Dish Network up and running now. So far I definitely dig it. I think the DVR system is a little more complicated than it should be, though, but I'll get used to it. Thanks to nice technician Randy who set me up, and who wasn't late for the appointment. I feel very triumphant that I have satellite when my association president said I wouldn't be able to get a signal. Booyah, Perky.
In other news, who wasted 100 men's time with this asinine study? I wonder how many men they had to ask before they got more than confused looks and responses of "who cares?"
I'm pretty sure all the men I've ever met have better opinions on more interesting things.
On a related note, I'm thinking of getting a new haircut. So - a question for all my male readers -- what do you think? Shoot me some links and twitpix!
[Crickets...]
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Were you ever so bright and sweet? Did you ever look so nice? --Semisonic
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Dish and spoons, part 2. Oh, and speaking of spoons.
So, as you all know, I've canceled my Comcast. That was Wednesday. A few interesting things have yet transpired since that fateful day called Wednesday.
Because I am now without cable access, I wonder what I will watch between now and Dish Network-time. But, I still have my DVR box plugged in. So it occurs to me. What has become of all the shows I recorded?
Alas, they are still stored on my DVR. And I can watch them.
Awesome.
But here comes the interesting part.
I had a ton of old episodes of Sex and the City recorded, and I had deleted them all, because I'd seen them a million times. So, imagine my surprise when I next accessed my DVR, and new episodes of Sex and the City had been recorded. How is this happening? In fact, other series recordings I have set up still are recording episodes.
This is both awesome and not awesome. Awesome in the fact that even with my channels inaccessible, I still have crap to watch.
Not awesome in the fact that my cable may not in fact be really, completely shut off, and I'm possibly still being charged.
Fast forward to the next day. I turn the TV on to watch something I've saved. Imagine my surprise (again) when I'm now watching the Fresh Prince of Bel Air on TBS (very funny).
Huh?
Now something is whack. I check to see if other channels work -- they don't. So, what guy in Comcast land thinks it would be funny to mess with me -- to keep recording shows and tease with me with only TBS.
Not sure what I'm going to do about that. the Dish guy comes tomorrow.
So begins another workweek. I had an awesome weekend with friends and movies, at the Belcourt getting pegged by flying plastic spoons during delightfully wretched "The Room" (I totally recommend this) and then at the Nashville Film Festival seeing the complete works of Jamie Travis and then "Hipsters" (also way recommended). I also enjoyed an evening of hilarity at Dave and Buster's, which is a fascinating place in terms of demographics.
Hope everybody has a largely banana-free day. That's what I'm asking for.
Could you lie and say you love me just a little? -- Alison Krauss
Because I am now without cable access, I wonder what I will watch between now and Dish Network-time. But, I still have my DVR box plugged in. So it occurs to me. What has become of all the shows I recorded?
Alas, they are still stored on my DVR. And I can watch them.
Awesome.
But here comes the interesting part.
I had a ton of old episodes of Sex and the City recorded, and I had deleted them all, because I'd seen them a million times. So, imagine my surprise when I next accessed my DVR, and new episodes of Sex and the City had been recorded. How is this happening? In fact, other series recordings I have set up still are recording episodes.
This is both awesome and not awesome. Awesome in the fact that even with my channels inaccessible, I still have crap to watch.
Not awesome in the fact that my cable may not in fact be really, completely shut off, and I'm possibly still being charged.
Fast forward to the next day. I turn the TV on to watch something I've saved. Imagine my surprise (again) when I'm now watching the Fresh Prince of Bel Air on TBS (very funny).
Huh?
Now something is whack. I check to see if other channels work -- they don't. So, what guy in Comcast land thinks it would be funny to mess with me -- to keep recording shows and tease with me with only TBS.
Not sure what I'm going to do about that. the Dish guy comes tomorrow.
So begins another workweek. I had an awesome weekend with friends and movies, at the Belcourt getting pegged by flying plastic spoons during delightfully wretched "The Room" (I totally recommend this) and then at the Nashville Film Festival seeing the complete works of Jamie Travis and then "Hipsters" (also way recommended). I also enjoyed an evening of hilarity at Dave and Buster's, which is a fascinating place in terms of demographics.
Hope everybody has a largely banana-free day. That's what I'm asking for.
Could you lie and say you love me just a little? -- Alison Krauss
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The dish ran away with the cable
So as of Wednesday, April 14, I had finally had enough of Comcast Internet and cable service.
