It Must Be Karma

[alibrat66]

Yesterday, the university at which I work and live announced that they were shutting down the Internet on campus between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m on Friday. To save anyone from trying to figure the time change between Washington, DC and Dubai, that means the game starts at 5 a.m. +/- Friday morning here. After the initial shock of learning that (minga, the IT Director is even a Syracuse grad, and he pulled a stunt like that; basketball junkie he is obviously not), I figured to ask one of my friends off campus if I could bunk with him Thursday night; not my ideal setting, watching the game on my laptop is some guy's house who has no feeling for the Cuse or maybe even college basketball. Once I accepted the reality of decamping to watch the game, I receive another email from IT, saying that the internet in the UAE is very slow because a cable has been severed in the Arabian Sea. Damn trawlers. Last time this happened, it was a 7-10 days before the cable had been repaired. Then the denouement: a huge cyberattack that is bringing the worldwide internet to a crawl. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/03/2013327231735995653.html


Some of you may remember that I was living in Barcelona in 1987; I listened the game on a handheld shortwave radio, and I lost the damn signal a couple of minutes before the end. I ask myself: what is this curse upon me when Syracuse plays Indiana? Did I do something to offend the Hoosier state, like pee on a monument during one of my many mad dashes across the US in cars and on motorcycles. Que Pasa? Consequently, as I sit here, I'm not the Ghandi I hoped to be for the game; he's been replaced by Charles Bukowski. I'm more like a trapped animal, my mind torturing me with scenarios like I'll get to see the game sometime after the fourth of July. How the hell do I not look at any scores until then? Fortunately, I am not currently overly attracted to sharp objects; besides, it's thoughts of harming others or things rather than myself that usually swirl through my head in times of excessive angst.

 

[Moontan]

Is it too late to get a flight out?
(Just kidding)

Maybe shortwave will be the answer again, though I know stations have been shutting down the last 5+ years.

Good luck!
Oh, and Go Orange!

 

[All4SU]

Storm the U.S. embassy. I'll bet they have Internet.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Storm the U.S. embassy. I'll bet they have Internet.

Damn right they do. They probably have their own direct link. Tell them you wish to seek asylum from the Internet Abyss for 2 hours and you'll bring the homemade pizzas.

 

[arbitragegls]

Ali, this to will come to pass as fortunately the world wide web will resurrect several hours earlier. Use of Aljazeera as main source of information may in fact be a stealth attack that 'Cuse and Indiana have no defense for...so Ali, go on the offensive...seeing that Mr. VP Gore has sold his TV network to Aljazeera, now would be the time to request a programming update for NCAA carriage in Dubai...the second option is simply tell your Syracuse Univ grad IT guy that you will send a hit squad from Georgetown to take him out...now we know that Georgetown Sucks regardless of the time...but I have heard from the Dude and MCver3 that assassins from Georgetown usually get the hit done...afterall, they have been known to be thugs on the court...and are judged guilty.

It will not be the same without you on chat...so keep a stiff upper lip and figure something out...damn, put in a 'Cuse call to CTO and tell her "HELP".
Bottom line...be safe and hopefully you will be more than in our hearts while 'Cuse beats down Indiana...!

 

[bballbeadle]

From Buddha to melted gouda. Man! Wish one of the geniuses on this board could help you. I am not one of them.

 

[jekelish]

Have you tried unplugging Dubai and then plugging it back in?

 

[ebucklewis]

Can you just hang out at Tristan's palace, watch it on a large HD screen, and get served grapes, wine, and falafel by one of the many one young servant girls?

 

[Orangeyes]

Alibrat I'm not sure how it works on your end but on my end here are a couple of options

I'd be willing to hook you up with audio over the phone.

If you have a land line phone:

I can sign up for Time Warner's "International One Price Plan" for $19.99 a month, I would get 1000 minutes per month. This process takes about two hours to set up. Let me know ASAP if you're interested in listening to the game this way.

The per minute rate for a land line phone is .54 cents a minute

If you have a mobile phone only:

The charge is .61 cents a minute and the "International One Price Plan" would not cover the call.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/northeast/learn/ild.ashx?FirstChar=S

 

[osullfam]

Alibrat I'm not sure how it works on your end but on my end here are a couple of options

I'd be willing to hook you up with audio over the phone.

If you have a land line phone:

I can sign up for Time Warner's "International One Price Plan" for $19.99 a month, I would get 1000 minutes per month. This process takes about two hours to set up. Let me know ASAP if you're interested in listening to the game this way.

The per minute rate for a land line phone is .54 cents a minute

If you have a mobile phone only:

The charge is .61 cents a minute and the "International One Price Plan" would not cover the call.

http://www.timewarnercable.com/northeast/learn/ild.ashx?FirstChar=S

now that's helpin a brother out!

 

[Shenexon]

Any connection?: Link

"Egyptian authorities say they have arrested three divers trying to cut through an undersea internet cable.
The men were caught on a fishing boat just off the port city of Alexandria, said military spokesman Col Ahmed Mohammed Ali.

The damaged cable caused a drop in the speed of online services in Egypt and some other countries, said Egyptian news agency Mena.

It was unclear whether the incident was linked to cables damaged last Friday.

At the time, cable operator Seacom said several lines connecting Europe with Africa, the Middle East and Asia were hit, also slowing down internet services, reported Reuters news agency.

The cable hit in Wednesday's apparent sabotage was the South East Asia Middle East Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) - one of the main cables snaking under the Mediterranean, Mena said."

The culprits:

 

[cuseinchina]

Guessing you are at NYU's Dubai campus??

 

[OrangeMojo]

Simply head out to one of the plentiful 24 hour sports bars in Dubai -there must be plenty of those, no?

 

[SWC75]

You have us asking, "who the heck is Charles Bukowski?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bukowski

 

[HoustonCuse]

Can you get Armed Forces TV Network on your campus? I had to watch the first round of the tournament on AFN in 2005 (was on a plane for the VT game and have still never seen it). Anyway, I'm almost certain these games will be on AFN if you can get access to it.

 

[Phillymoose]

Satellite based Internet is your friend. Yes - there is such a thing, and it works pretty well.
I'm guessing some of the nicer hotels have it as a back-up of to terrestrial lines. The downstream works just like any satellite, while the upstream is done over a landline. I won't get into the technical details, but just ask around if anyone has satellite based Internet access. These things are all over the middle east as they allow users to totally bypass all censorship / govt. restrictions.

Check the hotels and check for houses with a dish. (somehow find out if it provides internet as opposed to just receiving broadcasts) ..then - pull a rainman. Knock on the door and repeat '3 minutes to Wopner' over and over again until they let you in. Should be a fun game to play at 5am local time.