If voice isn’t needed as a backup, there are alternatives, which I’ve been blogging about in separate posts for a few years now.  Pagers are an old technology, but they are still around and work well.  Right now, I have a pager with American Messaging that uses Skytel’s 2-way network.  I can send and receive pages with my pager, and it has an email address.  So if a disaster happens, and phones don’t work, I can still email people messages with it.  I also am using old Blackberry technology with Velocita Wireless, which has been selling old Blackberries at very low prices, and service for $8/month.  Velocita uses Mobitex technology, American Messaging/Skytel uses ReFLEX technology.

The advantage to using these often-forgotten networks is that they are still viable, and are built for exchanging data in a very efficient manner.  These networks have been shown in a disaster to stay working while other networks get overloaded.  The success rate of these networks is that while they are “1G” and very slow (ReFLEX is max 6400 baud, Mobitex is 12.5KHz narrowband channels), they have been designed for low-speed data messaging between machines.  Currently these companies are trying to sell their services to smart grid applications and other machine to machine applications.   I hope they can get good business customers, as that will help fund the network to keep it running.  I suspect that when the customer base shrinks in an area, they just start shutting towers off.

The advantages of the ReFLEX coverage are a wider coverage pattern (at least where I live) than Mobitex.  I used to have alot of problems with two way pagers not being able to send, but Skytel has cleared that issue up where I live, and there are many places I can now send pages as well.  Coverage is decent at my house.  The advantages to the Mobitex network is you get an email address that can handle emails 4-8K in size (each).  The Skytel pager is only programmed for 500 characters maximum, making it great for short messages, but not routine emailing.   The Mobitex Blackberry can be used as a backup email account.  Mobitex has very spotty coverage where I live.  I would consider it “street-level” coverage, meaning that it doesn’t work in many buildings around my address, but this is to be expected, as I’m in a fringe area.  Usually if I take the Blackberry outside, I can get a signal.  Major cities have good Mobitex coverage, so it is worth considering if you are in a metro area.

I did not receive any compensation for this review.  I have been a happy customer of Velocita and American Messaging, and just wish to share my experiences on the blog.

I was surprised to find that Velocita Wireless is still offering two way messaging services.  When I went to their web site, I found that they are offering Blackberry handhelds and service for a very, very low price.  I decided to try it out.  While there are some coverage holes in my area, their coverage in the area I live is good.

So why would anyone want to use older Blackberry devices and an older, low speed network?  This gets back to my posts a few months ago on one-way and two-way paging services.  The advantage to these often forgotten networks is that they were designed to do one thing:  carry data and messages.  Cellular networks are designed to handle voice and data, but frequently get overloaded when an accident or disaster happens.  If you are looking for a backup communications device to your cellphone, its hard to beat the deal that Velocita has.  An advantage to the device I got (RIM 950) is that it uses one AA battery, so if you find that the battery is low, it is easy to find another.

Of course, the disadvantages are that sometimes coverage is spotty in the more rural areas away from cities.  Also, the handhelds are 10 year old technology, and as such are large compared to today’s cell phones.  One other disadvantage to using AA batteries is that I’ve heard the battery life is not that good.  I haven’t used mine long enough to know how long the battery will be good, but the early signs are that I should keep a supply of AAs on hand.

In conclusion, I think that Velocita is providing a good alternative if you want to just send emails.  Sometimes its nice to just be able to message this way without having to worry about making phone calls.  Research I’ve done on Mobitex indicates that the network typically has a 3-8 second turnaround time, making it suitable for doing Instant messaging between two devices.

I have been working oddball hours, alternating between 1st and 2nd shift for the last few weeks, which has disrupted my schedule.  Usually this means I have no time for theological reflection, or to pursue my hobbies.  I’m hoping things will be back to normal, but with my employer, just about anything is possible.

Here’s where I’m at with my current interests:

1)  Amateur Radio:  Progress continues to be made with my UROnode.  I’m now running on 2 meters and 70 centimeters, in addition to linking via the internet with the Kentucky Packet Network.  I had some issues hearing the flexnet network on 2 meters, but this was due to a beam antenna on the other end being pointed in the wrong direction.  Now that we are both using vertical antennas, the signals are much stronger, and I’ve reduced my output to 25 watts.  This system now bridges the two large packet networks in CT.  I’m starting to see some interest in packet radio from new people, which is encouraging.  This is what I was hoping for, drawing new people into using packet radio, especially for NTS message handling.  I still am interested in experimenting with TCP/IP, so if you are interested and you live in CT, drop me a line and let’s get set up.

