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Post by onlyMark on Jun 19, 2019 18:09:02 GMT
I'm sure I can work that in somewhere.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 18:09:51 GMT
I was impressed that, regarding politics (mostly Nixon), my father told me years later "you told me what would happen, and you were right." I was amazed that an older person would admit such a thing.
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Post by bjd on Jun 19, 2019 18:24:49 GMT
You are doing them a great favor, Mark! One day they will realize they have turned into resourceful and independent people because you nudged them to learn how. re: anti-vaxxers -- New York, Washington, and Maine have abolished religious exemptions for the measles vaccine, thank goodness. Mark, if your daughters have smartphones, they don't need wifi to use an internet connection. There is an option called "tethering and mobile hotspot" (under Settings). You turn it on and the phone acts as a wifi connection. It uses the battery up pretty fast. You can also use it as a wifi connection for a computer. Questions, Bjd! Since I returned home, I have not restored any services to my smartphone, only using it with my home wifi. I was curious about what it would cost to have a subscription service for the mobile phone, but don't really understand the choices. Several of the options offer wifi as well, but would it be like the fixed wifi I have with my regular phone line? Or would it be as you describe, with the phone taking the place of a router and the battery being sucked dry? Bixa -- you are the techie, not me! Anyway, from what I understand, the phone uses a mobile signal to provide a wifi connection. So even if you are not near a wifi connection somewhere, you can use your phone as a mobile hotspot. I used to do this at this house before we moved definitely and had our internet connection transferred. If I recall, up to 10 people can use it at the same time at least with my provider). The instructions should be in settings in your phone: something like turn on the wifi, and there is a code to be used to get access to your phone connection.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 18:57:25 GMT
When I was in Italy last week, I was extremely worried about extra charges for using Whatsapp or GPS data. Did not make any phone calls. I do know that for normal European mobile contracts, all roaming charges have been eliminated. But I was not sure for myself since I purposely subscribed to a very limited plan for technophobes. From what I can tell, I was not charged anything extra for my use.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 19, 2019 19:29:12 GMT
I'm completely running my internet from a cellphone connection. It gets dodgy in the mid-mornings, I think maybe neighbors are streaming soap operas or something I am sorta out in the boonies here. I got a new TIM card when I arrived, it is for 30 days, has 30GB of data 300 calls, and 200 SMS. All this if I am remembering correctly of course. The beauty of internet over cell is that you can access it absolutely anywhere there is a sufficiently strong signal, anywhere in Europe and it's all the same. I tether the phone to my laptop using either USB or Bluetooth tethering. Out in the country it can be slow or even non-existant, but near any towns, it will work fine. In cities it can sometimes be faster than my home wired broadband.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 19:36:39 GMT
I'm completely running my internet from a cellphone connection. It gets dodgy in the mid-mornings I have noticed for years that in hotels, the internet connection stops working at "rush hour."
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Post by Kimby on Jun 19, 2019 19:47:22 GMT
We just spent hours on a Verizon chat trying to figure out why our internet connection (from Verizon cell towers via WiFi hotspot on a Samsung tablet) has gotten Sooooo Sloooww. Like 280 kbps slow, similar to dialup.
After having us change multiple settings, remove and reinsert SIMcard, restart and restart again, we were only able to briefly get up to 1.5 mbps, but then back to 680kbps. Meanwhile my AT&T iPhone was pulling in 3.5 mbps!
We asserted right at the beginning that our problems began when Verizon introduced Unlimited Data plans awhile back. Without embarking on a massive capital expansion of towers and bandwidth for all the unlimited users.
