Those following me on Twitter have had the joy of seeing random messages about the ongoing issues I’ve had getting my ADSL2+ connected.

Since the last post on this (on the 13th of Feb) I basicly gave up on calling iiNet - I’d already spent a fortune in mobile costs listening to their hold music, and was just waiting for them to get back to my support-enquiry email. (I never did get a response to that)

However, last Friday (22nd) as I was going to bed at about 1:30am (Okay, so technically Saturday morning) I noticed that my DSL Router was saying it had sync. I normally check the router panel when I get home, so I must’ve missed it that night. I stayed up about an hour setting up a bunch of tests to see how fast/stable the connection was. I left these tests to continue running whilst I slept. When I left home on Saturday at about 9AM it was still running, and I was feeling somewhat optimistic that it might continue to work. Of course, Murphy was listening, and when I got home at around 5pm, I had lost line sync once again.

Sunday I called iiNet again, this time because their Toolbox said there should only be about a 7min wait. The tech guy tried a few things from their end, but once again no success - and said he’d put the request through to their Fault Manager who would try to get VisionStream to narrow down the timeframe.

Come Monday morning, I get a call from Christy at Vision Stream, “Is Wednesday suitable for you?”. Grr. Same situation as last time Christy called me! Looking at the iiNet Toolbox - what do you know, a 45min or so wait on hold, again. Instead of doing that, I try another tact - go straight to the top.

So, I write a pleading email to Michael Malone, the Managing Director of iiNet. He’s quite active on Whirlpool’s forums, and makes his email available there. I give a bunch of possible ways we could try and work together, such as asking for the first/last timeslot on the day, getting a call an hour or two beforehand, and even offering to pay for a Saturday callout if necessary.

Tuesday I get a call from Rebecca at iiNet regarding the email, she’s called VisionStrem and tried getting them to go with any of the options I presented - no luck. I think up one last option - asking the Tech to call me as he’s starting the job before mine. Rebecca thinks it might work, and goes back to VisionStream.

Today, (Wednesday) Rebecca calls back - VisionStream won’t go for it, despite having escalated it up the chain of management there. Apparently VisionStream started quoting sections of the Telecommunications Act to her, and stating that “we treat all customers equally”. However, the VisionStream manager has agreed to commit to a particular timeslot (9AM-12:30PM or 12PM to 6PM), AND to get the Tech to call an hour beforehand.

I ask Rebecca what the chances are of switching to a regular ADSL2 service (and having the line connected as a standard phone again) - apparently it can be done, but I’d be the first to have tried it. And the time it would take would probably be somewhere up around a month, assuming everything went according to play.

So, for now Rebecca is sending the case back to VisionStream, and getting them to commit to providing a 9AM-12:30PM timeslot for this job plus the hour-before call.

Here’s hoping that VisionStream can come through on this!

Side Rant:
VisionStream’s comment to Rebecca that they treat all customers equally, is rather stupid. Yes, they treat all customers equally poorly. VisionStream’s view is apparently that All customers’ time is worth nothing, and they obviously have nothing better to do.

Surely someone at VisionStream can see that doing this just gives them a really poor reputation.

We killed Twitter, again.

This time it was from an excess of Love - Of the less-than-three (”<3") variety.

My screen was filled with hundreds of messages like these two:

For the non-Twitter’ers out there, the Twitter folks added a way to send a special type of tweet. By entering “@username <3" - it would transform the ordinary tweet, into this special type of message.

It also results in that person getting a "Do you love (sender)?" prompt, with a button to quickly reply.

This novelty, combined with the easy reply, lead to a major increase in the number of Tweets for valentines day, and thus Twitter slowing down / refusing to respond for many people (including me).

Edit: Here's a better screenshot of what was/is going on (read from bottom up)

So, here’s my tale of trying (and so far failing) to get Internet access on at my new apartment.

(with apologies to Dreamhost for nicking their headline AND public domain photo)

December 13th: I get the word from the real estate agent that I’ve got the unit. Immediately sign up on the iiNet website for Naked DSL.

