david: What are you doing up this late?
strom: I was at the artwalk with some friends, and now I am trying to untangle a big fat DNS problem
david: Ahh that is right your into comps I have to say I am not all that great with them I know how to use them just enough to do what I need to lol
strom: They can be fun
strom: But also maddening
david: Well yeah that is true my desktop is kinda old haha got It in 2004
david: Haha not to mention it has some issues like sometimes I can’t go on line and have to restate my comp
david: And issues when I turn it on but otherwise it works fine
david: Usually only use it to go on line anyway
strom: I’m sorry, but all our technicians are helping other customers. Please continue to hold and a technician will be with you soon. <SFX: PLEASANT MUSIC>
david: But well I hardly use it anymore since I got my ipad
strom: Oh?
david: Well see the thing for me is that I only go on line on my comp so I said to myself why buy a laptop if your only going to be on line
david: So I bought that ipad

Lying around here somewhere, I have a drawing of an iMac I made the day it was announced in 1998; the caption reads “The i Stands For moron.”

I think I was ahead of the curve with that one.

Sometimes, you get people who are just incomprehensible:

And then there’s this guy:

Then there’s this guy:

DSLExtreme (this is the service I’ve had since 2004)
8 static IPs (not a routable block, just 8 out of a /24 block)
6Mbit / 768Kbit: $49.95 with one year agreement

AT&T (U-Verse service)
Dynamic IP with NAT by default, but they offer a routable /29 (5 usable addresses) for $15 extra per month
24Mbit / 3Mbit: $65
18Mbit / 1.5Mbit: $55
$149 installation charge
$3 monthly equipment rental fee

Cox
Dynamic IP only for residential service
20Mbit / 1.5Mbit: $62

Speakeasy
I can’t even find pricing on their site, and everything seems business-oriented now.

I’ve been using DSLExtreme since 2004, and I’ve been happy with the service — they never seem to place restrictions on what I can or can’t do. AT&T looks like the best bang for the buck right now, but I’ve got no idea whether they’re a nightmare to deal with from a network reliability or customer service standpoint.

What do you think? I trust all of your crazy opinions more than I trust the crazy opinions on omgratemydsl.com or whatever.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

This afternoon, I spent a few minutes testing whether I should use my easily-disposable Google Voice number instead of my not-so-easily disposable actual mobile phone number on the Notice of Visit. Helpfully, Google Voice attempts to transcribe voicemails so you can read them quickly instead of listening to someone drone on for two minutes. I asked a friend of mine to call my number and leave me a message, which Google Voice then attempted to transcribe:

I don’t know if this is going to work so well.

Unopened box (address label tastefully typeset in Comic Sans; shredded by USPS)

Packaging material consisting of a page from the San Jose Mercury News and a big piece of heavy paper

A bunch of stuff, catalogued below:

An Atari 2600 Space Invaders cartridge

A tag, presumably from pants

Star Wars figurines

The seven-inch single of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley

A warning sheet from a clothes dryer instruction manual

Comic book / ISP stickers

A Jerkcity postcard (front)

A Jerkcity postcard (back)

“Leo the Lion and other poems” (front)

“Leo the Lion and other poems” (back)

“All Those Prostitutes & Other Poems: The Poetry of Jerkcity” (front)

“All Those Prostitutes & Other Poems: The Poetry of Jerkcity” (back)

“The Big Book of Jerkcity” copy 151/200 (front)

“The Big Book of Jerkcity” copy 151/200 (back)

Old photograph of some guy working on a car (front)

Old photograph of some guy working on a car (back)

Dust bunny and hairs (undated)

When I applied way back in late January or early February, the application process included a 28 question multiple-choice test. The Census Bureau provides a practice test which, for all intents and purposes, is just as appallingly easy as the actual test. Questions include such difficult tasks as placing dates in chronological order, looking at a map and counting how many houses you’ll pass if you walk the most efficient route from one intersection to another, and determining the year of someone’s birth if they tell you their age. To be considered for employment, you must answer at least ten of the questions correctly. Ten! That’s 36%! Three months later, and I’m still not sure what to make of that.

Of course, there’s another test after the training class finishes, so not all hope is lost.

The training class is being held in an elementary school; the explanation is that the census bureau was able to borrow a few classrooms at no cost. The only problem with this arrangement is that the entire classroom full of adults is sitting in chairs and at desks designed to comfortably seat ten-year-olds. Banged knees and backaches abound. And because it’s an elementary school, there are strict rules about signing in and out, checking our IDs, and where on the campus we are allowed to go (the main hallway, our classrooms, the restrooms, and nowhere else). The elementary school principal sent out a memo reminding us that we need to be mindful of these rules “while working in and around the children.”

My coworkers are an interesting cross-section of this part of Los Angeles. There are out-of-work actors (“What happens if I need to go to a casting call?”), musicians with weird tattoos and even weirder facial hair (“Man, I never thought I’d ever be saying ‘Hi, I’m here from the government and I’d like to ask you some questions’”), substitute teachers, hipsters with no identifiable career, old people, and even a few veterans of the Census Bureau and various three-letter government agencies.

It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out, especially while working in and around the children.