Tag: Blog

Doctor Who: Clara Oswin Oswald Character Arch Begins!

Paul

Clara Oswin Oswald

Who is the Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) is a character the doctor met in Asylum of the Daleks.  If you know this series then you will remember the Doctor and River Song (A Good man Goes to war!).  I think I did a pretty good prediction on the remaining season of Doctor Who for 2013 (Season 7).  I know I missed some of this and really when I looked into this series during the interlude of season.

We see her die twice!

The first time we see her die is Asylum of the Daleks, and then the Snowmen (Christmas Special).  Everything tells me this girl has a reason to have her keep on coming back to life and the doctor finding her in The Bells of Saint John.  Which is also in Season 7 and you can see she has a major part of this season and I she will be on Season 8 and Season 9 from what I can tell.

I hope we don’t see something like River Song or Amy Pond’s Character arch’s but I am sure she will be an important part of the series.   I can’t wait to see what else she does with the Doctor and what she has to bring into the Life of the Doctor.

Paul Sylvester

Playing around with Google Authenticator and the 2 step process!

Paul

Yubico Yubi key neo

2 Factor Authentication and You!

When I started this experiment looking to enhance my security.  I was thinking about Yubi Key but It isn’t like I have the 25 dollars for it.  I do suggest it to anyone who might not have any other options available to you.   It however works really well from what I have been told with Lastpass and I wanted something that would do just that.   

It isn’t like I have a lot of money to throw around!

So I went to Lastpass security settings to see if there was something else.   When I found the Google Authenticator Tab!

Google Authenticator?

Well it looks like Google came up with a way to have a two factor authentication available for you when you login to sites that you may want more than one way to protect your identity or privacy! So even though I could protect my privacy by having a One Time Password it isn’t going to be the easiest way to keep my security safe.  

I installed Google Authenticator on my Kyocera Rise and it is working really well.   I will have to do even more figuring out of this little app but I am wondering how hard it would be to change to another phone when the time comes and how hard it is to get it installed.

I’ve printed up a few One time Passwords and they are safely hidden away for those times I might need them because something happened.

My next step is to find out which if any social media sites are two factor compliant and which ones I would want to have this available to.   I am hopeful that Facebook will have this to help keep my identity safe and people from gaining access to stuff they shouldn’t have.

Lastpass Plus Google Authenticator equals AWESOME.   Even though this just the beginning of my journey into exploring this.   I will do another blog post about this later on when I have explored this with greater detail and discuss the benefits and draw backs of this but for right now I am more secure then I was and I am happy!

Paul Sylvester

 

 

What To Do before you Call Virgin Mobile Support!

Paul1 Reply

Virgin Mobile's Most Popular Web Page

1 hour with Technical Support!

Gee thanks for wasting an hour of my time for nothing!  Couldn’t I of done this offline?  This isn’t like it is rocket science or is it?  When I started this trek to fixing my 3G signal, I never knew it was going to be such a big ordeal.  I mean, lets face it it isn’t like I don’t know what I am doing with my Android Phone.  I’ve been getting Error codes like 67, 3000, and 2048.   So i called them and they had me do a bunch of stupid stuff.   Here is what I suggest you do before you call Virgin Mobile.  That way you can at least be ahead of the game:

  • Turn off Cell Phone and if Possible take out battery for at least 15 seconds.
  • Try doing an Activation and Seeing if that resolves your problem!
  • Dial ##virgin# (##847446#) and view or edit your MSID (Mobile Station ID) and MDN (Mobile Number).   You’ll need to verify they are something other than 10 zeros!
  • Check for firmware updates.   On my Kyocera Rise, you can do that by going to System > System Updates.   This might help fix your problem before you even consider calling Virgin Mobile.   No bets though.
  • Last ditch resort!!  Do a hard reset on your Android Phone.   Not recommended but if you do this and you still have problems then it isn’t your phone.   You will need to reactivate the phone once it has been done and all photos, videos, and anything else on the phone is lost.   So it is a last resort.   Do this though, you will need to hold the down key and power button until you see the phone power up.  Using your volume keys select factory reset or something like that.

