Cleaning House and Cable
So today, we cleaned the house making it look fairly decent. At least decent enough for the Comcast cable guy to come back and install the other room outlets like I had asked him to a week ago. As we live in student housing, when the cable guy arrived the first time, he did not want to drill into the wall without explicit written permission from the main student housing office; and at the time, I did not want to get dressed and try and convince this guy, who was obviously in a tremendous hurry, to wait about half and hour while I sorted things out. A day later, when I mustered the required mental and emotional resources to deal with the hassle, I got the required permission from the college, called the cable company back, and complained. Turns out the first cable guy was not an official company person, but a contractor. This explains why he was in such a hurry to get out of here and do other work. He was probably working on comission.
And that's not all. I have a separate Internet package with the same company, and installing the modem myself has been a pain in the neck. Although I've done everything correctly, the Internet will only work occasionally. You're taking your chances at our place if you really want to be on the Net. Right now, it's more of an Inter-not! So, tomorrow, I will wait for another cable (modem) guy to figure out what the heck is going on. As near as I can figure, the problem is an inordinate amount of FCC type of interference. Why else would the thing work better at night. Coincidentally, there are less wavy lines in the TV programs at night as well. And I'm stumped where the possible interference could be coming from. I've imagined everything from cable theives tapping into our line here at home to some student operating a HAM radio in his apartment trying to conduct conversations with China. Hey, it could happen. We'll see what happens this afternoon.
Update: Well, the hassle continues. The cable guy could not install the outlets for a reason I only half understand. The guy who was here a few minutes ago told me that he could do what I wanted for a whole lot more money. To say that I'm frustrated by the whole cable process is an extreme understatement. I hate feeling like I'm paying for a service that I don't receive. Why do corporations think that they can do this?
And that's not all. I have a separate Internet package with the same company, and installing the modem myself has been a pain in the neck. Although I've done everything correctly, the Internet will only work occasionally. You're taking your chances at our place if you really want to be on the Net. Right now, it's more of an Inter-not! So, tomorrow, I will wait for another cable (modem) guy to figure out what the heck is going on. As near as I can figure, the problem is an inordinate amount of FCC type of interference. Why else would the thing work better at night. Coincidentally, there are less wavy lines in the TV programs at night as well. And I'm stumped where the possible interference could be coming from. I've imagined everything from cable theives tapping into our line here at home to some student operating a HAM radio in his apartment trying to conduct conversations with China. Hey, it could happen. We'll see what happens this afternoon.
Update: Well, the hassle continues. The cable guy could not install the outlets for a reason I only half understand. The guy who was here a few minutes ago told me that he could do what I wanted for a whole lot more money. To say that I'm frustrated by the whole cable process is an extreme understatement. I hate feeling like I'm paying for a service that I don't receive. Why do corporations think that they can do this?
07 July 2004
Comments:
Geez, don't take it so personally dude. The fuzzy cable thing and the lack of internet turned out to eventually be a problem with a junction box down the street. At least that's what they told me later.
As for my blog post, I felt that I was complaining about the red tape that comes with every business and student group that I've had to interact with during my time here. I recognize, even at the time, that the individuals involved--from the Comcast guys to the students in the housing office--were doing their best.
It wasn't the people but the system that was getting to me. I assume that you work in the cable industry in some way. Don't let the customers get to you so much. They're just people too.
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As for my blog post, I felt that I was complaining about the red tape that comes with every business and student group that I've had to interact with during my time here. I recognize, even at the time, that the individuals involved--from the Comcast guys to the students in the housing office--were doing their best.
It wasn't the people but the system that was getting to me. I assume that you work in the cable industry in some way. Don't let the customers get to you so much. They're just people too.
