our ISP is having the same problem....have been with them for over 10 years...plan on sticking with them. Here is an excerpt from their last email.... Hello ISP Customer, Recently, the internet has suffered a dramatic increase in the overall amount of junk email, or spam, that has been sent out. In the last year alone, there has been over a 120% increase in the amount of junk email, to the point where there are 9 pieces of spam email out there for every 1 piece of legitimate mail. Here at *********, we think that this is an unacceptable amount of unsolicited email to have to sift through every day, which is why we have used our PureMessage spam filter to help cut down on the amount of unwanted emails that make it through to your email box. While our filter does a good job of keeping out unwanted emails, we want to take things a step further to help filter your email even more effectively. Together with Google, we are going to be transitioning to a new system for email delivery that will help to ensure more accurate email filtering with faster delivery time. This will prevent delays between when email is sent and when you receive it, while still keeping all the unwanted emails out of your inbox. One of the great things about my ISP, is that when I call, I usually get right through to a tech and they address any problems I may have in a timely and courteous manner.

Here's what happened: Yesterday, I called the phone company bright and early and explained the problem. The guy said "We'll call you right back." And he did, claiming it was fixed. Alas, it was not, and I called him again to let him know it still wasn't working. This time, they tell me "we'll get a guy working on it, and call you back." (I guess the little Brownie that lives in the office wasn't able to figure it out, so they needed "a guy"...) Later that afternoon, I called my ISP and found out that four of their customers in the my area had no service. Four customers doesn't sound like much, but you have to remember the town has about 370 people. It's a rural area, not exactly booming economically (KWIM), so if you have 10% of the people with a computer online, you're doing good. Out of that number (let's round up and say 40), over half half are going to sign on with the phone company because they don't know enough about computers to even look for another option. You could divide the remaining twenty in half again, for wireless service, with the remaining ten divided between satellite and the only other dial up ISP with a local number for this area. So, four is about right. Yes, there are only two companies in the entire world that offer local dial up service to this area. Lots of companies *claim* to offer a local number, and it probably would be if we had service with another phone compnay, but we do not. It is what it is. My ISP tells me that if the routing has changed, it might not be a localnumber anymore, and if they can't fix it to call accounting to see about a refund. I call the phone company back to see if this is going to be permanent, and he said they were "tracking the lines", which I recognize from past experience is a swell technical sounding phrase meant to placify the customer. He asked meexactly what was going on, and I explained that although this had been a local number for over a year, as of yesterday it stopped working. I could dial in using the area code, but the number wasn't supposed to be long distance. He thought that was curious. I didn't think it was curious so much as irritating, still, I realize it's not this guy's fault, so I don't get upset. We continue chatting and he says "You know, I think we have DSL available in your area." (Technically they do, but despite that big fat cable buried right out in front of my home, the actual service stops two miles west. I called about it a month ago and was told that at this time there isn't enough "customer interest" to activate it further east anytime soon.) Bless his heart, not knowing that, he said, "Have you thought about switching to our DSL? We're running a special, only 69.99 a month plus tax plus..." (I'm thinking, Oooo, what a deal! That's only three times what I'm already paying the company that can't even keep a basic land line operational for 60 days in a row. I'm completely underwhelmed.) I politely cut him off saying "Uh, You know, right now is probably NOT the best time to hit me with a sales pitch to upgrade my service for an even *more* expensive plan..." He laughed and said "Yea, I know, but I'm supposed to..." I said "Hey, I understand, it's like, 'would you like fries with that?' We both laughed, and he promised to give us a call when it was fixed. He really *is* very nice, even if he can't help. Later that afternoon, I discovered that my ability to dial in using the area code had also gone pffffft. When I called the number direct, I got a "This number is no longer in service" message. Of course, that's not true, it's working number for everyone but us. When I called using the 1 plus area code, I got the recording that says 'We're sorry. It is not necessary to dial a 1 or the area code for this number. Please hang up and try your call again." With any other company, this might be discouraging, but coming from these guys it's means they're doing *something*, so that's progress. LOL This morning, the 13th, I call and tell the guy what's going on with the line today and he says "We're aware of the problem". (I get the impression the other three customers might have beat me to the punch with the status update.) Then he tells me, "We'll get someone working on it." I'm thinking, excuse me, but wasn't someone supposed to be "working on it" since yesterday? I'm sure there's a three dollar word for this kind of thing, but all I could think of at the time were the four letter ones. Not good. Instead, I tell him thank you, and go outside. The deal is that my DH works on a pipeline, and they've been laid off for most of the winter. They just started a job this week, but the budget is a bit pinched for me to run out and order a more expensive internet service even if it were available. We're talking dialup or nothing. I just walked around in the yard admiring the crocus and quince and was telling God about it. I mean, he already knows, but it makes *me* feel better to have someone to listen to me rant. ;^) So, I make my rounds inspecting the yard, finish my whine about the internet and said "and Bless my phone company". Now, that is the *first* time I have ever said that. Usually, if I think of them at all, my thoughts immedietly go over to the Dark Side. But there you go; here I was getting all warm and fuzzy over a utility company. I guess all the fresh air and sunshine went to my head. On a whim, I came in, sat down at the desk, tried to connect again, and voil Here I am. Which means the line is *still* local. Looks like God really was listening. That, and someone just had that coffee maker plugged into the wrong outlet afterall...

Hello, Thank you owbist,urlee, mikie, jerry_nj and rita for all your responses to my thread, I sure do appreciate it. I took mikies advice and phoned my ISP to get an explanation from them. The lady that I spoke with explained that there was an older website that others had been using before the one they have now. I had no idea that another one even existed, but then I haven't been with them that long. Thank you mikie for your suggestion. "Smiles" I asked the lady if they had purposely showed that message on all of their sites and she said that they did do that. So the mystery is solved and I am Ok like I am, I need not make any changes. Hi Rita, Thank you for posting. What I'd do is Save that page ( site ) to Favorites so I could access my mail then set my home page to anything I wanted... You are right and that is how I've had it all along but, was thrown off by what was on their site. I wonder how many other people got confused. With my being new, I wasn't aware that they even had been using another website for email. thirdfrt!!!

funcolors: I was SO HOPING you would see this ! I was going to post something to get your attention and approval. I have read your article in haint blue so many times and was going to send for a sample from you. Would you like a paint chip from this ? I would be more than glad to send you a piece of the wood with paint. This is like a treasure hunt for sure and I hit gold. What kind of paint would you suggest on a covered porch in the South ???? Are you kidding!? Yes, I'd love a sample and will reimburse you for shipping & handling! Thank you. I'm so excited that someone is sending *ME* a sample of Haint Blue! lol! SW Duration in matte would be a good choice. Duration's film actually goes on at the thickest mil rate than any other exterior brand. Thickest mil rate meaning the paint film is nice and fat. And that can be a good thing for exterior substrates (surfaces). The haint blue story has been so incredibly interesting. I've heard from people all over the world -- really it's amazing. The store has been very helpful because I was getting a ton of phone calls and emails. A few aren't a problem but it kind of started cramping my time management. And that's why I created the store -- I just don't have time to talk to everyone who wants details about Haint Blue. I'd be nice if I had that kind of time because it's very fun hearing all the stories but reality creeps in. Moving to the southwest, I've learned about Taos and Mayan blue as well. I don't feel confident writing about them yet and I really don't feel confident enough to create my own interpretations of the colors. Maybe this summer. I dunno, not sure.