Well, the 2wire modem experiment is officially over. I broke down and ordered a D-Link combo router/modem/WAP today. I rely heavily enough on my Internet connection to justify having something with a warranty and at the beginning of his lifecycle.

At 93 degrees, it was the first big test of the year for the thermal curtains today. With the thermostat set at 77, the house is comfortable. Some parts of the house are never comfortable at that setting.

Add that to the list of things I wish I'd bought five years ago.

So an ex-girlfriend finds you on Facebook and contacts you out of the blue 12 years after the fact. What do you do?

1. Jump up and down like a giddy schoolgirl because someone's interested enough to find you after all that time?

2. Passive-aggressively sit on the message?

3. Tell her exactly what you never had the chance to tell her?

Although option 2 crossed my mind, I thought it best to handle it a little bit differently.

I picked up a 2wire 1701HG modem/router/WAP this weekend cheap. The power supply was missing. Google indicates the factory power supply is really dodgy. A replacement costs anywhere from $13 to $25, unless you go to your local Gamestop or some other store that sells video games.

So the Stingy Scottish Miser Chronicles continue. Yesterday my wife and I went shopping for thermal (also known as blackout) curtains. I'd read about them in comments on financial blogs but never saw much else in the way of first-person testimony about them.

I figure one day's worth of experience with them is better than no information at all.

I found some DSL speed tips. They work. If you have DSL, you should read them and do the same.

Gatermann and I spent most of the day pulling CAT5e through the house. It's long overdue. The guy who wired the phones in the house broke every single rule I could find about running voice/data cable, and it wasn't good stuff to begin with. Plus, I was really tired of the lack of reliability of 802.11g in this house. Why I can see all of my neighbors' networks but not my own is beyond me.

Rob O'Hara offers an interesting perspective on piracy.

I agree with him. 20 years ago, copyrighted material offered presence. It was something special.

This weekend, I tried to put together a PC from secondhand parts. For the missing parts, I went into the basement, swept the floor, and used what I found.

My one-year-old helped.

Speed traps. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch couldn't find anyone willing to speak out about them, for fear of becoming a target. Until my phone rang.

The Slackers were right. I pretty much agree with this editorial. I did things a bit differently. But I think the GenX way is more sustainable.