Helene Update Day 22: INTERNET

 It is day 22 post Hurricane Helene interrupting our lives and Spectrum has finally restored our home internet.  While I am grateful for TMobile 5G home internet helping get us through the down time on Spectrum I won't miss the constant connectivity issues the 5G experienced.

 And yes I feel a bit of guilt being this excited over something as stupid as good internet access. Folks in our neighborhood are still months of repairs away from having their normal homes back.  Just north of us in western NC the scene is still apocalyptic in areas.  Their wait for power will be months and they may never get stable wired internet back; 5G or satellite are their only answers for the foreseeable future.

 So I'll take a moment to enjoy reliable low latency and massive download speeds but still think of those folks a short drive away and we'll keep volunteering and donating.  I'd suggest if you have any means to give that you do so.

 Also some visuals for anyone interested in what the difference means on our internet connection.

Network monitoring via Pinging.net web tool. 
TMobile 5G on the bottom; latency spikes and consistent drops.
Spectrum on the top; smooth consistent connection.
Literally night and day difference.

 

 

 

Speedtest results on Spectrum.  Note: speedtest isn't the greatest of tests but it is a simple way to illustrate a connetions potential.  For comparison TMobile 5G sometimes couldn't even run speedtest as it would die out during the test or if it completed it was 20-50 Mbps down and 1-5 Mbps up and latency was always 60ms+ (expected with 5G).

Helene Update Day 14: I PLAYED THRONE AND LIBERTY

 My TMobile 5G home internet arrived late yesterday which gave me a chance to jump in and play some Throne and Liberty.  This is the first online game I've played since Helene hit two weeks ago! 

 For anyone that hasn't followed along on this journey I bought into the Early Access for Throne and Liberty which started on 9/26.  I played right up to the point where my internet service went out as Helene started making its way inland.  Little did I know it would be 14 days later before I'd be able to return!

 During my hiatus from being offline my friend group, who had NOT planned to play Throne and Liberty, decided it would be a good idea to start playing and then constantly ask me "where you at bro?".  Since they started post Early Access they were on servers that I could not transfer my Early Access character to.  Thus Heartlessgamerr (with two Rs) has been born!

 

Heartlessgamerr

 I had only made it to level 27 on Heartlessgamer proper on the Amos early access server before Helene knocked me offline which was just a few hours of work.  So starting over to play with my friends was not that big of a hit to take and as I'd find out re-leveling was the least of my worries.

 I work in telecom so I hate to throw shade on telecoms and technology that is helping in otherwise tough times, but 5G Home Internet is just not great.  We actually had a better signal than I expected at the house for TMobile but even with that signal the technology is just unreliable.  There is consistent packet loss and latency spikes; not to mention regular periods of it dropping out altogether.

 The result is an unreliable service to play games on, but that did not deter me and it actually highlights one area that Throne and Liberty absolutely shines in!  As I explored there was a bit of rubber banding and frustration waiting for interact actions before eventually hitting some disconnects.  

 But the beauty of Throne and Liberty is its performance and whatever voodoo they use I was able to play effectively and when a disconnect did happen I could get right back into the game.  I am still amazed how they pull off not having long load screens even when dropping me into areas with hundreds of players all while I am on spotty internet!  This performance is entirely worth the price of early access admission and sets a new bar for competitors to match.

 For comparison if I was disconnected from New World it would easily be 4-5 minutes before I was back in game.  In Throne and Liberty I was back within a minute; basically as fast as my PC could boot the game back up.

 It's good that I confirmed to myself that gaming on 5G home internet is NOT reliable but in a pinch it is serviceable.  I still wait patiently for Spectrum to return more reliable service via cables in the ground.

Helene Update Day 13: Wooting 80HE

 As I posted yesterday we've taken a good number of steps towards normalcy in our post Hurricane Helene journey.  One more step today was heralded by the arrival of my long awaited Wooting 80HE delivery!

 I had ordered the 80HE almost a year ago at this point when it was first announced.  The 80HE brings all the goodness of the Wooting keyboards and lekkar switches in a "slightly bigger than 75% keyboard layout so we'll call it 80" size.  Compared to my 60HE this brings back my F keys, arrow keys, and a few extras like PgUp/PgDn/Del/Ins.  While I loved my 60HE I did miss all of extra keys; especially the F keys.  

