My damn modem went down last Thursday.  Actually, I could tell it was about to go down – because, you know, it would work but I had to reset it about a million times a day, (started with that rain, btw), it kept dropping connections, it was an older machine, blah blah blah – so I was proactive and bought a new modem.

That new modem, apparently, had software unlike any other modem AT&T dealt with.  I found this out after a call to help support and a technician came out to the house.  Also despite the fact that it was a brand recommended and used by AT&T, and in fact had the words AT&T all over the box.  (Somebody in marketing/product training totally dropped the ball. (Motorola))

Oh yeah, and my laptop's power adapter is going out.

I really have just not been having good tech karma lately.  I don't know what it is.  I'm good to my machines; I don't curse at them or dribble coffee on them or anything.  I clean off all the sticky fingerprints that *ahem* other people leave. 

I personally suspect that all the tech companies' super secret planned obsolescence is kicking in at the same time for every component we own.  (And don't say that companies don't design in obsolescence because I know they do. Which… hello!… is not very environmental!)  I wonder if they have secret meetings at conferences to plan out that sort of thing?  Probably planned years in advance, because you just know they also have super secret market forecasting way beyond the rest of us.  I can just see all the tech bigwigs in a clandestine press room at CES '98… "All right now, lets plan the next major shut down. I propose November 08 – February 09.  That's supposed to be a lousy holiday season anyway so let's give the industry a boost.  All in favor?"

But I'm not bitter.        – wg

P.S. Either that or my boss jinxed me with his connection problems.  Dude.