often go awry...

I guess I should have finished the quote that I paraphrased for the title of my earlier post.

Here is the exploratory hole they dug, and refilled, while looking for the old cable.


And why where they having to EXPLORE for the cable? That is a good question, and one for which neither I nor the cable company have an adequate answer. But let's just say, it wasn't where they thought it was when this all started.

And the big machine that they brought to keep from digging up my yard? It was cool looking. And it looked really LOUD but I'll never know. They did not use it. Turns out they need a truckload of guys with shovels to dig a trench by hand.

So I have been promised a truckload of guys within a week to get a hole dug in my yard. And the cable lays in the grass.

But the backyard still hasn't been dug up, so I feel like my sod got a death row reprieve. Anybody want to start a betting pool on whether they actually dig up my yard next week or not?

Here is a picture of the hassle.


The red line shows basically a straight line to the other end of this cable. The blue line is where I want it buried if it must be my yard. The pink line is the best route, right down the fence, in the neighbor's yard (it is her cable by the way).

And the red X? That is where they found the line this morning. No way in hell are they digging that far into my yard.

Have I ever told you how much I love my satellite system?

It just could not get any more sad

No this isn't about the much talked about job in my future...

It is ANOTHER post about the cable company, though.

So I go outside once the crew leaves to see what kind of mess they have left me with. And considering that the trench they dug ENTIRELY by hand was deep enough that grown men were standing inside the trench to bust out the biggest rocks, it looks pretty good.

Job well done. Or not. What the hell? After all the digging and busting rocks, the freaking cable is STILL laying in the grass. Evidently these guys aren't allowed to bury the cable, they just dig and bury a conduit, so that a cable guy can come back in six or seven months and put the damn cable in the hole in the ground.

People, I can't say this strongly enough. If you own stock in the local cable company, divest. Jump ship. SELL! Take a loss but get out, NOW!

Direct TV. It's the wave of the future and they won't tear up the whole damn neighborhood to get your soft core porno movies to you.

These are a few of my favorite things...

libraries that think mommies change all the diapers, cable television companies that take three months to complete a work order and a severe lack of Dr Pepper in my system.

We are going for the trifecta this morning. To start, I now have made a full week and 1 day Dr Pepper free. If the pounds will now please leave, we will all be happier. And I can quit saying things like "I would stab someone in the right eye for a Dr Pepper, right now." Which was the bulk of our familial conversation yesterday afternoon.

The cable company stopped by to finish the job they started on February 7. You can read more about that over on my bitch and whine post on ADHDaddy. What a huge surprise that they could not finish the job today. They sent a guy with a pickup truck and a shovel.

Turns out they need a crew of guys, several trucks and some tool that might keep them from tearing up my yard. Instead of letting the guy dig an 80 foot trench through my back yard, they should be able to pull the new cable through a conduit that is already in the ground. At least the guy they sent today was nice. That kept me from wanting to kick his ass. Hopefully we will wait another month, but they won't have to dig up my yard.

Now we are off to check out the new library. And woe be unto any librarian in my path if there be no diaper changing station in the men's room. The Princess is stinky and we are saving it for the front desk. You can read more about that over here, from a couple of weeks ago.

Edit: 2 hours later

We just got back from the library. It is a nice space. The new children's librarian is awesome. The kids had a great time.

And because I know you are concerned for the health and well-being of all the dads out here, YES, they did install a diaper deck. I suspect we were the first to use it, too, since there were a couple of tools laying inside of it when I unfolded it. A four and a half year battle ends with a victory. Life is good.

Even if that damn cable is still laying in my grass.

Anybody need some cable repair?

Guess what is missing from my front yard?

Yep, the cable company repair job that started on February 7 is finished up. Right on time!

I came home from dropping off The Talker this morning to find a crew working in the yard. Evidently they finally decided to put the cable into the hole in the ground. After all, they paid someone a bunch of $ to have the trench dug in the neighbor's yard, they might as well use it.

