\n(Sorry for the delay but I was just out walking my rat and seem to have lost my way\u2026) -Robert<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/em><\/p>\n <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong> <\/strong>Everyman<\/strong><\/h2>\n Yeah, that\u2019s who we are.<\/p>\n You were thinking when you started reading my first article that this was about how to do an upgrade. In Texas, we have a word for folks like you – \u201cEl Stupido\u201d.<\/p>\n No. Absolutely not<\/em>.<\/p>\n This has all been about railin\u2019 against the man and keepin\u2019 my<\/em> money in my<\/em> pocket. It\u2019s about righteous indignation\u2014ours. All of ours<\/p>\n It is <\/em>about the fat lineman, slaving day in and out, for the good of all. Smart, quiet, humble. Over and over, taking vicious blows for no glory at all. Left out there in oppressive heat doing battle because the Head Coach is an idiot<\/em><\/strong>. Or maybe the QB is a pretty boy that can\u2019t make a decision. Or how about when your Halfback is afraid of taking on that big, mean Defensive End?<\/p>\n It\u2019s when you\u2019ve been out there for 37 of the last 44 minutes, and by the Grace of God, been able to stop them all but once. But you know that you\u2019re done. Pain is everywhere and indescribable. The only thing dripping faster than the sweat from your brow is the blood from your nose. Your heart feels like it\u2019s going to explode and you\u2019re sure your lungs are two sizes too small.<\/p>\n When you watch the offense break from their huddle and begin to turn toward you there is a flash of fear\u2026<\/p>\n (I got nuthin\u2019 left\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n and the muscles in your legs feel like they\u2019re full of sand. You look left and right, and in doing so catch the eyes of some damned fine men who look worse than you feel, and that\u2019s all it takes.<\/p>\n (Fine. Bring it on pal. Yeah, you may kick my\u00a0butt<\/em>. And if it ain\u2019t you, then it\u2019ll be your Guard. And if it ain\u2019t him, then it\u2019ll be that damnable Fullback with his running start. Whatever. But I WILL make you pay for it. Before this ends, I will teach you ALL of the PAIN that I FEEL!)<\/em><\/p>\n And then three big \u2018ole boys grind you into the dirt. The only teachin\u2019 that got done was the physics lesson that velocity can only overcome just so much mass. And you was the student.<\/p>\n But that was also all it took. Screw-up or not, 3 on 1 here means 0 on 1 somewhere else.<\/p>\n And everybody<\/em> just loves it when the fat lineman makes a touchdown. Particularly the guy that just had about eight-hundred pounds drive him into the ground.<\/p>\n So pal if you\u2019re anything like me\u2014well, sit back and put your feet up \u2018cause this Bud\u2019s for you\u2026<\/p>\n Quick survey\u2014How many just heard nails on a chalkboard, and how many felt like they were chewing aluminum foil?<\/p>\n Comcast is one of those names that\u2019ll do it to ya\u2019. Obscene profits for a crappy product and even crappier (is that a word?) service. Makes a man wish he\u2019d gotten in on the ground floor.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the story\u2026<\/p>\n Before last Christmas I\u2019d decided there was a better way than to have a TV and cable box in every room of my house. (I\u2019ll be honest with ya\u2019, it was a partially won battle\u2014nowhere as good as I did on the flower bed.)<\/p>\n The cable boxes are always on, as you know. (And with kids, so are the TV\u2019s.) So I had a total of five boxes, four CRT\u2019s, and one DLP. Sooooooo\u2026.<\/p>\n Google, Google, Google,<\/em><\/p>\n Read, Read, Read,<\/em><\/p>\n And I stumbled across this fellow who used a Mac mini as an HTPC (should that be HTAM for Home Theatre Apple-Macintosh?).<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019d like to throw the dude a bone here, but I can\u2019t remember his site. But he was drinking Scotch, and a good one at that (albeit with ice)- Macallen, IIRC, and had a black Labrador Retriever (I think). IOW- a man\u2019s <\/em>man. Obviously single (ice, after all), nevertheless, apparently well bred and educated. If anybody knows the site, please pitch in.<\/p>\n Instead I\u2019ll link to the TUAW guys<\/a>. I like them. Good got some reading as well.\u00a0(\u2018Course here\u2019s the part where Grant freaks\u00a0if I don\u2019t link to OWC, so here ya\u2019 go<\/a>.)<\/p>\n [Editor\u2019s Note: I\u2019ll go you one better, and direct you to <\/em>where we tell you how you can do it yourself<\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s a couple of years old, but still valid.]