Random Access

Wednesday – 12 May 2010
Midweek and all’s (relatively speaking) well.
It’s Comics and Sushi Wednesday.

Today also marks one year since I lost my friend, Jessica, to a battle with pulmonary hypertension.

It doesn’t have to be dark for you to reach for the stars — they are always out there waiting to be touched

…and sometimes, if we’re lucky, a star reaches out for us, too.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family – my adopted family – today. She was a great person; I still miss having her around, but I’m glad for the time that we had to spend together.

Stray Toasters

• Here is the latest chapter in The Great Comcast Saga:
  

  Yesterday, I got home from work and saw a Comcast technician, John, working around the corner from the house.  I asked if he was working on our seemingly never-ending quest for service. He said that he wasn’t… but he then asked if I had just moved into the neighborhood. I told him that I had and that I was waiting for service to be restored to the house. He said that he had done service work for [our] house for the past few years.

  And then he hit me with a bombshell: The service node in which he was working – NOT the one in our front yard – was the one that contained the line that goes to our house.

  *blink blink*

  Yeah. Not only does that mean that Steve, the first Comcast tech to attempt reconnection, went to the wrong box, but that NO OTHER Comcast representative figured out that Box A != Box B…. which means that we could should have had service two weeks ago.

  *grblsnrkx*

  As it stands, John, cancelled the dig/burial work order and put us in for reconnection. Our new reconnection appointment is scheduled for “early Friday morning.”  (Good thing it’s my Friday off…)

• U.S. to Split Up Agency Policing the Oil Industry
• Get ready to pay: 18 NFL teams raising ticket prices for 2010
• 
• Strange Signs from Abroad
• …said the Bishop to the Actress
• A Simple Photo of a Plane Taking Off…. From Head-on
• Novel-Ts – I have (at least) two new items for The Covet List:
  1. Poe (Raven)
  2. Poe (Heart)
• High-Tech Underwear for Adventurous Geeks
• Home prices could sink without tax credit
• Keep holding on so long
  ‘Cause there’s a chance
  that we might not be so wrong
  We could be down and gone
  But we hold on
• Trigger Green Traffic Lights

Meetings and things and stuff.

Namaste.

Sunday – 09 May 2010
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers – and surrogate mothers – out there.

I was up this morning at 0745… for reasons I have yet to understand. I lazed around the sitting room, trying to decide what to do. About an hour-and-a-half later, I decided to start primering my office walls. Shortly thereafter, SaraRules woke up. She started breakfast, I worked on the office door trim. All too soon, it was time to eat. This morning’s fare: Omelettes.

After breakfast and the morning hygiene rituals, we were off for some errand-running. First stop: Lowe’s. I think that we’ve found a chair rail that we like for the living room. Next, grocery shopping. And when that was done… home.

I didn’t want to change clothes to start painting again, so I hung medicine cabinets in the master bathroom:

• Old and busted (as it was under the former owners)
• New hotness

Not only did it change the look of the room, it gave us some much-needed storage space. Selah.

Tonight, SaraRules’ mom is coming over for dinner, dessert and a movie. Sounds like a good way to cap off the weekend to me.

Stray Toasters

• I called the mother and sister units, to wish them a Happy Mother’s Day.  The ones I managed to speak with were doing well.
• Yesterday’s tournament went well. There were nine players… a little smaller than it has been, but I’m just glad to see people coming out – and happy to come out – to play.
• Homemade chocolate cream pie. ‘Nuff said.
• Tool (Not the band.)
• After the tournament, SaraRules and I went shopping. We found and bought a set of furniture for the sitting room. (Imagine that… people actually able to sit down in there.  What a concept!) Delivery date: 08 June 2010.
• In theory, Comcast will be coming out tomorrow to (FINALLY) install the new line. It would be great if they got there early, as I’d like to not have to use a full day’s PTO waiting for the cable guy/guys. We’ll see how that goes…

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Saturday – 08 May 2010
Today is my brother and step-mother’s birthday.