It is a bittersweet success. It is finished and that is the most important part. But it has taken at least 25 emails and I bet a dozen phone calls to get the work finished. Add to that the 5 or six different work crews that have been over here trudging through the yard and I am not happy about the hassle.

The crew did a decent enough job on the trench, the front grass is already healing pretty well. But inside of our yard, the trench went through red clay that wasn't backfilled properly. After several heavy rains it is already starting to collapse and erode. So in the end I'll end up fixing their mess again. Ugh!

The last contact I got from the company said that someone from their Management Team would be contacting me soon to discuss the hassles of this project. I hope they do.

I have already decided that the only way they cam make me happy is to give up some freebies. If they hook me back up to the system and give me service that includes more channels than we get now from DirecTV, for two years AND all for FREE, that might go a long way toward making me happier.

But, seeing how long it took them to bury a new line for my neighbor who IS one of their paying customers, I won't hold my breath while I wait for a manager to email me. And I bet we will still be paying for DirecTV at this time next year.

It's about damn time.

This post, this post, this post, and this post all document the tragedy that is the the cable line that has been laying in my grass since early February.

Guess what?

There is a crew out there tight now, digging a huge trench to bury the cable. I don't want to bother the guys who are working out there. It is the cable company's fault that it has taken so long. These guys are just workers for some contract construction company. I just took a few snaps from the porch.



Also, I got a job today. More about that later.

Football!

So tonight is the much discussed and hyped Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay football game. Too bad that most of Austin can't watch the game, thanks to the standoff between Time Warner Cable and the NFL Network.

Truthfully I don't care that much about NFL football. I'll watch if nothing else is on. And if the Texans or the Cowboys make it to the Super Bowl, then I'll watch. Otherwise, whatever...

But I DO really dislike Time Warner Cable. Thanks to the fact that they kept my yard torn up for months on end. So imagine my delight when I realized last night that our crappy old basic satellite system includes the NFL Network. Evidently we have had the network for a while, I just never cared to check...

So while my neighbors who are served by TW's cable system are cruising to the sports bar to watch the game tonight, I'll be sitting in the big blue chair in my own living room. And I'll probably watching something else.

The best laid cables...

I have been trying to decide what to do with the kids today. We have been going to the Children's Museum a lot lately. It is too cold and rainy for a park. We did the YMCA kid's program yesterday. The mall? Our best option, so far.

I walked into The Talker's bedroom and I heard someone out in our front yard. Sure enough, the cable company has sent some guys out to finish the work they started on February 7. Here is a follow up post about the adventure.

Since it has taken this long to get a response from the cable company, I guess we are sitting at home to make sure they get the job done without trashing the backyard.

The fire sale continues

No, I guess I won't list the kids on eBay. They were back to normal today. So they can remain here. (But I need to remember that Craig's List idea...)

The Big White Dog? Now he is in it. And deep.

The kids were well behaved at the grocery store this morning. So we stocked up on some stuff. I did not get it all put away before lunch time. Which is no big deal for most people. But if you have a Big White Dog who can grab things off of the counters or the top of the microwave, then you have to employ some high level strategy.

We have had dogs this large for a while, so I am usually a professional level dog-proofer. Or so I used to think. Kodak seems to be able to weasel into places that our other dogs never did. Like the breadbox.

So while the counters were full, the dog was in the yard and the back door was dead bolted, to keep the kids from accidentally letting him back in. Then the neighbor struck.

Our neighbor is a little odd. She also seems to need a lot of help from repairmen. She hardly ever comes out of her house. I guess paying appliance repair service calls provides her some socialization at $75 bucks a pop. Just this week I have seen an electrician, a plumber, the dog poop scooping service, the mobile dog groomer's, her pool cleaner and the maid service. Some times there are so many service trucks that they are double parked in her driveway.

