Category: listen up!

is it just me?, listen up!, music musings, politics, venting

a brief coulter note, band notes, and a few words about veteren benefits/care

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I was going to call this post, Tuesday whatnots, but I have read that you are supposed to be clear about what your posts are about, so there it is. Enjoy the lengthy url as well, won’t you? Alright, let’s get this party started, shall we?

Based on the response to Coulter’s stupidity, and complete ignorance about what gay people go through as children “on the school yard”, people are pulling their ads from her website. Perhaps what I want to happen will happen; people will stop putting her in front of a microphone and cameras, and her voice will die out. That would be the best that could happen, in my opinion; although, I do agree that one great thing she does, is make the conservatives look even crazier. Even so, I would rather her be gone, because most conservatives do a great job of being crazy on their own. So whether or not you agree with the use of the word (which, I don’t really think should be up for interpretation, but whatever), people are obviously responding, and that is good, in my opinion. Maybe she’ll wise up? I doubt it.

Basically, the band notes are just a shameless plug on bands that I have discovered, and have been enjoying a lot recently. No one commented on the Mat/Matt post, but I figure that my music tastes may not be for everyone (even though Mat K is insanely good, so you are missing out if you ignore it). Either way, I have laud praise where praise is due. Right now I am spinning the Kaiser Chiefs newest CD, Yours Truly, Angry Mob. I fell into it through the single “Ruby”, and I have to say, it is bloody good. I have never really payed much attention to Brit-punk rock, but I am liking this. Also, I think the lead singer is pretty cute. Another CD I can’t get enough of, is Kellie Pickler‘s CD, Small Town Girl. I don’t usually go for country, but it is flawless. I love her voice, and I think she is super cute (and you know you agree… she totally owns the ditzyness). I think that if this is the direction her career is headed, she has a successful future ahead of her. And just think… she wasn’t even in the top 4 of American Idol.

Other CDs I am IN LOVE with as of late: Lily Allen – Alright Still (LOVE her… seeing her on March 19th, and I can’t wait), Amy Winehouse – Back in Black (Is is me, or is her voice like one of the most amazingly beautiful things ever? And the music… wow), The Good, The Bad, and The Queen (YAY! Damon Albarn gets back to more of a Blur feel! And it’s good!), Dashboard Confessional – Dusk and Summer (Um, first of all, the lead is HOT, and I don’t know why I ignored them before now… love them! I know… I’m so emo), and of course, Katharine McPhee’s CD is great… but I already told you that.

Now, at the risk of making this kind of long post longer, I have to say, I have been following this Walter Reed/soldier benefit atrocity, and I have to tell you, it makes me sick to my stomach. Regardless if you believe in socialized health care or not, if ANYONE deserves the utmost respect and full financial support from this country, it is the troops. First, we don’t give them the training they need for combat. Then, we don’t give them the equipment to safely patrol a war zone. Then, when they get hurt, we fuck them over again, by making them stay in a hell hole. Then, when they try to get their benefits, they don’t get what they need, or worse, they get rejected or denied benefits. What the fuck is going on??? People that keep saying that they support the troops need to throw a TON OF MONEY at them… NOW. It is unacceptable that people that fight for our country come home battered, bruised, suffering from disease (mental and physical), and we turn our backs on them? How can that be possible? Some of those billions and billions of dollars need to be going to these awesome men and women, and NOW. I am sick of hearing about soldiers that are homeless, denied benefits, denied care, and whatnot; that is just sick, and you can’t point the finger at anyone but the government. SO DO SOMETHING, GOVERNMENT! They are counting on you!

And that is what I am thinking about today. You?

"pointless", get involved, is it just me?, listen up!

what I was going to say was…

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I was going to write another post about global warming today, because I seem to be in a debate with people that continue to believe that not only does it not really exist, but that we have no impact on what we do in the world. I posted one of the longest comments I have ever written on that post, and I am spent, so if you want to, check it out. I will write about it again soon, though, because I am just surprised that there are people that don’t think that anything we do has an impact on the environment. That just blows my mind. Seriously, we can’t all be ostriches with our heads in the sand forever, can we? I really hope not; especially since there is compelling science that shows global warming and climate change are happening more rapidly now than ever. But whatever, if you don’t believe it, I guess that is where you stand. I just hope you are ready for the consequences, or, I guess I hope you prepare your children for them, because it’s going to happen whether you believe it or not. I also know that I have been writing really long posts lately, and I apologize for that… for some reason, I have a lot to say lately. Now that I have that out of the way, I am going to post what I really wanted to talk about today in a different post (as to make it a little smaller).

