31 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
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The Telecom Digest for October 29, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 251 : "text" Format
====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 11:07:54 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Caller ID and Reverse 911
Message-ID: <k6jhoc$l9i$1@dont-email.me>
Yesterday, I got a call at 7:41 PM Eastern time: the caller ID showed
"1-000-000-0000". I answered out of curiosity, assuming that it would
be some political tripe.
The call was a recorded announcement from my local electric company,
saying that I should report electrical outages to a certain number and
blathering about how they're "doing our best" to prepare for a hurricane.
If this was a "Reverse 911" call, I think the Caller ID would be better
used if it had been set to the number that I was expected to call in
case of a power outage. If it was just another robocall, then it's a
great example of how CID can be erroneous.
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 17:56:54 +0000 (UTC)
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Caller ID and Reverse 911
Message-ID: <k6jrl6$1in$1@reader1.panix.com>
In <k6jhoc$l9i$1@dont-email.me> Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> writes:
>Yesterday, I got a call at 7:41 PM Eastern time: the caller ID showed
>"1-000-000-0000". I answered out of curiosity, assuming that it would
>be some political tripe.
>The call was a recorded announcement from my local electric company,
>saying that I should report electrical outages to a certain number and
>blathering about how they're "doing our best" to prepare for a hurricane.
That [mistake] of theirs is definitiely worth taking
a minute and sending a letter to your PSC about. While
they might not have direct jurisdiction, when they forward
your note over it'll get the attention of someone with
half a brain.
- If you're really into Good Deed of The Week, track down
your State's Office of Emergency Management and cc them as well.
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2012 22:41:31 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Feeding Frenzy
Message-ID: <20121029024131.GA11336@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
There's a law of human nature that says when a hurricane is coming,
everyone goes out and buys everything off the supermarket shelves,
empties every gas station, and lays in a supply of water adequate to
keep niagra going for a month.
I witnessed this today, when my wife asked me to pick up some
hamburger and bread and eggs, all of which are usually available from
a local market with little fuss. However, at my local market, there
were shoppers lined up five or six deep at eleven checkout stands, and
I, thinking it an aberration, went to a different store. The scene was
repeated, and I realized that most of those in line had filled their
shopping carts to the brim with PERISHABLE meat, poultry, eggs,
etc.: if they're afraid of a storm, why aren't they afraid of losing
their power?
I have my own generator, and enough gasoline to keep it going for a
couple of days, so I'm not worried about buying hamburger: even so, I
didn't pick up anything that I wouldn't eat within 48 hours or that
couldn't withstand a day in an unpowered refrigerator. I did indulge
in some discount cans of mushroom soup - funny how the best bargains
are to had when everyone is buying something else - but nothing that
would be ruined by a day without power.
All of this is neither here nor there as far as telecom, but it led me
to wonder if the urge to buy up all the food - or anything else - is
likely to be reflected in the telecom world. Is there a way to measure
sales of cell phones and to see if they've spiked in the last couple
of days?
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
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