I got back about 15 minutes early since the receiver requires adjustment if the battery power level fluctuates significantly. I expected the battery to have a life of about 45 minutes, though I haven't really put one to the test. I turned on the TV. The camera was still alive. JayRo was playing World of Warcraft as he always is. I rewound the tape. All he had done while I was gone was play WoW. Damn! Gotta figure something out. What would make him abandon his gaming and go to his porn? Then it struck me: What's left to do when your internet fails? Porn. I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but it seemed like a good idea. I remotely accessed our router, which was in his closet. I changed my IP address to static and chose his IP address as the one I wanted to use. I hit Apply and watched the TV. If it worked, there would be some kind of reaction. I watched. Nothing. I kept watching, knowing that some games take a minute to register a problem. Nothing. I began to consider different options but then I saw him react. He did his usual verbal "What the fuck?" routine and tried to log back on. Of course, our computers were conflicting, so he couldn't. He left his room and called to me asking if my internet was down. My door was closed and my lights were off. I played asleep. He started making food. Dammit. I did't know how much longer this camera battery was going to last. He knocked on my door. I moved around a bit as I shut off the TV and I answered the door groggily. He appeared very surprised and apologized for waking me up. I just stared at him, waiting. He reluctantly asked if my internet was down. I went to my computer and opened some windows and told him mine was down too and that sometimes our internet was like that (which it is), though usually it doesn't go down so early in the night. I finally got him to let me be and I turned the TV back on. He returned to his room and sat down at the computer.
... more to come in the next entry.