2)  Paging:  I was trying out USA Mobility’s two-way service, and found the coverage in my area wasn’t as good as the two-way offered by American Messaging/Skytel.  However, I have found that USA Mobility’s regional frequency, 929.6125, is working much better than the 929.9375 national frequency from American Messaging.   One disappointing thing I found is that American Messaging’s one-way national frequency is not as predicted in Maine.  There were definitely coverage gaps that were not indicated on the map.   I suppose this is due to towers getting shut down.  That’s why I test these things.  I will be traveling again across the eastern coast this summer (from  Maine to Pennsylvania), so we will see how good the USA Mobility regional frequency is.  So far, using a scanner, it looks like it will meet my needs.

3)  Theology:  Haven’t had much time for reflection, study, or anything else.   My fundamental Baptist background sometimes gets me feeling guilty about not having regular “devotional” times, but I then remind myself that God gives us grace, and as humans we can only do so much.  As my schedule returns to normal, things should get better on this front.  I have jury duty coming up, and if I end up having to report to the court, I’ll be taking along some books I’ve been meaning to read.  Maybe I can post a report on them after.

First, I have had a difficult time trying to decide what to do.  Some materials seem a little much right now for my young children.  The books written for smaller children I really have a hard time using.  I feel like they aren’t getting much when I use them.

My plan is to create my own short devotional materials, which will include at least one Bible verse to think about, and a lesson either about a Bible passage, or a Christian classic, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, the Didache, etc.  I would hope to pass on some of the learning I acquired over the years to them.

I plan on incorporating other Christian classics in our devotional time, because church history is quite full of lessons throughout the centuries that should help shape our lives.  While I believe in Sola Scriptura and many of the principles and thoughts of the Reformation, I also believe that in the last few decades at least, Christians have lost some ground due to chasing after new things and forgetting history.  I want my children to have the benefit of seeing Christianity through a historical lens.

I originally wrote the above paragraphs in February 2010, but never did complete the post, as I’m a perfectionist and didn’t feel it was complete.  In the time since then, we have almost completed Little Pilgrim’s Progress reading a chapter every night we are able to.  Saturday and Sunday nights are hard, since we are usually tied up with other family and church things.

I can see how my children, even the youngest, are starting to piece together parts of the Christian life by comparing the allegory to what they are hearing us and the church teach.  It is having the effect I was hoping it would have, showing them that my wife and I take Christianity seriously, and allowing them to hear (albeit an adapted version for younger children) a classic book in Christian thought.

Now I have to start thinking in a few months about the next book I will use.   Maybe we can find a children’s devotional book.  Once they get a little older, maybe we can use the Apostles or Nicene creeds.  I’m getting interested in New Monasticism and find an abbreviated format of some of the sequences they follow may help.

So here is the setup:

I have a server running CentOS 5.4 with RAID1 SATA disks for redundancy.  I’m running JNOS 2.0h.  I have a 50 watt commercial radio running on 145.09 MHz.   I do not have emergency/backup power except for a UPS.  We are on a pretty stable power grid that normally doesn’t go down much, or is back on before the UPS gives out.

The eventual purpose of the system will be to provide a bridge to the Internet and ways of sending emails in case a mobile station needs connectivity.

Right now, there is telnet capability into the CentOS server, which will allow a user to do most anything on the UNIX command line.  I’ll be expanding some of this so that email can be sent, or possibly other services can be provided.

While any amateur user can connect to the BBS via the call KD1ZD-9, the telnet access is restricted until you ask for it.  If you live in the Western MA/CT/NY area and can reach the W1EDH node, you can connect to me from there.

If you have any ideas on how to make amateur packet radio more useful in the CT area, please send me a note at the email listed on this blog.