This morning, SaraRules and I went to Wasatch Community Gardens‘ Plant Sale – SaraRules wanted to get some plants for her new garden. We then headed up to Millcreek Cafe and Eggworks for breakfast. Then back home for a bit until…

…I headed to Dr. Volt’s for today’s tournament: 300-point, sealed event. I picked up a couple of boxes, so that I could play the bye round. I drew another Kal-L Black Lantern figure… which I wound up trading to Jeremiah for a Black Hand figure. Leaving me two chases to track down.

Stray Toasters

• I owe Ms. Galadriel a huge debt of gratitude for her suggestion of taking 800mg of Ibuprofen to help with the pain and swelling of last night’s sore throat. She gets my vote for Human of the Day.

This evening, I’m not sure what manner of trouble we’ll be getting into, but I believe that it involves a trip to the local Home Depot or Lowe’s.

And with that…

Namaste.

Friday – 07 May 2010
It’s my “on” Friday… but that’s okay: The team is seeing Iron Man 2 at lunch.

SaraRules and I saw the movie last night… well, “very early this morning.” And it was worth the lack of sleep. It was a well-done bit of entertainment. Mr. Downey looked quite comfortable, once again, as Tony Stark. Don Cheadle turned in a good performance as Lt. Col. James Rhodes, the “voice of reason” to Tony’s “poor impulse control.” Samuel L. Jackson was one bad mother… no, wait…. had it with these motherf…. wait… “he was good in his expanded role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury.”  Scarlett Johansson also did a good turn as The Black Widow. Mickey Rourke did a good job of turning Marvel villain Whiplash (whose back story was given a tweak to fit into the movie’s storyline) into a credible threat and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer was equal parts unctuous slimeball and opportunistic business man. All-in-all, Jon Favreau did a good job of bringing viewers back into the world of Tony Stark. I was impressed with how his nod to Demon in a Bottle was handled – very subtly, but it made the point. I was also amused by some of the cameos in the film, as well. (Look for “Larry King.”) And, don’t forget to stay for a little bump after the credits. Just sayin’.

And… there were a couple of interesting trailers before the movie, too: A new one for The Last Airbender (which looked pretty nice) and one for an upcoming J.J. Abrams project that looks… intriguing.

Before the movie, Chris came over. We were originally planning on throwing a HeroClix game together, but opted to play HALO 3: ODST, instead. And it was good. Selah.

Stray Toasters

• Most of my cold symptoms are gone… but I’m still dealing with a sore/scratchy throat and swollen lymph nodes. Bah.
• The Art of Style, and the Style of Art
• For SaraRules: No sleep til…
• For Amy: Click or tap along with new ‘Sam & Max’ series
• Couch Forts: A Critique
• The pill: 50 years of birth control changed women’s lives
• The Bell Tolls: Lots of blame in Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell flop… sorry, SaraRules
• By way of Rachel: Things That Can Make You Feel Like an Idiot Almost Instantly
• F.C.C. Proposes Rules on Internet Access
• Nyx showed me this video…

  …and all I could think of was:

  Spider-Bear! Spider-Bear!
  Whats she doing up in the air?

• Former MySpace security chief starts company
• Music round-up:
  • Gustavo Dudamel: Making Classical Cool in L.A.
  • U.S. Troops Spoof Lady Gaga Video
  • Moby: One Song, Two Days, Three Versions
• How a Cellphone Call Works
• April Jobs Report: Best gain in four years

Yep, that’s good for now.

Namaste.

Thursday – 06 May 2010
This NBN Thursday finds me feeling much better than I was feeling yesterday. By the time I left work, my sore throat had invited its friends “aching,” “lethargy” and “weakness” to come over for a visit. When I got home – after a rather abbreviated trip to Dr. Volt’s – I was only too happy to soak in a tub of hot water and read a few items from the day’s four-color haul. After dinner, I spent the better part of the evening in bed. I slept for a couple of hours. I read more comics. I medicated. I hydrated.

This morning, I feel about 90-95% of baseline normal. This is a good thing.

