Dizzle-Sizzle in tha Hizzle!

I finally got one of the computers connected via DSL. I know, welcome to the 90's. It isn't fast DSL, but it's a fair bit faster than dialup, which was my source of data up until now. It was also quite a bit cheaper (believe it or not.)

Anyway, I can't say it's been easy. first the modem arrived on the doorstep and taunted me for a few weeks while I waited for my "Service Ready Date" to roll around. As the service ready date rolled around, it became clear that there was a big problem (not directly related to DSL.) Our phone line was crossed with someone else's. Calls out showed some mysterious number on the call recipient's caller ID and calls to our normal number did nothing. Calls to the mystery number made our phone ring along with the phone of the person who calls that mystery numbeer his own. I should also note that that person doesn't have DSL service. Drat.

So we called the phone company and waited. The line was to be fixed on Sunday, but it wasn't. Then the repairman was to come on Monday, but he didn't. Our phone service was finally restored yesterday (Tuesday.) Ugh.

Almost connected, but not quite. Before I could connect, I first had to put a line filter in line with each phone. there were a couple problems to be sorted out, though. First, the phone in the kitchen was ghetto rigged by the previous resident. There is simply a phone wire coming from a hole in the wall, and going directly to the phone. It works, I guess. It will need a couple of adaptors, though, if it's going to work with a line filter. I just unplugged it and set it aside for now. Next was the basement phone. It's an old rotary dial phone, and it was hard wired to a terminal block of some sort in the basement between the joists. I had to temporarily hard un-wire it in order to get things working. It works, though.

Now to get this sucker on a network.