Updates may be posted here, but the main website for the packet system will be http://www.rtcubed.org/kd1zd

First, American Messaging:  They are my provider of choice, as they bought many of the former Bell Atlantic Mobile / Verizon paging networks.  Ten years ago, Bell Atlantic Mobile/Verizon had in my opinion the best coverage and most cohesive cellular and paging networks in New England, which is where I live.  If you are looking for alphanumeric (text) paging, their 929.9375 national frequency works very well around here.  They are now reselling the Skytel 2-way network on 940.2250.  I was trying this out, as I’m looking for a backup to text messaging.  The receive coverage vs. their coverage maps is pretty accurate, but sometimes a little spotty.  Their reverse channel is working pretty well at my house, which was not always the case about 8 years ago.  There must have been some improvements made to this in my area.

Lastly, USA Mobility:  I am trying their two way service out, on frequency 940.8625.  So far, the receive coverage is good, but the transmit coverage is not so good.  I am not quite in the two-way coverage map, so this is understandable.  I’m using a reseller of theirs for my trial, mysecretaryusa.com.  They provide very low cost plans and pagers.

Why paging?  I can see more people just using text messaging and SMS, which in most cases will work fine.  One of the advantages of paging is that their networks have been proven to not suffer overload during a disaster.  Part of this is probably due to less users, but it is also because the system is optimized for short messages and efficiency.

In short, I’d recommend two way paging as a backup for your cell phone, especially if you want a technology separate from cell phones to communicate if the networks get overloaded.  I would suggest trying both companies, as I’ve noticed along the East Coast, American Messaging/Skytel would have a little more coverage, and some places in the Midwest/West USA Mobility may have better coverage.

As far as equipment, I’d recommend the M90 by Unication if it is available for your network.  This device has a Lithium ion  rechargeable battery, which is good because it will provide consistent power for the transmitter.  The older T900s use an internal NiCD charged by a AA cell.  The advantage to the T900s or the Unication equivalent is that in a disaster situation, you could just pop another AA battery in when the power gets low.   In both cases, many times walking outside with the pager will make it possible to send a message.  The ability to send a message is very difficult indoors, unless you are very close to the receivers, which I believe are located close to major cities.

Will paging still be around for much longer?  I don’t think there is an easy question, but seeing the advertising that the paging companies are doing with long range coasters for restaurants that use their frequencies, I have a feeling they will be around awhile.  I noticed Skytel is trying to market their two way services for meter reading and telemetry.  I think as long as they can hang on to their business customers, two way ReFLEX networks will be around.

Incidentally, I’d like to recommend arpnetworks as a provider of FreeBSD and OpenBSD VPS systems.  I’ve found that they have the fastest virtualization for BSD of any of the providers that I’ve used so far.  Their specialty is BSD virtual servers, so this is a niche hosting company that delivers a quality service for the money paid.

I’ve been using IPv6 for connecting to IRC servers, and do run some webservers.  There will probably be more to do as more people start connecting with it.  So far there aren’t any providers in the area that are offering Internet access with v6, so for now I use the 192.88.99.1 anycast method to connect.

1.  First off, I do not believe that a television is in and of itself evil, in the sense of machinery.  I don’t believe most of the people writing in for his testimonies believe this either.  I do agree there are many things on the television now that are really not worthwhile for a Christian to watch. Seeing hours of people who are not following Christian principles as entertainment probably does contribute to a warped worldview, or more likely a syncretistic view of Christianity, in which elements of the culture that are not Christian are rationalized and integrated.

Personal soapbox for a moment:  For instance, it is interesting how many Christians in America support war and violent behavior, despite admonitions from Jesus and Paul (end of Rom. 12) to be peacemakers and to “live peaceably with all men”.  A steady diet of TV, especially all the police shows, includes lots of shooting and violence.  I can only wonder if some of this contributes to desensitizing our consciences to the horrors of war and violence.  Also note – I realize that there are good Christians that disagree on the matter of just war vs. pacifism.  My intent is not to go into this here, but show our minds can be “seared” towards accepting behavior that the Bible may not or does not condone in certain circumstances.

2.  I can attest that since we have removed cable television due to financial constraints, I personally have found more valuable things to do with my time.  While I do like to watch some of the Christian channels, not so much for teaching, but to understand current trends in the “Christian culture” that are going on, it is easy to watch several hours of programming and not be better off  for it.  We are only given so much time in life, and we should try to make the most of it.

