Direct TV is the worst company in the world

I just want to give mention to the fact that Direct TV has to be the single worst company I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. I have spent hours and hours of time on the phone with them in a sad attempt to cancel our account. It all started when we got a 60 day free trial through multiband, our building Internet/phone/cable provider who uses direct TV as there cable provider. They have been very good through this entire process, even if they can't seem to get things done either.

Here is the time line:

• Cancel in mid June, order a "recovery kit" for the set top unit.
• No recovery kit arrived, get a bill for another months service.
• Call to ask what is up, am told that the account is still active! Told I can't get a recovery kit. Told I have to pay $130 for early termination (despite the contract that says I don't) and threatened with a debt collector if I do not pay for the month + fee.
• Call multiband, and do a 3 way, 45 min, conference call with one of their reps and Direct TV. They cave and order me a recovery kit to waive the fee.
• As of today, still no kit. I call Direct TV and they have not ordered the kit yet (!!!!!!) and their computer won't work. I get sent to another dept where a rep orders me a third kit.
• I called multiband and they are pissed. They called their Direct TV rep and now I am getting a kit in 1-2 days not 3-5.

I have spent FAR more time on the phone stressing over this than I watched TV while I had it. I think if I have to pay that extra month I might just do it because I am feeling so defeated by Direct TV's inept bureaucracy.

So what else to do about it? Google bomb!

... My review of Direct TV Review. A review Direct TV DirectTV Review bad awful evil don't warning bad bad bad Direct TV sucks sucks sucks Direct TV sucks review. :D

Boston is a dumb place

How can I say this? Well, it might be a place full of smart people, but this whole bomb scare is so stupid that if you average it out, makes Boston about as smart as a lizard. Seriously, if you wanted to plant a bomb, why would you make it a GLOWING SIGN shaped as a cartoon character. Given, they obviously don't watch late night Cartoon Network but that this ad caused this level of panic means that America is officially scared out of its mind.

First, here is the classic original from "Aqua Teen Hunger Force." This brings me back to freshman year High School, I can almost say every line! (Note 9:23, that is where the LED ads came from)



Now watch the video below and decide for your self. If you saw this little glowy LED thing, would you call the cops? And if you were the cops, would you close down half of Boston?



Here are some funny comments from Digg.com about the whole deal.

"Perhaps whoever did this reported them in order to get them noticed, finally."
"The beauty of the story is they had been there for weeks, no one noticed or cared, then one day they flipped out."
"Hey the band Boston called... they said they're changing their name to a less embarrassing city... like Shoboigin"
"boston, i am flipping you off as hard as i can."

Also as usual, BoingBoing has more.

Hard week

I don't have too much more to relay about my break-in experience than Chris has already written... It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day to say the least, but thank goodness I got my bag back with my notes. Rotten that they stole my textbooks- I was expecting the computer to be gone, but the textbooks? If anyone on the street tries to sell you a copy of "Physiology, 3rd. ed." by Costanzo, or "Wheater's Functional Histology", call the cops.

I do have another story to add to my list of reasons why I hate Allina Clinics. On Wednesday, as I wrote, I went to get my Mantoux test done. Basically they squirt a little bubble of stuff under your skin, and if you have a reaction to it within 48 hours, you might have TB. They told me on Wednesday that I could come in any time between 3 and 5 on Friday to have the results read. No need to make an appointment, just come in, it'll take 30 seconds. So, I arrived at 4:20, only to be told that everyone in that department had gone home already. I felt a little bad because, having been on the verge of tears since the break-in, this nearly put me over the edge, and I think I freaked out the nurses. Anyway, I asked what to do and the receptionist told me to go over to urgent care to see if someone there could read the results. Headed over there, and they asked me if I had my paperwork. Uh, what paperwork? I didn't receive any paperwork. "Well, we can't do it without the paperwork." Um... so now what? Some nice nurse said she could go over to the department where I got the test to see if she could find the paperwork. She found it and said I could get in line to be seen by urgent care. ONE HOUR LATER, someone calls my name, and said she could just check my test in the lobby. I showed her my arm, and she asked if I was sure that that's the arm they poked, because they didn't put a mark there. I said yes, I'm sure, she said okay, that's that, thank you. So, here are some new reasons why I hate Allina:

1) Don't make me feel dumb for not knowing your department's hours when YOU are the ones who told ME what times I could come in.
2) Don't make me feel dumb for not having paperwork that YOU never gave me.
3) Don't make me feel dumb for not having put a mark where I got poked, because THAT'S NOT MY JOB. That's like going in for an oil change and having them yell at you for not having brought the oil and filters with you.

My previous reasons for hating Allina include requiring an appointment to be seen in urgent care (so I should know ahead of time when I'm going to urgently need care?), not being aware of the fact that the rabies shot SERIES consists of three shots, not just one (despite making three appointments for me to receive them...), and acting like I made a mistake when one nurse made an appointment for me over the lunch break, then left on vacation for a week and neglected to tell anyone else about my appointment (forcing me to come back to the clinic again later in the day).

All I want is a little apology when they mess up...

So anyway, I don't have TB. Computer and textbooks are still missing. Nothing left to do but start studying.