I received a call from my ISP stating that the network was redone, backbone bandwidth increased and connectivity restored. I have monitored the connectivity status for the last few hours with no long term dumps (more than a second). This is a nice change from the more recent drops in connectivity from one minute to five minutes, several times per hour. This also reduced my motivation for posting new content that my readers would not have the opportunity to access whenever they wished.
On a lighter note, I could soon become a relay station utilizing a different band than the currently overcrowded 2.4 GHz spectrum. This will result in lower latency, higher bandwidth and, hopefully, 24/7 connectivity. This transition may occur in the next couple of weeks. With the transition also comes the added bonus of getting rid of my current Linksys wireless bridge randomly deciding to stop transferring packets through the Ethernet connection that only a power reset would fix. The issue with the Linksys bridge has highly annoyed me from day one.
Needless to say, I also looked up my local loop provider (SBC) and asked how much it would set me back for a dedicated 1.5 Mbps frame relay connection. $775 per month with a 36 month contract, Cisco router included. Not bad considering that only 2 years ago it was well over $1000 a month, plus equipment ($1200) and installation fee ($2000). Regardless, it is still way beyond my reach… unless I live in a cardboard box.
Meanwhile, I updated the SETI@Home [link removed] page to reflect current progress. With over 23000+ units complete, I must laugh at the fact that on Monday, August 12, 2002 when I uploaded my 10000th unit that I was planning on shutting down the systems. Will that happen on the 25000th? Doesn’t look like it. I guess I am running till the end.