In the weeks and months prior that I weighed my options and pondered my decision to cancel my service, I had engaged a fellow Comcasters to get their feedback about their Comcast experiences, just for some man-on-the-street input. Most of those conversations quickly ended after they said agreed they were paying "outrageous" prices as well, which were often half of what I was being charged. I was always to embarrassed to say "I'm a way bigger schmuck than you!"
Mind you, during this time I had called Comcast to give them a piece of my mind. For a split second, I forgot where I was and expected the customer service rep would have a microscopic shred of concern that I may cancel and thus Comcast would lose me forever as a loyal customer. I even threatened to switch to another provider.
But I was quickly again brought back down to Earth. My concerns for my overpriced services were met with indifference. My options were to downgrade my services or to cancel. The guy was borderline rude, although I tend to have a pretty high tolerance for that in the service industries. After all, I work at a newspaper.
Anyway, as I continued to explore my options for Internet services and the most economic way to how to have way too many channels to watch in a lifetime (who watches the Pentagon Channel?), I decided my best option financially was Dish Network. So, I do a little online research and finally order it and book an installation date for April 15 from 8 a.m. to noon. I'm feelin' pretty good. I'm hoping to have it installed to watch The Office at 8 p.m.
The average consumer -- judging from previous cable-type experiences -- would expect a technician to swing by 10:30 a.m., maybe sippin' a Starbucks latte, in his big van with a ladder on top (has anyone ever seen a cable or dish tech use a ladder?). And I'd say 10:30 is being generous.
At 7:30 a.m., my phone is vibrating. Am I dreaming?
"Hullo?"
"Miss McDonald, this is Travis from Dish Network. What time would you like me to get started?"
"Well, what time can you be here?"
"Oh, I'm sitting outside right now."
So, big-van-with-ladder Travis is parked outside my condo. I'm in my pajamas. What day is this?
So, I tell him to go ahead and get started. What else could I do? I'm not sending the guy away. Somebody is paying him to park outside my place for half an hour -- oh did I mention he is not allowed to start working until 8 a.m.? I hope he brought a Gameboy.
Well Travis just can't win. Turns out, there was an issue with placement of the Dish per my homeowners' association rules, so I ended up sending him away, pending a callback from the association prez, who is awesomely named Perky.
Post-Perky callback later that day, Travis returns to scope out the dish-placement situation. We find a place that would work. So Travis sets up an 8-1-1, which I eventually conclude sets the ball rolling to get a green light from the local utility company for him to dig in the ground (punctured underground gas lines are never much fun). He will have to place a pole about three feet down into my flower bed and attach the dish atop. (Although I used the term "flower bed" very loosely.)
I never dreamed it would be this much trouble to be able to watch Sex and the City reruns more cheaply.
So props to Travis from Dish Network, for his mega-patience today, and for tackling the task of calling customers at 7:30 a.m. It was unexpected for me, definitely, but I think I took it pretty well. Sometime I want to ask him about the awesome reactions he must get from calling lots of people that early. I can only imagine the sheer onslaught of profanity he has no doubt encountered for waking up some exhausted guy with huge tattooed biceps who works third shift at an industrial plant. If I were he, I would probably park the van a little ways away from the guy's house when I made the call.
Next Dish experience is Tuesday. We'll see.
Oh, in other news, I opted to go with Clearwire Internet. The girl brought me the modem. Setup took like 8 seconds. Twelve hours into it, I would recommend it to a friend.
Overall, I am pleased with my decisions thus far. I tend to solicit input from friends when making bigger decisions, especially where I would be entering into a contract. But sometimes I hesitate to offer a blanket "tell me your experience with X company," because I often regret the data I collect. There's always the one person who had a completely harrowing experience with X company, and tells EVERYONE. Personally I think most people's bad experiences are exaggerated. People love to tell me about their worst experiences -- I'd like to hear someone say, "Oh I LOVE X company's services. My sales rep just came over for eggnog last night, actually." I want to hear some really positive things about a company -- reasonable cost, good customer service, fast response time to problems, etc. Something. Anything. Just because your experience resulted in years of therapy doesn't mean mine will. I'm looking for constructive, practical advice, such as "I really like Panera Bread, but their tomato soup is a little bland." Instead of something moronic, overly-dramatic and unhelpful like "Panera Bread stole my youth."
