The time has come

beenthere · Feb 4, 2004

I also am real pleased with DirecTV, and very, very pleased with the fact that the channels are not loaded with political campaign ads. My wife likes the music channels on DirecTV (that is why we have it, and we have two receivers so no argument on who will watch what, when, etc.).

News (24/7) can be picked up on FOX news (they have the others as well) and sports on ESPN whenever I am interested in the latest scores, and my latest interest, World Poker Tour (although the repeats are indication that I am watching that too much now). I may put in about 30 - 60 minutes a day watching TV, and rarely more than that. Special channels for weather both local and national. Also International news channel, which sometimes is better for getting US news too.

Intentionally did not watch the super bowl ads AND the disgusting half time show. Can't figure what MTV has to do with playing football, but probably too old to figure that out. When the lyrics of the songs state what will happen, when the nipple is decorated, and then it is stated that it was not intentional, what do they think we are smoking? Duh!!!

DAP · Feb 4, 2004

Harv, I'd be willing to bet "Murphy" is a good friend of yours, as he is for most others.

That being said ... I know you'll have an equally entertaining post here if and WHEN you decide to have one of these services installed! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif All these folks showin up at your stoop will suddenly be busier than a one-legged man in an a$$-kickin contest.

"... ya don't know what ya like, ya only like what ya know". anonymous

Bob_In_MN · Feb 4, 2004

We've had Direct TV for over 3 years now and I'm very happy with it.

The info I have on outages states an average of 23 hours per year. The cable company likes to advertise (around here anyway) that satellite will leave you without cable for an entire day. Obviously the outages are scattered and in our case have been due to storms every time. I can think of one time in 3 years where our TV viewing has been affected by an outage.

I'd buy it again over cable.

Bob

wroughtn_harv · Feb 4, 2004

( I know you'll have an equally entertaining post here if and WHEN you decide to have one of these services installed!)

I can't be held responsible for these posts! Seriously. I mean, really. It's the moon.

I can't explain it but have to define it as insanity. Something happens about this time of a month where my mind just takes off on it's own.

You take today, rainy weather, good excuse for kicking back and letting the batteries recharge. But no, not this week. I'm like a BB in a boxcar running all over the area problem solving like a wild man.

I went about sixty miles one way to visit with some buds and do some brainstorming on the tools they're going to build for the rings to do pipe fence. In sixty miles I had not only finalized my first concept but had figured out three more alternatives.

On the way back home out of the blue comes this concept for a bud's rock business. He sells stone, something I have a fondness for beyond natural reasoning by any stretch of the imagination.

One of his laborers is very talented in stone carving. The fella makes designs, names, numbers, etc on flagstone. It hit me that if we did some cuts with my diamond bladed circular saw just right he could hand chisel a rope design border on those plaques. Take them from the unordinary into the world of extra unordinary if you know what I mean.

That started a whole nother train of thought. Can you imagine in a stone wall or maybe around a column a rope design in stone? Just an inch and a half layer chiseled to look like a rope pattern for accent?

I did. Out of the blue, just came up for discussion amongst all the other subjects in there having a good time. No rhyme or reason, just ideas bouncing off the walls inside what some folks refer to as a very hard head.

Hoosier_Daddy · Feb 4, 2004

I have Comcast basic and Comcast cable modem. I think it is overpriced but I cannot complain about the quality of service I have received because I have not had to have any idiots show up at the house.

It's a trade off. A little more cost with cable but you can have as many TV's as you want on different stations anyplace you have a jack in the house.

And, if you get a router you can have 2-3-4 computers sharing the same IP. I have two IP's. One for work and one for home use. (no over limit letter yet)

If you are looking at cable for internet service consider this. You pay a fee for the internet connection (instead of a 2nd phone line) and that fee includes the your IP provider (No AOL, etc).

Of course, there are cheaper routes but this works well for me.

I have a friend that has direct TV and when the wife makes him go camping in the trailer he takes his 2nd box and dish mounted on a tripod with him. He is a NASCAR Nut.

I think it's funny. He lives in the country and spends several weekend in a noisy campground and takes the TV with him.

Tom

Hoosier_Daddy · Feb 4, 2004

Harv,

I just saw a good Dish commercial on TV.

"Who let the Pigs Out"

Sure beats Comcast Commercials.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 5, 2004

Over the years we've had few problems with Telecable, AT&T, Comcast, same company, different ticker symbols.

In 92 when we moved into this house the cable had the basic local channels, CNN, ESPN, and some shopping channels. We paid the same as the folks twelve miles away who had something like a hundred channels.

We had fried catfish eggs and knew is our hearts it wasn't caviar.

We also got movie channels on occasion. By that I mean they'd tune their system one day and HBO or Cinemax would come in viewable, not clear, but viewable. Maybe a year later they'd retune their system and one would turn to garble and the other might come in real clear for awhile then fade to viewable. But it couldn't be depended upon and you had to be in the mood for a poor reception movie to watch one of them.

Our rate is now fifty percent more than when we moved here. We get about forty or so channels. Almost as many as the neighbors next town over got in 92. Now they're wanting to go digital and the biggest thing I had against satellite, extra remote, is now going to be a part of my life, Comcast, Dish, or Directtv.

I have Verizon DSL. We've had it since it became available. So a modem is not in the mix. It's all about television. And I don't want to give up that part of my life. I'm addicted to NOW with Bill Moyers on Fridays, CSpan just about anytime, Speed during the NASCAR season, etc.

I'm going to turn my wife loose on this thread tonight. She's a wonderful woman but a frustrated editor. So now ya'll get what I get, edited! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DAP · Feb 5, 2004

( That started a whole nother train of thought. Can you imagine in a stone wall or maybe around a column a rope design in stone? Just an inch and a half layer chiseled to look like a rope pattern for accent? )

Well, ummm, while it's not technically the "same", I have seen some "stone ropes". They were implemented on large stone pilasters on the end of field stone walls - kinda like fancy stone gate posts. They DID catch my eye, and upon thinking about them some, it looked like they were 'poured' though. (Just had an image of a stone rope fence flash by. Put all that 4"OD steel pipe you swizzel around with on the back burner!) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Which fires up an even more interesting idea. The means to an end. Are they the same end if the means are different? Yeeha ... we could have 3 lifes worth of bantering on this one. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MossRoad · Feb 5, 2004

the biggest thing I had against satellite, extra remote, is now going to be a part of my life, 

Doesn't have to be. I have a universal learning remote. It knew the codes for most of our TV's, VCRs and Satellite box. We recently won a home theatre system at a school function. It is three years newer than our remote, so the remote didn't know the codes for it. No problem. I pushed the LEARN button and pointed the home theater remote at it. Pushed a few buttons and it learned the new codes. It also runs X10 codes and can controll the lights in the house with on/off and dim/brighten commands. Pretty nice for a $39.00 remote. They make nicer ones, too, but more $$ /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

fivestring · Feb 5, 2004

"The cable company likes to advertise (around here anyway) that satellite will leave you without cable for an entire day."

The cable companies do that here, too. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
My parents have cable and and they lose TV a lot longer than I do. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Like I said, I wouldn't go back to cable... I'd do without TV.