Yah boo sucks
Jimmy, the messenger of the gods, more formally known as Mercury
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Our internet went down on Friday afternoon and it has taken more than 24 hours to get it going again. We have a hybrid hub, a 4G/5G back-up, that kicks in to cover our needs, but the data side of the mobile ‘phone network failed as well, so we were bereft, back in the pre-digital age. 😉
Listening to the conversations between Barry and various engineers is interesting because they tell him all the things they tell other people. Then he tells them that he was heavily involved in internet technology development many years ago and other digital technology, including messaging, as far back as the 70s, and the conversations take another path entirely, and are much more interesting.
Anyway, it’s up and working again. While it was down, I read a book - a complete, hard copy. It was great! We had to relearn how to turn on lights and radios without the assistance of Alexa. When we forgot, she solemnly informed us that, basically, she couldn’t do anything, but we could unplug and plug in again and maybe that would work. It didn’t!
It did
make me think about the ramifications of a cyber-attack, though. Frightening!
Internet being down is a disaster. I would love to read a hard copy book again. The smell of lead.
ReplyDeleteOnce you accept it's down, it's quite relaxing, except that we kept wanting to find out about things quickly and couldn't.
DeleteCyber attacks are, in my humble opinion, much less of a concern than the inevitable power cuts coming down the line as a consequence of all politicians Net Zero insanities. For the thi to half of the year that the wind doesn't blow enough/too much, and the regular darkness from sunset to sunrise, our zero carbon economy will have to get by rubbing two sticks together in the hope that we might get a spark!
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, my husband remarked that he wondered if the power outage at Manchester Airport today was linked to too little sun or no wind. Will we ever know?
DeleteThis is why I have a stash of wooden pencils and a jackknife, lol. I was without power and the internet for 10 days after our hurricane in Sept 2022, but I still had my cell phone (not a smart phone, no internet) so not completely cut off. It is truly thought-provoking, though, isn't it? (And I'd like to have heard the conversation your husband had!
ReplyDeleteTen days without power sounds almost inconceivable and makes me realise how fortunate we are in this corner of the world. I can't remember - you must have a generator, do you?
DeleteI am a little concerned that our current home is all electric. We would be quite stuck in the event of a power cut. Our old house had a gas hob and a working open fire so we could at least cook by candlelight and keep warm.
ReplyDeleteI understand your concern. We have gas and electricity and multi-fuel stoves. We don't often have power cuts, either.
DeleteWouldn't a mass outage for days wreak havoc. Without the internet for banking and paying, what would the banks do if everyone suddenly needed cash? I suppose stay at home and read a book, as you did. I doubt public transport aside from buses could work now without the internet. Would petrol pumps still work? But how to pay. Nightmare.
ReplyDeleteWe have become too reliant on technology in many ways. We are at the mercy of evil intent (happy thought!)
DeleteI still read old fashioned books, I follow a preppers group on Facebook, based in Wales, someone I knew went to live off grid, the group is aimed at women, and I find it interesting. We do have a gas hob, plus a good camping stove and our BBQ, water would always make the biggest issue.
ReplyDeleteI don't often read during the day, apart from looking things up on the internet, so it was really enjoyable to sit and read.
DeleteI suppose I could survive if the internet went down for more than 24 hours. But there is no way of knowing if my computer has been mangled (by me or by anyone else) or if it is a country-wide problem that has nothing to do with my technological incompetence.
ReplyDeleteTelling us retrospectively what happened will not prevent anxiety attacks or heart damage.
Quite a few hundred people were affected by our outage and the engineers worked all night. We don't know what we don't know!
ReplyDeleteIf the internet simply died, I think there would be a lot of people who were totally 'lost' without it. I would probably be one of them, at least for a time. But in the end, I think we would be the better for it.
ReplyDeleteWe would end up reinventing the wheel and that might not be such a bad thing!
DeleteEvery industry is heavily dependent on technology/Internet. A cyber attack is frightening to think about. The electrical grid, communications, banking could all collapse. The other day in Massachusetts, the entire emergency call, 9-1-1, system went out. An emergency broadcast was sent out that if you had an emergency, you had to call the local police or fire telephone number. Who memorizes phone numbers any more? Himself was at the grocery store when the first emergency broadcast was sent out. Everyone's phone went off at the same time. Like it was a nuclear alert or alien invasion. Very scary.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how frightening that was.
DeleteOur reliance on technology is very worrying. There was huge concern about the year turning to 2000 in case computer systems could not cope.I'm quite sure the techies had it well in hand years before the new millennium started but it didn't stop the general population - generally ill-informed and prey to panic - predicting all sorts of calamities.
We have lost - almost - the ability to react to emergencies, using our own resources.
A sobering thought about our reliance on technology. It is a blessing in many ways but our reliance on it opens up other concerns and consequences when it fails for whatever reason. I'm glad your internet is back up and working again and that during the 'down' techi time you were able to enjoy the pleasures of a physical book.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't important or disruptive for us, but for businesses it could be very damaging.
DeleteI had trouble handling a three-hour internet stoppage issue the other week :-)
ReplyDeleteThat made me smile!
DeleteI lived most of my life without internet, but have become so dependent on it (and cell phone service). We were under a tornado warning less than a half hour ago, and all the warnings were on our phones (and my 5G/wi-fi connected watch). Do they even have tornado sirens anymore? What if the Internet had been down?
ReplyDeleteWe used to have a siren for the local 'hospital for the criminally insane' (Broadmoor - you may have heard of it) and it was tested every Monday morning. Now, there's an alert on something or other - not nearly as efficient.
DeleteYes, we have become so dependent on technology ...
ReplyDeletePleased that your internet is back up and working.
May the week ahead be free of any technical problems.
All the best Jan
. . . and so say all of us!
DeleteIt's quite frightening how dependent on the Internet we've become, and I'm afraid a global cyber-attack will one day be a reality. We haven't got Alexa so we're still doing things manually. However, we got used to having her assistance in our holiday cottage, so being back home is a bit of a letdown :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed your holiday:-)
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