Sure enough, after about 90 minutes of trouble-shooting,the Verizon customer care rep concluded that “congestion” was to blame. SMH. At least he said he would forward our complaint to the higher ups for consideration.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 20:06:10 GMT
Visiting "odd" countries is rarely the specific problem. After visiting quite a few countries in the world (forgetting all of those where I went before the realm of wifi), I will still affirm that the best and fastest wifi that I ever experienced was in a very modest (cheap) hotel in Puebla, Mexico. I am still waiting for an equally good experience somewhere. I am not even sure that my fiber optic wifi at home is better than the connection at that hotel.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 21:05:45 GMT
I'm completely running my internet from a cellphone connection. How do you do that, Fumobici? I am curious because I'm wondering if it would be worth my while to give up my landline and (absolutely fabulous) wifi connection. I use the computer a lot and am spoiled with having a good connection, It would be nice to be able to use my phone while out and about, now that I have the damned thing, but I don't want to pay for two separate services so I can have home computer and mobile phone.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2019 21:19:32 GMT
I absolutely do not know how these packages work in other countries. My land line, mobile phone and television are all part of the same package. If I got rid of one of the elements, I don't know if I would save any money. I have unlimited calls to 100 or so countries, unlimited text messages and about 120 television channels for 90 euros a month. I have no idea how this compares to other countries, but I seem to have read that France is one of the cheaper countries.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 22:07:52 GMT
I assume that is your internet connection as well, right? That seems like a bunch of money to me, but I suppose the television portion is what drives the price up.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 19, 2019 22:23:09 GMT
I'm completely running my internet from a cellphone connection. How do you do that, Fumobici? I am curious because I'm wondering if it would be worth my while to give up my landline and (absolutely fabulous) wifi connection. I use the computer a lot and am spoiled with having a good connection, It would be nice to be able to use my phone while out and about, now that I have the damned thing, but I don't want to pay for two separate services so I can have home computer and mobile phone. If your phone plan has unlimited data, you’re good to go. Assuming your phone can act as a hot spot. If there is only one person in your household, you won’t have to worry about the phone being away from the computer when you want to use it. You should even be able to test it out before committing. Just turn on your phone hot spot and connect to it with your computer. If it’s fast enough, at high usage times of day, you’re golden. Give it a try. You might find you can disconnect from your current internet provider and save some money. And, your internet will be portable, if you have a laptop, as the hot spot goes with you. We use a tablet for hot spot, but the idea is the same.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2019 22:51:24 GMT
Thanks, Kimby! How does that affect the phone battery -- does it wear it out faster or anything? I know these are naive questions, but I know nothing about this stuff. I've checked Telcel's package offers and they seem generous, but my ignorance keeps me from making a decision.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 20, 2019 1:51:31 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 20, 2019 2:51:04 GMT
Hm. That is what I suspected. Thanks, Mark! I'm better off keeping my landline phone & broadband ($29 a month) and just topping up the mobile phone when I need it ($5.25 for 15 days).
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Post by bjd on Jun 20, 2019 6:17:46 GMT
I absolutely do not know how these packages work in other countries. My land line, mobile phone and television are all part of the same package. If I got rid of one of the elements, I don't know if I would save any money. I have unlimited calls to 100 or so countries, unlimited text messages and about 120 television channels for 90 euros a month. I have no idea how this compares to other countries, but I seem to have read that France is one of the cheaper countries. That sounds like a lot of money to me too, but perhaps it's the TV stuff. My internet connection with unlimited usage, a landline with all the free calls to other countries, and a bunch of TV channels costs 31.98€/month, plus my unlimited cell phone use costs 15.99. From the same provider, my husband has a cell phone package with 2 hours/month of calls and I don't know how many texts for 2€/month. But his phone is never on and he has never used up his 2 hours worth. In fact, they called me yesterday offering some great new deal but the caller was a bit disappointed when I told him all I watched on TV was the news on France24.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 20, 2019 6:52:57 GMT
The optical fibre installation modified the price a bit.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 20, 2019 12:40:43 GMT
In Zambia, cable TV with a full range of channels costs about 75 euro a month. The cheapest unlimited internet costs about 85 euros a month.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 20, 2019 13:08:04 GMT
Thanks, Kimby! How does that affect the phone battery -- does it wear it out faster? We use a tablet and I’ve never activated my phone’s hot spot, so don’t know but I assume so. When we turn on the tablet’s hot spot, an alert comes up that says battery use will be faster with hot spot in use, and plugging in is recommended. Do you know about “charging bricks”, bixa? Mine is 1”x1”x3”, and gives me two charges of my iphone. www.walmart.com/ip/Onn-Portable-Battery-Power-Bank-6700-Mah-Blue/400473825Here’s some.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 20, 2019 13:29:15 GMT
Yes, for tethering to a phone, a power brick is a very good idea. It will keep both your laptop and phone happily fed with power for hours anywhere you are and provides useful line conditioning that your device batteries and the rest of the electronics within those devices will benefit from. Unless you have silly phone that has a non user-replaceable battery, don't even worry about the effect of tethering on its life. New batteries are cheap and can be replaced in a minute or so.