Stray Toasters

• Dressed for Success, the Frugal Way
• Cutting Libraries in a Recession…
• Women under 50 ‘face work stress risk’
• 
• Facebook Glitch Brings New Privacy Worries
• The Little Bang: Small, simple drawing show offers big rewards
• Ms. Amy, you might (just *might*) want to click here.
• Profile in Style: Kelly Wearstler
• 
• Gay Couples Challenge Defense of Marriage Act
• Nigeria swears in new president
• My Demotivators (Cluelessness, Indecision and Insight)arrived a couple of days ago. I forgot to bring them to work… which just means that I have more time to figure out where I want them to go.
• A little something for your Thursday: The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Jump Jive and Wail:
• Editorial: Video Games and Free Speech
• I, Zombie: A Jug of Wine, A Lobe of Brain and Thou
• Mayan Plumbing Found in Ancient City

Namaste.

Wednesday – 05 May 2010
It’s Cinco de Mayo.

Even WizKids has jumped on the bandwagon.

It’s also Comics (and possibly Sushi) Wednesday.

Last night, SaraRules had Book Club… which meant that I was “Bachelor for an Evening.” I headed up to the local B&N to do some drawing. I started coloring on a pic that I’ve been working on (well, “off-and-on”) for a few weeks. Mixed results. I had done a lot of graphite pencil-work on it and the colored pencils weren’t exactly dealing with all of it well. I may reconsider my tack and start the picture anew. We’ll see.

After that, I went home and started playing HALO 3: ODST. (What? You think a little something like “no Internet” is going to stop me from getting my game on?! Hah!) I picked the game up a couple of days ago, but hadn’t cracked it open until last night. It’s got the classic HALO feel, but with a few twists. I like it. (I haven’t found the sniper’s rifle… yet… but, I’m getting good at the headshots with the pistol.)

Stray Toasters

• Sore throat != fun
• New (and as-yet unmet) neighbor deciding to wait until 0610 this morning to move his empty trash can from the curb to its resting place between our houses != fun.
  • On the other hand, it gave me an early start on the morning.
• Day of Prayer Becomes Culture War Skirmish
• Homes can be lost by mistake when banks miscommunicate
• Obama’s plea for civility is exactly right
• This image…

  

  …is available as a t-shirt from SPLITREASON.

• DJ Spooky and Chuck D remix “By the Time I Get to Arizona” in honor of anti-immigrant law
• Google moves into online travel business
• Do Not Look at These Dirty, Filthy State Seals
• By way of BoingBoing (and ): A small announcement – as told through Science Fiction

• …and, with that in mind: Stop-Motion LEGO Star Wars Trilogy in Just Two Minutes

Namaste.

Tuesday – 04 May 2010
I am of ill humor today.

This mostly stems from the fact that my thoughts, with regards to Comcast, repeat: “MDK… MDK…”

Not only have I had three (3) calls from their recovery service about their “unreturned lease equipement,” but yesterday I received a notice from them in the mail. You’d think that people would read the notes on an account… but maybe expecting them to actually read what’s on the screen is asking far too much of people. So, they’re about to receive a rather pointed fax – along with copies of Comcast’s own work orders – with my expectations.

::: deep cleansing breath :::

Yesterday was, otherwise, not too bad. I was finally able to cut down the jungle mow the lawn. (I’m still not a fan of that “landscaping” in the front yard, but SaraRules and I are deciding how to change it.) After dinner and a little errand-running, SaraRules and I watched In the Heat of the Night. It was an excellent film; I highly recommend it.

Stray Toasters

• Sallie Mae lowers interest rates on non-federal student loans
• Small-Screen Jazz: Your Favorite TV Themes
• Russian Orphanage Offers Love, but Not New Families
• Join the Dots Wallpaper
• Take Back Our Country – Originally from the U.K., but easily applicable elsewhere…
• 
• Top social ticket: NYC’s Costume Institute gala
• From the “Catches Thieves, Just Like Flies…” file: Free Comic Book Day shoplifted foiled by Spider-Man, Jedis and The Flash
• Terry Pratchett: Doctor Who isn’t science fiction
• ‘Long-term harm’ of too much TV for toddlers
• Being Human Is Different, Or What Science Asks of Us

Namaste.