Oh, and thanks, but advising me of the situation three weeks after I've, say, entered into a contract with X company is not going to help me a lot. I can't believe how many times I've told a friend about a recent purchase and I get a "You shouldn't have done that" face. (For you SATC fans, I fondly call that a Nina Katz "the face girl" experience.)
Although -- to be fair, I did get plenty of responses that were useful. So thanks for those.
So, in closing, I am considering a purchase of a new (or used) car or small SUV within the next year. If anyone has bought a Nissan Altima, Honda Accord or a Chevy Trailblazer recently, let me know. If I buy car and then a week later you call and tell me "oh by the way" that one fateful day,while driving your own X car, all the seats unexpectedly came unbolted from the floor, your grandmother was ejected from the vehicle into a nearby haybale, and consequently you rear-ended a school bus of full of children on their way to the state capitol, I won't appreciate it. No more "what a horrible decision you just made!" looks.
You guessed it -- They drive me a little bit bananas.
P.S. Does it sound like I totally want Comcast to be eradicated from the planet? I really don't. Really my only complaint was the price. The actual services weren't bad. If you ask me, I promise I won't tell you Comcast represents secret cells of terrorists and your payments fund euthanasia of Boston terriers. It really is an ok company. No hard feelings here.
In the weeks and months prior that I weighed my options and pondered my decision to cancel my service, I had engaged a fellow Comcasters to get their feedback about their Comcast experiences, just for some man-on-the-street input. Most of those conversations quickly ended after they said agreed they were paying "outrageous" prices as well, which were often half of what I was being charged. I was always to embarrassed to say "I'm a way bigger schmuck than you!"
Mind you, during this time I had called Comcast to give them a piece of my mind. For a split second, I forgot where I was and expected the customer service rep would have a microscopic shred of concern that I may cancel and thus Comcast would lose me forever as a loyal customer. I even threatened to switch to another provider.
But I was quickly again brought back down to Earth. My concerns for my overpriced services were met with indifference. My options were to downgrade my services or to cancel. The guy was borderline rude, although I tend to have a pretty high tolerance for that in the service industries. After all, I work at a newspaper.
Anyway, as I continued to explore my options for Internet services and the most economic way to how to have way too many channels to watch in a lifetime (who watches the Pentagon Channel?), I decided my best option financially was Dish Network. So, I do a little online research and finally order it and book an installation date for April 15 from 8 a.m. to noon. I'm feelin' pretty good. I'm hoping to have it installed to watch The Office at 8 p.m.
The average consumer -- judging from previous cable-type experiences -- would expect a technician to swing by 10:30 a.m., maybe sippin' a Starbucks latte, in his big van with a ladder on top (has anyone ever seen a cable or dish tech use a ladder?). And I'd say 10:30 is being generous.
At 7:30 a.m., my phone is vibrating. Am I dreaming?
"Hullo?"
"Miss McDonald, this is Travis from Dish Network. What time would you like me to get started?"
"Well, what time can you be here?"
"Oh, I'm sitting outside right now."
So, big-van-with-ladder Travis is parked outside my condo. I'm in my pajamas. What day is this?
So, I tell him to go ahead and get started. What else could I do? I'm not sending the guy away. Somebody is paying him to park outside my place for half an hour -- oh did I mention he is not allowed to start working until 8 a.m.? I hope he brought a Gameboy.
Well Travis just can't win. Turns out, there was an issue with placement of the Dish per my homeowners' association rules, so I ended up sending him away, pending a callback from the association prez, who is awesomely named Perky.
Post-Perky callback later that day, Travis returns to scope out the dish-placement situation. We find a place that would work. So Travis sets up an 8-1-1, which I eventually conclude sets the ball rolling to get a green light from the local utility company for him to dig in the ground (punctured underground gas lines are never much fun). He will have to place a pole about three feet down into my flower bed and attach the dish atop. (Although I used the term "flower bed" very loosely.)
I never dreamed it would be this much trouble to be able to watch Sex and the City reruns more cheaply.
So props to Travis from Dish Network, for his mega-patience today, and for tackling the task of calling customers at 7:30 a.m. It was unexpected for me, definitely, but I think I took it pretty well. Sometime I want to ask him about the awesome reactions he must get from calling lots of people that early. I can only imagine the sheer onslaught of profanity he has no doubt encountered for waking up some exhausted guy with huge tattooed biceps who works third shift at an industrial plant. If I were he, I would probably park the van a little ways away from the guy's house when I made the call.
Next Dish experience is Tuesday. We'll see.