3.  One wonders if getting rid of TV is really a good option.  There are useful things that can be done with it, for example as one of Mr. Cloud’s readers mentioned, they use it for game systems.  We have personally seen benefits for using a game system in conjuction with exercise games.  Also, I suppose the TV could be used to do multimedia presentations of family devotions, if the parents chose to use it that way.

Conclusions:

A larger concern about the abandonment of television would be how are Christians to engage our culture in a meaningful way in the media if we abandon all forms of television.  For instance, I would suggest that Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was a successful way of a Christian creating a television show that had an influence on the culture at large.  In his own words: “I got into television because I saw people throwing pies at each other’s faces, and that to me was such deameaning behavior.  And if there is anything that bothers me, it’s one person demeaning another.  That really makes me mad”. (Hollingsworth, 2005, pg. 4)    Mr. Rogers saw a problem with television, and sought to transform it.  If Christians completely abandon this medium, what will be left?  Sadly, I can’t point to another person on TV today  of his stature.  Can you?

References:

[1] Hollingsworth, Amy. (2005). The Simple faith of mister rogers.  Integrity Pub.

For instance, my son wants to be a garbage man when he grows up.  Some people think this is funny, others are concerned and think I should point him in another direction.  If collecting trash is what he wants to do, I’m not going to stand in the way of that.  He is also very concerned about recycling and the environment.  I think this is great — maybe he will go to college and have a career in environmental sciences.  But this is where the Independent Baptist culture may possibly conflict.

Most Independent Baptists I know are staunch Republicans, who complain about political liberals and “Big Government”.   Because of their beliefs on politics, they tend to think anything related to the environment or global warming is pure nonsense, and politically driven.  My opinion is there are some politics going on in the global warming debate.  Unfortunately in order to get money today, our system has become one of politically lobbying and being the loudest voice.  On top of Independent Baptist thinking on global warming and environmentalism, theology about the end times is brought up about God creating a New Earth, so the implication is that these subjects don’t matter, since according to this theology we cannot harm the earth enough to eradicate ourselves, since it will be destroyed and re-created by God in the end.

I’m not taking sides on the global warming debate.  I’m only trying to point out that the Independent Baptist culture is at some point going to discourage my son.  I don’t know if he goes off to a college away from here what kind of church I’d recommend to him.  Possibly a Mennonite church, but there aren’t many around most areas.  At some point, he is going to either have to live with the cognitive dissonance of the church on one hand, and science on the other.  Or, he will have to leave the Baptist denomination in search of a church something more closely aligned to his work.  Or thirdly, he may give up on Christianity altogether.

My hope is that I can train my children so that when they get older, they don’t abandon their faith altogether like the latter scenario.  I would rather educate my children in things such as Luther’s doctrine of vocation, and help them see the good in a profession like science.  I’ve had to deal with these issues of religion and science in my own career, and I find it hard because there aren’t many people talking about how Baptists can relate to the world’s problems as Christians and those that work in scientific disciplines.

In going back through church history, I’ve found the Mennonites, who are an Anabaptist group.  One thing I like about Mennonites is their commitment to live out the Sermon on the Mount and the teachings of Jesus here and now.  While I realize many of the newer schools of dispensational thought do not have problems with its application to today, there are still plenty of ways in which the teachings of Jesus are not applied to contemporary situations and problems, in my opinion because of dispensational theology.

In this mode of thinking, I can see linking the command of Jesus to love our neighbor as ourselves in the fields of science.  We should be concerned about the environment as Christians, since taking care of it is being a good neighbor.  For instance, my next door neighbor would not appreciate me dumping my used car oil over the fence onto her properly.  That would be selfish of me.   So my responsibility is to do what I can to make sure I’m not stealing from my immediate neighbor, or future generations as well.  One of the commitments in the IEEE code of ethics is “to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment”.  As one who works in engineering, I am responsible to be a good neighbor to the public, and take these factors seriously.

One final note:  I realize that not all Baptists have problems with environmental concerns and are strongly “escapist” in their views of the end times.  That being said, my experience of being in many churches is these views are more common than not.  I understand there is a strong tendency to say that “it’s not a monolithic movement”, but that doesn’t help further the discussion about what should be done.  Will we ever see a movement to reconcile science and Christianity?   There are some in the scientific and academic community that are trying to do so, but none from the groups I’m part of…