[BlueOnyx:26392] Re: Internet issues

[Michael Stauber]

Hi Ken,

> Hey, don't paint us all with the same brush!

I only have one brush! :o)

Nah, there are sure good ones, too. But they are so rare that it's an 
exquisite delight to deal with them.

> Also, if you're a small local ISP, there are a million ways for the
> big guys to screw you over and steal your customers.  

Yeah, our guess here is this is exactly what happened. The three big 
ones here all know how shitty their own support and that of the 
competitors is. So this was a great chance to get some clients to switch 
over to them, because that's usually lot faster than waiting for a 
service technician and a repair.

> I also wonder if things have changed since I lived 2 years as a 
 > teenager in South America (Argentina) in the late 1960's.  A small
 > bribe was often expected in everyday transactions, especially if civil
 > servants were involved, and wasn't even viewed as particularly
 > unethical or illegal.

Sadly this is still very much the case. In all aspects of daily lives. 
Sometimes the traffic cops stop you and you realize within the first 
minute or two that it's nothing but a "shake-down" for a bribe. Need to 
renovate the drivers license, a construction permit, or some odd 
bureaucratic diligence done? Well, there is the convoluted and time 
consuming "proper way", or you can ask someone who knows someone to do 
it for you "for a small fee" and get it sorted out right away.

> Whenever I think of Michael living in Colombia, somehow I think of 
 > Patrick Jane in the TV series The Mentalist, on an island off the
 > coast of Venezuela where he can't be extradited to the U.S.  (will
 > only make sense if you've watched it)  Or maybe Rick Blaine in
 > Casablanca.  Don't be insulted, either reference makes you out to be a
 > dashing chick magnet.

Bwahahah! Yeah, I get the reference. But I (sadly) can assure you: It's 
a lot less glamorous and downright mundane. And as for "chick magnet"? 
My lovely wife is the proper "repellent". :o)

-- 
With best regards

Michael Stauber