Fixed it

[dmorin at morinfamily.com (Duane Morin)]

Thanks everybody for the help.  I spent my Sunday taking all four of my 
machines down to the basement (where the router is), setting it up so that 
cable modem went right to server (so that I wouldn't lose mail for the 
duration), flashed the router as per the instructions of the linksys dude, 
and everything seems to be working peachy.  While I was in there I upgraded 
the firmware, too, and changed my wireless security settings.  Thanks again 
for all the help and suggestions.  I wish I could say why the particular 
problem happened in the first place, but <shrug> I tried.

Have you never noticed that, in the computer world, people solve problems 
two different ways --  one kind treats the system like a living patient, 
doing every possible form of observation and non-intrusive tweaking to try 
to arrive at a conclusion, leaving "reset it" as a last option (much like 
if you had a living patient), and the second group says "reset it" as the 
first option?  I wonder if it's fair to attribute that to time management 
on the part of the help desks around the world, or if it really is just a 
lack of true problem solving skills.

Duane