December 19th: iiNet respond to my application with the message “Service Address Not Found”.  I contact iiNet and ask what that means, turns out they need a phone number.

December 21-22nd: I move in.

December 24th: I finally go back to my apartment, plug in a phone and find out the number. I give that to iiNet, they re-submit.

December 28th: I get an email from iiNet with “Service Address Not Found” again. I call, they do some quick tests - the number doesn’t show up in their access to Telstra’s provisioning systems.
I call Telstra to get the phone connected, it’ll take several days because as it turns out, it’s on the Optus cable network. Appointment made for January 4th.

January 4th: No Telstra guy.

January 8th: I get a call from a Telstra guy: “Umm,I’m at the premesis now…” me: “Well, you wern’t 4 days ago when I was there…”

January 9th: Telstra call back to reschedule, and say has to be all day. I ask for Saturday timeslot if that’s the case, sure - January 19th. Ugh.

January 19th: Line connected. But after the Tech leaves, I find out the line is a Silent line, and 12722123 to find out my number doesn’t work.

January 21st and 22nd: Too busy at work to call Telstra before their Sales centres close at 5pm.

January 23rd: Call Telstra, get my line number. Go sign up again at iiNet.

January 30th: Email from iiNet: DSL Connection will be on Feb 5th, but I don’t need to be home (because provisioned line).

Feb 5th: No line sync. iiNet connection email says might take a few more days.

Feb 7th: Still no line sync. Call iiNet, on hold for ~30mins (on my mobile) - Guy says it looks like my entire DSLAM is down. But, (good news for me) they work on Saturdays (9th)- so, give a call then or Monday.

Feb 9th: (Still no line sync) Call iiNet, on hold for another 30mins, guy says Telstra have to fix it, and they don’t work on weekends, but should know more Monday (11th)

Feb 11th: (Still no line sync) Call iiNet, on hold for ~45mins. Guy says they’ve added my name to a list to send to Visionstream, and they’ll call to let me know when it’ll be fixed.

Today (Feb 13th): Visionstream calls me at about 10 am  -

VS: “We’re calling to make an appointment for your ADSL Installation”
me: “err.. don’t you mean fault repair?”
VS: “Oh, I don’t know… So, will Friday (15th) be ok?”
me: “Uhm, What time?” 
VS: “You’ll have to be there All day”
me: “Oh, no, that’s really not possible, any chance for a shorter time period?”
VS: “No, sorry - you can leave a key with a friend family member and they can be there instead”
Me: “Err, no, I really can’t.”
VS: “Okay, well, we’ll send this back to iiNet then”
Me: “Fine, I’ll call them” 

I call iiNet, left on hold for 45mins.  I explain the situation,

“Well, you’ll have to be home then”
me: “But I understood the issue to be with your DSLAM, not with my line - everyone else on the exchange was down”.
“No, that’s been rectified, you’ll have to be at home for them to fix the issue”.
me: “Well, that’s just not an option for me at the moment.”
“Let me talk to a senior, see what we can do”
Me: “okay”
(5mins hold)
“We’ll try rebuilding the port, but, that might not help”

I get home tonight, and, well… they’re right, it didn’t help.

So, ~3hrs in total of calls on my mobile, and I’m still no closer to having proper internet access on. I’ve sent a ’support form’ in telling them that if they can’t narrow down the appointment timeslot to 3-4 hours, then just to cancel my account.

I suppose if they go ahead and cancel, I’ll be able to get the line reconnected (and if necessary, do it on a Saturday), then I’ll get normal ADSL2+ with someone else. Which has far less chance of f’cking up.

Seriously sucks.

Addendum: I’m not blaming iiNet that they can’t fix something when I’m not home - I’m just saying that the whole process of getting internet access is a disaster. It’s now over 2 months, for something that should have been fairly simple.  If the Telcos stopped playing bullshit politics, we’d all be in a much better situation.

