Forward as a Backup

This blog/site was down for a while today. Note: going to dograt.com is the same as accessing www.dograt.com. 

C:\WINDOWS\system32>ping dograt.com
Pinging dograt.com [173.254.3.155] with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Ping statistics for 173.254.3.155:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss)

I don’t know why it was down. Stuff happens, as I know all too well from my many years working with computers, enterprise class as well as consumer grade. It came back briefly before crashing again, but now it seems to be holding. While it was down, SMTP continued to work.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>ping mail.dograt.com
Pinging mail.dograt.com [173.254.3.155] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 173.254.3.155: bytes=32 time=55ms TTL=54
Reply from 173.254.3.155: bytes=32 time=58ms TTL=54
Reply from 173.254.3.155: bytes=32 time=55ms TTL=54
Reply from 173.254.3.155: bytes=32 time=61ms TTL=54
Ping statistics for 173.254.3.155:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 55ms, Maximum = 61ms, Average = 57ms

Although I had no direct access to my mail service via IMAP, I forward everything to Microsoft Mail. That made it possible for me to continue directing e-mail through my domain. The Department of Redundancy Department in action.

A Very Late, But Nice, Surprise

I’ll say it again. I keep Verizon FiOS TV for only one reason.

Q: Do I need a Cable TV or Satellite TV subscription to use Watch TCM?

A: Yes. You must be subscribed to Turner Classic Movies at home through a cable or satellite TV provider in order to use Watch TCM.

https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/settings

Not only can Turner Classic Movies be watched live in HD with WatchTCM…

… after airing, movies are available for on-demand viewing.

TCM is on FiOS TV standard definition channel 230. Having TCM available only in SD, unlike other cable TV providers, I haven’t watched channel 230 since WatchTCM became a reliable online platform.

Tonight I was stunned to see TCM appearing in HD on FiOS TV channel 730. Verizon sends me all sorts of messages and promotions, but there was nothing from them at all about this long overdue upgrade. It doesn’t really matter to me anymore, because of WatchTCM. I’m nonetheless very pleased they’re finally offering TCM in HD because it was something I had wanted for a long time. I’m recording Thunderbird 6 right now.

Update – February, 2025: Verizon has forced a replacement of the DVR with a Fios TV One. TCM picture quality is terrible. It’s obvious even on my 32″ 720p bedroom TV, let alone the JVC projector, when comparing Fios TV against Watch TCM on a Roku stick. TCM needs to become a streaming subscription service on its own.

I Have Done the Unthinkable

Lynch Mob Rule

Fritz Lang displayed a few touches of German Expressionism in Fury, his first American movie, but otherwise it’s directed in a straight-forward way. In the middle of the movie Spencer Tracy can’t use his left arm, and it’s almost a foreshadowing of his performance twenty years later in another powerful morality tale, Bad Day at Black Rock. The only complete online copy of Fury I found has Spanish subtitles, but it’s very watchable.

Max GPM

The Symmons shower head in the master bath was shot. The adjustment knob wouldn’t turn, and water was spraying from only part of the nozzle.

As I recall, it cost upwards of $200 when the bathroom was remodeled over 15 years ago. Off to Lowe’s I went, with no intention of spending that much again. Ten bucks was more like it, with thread tape included in the package.

As mentioned a while ago, my last home heating oil delivery was a budget-destroying $6/gallon. With that in mind, and my hot water maker coming from a zone on the boiler, I chose the 1.8 gallon per minute max option over 2.5 GPM, and it works nicely.

https://www.epa.gov/watersense/showerheads

By the way, I had some trouble removing the Symmons shower head. It was metal-on-metal, and not enough thread tape had been used, so it didn’t extend past where the shower head and pipe met. The result was rust, and after applying 3-in-1 oil to the seam I carefully used a crescent wrench until the fitting finally loosened. I cleaned off the threads of the pipe with silicone lubricant before applying a couple wrappings of thread tape. When I had the new shower head installed, I said this to myself.

Happiness in the Pipe

“The Fat Angel”, Donovan’s song named for Mama Cass, is on his Sunshine Superman album, released in August ’66, only days after the Beatles’ Revolver. Relax and float downstream indeed.

Was anybody in the audience not stoned, listening to the Jefferson Airplane performing this live version of the song at the Fillmore East in New York?

The final track on Sunshine Superman is the superb “Celeste”. As perfect an example of what made the Sixties special as anything can be. Donovan was turning 20 during the production of the album.