Just because I feel like writing.

Just for posterity, I need to tell the story of my Wednesday morning. This doesn't have much to do with the technology I usually blog about, but I worked my Nexus 5 into the story just to tie it in.

It started on Tuesday night. As I was leaving MBA classes at Bethel University in St Paul, I noticed a little rattling noise coming from the engine of my 1996 Cadillac Seville STS. It sounded like a noisy lifter, or something along that line. So I shrugged and drove home.
By the time I arrived at my home in Columbia Heights, there was smoke coming from the engine, it smelled odd, and was making a lot of noise. I got out the flashlight app on my Nexus 5, and I could see the smoke was coming from the AC compressor. Probably the bearing, but I'm still not certain of that.
So I went to bed and when I woke up I texted my brother-in-law, who then called me and helped determine that I had better not drive it to Anoka in that condition. So I called my boss and said I'd be late. Which sucks because another coworker was going to be late too, and his reason was actually work related.
I had done my research on various internet forums and learned that to bypass the AC compressor, I needed a serpentine belt that is 9 inches shorter than the normal one. So I drove over to Auto Zone and bought what I thought was the correct belt. I took it home and then realized I needed a 1/2" breaker bar, so then I drove over to Harbor Freight and bought a cheap one.
When I got all that home, I removed the old belt (which is in pretty rough condition) and put on the new belt, only to find that it was too long for my purposes.
At this point I was already a couple hours late for work. So I said to heck with it, I'm going to drive to work and fix it later that night.
I only made it a few miles before it was smoking even more and making lots of noise. So I turned around and went back to Auto Zone. I told them I needed a belt that was 6 inches shorter, so they sold me that. I got a refund for the other belt and went home.
This time I removed the original belt and installed the new one, only to find out it was too short. Just about 6 inches too short. So it seems the first belt I had bought was not the size it said it was on the packaging. I didn't want to put the old belt on again, plus it was looking pretty rough. By now it was 11 am and I was really frustrated. I decided to get on my bicycle and head over to Advance Auto and try them.
I get there only to find that all of their belts are numbered by the metric system, but the guy helped me figure out what I needed and I bought that. I stuck it in my back pocket and biked home.
When I got home I was already well acquainted with the way I needed to route the belt. It went on in about 5 minutes. I fired up the engine and it sounded great. I went inside, washed the grease off my hands (and arms) and put on my office clothes. I finally got to work just past noon.
As a side note, every time I changed the belt, all three times, I burned my arm on the motor mount. So I have a nice collection of blisters which are still healing. I think I'll be staying out of the river this weekend. Not worth the risk of infection.
Now my car runs and gets me around, but I have no AC until I fix the compressor. So I'll have to get with my brother-in-law again and see that he thinks I need for parts. More fun in store for sure!

Android 4.4.3

My Nexus 5 received the update to Android 4.4.3 today. Still nothing on my Nexus 7 (2012) tablet. 

I don't see any differences. The update installed pretty quickly. My current phone was not experiencing any problems, so I was not concerned about the bugs they fixed. The camera appears to be working the same as it did in 4.4.2.

So nothing too exciting!

Sprint acquisition of T-Mobile

Yesterday it was being called an acquisition, today it's being called a merger. Either way, it does seem a lot more likely to be approved by regulators than the AT&T failed attempt.

My first response to the idea of these companies becoming one was a negative one. But mostly based on emotion, that fact that I don't much care for Sprint. I have a bit of nostalgia because my first mobile phone was a Sprint PCS unit which happened to be an early smart phone. I bought it on clearance and it served as my PDA and phone. I loved the old beast, but it went through batteries quickly. It worked great when I lived in Kansas City and traveled throughout the south. But then I moved to Minnesota.

Here in Minnesota (and Wisconsin), Sprint coverage is pretty spotty, and nonexistent outside the metro. Stories about their crappy data backbone have not stirred any warm feelings within my heart. T-Mobile service is not great outside the metro either, but it's been quite good in Minneapolis and the suburbs.

The thing I don't like is the CDMA vs GSM formats. I wonder which one will become standard. It makes more sense to keep GSM because of the way they could continue to steal customers from AT&T. I guess if they switch to CDMA, I will just have to take my phone to AT&T.

Hopefully the regulators see the benefit of four carries competing against each other. But if they do merge, then I also hope I like the new company.

On a totally different subject...

