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DAMMIT (rant-- apologies in advance)
14 years ago
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, I'm so frustrated right now...
OK, so I know that I watch too much TV. It's way more important to me than it should be. I know this. But, whatever. It's my escape from reality, which tends to depress me. Some people abuse alcohol and drugs to forget about whatever it is that plagues them. Me? I abuse TV.
This past Wednesday night I was watching "Modern Family" when my TV signal suddenly cut out in the middle of the episode. This happens every so often (much too often, in fact). My signal will be gone for 20-30 seconds or so, and then it will come back. Afterwards, if you press the "Guide" button on the remote and bring up the little grid that's supposed to have all the shows, all the little spaces will say "To Be Announced", and over the course of a few hours, they'll fill back in with the show titles. I figured that this was due to some sort of 'refresh' signal being sent to my cable box by Comcast, but when I called them about it, they said that they had nothing to do with it and that it was probably a loose wire. How coincidental, then, that about 70%-75% of the times that this happens, it happens right at the top of the hour. 12:00, not 12:17. 4:00, not 4:38. I guess my 'loose wire' just tends to come loose right at the top of the hour. Because wires, like all inanimate objects, know how to tell time. Whatever, Comcast.
Anyway, so I missed my show. But I didn't get too bent out of shape about it because I noticed that ABC was scheduled to re-air it on Friday night. I had to go away for the weekend, but I set my DVR for it. Upon arriving home just a little while ago, I sat down to watch it, and I was happy as a clam. Suddenly, about halfway through the episode, the station cuts to a press conference about Terry Francona getting let go from the Red Sox. Guess what? I DON'T FUCKING CARE about that! I want to see the goddamn show I set my DVR for! Save the news for, oh, I don't know-- the NEWS, maybe? 'Breaking News' to me is not a press conference about something that's already been announced earlier that evening, about a subject that only certain people are going to give a shit about. 'Breaking News' is "Terrorists just destroyed the World Trade Center", or "Oh hey, there's a meteor on the way and it's going to kill us all".
Several of ABC's shows are offered on Comcast's 'On Demand' service, but of course, "Modern Family" isn't one of them. But hey, at least I can watch "Bachelor Pad", "Grey's Anatomy" or "Desperate Housewives". Oh, wait. I'm looking for something that will make me forget how much I hate the world.
And before anyone says it, no, I'm not interested in watching it online. I don't like to watch video online. Partly because I'm old school and like to watch television on the television, and partly because my computer doesn't handle it well. Stopping and starting every thirty seconds. It's more hassle than it's worth. Which pretty much describes how I feel about life right now.
Note: While I am truly upset about Comcast and ABC apparently working together to dash my hopes, don't take some of the more extreme statements in this post too seriously. I meant it to be a half-serious/half-comedic rant a la
belicbear. It's his fault, really.
OK, so I know that I watch too much TV. It's way more important to me than it should be. I know this. But, whatever. It's my escape from reality, which tends to depress me. Some people abuse alcohol and drugs to forget about whatever it is that plagues them. Me? I abuse TV.
This past Wednesday night I was watching "Modern Family" when my TV signal suddenly cut out in the middle of the episode. This happens every so often (much too often, in fact). My signal will be gone for 20-30 seconds or so, and then it will come back. Afterwards, if you press the "Guide" button on the remote and bring up the little grid that's supposed to have all the shows, all the little spaces will say "To Be Announced", and over the course of a few hours, they'll fill back in with the show titles. I figured that this was due to some sort of 'refresh' signal being sent to my cable box by Comcast, but when I called them about it, they said that they had nothing to do with it and that it was probably a loose wire. How coincidental, then, that about 70%-75% of the times that this happens, it happens right at the top of the hour. 12:00, not 12:17. 4:00, not 4:38. I guess my 'loose wire' just tends to come loose right at the top of the hour. Because wires, like all inanimate objects, know how to tell time. Whatever, Comcast.
Anyway, so I missed my show. But I didn't get too bent out of shape about it because I noticed that ABC was scheduled to re-air it on Friday night. I had to go away for the weekend, but I set my DVR for it. Upon arriving home just a little while ago, I sat down to watch it, and I was happy as a clam. Suddenly, about halfway through the episode, the station cuts to a press conference about Terry Francona getting let go from the Red Sox. Guess what? I DON'T FUCKING CARE about that! I want to see the goddamn show I set my DVR for! Save the news for, oh, I don't know-- the NEWS, maybe? 'Breaking News' to me is not a press conference about something that's already been announced earlier that evening, about a subject that only certain people are going to give a shit about. 'Breaking News' is "Terrorists just destroyed the World Trade Center", or "Oh hey, there's a meteor on the way and it's going to kill us all".
Several of ABC's shows are offered on Comcast's 'On Demand' service, but of course, "Modern Family" isn't one of them. But hey, at least I can watch "Bachelor Pad", "Grey's Anatomy" or "Desperate Housewives". Oh, wait. I'm looking for something that will make me forget how much I hate the world.
And before anyone says it, no, I'm not interested in watching it online. I don't like to watch video online. Partly because I'm old school and like to watch television on the television, and partly because my computer doesn't handle it well. Stopping and starting every thirty seconds. It's more hassle than it's worth. Which pretty much describes how I feel about life right now.
Note: While I am truly upset about Comcast and ABC apparently working together to dash my hopes, don't take some of the more extreme statements in this post too seriously. I meant it to be a half-serious/half-comedic rant a la
belicbear. It's his fault, really.