Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Internet Saga Continues

Spent a good part of my evening over at the Verizon store yesterday.  Once again, on the phone with Tech support.  They tried many things, but to no avail.  The tech I was speaking too, finally admitted defeat.  He imputed a "trouble ticket" to some higher up techies and apologized for all my troubles.  He says they have had very little trouble with this newest card and just can't seemed to see why my card keeps disconnecting itself from the internet. 
They asked me to give them a couple of days to work on a solution.  I agreed, but if they can't solve the problem...then I need to move on to a different device.  I will let you know how it all plays out.
On to a more pleasant subject.  I have started my next painting.  It is going to be a portrait of a baby giraffe that I saw while visiting the Living Desert Zoo in California last winter.  I was fortunate enough to catch this guy with the most whimsical expression....chewing on a piece of grass....check it out here.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Verizon Card Issues.....

Thanks for all the input on the Verizon air card.  I have not made it over to Verizon as of yet.....I know I'll be in for a long day.  I also wanted to really have some time in with the card so I can describe exactly what it is and is not doing.  I'm sure the dang thing will behave beautifully while at the Verizon store.  
My main complaint is that it either disconnects itself or goes dormant and it is difficult at times to re-connect.  Sometimes it thinks it is connected when it is not.  My computer has also gone "grey" with a request to shut down and restart....so I am suspecting the Verizon software is at fault at this point.  It is just not playing well with my mac.
Many of you mentioned you have the "mifi" as opposed to the "aircard" and I would have went that way if the decision were up to me alone.  My hubby wanted the aircard.  He wants to purchase the Wifi Ranger and use the aircard with it.  I recently found out that this particular card is not currently compatible with the Ranger, but they will be releasing the appropriate software in the next few weeks.  Another feature of this particular card, is that you do have an access point to directly plug an external antenna into the card and boost it's signal.  We have used this before with our old card that also had an antenna port and it does work.  
 Bottom line.....I'm heading back to Verizon tomorrow and hopefully we can get this thing working in a more reliable fashion.  We really like the card and it's features (when it works)......so we shall see.

Friday, June 17, 2011

New aircard

We made the decision to upgrade to the Verizon 4g aircard USB551L.  We know that 4g is not everywhere, but it is here in Lafayette.  They also claim that even with 3g service the card will provide higher more reliable service.  Well, so far this has been a nightmare.  I spent the better part of an afternoon trying to get the first aircard they sold me to work.  I will say....I was working with the store manager and he stuck with it till we had a solution.....a replacement card.  Took that back home and we are still having issues.  I did realize that I needed to upgrade the verizon software.....which I did....and did notice some improvement.  Still, we have issues.  The thing goes dormant at the drop of a hat......that is suppose to be a temporary condition......as soon as it senses activity is should awaken itself.....it doesn't always follow through.  Many times I have to disconnect and then re-connect manually.  We also have problems at start up.....sometimes it will show it is connected and it is not.  Again I have to disconnect and re-connect until it actually starts working.  Don't you just love technology?  I'm guessing I will be returning to the verizon store tomorrow for another long session.  I'm really not sure what our solution is here.  I'm starting to wonder if the card and software are truly compatible with our Mac operating system.  Of course, no one at the Verizon store has a clue about Macs.  In fact, we had to go through 5 techs on the phone before we found someone at the "support center" that had a clue of the mac operating system.  I guess the most confusing part for me is "what" the actual problem is......is it the card.....the software.....or the signal itself.  
I will say when it does work.....I love it....the speed is fabulous!  So, anybody out there in blogland that has any suggestions.....I'm listening!!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Back to the Easel

Here I am....revisiting an old friend....the truck and the hare.  It felt so good getting the pelican painting finished that I have put the old truck back on my easel.  I had a bout 2 hours to spend on it yesterday......
Still have some "rock" work to do and I will be adding some cacti and probably a few more smaller rocks.  I want to get the foreground completed and then I'll move on to the hare and the finishing details on the truck.  
The past couple of days have been absolutely glorious here in Indiana........cool, dry, and sunny!  Makes me feel like dancing, singing, and howling at the moon!  Yes....it is quite the sight to see....just ask my husband!  LOL!  Oh yeah, Mesha is just doing great.....man I love that dog, she has been a real "gift" to our lives!  When she lays here head on my chest and bats those big blue eyes.....I just melt!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Pelican Done!

It has taken a while to get back into the "painting groove"!  I finally was able to finish my pelican painting and I am pretty satisfied with the results....check it out.....
 I will be putting this up on my web site.....as soon as I figure out the whole "shopping cart" system.  That was a major goal for this year....making my paintings available for purchase directly through my website.  I'll be working on this tonight and I have a great tutorial to follow so I'm hoping it all goes smoothly.  If you would like to see more photos of the pelican painting, you can pop on over to my art blog.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Apple and Willie The Worm

Lookie what I found outside my door yesterday.  Pretty little thing don't ya think.

As Apple folk we were glued to the news yesterday and this morning awaiting all the info on the latest Apple developments.  I have to say I'm pretty excited about this whole "ICloud" thing and a little apprehensive as well.  Something a bit unnerving about my "stuff" hanging out there in cyberspace, but I think it is where we are all headed to eventually.  So, I'm gonna buckle up my cyber seat belt...jam the torpedoes, and full speed ahead......traveling to where no person has gone before.....to the next frontier!

I'm also pretty excited about the next operating system to be released in July.  It has some great features and all for about $30! Can't wait!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Cell Phone Decisions

I'm sure hoping things start to settle down around here.  It seems of late I have had no time just to "be" at home.  Everyday there is an errand or two to run or a problem to solve.  Ah well, I guess it is good to be needed!  

One of the errands I ran yesterday was to ATT.  My family just all got new phones and a new plan to go with it.  My son, myself, and my mother all went with the 3Gs Iphone.  Billy went with a "free" ATT phone made by Pantech.  I had thought about going with a less expensive and more simple phone, but in the end I just couldn't  talk myself into it.  I had an original Iphone...then moved up to the 3G and I just like the ease of use and access to the internet.  The Iphone is not perfect....they have their issues....the screen freezing is my main complaint.  It seems all "smart phones" have their good and bad points, but overall I love my Iphone.

As to the plan, we went with the family plan with the lowest minutes (700).  We added the unlimited cell to cell (any cell on any network) and unlimited text message for $30.  We all love to text....even my Mom has gotten into the action with her new Iphone.  Of course, we all (with the exception of Billy) have data plans too.  So, everyone is happily talking, surfing, and texting....to their hearts content these days.  

My trip to ATT was to pay my portion of the new family plan bill plus pay the final bill for our old cell plan.  Note to self...pay attention to ending and starting plan dates.  Not only did I have to pay a full bill cycle for the old plan, but I also had to pay for a full bill cycle plus those darn activation charges for the new plan.  All I can say is....I am doing my part to keep our economy going!!  LOL!  So, we stuck with ATT ..... but we do have a Verizon air card for the internet.  We have been very happy with the air card and that will be our next upgrade......to the new G4....not so much for the G4 because we know that is very limited in its service area, but for the better rate and data plans now available.  I'll let ya know how that all turns out in the future.