This week I went to a real running store and bought some better running shoes, with the help of a knowledgeable shop owner. I have been wearing size 10 since high school. He measured my foot and was certain that I need a size 11. So that's pretty interesting. It also explains why so many of my dress shoes feel a bit snug. My waist line has expanded since high school, so why not my shoe size too? Perhaps it's time to throw out a lot of my old shoes and buy some size 11's to replace them.
I am hoping that spending more money on shoes, and having an expert help me select them, will decrease the pain I have in my Achilles tendons. Next month I will be running a 5k, so I will find out soon enough.

Good news and bad news

I recently switched away from the $30/month "secret" plan from T-Mobile prepaid, and switched to the $70 postpaid (normal) plan with T-Mobile. While I was waiting for the new SIM card to arrive, I still wanted to use the WiFi capabilities of my Nexus 5. For some reason I decided to turn off mobile data. Well after my prepaid plan was done, my phone was no longer able to connect to the T-Mobile service at all. I took my phone to the T-Mobile store in my neighborhood, and there was a guy names Charles who gave me lots of help. He helped me for a couple of hours before giving up, but then he helped my find the number to call Google and get help from them. They set me up with a warranty order, and I received the new phone the next day.
I'm thrilled with both T-Mobile and Google for the great service I was given. It was a pain to go through the experience, but they were both so helpful that it made it almost pleasant. I was very impressed!

So much for the secret plan

Due to the discovery that I get a 10% discount on T-Mobile through a program at work, and also the fact that I want to add data tethering to my phone, I am finally going to switch back to a post-paid plan. I liked the low price of the $30 plan, but with only 100 minutes I feel somewhat isolated. Right now I don't have a roommate, and as an extrovert I really need to be able to reach out and talk to someone, on a regular basis. Without the cost of DSL or Cable internet, it's easier to justify the $70 T-Mobile plan. I didn't realize that I'd need a new SIM card, so I actually won't have a phone for a few days. I'm planning to skate by with my old FreedomPop hotspot to deliver my texts and emails to me. The SIM card will cost me $10, but then my monthly plan will only be $63 after the discount. I'm pretty happy with that.

CenturyLink cancellation dance

I have (almost) always received a great deal from CenturyLink. But to get those deals, I have always had to be in the position of calling to cancel my service. I don't even remember the initial offer I received, it's something my old roommate negotiated on my behalf. He was doing a lot of SEO work, and needed bandwidth. So when he saw a special price for 40 Mbps service and a chance to get away from Comcast (about which I had been whining a lot), he contacted Qwest (who was later acquired by CenturyLink) and got me a sweet deal.
Well after that offer ended they jacked my price up to something that I was not willing to pay, so I called to see if I could negotiate something better. When I did that, their Customer Service department told me there was no way to continue the special offer, so I told them I wanted to cancel. Then when I got to the department that handles cancellations, they told me they actually could continue the offer. I think that covered the first two years. But now the interval seems to be getting shorter every time I call. Also the last time I called I had to downgrade to 20 Mbps service.
I currently don't have anyone renting from me, and my own personal use is just for Facebook, email, and the occasional Hulu video. Video streaming uses a lot of data, but I normally record the shows on my DVR anyway. It's not like there will be a large void in my life without that. For the low data use, I still have my FreedomPop hotspot which gives me 500 Mb for free every month. Also being in grad school means I spend a lot of time at the library and various coffee shops, where they have free WiFi.
The vast majority of my personal internet use is on my mobile phone. I can add tethering for $15 per month. That would suffice for now. Whenever I rent out my extra bedroom again, I will consider Comcast and CenturyLink at that time. The only reason I would need tethering would be for streaming video. Since I have 5 GB of data available to me each month, I could watch a couple of videos here and there, but it's not really worth $15 to do that. I actually opted out of Amazon Prime for Students before I was charged, so I'm not going to be streaming that. If I sign up for Netflix again, it would mostly be for use on my phone anyway, but I am not planning to do that in the near future either. I really don't have time for anything more than the shows I record on my DVR and the occasional Redbox rental anyway.
This blog is just me venting about my experiences. I plan to call CenturyLink during my lunch break, so I guess I will soon know what they are willing to offer me this time.
***UPDATE: After calling them and waiting on hold for 20 minutes, I was allowed to cancel. Perhaps it's because I never brought up Comcast. I told the rep that I was planning to use my cell phone, but I never mentioned the $15 tethering fee. Perhaps he would have counter-offered if I had mentioned a dollar amount. But I really am tired of having to watch my bill like a hawk because of the way they jerk me around on the price. So for now, it's goodbye and good riddance. I can live without DSL until I find a new renter.***