The Internet has certainly changed how often and with whom I communicate. My community has grown beyond the bounds of my town. I work out of my home and on the road, so I spend most of my day communicating via email, professional networks and other online sources of communication, as well as the phone. I could not do my job without it.
As my work day comes to an end, my wife and I both spend time getting caught up on personal email accounts and on Facebook. We post and order photos and also shop online.
My daughter and I love to play online games. We have spent many evenings sitting together at the computer playing Webkinz or Wizard 101. It’s great bonding time. Just don’t tell her that I let her win.
When I'm traveling, I Skype with my family so we can continue our ritual of reading to each other every night. The Internet is also a great resource. My wife and I research nearly everything we have questions about online – everything from product reviews to gardening tips. We consult the Internet before making nearly every decision.
Visit my favorite site: www.hgtv.com
Home Office Dad
Apr 22, 2012
On Demand Is In Demand
Posted: 04/22/2012 2:50 PM (None Assigned)
There’s a fairly large white button in the middle of my DVR, and I have to admit that my curiosity hadn’t gotten the best of me to find out what it did—until now.
The button controls On Demand programming, and it is a gold mine of entertainment. I’m used to the hotel remotes where the yellow button contains all of the programming that costs a fortune, but most of the On Demand programming is free. Of course, there are... Read More
Mar 16, 2012
March Madness
Posted: 03/16/2012 9:16 AM (None Assigned)
I have to confess that I have not created a March Madness team bracket since I was in college (my daughter would question whether they even had March Madness way back then).
I have to say that making decisions now when you haven’t seen most of the teams play all season is a lot easier than it was in the 1980’s. I signed up on Yahoo Sports to participate and once my bracket was complete, I selected the auto-fill option and clicked on ... Read More
Mar 8, 2012
Overtime at Work Didn’t Keep Me From Catching Overtime in the SDSU Game
Posted: 03/08/2012 9:53 AM (None Assigned)
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, I visited the ESPN 3 website to check out what I had heard about the site. Immediately, I noticed South Dakota State and Western Illinois were about to start playing, however, I had a conference call to join and had to let it go. I figured I would find something else to watch later and would have to settle for hearing about the SDSU game on the news.
I had a meeting that evening and got done with every... Read More
Mar 7, 2012
Checking Off the Winter To Do List
Posted: 03/07/2012 7:00 AM (None Assigned)
Because this has been the nicest winter in my lifetime, I have not been the normal victim of SAD that I usually am since I have been very active this winter. However, my activities have led to reliance on a variety of online resources. Let me share a few.
We used to subscribe to Netflix, but have now been scheduling movies and television series to stream through TIVO and the Wii. I love how easy it is to access online movies and not have to wai... Read More
Feb 21, 2012
Resolution On Hold
Posted: 02/21/2012 7:00 AM (None Assigned)
This is one where, unfortunately, Midcontinent services aren’t going to be able to save me. I vowed to lose weight and to exercise regularly to try to raise my good cholesterol. The problem is that I haven’t started yet.
As much of a slave to communications services and technology, I honestly wish that spending more time on it was the solution to my problem, but the reverse is probably true. I will say that I fell victim to the P90x ... Read More
Feb 13, 2012
A Sweet Treat for My Valentine
Posted: 02/13/2012 5:00 AM (None Assigned)
Valentine’s Day has always been special for my wife and me. Now that we have a child at home the evening is not nearly as romantic as it used to be, but probably more full of love than ever.
Even though I have to work that evening, we plan to celebrate the day before or after. She has an Italian Charm watch from a few years ago when Italian Charms were very popular. Now, it is next to impossible to find them in town, so I am ordering o... Read More
Feb 2, 2012
Ready for Sunday
Posted: 02/02/2012 7:57 PM (None Assigned)
Let me tell you a little bit about my family’s plans for this Sunday. We are not huge football fans, nor are we Giants or Patriots fans, but we will watch the big game.
We plan to attend church that morning and take my mother-in-law out for lunch afterward. The afternoon will be spent with my daughter, and then we will make homemade pizza and watch the game. My neighbor brews his own beer and likes to share with us, so that will go great... Read More
Jan 13, 2012
Couldn’t Quit Cold Turkey
Posted: 01/13/2012 8:20 AM (None Assigned)
Midcontinent challenge its Xstream Team members to go for one week without accessing the Internet. Keep reading to see how many days I lasted.
Epic fail! I didn’t make it even 24 hours without the Internet. My daughter had downloaded a new app for the iPad and wanted to show it to me. Before I knew it, I was playing the game without even realizing I had failed the challenge.
