Camen Design Forum

What do you do when the telephone lines go dead?

append delete Martijn

Yesterday sucked. Today will suck too.

2 days ago we had constant thunderstorms. We even fled the house after an outlet in the living decided to unload into the ground, shooting lightning out of the wall. When we got back home nothing had happened, all electronics were working.

What is the first thing you do? You plug in your modem again — you notice it doesn’t do anything. You pick up the phone — you notice it doesn’t have a signal.

Currently I’m limited to using a mobile broadband connector (or dongle) which just about manages Mobile Facebook and this forum. I’m going to hang up now, going back to the prehistory.

According to the phone company there are no known problems around here, they also say they *try* to fix things within 3 work days. Let’s hope they get around to it before the weekend.

If you have any tips what to do, leave them here and I’ll check them out when I get online again. Also: don’t expect me to be very active on the forum.

Martijn added on

Tips on what to do to spend my offline time, not tips on fixing my phone ;-)

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append delete #1. Kroc

I think theraje could help you here, he's still stuck on 28K dial-up. I can't believe I survived before having always-on broadband. I remember having 56K dial-up (AOL, lol) and connecting for an hour each day to check e-mail and forums. Back then I was doing a lot of VB6 programming, so I did most of my learning using an offline copy of MSDN and pouring through samples from freevbcode.com

I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have the Internet. There's plenty I *could* do, like play on the Gameboy / PlayStation / Wii, but without an Internet connection I get withdrawl symptons and don't feel like do anything :P

Try doing something really out of the ordinary for you, like art, to pass the time quicker.

append delete #2. theraje

I have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. Our house is a veritable jury-rigged rat's nest of telephone cordery. Usually I spend my time trying to troubleshoot this "network" of lines when the phones aren't working. We have an unusually high telephone cord mortally rate in this house (Kroc insists it is because I fry them from overuse).

Of course, most of my non-Internet hobbies require some entry fees. For example, I play electric guitar (which requires an amp, cables, an electric guitar of course, and effect boxes). I also just got into woodcarving (which either requires an expensive knife or two, and chisels/gouges for detail work... or cheap tools which require resharpening every five minutes -- and then you need suitable wood, along with other miscellaneous hand tools).

Then there are my hobbies which require less of an entry fee (assuming you own a computer, which I will do if you would so indulge me) -- programming JavaScript Canvas games/demos, as well as the occasional board game (playing -or- designing).

append delete #3. Neolander

Well, I think it's a bit the same as with electricity outages : if you have a girl/boyfriend, the most obvious option is to enjoy some leisure time away from the civilization together. You can also visit your friends (physically) and play some good offline game like an improvised tabletop RPG :)

append delete #4. theraje

Hmmmmm.....

“if you have a girl/boyfriend, the most obvious option is to enjoy some leisure time away from the civilization together.”

OR......

“You can also visit your friends (physically) and play some good offline game like an improvised tabletop RPG”

Sex, or a character-sheet orgy... decisions, decisions.

append delete #5. Neolander

“Sex, or a character-sheet orgy... decisions, decisions. ”

Actually, I have tried the "both" option once (roleplaying with friends and my girlfriend, then spending some time alone together). I was a bit anxious about both groups meeting for the first time, but it rocked, and I hope I can make it happen again one day :)

append delete #6. Wannes

“I have tried the "both" option once”

Got me going for a sec there ;)

I'm sure you'll find something to do, after you've got rid of that withdrawal symptoms. I try now and then to leave my computer alone for a couple days, and do something else. It works quite easily once you're used to it.

Or do what you normally do on vacation, I don't have internet with me on that occasions, it's a moment of relaxing.

append delete #7. Martijn

Withdrawal symptoms are horrible, I totally get what Kroc is saying: don’t feel like doing much at all. Well, other than worrying about when we get back our connection.

“[Kroc:] Try doing something really out of the ordinary for you, like art, to pass the time quicker.”

That might work, there is a drawing I got to finish somewhere.

“[theraje:] Then there are my hobbies which require less of an entry fee — programming JavaScript Canvas games/demos, as well as the occasional board game.”

I’m not much of a game programmer, but I might try some board games. The big problem are players…

“[Neolander (paraphrased by theraje):] Sex, or a character-sheet orgy… decisions, decisions.”

Both are pretty much out. Both for the same reason actually, lack of interested people ;-)

At the moment I’m just going through MySims Agents on the Wii, not really a deep story line, but a fun and light story line all the same. (And most importantly one I haven’t played yet.)

It’s not much like a power outage. I’ve been through those too, a 10 hour one last winter even. That’s much easier to cope with since you don’t have access to computers or TV. Now you have access to everything but can’t actually do anything…

append delete #8. Neolander

“"I have tried the "both" option once"

Got me going for a sec there ;) ”

Totally on purpose :)

append delete #9. John Mullins

Quite an interesting thought, really. Should I find myself sans-internet, I would also find myself with quite some free time on my hands. This is likely to result in to some people around where I go to college to try and build their own network. Because, really; once you've tasted the sweet sweet taste of the internet once, you can't ever go without.

append delete #10. Martijn

Apparently telephone plugs are very sensitive, just shutting of power to the modem can still burn the receiver plug itself. Somehow, this shock can than travel network cables too, since it burned both our modem and router.

Currently I’m back online again, although with a worse router. Thanks for all the good advice people!

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Your friendly neighbourhood moderators: Kroc, Impressed, Martijn