Monday – 03 May 2010
It was a good weekend.

Saturday, after coffee with Perry, Kate and the kids (no, the kids didn’t have coffee), I met SaraRules and went to Porcupine Pub and Grill for lunch… which turned into “brunch.” We weren’t previously aware that they offered a weekend brunch – until 1500 – so we decided to see how it was. And the verdict was: “Pretty darned good.” After a bit of errand-running, SaraRules headed off to work – and I met up with the in-laws and head downtown to see – The Temptations with the Utah Symphony. It was a very good show. Otis Williams, the sole remaining original member, has been performing with The Temps for 49 years… and hasn’t lost a step. (Granted, they might not be as flamboyant as the ‘younger guys,’ but the man can still move. And, more importantly, he looks like he’s still having fun.

Sunday, SaraRules and I slept in. It was wonderful. We both commented on how… odd, but very good… it felt to not have something on the agenda that had to get done by Time X or Date Y. We’ve both commented on how much moving – and prepping the house and apartment for the move – felt like having a second job; the past month has worn us out. So, it was delightful to actually be able to slow down and just enjoy the day. After breakfast, we did some (much-needed) grocery shopping. Next, we returned home; Logan came over to help me move the china buffet. After he left, SaraRules and I went to The Garden of Sweden. After paying a small tithe, we left with far less than we had anticipated… which wasn’t necessarily a “bad” thing. Back home for a bit and then up to the in-laws’ for dinner and a movie. Last night’s fare was lamb sausage with imam bayildi, mixed vegetables, pita and hummus, and rice pudding for dessert; last night’s feature presentation was Cloverfield. All-in-all, it was a good way to wrap up the weekend.

Stray Toasters

• In theory, we only have one week until Comcast drops a new line for us.
  • Saturday, I got a third call from Comcast collections about returning the modem and receiver. *sigh* I was even more curt with this agent than I was to the second agent who called. At the end of the call, she said that I shouldn’t hear from them again – if at all – until 11 May. We’ll see how that goes.
• Kid apps become special on the iPad
• How to Build a Trebuchet
• The Day BMW Became ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’
• 
• Outnumbered, Outgunned: How Underdogs Prevail
• Vinegar as a stain remover
• $25,000 Family Sedan Shootout: Can a family afford a good car?
• Earth Wind and Fire: Boogie Wonderland
• Pitting the Web’s Users Against Its Gatekeepers
• Polanski breaks silence about American extradition threat

Namaste.

Friday – 30 April 2010
Mother Nature apparently couldn’t resist one more joke: There have been flurries in the area today. Go figure.

As of 1100 this morning, SaraRules and I no longer have any ties with our now-former apartment complex. I went over to finish vacuuming and remove a few extra boxes from the move around 1000. After a final sweep of the apartment, I headed to the leasing office and handed over the keys. All things being equal, I don’t really have many bad things to say about the complex.  I’d even recommend it to someone looking for an apartment. But, as far as we’re concerned, it’s in the rear-view mirror.

Stray Toasters

• As yet, I haven’t received a third call from Comcast collections. Maybe – just maybe – I won’t hear from them until the 11th, after all.
• Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow.  For more information and find a local comic shop in your area is, go to http://www.freecomicbookday.com
• 
• WizKids has announced their upcoming Web of Spider-Man HeroClix set.
• Insert something witty here.
• Insert something witty here, too.

Off to see if I can’t find some trouble to get into before heading to Clitorati.

Namaste.

Wednesday – 28 April 2010
It’s snowing.
Yes, it was better than 70F a day or two ago.
Now, it’s not. According to The Weather Channel, it is 40F right now.
Yesterday, it was also very windy. A LOT of dust was blown into the valley from the desert, making things grey and drab.

