Author: Pat Skinner

Update 9/28/2011:
Still getting a lot of spam here, suggesting human involvement. Changed title and URL again, we’ll see how long it lasts.

Update 4/3/2011:
Changed the post URL to hopefully reduce the amount of bot-spam this post accrues. For some reason it has historically received more than half of the comment spam.

I’m pretty much done with installing the home network. I’ve now got Dad’s office, Mom’s office and my room wired, and the router has wireless for the rest of the house. Now I just have to wait for the cable modem to arrive in the mail and the Comcast guy to come drill some holes in the house.
I’m glad its done; the attic was a pain because the insulation in between the rafters just slices up anything it touches, not to mention the sweltering heat. Good thing its a one-time job – I used gigabit cabling so upgrades won’t be needed until that standard changes.

So after some finagling with the parents, we’re finally getting broadband at home. It’s great, I know they’ll love it even though they’ve been skeptical. It’s a big deal because what must be a hallmark of American suburbia, cable TV, has never existed within these walls, nor have things like cell phones [until this year] and other unnecessary “services.”

I did a spreadsheet with all the costs for a year; its going to be $502.14 for the first year and assuming there aren’t any more deals $728.40 every year after that. Looks pretty steep when you sum things up like that, but I think the time we’ll save will make up for it…
Making these yearly spreadsheets is really useful because thats how the marketers work. Last year I made two similar ones where you either took a “19.99 for 6 months” deal or a “no installation fee”-type deal and the yearly costs were <$10 apart.

All day I’ve been messing around in the attic peeling back old dusty insulation and figuring out where the Cat5’s going to go…it’s really dirty and hot work but nobody else cares enough to do it.

Back to being Mr. Handyman…