I Hate Comcast! (Again)

At this point in time, it's been about two weeks since my computer, cell phone, and phone started going wonky.

The phone is doing something that the phone, by itself is incapable of doing. At random, it starts making a loud beeping noise on my end. Sometimes, it is inaudible on the other end of the line. Sometimes everything is inaudible on the other end. If I ignore the beeping and try to explain to the person on the other end that my phone is malfunctioning, after a few seconds, the beeping starts going more quickly, and the volume escalates to the point that (even with my hearing problems) it sounds air-raid-siren loud when held at arms' length! It has caused me to levitate at least two feet straight up in the air, even when I'm expecting it!

The phone just does not generate those kinds of beeping noises. It's not constructed that way. It can't! The sound is coming from something that's not working right over my internet connection.

The cell phone (which I was using via WiFi) and the computer have precisely the same problem. They work fine if I'm not using the internet, but go wonky in the precise same way when on the internet. For instance, when I read an email and then hit "delete" usually, nothing happens.

I'm sure you're as surprised as I was when I realized that all three devices are connected to the internet, and Occam's razor says that it's the internet that's the problem. In other words, it's less likely that three devices malfunctioned at the same time (two of them in exactly the same way) than it is that something that was already malfunctioning (my internet connection) went further wrong.

I've spent most of my time on Monday, Tuesday and today trying to get this fixed, with no success so far.

When I called Comcast to alert them to the problem, I got their usual idiotic type of response. A perky, cheerful woman on the other end of the line asked me for my identifying information, and then chirped, "Well, your modem is working perfectly, and you're getting a great signal, so it must be your router!" Seconds later, I found myself talking to the manufacturer of my router.

Well, she might be right about the modem working well. It seemed to be working fine to me. Her assertion that I'm getting a good signal is a little more iffy. There have been at least 16 service calls trying to fix TV and cable, and about half of the repairmen have mentioned that I'm barely getting any signal at all in my apartment. So, I feel it's more accurate to say that they may be sending out a "great signal," but it's not arriving here.

Comcast had some people come out today to talk to the people who live in my apartment building. In spite of the fact that everyone in the building is having the same kind of problem, they really weren't here to help with that. They weren't here to help the last two times, either. They were here to sell us more "service!"

I did speak to someone about the problems of all the people who live here. They responded the way my mom would have.

If you gave my mom a problem, her policy was to give you two problems back! And they did that very well!

They wanted a phone number that they could use to talk to me about this. I explained that my phone isn't working because of the problem they caused, and they said they'd call the manager of the apartment building and get her to get in touch with me!

They didn't feel the need to contact me when they caused this problem. And believe me, they should have felt that need. During a one-year period, they had NO service for a total of enough hours to equal a month!

At this point, I'm seriously considering just having my service turned off as a cure.

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On top of all this, I got an email from TiVo yesterday, saying that I could get a premier TiVo box from them for $7 extra per month with a two year commitment. It sounded like a really good deal, and I ordered it.

Well, the woman I spoke to on the phone didn't really tell me anything that was not true on the phone (that I know of, anyway), but she did leave out a lot of information. A lot of information that turns the great deal that she made it sound like into something that I can't possibly do, and can't afford.

In spite of the fact that I mentioned to her that I only have one TV, and that I asked her about disconnecting the box I have and connecting the new one in it's place, and that I asked her about possibly using the old box at sometime in the future, when I might have a second TV. She neglected to mention that she was opening up a whole new line of service for me, but not canceling the old line of service. So, now I discover that I have a choice of either paying for TiVo service twice each month, or paying a $65 early termination fee! When I called to ask something, they explained it to me, after they'd already sent out the new box! They said that the person I spoke to should have told me that.

So, they've already charged me $21, and I'll also have to pay about $30 (the guy on the phone said) to return it. They'll refund my money (eventually), but I still have to put out the money up front.

Which has made me more angry than I would usually get due to all the other problems Comcast has been giving me.

I want to crawl into bed and sleep for the next week! I want to sit down and cry for a few days! I want to call Comcast on the phone and just cancel my internet access completely! I want to get a batch of donuts and eat them all! I want to go down to the local Comcast office and throw a screaming net fit! I didn't know it was possible to be this angry and also want to cry!