The kids and I were playing in the front yard when the cable repair truck pulled up. The neighbor must have the worst cable line in town, because these guys were out last week, too. And every time they come over, they have to get into our backyard to work on Wonder Woman's connection. So I ran through the house to unlock the gate. Kodak saw his chance and headed in the house. I forgot about the haul in the kitchen.

An hour later I stepped back into the house and I saw it on his face. He was a guilty dog. I found remnants of a brand new package of tortillas, the really nice ones, since the kids were behaving in the store and I had time to choose. He also got a loaf of bread and a new package of hot dog buns. He had obviously tried to get the to the last of my Girl Scout cookies.

The kids were almost sold to the highest bidder for schmucking around yesterday. But they were smart enough to stay out of the Girl Scout cookies. Maybe I should give Kodak a reprieve since he did not ACTUALLY get the cookies.

I guess we will just have to get some taller shelves before next cookie season.

Getcha some

So if you are a television junkie in the US of A, like me, you likely know about the change over to digital broadcast coming up in a couple of months. And if you are like me too, there ain't no way in heck you are getting a high definition television for Christmas. Which means you will have to buy a digital converter box before midnight February 17. Else your bestest friend in the world won't bring you the morning news on the 18th.

Of course, none of that applies if you use cable or satellite to get your TV signal. Your TV will work fine after the switch.

Around here we have one TV hooked up to satellite. The rest of the television sets are only used for playing DVDs. Occasionally I try to watch something broadcast over the air, like today when I wanted to watch the Cowboys beat up on the 49ers, but I also wanted to clean my garage. But the reception is generally for crap.

Racecar Man demonstrated his digital converter boxes the other day for me. I wasn't convinced that we would get the same great results, since his house does not sit at the base of a big hill and his TVs are mostly upstairs. But I went to https://www.dtv2009.gov to snag the government cheese coupons for $40 off the cost of a converter box.

It took about 10 days for the coupons to arrive, and tonight we finally got around to picking up one converter box. I also grabbed the cheapest set of rabbit ear antennas that they sold at Best Buy for $10. The converter boxes all over town are priced at $60.

So with my coupon, we are out $30 to get TV reception in our bedroom. And let me tell you, the reception is awesome! To celebrate The Boss Lady is watching something boring and stupid in the living room via the satellite system and I am watching a perfect looking live broadcast of NFL football while blogging from my bedroom.

Heaven!

Someday there might be a high def television in our house. But I bet that day is a long ways off (Probably right after all three of our analog sets die...). Until then, I'll stick with my $30 digital-dumbed-down-to-analog TV picture.

U-Verse in the house!

The U-Verse installer is here! We have been waiting about a year for them to work out a kink in the network that was specifically blocking our house from the network. All of our neighbors have the service, so I am looking forward to getting the hook up.

Our house is pretty much an installer's nightmare. The attic is a pain to get into and there are old wires from cable and satellite connections all over the place. Plus, the previous home owner was the son of an electrician. So there are random electrical outlets and phone jacks EVERYWHERE! And it turns out the phones were not wired properly, so the U-Verse guy is currently rewiring all of the phone jacks before he can start the rest of the work.

The Boss Lady and I tried to make life easier for the installer. We unhooked every possible connection and moved most of the furniture early this morning. And to make the day easier on all of us I hooked up a TV and the Play Station in The Talker's room. That way the kids can watch movies and play games until the installation is done and I can avoid the whining that TV withdrawal can lead to.

Don't you people know waaaaaaaay too much, already?

OK, I got tagged. And If I don't do it now, I never will. But my weirdness seems to be well documented around here, so here are six random things in the order that they just popped into my head.

1. I love love love love live breaking news coverage. My sister was home sick the day President Reagan was shot. When I walked in from school, she was talking to a neighbor and I was being a pest, so she told me "The President got shot. Go watch TV." And that started my love affair with live TV news. Can you think of ANYTHING that beats watching a car chase on mid day cable news? I can't.