I’ve decided to share a recipe that we’ve been using in our family for years. I don’t know the origins of the sauce, but I believe mum did get it from a friend.  I’ve only rarely seen it in asian restraunts, and usually it’s some variation on the basic sauce.

Typically we have this sauce with steamed chicken, rice, and some sort of steamed asian veggies.  It does have a strong flavour, so it might not be to everyone’s tastes.

Other suggested uses are to add it to a chicken or fish soups, or with noodles. But I’m a fan of the basic chicken and rice addition.

Disambiguation: Shallots, Shallots, or Shallots?

When I say Shallots, I’m referring to the vegetable also known as Scallions, Spring Onions, or Green Onions. And, because that still doesn’t necessarily clarify things, look at the pic on the left. Those are what you need to make this sauce.

Do not, under any circumstances confuse these with French Shallots, which also known as “eschalots” in NSW, Australia. Someone I gave this recipe to once got the two mixed up, and ended up with this godaweful mess with a horrible aftertaste.

Ingredients

These are approximates only, please adjust to taste.

• 1/2 Bunch Shallots (3-4 medium size shoots)
  Washed carefully and trimmed of any roots, dead/dry bits, etc.
• 1-3 tablespoons of salt (adjust to taste)
  I use rock salt, but ordinary table salt is fine. Especially if you don’t have a good mortar and pestle.
• 1 ‘knob’ of fresh ginger (not from a jar)
  Aproximately the length of a thumb, peeled.
• 3-5 tablespoons of good olive oil.
  I use olive oil, others may choose to use another type of oil suitable for salads.

I recommend that you also have a good quality solid stone Mortar and Pestle, however this can be prepared in a food processor, but it does significantly change the look (it goes whiteish due to the air introduced).

Preparation

1. Trim the shallots (scallions) so that you remove all bar about 5cm of the dark green hollow tops. Discard the tops, keep the bottom of the shoots.
   (We want to keep all of the white, and light green sections - but only a small proportion of the hollow dark green portion)
2. Slice the shallots finely and place into your mortar or food processor.
   Note: If your mortar and pestle isn’t large enough to hold all of the shallots comfortably at once, you can just add a smaller amount at first and come back later.
3. Dice the peeled lump of ginger finely, and place about 3/4 into the mortar/food processor.
4. Add a tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of oil to the mortar/food processor.
5. Using the pestle, grind/crush/pound the contents of the mortar - or pulse in a food processor - until the shallots and ginger are pulverised.
   Note: When using a food processor, be sure to use quick bursts.
6. Taste the sauce, and if necessary add more ginger, or salt. and pulverise
   The sauce should definitely be salty, but still allow the flavours of the ginger and shallots to intermingle.
7. Once to taste, add more oil to ensure there is a good covering.
   Adding more oil will allow you to ‘dilute’ the strong flavour when used on rice/vegetables.

Serve it in a shared bowl on the table, and let people drizzle a small amount on their rice/chicken/etc. Don’t go overboard with the sauce until you’re used to it

This sauce can be stored inside a sealed glass jar for several days in the fridge. Don’t use gladwrap/saran wrap to cover, as the flavours/smells will contaminate everything else in the fridge.  Despite how much I like this sauce, Shallot flavoured milk is *not* something you want with your tea/coffee/cereal.

Preparation Time: Approximately 15-20 minutes (about the same amount of time as it takes to cook rice using the Absorbtion method)

Serves: Between 2 and 4 people.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Before I left my previous job, I was coerced into joining Facebook. The promise was that it would let me keep up to date with all my former colleages and friends at my old job.

Since day one, I’ve pretty much been regretting the decision. Most of the issue comes down to the fact that Facebook has no way of actually stopping people from sending “invites” to add whatever the current fad-application is.

Many folks don’t see it as a problem, and don’t remove your name from the list of people to spam when sending out one of these invites. The result is that when I log into Facebook, I see a half-dozen or more Invites.

Because I can’t use the Facebook interface to block these, I’ve gone ahead and just simply started removing and blocking folks that do this.

This, to some, is considered an outright hostile act. Sorry folks, but I really don’t give a damn whether you’re “Interested”, or want to know what Simpsons character I am.

