At last we have been able to talk with a person rather than recordings at Qwest, our telephone company. We found out some disturbing information. Because we do not have service via fiber optic cable, our service is being downgraded. At this point, we have no choice; residential DSL service in our area is primarily through standard wire telephone lines. Qwest tells us that our telephone line which is entirely above ground and has been so for 30 years is not the problem. Someone came out to tell us that but did not visually inspect the line. He did say that for some inexplicable reason, at this point, we have a low connectivity level. Qwest will send someone out on Monday to try to find out why that is and maybe repair it. I suspect that Qwest will tell us there is nothing they can do about it because we are far enough out on their main line that they cannot reasonably maintain connectivity levels.

Please note that I have said this on Sunday 25 October 2009 before Qwest has "inspected" the problem.

EarthLink says that their modem is not the problem. We took the modem around to all the telephone jacks in the house and told EarthLink that the same problems exist at each one. EarthLink told us to set up the modem on a shorter wire which we did at great difficulty. Service is improved but not as good as promised. They have finally decided that we could have a new modem. I am not certain if we are being charged for it or if it is included in our monthly service charge. We could have paid more than 10 USD to have it shipped and arrive by mid-week next week or use EarthLink's standard shipping option without additional shipping charge and it will arrive at the end of next week.

I am so fed up with both Qwest and EarthLink. At the moment our internet access and connectivity are adequate and I am happy about that.

Yesterday while there was little else to do, I watched the birds with Mooch the cat. We had finished the winter preparatory yardwork with the exception of raking the leaves. The birds and squirrels were having a good time in the yard and garden. We had the usual assortment of birds for this time of year. By now, most of the western hemisphere robins have left our area but some generally will winter over here if they have an adequate food source. We see the occasional robin now and think that it is probably going to winter here. In the afternoon, Ben finished raking up the leaves. I still have to check the gardens to be certain the plants are adequately covered for the winter. For all practical purposes, we have no more yardwork until the winter snow flies and we must shovel.