2. I was in high school when the first Space Shuttle blew up. My American History/Government/Economics/World History teacher let a couple of us sit in her room most of the day and watch the news coverage.

3. I once drove a golf cart all the way up a really long stairway. Yeeeeee Haw! It was at a summer camp in Indiana and they had a stairway down the hill, leading from the parking lot to the main camp. They called it the 'Stairway to Happiness'. After the drive, I renamed it 'The Highway to Hell'. Later that summer I almost cut off my own thumb...

4. I lived the same house for almost all of my first 18 years. In the 18 years since, I had 15 different mailing addresses, including summer camps, college dorms and one long summer living in a pop-up trailer before we had been married a year. Since we have been here for almost half of that time, I really had 14 addresses in 11 years. When it was just me, I loved to move. Now, I hate packing. So we will never move.

5. I love a good road trip. Since we started dating, The Boss Lady and I have made several 1000 mile car trips. I tried like a madman to talk her into a drive through the Central Western US last summer, looping up to Mt Rushmore, through the Rockies and back home. I imagine my love affair with the open road may die a cruel death later this week.

Need more insanity, Check here and here.

THIS is U-Verse

U-Verse is AT&T's Bundled Television, Broadband and Digital Phone Service. We have been trying to get it installed for about a year. The installer just left about an hour ago after rewiring our whole house with new phone lines and co-axial cable.

He thought he would be in and out in 3 hours. Took more like 6. But everything seems to be working perfectly.

Now I am just hoping it does not take me 6 hours to get all of these wires straightened out so that I can move the entertainment system back against the wall. But I have to add the stereo speaker wires into the mix first.

Hey Terry,

Did I tell you the one about the guys who quit working at the cable company and went to work in the repair shop at our nearby Saturn dealership?

Except that one well dressed guy, he went to work over at Men's Wearhouse.

Yep, my car is heading back to the shop for round 4 this morning. Terry pretty much called this one.

I picked up my car yesterday. The shop had completed a fairly lengthy re-do list that they had been working on since last Saturday. This time? The wife was cruising town with her mother in law and the AC won't work.

It is January in Texas, so of course we need the AC working. Now we are starting round 4 of what should have been a simple repair. Can you say "better be a nice loaner car"?

Want to know about the well-dressed guy? If not, stop reading and go check out a library book.

In our preparations for Maw Maw's funeral, I realized that I need a new suit. Not needing to wear one often, I only own one. And it fit great, 20 pounds ago.

Last week I walked in to Men's Wearhouse. Looked at 3 or four suits. Picked one. Made arrangements to get it altered in time for the funeral. Picked out shirts and a new tie, too.

Turns out all of that little stuff adds up quickly. Had a little sticker shock at the register. But the deed was done, so I haven't worried about it since then. We were out of there in less than 45 minutes.

I picked up my freshly altered suit last night. I was about to try it on for The Boss Lady, when I realized that the breast pocket on the jacket is torn. So right after I drop of my car for round 4 of re-repairfest, I am headed over to the torn suit store to see what they can do about it.

Somewhere in all of this hassle we have to find time to have a 6th birthday party for The Talker. At least that'll be fun. And I won't need to wear a suit.

Here is to another wild weekend.

Weekend Recap

The Boss Lady's summer ended this morning when she was at work before 7 A.M. By default, my summer break ended when the kids woke up at 7:05 this morning. Summer Break is righteous, but a Principal's summer break, not so much.

Saturday we headed down to the coast. Where I gathered a nice crop of sunburn because I am an idiot. The kids collected some cool sea shells since The Boss Lady was smart enough to slather them and herself with sunscreen because she is not an idiot.

The kids had a blast playing in the sand and surf. I had fun sitting back with a cold one, after my microwaving was complete.




Yeah boy! That is 7 six-packs of the good stuff, right there! Why only seven? Because that is all there was to be found in the entire town. I even went back to the grocery store on our way out for one last check.