<\/em><\/p>\n And when I came up with gettin\u2019 that monster Panny plasma (that has been turned on maybe a dozen times this year- really just for SuperBowl\u2019s, guests, etc.) fed by a MacMini thru ElGato\u2019s HDTV tuner, and my son\u2019s iMac with another HDTV tuner feeding everyones iPhones and iPads I then got to send two CRT TV\u2019s and one DLP TV to be recycled (or somewhere. Don\u2019t know, don\u2019t care. Just glad they\u2019re gone.), and four cable boxes back to Comcast.<\/p>\n Point is, I wanted to save some bucks. Or at least not sweat as much. And I think I did pretty good too. You can do the math if you want, I don\u2019t\u2014I think things kinda speak for themselves.<\/p>\n Once when everything seemed to be going along pretty good\u2026 TRAGEDY! Yes, we were having spotty internet outages. I know what you\u2019re thinking, \u201cwhat\u2019s that got to do with all that TV stuff?\u201d, right? Well, as Comcast has been rolling out its HDTV, I\u2019ve been trying to move my family off cable TV. Why? Because all of Comcast\u2019s stuff is encrypted which negates having my ElGato HDTV Hybrid, with the exception of what they are forced to carry because it\u2019s local OTA (over-the-air) broadcasting. Well, that and that they\u2019re just a bunch of pirates.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not really a TV family. My daughter likes to watch SpongeBob at breakfast and when she gets home with a snack. Bubba likes watching football. Cathy likes Dexter & Criminal Minds. But between work, school, homework, cheer, etc., it\u2019s not like any of us has any real time to just sit and watch TV. Seriously, I\u2019ve got the most time and I\u2019m a bloomin\u2019 Doctor forgodssake<\/em>.<\/p>\n But these daily outages were interfering with the kids and their Netflix and Hulu. And boy, you don\u2019t want to mess with my kids when they want to watch \u201cMalcolm in the Middle\u201d. Trust me, over-the-air just won\u2019t do\u2026<\/p>\n Military Intelligence. ObamaCare. Comcast Service, (feel free to add your own here\u2026)<\/p>\n So I\u2019ve got seven days off straight, school ain\u2019t started yet, and we were thinking of flying to Florida for a little holiday (one of the advantages of the trophy Flight Attendant wife), and guess when Comcast sets the appointment? Yup.<\/p>\n \u201cNot so hard,\u201d you\u2019re thinking, \u201cjust reschedule.\u201d Uh-uh, it don\u2019t work like that. Our schedules are two months in advance. So I took what I could get.<\/p>\n Let me just cut to the chase here\u2026 over a course of three weeks- five confirmed appointments, and five \u201cNo Shows\u201d.<\/p>\n After the first NS, I was decidedly \u201cpeeved\u201d to say the least. Particularly when I was assured by Customer (Dis)Service people that I\u2019d been called and informed of the cancellation.<\/p>\n You see, with my Mac (with Parliant\u2019s<\/a> \u201cPhone Valet\u201d) answering my home phone and an iPhone that never leaves my side, I\u2019d caught them trying to blow some smoke\u2014and busted them on it. Therefore, from the first no-show, I began documenting all online chats and recording all telephone calls.<\/p>\n Any of you out there in the Customer Service game? Well, those who are from Comcast will tell<\/em> ya\u2019 the most important thing is to make the customer feel that they are important to you and that you empathize with their feelings. But the truth<\/em> is that you\u2019d be hard pressed to make it sound like you would care if they and theirs were wiped off the face of the planet when you hung up. You don\u2019t care\u2014your job is simply to make a minimum of eight people per hour think that you do\u2014no more. Scheduling service calls is actually someone else\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n OMG! There was so much false empathy I\u2019d wished at times I could\u2019ve physically crawled through the telephone line & popped that empathetic prats\u2019 head like an over-ripe zit. Every other word was \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u201d. At one point, I think I even offered to stay on my cell phone and drive to the call center so they could apologize for Comcast in a more \u201cpersonal\u201d fashion (They assured me this wasn\u2019t necessary. Whew! I felt so muuuuch better about that!)<\/p>\n But I still wondered what would happen if the call center people weren\u2019t able to make their eight customers per hour. What would happen if they weren\u2019t able to process even one call in an hour? What would happen if they weren\u2019t able to process even one call at all?<\/p>\n You see, the customer service agents aren\u2019t allowed to hang up on the customer- you have to hang up on them. And that includes their online chat.