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I have searched the internet looking for one simple thing: what are the steps for the Verizon FIOS deployment. Most of the search results revolved around the actual installation of the FTTP (Fiber to the premises). I was looking for what was involved in getting a neighborhood up and running. This was not an easy task to figure out, as there are numerous scenarios.

• Underground vs Overhead
• Multi-dwelling unit (MDU) vs Single Family Unit (SFU)
• Townhouse Style vs Apartment Style

What I did find out is that there are 4 different steps involved with deploying the FiOS before you can expect it to be available to you. Each of the 4 steps involve different crews, and with the different scenarios, you can get a ballpark where you are at in the process. Below is what will be working for me.

• The first step is a sub-contractor comes to the neighborhood with what usually is orange conduits that will eventually hold the Fiber Line, and buries the cables.
• The second step is  when Verizon issued cable guys pull the fiber-optic cable through the conduit to its resting place.
• The third step is when Splicing crews fuse the fiber / splicing it into the Fiber Distribution Hubs (FDHs), Optical Line Terminals (OLTs).
• The fourth step is the final step. This is the diagnostic and testing phase. Verizon will light up the fiber, and the crew will perform series of test to ensure that the Fiber is performing properly, and that there are no defects in the Fiber line.

Now, all in all, if all goes smoothly, this process should take anywhere between 3 months and 1 year.

Christmas music is one of the pleasant experiences during the year because of the unspoken restrictions of playing the themed music. I think that the unspoken rule should be that the day after Thanksgiving, which is Black Friday should be the first day one should listen to Christmas music. Anytime before that point would just be overkill. I will give one exception to the unspoken Christmas Rule, and that is July 25th, which is Christmas in July.

I think that the Christmas Music should only be played after Thanksgiving because there is room for only one holiday at a time. I used to look forward during high school and college to the break that I would get during the Thanksgiving holiday week. While I would like to look forward to Christmas because of the weeks I would get a break during my school days, I would not want to wish the 4+ day weekend away to think about Christmas. When I’m celebrating the holiday and enjoying my relaxation, I can’t imagine pushing it away to start thinking about another holiday! Christmas music brings to mind that specific holiday, and by remembering that holiday, it makes me think past Thanksgiving.

Therefore, what I’m trying to get across, is don’t play Christmas music before Black Friday. It will help you enjoy your 4+ day weekend and help you relax.

I thought of all the possibilities of leisure activities that I could do, but I had trouble because I have had trouble with determining an activity that I have not participated in or was unfamiliar to me. I finally settled on something that I had never gone out to do. I joined a gym. I have never joined a gym and have never worked out appropriately and extensively. Read more…

I was part of a group of students that went to the Freedom Fitness Center [Manassas, Virginia]. We were split up into several groups. One group was participants, another was observers, and another was surveyors. I was part of the surveyors group.  Each person contributed toward the questions for the survey. We were to ask people certain questions and they all had to be exactly the same. The selection of respondents was completely random.  Each person went around the large facility asking the same 9 questions. I was able to survey three men and three women. I did not try to do this on purpose. I did not notice it at the time either. I was trying to get anyone to respond to the survey. Read more…