Oh, in other news, I opted to go with Clearwire Internet. The girl brought me the modem. Setup took like 8 seconds. Twelve hours into it, I would recommend it to a friend.
Overall, I am pleased with my decisions thus far. I tend to solicit input from friends when making bigger decisions, especially where I would be entering into a contract. But sometimes I hesitate to offer a blanket "tell me your experience with X company," because I often regret the data I collect. There's always the one person who had a completely harrowing experience with X company, and tells EVERYONE. Personally I think most people's bad experiences are exaggerated. People love to tell me about their worst experiences -- I'd like to hear someone say, "Oh I LOVE X company's services. My sales rep just came over for eggnog last night, actually." I want to hear some really positive things about a company -- reasonable cost, good customer service, fast response time to problems, etc. Something. Anything. Just because your experience resulted in years of therapy doesn't mean mine will. I'm looking for constructive, practical advice, such as "I really like Panera Bread, but their tomato soup is a little bland." Instead of something moronic, overly-dramatic and unhelpful like "Panera Bread stole my youth."
Oh, and thanks, but advising me of the situation three weeks after I've, say, entered into a contract with X company is not going to help me a lot. I can't believe how many times I've told a friend about a recent purchase and I get a "You shouldn't have done that" face. (For you SATC fans, I fondly call that a Nina Katz "the face girl" experience.)
Although -- to be fair, I did get plenty of responses that were useful. So thanks for those.
So, in closing, I am considering a purchase of a new (or used) car or small SUV within the next year. If anyone has bought a Nissan Altima, Honda Accord or a Chevy Trailblazer recently, let me know. If I buy car and then a week later you call and tell me "oh by the way" that one fateful day,while driving your own X car, all the seats unexpectedly came unbolted from the floor, your grandmother was ejected from the vehicle into a nearby haybale, and consequently you rear-ended a school bus of full of children on their way to the state capitol, I won't appreciate it. No more "what a horrible decision you just made!" looks.
You guessed it -- They drive me a little bit bananas.
P.S. Does it sound like I totally want Comcast to be eradicated from the planet? I really don't. Really my only complaint was the price. The actual services weren't bad. If you ask me, I promise I won't tell you Comcast represents secret cells of terrorists and your payments fund euthanasia of Boston terriers. It really is an ok company. No hard feelings here.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
It's amazing to me how much people will read blogs about nothing in particular. People blog about the weather. Sometimes people talk about what they did that day, or that they enjoyed a nice spring breeze. Or how the pollen makes them sneeze. Or, maybe a cell phone battery died, or they got a good deal on ground beef. Big freakin' deal.
What I can't understand is why people keep reading. Are you expecting something captivating to stem from a sentence about dandelions in the front yard?
I admit, I sometimes don't have anything really exciting to say. I sometimes blog about my day, like for example, my previous post was about wasps, for pete's sake. I'm not the only person to encounter wasps. Heck, I'm sure a lot of my neighbors have wasps, or other stinging, buzzing insects.
So anyway today was just like any other day. Answered a few calls at work. I suggested a drinking game in which we take shots every time I had to give out the news e-mail address. I guess we publish the e-mail address in the paper 200 times for no reason -- people still call and ask. I'm thinking about doing shots just as I'm typing this. But don't worry. I don't drink and type. I'm a designated typist. I won't get convicted of a TUI or TWI. My typing alcohol level is well below the legal limit. I won't be caught with an open keyboard.
Props to you, reader, for reading thus far. This post has been pretty much about nothing, and it totally proves my point. And yes, I wrote about nothing on purpose. But here's an actual thought:
I learned this week that an friend of mine from way back is engaged, and I had no idea. So, thanks for the update, yo. Although to be fair, I haven't seen him in more than a year. I just randomly came across a photo of them together. Also, he told me about this girl a long time ago, and at the time, he was thinking about dumping her and wanted my advice. So, I guess he decided not to after all. (I really can't recall what I advised, although I can guess...)
I wish them the very best. :-)
But really, people shouldn't ask for my advice nearly as much as they do.
It's total bananas that people listen to me.
What I can't understand is why people keep reading. Are you expecting something captivating to stem from a sentence about dandelions in the front yard?
I admit, I sometimes don't have anything really exciting to say. I sometimes blog about my day, like for example, my previous post was about wasps, for pete's sake. I'm not the only person to encounter wasps. Heck, I'm sure a lot of my neighbors have wasps, or other stinging, buzzing insects.