<\/p>\n I\u2019d love to print all the transcripts here, or link to the audio of the four hour long phone conversation, but the guys over at OWC say that\u2019s a big ol\u2019 can of worms they don\u2019t want to open up. My favorite part is where I demonstrate on audio the outcome of a healthy post prandial gastrocolic reflex (additionally stimulated by a stout dose of nicotine and caffeine) while phone conferencing with my four newfound Comcast friends\/managers. Truly a movement\u2026 err\u2026 moment, to be remembered. And it seemed also to provide extra motivation on Comcast\u2019s part to more urgently provide some\u2026 ah\u2026 relief… from the\u2026 umm\u2026 impasse, that we found ourselves in. I could go on forever\u2026(smile)… and at the time, I was quite willing to.<\/p>\n Well, I think when they finally understood that I was prepared to sit on them all night if pressed (Cathy was home\u2014I figured we could do it in shifts if needed) they decided to go ahead and contact someone from Corporate – something they said was \u201cimpossible\u201d not not twenty minutes earlier.<\/p>\n So the Area Vice President at Comcast Cable had the technician at my house 10 minutes after he left the conference call. No kidding. T-E-N. Like OS Ten. Or that Malcolm “By Any Means Necessary” Ten dude. You\u2019da thunk their guy was just down the street having dinner or something\u2014oh wait, he was.<\/p>\n Anyway that\u2019s \u201cKen Hamilton\u201d, the Area Vice President at Comcast Cable. If you\u2019re having any unresolved issues feel free to call him at 281-93X-XXXX.<\/p>\n (Seriously\u2026 did you really think\u2026 Jeesh- c\u2019mon, I may be <\/em>a bit twisted<\/em>, but I\u2019m not cruel.)<\/em><\/p>\n Think, it\u2019s all about the bucks. And that they\u2019re better at taking our bucks than we are at keeping them. I mean, didn\u2019t you initially sign up with a really great deal with your cable provider? And where are you now? I\u2019ll bet your paying more now for services you don\u2019t use. When did you last watch LMN, ION, or We. The Tennis Channel?<\/p>\n Worse still, they rent you a cable box for each TV at $5 per month. The four of mine sucked in about 120 watts\/hr. For 24 hours each and every day. And I will do the math here. It\u2019s 2,880 watts. And that\u2019s about double what it takes one of those new-fangled, Energy Star washing machines.<\/p>\n (You know\u2026 the new ones. Yeah, the ones you have to run twice because they\u2019re so crappy at cleaning clothes when compared to my old Kenmore with the agitator tub. That\u2019s right, the ones our Gummint and all the Tree Huggers forced on us. Yeah, I think so too. But I will say this\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n TAKE A BATH YOU DAMNED HIPPIE!)<\/em><\/p>\n Sorry, a bit tangential there.<\/p>\n And the cable boxes aren\u2019t necessary. A simple $4 PCMCIA card built into each TV could solve the problem. (Betcha didn\u2019t know that!) But why encrypt to start off with?<\/p>\n Well, how \u2018bout the DMCA?<\/p>\n Umm, that means Hollywood. You know, (stupid) Rich People each with carbon footprints the size of a developing nation. Like Babs, Ashton Krutch(something), and that Jeff Spicoli kid.<\/p>\n So we\u2019ve got Comcast raping us to support the people who tell us not to eat meat because cows fart so much it\u2019ll raise the sea level. And this would be all so frakkin\u2019 hilarious if it also weren\u2019t true. But it is, dear God, it is.<\/p>\n And really, who is to blame?<\/p>\n You are<\/em>, you moron! You voted these people into office!<\/p>\n You had the opportunity to fix things, and what happened? You fired all of the people that had the smarts to figure out how to fix our environment (NASA) and leaned back to drink the Kool-Aid with Angelina Jolie.<\/p>\n (Well, yes, I might. I mean, if I ever had the chance and I knew no one would ever find out. And not without a gram of Valtrex, Zithromax, Ceftin, and Ritonavir beforehand and three raincoats during.)<\/em><\/p>\n Worse, you took all of our money to payoff the house notes of California and New York (and didn\u2019t we already bail them out once?). I vote we cut our losses and drop back to just 48. OK, 47\u2014you just can\u2019t get anyone in Hawaii to work either.<\/p>\n Not tangential\u2014you just gotta follow\u2026<\/p>\n You see, \u201cStupid\u201d has got to end somewhere and our margins are so thin we gotta find it and cut it out like a cancer NOW. Problem is that about 30% of Americans are incurably stupid, and we\u2019ve got about another 40% riding the fence.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s one whopping tumor\u2026<\/p>\n So what do we do? We\u2019re outnumbered badly, and remember\u2026 stupid breeds and stupid votes.<\/p>\n Two words: \u201cGet involved.