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 20, 2019 15:55:54 GMT
"...line conditioning..." Is this a technical term?
Put simply Bixa, which is how I think, imagine - you pay $29 a month which includes broadband - unlimited? Speed? 1) Stay as you are, or, 2) For a comparable speed and limit you could pay on a contract $19 a month with a SIM card for your mobile. 3) A cheap smartphone which would be compatible with the SIM and can be made into a hotspot costs $80.
Get a SIM and cheap phone, plug it into the mains and leave it, negating the battery usage problem - so it in effect becomes your router. You'll get your money back in eight months and it is portable. Complication - if the phone and data costs more it depends on how fast it is and what the limit is as to if it is worth it for you and what you use/need/want. For me, unlimited is something I do have have paid a lot for as it is quite important and as for speed, I can do everything I want as regards streaming etc on 5 - 10 Mbps. Plus, broadband is now very old tech and has its limitations which wont be overcome in the future.
Other thing is your landline and how much consideration you want to put into it, including any standing charges. I've not had one since 1994 or there abouts and I can still function pretty well. Even more so now with Whatsapp and stuff.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 20, 2019 19:28:17 GMT
Our current government put in place a system of "cultural cheques" for people aged 18. Every person in France receives a "pass culture" worth 500 euros at age 18 to be used for the cultural activities of their choice. It is still being put in place, but the first users have used their credits as follows: books 42%, spectacles 17%, online music 10%.
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Post by questa on Jun 21, 2019 4:49:46 GMT
This morning the techie from the National Broadband Network came and connected my computer and 'devices' to the fibre to the home network which will cover the entire country. It is a huge project with every road being dug up and every home, flat and and tower blocks included. I kept my landline so if there is a power cut I will still be OK. Actually...I don't understand a thing about any of all this stuff. Apart from this PC, I glaze over the rest re immunisation.. I despair! we got so close... 12 or so years ago we had 94% of kids and teens immunized in Oz. We had been told we had to wait ?5 years without a case being reported to get the highly prized honour Up in the heights of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban and others spread the story that the measles shot was just to make them sterile. The parents chose to not immunise...the kids took the virus to refugee centres and the cases rose in other lands. In several countries there are educated people who might as well be living in an Afghan cave and taking medical advice from old men with more wives than teeth. Apart from the not-uncommon complications of deafness, brain damage and pneumonia there is always the time-bomb of SSPE years after the mildest cases. sciencebasedmedicine.org/sspe-a-deadly-and-not-that-rare-complication-of-measles/
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Post by bjd on Jun 21, 2019 7:16:38 GMT
I didn't know about SSPE but I too cannot understand that people do not have their kids vaccinated, especially when any generation at the age to have kids nowadays has been vaccinated and therefore did not suffer most of the common childhood diseases.
