Sunday, July 15, 2007

Dial-up internet redux

My high speed internet is not working. After many years of speedy access to my email, myriad websites and video, life is slower now on dial-up. I await the results of numerous telephone calls for restoration of my service so I will experience the internet as I have before high speed. I have disabled image loading in my web browser. This increases the speed at which I can access text, but video is excruciatingly slow. My world is different, and this is how life is for dial-up users.


For uploading material to one of my websites, I have taken special care to ensure the file sizes of the material are small enough so my patience is not tested waiting for the material to appear in my FTP client window. It is crucial that this project be completed properly, so no shortcuts are acceptable.


My “alt” text on the images presents the content exactly as written on the pages and I take comfort that the material is fully accessible by anyone who has crippled the functionality of their browser or uses accessibility software. Yet, the few functions that make the site interesting are still in place for those with high speed.


I have rediscovered television and actually watched two movies from start to finish in as many days and discovered something new in plots about which I thought knew everything. Visiting the home of a new acquaintance, I stayed long past the time I decided would be right to leave. Having no agenda, my host gladly continued the conversation without worry about time.


And, now I have some time to add this experience to my blog, to observe the number of stars visible in the city's night sky, to enjoy the cool night air and to hope for a saner world in which to awake tomorrow morning.

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