Comcast, oh how I loathe thee

Well, after several attempts to spend my hard earned money on an over-priced ($169.00 USD, up significantly from last year and the 2003-04 price with no early bird special or 'Thank You Fans' discount - I think I know where the increased revenue is coming from this season to increase the salary cap for next year) were met with retarditude, as one good buddy who has tangled extensively with the cable goliath noted, I managed to get through to an account service executive with a level of competency of someone who is actually paid usable currency to answer the phone on behalf of a major media corporation. Thanks Tiffany. And no, I don't want to sign-up for your phone service.

[ RANT ] : The first few people I talked to willfully lied in a variety of ways; Comcast doesn't offer this product, It isn't available yet because Comcast isn't broadcasting "pregames" (at least get the jargon right you dope!) so check back later in the week. Is your job that bad that you purposefully make shit up to not help people? Do you really want to screw your boss' numbers up that bad? How archaic are internal systems that you can't even research product availability? Is there zero accountability on the limb of the phone tree dedicated to adding and deleting services? Wouldn't it be great if an employee identification number was electronically given to you before the "executive" picked up the line so you could call back and complain? Sorry, didn't mean to lapse into a utopian vision of a 'modern capitalist developed world'.

Cable pisses me off in general because I don't have a choice between cable companies. No choice, ergo no competition, ergo no incentive to improve product or service, ergo shitty product and service. I'm left to the luck of the draw as to which non-responsive vacuum hose into my wallet has a contract in my neighborhood. From my point of view, that is the definition of a monopoly. Or an oligarchy because I suppose to I could use satellite. But I'm not going back to DSL or dial up as an ISP. So I'm stuck. If only Rogers and Time Warner or whoever could simultaneously compete for my cable dollars. Alas, the individual consumer is relegated to a dot on a graph of a larger market economy. [ /RANT ]

Now that I have fought my way through the retarditude to successfully overpay for a sub-standard product I might even have something insightful or nervous to say related to on-ice activity. Check back on Sunday. UPDATE - Comcast executives actually did get something right; the new high-priced Center Ice package is not broadcasting pre-season games.

And if you have missed JFJ's blog, it is has been great so far; consistent posts on varying topics revealing more information than the dailies. A real eye-opener for all the JFJ haters. Bowen chimes in today on Johnny Pohl, a day after JFJ essentially gave his pet-project his blessing to be a Leaf this season, saying he is a guy who disproves the adage 'good guys finish last.'

Links on the right - >