flickr, get involved, listen up!, politics

first step towards changing the world

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James and I watched An Inconvenient Truth a week or so ago, and the film was so fantastic and so compelling, that it motivated us to take action. We want to do our part to lessen our burden on the environment, and we are doing so, one step at a time. If you want to help the earth, please go to this website, and see what you can do; because even the small stuff can make a difference.

I am definitely going to write more about the movie, but I have been distracted lately, and haven’t had it in me. The film deserves so much more than a distracted thought process, so I want to do it justice. If you haven’t seen it, see it… and if you don’t believe in global warming and climate change, you MUST see it, because science can change your mind… or at least, I hope it can.
goodbye incandescent
Our first steps towards changing our energy consumption, were to change out all of our incandescent bulbs for new, energy efficient compact fluorescent ones. Now, I know you make think that these bulbs are more expensive (because they are), but the energy you save by using them more than makes up for the price difference. Also, as a motivation to get them, if you go to a wholesale warehouse place (like Sams or Costco), you can get a 10 pack of the bulbs for only $10… that is a savings of over $6 per bulb. I am glad that we have taken this first step, and I know that we are only getting started in trying to make positive impacts on the environment, rather than negative ones. Go out and get your new bulbs today!!! Seriously, they are a hell of a lot brighter!!
hello energy efficient fluorescent!
Again, more to come about An Inconvenient Truth… Hope everyone is having a great weekend!! Go Green!

listen up!, venting

OMFG! I can’t believe this!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hey, listen up, W.H.O., before you say things like,

Circumcision is the most potent intervention in HIV prevention that has been described.

CAN YOU PLEASE PUT THE INFORMATION YOU REPORT INTO CONTEXT BEFORE YOU REPORT THAT TO THE WORLD?????? The studies that were done on this issue were done in the regions of Africa where infection is the most rampant and there is currently little to no prevention that is working, so the findings from these studies ONLY APPLY in those areas!!!!!! Let me state that again, this study was done, and the findings that came from it, apply ONLY to areas where there is LITTLE OR NO other methods of HIV prevention available, and where HIV incidence is way higher than normal, and it should only be viewed as an applicable method of prevention in those areas!!! This should not be taken out of context and used in populations like the US, where it does not provide up to 60% prevention for HIV, and it is certainly NOT the most potent intervention!!! Again, it does not apply to anywhere but Africa! And should only apply as a last ditch effort when other prevention methods are not available, or are not working!!!!

This makes me want to scream, puke, pull my hair out, and scratch someones eyes out. Ignorance on a level like this is completely inexcusable, especially from an agency as powerful and knowledgeable as the W.H.O.. I can only hope, that the article where this is being reported (source) is the ONLY place that this insane level of misrepresentation is being told. If not, I certainly hope that people that hear this misinformation can be intelligent enough to realize that a cut cock is NOT enough to protect them from HIV; that is, unless they have NO OTHER method of prevention, AND happen to live in the areas of the world were prevalence is at its highest… See, that is the ONLY way that they could statistically come up with that 60% figure!!!! And I can almost guarantee that the people that will read that article, or hear that information ARE NOT the people that will benefit from this “protection”! I am so appalled and disgusted by this outrageous lack of proper reporting and utter absence contextualization that I could just burst.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE: Tell everyone you know that thinks this is true; USE CONDOMS!!! Circumcision certainly IS NOT the “most potent intervention in HIV prevention”!!!!! IT IS NOT TRUE!!! THIS ONLY APPLIES TO AFRICA (notice that ALL of the studies were done in Africa, but they totally downplay that by making such fanciful statements)!!!!

I really, really hope that by writing this post, that if I stop even ONE person from stupidly thinking, that circumcision gives them a 60% protection against HIV, that I have done more than I could hope for. Why educated and powerful people continually do things like this completely shocks me, as this is seriously the difference between life and death for many that will misinterpret this information, and thus, put their lives at risk for no reason at all.

