Jacked
by Scott Hardie on November 20, 2009
It's good to be back online. We lost our Internet connection at home on Tuesday, and it has only come back on for a few minutes sporadically ever since then, just enough time to send a quick email before it vanishes again. Making sure goos got published in time wasn't easy.
It's no fun feeling dumb when you call tech support. The first thing we did when we lost the Internet connection was to turn off the cable modem, wait for it to reset, and try it again, then repeat with the router. No luck after several tries. So of course when I finally get tech support on the line, they tell me to do just that, and I do, and the connection comes right back up, and I get a short educational lecture about how that helps. Five minutes after I hang up, the connection disappears again. Thanks.
The technician today finally determined that the jack in the wall was failing, so we switched to another and it's fine now... just in time for us to spend the evening and all day tomorrow out with friends. I need to spend less time online anyway. I thought Internet addiction was a joke until I had to face it for a few days.
Four Replies to Jacked
Justin Conner | November 21, 2009
I have had the same feeling when disconnected from my video games. I think it is because I use them as an escapism technique to destress myself. After using this escapism for a long time I came to depend on it. It got to the point where I was addicted to video games and didn't know how to destress without them.
Amy Austin | November 21, 2009
Internet addiction... it's no joke!!!
Jackie Mason | November 21, 2009
[hidden by author request]
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
How to Get on My Bad Side
Sign me up for information about lap band surgery, using my work email address and work phone number. I've been getting calls from various hospitals since last week. At first I thought it was my friend and co-worker Aaron (not Shurtleff), since he has a mischievous sense of humor, but he denies it. Go »Risky Games
Here's plugging two games that I've been enjoying lately: Dice Wars is a good little miniature online game for one person, playable in about 20 minutes and very satisfying for its size. The text below the game explains the rules, but suffice to say, it's basically Risk but built to be played rapidly thanks to some rule simplification and a very swift AI. (Thanks for suggesting it, Joandy!) Go »DMV Mystery
My last car, a 1996 Mercury, was registered in my mother's name, so every year in December (the month of her birthday), the registration sticker would be delivered to her at her house and she'd have to pass it to me to put on the license plate. No big deal. A few months ago, I bought a 2007 Dodge in my name, though she co-signed the credit application since I had no credit history. Go »Trekkers Will Understand
The Netflix summary of Deep Space Nine (Season Two): "Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) heads the crew of Deep Space Nine -- including Odo (Rene Auberjonois), Worf (Michael Dom), Dax (Terry Farrell) and others -- as it travels through space, trying to keep both the ship and the areas it travels safe, secure and free. One of the first (and greatest) challenges the intrepid voyagers face is the violence of the Dominion, a group composed partially of the shape-shifting Changelings." Gee, I wonder why fans call this the most misunderstood of all Star Trek series. Go »WLW: Can't
"Can't" is a word that fat people tell ourselves a lot after so many failed diets: We can't lose the weight, we can't succeed. Hearing it from a doctor would seem inconsequential. But it still hurts. Go »
Scott Hardie | November 21, 2009
This ended abruptly. I should explain that Internet withdrawal made me very cranky, very stressed out, unable to relax for days. I didn't feel liberated; I felt like my nerves were frayed and my patience was gone. I need to cultivate more offline hobbies, and by extension I mean hobbies that don't require sitting in front of any kind of screen.