Last night, SaraRules and I met at the old apartment to pick up some of the last few things we left there. Things were moving along nicely – we had loaded her car and had started putting things in mine – when, about 21:30/21:45, the power went out.

::: braincramp :::

The flashlight was at the house, as were the candles, so we were effectively done. We piled into our cars and headed home…

…only to discover that the power was out there, too.

*grblsnrkx*

The first and most immediate issue that created: No automatic garage door opener. And the door doesn’t seem to have a handle or manual method for opening it. So, we had the privilege of parking outside. No power also pretty much meant that unpacking most things was out. We found the flashlight and SaraRules tracked down a couple of the big candles and we sat around and chatted (and listened to the still-howling wind) until she nodded off. I tried – somewhat unsuccessfully – to stay away, but drifted off about 23:15.

At 23:34, the power came back on. I took advantage of the situation and prepped the coffee maker, put away some of the fortunately still-frozen food that we had brought from the apartment. Since I had been up and moving around, falling back asleep wasn’t the easiest thing, so I grabbed my GameBoy and played a few rounds of Tetris. Sleep found me about thirty minutes later.

Stray Toasters

• No power + new house = BAH!
  (Of course, it kind of made the no TV/no Internet thing easy to cope with…)
• I’m debating advancing my timetable for having DirecTV installed.
• Check out Jim Lee’s variant cover for Legion of Super-Heroes #1

  

  “I’d buy that for a dollar!”
  (Who am I kidding?  It’s a Legion book.  I’d easily pay TWO dollars for it!)

• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Sprint employees fired for capturing shoplifter
• Who was the best/worst astronaut… and why:
  • Captain Anthony “Buck” Rogers
  • Major Anthony “Tony” Nelson
  • Colonel Steve Austin

  Discuss.

And with that, Kenneth and I are off to the South 40 to deal with a couple of issues with the kids down there. Pray for us.

Namaste.

Tuesday – 27 April 2010
Another day in the valley kicks off with sun and mild temperatures…

…too bad we’re supposed to take a thirty-plus degree dive over the next couple of days. Yep, we’re going from upper-60s/low-70s to… mid-40s. Lucky us.

Last night, we spent the evening with the in-laws, celebrating Steve’s birthday. There was bocce (the game, not the language), lots of good food:

• Tasty grilled ribs
• Rice pilaf
• Salad
• As well as potato salad and carrot salad for those who like them…

…marzipan cake and ice cream. And, boozy beverages. All-around win.

After SaraRules and I got back home, we decided to put the family room together. Somewhat. We moved furniture into its more or less permanent locations. We didn’t, however, put media away… as we are going to have to primer/paint the walls — they are in need of a little help, shall we say.

And the walls in my office? They don’t need help, they need a hero. I don’t know what color they were going for, but the walls just look… dingy. I was looking at how bright SaraRules’ office – next door to mine – looked at the same time of day with the same size window in it. It wasn’t quite a “day and night” difference, but it was definitely “day and dusk.” A fresh coat of white paint will do wonders for that room.

Stray Toasters

• Yay for waiting for return calls from corporate!
• Best of Craigslist
• The Sandy Hobby Lobby opens sometime in May.
  (This is both a “good” and a “bad” thing… )
• Modern dance inspired by science
• This comic…

  

  …reminded me of playing Indigo Bolt in City of Heroes – I used one of the available costume slots to create a “formal dress” costume for him. Yep, I’m just that geeky.

• By way of Nyx:
  • Rebekah & Shayne’s Hospital Wedding — This was a cute story.
  • Nick, Bryan & Otto’s Milwaukee Studio
• A bumpy economic recovery, with hope in Midwest, South
• The Family Stand: Ghetto Heaven
• Running down a dream: Leg amputee makes U.S. Track team
• Just for the record: If you have a Comcast cable box/DVR with programs on the hard drive, you can’t watch them if there’s no signal from Comcast.  So much for catching up on 24…
• Eggs flying in Parliament, Ukraine approves deal for closer Russia ties
• Canadiens stymie Capitals to force series-deciding Game 7 (Go, Caps!)
• Good times and riches
  And son of a bitches
  I’ve seen more than I can recall…
• Ben Heine’s pencil drawing-photo hybrids

Namaste.