I really hope that they realize what they have done in this misrepresentation of findings, and at least follow up in a manner that illustrates the severe lack of contextualization that is necessary when stating findings such as this; the public health ramifications can be disastrous. I am in complete and utter shock, and I just can’t even begin to express my level of rage right now.

is it just me?, listen up!, politics, public health, sex (oh yeah), venting, well?

two things Tuesday: evolution and condoms

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Kind of different; kind of the same, no? Both of these things have people up in arms, and I just wanted to throw in my two cents; for whatever it’s worth.

Evolution:
Basically, the issue with evolution (this time), is that a local republican state representative sent out a memo stating that evolution shouldn’t be taught in schools because it is a religious deception that was derived from an ancient Jewish religious sect. Basically, his memo is stating that evolution not actually secular science, and is instead a so-called “creation scenario”, that is actually based on the “Christ hating” ancient Jews, and that it was written a couple millenia ago. Okay, let me get this straight, the Jews made up the Big Bang theory? Those crazy Jews came up with this myth to explain the beginning of the world and to explain life on earth, and they called it evolution?! Damn! They are crazy!!! OH WAIT, YOU DOUCHE, not only are you being anti-semitic (surprise), the Jews didn’t make up the Big Bang theory, and it actually isn’t a myth, it is a theory that is still pondered by scientists. You do know what scientists are, don’t you? They are people that use facts to put together ideas about things… and in this case, they continually use the facts they know about and learn about the world, and all of the stuff in it, in order to come up with a good idea of where it came from. See, the difference between a myth and theory, is that one is based on science, and one isn’t. Okay? So it’s pretty clear to me, and MANY others, that evolution is science, and is not a myth. You can believe that if you want, but leave the Jews out of it, okay? And don’t try to use this as your crazy Christian reasoning for keeping it out of schools, you anti-Semite!

Obviously, he denies writing the memo, but regardless if he actually wrote it or not, it goes without saying that people like this guy shouldn’t be allowed to have any political power; all they do is confuse those that are already ignorant. You know that there is going to be someone out there that supports this “idea”, and that is just one person too many. Also, to further illustrate his memo’s off-the-wallness, not only is he saying this about evolution, he also believes that the earth isn’t rotating, and that we aren’t actually going around the sun. I suppose sunrise and sunset are magic then, right? Ugh, people like this make me want to just bang my head on my desk and scream, WTF!?!?! The Anti-Defamation League is going after him, so I hope that he isn’t re-elected. If people like this make it into politics, that is one more reason to fear the government, right? Jesus.

Condoms:
So, NYC has a great idea; let’s make a NYC condom, and hand it out FOR FREE all over the city, in order to curtail the incidence of HIV!! Sounds good, right? It does to me!!! HELL YEAH!

But of course… “NO!”, shouts the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church came out against the condom, stating that you should practice abstinence before marriage, and practice fidelity within marriage to prevent HIV. (They’ve also preached up and down in the past about how condoms aren’t effective at preventing HIV anyway, which they are totally wrong about). Hmm… Let’s look at this from their perspective: perhaps 95000+ known cases of HIV in NYC, is evidence that they are doing such a good job of what you want already, that there is no need for something OTHER than that old abstinence/marriage shtick. Oh, 95000 sounds like a lot to you? Well, it does to me too! Perhaps what you are saying isn’t working? Oh snap!

Listen, if you don’t approve of contraception, realize that condoms do more than that, they protect against HIV! THAT is the reason this program was started… to decrease the incidence of HIV in NYC!! I am so sick of religion poking its nose in issues related to health; it is pretty clear that they have absolutely no idea that what they say and what they do actually causes more health problems. If you really cared, and if you were actually as compassionate as your religion dictates that you should be, then you would want more people to live life without suffering from chronic diseases; regardless of your views on sex. Free condoms won’t increase sex, it will allow for future sex to be SAFER sex… And that is a great thing. All I have to say is a HUGE Bravo(!!!!!) to NYC, and an even bigger BOO(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to the Catholic Church. I would like to know: when are we, as a society, going to be mature enough to stop putting our heads in the religious sand and actually do something about sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV? We have got to get over this fear of sex, or we will NEVER get rid of HIV, and that scares me, because I truly don’t know if we are all capable of such logical thinking; enough to actually make changes and decrease disease. I do have hope when I see cities like NYC taking it seriously, though… Perhaps Atlanta will follow suit?? Come on you guys! Don’t be afraid of the church! They will get their panties all tied up in knots, while we all can have access to free condoms… it’s a win win, as far as I see it. Way to stick to your guns, NYC, and show your dedication to public health.

listen up!, politics

hell yes!!

