MUDGE’s Musings
As an addendum placed at the end of the previous post, yr (justifiably) humble svt mentioned that Comcast had prevented timely daily posting because service, at least at MUDGEville, had been interrupted for 32 continuous hours this week.
Shortly after that post had been published, our connection, which had reappeared at 7:00am as randomly as it had disappeared two nights before, again disappeared.
The Comcast customer service protocols between the three calls that have been placed in the past few days were strangely different, but I really don’t have the patience to rehash — we all have our call center horror stories. At least all of these were domestic facilities.
The third call, though, was so refreshingly different, with so little harassing “protocol” compared to the first two, that I wondered whether I had reached the same company. Upon reflection, perhaps I reached a different outsourced call center. What a positive difference! While I hope never have to make another call to Comcast (except to cancel!), my reality ballcap tells me that of course I will! When I do, I can fervently hope that it goes to “Thomas.”
As I write this post, a technician has just called to confirm that someone will arrive here at Casa MUDGE sometime in the next three hours. We can only hope that our cable issues resolved and service restored. The fact that you are reading this, faithful reader, with a posting date of May 23, 2008, will confirm that success.
Meanwhile, I once again have begun exploring options.
Not easy when a monopoly exists in our municipality for cable access. One, by the way, that I testified against before our City Council almost 30 years ago before the monopoly franchise was awarded to Comcast’s predecessor company. That was like spitting into the wind. Sigh.
And telephone line delivered service is not only substantially slower (Speakeasy’s own speed test yesterday during the 14 hours we had cable modem service showed over 16Mbs download speed!), but has been historically impossible to access due to our distance from the telco’s central office. It’s how we ended up with cable 10 years ago when we upgraded from dial-up in the first place.
Endorsement that this distance impairment condition still maintains is evidenced in the lack of follow-up to yesterday’s on-line inquiry regarding DSL by said Speakeasy, otherwise lavishly praised by a technician coworker whose opinions on such issues are gold. Of course, he works out of Boulder, Colorado. Sigh.
Some form of WiFi would be in order, but doesn’t seem to be on offer in this locality.
So, while replacing Comcast cable TV service in favor of satellite (as a monopoly, to no one’s surprise but to this correspondent’s growing dismay, Comcast has steadily raised prices while eliminating the most attractive “extended basic” channels) would be a highly beneficial bonus to switching out their Internet service, it would appear that I remain stuck.
Today has been a vacation day. A day that ordinarily would have found me cheerfully surfing away, gathering data and information and herbs and spices for the makings of today’s post.
A day which rather has been spent in the world outside my home office, never a terribly bad thing in and of itself, but sitting in traffic (don’t these mobs of people also pay $4.129 per gallon?) and wandering the concrete plains at Costco (with my damaged Achilles, concrete floors hurt) is hardly vacation day paradise.
But most of all, it has been a mandatory but not-required-here demonstration of the value of the always available Internet connection. I hate news delivered by television and radio, but today there’s no other available.
Caught up on a bit of said news, as well as what email there was on a quiet pre-holiday, via the office BlackBerry. Surfing the web on a screen 2-1/4″ x 1-1/2″ screen is better than not at all, but only just.
Being cut off from the blogosphere for so long this week has been obnoxious. Took someone’s cutesy survey a few weeks ago that reported that I was about 57% addicted to blogging. This week shows that number was way too optimistic. Sigh.
Thus this further word about process, as an inadequate substitute for the less personal but more relevant news-based commentary that we would prefer to be doing, and that you probably would prefer to be reading.
Anyone with a useful input regarding a realistic alternative to Comcast available to a residential installation in north suburban Chicago, Illinois, please let me know, via comment or email (you’ll find our address in the sidebar).
You’d be performing a public service to the blogosphere; you really can’t have enjoyed reading the rant.
Of course, if Comcast keeps up their substandard ways, increased ranting quantity might lead to an increase in ranting quality. Sigh.
Such as establishing an antithesis to MUDGE’s Blogging Process Hall of Fame that has graced this site over the months.
Comcast, welcome to MUDGE’s Blogging Process Hall of Infamy. You’re at No. 1 with a bullet.
It’s it for now. Thanks,
–MUDGE
Left-handed Complement 
As far as rants go, that sir, was one of the most eloquent, succinctly to the point, in your face polite, non-profane, multi-point, variable topic rant that I have read in a while. Kudos. And to “Thomas”, great work! =)
Thanks, David, for the lavish words. Guess you caught me on a good day! Like your work also!
[…] the 3-1/2 weeks since our previous Comcast disappointment, our monopoly ISP has been behaving itself. Of course, we were away during most of the past week […]