The Ashimmy Blog

DirecTV Blood Sucking Scoundrels

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No company delivering services to consumers are perfect. But some are worse than others. Joining the list of companies that don’t deserve your business is DirecTV.  I guess they are really getting squeezed by the phone and cable companies because they are getting pretty cheap.

They came to my house and set up a new HD dish around Dec 1.  They charged me $199 for the HD DVR on top of the lease amount I pay every month for it (if I am leasing it, what was the $199 for anyway?).  Then around Feb 1 when I bought a new TV in another room in the house, they told me they would “save” me the install fee and just charge me another $199 fee for another box, that I could hook up myself. Again I pay a lease fee every month for that one too.

Now less than 60 days after I received the box I am getting an error that it is the wrong the satellite dish. Only in checking with them on the phone it is not the wrong satellite dish.  There might be something wrong with a switch they installed or the HD DVR themselves. They can’t fix it over the phone, they have to send someone out.

I told them sure send someone out. That’s when they hit you with the service fee.  So after paying a $199 for the box, a monthly rental plus the outrageous fees I pay for TV service, I should pay for them to fix their own equipment why?

I think it is time for cable. In speaking to the first rep she told me that DirecTV is better than AT&T and Comcast, “because after all those two are owned by the same company”. Is it any wonder they couldn’t fix my problem? 

The the supervisor Scott ID#41487 got on the phone and said here is my ultimatum: I could pay for the service or not have TV. Ultimatum? Really?  When I asked for his supervisor he says he works for the office of the President. Really? 

Well if anyone from the office of the President of DirecTV reads this, know this. The people you have manning your support lines only know how to read from a script and are obviously not very sharp, good customer support does not give customers ultimatums and you just lost a customer of 8+ years.  Way to go!

What do you hear about Comcast Xfinnity?

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The day the music died

Authors update: It really was a day the music died. Shortly after posting this article word came that Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital in LA.  Some time after that there are numerous reports and it it appears confirmed that he did in fact die today as well.  While his adult life was bizarre to say the least, you can't help feeling that his life over the last decade or more was tortured.  But whatever you want to say about the man, you cannot deny his musical talent. What a shame!

I was really saddened to read about Farrah Fawcett passing away today. Though we all new it was coming, the reality of it made me think back to my teen age years.  My family had finished our basement and my brother Kevn and I moved down there. We each had our own room. I was about 15 or so and thought it was so cool. I promptly set up a stereo, a huge record (yes vinyl ones) collection, a fish tank and these three posters:

They defined beautiful women for me.  In fact in many ways they still do. A little part of the teen ager still in me died with Farrah Fawcett today. My sympathies to her family and loved ones.  I guess now she truly is an angel.

Sign of the times

If you have any doubt that the gold rush is on for the millions, if not billions the US Government is going to spend on cybersecurity check out this commercial from Lockheed Martin I saw on CNN today:

Let the race begin!

A great show and a frakkin great ending

Well the new Battlestar Galactica was reincarnated by the scifi channel 4 or 5 years ago I admit it that I was intrigued.  I always felt the first BG series could have been a worthy successor to Star Trek, but Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and crew just made it another campy space opera. I thought maybe the scifi folks would do it justice.  Justice they did.  This version of the show was most certainly adult themed. Yes it was dark, yes there were lots of political commentary in the plot lines, but through all the twists and turns I kept watching it. 

At first it was about them finding Earth. Then they found earth, but it was dead.  At the end I realized for me it was more about the characters. Cylon and human had to learn to live together.  What was the science involved? What about the final 5? Who would find love and by happy?

Last night was the season finale. Not all of the questions were answered.  But they did find their own earth. Some people lived happily ever after, some didn’t. The overarching message for me was that God is still a mystery. That is the way it should be.  But overall this was a great TV series. One of the best scifi shows of all time. I will miss it on Friday nights, but they did a great job of wrapping it up.  Also I used to think the Soprano’s Journey song at the end of the series was the best use, but last nights Jimi Hendrix, All along the watchtower was very cool! Great frakking series!

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Does this make Mitchell Ashley the next "Chachi"?

OK, here is a little known fact about me.  When I was a little kid one of my favorite shows that I never, ever missed was Happy Days.  Yeah, thats right I loved Richie, Potsie, Ralph Mouth, Howard and Marion and the rest of the gang.  One of the things that was amazing about that show was like All in the Family, it gave birth to so many spin off shows.  Joanie loves Chachi is an obvious one.  Laverne and Shirley was another, and here is one you probably don't know, Mork and Mindy was actually a Happy Days spin off. 

Well today I am proud to link to the first "spin off" of the StillSecure, After all these years podcast.  Mitchell Ashley, my long time co-host has started up his own podcast on his Network World Microsoft SubNet blog.  Mitchell is taking the lessons learned on our podcast and is venturing forth on his own.  Here is the link to the podcast.  Good luck to Mitchell on the new show.  Of course I was smart enough to sign Mitchell to a long term contract to be my co-host (but not exclusive I guess), so he will still be doing our show together regularly.

We should be posting a new episode next week by the way.  Again, Good Luck Mitchell on the show! Now my only question is: if this makes Mitchell Chachi, does that mean I am the "Fonz"? Nah, no way. I was never that cool ;-)

The Clintons do the Sopranos

I saw this first on Fred Wilson's blog. I don't care whether you like Hillary and Bill or think they are the devil incarnate, you have to admit this video is just darn good marketing.  Not trying to be political, but you know how much I loved the Sopranos and just love that Bill and Hillary once again show why they are politicians for my generation.  You also have to love the cameo by none other than John "Johnny Saks" Sacramonti, the late don of the NY mob on the show .

Common Sense -Don't blackberry while you drive (Spoiler warning: don't read if you have not watched this weeks Soprano's yet)

This weekend I wrote about trying to regulate our stupidity.  Along those same veins comes a new law from the state of Washington, making it illegal to blackberry while driving. I read about this over at Mark Shavlik's blog.  Come on now, who has not checked their email while driving?  And which of the more adventurous of you have not tried to type back a response while driving as well?  I know, those red lights are never as long as you need them to finish, so you take off while in mid-word.  I did this the other night and looked up to see me driving squarely in the middle of the two lanes of the road I was on. I am lucky I did not wind up like Christopher Multasanti on last nights Sopranos episode (What made Tony do that?).   I don't know if making it illegal to blackberry will help and should we need to legislate against stupidity.  But maybe it will make me think twice the next time I pull out the PDA while waiting at a light.  Maybe you should do the same!

Authors note: I have edited this post to put up a spoilers warning. Sorry for not realizing not everyone watches it when it is originally on. I guess I am just not part of the Tivio generation!

Is it the media or us?

Here at the hotel in Colorado.  Usually I keep the TV on in the background in the hotel, while I work on the computer.  Had CNN on to try and stay up with the news.  I had to finally shut it off though.  I cannot take the Anna Nicole Smith coverage anymore.  It is a tragedy that her life ended up like this.  I feel sorry for her, her son and her surviving daughter.  I even feel sorry for the multitude of men how somehow claim paternity.  However, it is now going on a week after her death.  Why is CNN so fixated on this story?  Is it them or is it us?  If we did not watch this, they would get the message quick.  What kind of macabre curiosity do we possess that craves this kind of news.  Enough already.  So I changed the channel, to Dog the Bounty Hunter of course.  I guess it is time to read.