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I just went to CNN only to find this peice of awesomeness:

It is great to see democracy in action!!! Perhaps now a real FACT BASED look at the war can occur in the House, and we can hopefully move towards bringing our troops home. I wonder what “the decider” is thinking right now? Perhaps a little bit of, “Oh shit… I’m not going to be able to just do whatever I want anymore”? I certainly hope so!!!

Now, I know that this is a SMALL step… but it is an important one in the right direction!!!

is it just me?, listen up!, politics, venting

just a few thoughts

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On Iraq:

  • I really hope that Congress does something useful for a change; we need to get out of Iraq and soon. Seriously, when you have no idea what constitutes a “successful” mission, then you have no goal, and that is scary; especially when it is costing us thousands of lives (3100 and growing… not counting the hundreds of thousands Iraqi deaths), and destroying hundreds of thousands more.
  • If you think that sending 20k+ more troops to Iraq will solve the problem, please explain that to me, especially because the top military officials have said that it will take more than 5 times that amount to even do anything (which would mean a total occupation, which is not what we are supposed to be doing over there). Their recommendations are to get out… why aren’t we listening and actually doing something to accomplish that goal?
  • Do you think that we are really going to attack Iran? I don’t get why we would want to do that; especially when we really aren’t supposed to, like we weren’t supposed to attack Iraq (at least, not without UN counsel, yeah, that we forgot to do with Iraq). I mean, the president is really pushing it now… it is like he has a personal vendetta with that whole region (and I think that he probably does). It looks more and more everyday like the only reason why we chose to occupy that territory (which we are doing, and it is also what we said we wouldn’t be doing), was so the contracting companies could get even richer. What sucks, is that we, the taxpayers, have to pay for that; and if not us, then our kids will. That just makes me sick.
  • Yes I support the troops, so don’t even go there. The people that don’t support the troops are those that underfund and under supply the troops that need our support that are already in Iraq, as well as those coming home injured and abused. It is inexcusable to say that you support the troops when you don’t provide them with the equipment to adequately protect themselves in a combat zone. It is also completely reprehensible to say you support the troops when they have to wait for VA services upon returning home from Iraq. That is just awful. Shame, shame, shame. Republicans constantly say pulling funding for the war is wrong because it will be pulling funds from those already in Iraq, when they don’t take into account that they already don’t have what the need, and the funding is active. Why can’t they see that (eh, because they don’t want to)? It doesn’t make sense.
  • What about the representatives that are still saying they agree with the war, and still want to support it? I say that you show us you are serious about your position. Give up some of your salary, and send your kids to fight. Show us you are serious. Many of those that have their kids over there are experiencing it personally, and have a better perspective on this than you do, even though you get to make the decisions; maybe it is time for you to pony up and put your money where you mouth is.
  • I have many other thoughts on this subject, but I don’t want to put too much in one post; people tend to have a hard time digesting it all… even me. So enough on Iraq for now.

On global warming:

  • Seriously. How are there people that still don’t think global warming exists?? Seriously. I saw that the Czech president said that there was no such thing, and that saying that it does exist is political propaganda. WTF dude? Why is science so scary for some people?
  • How can we, as the biggest locust nation on the planet, consume and consume and consume without giving much back to the environment we are raping? How come the government isn’t really doing anything about it? Does that make sense to you?
  • I am really scared to see what is going to happen over my lifetime with regards to nature, climate, and the world. We have done enough in 100 years to significantly damage a planet that has been around for billions of years. Can it be fixed? I worry that it can’t.

