here. If you’re part of the ‘burb, please change your links to reflect the new location – journals and blogs are listed alphabetically by name. I ended up taking down about 100 listings because they hadn’t been updated in months (sometimes more than a year!) or didn’t have a GFY link on their main or links page. If you’re supposed to be on the list and you’ve been removed, be sure you’ve updated at least once in the last two months and have a GFY graphic or text link somewhere on your main or links page, and email me to rejoin.
I so rarely make the arbitrary deadlines I set for myself that I’m pleased as punch to have made this one.
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I believe that I mentioned yesterday or the day before that the DVR box had reached complete failure and all we could do was use the remote to change channels. We couldn’t even get the guide to come up, let alone record anything. The guy who came out Sunday was supposed to have a box with him but didn’t, and said someone would be out “Monday or Tuesday” with one. When no one showed up Monday, Fred called the service center and discovered that someone was scheduled to come to the house Tuesday between 5 and 8 pm. Which wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem except that the spud’s band had to play at a PTA meeting that night and we wouldn’t be home for at least part of that time. Fred rescheduled for Wednesday between 11 and 2, and so I was showered and presentable by 10, in case the cable guy showed up early.
I waited and waited and waited, doing various and sundry chores around the house, reading on the couch, flipping channels in the living room. I thought about eating lunch at 1, but I knew that sure as anything the moment I sat down to eat lunch he’d show up. When he still hadn’t shown up by 2:15, I ate lunch quickly, and as I was finishing, he showed up.
Do you suppose he had a DVR box on his truck? Why, no. No he did not. He told me that due to the high demand for the boxes only a few people were allowed to carry them on their trucks, and that furthermore, they (the cable guys and gals) weren’t allowed to have DVR boxes at home. This apparently bothered him a great deal, the not being allowed to have a DVR box (due to the high demand), because he went on to tell me that very same thing at least four times before the day was over.
Sounds like corporate logic, to me – cable guys having to service DVRs when they don’t know anything at all about them.
So he fiddle-farted around (as my mother would say), and got the box to FAIL and reboot for him, and after it rebooted the first time, it promptly rebooted itself twice more for no apparent reason, leading him to say “Well, let me check to be sure the signal’s coming through…”. The signal was coming through just fine (“Fives across the board”, whatever that means) and he spent ten minutes or so calling around to his boss and other cable guys in the area. It was determined that the closest cable guy with a box was on his way back to the office, and he’d meet the other cable guy (Tom) back at my house in about 45 minutes. Tom had two more jobs to do, so he decided he’d go do one of them and be back at the house in half an hour or 45 minutes. He left and I sat down at my desk to chat with
Nance and my sister. It had been maybe ten minutes when I looked out the window and saw two cable vans coming down the street. I said goodbye to Nance and Debbie, and waited for them to come to the door.
Ten minutes later, Tom finally knocked on the door, holding a DVR box. He went right into the living room and hooked it up, and we stood and watched, waiting for it to boot up and show us the magic. And waited and waited and waited. The box would half-boot, then flash “HDDF”, click, and turn off to start the whole shebang (“she bang! she bang!”) all over again. Tom called one guy, then another, then his boss, then a network specialist, and it was determined – guess what?! – the box was bad.
Finally – FINALLY – Fred got home from work, and I introduced him to Tom and left the whole mess in his lap. Fred commented that if the third box didn’t work, we’d get a regular cable box from Tom and buy a damn TiVo. Tom didn’t seem to think that that was a bad idea at all. He located someone who was willing to bring another box to the house and left to do one of the other jobs he had lined up.
Long story short – too late! – the third box works, and we have the magic of DVR in our house. I did manage to make the box freeze up and reboot last night, but it rebooted quickly and we didn’t have any problems after that. Thus far I’ve taped two episodes of
The Newlyweds, an episode of
Roseanne (I’m sorry, I just love that damn show to death), and this morning’s
Ellen Degeneres Show. I was going to tape
The O.C. last night but apparently you can only tape two shows at one time if you’re playing back a third, and I was more interested in taping
The Newlyweds and watching
The Bachelorette.
I am LOVING the DVR. Just so you know.
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The Bachelorette: Am I the only one who saw the look of frozen horror on Meredith’s face when Lanny’s Momma was talking about how she’d expect that Meredith would be a good christian girl and submit to her husband the way the bible said she should? Is anyone surprised that Lanny didn’t make it through to the next round? Because had it been ME, I would have held up my hand when Lanny’s Momma was going on and on and said “Yeah, I’m thinking this won’t work out. Lanny, you’re the hottest thing in jeans, but your Momma just got your ass kicked out. Buh-bye!”, and I would have run like hell. Did you notice the dead eyes on Lanny’s brother’s wife? When she said “Miz Lawrence likes to be involved in her sons’ lives”? Lordy. I’m sorry, but Lanny’s Momma creeped me out. Oh, and Ian! Am I the only one who laughed out loud when he said to his brother “I’ve never been emotional like this…”? Ha!
American Idol: Can I call it, or can I call it? Glad to see Diana and Fantasia go on, but Fantasia sounds so very much like Macy Gray that it’s almost distracting. I did like that cute like Marque and that cute little Matthew, though.
Survivor: Tonight! Whoo!
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What the kitties are doing this very moment:
Spot’s hanging out by the window in the master bedroom, watching traffic go by.
Spanky, snoozing in the cat bed on the big bed.
Miz Poo, trying to decide whether or not to smack that Bean.
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