So after I moved to the US I could not get my old analog phone adapter (Linksys SPA3000) to work and I just assumed that it had not survived the trip to the US. I never saw any registration attempts on my Asterisk server from the SPA3000 but both my Nokia N9 could register using SIP and so could my wife's Samsung Galaxy S3 using Sipdroid. I finally decided to buy a new phone adapter and since I have been very content with the SPA3000 I decided to go with a Cisco SPA112. Later I have found out that a lot of people really don't like either the SPA112 or SPA122. Well I fought and fought with it for days but the problem was the exact same as with the SPA3000, no registration attempts ever reached the Asterisk server. I thought it was possibly firewall issues or something similar although that made no sense since the mobile phones could register while being on the wireless network. I finally came to the conclusion that it had to be the new Netgear WNDR4500 that we also bought when we moved here. So I found the setting.
Enable WMM (Wi-Fi multimedia) settings
This setting seems to come enabled by default. It can be found under Advanced Tab -> Setup -> QoS Setup. I disabled that and the SPA112 registered right away and I have had no issues since. I guess either Netgear's implementation of WMM is faulty or Cisco's SIP implementation is buggy. No matter which I don't need that setting enabled and I am very happy that everything works now.
About 10 years ago or so I bought a Happy Hacking keyboard. I liked the minimalistic keyboard and it worked well for me but it was expensive and I was constantly force to use regular keyboards so it never got to be the perfect keyboard for me. I then switched to using gaming keyboards and for a long time I was happy with a Razer Lycosa. When I got a new Lycosa Mirror it had many issues and it turns out that Razer unfortunately is notorious for the quality control on the Lycosas. I then looked at the Blackwidow Ultimate and Razer Deathstalker but I didn't really like them enough. My wife likes the Deathstalker and knock on wood has had no issues with it so far. So after many years of using a gaming keyboard or at least a backlit keyboard I have now replaced it with a much more basic keyboard. Das Keyboard Ultimate S tactile soft. Now I can really feel like a proper nerd again. The only problem is that I will want one at work as well. I guess that will have to wait a little while I get completely used to not being able to look at the keyboard for help while typing.
So a lot has happened since my last post on this blog.
- I quit my job at Danske Bank
- I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina
- I got a new job as a contractor with Wells Fargo Securities
- I have sold my old Ford Focus station wagon (well my uncle Finn sold it for me)
- I have bought a brand new VW Golf R
- I had to give up on AT&T and my Nokia N9 (damn I miss that phone)
- I replaced it with a Samsung Galaxy S3 (nice phone but not half as cool as my N9)
Life is good in the US but of course I miss Denmark too.
- I miss being able to wear jeans and a tshirt to work
- I miss the weather (it is not supposed to be 23 degrees celcius in January)
- I miss seeing snow
- I miss being able to say whatever I want (my son got in trouble at school for saying "that sucks")
- I miss Danish politics but at least I don't have to worry about what I am going to vote
- I miss Danish driving rules (damn I hate all those friggin stop signs over here)
- I miss my family. I miss being able to call them whenever I think of it, now I have to factor in time difference and crap
- I miss my friends
- I miss speaking Danish
I do like it here but I am Danish and I believe I will always be Danish no matter how long I live in the US.