On depression:

  • I really think that people don’t understand my sometimes. I feel like I talk about how I feel, and it just goes right in one ear, and out the other, mostly because people essentially tell me that the way to get over my depression is to get over it. I freak out because I can’t get over it, and I don’t understand why others can’t see that.
  • I also freak out because I worry that I am being too needy. I worry about my depression which causes more depression. That doesn’t even make sense! UGH! I feel trapped in a box with no way out… depression sounds a lot like desperation.
  • I often wonder if we truly do deserve to be happy. What if we don’t?
  • I read an article earlier today about evolutionary psychology, and how it viewed depression. It talked about depression, like other mental conditions, as being a product of evolution, and therefore, a response to change over time, both environmentally, and emotionally. Basically, they were saying that if you were depressed, it is partly because you have learned that in order to get what you need, you feel depressed, because it is an evolutionary trait we developed meet those needs. Also, depression is viewed as anger turned inward, and while I can see part of each argument, the first suggests that depression is made up; which I truly don’t believe it is, because if I made it up, I should be able to make it go away. Also, with regards to the first argument, I don’t think the reason I am depressed is so people will meet my needs, I feel like I can’t even meet my needs, which really depresses me. Explain that! With regards the the anger turned inward argument, while that may be some of depression, I don’t know how that can be all of it. Depression is such a weird thing that can be different for different people… it is so weird how even psychologists don’t grasp that concept sometimes.
  • Part of my depression comes from issues I have in life. I have talked to many people, and discovered that a lot of people share these problems. But is that supposed to make me feel bad that I feel this way? It kind of makes me feel like I am being a baby, and that freaks me out even more; mostly, because I’m not.

Well, that was probably a lot to take in today, but that is pretty much what is going on in my head right now. Feel free to discuss any of that you want to; the posts for the last couple of days haven’t seemed to interest too many readers. Hope everyone is staying dry today…

is it just me?, listen up!, near and dear, that is so gay, venting

does it matter if it is fake, given that it happens all of the time?

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Dave emailed me about this blog post earlier. I read it, and like the writer of the post, I felt sick. In fact, still do. I feel horrible that another person would suffer the fate of suicide, because of the lack of care and real love from their family. I feel awful that someone would take their life because they felt so alone and so misunderstood, that they became depressed to the point of suicide. And probably even worse, is that I feel angry that people like this boy’s mother continually do this same sort of thing over and over, causing more and more kids to go through similar scenarios; many of which end with the same conclusion.

The blog post I am talking about, is referring to a forum-posted story where a Christian Fundamentalist mother finds out her son is gay, he comes out to her, and she suggests therapy; only her response is to tell him the therapist is wrong for saying being gay is normal, and that he should instead not act on his feelings. The mother proceeds to turn her back on understanding her son, and ceases to be there for him emotionally; actions which stem from her fundamentalist beliefs. Unfortunately, the result, is that her son commits suicide, leaving her wondering why he resorted to such a drastic response to her lack of understanding.

Now, while I feel the same things that probabilityzero felt, hurt, anger, disbelief, disgust; I couldn’t help but notice something eerily consistent in the comments both on his website, and on digg (where it no doubt made its way due to how interesting it was, I assume): many of the people commenting are way too focused on whether or not the story is actually true. People are going so far as to chastise the writer of the post for his feelings about this occurrence on the grounds that the story might not be true. I have a huge problem with that, mainly because even if this story isn’t true, this sort of thing happens all of the time!! It is known that the suicide and attempted suicide rates among gay and lesbian teens is higher than any other group of adolescents, and in many instances, these actions are due to religious persecution and self hatred stemming from families that refuse to understand their children.

While it angered me to see people chastising the boy for being gay, seeing people agree with the actions of the mother, and even seeing people say that the mother was in no way to blame for the death of her son, it bothers me more that people would focus on this not being an issue, simply because the instance may or may not be a real life instance. This type of thing is exactly what I encountered when I wrote that post about Donnie Davies from yesterday; while he may or may not be real, people like him exist and do the same things that he is doing, for real. While this woman may or may not have posted a true story about her religion getting in the way of her love for her son, and the subsequent consequences of her actions, there are parents that are making the same decisions and doing the same hurtful things to children all over the world, for real.