Monday – 26 April 2010
Last night was our first night sleeping at the house. It made sense to sleep there as (almost) all of our stuff is there now… including/especially the bed. It wasn’t the most sound sleep I’ve ever had – I woke up a few times, for no reasons that I’ve been able to discern – but it is nice to be out of the shadow of the pending move.

Now comes the “Where did I put the [fill-in-item-name]…?!” portion of the move.

And figuring out what kind of desk I want.

Stray Toasters

• I spoke with the parental units yesterday; they are doing well. After mentioning the work I want to do in the basement at the house, I think that I have volunteered to finish my mother’s basement. We’ll have to see how that works out…
• Ms. Nyx forwarded a couple of interesting items:
  • Antwone Fisher: What guys need to know to be men
  • Hong Kong architect turns shoebox apartment into 24 rooms
• Amy sent a link to Stephane Halleux’ artwork.
• I found a CD I’d been missing for the past couple of months… in my trunk. *facepalm*
• 
• Sony to end floppy disk production, by way of
• From the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Man Goes to ER after One ‘Wicked’ Sandwich
• As Lost Ends, Creators Explain How They Did It, What’s Going On
• I missed the NFL Draft. All of it.
• Blood glucose meter attaches to Nintendo DS
• By way of : The police get involved in the lost iPhone case

Quote of the Day
Today’s QotD actually comes in two parts, both of which are courtesy of Anne (one of the graduating MFAs from SaraRules’ program) to two other MFAs:

1. You need Jesus. Or a midol and a snickers. Whichever.
2. There really is only one way to give a PowerPoint presentation in your senior capstone class: still drunk.

…right on to the friction of the day.

Namaste.

Sunday – 25 April 2010
The deed is done.
We’re officially residing in the new house.

And, I’m still without Interwebs at home.  Yeah.  I know. The basic story breaks down something like this:

Steve, the tech arrived about 1615 this afternoon. He went to the junction box on the street and then came back into the house, saying: “I have some bad news…”

It appears that there isn’t a line running from the box to the house. That’s not to say that there isn’t a conduit running from the box to the house – there is.  Steve said that it looked like someone had been trenching in the yard and just… pulled the line back down the conduit.

::: blink blink :::

So, Steve called the Comcast Mothership and had them set up a “pre-bury” plan. Basically, they’re going to come out, dig up a section of yard – and possibly the sidewalk – and drop a brand new line.

Installation date: 10 May 2010

That’s right. Two weeks out.

*grblsnrkx*

Oh, well. At least I’ll be able to get A LOT of unpacking and organizing done.

And, there’s possibly a trip or two to The Garden of Sweden in there, too. I need a new desk, after all.

Anyway… If anyone needs to contact me after working hours, phone or text me. Or just wait for me to respond via email/IM the next business day.

But, at least we’re in the house.

Until tomorrow.

Namaste.

Saturday – 24 April 2010
It’s the weekend and it’s going to be chock full of stuff. SaraRules was working at the “Kids in the Kitchen” event at Discovery Gateway this morning. I am in the middle of running a tournament. And, we have a wedding reception this evening.

On top of all of that, there’s that whole “move” thing tomorrow, too.

Yep. As weird as it might be to say: I’ll be glad when this weekend is in the rear view.

Stray Toasters

• After yesterday’s call from a Comcast tech, I was hopeful – yet apprehensive – about actually having the service restored at the apartment last night. There was no service. *meh* I called Comcast to see what was up. Amber, the CSR I spoke with, informed me that they could get service restored at the apartment… but that I would have to cancel the connection order for the house – which is scheduled for tomorrow. The soonest that they would be able to reschedule the house connection: Wednesday or Thursday. O,o So… I told Amber not to do anything – leave the house connection scheduled for tomorrow and I’d just go without TV and Interwebs.  Hopefully, they’ll adhere to this schedule. In the words of Sting: “Tomorrow we’ll see…”
• 
• My Food Looks Funny
• Full face transplant a success
• WorldWorksGames has just released the update to their TerrainlinX Planner.
• Disney announces Monsters, Inc. sequel
• Screamsheet, a cyberpunk zine from 1988

That’s good for now.

