We are enduring a real problem with the internet out here on the farm, these last two days. And we are so close to launching the new website that, of course, we are going to have connectivity problems.
It is Murphy’s Law, right!? What Can Happen , Will Happen and at the Worst Possible Time. And to be fair I have not been visited by Murphy and their annoying law in a while.
Apparently a technician is coming out today. We can only hope.
The internet comes through for moments at a time so I hang out for a window and hope it is long enough to get a message out to you.
Do you think the internet has actually gotten worse in the last few years? Many rural areas in the USA have the same problems. I often lose Wi-Fi during the day. Just not usually for this long.
And we pay for this service – it is not free. The internet is not cheap!
I would go to the Starbucks in the Book Store and work from there but it is a 45 minute drive. Then a 45 minute drive back after really awful coffee.
Plus I just cannot conduct video calls from Starbucks.
I often wonder about our dependence on a wifi signal. How long this can keep up. Whether we should check the mechanics of our lives to see how well we would manage without the internet.
Which is why I am happy to know that my food does not rely on this inclement connection.
It rained again yesterday. A downpour of biblical proportions for an unsettlingly short period then straight back to a sunny day. Just like turning a shower head on and off as the squall moved above the farm.
Lots of thunder too which terrified poor Boo.
Unless the thunder and lightning actually rock the house, Ton does not notice anymore. He feels sound more than hearing it now. To call him for his meal I bang his bowl on the wall.
I hope you all have a lovely day!
I will get this letter out to you while I am still connected.
Celi
PS New Readers
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PSS Everyone
The new domain name is going to be thekitchensgarden.org. It is not live yet. When it is I will let you know you will need to re-subscribe. If you are on my email list I will send you the link. This .com address will stay live and linked and become the TKG Archives plus I will leave a button here for you to link straight to the new platform if you get here by mistake. (Lots to do!).
The Kitchen's Garden 
29 responses to “How’s your connectivity?”
It is quite possible that you signal has become worse, because the more people there are on the same connection at the regional junction box, the less you all get. Plus the more distant you are, the less you get.
WiFi is never that great anyway, it has trouble going through walls and can be interupted by the weather.
If possible, plug your computer into the main box via Ethernet cable and turn off WiFi in the computer settings. A direct conection is much faster and stronger.
Woo!! I am on for a minute. The problem is that the signal is not reaching the house. We have trimmed the trees again and I am going to talk to the technician about running an ethernet cable right into my study – though that would be a very long wire. Our signal bounces off a local tower and we are definitely at the end of its reach. But it has never been this bad.
You can get repeaters and boosters. The internet will also run through an electricty cable on the same circut.
We live in the middle of nowhere … and we USED to have ‘middle of nowhere’ reception. We refused to cut down our trees for a satellite feed. And so… we waited. And then ROGERS RURAL INTERNET (Canadian service) came up with a satellite dish that DID NOT REQUIRE taking down a single limb. Plus it has great service. Now we get fast download and upload. I’m sure it is not anywhere near what you can get in a city with fibre optic. But then … that’s the point … I don’t want to live in a city. Surely there is a company in your area that is also starting to use the new type of satellite dish? Ours faces right into our woods. So much of what you (and I) do is tied to an internet feed. Good luck with the new site. I’m interested and excited to see how it all looks. There are so many ways to set up a website!
Wendy! I keep thinking that if I give it a few more week’s technology will solve my predicament! So / I will look for this Rogers rural – thank you – the exciting thing about my new site is that there is potential for us all to get on zoom calls and do cool workshops – together!! (And none of the Fellowship will pay full price- of course)!
I am so excited about it!
I could easily go on a rant about how rural US has been abandoned by internet companies. Comcast wanted to charge us $30,000 to come down our street to our house. And the internet has become a lifeline for many people, not to mention the problem when children couldn’t access online school. We tried the usual satellite services and they were too slow to do a Zoom call or stream. We finally settled (much to my disgust) with Starlink. It works, my husband can work remotely and I can attend/host Zoom calls.
Other countries have tackled this problem, why not us?
The loss of terror during fireworks or thunderstorms was one of the few blessings of our Casey losing her hearing. Old dogs are the dearest.
Is Starlink a satellite? But I do love this little local company – I can always speak to a real person – so hopefully they will sort it out. Comcast or AT&T – like you- would not come this far out either.
It’s Elon Musk’s satellite network. He only services rural areas. Speaking to a real person is a valuable perk though. We don’t have a local company. Part of the problem is that we are surrounded by tall trees and they block the signal.
Yes – I see the problem. Well – Meeds Must.
I noticed last week that Starlink was putting their hardware on sale – almost 50% off! Got me wondering … what new technology is coming that led to that sale? It is a satellite dish as well. Very pricey at this point. But it is what a LOT of people in our area are on the waiting list for. Amazingly Rogers (which I mentioned above) is coming into our area with good rural service. I live in the ‘Land O’Lakes Region of Ontario. THOUSANDS of lakes surround us. And thousands of people LIVE ON ISLANDS on those lakes. Friends of ours were keen to get the Rogers service and had a technician all lined up. They are about 500 metres from the mainland. The technician did not need to run any kind of line. Just put up a dish and align its signal. Hmmmm … but their employees are not allowed to travel in anyone else’s vehicle … including a boat. So they were not able to get the dish. Argh! So close … and yet so far!