This issue of religious fundamentalism and the judgement that stems from it is something that makes me so angry, but at the same time, incredibly sad. I was lucky enough to escape most of the religious persecution many gay youth encounter, only to impose it upon myself when I was going through the process of coming to terms with my own sexuality. I thought of suicide many times, and luckily, I never attempted it; but there are many that are not so lucky. I remember what it felt like to be so utterly alone and afraid that my being homosexual was a sin, so much that it was an actual physical pain in my body. I hated myself for who I was, and it cost me a lot of self respect, happiness, and time; but luckily, it didn’t cost me my life. No one should have to go through this alone, and this boy unfortunately did; because his mother turned her back on him when she denied who he was. Her actions forced his depression to grow, and he wasn’t able to overcome it. Whether or not this boy is real, there are many other boys and girls out there that are just like him, feeling those feelings, and experiencing that same depression.

If I had my way, there are a few things that would happen, relating to this true or untrue story. One, I continually hope that religious fundamentalists would actually practice what they preach (i.e., love is supposed to be absolute, not a pick and choose issue-based thing) and stop using religion to discriminate anyone because of who they are, or who they believe themselves to be. Two, I wish that people could stop focusing on whether or not one instance of something like this is real or not, especially when this is just an example of a very real problem occurring right now all over the world. And three, I hope that all kids out there struggling with their sexuality that face this sort of persecution and ignorance will have the strength to make it through their depression and live their lives happily. One of the worst things that ever happened to me was living in the closet, and I am grateful that somehow I was able to make it out; I wish the same for everyone else that struggles with this issue.

civil rights, listen up!, politics

happy birthday, Roe v. Wade!

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Today is the anniversary of the monumental Roe v. Wade case, which, as all of you may know, effectively legalized abortion in the US. As I have said before, and will continue to say until there is no breath in my body, abortion should always be a fundamental right of every woman, everywhere. It is a pledge to women’s health, and should always be taken seriously. For those people that disagree with abortion, all I can say to you is, if you don’t like abortion, don’t have one. Avoiding the issue by not having one yourself is the best way you can protect yourself from the fact that all women deserve the right to control their own uterus, as well as the protection of having safe and sterile abortions from licensed doctors; as opposed to unsafe methods that many have to resort to when a safe abortion is not an option for them.

I for one hope this ruling is never challenged or overturned, because I believe that this is something that women deserve; the right to decide what happens to their own bodies and their own lives. I am in no way, nor have I ever been, advocating more abortions, or even suggesting that people go and have one; BUT, I AM advocating a woman’s right to choose, and I always will. Legalized abortion is not about “killing babies”, it is about having the RIGHT to choose what happens to your own body. And that, to me, is fundamental.

Finally, I feel the need to say it one more time for those of you that are blinded by the word “abortion”, make sure that you understand that legalized abortion is NOT ABOUT ABORTION; it is about the right to choose.

is it just me?, listen up!, venting

fuck comcASS (that’s right, the t is silent)

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After a month of me calling repeatedly to see why my “high speed” internet connection has been working at less than dial up speeds, I finally thought that today I would get resolution. I talked with the Comcast person on Thursday, and here’s what she said (keep in mind, this would be the 5th time I have heard the exact same thing):

It appears that there is a massive amount of packet loss when I ping your modem. There must be something wrong with the modem, because we don’t have any outages or problems in your area. I will be glad to send a technician out.

YAY! ANOTHER technician is coming! But, despite my negative sarcastic attitude, I was actually hoping that this one would actually come in and look at the problem. See, the last guy said he called me 3 times and even came by the house and knocked on the door, but I never answered either. Weird thing is, I was HOME when he “called”, and he never knocked on my door. I found out he was calling the wrong number (which I had corrected 3 times prior to that date, but then, we are dealing with lower level primates here, so I guess that was to be expected). So, you can see why I was less than excited about someone else coming out… I was essentially just hoping he would actually show.

Cut to today. I woke up early, and they called to let me know they guy would be here around 11:30 (they got the number right this time!). Sure enough, around 11:30, I greet the Comcast guy, and he comes in. I direct him to the office, and stand there as he gets to work. Instantly, he types in an address in IE (yuck), and proclaims, “there doesn’t seem to be a problem; everything is working just fine”. WOW! Really???! That must be why I have called so many times and have had so many people come out! Because there is NOTHING WRONG!! Thanks for coming by!! Good day sir!

Um, no.

