amateriat
We're all light!
Another challenging week: galfriend's landline has flamed-out.
My line, thankfully, is still up (good thing: the DSL signal all the household computers rely on comes though that one), so I hand her my phone to call Verizon. After a little of the usual phone-tree bingo, she gets live help on the other end, and, after some testing on their end, it's suggested that we test the line from here by plugging in another phone, preferably an ordinary (i.e. non-cordless) phone if we had one handy. We both knew we had one (we'd dug it out during the last big blackout, which was before we lived together), but I knew I'd have to dig a bit to find it.
I'd somehow remembred it as an early touch-tone job from Western Electric, in the form originally designed by Henry Dreyfuss. But, this particular number turned out to be a bit older than that:
Spot the anachronism.
Ah...some rotary action in store! I seem to have recalled that our particular exchange actually still supports rotary-dial phones, which I confirmed when I plugged this one into galfriend's line and commenced dialing my own number after handing my handset to her, saying "prepare to hear a sound you probably haven't heard since graduating college." Then I started dialing.
Everything worked, and sounded dandy. Turns out there was some weird interaction between her cordless phone and the landline itself, and plugging in the rotary (after a five-minute wait for the line to "reset") confirmed this.
I rather liked the ringing of that old phone, too, especially turned down to its lowest setting. It's no wonder that one of the more popular cellular ringtones of late is a sampled clip of a real, old-school phone with a real bell in it. Gotta remember to do that with my cell. 🙂
As you can see, with my PowerBook in view, I'm hardly in league with Gen. Ludd, but, like film, I rather regard certain things as more than merely serviceable in this here 21st Century. My film burners, however, get a hell of a lot more action than this phone will, but I'm damn glad that phone's here.
- Barrett
My line, thankfully, is still up (good thing: the DSL signal all the household computers rely on comes though that one), so I hand her my phone to call Verizon. After a little of the usual phone-tree bingo, she gets live help on the other end, and, after some testing on their end, it's suggested that we test the line from here by plugging in another phone, preferably an ordinary (i.e. non-cordless) phone if we had one handy. We both knew we had one (we'd dug it out during the last big blackout, which was before we lived together), but I knew I'd have to dig a bit to find it.
I'd somehow remembred it as an early touch-tone job from Western Electric, in the form originally designed by Henry Dreyfuss. But, this particular number turned out to be a bit older than that:
Spot the anachronism.
Ah...some rotary action in store! I seem to have recalled that our particular exchange actually still supports rotary-dial phones, which I confirmed when I plugged this one into galfriend's line and commenced dialing my own number after handing my handset to her, saying "prepare to hear a sound you probably haven't heard since graduating college." Then I started dialing.
Everything worked, and sounded dandy. Turns out there was some weird interaction between her cordless phone and the landline itself, and plugging in the rotary (after a five-minute wait for the line to "reset") confirmed this.
I rather liked the ringing of that old phone, too, especially turned down to its lowest setting. It's no wonder that one of the more popular cellular ringtones of late is a sampled clip of a real, old-school phone with a real bell in it. Gotta remember to do that with my cell. 🙂
As you can see, with my PowerBook in view, I'm hardly in league with Gen. Ludd, but, like film, I rather regard certain things as more than merely serviceable in this here 21st Century. My film burners, however, get a hell of a lot more action than this phone will, but I'm damn glad that phone's here.
- Barrett
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