I think, from what I read, that rural areas are hit especially hard with internet issues. You are so correct though- this is something we pay for and yet it is so unreliable, impacted by so many factors. What is the alternative though? We have come to depend upon this technology for almost everything.
That picture of the wheat is amazing! Did you manage to find the table/chairs? 🙂
Yes I found them and marked the spot I am thinking I might stand on the table and take some shots before I pull it all out. It is so dense in there!
Off topic but wanted to comment on how magnificent Mr. Flowers plumage looks in today’s photo.
He is rather gorgeous!
Sorry to hear about your internet woes. When we first moved to our little corner of Spain, 8 years ago, the internet was intermittent. But about 5 years ago we all got Fibre Optics and we have never had a problem since. I’m so pleased as it is how I keep connected with my family and friends. I don’t know how folks can do work at Starbucks, it just wouldn’t work for me. I did go to a coffee shop once when my internet was down but the owner kept wanting to talk to me. So nothing got done!
I suspect the internet gets crowded wherever you are in the US, especially at certain times of day. I tend to avoid it during “rush hours”, meaning business hours or shortly thereafter.
I now wait until late at night, when I can, or after one of the many thundershowers we’ve had this spring. I’ve resorted to reading books the old fashoined way, or writing by hand in my journal.
This may not help you, except for the reassurance of knowing you have lots of company lost in Cyberland.
Ours is surprisingly OK, but drops out occasionally. I don’t think there’s a connection in the world that doesn’t have hiccups or take offence at stupid things like weather, walls or trees. Australia’s NBN network was touted as being the universal panacea, but is slow, unreliable and still patchy. I do understand the difficulty of getting a decent signal to remote areas, and Australia has more than its fair share of remote, but it can be very frustrating. When the land signal drops out, I can generally switch over to using my phone as a hotspot as the signal is good and I have enough bandwidth and data allowance for video calls, even.
As Kate said, is pretty much the case here. Our home internet is connected via our telephone landline, i.e. underground cable to a junction box which supports a certain number of households… old technology that we’ve only had for about 7 years during which time the service has gotten slower but better than the none we had before which is what many people in our district have unless they sign up for satellite. Also, like the rest of Australia’s technology offerings it’s not cheap @ $105 per month.
I can live without the internet, but I can’t earn money without it (I teach on Zoom). I also use Zoom to work with other writers and to keep in touch with friends and to read the paper. I can shop and cook and do chores without the internet, but without it I would be lonely and broke.
And that is (you) and me in a nutshell. We use this tool (the internet) to earn our daily bread. I want to shout at technology- KEEP UP!!
For years we only had semi line of sight WIFI, 3 mbps was about as good as it got. My neighbors a short way down the road – and down hill – couldn’t get it and I had to trim limbs off trees every spring. The only other alternative was satellite and another neighbor was on the list for Starlink for 2 years! In the past year they have been laying fiber optic cable all over the place around here, (east central Wisconsin). I understand it’s part of some government plan to connect rural areas. At any rate, it’s not overly expensive and it’s 300 mbps! Hopefully they’ll come to your area too.
Yes! Though we are at the end of every line! I wonder if this is happening around here. How do I find out?
I saw something on FB about Spectrum and I clicked the box to be notified when it was available here. After that I saw them all over the place burying orange tubing and replacing most of the telephone junction boxes. When they notified me of availability I also checked with Frontier Communications, they are the local telephone supplier and their internet services were also available to us where they hadn’t been before. I would check with whoever is your landline phone, cable, etc supplier. Good luck!
I have none of those things of course. Cable or phone. It is a while since I shopped around tho!
I still have a landline but never had cable however I had checked with the phone company in the past as to whether their internet service was available at my address. Until Spectrum started replacing the phone junction boxes and burying the fiber optic line it was never available. Because those junction boxes hold the equipment for the phone companies goods I assume it’s been a collaborative effort.
it’s just me Celi ~ Boo’s Girlfriend!!! email is the same ~ czt5805@hotmail.com. Thanks for all of your time and hard work to make this just great!! We only had .3 1/2 tenths of rain Wed. ~ other areas had much more ~ like an inch or more. I’m quite concerned about this drought. And yet there’s other areas that have serious floods. Love these calves!! Take care Celi!!!
Yes! We had a good inch! It is dry though! Are you watering your garden?
I am a new member from Canada, far south west British Columbia and we are connected. So enjoy your blog and respect the work that you do for our planet. Keep up the great work and congratulations on the new environment of your work and where it will lead everyone on your blog community. I takes one to….
Thank you Pat for the comment and welcome!! We are all in this together and I am so lucky to have such a large and involved blog community.