmarks, it appears as the following:
Breaking News, Weather, Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Travel, Science, Technology, Local, US & World News - msnbc.com- msnbc.com
They have combined what should be the description with the title. This results in a very lengthy and confusing title in your bookmarks. It’s lengthy, unsightly, and totally unnecessary. It’s hard enough keeping bookmarks organized and efficient without content providers junking up the title with spam words. They’ve spent millions of dollars over the years creating the MSNBC brand name. People already associate MSNBC with the news. They don’t need to beat people over the head with it.
MSNBC isn’t the only one doing this. Too many websites do this. I wish they would all stop.
Matt Drudge, founder of the Internet news site the Drudge Report ran a story on his rag of a website that told the world Prince Harry was fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan. Much of the British and American press knew he was over in Afghanistan, but they all agreed to keep the story secret until Harry and his regiment returned from Afghanistan. It was believed that if it was known that a member of the Royal family was in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, it would create an extra risk not only for the Prince, but the rest of his unit.
Everyone was able to keep it a secret. Everyone except that douche bag Matt Drudge. He just had to let everyone know about it.
Because of Matt Drudge’s reckless disregard for the safety of Prince Harry and the rest of his unit, they are being withdrawn from Afghanistan. Their risk is just too high for him and the rest of the men in his unit.
My respect for Prince Harry is only matched by my contempt for Matt Drudge. Prince Harry didn’t have to put himself at risk and go to Afghanistan. His grandmother is the Queen of England and he is is third in the line of succession to the throne. Shame on Matt Drudge for putting his own desire for attention over the safety of Prince Harry and the rest of his unit.
My name is Rick Rottman and this is my blog. It's where I write about stuff.
I was born and raised in southern California, but I now live in Hagerstown, Maryland. More >>
My connection to the world wide Internets has been extremely slow since yesterday. At first I thought perhaps it was my router. I’ve had trouble with it lately in that my Internet connection completely dies and to get it back up in running, not only do I need to reboot it, but I have to return all the settings to factory default. I then have to go in and change everything back to where it was before it died, things such as wireless security and the wireless network name.
If you have Sitemeter installed on your blog and you expect people using Internet Explorer 7 to be able to read your blog, you need to remove Sitemeter. Accessing a blog running Sitemeter will cause Internet Explorer 7 to crash.
Matt Drudge, founder of the Internet news site the 
