router trouble

I seem to have more trouble with routers and wireless access points than I should. My first WAP was an original Airport (flying saucer model). I think I was actually still on dial-up when I got that, and had it plugged into a phone line. It worked fine for a couple of years, then just died. I replaced that with an Airport Express, used in conjunction with a Linksys router. The router was fine, but the the Airport Express started flaking out at some point. I found that I could use it at work with no problems, so I took it into work and got a Linksys WRT54G for home, and used that to replace both the old Linksys router and the Airport Express.
In the office, the Airport Express was fine for a while, until it got fried from a power surge. I replaced it with a D-Link WBR-2310 that I got off Woot. That worked fine for me up until we got kicked out of our building a couple of weeks back. (I’m now working from home.)
Back at home, the Linksys WRT54G worked fine, until I got an Apple TV a year ago. It just didn’t work right with that. I replaced the firmware with DD-WRT and tweaked a few parameters, and I got it working acceptably, though it was still a problem to copy large files from my desktop computer down to the Apple TV.
Well, the WRT54G died last week. No clue why; it just stopped working. Since I’m working from home now, I really need a working router, so I hooked up the D-Link that I’d been using in the office. It’s been a bit flaky. I’ve made a bunch of config changes, so we’ll see if it holds up today or not. If not, I’m thinking about one of these two routers. They both should accept the DD-WRT firmware, and have some good reviews out there.
I think my frequent router issues probably have something to do with the variety of equipment I’ve got hooked up, and the density of WAPs in my apartment building. I’ve got a Tivo, Apple TV, PS3, iPod Touch, PSP, Wii, and three notebook computers sharing my wireless. And I’ve got maybe a dozen other wireless access points that I can see from my apartment.

weirdest Christmas ever

I realized yesterday that I’ve spent every Christmas of my life so far with my parents. I always came home from college for Christmas break. After college, I’ve always driven to my folks’ house, either back in Roselle Park or down in Whiting, for Christmas.

I did drive over to my Mom’s assisted living facility this morning and spend a little time with her, but she’s not really in a condition where it would make sense to take her home with me for the day, or take her out to dinner or anything. She had a minor fall this morning, and is a bit unsteady on her feet right now, so I don’t think it would be a good idea to take her out and risk another fall.

So I’m spending most of the day alone here in my apartment, watching MythBusters, and taking care of a few miscellaneous chores. I’ve been trying to think of something I could do today to honor Dad. I think maybe just relaxing today, and continuing to be responsible about taking care of Mom, would make him happy.

If anyone reading this is feeling any charitable impulses today, consider the Alzheimer’s Association. They’ve been quite helpful over the last few months, as I tried to figure out what was going on with Mom, and how best to deal with it.

one day at a time

The last few months have been… eventful. That’s the best word I can think of for it. My dad was in the hospital from the end of August until the end of September, when he passed away. I spent a lot of time in October starting to settle Dad’s estate, and doing a lot of stuff for Mom. At the beginning of November, I found out that the company I work for was not going to make it out of Chapter 11, and my entire staff was laid off. Right after Thanksgiving, I moved Mom from her home in Ocean County to an assisted living facility here in Somerset County. After only a few days there, she wound up in the hospital. She got a pacemaker, and some adjustments to her medications, and went back to assisted living in about a week. Her dementia seemed to get a lot worse while she was in the hospital though. They discovered that she had a C. Diff. infection, and started treating that. She’s a bit better now, but still not back to “normal”. Meanwhile, at work, we got kicked out of our building at the end of last week. We were bought by a larger company, and all our servers are in Michigan now, and I’m working out of my home, mostly.

I still have a lot of work in front of me, with regard to making sure Mom is OK and taken care of, Dad’s estate getting settled, keeping my old company’s systems running for a little longer, and trying to help the new company take over all of our operations.

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself, but I try to remember that I do still have a job, unlike many of my friends, and, due to my Dad’s diligence and thriftiness, I should be more than able to pay Mom’s assisted living bills.

I have no idea what 2010 will bring, but my mantra right now is “one day at a time.”