Namaste.

Friday – 23 April 2010
I am very glad that it’s Friday, even though it’s my “on” Friday. And it’s my week with The Leash.

Last night, I am not sure if I had my NBN Thursday ruined or not: When I got home from work, the cable was out. I didn’t worry too much about it, as I needed to pack a few things and it was good to not have the distraction. After I packed the items away, I flipped open the BlacIntosh to check something online. No go, Flight.

*blink blink*

I tried the TV again. No signal. I put the boxes in the car and headed to the house. When I got there, I decided to call Comcast to see what was going on. The first sign that there was something amiss came when the IVR said that I had a zero balance on the account. I knew that this was wrong, as I hadn’t yet paid the bill. So, after dialing through the menu, I got to talk to an actual person. After making his way through the details he found the problem:

Our disconnect order went through yesterday, sometime after SaraRules had gone to work.

This was the precise issue that I had been hoping to avoid. In fact, I asked the CSR I spoke with a few days ago – more than once – to verify that it wouldn’t happen.

::: grblsnrkx :::

Granted, we won’t be at home a lot over the next 48 hours, but when we are there, it would be nice to have TV and Internet access. Just sayin’. So, I asked if they could reconnect the service. The CSR said sure and then checked for the first available date. He found one: 27 April 2010. There was only one (slight) problem with this: We’re moving on 25 April 2010.

::: braincramp :::

New-CSR said that he’d leave a message for the morning dispatcher to see about expediting the issue. I was supposed to hear back a little after 0800 this morning. It’s now a little after 1000. I got tired of waiting, so I called them.  And I have an answer: It appears that we will be service-free at the apartment until we move, because they would have to issue a reconnection service ticket to have us hooked back up. And the earliest date possible for that: Monday. *sigh* This isn’t making my choice to return to DirecTV later this summer any more difficult, I have to say. And, now I’m even contemplating a transfer of Internet service, as well. And, I’m not-so-oddly reminded of a lyric from Neurotica, by Rush:

The world is a cage for your impotent rage
But don’t let it get to you

Too late. It’s gotten to me. But, I did at least have the foresight to agree to have a “Customer Satisfaction Survey” call back, this time. It may be just a bunch of button pushing or talking to yet another IVR, but at least I’ll get some of the irritation of this situation off my chest.

Stray Toasters

• MarknTyme pointed out: ‘This Looks So Broadway’: Tim Gunn Critiques Superhero Costumes, which I think that SaraRules should check out.  This is entertaining for a number of reasons, not the least of which include:
  • It combines my interest in comics with SaraRules’ interest in fashion.
    (It’s always nice to find things that combine our respective likes.)
  • It combines my love of comics with my affinity for Tim Gunn.
  • And, it includes the following: “It looks like a bad hooker at Hallowe’en,” Tim Gunn on Halle Berry’s Catwoman costume.
• Complaint: Pa. policewoman sent home for dyed hair
• 
• I was going to post a video of Salt N Pepa’s Shake Your Thang, but the embedding was disabled. So, you’ll just have to go here and get your Friday morning groove on.
• By way of Peggy and the “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot…?!” file: Blame Cleavage: Why Networks Rejected Plus-Size Lingerie Ad (Updated)
• At 1035, I got a call from a Comcast tech: Apparently, we’ve had our service reconnected.
  I really wish that “Hand A” would let “Hand B” know what it’s doing.
• Tony Stark Facts
• City of Heroes is about to celebrate its 6th Anniversary.



• Henge Docks for MacBooks
• CenturyTel to Buy Qwest for $10.6 Billion, by way of

On with the show…

Namaste.