Freakin' Cable

This post could be about the myriad issues I have when dealing with the cable company. From the second rate technical support for the high-speed internet (yeah... it's faster than DSL... when it's WORKING!), the outages, the gall of the technicians to try and make up what the "activation" of an outlet is (I had already wired them, and tested it, but they wanted to charge an activation fee per outlet. Consequently I had the minimum number "activated", which is 1. Strangely all 6 outlets I have running a feed [only 4 go to a TV] work perfectly without activation...), but that's not what this is about.

Today's entry is about their seemingly constant need to shuffle the channels. According to them it's for "customer satisfaction" and "better grouping of stations", however I believe it's because they have something against TiVo (mainly that it takes away from their own DVR sales). I'm a big fan of TiVo, despite some of the directions they've taken, but hey, ya gotta make a buck to stay in business, right? And a big thank you goes out to the TiVo folks for scrambling to keep up with all the ComCrap's constant lineup shuffles. I finally gave up on them for highspeed once DSL was available. (Verizon for as many problems as I've had with them commercially, their DSL support is out of sight!) And in the time I've had it, I think it's only been down when the power has been out over a large area. I can give them that one...

And to be fair, it's not just ComCrap. I had Cocks cable in another region, and they were guilty of the same thing, especially once they went to digital and sold their own DVRs. Although they did do it before they went digital, to mess with the folks that didn't want to pay monthly for their stupid switching box, but that was back when it was 2 wires, and I didn't mind pushing the button on MY homemade switch box to swap ranges of channels. And for as much as I fear the impact it will have on my internet speeds, I'm ready to have my DSL circuit push TV to me instead of ComCrap, so I no longer have to deal with them and still get to see the shows I want to see.

400 channels of TV, and still nothing is on.

So you think you're special...

Everyone thinks they're special. And in some ways I'm sure it's true. Everyone's special. The problem with that is, if everyone is special, then no one is. This time I'm specifically referring to the way people drive and park. Ok.. the way they park. Who are these people that feel entitled to park across two spaces in the middle of a parking lot? I mean. I can understand having a new car and wanting it not to get dented. Fine. Park it at the back of the lot across two spots. I don't care. Parking it in the middle of a lot is just asking for someone else (who was entitled to one of those spots; probably the closer one) to be spiteful. I witnessed this recently with someone parking deliberately across two spots. Again if it was a new car (or even not new) but parked at the back of the lot - fine. But it was an old beat up vehicle. I just don't get it.

I've also noticed more and more the way people drive. The majority of people seem to think they are the only ones on the road. I've watched people drift over into other lanes narrowly avoiding an accident (ok it was usually the other driving honking and swerving on their own that avoided it) and I'm surprised there are not more incidents on a daily basis. I would say it's all people on their cell phones, but it isn't. Not to say the cell phone drivers aren't bad, they are, especially with no headset. My favorite is the guy I saw driving with cell in right hand pressed up to left ear, holding (and smoking) cigarette in left hand, and driving with knees (I assume). I've also seen variants of this with left hand to right ear, and right handing eating/drinking/makeup?!/holding map and reading?!!? It just blows my mind. Honestly I have no idea how anyone gets anywhere without getting hit.

Movies, Grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants, sidewalks, malls, amusement parks, nature parks, beach vacation - you name it, and I've seen people bring this entitled atmosphere with them everywhere. It seems to transcend mere selfishness, and reach into an almost deliberate ignorance of anyone and everything in their surroundings. All these people know only of what they need, and screw anyone that gets in their way. It's a very messed up version of the '80s generation. Sure it was bad. It was the "ME" generation. Unfortunately it seems like we took the worst of that and compounded it. We now live in the "ME! Oh and BLEEP you!" generation.

It's observations like these of those around me that make me sad for the species as a whole. No, I don't think all people are like this, but I do strongly believe that people that seem normal and friendly in person, posses the ability to transform into one of these "entitledists". Perhaps I fall into the category and have become so short of vision that I too absorb this spirit of uncaring, perhaps you reading this lose your connection with the other beings on this planet when you get into the car, or that long line at the store, or next to that person that parked 2 inches too close. Perhaps we are all one turn of a key away from the madness. I hope not.

Let the games begin

This is mostly a post for James. Double XP weekend begins, and I will try to do something James said can't be done. As I am frequently up for the impossible (or at least improbable) I have accepted the challenge, I've picked up the tossed gauntlet!

oooh Gauntlet... now there was a fun first shot at multiplayer gaming! How many weekends did I spend with my friends gathered around that machine at the arcade. When the gamemasters voice would shout:
"Someone shot the food!"
"Eat the food don't shoot it!"
"Valkyrie is about to die!"
"Warrior shot the food!"
"You need a key to enter!"
Ok, apparently I spent waaay too long on that game.

Lost & Found

Not the semi-present repository of items you misplaced that you hope someone else didn't claim... I'm talking about direction. MY direction. On this blog as well as in life. I had drifted away from my original direction here and into canine land which, if you noticed, is covered more than sufficiently by my loverly wife. After realizing that the majority of my work had become focused on my dogs, and that it was already taken care of, I spun off into a lack of direction. Without direction, I wasn't sure where to reinsert observations, so I did what anyone else in my situation would do. I made it up. I punted. I faked, feigned, and fudged my way to here. Possibly even begged, borrowed, and outright stole ideas. Thanks Lid and James.

As for the life part... it's a slightly longer story. The short part of it is, that I have turned in my two week notice and turned my sights to another opportunity. Apparently the investors were unhappy as the company's stock (STST) dropped $1.48 on the news of my imminent departure. (I am OBVIOUSLY joking. For those of you who don't actually know me. Which shouldn't be anyone reading this...) I will at a later date (say... 2 weeks+) perhaps talk about some of the reasons I chose a new path, but not today.

On a side note, Yahoo horoscopes have been playing havoc with me lately. Almost to the paranoid self-delusion that they were tapping my phone or my house. For example, let's hypothetically say that earlier this week I went to a new restaurant with James and Clara. Let's call this ficticious restaurant "Tijuana Flats". On the very same day, Yahoo 'scopes said "...or perhaps you'll go try a new restaurant." Now... I've only ever looked at them for fun, but after a week where they hit dead on, I was getting a little paranoid. Ok, so I'm always a little paranoid, but it was still freaky. At least if I had gone to a place like the said restaurant, I'd know not to play hide-and-seek...

In another upcoming blog-venture, I will be detailing the destruction and subsequent remodeling of my half-bath, as attempted (and completed) by the heretofore untested wife. I'll just give a few teasers: Spackle, electricity, and split pea explosion.
Teaser PHOTO:



Until next time,
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll end up in the stars."
-Les Brown

Edit: 2308 EST
Found a much better quote for the current circumstances...
"Taking a new step... is what people fear most."
-Dostoyevski