I'm so upset that I'm even considering getting Verizon DSL. I fully expect the service to be as bad as Comcast, but at least they're going to charge me $10 less per month for the bad service.

I'm also considering just cutting off internet service completely.

Forever!

And, as if all that weren't enough, there's nothing worth even bothering to turn on the TV to watch tonight.

I really hope you're having a better week than I am!

The Internet (or Maybe Comcast) Hates Me!

Actually, all communication with the outside world is having a big problem here.

My phone, my cell phone, and my computer all started having problems the other day. I've been trying to fix my phone, my cell phone, and my computer, and then it struck me that all of those three have one thing in common. They're all plugged into the internet.

Since Comcast has created nothing but problems for me with my TV connection, Occam's razor says it's probably them.

I am so fed up with Comcast! And they've made it practically impossible to even report the problem since all my communication seems to depend on them. I really have to find some other way to contact others! I've set my cell phone to not connect to the internet over WiFi, and it seems to be acting a bit better.

Holly says there's a way to reset everything on my phone to factory settings, but I can't find it anywhere or I would have tried it already.

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So, after spending a little time trying to get to my email today, I found a link to this in my inbox! If you click the link, you'll find that Craig Charles spilled the beans, and that there will be another six episodes of Red Dwarf! All I really know is what's on the web page, so I can't really comment except to say that it's the funniest thing I've ever seen on TV, even funnier than The Middleman, and that's saying something!

In with the same email, there was a link to a story about a new show called 17th Precinct, which will be a new science fiction show. Once more, I don't know anything except what's on the page from the link.

I saw a trailer for Medium on last night, and they said to tune in tonight for the series finale. I'm really sorry to see it go!

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Usually, the knitting content comes first, but this time it's last. Sorry, I'm struggling just to get something up here, and it's not easy.

I went to the library on Wednesday, and picked up a fairly new knitting book, Modern Top-down Knitting.



 It's got some really interesting things in it, and it's a must-have if you want to knit dresses from the top down. There are seven slim, pretty dresses in this volume, including the dress on the cover. There are a couple of cardigans and a few pullover sweaters, too.

All these things make sense for knitting from the top down. You can try on the dresses and sweaters and make changes as you go to make the garment truly fit you. That's the whole point of top-down knitting.

But there are a batch of other projects in here that don't make sense to be knitted from the top down, and some that aren't knitted from the top down at all. They're mostly accessories, and while some of them are nice, and I even love a few of them, I feel they should have been saved for another book, and the space they're taking up should have had some more top-down designs.

There's some knitted jewelry, including a ring, plus a belt and a wrap (which obviously can't be knitted from the top down) that are wonderful and innovative, but not top-down. There are some interesting hats, which don't benefit at all from being knitted from the top down. There's one hat which I'm not too enthusiastic about knitting, but would love to own in several colors! She uses pipe cleaners to stiffen the brim.

That's the Annie Hat from the book, the one with the pipe cleaners in the brim.

She also has a beautiful wrap, which is, once more, not top-down. I was going to show you a photo, but can't, due to computer problems.

The author, Kristina McGowan, obviously comes from a sewing background, and applies lots of designer detailing to her patterns. Some of it is useful and welcome, but some is just extra work for nothing. For instance, if you sew a skirt or dress, the hem is a raw edge unless you finish it with something. Hem tape or stretchy lace is great for this. It's really completely unneeded for the same purpose when finishing a skirt or dress that's knitted, though. Yes, it can be a pretty trim that nobody will ever see, but why bother?

She is also really big on binding off, adding a bit of crochet, and then picking up stitches and continuing. Once again, what is the point, except for make-work? Then again, you needn't do any of these except the ones that are actually needed for the design.

One thing I've noticed, is that some of the directions are shown right-handed, but a lot of the photos of sewing and crochet are shown and described for a left-handed person. I'm not sure why they're mixed up like that or if it was intentional, but that's the way it is.

 I'll try to keep posting, but if you don't hear from me for a while, it's because of the communication problems.

Have a wonderful weekend!