Help! No internet for a week

[thesaintv12]

After months of problems with my broadband (talktalk) and little help from their support team (I run the business from home, so it is a big deal), I decided to take the plunge and switch, well not only switch but get a back up cable line too.  So, I had it all nicely scheduled to happen tomorrow during my (rare) week off.

So, BT call me today and tell me they have a problem and didn't schedule the engineer, so have to re-schedule with a two week window.  Then, to top it off Virgin tell me that they can't get here until next Friday.

I have a garage full of bitcoin miners which are going to sit idle, but thankfully my mother-in-law has lent me her connection for the other work, if I want it.

I'm tempted to take it as a sign that I should be doing something else for the week.  The pub garden is calling, but that is not very productive.  - What productive non techie thing would you do if you were at home/work without a connection for the week?

[BoL]

Is 3G an option? If you're not using much bandwidth then having using a dongle for the month might tick you over. You might be able to just buy a month's data plane from your mobile provider too.

[littleman]

>bitcoin miners

I'd love to hear more about how that is working for you.

>productive non techie thing

Get on the phone with all your service providers and tell them that you want to stop service.  They are all likely to offer you a discount to stay.  A couple hours of work could save you hundreds (maybe even thousands) a year.

[rcjordan]

I purchased a Virgin mifi to get me through a couple of weeks. $150 for the hardware back then and $50/mo access. No contract required. Speed was crappy but it was better than nothing.

[Drastic]

I'd focus on mind/body improvement.

Some time of meditation/yoga.

Build and master my own indo board.

Core, balance and deep breathing exercises. (personal need)

Read a book. or three.

[rcjordan]

Or just get the mifi, hhh.

[thesaintv12]

Thanks for all the ideas! First a few questions about the mifi -

Aside from the mining, I tend to spend most of the day connected to client sites (one at a time) via a VPN link.  I have no idea how much data this uses though as I can't really factor it out from the general household use.  If I was to get a mifi set up with pre-loaded Sim cards, how much should I buy to start with and is it going to be realistic to work over a VPN?  How long does the battery last?

I must say, I quite like the idea of packing my laptop and mifi and spending an afternoon in the park 

@Drastic - I am well into the meditation now funny enough!  I had to look up what an indo board was though.  Interesting idea, how is it working for you?

@Littleman - Already on the case with the providers    The bitcoin mining is good fun.  I'm not going to say that I am making money because I am in for the long term.  I am not saying being in for the long term is a good idea either!  However, I have learned loads about hardware, Linux, cabling, heat and sound management.  I have also taught my 11 & 12 yr olds how to build a computer and my 6 yr old how to use Putty to log on to my miners and check the GPU temperatures.  The only real downside is that I have suspicious neighbors now that I get daily deliveries and have strange lights and fans running in my garage.  I am expecting a police drugs raid any day.

[Drastic]

>Or just get the mifi, hhh.
Hey I was just answering the actual question.

At least you didn't puke.

> I had to look up what an indo board was though.  Interesting idea, how is it working for you?

Tried a friend's out, loved it. Have trouble spending $125+ for what amounts to a piece of wood and plastic drum though. Looked up how to build one and put it on the rainy-day (or no Internet) shelf.