Helene Update Day 12: Hoping Milton Stays South

 It is day 12 of our Hurricane Helene experience.  A quick recap: 

• We have power
• Spectrum internet is still down with basically no communication on progress
  
• Roads are mostly open now 
• Gas and food is readily available
• Most limits on purchases are also being lifted (hooray for being able to buy two loaves of bread now!)
  

  To attack the Internet issue I have ordered T-Mobile 5G Home internet.  I know the signal is not great here but its better than nothing and definitely better than an hour of commuting each day and paying for parking downtown.  It should arrive in the next couple of days.

 Next we are staring down Hurricane Milton to the south.  It should NOT swing north towards us but hurricanes were also never supposed to be bad for us before Helene dropped 40 trillion gallons of water on the area and knocked down every other tree within driving distance!  I am pretty confident Milton will stay south.

Helene Update Day 9,10, and 11: The long(er) wait begins

 Note: posting these updates a couple days late due to returning home on Day 7 but without Internet and spotty mobile service it has been difficult to get anything done online.  Fortunately, my company has office space still which has power and internet so after years of working from home I am back in the office.

 We returned to a house with power and a nasty mess in the freezers and refrigerator.  We had cleaned most of the freezer items out but on the off chance we got power back we left frozen tomatoes and peppers from the garden harvest this year so we could can them in jars.  That was the wrong choice and I should have thrown them out when I visited the house earlier in the power outage.  So we had to turn off the freezers and let them thaw which we then followed up with some cleaning.

 The fridge was mostly cleaned out except for some items that could withstand longer durations, but we still chucked a bunch of sealed food such as orange juice bottles and stuff like soy sauce.  Having an empty fridge gave us the chance to give it a good scrub down and we are now proud owners of a very clean fridge.

 The fridge/freezer cleaning inspired us to get some more kitchen cleaning done.  That in turn inspired some clean up in the office and then the great room.  It's amazing what you can get done when you put your mind to it and don't have Internet-connected devices distracting you.

 We then took on the task of getting the yard in order.  Fortunately we had no trees down in our yard but plenty of branches and debris.  We also live on the bottom of the hill in the neighborhood so had lots of washed out areas in the yard that needed attention.  

 The wash out reminded me I need to get the grading/drainage situation in the yard cleaned up.  A recent Spectrum cable repair in the yard compromised some of the drainage to the street and that's causing water to pool around the AC unit during these events.  I also need to see if the HVAC company can raise the AC unit.  So much to think about and get on lists to wait for companies to have resources to check out.

 Then it was back inside to relax and catch the Packers game on TV.  We were fortunate that it was an afternoon game on CBS and broadcast in our area.  I had to chuckle to myself after explaining to my oldest son on how over the air TV works even though Internet does not.  

 I also helped myself to an "adult soda" (as we call beer in the household) which is something that is a rare treat as I only have beer a few times a year.  The beer was from a brewery, Sierra Nevada, in western North Carolina which was heavily impacted by Helene and may be out of brewing for a bit so there was a tinge of guilt to go with it.

 Some gaming activity did return to the house.  Personally, I've been too exhausted each day to get any gaming in myself but my oldest son has latched onto Starfield again and is playing a good bit of that.  It was neat to see land vehicles introduced in the game and over all seemed like a better experience.  I need a few things to calm down at work and in real life before I jump into some offline games. Wreckfest is my normal go to.

 Lastly; we wait for Internet to return and for school to start back up.  Tentative plans are the kids go back tomorrow (10/9).  Internet (our provider is Spectrum) is an unknown.  They are not even giving estimates.  Communication is actually very poor from Spectrum currently and when they do give updates they are combative/defensive about the situation.  AT&T and other providers are providing much better updates and are facing the same widespread challenges as Spectrum.  None of them are working in our area.

 There is the option of going with 5G home internet from a provider like T-Mobile so I am weighing that option even though I know coverage is not great and all the major carriers are also heavily impacted for capacity due to the storm damage.  But it may be an option vs waiting likely weeks if not months for Spectrum repairs.

 I'll leave on a positive.  While cleaning up I walked past our fig tree and was greeted with the first ripe fig of the second crop it has set for this year.  It brought a smile to my face.  Mother nature marches forward and so do we!

 

Helene Update Day 8: The Return of POWER

 Power, but not internet, has returned to our home on this, the 7th day, of Hurricane Helene aftermath.  The family and I are heading back home today and saying good bye to our gracious hosts that have housed us the last few days.  