Although It seems Virgin Mobile is having some major 3g service issues.   I do hope they fix it.  I have tried everything other than just going back to Straight Talk.   This has been the lousiest experience in my life.   Has anyone else had this problem with your 3G service from Virgin Mobile Lately?

Paul Sylvester

Having Signal Problems with your current Cellular provider?

Paul

Cell Signal Booster

So You have a Cell Phone?

Many People Now a days are cutting the cords to their land lines and going strickly wireless phones.   I’ve seen people who have Verizon, Cingular, AT&T, Sprint or some other MVNO Like Straight Talk or Virgin Mobile!  Each One of those carriers has good or bad in them.   I’ve seen some that get GREAT signal and I’ve seen some that just get no signal.  I even bet you researched it and thought that you were in the right area for your service provider.   I hate to say it but not all phones and not all cell towers are the same either.  I have tried so many different MVNO’s lately I can tell you that most of them give higher priority to their contract customers.

Why am I not getting any Bars on my Cell Phone?

I answered this a few months ago to a point about Straight Talk but it wasn’t really complete.  I am sure You have your own reason why but I will break it down to you in a way that you might be able to understand it a little more clearly than before.

Each phone has an antenna and each cell tower is broadcasting to a certain distance, and some are broadcasting in a certain direction also.   Most however are just broadcasting omni directional and thus you get a random signal in random locations.   Your also competing with other cell signals from other cell phones for the right to use that tower so your also getting some interference in areas.  

House can be an Interference too!

Even your house which is a dwelling with bricks and wood and some metal pieces can cause you to drop signals in all parts of your house.   I’ve seen in my own situation that I can have 3 bars in one location of my house and no bars in another part of my house so It can be inconcievable that you have the same situation going on where you life also.  So I am here to help you out a little an maybe make you life just a little bit more enjoyable.

Those are just a few that will help you get a better signal and it isn’t as hard as it looks to install these little extenders and boosters.   I will say these are just the tip of the iceburg as to what you can buy to make you cellular experience just that much better.   If I a problem these would be the first I would buy to get that signal strength up.

Paul Sylvester

My Reasons why you should avoid Onlywire!

Paul

Onlywire messes up again!!

When I first started using their FREE service, I thought wow.   I know I won’t need more than 300 submissions for my blog each month.   Heck I am not even doing that much submitting for much more than to make sure people know I am posting content!  So here I am happily using their free service and they do something stupid.

I sent off an Email!

When I saw my 300 submissions not being reset, I sent off an email to Onlywire finding out the reason.  Here is their response.

 

 

Hi Paul,
Great question. Free Trial accounts are now limited to 7 days. So your account has expired. 
It is a more reasonable Free Trial Period. It just made sense!
Previous: 300 Free submissions No Limit
Now: 100 Free Submissions One Week
We found that customers were creating accounts and forgetting about them. One week
seemed like a reasonable amount of time to decide if the syndication service is a good match or not. 

If only wire wanted to let me know, I know they have my email account.  I’ve gotten emails from them from the past.  This just shows me they don’t really care about their customers and thus I wouldn’t trust them with my money even if I had the money to give them in the first place.

Customer Experience is Bad!

As you can see they gave me this great explanation of why they changed it but didn’t give me an option to give me a reason why I would want to stay with them.   Heck even if they offered a 5$ a month plan for life, I would of jumped on that like you wouldn’t believe.   It was the idea that they don’t care and they just wanted to switch and hope people wouldn’t notice or if they did they wouldn’t speak up!  Well I am speaking up!

No warnings about account changes!

Just like not telling me about the free account change, I would be wondering what else they will do to my account if I signed up.   Will they place ads on my social stream without telling me?  Will they not submit my stuff on a timely manner.   Is their servers going to be up a 100% of the time?  

I will be looking for alternatives to Onlywire, in the coming weeks and Probably even tell you which ones do about the same for free.  I can’t make any promises but I am sure i am not along in the endeavor because of how they have burned me!

Did it happen to you? 

Paul Sylvester