So, I immediately tell him what they have told me on the phone, packet loss, yadda yadda, and so he reluctantly starts to tinker. Remember that his words were, “everything’s fine”, initially, because that will become important again later. While he tinkers, I actually feel a little more optimistic, so I leave the room. He tinkers some more. Then, I go in to see what is going on, and he assures me things are fine. He has run the numbers, etc, and everything is hunky dory. Um, no. I didn’t get you out here to tell me things are fine when I know they aren’t, douche. So I say, maybe something is wrong with the modem, considering that they say the modem is having such packet loss and whatnot. He then deflects that to the router, which I expected, and says that the router must be the issue. I assure him that it isn’t because even when you hook the computer directly to the modem, the same shit happens. Finally, after a bit of pushing, I get him to actually TRY a new modem! SHOCK! AWE! So he goes and gets it, and comes in to tinker some more.

The whole time he is doing this, he is walkie-talkieing with his boss on his NEX-TEL. Okay, now the new modem is hooked up (I watched him tinker this time), and guess what…. NO INTERNET AT ALL!!! It must be the router! So he hooks it up to my PC, and low and behold, he gets a “bad” IP address, and that means that the PC’s ethernet port must be fucked! Holy shit! Try the other one! Yep! That one gets a “good” IP address!!! It’s your PC dude!!! Um, no.

Then, being the complexly intelligent sage with a memory of steel, I remind him that when he arrived, THINGS WERE FINE (see, I told you it was important to remember that). He stumbles for a second, only to continually repeat that “bad” IP address routine. Um, no. That doesn’t work for me buddy, and so I say, “well, if it worked fine, per your words, when you arrived, how is the ethernet port on my computer all of a sudden the problem? Maybe that was something you did?” Well, perhaps that hit a button with him, because he started to argue with me at this point. I went from pissed to livid in like 2.5676 seconds, and laid into him. But I came to my senses quickly, because I was quickly shown he had NO IDEA what he was talking about. He kept bouncing back and forth from the router, to the ethernet connection, to the new modem (kind of like my connection, I suppose); but then hit me with the kicker… “sir, you are the one that asked for the new modem.”

Um, what? I did not! I told you it COULD be a problem with the modem, and that you SHOULD probably look at that before you just up and leave!!! He insisted that it was my fault, because apparently the new modem didn’t like my ethernet port. WTFever dude. I was so livid, that I told him it was pointless to argue with him, because he obviously had no idea what he was talking about, and that he was talking to me like I was stupid, so I told him to hook up the old modem and go. He then had to call and get permission to do that (what?!), and finally did that and left.

Now, not 20 minutes after he has gone, the internet doesn’t work through the router (at least, not when I hooked it back up after he left), AND, it is hooked directly into my PC (remember the one with the bad IP address, which kept it from doing internet), which I AM USING FOR INTERNET. Consequently enough, the “bad” IP address had something to do with starting with a 169, and right now, the IP address my PC is showing starts with 24. Again, not a clue what he was talking about.

Needless to say, I will be doing 3 things:
1) I will call Comcast one last time to let them know that their techs are rude, argumentative, and downright insulting. I will also use this call as an opportunity to tell them they can shove their “high” speed internet up their respective ass.
2) I will be calling Bellsouth DSL, and see how much it costs, and how quickly, they can have DSL in my house. I had DSL in the past, and I had no problems with the DSL itself, it was just the company I had it through that caused me problems. Since I won’t be with them, hopefully this will be a good solution.
3) (and this is probably the best one) I will be filing a claim with the Better Business Bureau against Comcast. I feel like there are too many people that experience the same problems that I have had with their internet for this to go unsaid. I am tired of a “solution” to a problem be “well, it’s your router, computer, ethernet, yadda yadda yadda”. NO. It isn’t, douche, fix it! Needless to say, I filed one on them before for shitty customer service, and they weren’t too happy. I doubt they will be this time either. If you have these same issues, I BEG you to please do the same. The more strikes against them, the better. Don’t steal my money and give me nothing but empty promises… or you will get filed against.

Whew. I know that this is a long entry, but I had to get it out. I have internet (albeit slow, dial up like internet), and am hoping that it lasts until I can get Bellsouth out here. Hope everyone else is having a great Saturday, and to detox from this horrid experience, I am going to see Children of Men with a friend. I have had enough “internet woes” for one day.