It was, just a bit ago, actually hotter in Whittier (91˚F/33˚C) than it was in Death Valley (87˚F/31˚C).
Of course, that didn't last long (it's now 88˚F/31˚C in Whittier, and 90˚F/32˚C in Death Valley), but for a bit, it was fun to brag about. ^_^
Whitter: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=lox&smap=1&textField1=33.98861&textField2=-118.05611
Death Valley: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=vef&textField1=36.486298342541&textField2=-116.84790960452&zone=1
It was so hot yesterday that I was worried that Tafyrn would completely melt, so we made sure we had plenty of cold water, and to stay in the shade as much as we could. He also got to try some of the orange-juice popsicles we had up in the freezer. You just make—or buy—some orange juice (whatever claws the furniture), pour some of it into popsicle trays, put these into the freezer for a bit and WOW—tasty popsicles! It works with home-made lemonade as well.
When he left for Vancouver this morning at 04:00, the temperature outside, here, was 71˚F/21˚C!
Anyway, we will continue to melt now...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
2008-04-27 Verizon is Still Evil
Verizon has been continuing to give us troubles, hijacking valid web addresses like www.google.com to their websearch.verizon.net "powered by Yahoo" search service. Over the last week, we were unable to get to many major sites on the Internet. Yet, all the time, connecting via IP worked without problems.
It is clear that the problem is in Verizon's network — their "DNS Assistance" service is mistakenly thinking that valid addresses do not exist. However, their support organization is sadly even more broken than their network...
We called front line support, and the lady that first helped us correctly narrowed down the problem to DNS resolution, and was starting to walk us through the procedure to "opt out" of "DNS Assistance". However, when she found out that we were using a Macintosh, she refused to provide further assistance, and indicated we had to talk to someone in their Macintosh support department. (Despite the steps being configuration changes to the modem, which had nothing to do with the operating system)
Ten minutes of holding later, we talked with another fellow, who first refused to acknowledge that the problem even existed, then said that the problem was the browser that we were using and told us that all he could recommend was to download Firefox, despite the fact that I walked him through the fact that you could see the problem just using telnet, and that the DNS resolution subsystem is independent from the browser.
So, time for a supervisor...
Ten minutes more holding, and the supervisor said that "nothing could be wrong with their network, and that the problem was with the modem." So I specifically asked if the DNS resolution code that redirects me to a different address when the requested address is not found was in the modem. He answered that it was, and said that the only thing he could do was to send me a new modem.
ARRRGGGGG!!!
Of course, while on hold, I found forum postings on how to change the modem DNS configurations, the passwords for the modem, and the official Verizon support page that describes how to "opt-out".
Official Verizon DNS Assistance Opt-Out Instructions
We're going to take the screenshots of Verizon redirecting www.google.com to a yahoo branded search service and send them to google, since this hijacking is completely unacceptable, even if it is the result of their system problems.
It is clear that the problem is in Verizon's network — their "DNS Assistance" service is mistakenly thinking that valid addresses do not exist. However, their support organization is sadly even more broken than their network...
We called front line support, and the lady that first helped us correctly narrowed down the problem to DNS resolution, and was starting to walk us through the procedure to "opt out" of "DNS Assistance". However, when she found out that we were using a Macintosh, she refused to provide further assistance, and indicated we had to talk to someone in their Macintosh support department. (Despite the steps being configuration changes to the modem, which had nothing to do with the operating system)
Ten minutes of holding later, we talked with another fellow, who first refused to acknowledge that the problem even existed, then said that the problem was the browser that we were using and told us that all he could recommend was to download Firefox, despite the fact that I walked him through the fact that you could see the problem just using telnet, and that the DNS resolution subsystem is independent from the browser.
So, time for a supervisor...
Ten minutes more holding, and the supervisor said that "nothing could be wrong with their network, and that the problem was with the modem." So I specifically asked if the DNS resolution code that redirects me to a different address when the requested address is not found was in the modem. He answered that it was, and said that the only thing he could do was to send me a new modem.
ARRRGGGGG!!!
Of course, while on hold, I found forum postings on how to change the modem DNS configurations, the passwords for the modem, and the official Verizon support page that describes how to "opt-out".
Official Verizon DNS Assistance Opt-Out Instructions
We're going to take the screenshots of Verizon redirecting www.google.com to a yahoo branded search service and send them to google, since this hijacking is completely unacceptable, even if it is the result of their system problems.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
2008-03-02 Spring Flower Photos
We went walking through the hills in Hellman park, Whittier, and took some photographs of some blooming flowers along the trail. The hills were alive with green, and the mustard plants were almost as tall as we were.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
2008-03-01 The Tar Pits
We were originally planning to take the train up to to Santa Barbara for the day, but in our haste to depart, we forgot the discount tickets that would have made the trip affordable. So, given that we were already almost at Union Station, we just stayed on the 720 bus, and got off at the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries (a.k.a., the La Brea Tar Pits). ^_^
We've been there once before, and we very much enjoyed the experience. The last time we went, the pits were fairly active, with large amounts of tar and methane bubbling up to the surface. This time, the geology was a little more subdued, but we still had a wonderful time.
In the main water-filled pit, near the front entrance, a statue was erected to depict a wooly mammoth caught in the tar, slowing sinking to her death. This time, we noticed a subtle detail that had escaped us on our first visit: The statue actually moves back and forth over time. It's a neat effect, one that makes you wonder until you look closely and line everything up to prove to yourself that it is indeed moving.
Despite the lack of activity, the tar slicks on the surface of the water were beautiful, and we took many photographs of the diffraction patterns. Quantum Physics in Action!
Inside the museum, there was a very cute statue of a dire wolf. ^_^
A tree in the inner courtyard at the museum is beginning to seed.
While walking across the grass, we noticed a fair number of tar seeps. One has to be quite careful walking around the grounds and surrounding neighbourhood to avoid sticky shoes.
Finally, we visited Pit 91, and were able to see some of the palaeontologists working on preparing the excavation for the 2008 working year. Wow — That's a dirty job.
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