So anyway today was just like any other day. Answered a few calls at work. I suggested a drinking game in which we take shots every time I had to give out the news e-mail address. I guess we publish the e-mail address in the paper 200 times for no reason -- people still call and ask. I'm thinking about doing shots just as I'm typing this. But don't worry. I don't drink and type. I'm a designated typist. I won't get convicted of a TUI or TWI. My typing alcohol level is well below the legal limit. I won't be caught with an open keyboard.
Props to you, reader, for reading thus far. This post has been pretty much about nothing, and it totally proves my point. And yes, I wrote about nothing on purpose. But here's an actual thought:
I learned this week that an friend of mine from way back is engaged, and I had no idea. So, thanks for the update, yo. Although to be fair, I haven't seen him in more than a year. I just randomly came across a photo of them together. Also, he told me about this girl a long time ago, and at the time, he was thinking about dumping her and wanted my advice. So, I guess he decided not to after all. (I really can't recall what I advised, although I can guess...)
I wish them the very best. :-)
But really, people shouldn't ask for my advice nearly as much as they do.
It's total bananas that people listen to me.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The buzz around town
The best thing I ever did for myself was buy my own place. Being a homeowner is way cool, although it comes with challenges.
I especially love not having any pests -- no pets, no nagging kids, no hyper-inquisitive parents, no slob roommate (no offense to any of the above with whom I have actually lived).
So, it's just me. And the pests.
In the year I have lived in my condo, I have battled ladybugs, mice (twice) and brown recluses. This morning, two wasps had beaten me to the breakfast table. Did I mention I have a borderline phobia of buzzing, stinging insects? After I tentatively helped them meet their unfortunate demise with a handy flip-flop, I finished getting ready for work. As I was leaving, I was horrified to see a wasp flying around my car. I managed to get in my car unstung, and I drove to work without incident. When I arrived at work, I had a stowaway! A wasp was on my car (Had it ridden the whole 20-minute drive? Surely not.) and was flying around my car, yet again. I watched in paralyzed fear as it crawled underneath the cover over my gas cap. Do I have dead wasps floating in my gas tank? I'm pretty sure my 30,000-mile powertrain warranty doesn't have a wasp clause.
So, today as I sit in my wasp-free office, I wonder:
• Will I have 30 angry wasps waiting for me when I get home?
• How do I let go of my progressing paranoia that a swarm of wasps will appear from out of nowhere and chase me into a lake?
• What pest is next? Ants? Cockroaches (a second near-phobia)? Beavers? Based on the influx of ducks and geese in Hendersonville around area lakes, if I wake up to the sound of enthusiastic honking in my guest bathroom, I'm totally moving.
I think it's time for an audit of pest-accessible holes in windows, doors or caulking. Also, a really big flyswatter.
These pests drive me a little bit bananas.
I especially love not having any pests -- no pets, no nagging kids, no hyper-inquisitive parents, no slob roommate (no offense to any of the above with whom I have actually lived).
So, it's just me. And the pests.
In the year I have lived in my condo, I have battled ladybugs, mice (twice) and brown recluses. This morning, two wasps had beaten me to the breakfast table. Did I mention I have a borderline phobia of buzzing, stinging insects? After I tentatively helped them meet their unfortunate demise with a handy flip-flop, I finished getting ready for work. As I was leaving, I was horrified to see a wasp flying around my car. I managed to get in my car unstung, and I drove to work without incident. When I arrived at work, I had a stowaway! A wasp was on my car (Had it ridden the whole 20-minute drive? Surely not.) and was flying around my car, yet again. I watched in paralyzed fear as it crawled underneath the cover over my gas cap. Do I have dead wasps floating in my gas tank? I'm pretty sure my 30,000-mile powertrain warranty doesn't have a wasp clause.
So, today as I sit in my wasp-free office, I wonder:
• Will I have 30 angry wasps waiting for me when I get home?
• How do I let go of my progressing paranoia that a swarm of wasps will appear from out of nowhere and chase me into a lake?
• What pest is next? Ants? Cockroaches (a second near-phobia)? Beavers? Based on the influx of ducks and geese in Hendersonville around area lakes, if I wake up to the sound of enthusiastic honking in my guest bathroom, I'm totally moving.
I think it's time for an audit of pest-accessible holes in windows, doors or caulking. Also, a really big flyswatter.
These pests drive me a little bit bananas.
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