Until the time when Facebook lets me block all application invites, I’ll be continuing the remove-and-block tactic. 

Last week I got made an offer that I couldn’t refuse. 

Massive - the company that I’ve been working for as a contractor through the nice folks at Happener since November - offered me a full time position. I accepted, and I’m now a Senior Developer for Massive Interactive. 

That title sounds strange to me. Senior developer? Does that mean I’m over the hill now?
I suppose it’s somewhat similar to when I say I’m a .NET Developer, non-tech people generally go “Oh, you build websites”… not quite. (Hint: It’s a speciality in a certain set of technologies. Like saying you’re a Pediatric Nurse.)

Part of the role as a senior developer is to help provide direction to the more junior staff, so, that should be interesting to see how it works out.

Not much else has been happening - I’ve been busy with work for the most part. I’m still enjoying it, obviously.  It’s nothing like working for Telstra, which for me. is a really good thing.

What’s news with you folks?

Someone asked me recently what my opinion of Dreamhost was. They knew I use Dreamhost for a variety of sites, and were looking to sign up.

The short answer is that Dreamhost are “variable”.

I’ve been a Dreamhost customer for about 3 years now, and I’ve seen some pretty wild thing happen.

They’ve had several major power outages which took down their entire datacentre. They’ve had significant network issues for a period of months. They had a major data security breach where someone managed to get several thousand usernames and passwords. And, to top it all off - they recently overcharged about half of their customers by several million US peso dollars. (It would have been up around 10 million, if it wern’t for a bug in their software).

Oh, and it’s probably worth mentioning that as I write this, all my sites are down, because the servers they’re on are being driven from one side of LA to the other.

Given all of the above, most ordinary, sane people would probably be shouting “run for the hills!” at the top of their lungs. And, in many cases people would be  quite justified to run as far as they could from Dreamhost.

Here’s the thing, however - apart from the power issues (and the scheduled cluster move mentioned) my sites have worked just fine for the most part. 

Yeah, there’s been times when a server has been down, or when some sort of glitch has slowed things down - but lets look at the big picture here for a second.

Dreamhost’s business is to sell reasonable quality webhosting, with large gobs of disk space and bandwidth, at a very cheap rate.  I pay something like USD$20/month (on the old plans) for my Dreamhost service. 

What do I get for that USD$20/month?  I get to host 30-something sites, occupying 20GB of disk space, and transferring about 150GB per month. No, that’s not the limit, that’s what I’m actually using. This month. Dreamhost have absolutely no issue with me using a lot more than that - even if I went to TWENTY times that, I’d still be well under the limits of my account.

I also get the security that someone else will take care of the servers, and keep them patched and secure. In the event that something goes wrong, I can lodge a ticket and have someone else fix it at 3am.

So, does that mean I’d recommend Dreamhost to everyone? Heck no - there’s heaps of situations where I wouldn’t recommend Dreamhost.

Any time you answer “yes” or even “maybe” to the question “Will this being unavailable impact my business?”, you need to be looking at a managed hosting solution with a proper contract/service level agreement.  Don’t pass go, don’t collect $200, and definitely don’t try reselling this to your customers.

Dreamhost are also not suitable for a variety of “big” applications/sites - despite the label saying you can get 5TB of bandwidth and 500GB of disk space, actually using all of it is possible only under very specific conditions. Most of the time, anyone running a site that is that popular is going to be using so much of the resources on their server that they’re going to be causing issues for other users on the same server.

It’s like the speedo on your car, if you’re actually hitting 240KPH or 30,000RPM, something is going very very wrong, or is about to.

So, with that out of the way - I am actually starting to look for some dedicated server options - not because I don’t like Dreamhost (I do) - but simply because I want to do other things that I simply can’t do with Dreamhost.

My options are limited, because I want to be able to manage the server myself, I need a reasonably large amount of disk space and bandwidth quota, and I need to run Windows.

What are your experiences with Dreamhost, and/or dedicated hosting?