Plan B Forum

....maybe everybody other than me knows about connecting an iPhone with a computer or tablet in order to get to the internet when you have no wireless access.

The big California storm knocked out the power for me from noon on Sunday until about 3:PM today (Tuesday). I was getting frustrated with using my iPhone for looking at PG&E power outtage maps on their website because the screen view is so small and very limited. I had read long ago there is a way to connect to an iPhone with an iPad and/or Windows machines with cell phones in order to access the internet, So I decided to figure out how to do it.

So with my iPhone sitting nearby I activated my iPad and up popped a window asking me if I wanted to connect to Joe Guy's "internet hot spot." So I clicked on 'Yes' and I was instantly on the internet with my iPad. Before that I did that I needed drive a few miles in my car to charge my phone and iPad.

One other high point of my day today was that I threw away everything in my refrigerator and the freezer section and then cleaned it. There was a lot of stuff in there. Before you say ask, no there wasn't anything from last century in my refrigerator. I keep it clean.

Then, in order to keep my last couple of screwed up days continuing, I had a repair person out to fix my gas fireplace and the person -Alex*- took it all apart and said that (he, they, them) couldn't fix it. A new one will cost about $3000.00 or more, according to he, they them.

*Alex was cool and reminded me of "Pat" on SNL back in the early 90s. I wasn't sure what sex "they" was....is? so I just called they by his/her/transsexual transformation in progress/ man with a woman's voice's first name. Turned out they couldn't fix my fireplace and them blamed it on the way it was connected to the gas line when it was installed. I was somewhat dissatisfied with they's work and wrote a very large check to they for discovering what I already knew - the fireplace isn't working.

At least the electrical power is back on. That's another gripe. PG&E lied when I called yesterday and they said there was a crew currently working on the problem. When I called back today before noon I was told no crew had actually gone to the cite yet and they'll keep me updated (which they didn't).

Just a couple of warnings here, Joe.

1) The data that you are using is part and parcel of the data package that comes with the cell phone... AND IT IS NOT USUALLY AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT when it is being used to tether another device (such as your laptop or tablet or smart TV or whatever).  So you need to check to see just what your cellular service package provides you.  Generally speaking, though, the less you pay per month, the less data access you are likely to have.

2) If it IS 'unlimited', there is usually a point at which it becomes slowed down ... going from 5G speeds to as low as 2G speeds.  You still have unlimited data; it's just it's not HIGH-SPEED data.  Or to put it another way — it's like trying to fill a swimming pool with a garden hose and your house's outdoor water tap versus a high-powered pump and a 12-inch pipe connected to something like Lake Superior, or a bartender telling you that they'll give you all the beer you can drink .... one eyedropper-full at a time.

3) What you are doing on the internet affects the data consumption as well.  It takes a relatively small amount of data to check email or send texts or iMessages.  Looking up things on the web uses a little more; viewing something that is graphic-heavy (lots of pictures) takes even more; and consumption keeps increasing if you stream music (think 'Pandora') or video ('Netflix/Hulu and the rest).  So avoid trying to stream all eight of the Harry Potter films back-to-back-to-back when you're using the tethering feature on your iPhone or Android device to avoid running up against the data limits or slowdowns discussed in points 1 and 2 above.

But if you only need this for a short period of time and for minimal usage in case of emergency, you should be OK.

-"BB"-

Thanks for the advice. I have an unlimited cell phone plan so I think I'm okay there. And I doubt that I'll have much need to tether my phone again but it's good to know I can do it.

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:04 am

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You'd be grumpy too if you were dealing with such confusion and ineptitude following a storm.

We use tethering for our pad/kindle, when we're away from home in the van. With 4G coverage it works well.

When there are severe thunderstorms in play with lots of lightening I unplug the router and computer and then watch TV (Hulu,Netflix, Prime etc) from a hotspot on my phone.

Just for the record I don't give a hoot about other's opinion on the right or wrong of doing it this way.

Everything I post from my laptop here at work is done by tethering to my Verizon LG V-60 cell phone. It's been that way for probably ten years and three phones. So far, I have no complaints.

Wonder how long gas fireplaces last, but I would assume that 10-15 years with normal use would be about right. If you need re-piping, and a decent new unit, $3,000 is painful but in the ballpark. I paid about that amount for a free-standing gas fireplace installed that took the place of a crappy high polluting wood stove. The new unit kept us from drawing Donner straws when Liberty Utilities had us lights out for a good part of the day.

Long Run wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 28, 2021 3:33 am

Wonder how long gas fireplaces last, but I would assume that 10-15 years with normal use would be about right. If you need re-piping, and a decent new unit, $3,000 is painful but in the ballpark. I paid about that amount for a free-standing gas fireplace installed that took the place of a crappy high polluting wood stove. The new unit kept us from drawing Donner straws when Liberty Utilities had us lights out for a good part of the day.

You're right about the price. The non-repair human that didn't do the job said that a new fireplace would be around $3000.00 or more depending on features offered. I thought the fireplace would last forever - or a very long time - since they're such simple mechanisms. This one is 20 years old. I thought the problem was likely to be a bad thermocoupler, which is a common reason for a fireplace or something like a water heater to stop lighting and it's normally simple to replace. But I found the thermocoupler on mine to be very difficult to get to so I didn't want to attempt fixing it myself.