Not less than a day later, when I had thought I would stil... Read More
Dec 29, 2011
My Wife's Need for Speed
Posted: 12/29/2011 3:24 PM (None Assigned)
My wife has been using the service all along. While she hasn’t noticed faster speeds in any of the routine things she used the Internet for, she does watch a lot of TV episodes on various sites and has noticed that they load faster than before and don’t pause while playing.
She has also noticed that her school iPad and laptop both work much, much faster with X-stream Wideband than they did before, even as wireless devices. She has do... Read More
Dec 12, 2011
What Do a Rabbit and Xstream Have in Common?
Posted: 12/12/2011 1:36 PM (None Assigned)
My daughter has a pet rabbit, a black mini-rex. He has a hutch in the garden, and during the summer gets to spend most of each day in the garden, once it has grown up enough that he can’t possibly eat fast enough to destroy it. He dreads winter because it means being cooped up in his hutch until spring, but since we have next to no snow, I put him out today for a while. He raced through the garden like baby animals do in the spring.
Hi... Read More
Nov 3, 2011
An Xstream Landscaper
Posted: 11/03/2011 5:48 PM (None Assigned)
Over the past two weekends, I built a fire pit in our backyard. I know, it seems a little late in the season for an outdoor fire pit, but I look at it as getting a jump on next summer. I love doing my own construction projects and landscaping, and this is just one more step toward completing the backyard we want.
I chose a design from www.landscapingnetwork.com/fire-pits/. I watched a video on laying bricks with mortar on Y... Read More
Oct 16, 2011
My Must-Click Websites
Posted: 10/16/2011 6:59 PM (None Assigned)
Whether it’s shopping, catching up with the news or just listening to some tunes, these are the sites I’ve got to click.
www.travelzoo.com
This site has outstanding travel deals if you’re willing to travel when the deals are available. I love that they send me a weekly email with the top deals. Even when we can’t take advantage of a trip, they have great hotel and dining deals if we just want ... Read More
Sep 29, 2011
Monumental
Posted: 09/29/2011 9:47 AM (None Assigned)
The photo you see above is of the Terry Redlin Art Center. Its monumental size is comparable to MidcoNet Xstream Wideband in three ways.
First, it stands in a prominent location atop a hill alongside Interstate 29. It is impossible to enter or leave town without noticing and admiring the building. In a similar way, in all of the parts of my life touched by Internet usage, it is impossible not to notice and admire MidcoNet Xstream W... Read More
Sep 9, 2011
Putting Wideband to the Test
Posted: 09/09/2011 5:30 PM (None Assigned)
I was excited to find out how my new MidcoNet Xstream Wideband would respond with multiple devices using the Internet all at once. In the photo above you will see a few of the devices that were running simultaneously, including a TiVo, a Nintendo Wii, a Nintendo DSi and my laptop computer.
Not shown in the photo are the family desktop computer and my wife’s laptop, for a total of six devices accessing the Internet at ... Read More
Aug 22, 2011
Bring on the Internet-Enabled Fridge
Posted: 08/22/2011 2:57 PM (None Assigned)
It is hard to believe we have had Internet in our home for a dozen years. It seems like it has been so much longer. Our addition of Internet-capable devices has been steady over that time, and I am a little ashamed to say that with five devices already, all I want is more. At this point we are using:
1. A desktop computer: This is our family computer, and we all use it on a daily basis. I use it to check email and Facebook, to shop ... Read More
Aug 8, 2011
Ready to Put the Pedal to the Metal
Posted: 08/08/2011 11:03 AM (None Assigned)
Though it has taken some technical service work from Midcontinent to get us up and running, the service we are now receiving is great. My wireless work laptop is about twice as fast as before, and if was not connected wirelessly, I am told it would be twice as fast again. Although our desktop computer has not realized any change in Internet speeds being hard-wired, it didn’t experience any of the technical difficulties the other devices d... Read More
Jul 25, 2011
My Top Internet Frustrations
Posted: 07/25/2011 12:05 PM (None Assigned)
What’s my definition of frustration? A tool that fails to deliver on its promises. My old, turtle-like Internet broke its promises time and time again. Check out my top frustrations.
1. Lengthy Load Time
Back in the days before MidcoNet Xstream® Wideband, waiting for sites to fully populate before searching them was extremely frustrating. Particularly when I was trying to shop online, place an order, make travel reservations, or ... Read More
Jul 13, 2011
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