Just As I Thought

Different Speed, Different Time




In the last instalment of how fast is my broadband, the afternoon tests showed an average download speed of 5Mbps. This was as it should be.

However, that evening between 7:30 and 8:00 pm, I was having trouble with pages loading and movies moving, so I checked the download speed. It was 2.40Mbps.

Just to be certain, I tried a few more test sites.



It was even worse at 8:30 pm;


On one of the afternoon tests, I had a download speed of 5.22 Mbps. That is what I pay for with the Elite package, (the fastest that AT&T offers).

I have to figure that a lot of people are streaming movies at 8:30pm, because the folks on this pipe of the Internet well are sucking it dry. It’s sort of like flushing the toilets while someone is taking a shower.

Another 2 tests;







Facebook

• It helps change governments.
• It reunites old friends and family.
• It helps report the news....What

That’s right, I found out that there were fires burning up my old stomping grounds in west Texas, though an email from a 60’s - 70’s Alpine High School graduates Facebook group.

    KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio | Radio For A Wide Range


Destroyed home in Fort Davis, built by a KRTS DJ (KRTS/Billy Marginot)

I sent some of the information to Jerry, my brother. He lived in Alpine and went to Sul Ross State College the same time as I did. We are both familiar with the towns and country that was ablaze. (Alpine Avalanche)


The burned Rock House, which started the fire Saturday afternoon.

The fire spread from Marfa to Fort Davis in a matter of hours, it seemed impossible that it could cover that distance so quickly, but it raged all the way to Balmorhea.



More fires are still burning across western Texas and record heat combined with high winds are making containment difficult. One of the big difficulties in dousing a fire in west Texas is the scarcity of water.


All the flower pictures were from the same fence. 4/10/11

Water
For Americans, flushing the toilet is the main way we use water. We use more water flushing toilets than bathing or cooking or washing our hands, our dishes, or our clothes. When we think about the big ways we use water, flushing the toilet doesn’t typically leap to mind. It’s one of those unnoticed parts of our daily water use -- our daily water-mark -- that turns out to be both startling and significant.

The largest single consumer of water in the United States, in fact, is virtually invisible. Every day, the nation’s power plants use 201 billion gallons of water in the course of generating electricity. That isn’t water used by hydroelectric plants -- it’s the water used by coal, gas, and nuclear power plants for cooling and to make steam.

Toilets and electric outlets may be stealthy consumers of water, but they at least serve vital functions. One of the largest daily consumers of water isn’t a use at all. One of every six gallons of water pumped into water mains by U.S. utilities simply leaks away, back into the ground. (Story on Salon.com)

                   
Today’s Relatively Appropriate Song;




Sweet Harmony