<\/a>\u201d It requires work on your part. Assume all information acquired is suspect. Grade the data on strength. Seek the counsel of educated but disinterested parties. Make an independent decision.<\/p>\n Just pick something. Anything that interests you and that you think will help, and jump in.<\/p>\n The State of Texas has some good wind energy and solar programs but zip for geothermal. Apparently the guys in Austin (flush twice\u2014it\u2019s a long way) think geothermal is all about hot water (easy to see, knowing that they\u2019re all full of hot air). Would it have been that<\/em> hard to include in the legislation allowances for other processes based in good science or future events?<\/p>\n Me? I just want to let people know that for those of us living along the Texas Gulf Coast that we are sitting on top of miles and miles of Lake Charles clay capable of absorbing huge amounts of heat that we produce for far less than what we are paying now.<\/p>\n I want to show people that we need to fundamentally change the way we think. I want architects to quit facing the refrigerator\u2019s condenser coil towards the middle of the house. I want the State to encourage albedo roofing<\/a>.<\/p>\n (Yeah, I know all about what Rush Limbaugh and Obama\u2019s cronies said about it, but that\u2019s got nothing to do with it. I want it done so the average Joe doesn\u2019t have to pay a huge electric bill for air conditioning.)<\/em><\/p>\n I want them to step up to companies like Comcast and say \u201cYou can keep your obscene profits and your crappy service, but since you can deliver your product to the home without the customer having to pay for an extra 5,000 watts a day (remember, it was 2300 watts at the wall and you still haven\u2019t air conditioned it yet!), you will\u2014and you won\u2019t <\/em>charge them for the stuff they don\u2019t want.\u201d I want the Feds to step up and say to them, \u201cYour rights stopped when the burden exceeded the benefit, so come up with a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n I want the guy at the Texas Railroad Commission to say \u201cpublic safety information and State resources are best available from the TV and internet\u2014so yes, that would make cable providers like Comcast a monopoly subject to State regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n I want all of us to treat the next guy as if he were the most important person in the world\u2014but never say it. I\u2019d like for bosses to say things like \u201cNo, you will never <\/em>get in trouble for calling me at home or doing what you think was right. If spending my money is the right thing to do\u2014I\u2019ll do it! But you may <\/em>get in trouble if you don\u2019t call me or if you fail to do what is right for my customer\u201d.<\/p>\n Most of all, I don\u2019t want to pay to be raped. There\u2019s a word for folks that provide those kinds of services, and they work at that shack outside La Grange<\/a>.<\/p>\n Railin\u2019 done.<\/p>\n So why not more about the Mac upgrade? How \u2018bout work, money and learnin\u2019.<\/p>\n First, I may have been premature thinking my 1,1 was on its last legs. But it is true that the bottom memory riser slot no longer works, and I\u2019ve tried everything. When I first thought this I went out and bought a MacPro4,1 case, backplane and processor card, and all the rest of the fixins that I thought I\u2019d need\u2014not want, but need<\/em>. Oh, and some processors.<\/p>\n Buildout is about to begin (when I\u2019ve finished all of the lapping). Problems to overcome again were the machining and mounting of the waterblocks, and something called Pulse Width Modulation. Oh, and there be a whole lotta waterblocks on this new girl, including some designs that I don\u2019t think even the PC Dweebs have seen before.<\/p>\n My metric for success here I plan on measuring in \u201cGeekBench<\/a> per dollar\u201d. Interested?<\/p>\n Having to expand the GHX as well because I\u2019ve found some more wattage looking for a dirt home, and trust me- 120 feet of one and a half inch nominal pipe ain\u2019t cheap (do the math- I dare ya!).<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also got to redesign the borehole equipment for the one and a half inchers, as I initially was planning on one inch pipe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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Comcast<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n
Comcast Service<\/h2>\n
OK Campbell, that\u2019s it\u2014ya lost me\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Pulling it together.<\/h2>\n
Get back on track, Campbell\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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