You know the old game, rock, paper scissors? You know it, right?
Paper covers rock – Scissors cut paper – Rock breaks scissors?
An updated version might be:
Hedge trimmer slices phone cable.
Sometimes when the internet seems realllllly slowwwww, the problem is somewhat more fundamental.
This is another way to disconnect from the world.
It is nice when someone trims your hedges, though it can at times interfere with making a PODCAzT. And not just because of the noise!
Soooo…. I got to work from my phone for a while.
Yes… it has been a period for various kinds of technical problems.
The good news is, now that the cable is a foot shorter, the internet is sure to be faster!
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According to traditional rules of thumb, given fairly heavy use of the connection, say three applications on average over a twenty-four hour day, you should gain about 30 μs, or 3 ten-thousandths of a second over the course of a year.
Man, I guess the parish office is quiet today!
Uuuh, Father, I think you might want to get a professional to come resplice that cable for you. Mere electrical connectivity is not the only thing that matters (inductance, noise rejection, etc…). You also want it waterproof.
As for a foot shorter making your connection faster – I calculate that as 1.25 nanoseconds faster. Horray for small victories! :)
1-800-252-1166 is the Gopher State One Call, in Missouri it’s 1-800-DIG-RITE. I think your guy should call before doing any drastic measures! ;-)
I have a funny story about cut wires. Many years ago in England, we had a house rabbit who loved to chew wires. I was on the phone and assumed some rude person had hung up on me, when I looked down and saw my black rabbit with wire in teeth. In those days, one rented phones and wires from the companies. The telephone man came out to repair the wire and when he saw Sooty Little Ears staring up at him by the phone jack, he laughed so hard we got a new free phone.
Fr Z,
Tzard makes a good point about the need for being waterproof.* Rather than splicing though, I would suggest that the entire wire run be replaced so that there are no splices. Also, I would recommend that the wire be run up high near the roof line and dropped down to the entry point so that this type of accident is precluded in the future.
* Water got into one of my phone cable runs at home once. The water caused a short. If the conditions are right the short triggers a 9-1-1 call. Imagine our surprise when the police showed up at our door to ask what the emergency was.
Dear Fr. Z I just now got on and saw the cut cable and am still laughing, been there and did that with a trimmer one time.
Fr. Z’s been doing so good lately, that Satan has unleashed the Murphy demons…. ;)
St. Sabina, pray for the Farm! :) (I don’t see a St. Horace, alas.)
Seriously… we’ve got St. Gabriel for telecommunications, and St. Isidore the Encylopedist for the Internet, yes. However, we should probably call in some prayers from St. Catherine of Alexandria as patroness of mechanics and scholars, and St. Hubert as patron of mathematicians, metalworking, and precision instruments. Especially since Fr. Z is doing a lot of hunting around to find problems. Oh, and of course St. Anthony the Abbot, in case it really is demons.
Perhaps there is some sort of exorcism prayer for computer equipment? It seems like you have been having WAY too many problems lately. At the very least some strategically placed holy water might do the trick, or a St. Benedict medal? :)
Fr. Z, you need to call in the big guns….. St. MacGyver.
I did that with my hedge trimmer once back when I wasn’t using the telephone company for my internet service (or phone service for that matter). After my alternative internet service went kaput, I signed up for DSL service. I had fixed the connection using black tape and wire nuts. After signing up for DSL, I came home from work one day and the splice had been repaired by the phone company. Pretty cool.
Indeed on the “getting it replaced”… the “spliced” connection may work, but the efficiency of the signal may be seriously compromised. It makes less difference in an electrical connection… the light bulb will continue to lght whether it gets all or some of the power coming to it. But a digital signal? Your going to be getting less signal strength and slower speed.
Gee. Fr. Z, you’re having a heck of a time techno-wise!
Better get those wires covered up or replaced-we don’t want to hear that the house at the Sabine Farm has gone up in flames due to a shorted wire!
Supertradmom-ooohhh, that bunny story was soooo funny!