Monday, October 27, 2008

So, do they have internet in the Ukraine or are they still using Carrier Pigeons?

I was cooking dinner the other day when Brett walked out of the apartment and took the internet cable in our wall with him. He tripped over the 20 foot long cable and pulled it out of the wall, killing our internet. I thought "gee, I'll just have to plug the cable back in," but then realized that it was really just exposed copper wiring held together by a dirty Band-Aid. 
So yes, I do have internet, and it runs on Band-Aids. I managed to piece it back together after much swearing in polish, and connecting green wires and red wires to their respective partners. Apparently, the phone is running on the same line, so I knew that *ring ring* meant I had the right wiring matched. 
The internet at the university is wireless but notoriously slow(test by Speedtest.net). The internet at my apartment is faster, but I have more problems with the power going out than I do with the connection. The ISP throttles the internet everyday in the evening(i.e., they restrict the bandwith at high-traffic times of day, slowing your internet down) which is annoying, but it otherwise works well. I can download something from the internet at about 100 kb/s, but uploading usually runs around 50 kb/s.
Other teachers don't have internet at home, so they have to stay at the university to use it. Luckily, I don't, and my internet is fast enough to skype and video chat with people. For those of you interested in a skype chat(it's free!) you can download skype here. Just email me and let me know when you're interested. 

3 comments:

Kate said...

Haha this is because when I finally got the guy to come and hook up the internet, after 6 weeks of it getting put off, I had no tape. How was I supposed to know I needed electrical tape? But there was no way I was letting him get away, so I found a bandaid. I promise it was clean when it was first applied to the wires. :)

Anielka said...

Erm, who put the dirty band-aid on there? Blech.

C Rudz said...

I really wish you could hear me when I laugh out loud at your blogs. Will you blog our road trip!?