 While this closes one chapter in this saga it is not the end.  Trees are still down everywhere.  Hundreds of thousands are still without power.  Many businesses remain closed.  Schools are closed.  Many stores that are open are cash only but there isn't readily available ways to get cash.  There is a likely long wait for repairs to internet as Spectrum has deemed it still too unsafe to work the issue in our neighborhood due to the trees and down poles/lines.

 But we'll take it.  Power back on and getting back home is one more step towards normalcy.  Now I wait for the return of being able to stay up to the wee hours of the morning playing my favorite online games.

Helene Update Day 7: Hope and patience

 It is day 7 without power at our house and we continue to stay relocated with a coworker who has power and internet.  Tomorow is the estimated day for power to come back on at our house so we are hopeful that stays true.  I doubt we will get internet access back at the same time but that is secondary to having power.

 We are also prepping for more rain as another tropical storm makes its way through the gulf and up our way.  We should get a minimal bit of rain but any amount at this point has most of us here cautious.

 We've also been able to get word from some friends up in western NC which was both heartwarming and heartbreaking.  They are in good shape and their area specifically was spared from most damage but they informed us the brother of their's son's girlfriend is missing.  His last known whereabouts before the storm are unknown but his car was found in flood waters and home completely washed away.

 It is a stark reminder that while this is inconvenient for myself and my family; there are others who will forever be changed by this event.  It reinforces the patience needed to get through these events.  More importantly it reminds us that we all need some hope in these trying times.

Bonus cat picture.  This is our neighborhood cat who adopted us.  He's doing just fine. 

Helene Update Day 6: Reminders we still have a ways to go

 Still no power at our house on day 6 of the joy that Hurricane Helene brought us.  The family and I remain relocated.  I am making daily trips to the house to check on things and keep our outdoor animals fed (rabbits and chickens).  School is cancelled now into next week.

 In a more positive update there is now ice arriving at a regular interval in the local grocery stores.  It won't save anyone that lost everything in their fridge/freezer days ago but it allows some short-term storage instead of having to figure out how to use an entire container of milk in a single day.

 I was also able to check around more of the immediate area in our neighborhood and there were sober reminders that we still have a ways to go.  There are still downed trees on power lines that are still untouched.  Street lights are still out.  Roads are still blocked.  Damaged houses covered in tarps also remind us that for some getting back to normal is even farther away.

 An example of a partially blocked road and damaged power lines in our area that is TBD when it will be worked on.

Helene Update Day 5: The Estimate and Throne and Liberty launch day!

 It is day 5 of no power at our home and we got the first glimmer of hope to an end with an estimate from our power company that they will have power restored by Oct 4th.  We were fortunate enough to have a talkative worker that was working at the problem location where the lines were taken down.  He was optimistic but you could tell he was not convinced Oct 4th was real but thats what they had.  They have to replace multiple poles and transformers.  

 That will get power back into the spot where the utilities go underground to feed our house.  The risk after that is the state of the underground lines; some of which were ripped up as trees uprooted.  If the underground lines are damaged then there is unfortunately a wait for a crew that can do buried cables.  

 I don't even want to think about internet.  Down the street you can see Spectrum's buried line sitting six feet up in the air attached to a upturned rootball of a 100 year old oak tree that toppled over.

 With that said the family and I are still relocated to a coworkers house where they have power and internet.   Its a bit of a drive but still checking on the house and family members each day.  Gas is surprisingly available with minimal wait times.

 Also Throne and Liberty's global launch is today.  I played early access for a few hours the day before Helene hit so I have some thoughts but it will be a bit before I get to that and a bit before I get to jump back in Throne and Liberty.  

A pic showing what some streets still look like.

Helene Update Day 4: Relocated

 Day 4 update on our Helene journey.  No power at our house so our family relocated to a coworkers house where they have power.  Power crews are in our neighborhood but the damage is catastrophic and supplies needed for repairs limited.  More and more folks are getting power but in older neighborhoods like ours it is likely a long haul for power... and probably even longer for internet.  

Also counting our blessings seeing neighbors with houses like this. 

Helene Update: Day 3 and still no power

Looks like we are in for the long haul for no power.  No estimate on restoration either.  Making use of the scout skills! 

Holy Helene!

We are safe.  Lots of trees down and damaged homes in the area.  Power will be out for a few days probably.  So much for Throne and Liberty early access! 

A picture of some damage on the street. Yes those are power lines under the downed trees!!