To celebrate a successful road trip, and to give myself a good reason to work up a thirst, I started adding a pergola-style slatted wood roof to the kid's playscape. For now I am going to leave it open like this, to discourage wasps from nesting up there. If it does not give enough shade, then I will consider a solid roof next time.

The wood came from a neighbor's deck that is being torn down. After cleaning it up of old screws and knocking to worst of the old stain off with the power washer, I think it looks pretty cool. Kind of like a clubhouse that kids would build if they had access to power tools and a neighbor who was trashing his deck.


The kids were able to play out there until 11, so I guess it is giving enough shade for playtime.


Also this weekend, while we were out of town and a friend was keeping up with the dog, our neighbor finally decided to trash the old fence. He got the old wood out of the way and is supposed to start installing posts this evening.

The plan is to finish up on Saturday. A little long for a fence project, but still quicker than the cable company.

All is normal in AtHomeDaddyLand

Rainy and cold and hot and dry then hot and rainy and now again it is getting cold. With changing from heat to AC twice a day, our HVAC system can't seem to keep up. And neither can I. I really want the weather to make up it's mind for a day or two.

Luckily we were dressed completely inappropriately when the girl had her first potty accident in 6 months or more. We were playing at the Austin Children's Museum and before she could react, the deed was done. Her clothes were soaked and we were without a change of clothes. Not even a spare set in the car...

When we left the house the girl was wearing long sleeves and pink cowboy boots along with her thickest, lavender coat. I wore my leather jacket over a couple of T-shirts under a brand new sweater. Gotta love the layered look.

This morning we dressed before we realized it was 75 degrees and 136% humid outside. Once downtown, we ditched our coats at the car, a few blocks from the museum. But I kept the stylish new cable knit sweater. Gotta love the looks you get walking around downtown in 80 degree weather with a sweater and a few other layers on...

Even though I wasn't really prepared for the coming disaster, the museum was. They keep plastic sacks in the restrooms, for such occasions. I'll have you know that my sweater kept my daughter from getting a ticket while streaking through downtown. I wrapped her up in my fabulous new gear and we headed home.

That was enough excitement for one day. Besides, I had to get that sweater in the laundry.

ASAP.

Wireless workaround

Other than trying to swap out telephone jacks, I haven't had time to track down any of the problems we are having inside our walls. The phone jack transplant did not work, so it is time to do some more extensive exploratory surgery. But this week looks to be pretty busy, too.

For the past couple of weeks I have been dragging a DSL cable to a phone jack across the living room. It made for a nice tripping hazard right in the entry hall. I picked up a cheap pci wireless card today for the family desktop computer.

Now I have the modem and router stashed out of sight in another room. And most importantly, no more cables to trip over in the hall.

AtHomeDaddy Repair Service at Yer Call

AtHomeDaddy has been trying to get lots of loose ends tied up around the house before the neighbors and family invade for The Talker's 3rd birthday party.

A couple of nights ago, I started adding another swing attachment to the swingset, but one of the bolts sheared off, so that will have to wait for the weekend. The front door install is still awaiting trim, inside and out. Hopefully that will get installed and painted on Friday.

And then the list just never ends. Last night, even though I had already decided not to tackle any new projects for the evening, I found out that the kitchen faucet handle is loose and after 30 minutes, I decided that there is no easy way to tighten it up, and it is not leaking, so it is "Good enough."

Finally, as I sat down on the reclining couch, to watch The Simpson's, I pulled the recliner latch and NOTHING happened. Except a loud pop from inside the bowels of the sofa. That can't be good.

After a half hour trying to find the source of the problem and thirty minutes tracking down a source to order the cable and handle assembly, I was back on the couch.

I could have moved to the other end of the couch to rest, but it was much more comforting to pout, with my butt in its usual spot. Without any recliner action.

The good news, the manufacturer is sending the part out today, for free. Seems they understand the importance of AtHomeDaddy's TV watching spot.