Project 'get internet'

We had always had high speed internet, that is until we moved to our current home 4 years ago. We live just 2 miles out of town in a sparsely populated area, but it might as well be a million cause no vendor is interested in extending coverage to our area. sigh We have spend far too much time and money trying every avenue available to connect to internet. (Dial up is available, but what is the point?) So we turned to the sky; we settled for receiving internet signal through cell phone satellites, which well work with a direct clear signal to the satellite. The problem is that our house sits in the middle of dense (and tall) trees. So the internet signal we receive is spotty at best. ugh. So for the past 4 years (3 of which I have blogged), I have become the expert loiterer. I do the majority of uploading photos to my blog from the parking lot of our local McDonalds. Sure, as a novice I carried my laptop in, ordered and sat at a table for the short period of time until my battery ran out, forcing me home. But eventually I figured out that I could simply go thru the drive thru (if I happen to want a coffee) or just truly loiter in the comfort of my vehicle in the parking lot. There I could keep my laptop plugged in for endless time to upload photos. It was not uncommon for me to upload hundreds, and I do mean hundredS, of photos at a time and saving as drafts in multiple posts. Then write up the post at home as I had time. It was a long and tedious process for each blog post, and never allowed time to edit photos or do anything cool with them. I felt like I was just trying to get the basics of our memories preserved, nothing more. But I think all of that is about to change, and I am very excited about it.

We are having our very own tower erected, it is 70 feet tall, enough to receive a signal above the trees. It does seem drastic, but at this point, 4 years into project 'get internet', we are willing to do just about anything. Lex started junior high this year and has more and more assignments to research projects on the internet. So it seems that good reliable internet would facilitate his learning requirements, not to mention allow me to blog easier (hehehe). It just seems like access to the internet has become a basic necessity of life (ok, maybe that is a bite too dramatic but you get my point).

Phase I

The base of the tower was buried with a concrete base.

Phase II

All 70 feet of the tower is erected and secured with 4 cable lines

The internet service provider was kind enough to temporarily set up a router in the garage so that we do have internet access.

Phase III

Will be the internal wiring to allow adequate wireless access throughout the house.

Geez, I feel like we are finally entering the turn of the century again. Not having adequate internet access is very technologically debilitating.

And Alex thought erecting the tower was expensive, but having access to the internet has opened the door to all the newer technology, and boy is there some cool stuff out there right now. wow!

I have also discovered what the Apple craze is all about, and I'm HOOKED! I have been playing with a MacBook Pro this week and simply fell in love. We are looking at getting a new home computer and had decided to get a touch screen, all in one computer. (Mainly cause it looks cool and is fun to use, I thought the touch screen would be easier for the toddlers to learn on.) However, now I want an iMac with a Think Pad! But boy, talk about $$$$! I hope it is worth it.

So be warned, I may go crazy with editing pics and posting every day! LOL Only if I had the time...