That in some countries health workers who vaccinate children in villages are being killed, that ridiculous rumours about vaccines spreading sterility are propagated is already bad enough and those "old men with more wives than teeth" don't want to lose their power and influence is already bad enough. But that people who are supposedly educated and living in economically-developed societies choose to believe bullshit spread over social media by dangerous idiots is completely beyond me.
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Post by questa on Jun 21, 2019 12:26:39 GMT
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare form of chronic progressive brain inflammation caused by measles virus. . SSPE is characterized by a history of primary measles infection, followed by an asymptomatic period that lasts 7 years on average but can range from 1 month to 27 years. After the asymptomatic period, progressive neurological deterioration occurs, characterized by behavior change, intellectual problems, myoclonic seizures, blindness, ataxia, and eventually death.[4][5]
Progression Symptoms progress through the following 4 stages:[6]
Stage 1: There may be personality changes, mood swings, or depression. Fever and headache may also be present. This stage may last up to 6 months.
Stage 2: This stage may involve jerking, muscle spasms, seizures, loss of vision, and dementia.
Stage 3: Jerking movements are replaced by writhing (twisting) movements and rigidity. At this stage complications may result in death.
Stage 4: The final stage, in which breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure are affected, leading to coma and death. Wikipedia.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 21, 2019 12:37:20 GMT
Yup. Just a harmless childhood disease...
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 21, 2019 13:27:51 GMT
I was lucky enough to have measles and whooping cough at the same time when I was about 5. I can still remember the darkened room that I had to stay in.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 21, 2019 14:31:17 GMT
I became curious about the legend of the Viet Cong cutting off the arms of village children who had been vaccinated by the U.S. Army. It seems completely absurd because it implies that the Viet Cong did not know that blood circulates through the body and that cutting off arms would not stop the effect of the vaccination. Then again, some people are really stupid.
Anyway, the story spread around the world since Colonel Kurtz tells it in the film Apocalypse Now, and god knows that's practically a documentary. On one website, it was mentioned that Apocalypse Now is of course based on Conrad's Heart of Darkness. There are reports that the Belgian army generals in the Congo demanded that the hands of rebels be cut off and brought back as proof because they suspected that the soldiers were wasting bullets hunting animals. So the Vietnam tale could be a perverse reverse story. In the meantime, the idea of such things led to new fake news that the Taliban were doing such things in Afghanistan.
Internet fanatics are often quite thorough, so one of the investigators actually contacted John Milius, the screenwriter of Apocalypse Now, to ask if he had made up the story or...? Milius said that he had talked with Fred Rexer, a Green Beret in Laos who was a military consultant for the movie and said he had actually witnessed the event first hand. He also said that as a CIA operative, he had executed Viet Cong chiefs by poking his fingers into their eye sockets and tearing their brains apart.
So this makes it pretty clear that anything is possible in this evil world.
Therefore do not get vaccinated unless you have an arm that you don't need.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 22, 2019 0:03:56 GMT
Well, the Vietcong's ideology was a mixture of "scientific socialism" and national liberation; neither of those, whatever their failings, would have been anti-science. Sounds to be a bit like bullshit. I was perusing a recent article about highly-educated suburbanites subscribing to this woo. Must find it.
I remember my parents' terror during the very last polio outbreak, and I was a toddler. There was no measles vaccine then or a few years later; I never contracted the disease as a small child and did as a very young adult visiting friends in Toronto. Yes, darkened room, and utterly dying of boredom. No talking books or podcasts back then.
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Post by whatagain on Jun 22, 2019 13:04:08 GMT
The story of cutting hands in Congo to prove they didn't hunt animals instead if dangerous elements is unfortunately true. There is a recent book about that that I never managed to buy. Stories that were untold when I was at school. Léopold 2 was a saint at the time. And if because of him between 100 000 and one million congolais died it was then not important.
About Vietnam I once read that some women had radirblafes inserted in their vaginas and then seduced soldiers. I was young then and I was really impressed I still imagine what would be result. Brrrr.
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