each time i run (or walk) i cover the same six laps... and each time the gps guided run tracking software tells me i've covered a different distance... the total distance is somewhere between 3 and 3.5 miles... and the software has a 0.7 mile margin of error... at least a 20% margin of error?... it's useless... and that's frustrating...
i've tried five different pace tracking apps and they are all the same on this point... they cannot accurately or consistently measure distance, which makes all the other calculations they provide invalid... one day the tracker software says 3.55 miles and the next is said 3.07 miles for the same six laps... so either the gps has way too large a margin of error to be useful or the laws of physics do not apply to me when i am running...
today, for each lap (in miles) it recorded: .49, .54, .65, .58, .61, .67... the distance per lap discrepancy, as expected, is similar to miles but even more telling... .79, .89, 1.04, .93, .98, and 1.09... same laps, measured up to .3 km apart... so how does this software measure the same lap with such drastic inaccuracy?... i am sure the manufacturer would have some pseudo-scientific response, but as they say on sports center, come on man...
looking at the map the software provides may show the problem... the flaw that appears to be causing the discrepancies in distance and that is the tracker seems to be over-reading (for lack of a better term) one or two step variations along the same path and adding considerable distance to the lap distance because of that... the path track has me crossing streets and going through buildings (impossible) way off the path i walk/jog on some laps so the gps sensitivity and accuracy is way off... i suppose this sort of tracker might be more helpful on a trail run, but it shows serious flaws and inaccuracies on a lap run which would lead me to question the accuracy of distance (and all other stats except the actual time) on any run tracked with a gps... unfortunately the other software i've tried is no different and shows the same gps variations, flaws, and inaccuracies...
so the app i chose because it provided the most numbers (mile times, average speeds, maximum speed, calories burned, and a lot more in miles and in kilometers) because the stats are fun for me and they are motivation to continue improving... but the numbers are pointless because the app cannot accurately measure distance...
so in the end, don't trust a run tracking app for any stats that any stopwatch can give you... the advantage of the app is that it will save the workouts for you, but better chronograph watches will do the same... the phone apps are cheap or even free, but they require carrying the phone with you and pressing the screen (after pulling the phone our of sleep mode) with every lap... a good chronograph watch makes much more sense... so we live with what we've got and the bottom line for runners looking for numbers to help motivate improvement is the uncalculated lap times, the overall time, and the physical assessment by your own senses/feelings...
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
att still sucks
stolen by att, yes att still sucks and att stole another few hours of this life... i was able to get two more att email addresses working, but there is still one address that will not update even though it is listed as one of my att email addresses... the website just keeps returning to the error message:
and in spite of their listing the numbers and link and stating quite clearly For further assistance, please contact:, calling the numbers wasted even more time because the left hands at att still do not speak to the right hands and all the people on the other end of the phone say is "we cannot help you"... and when i ask, then why are you listed quite clearly under the apologetic message that i am reading to you now "For further assistance, please contact:", all they say is "we cannot help you" wtf att?...
so i am still unable to access an email address i've had for more than a decade... random loss of time and internet identity and time and labor seems to be the att way... thousands of web pages containing my original website, many hundreds of hours of my time and energy building those pages, creating the content - gone, poof... because att decided to upgrade and discontinue web pages for customers... and now, because att is upgrading again, email addresses which are online identities, are erased... poof, you are gone...
We apologize for the inconvenience but we are experiencing a temporary system error that prevents us from updating your sub account profile.
For further assistance, please contact:
Wireless support at 1-800-331-0500 (or 611 from your wireless phone),
U-verse support at 1-800-288-2020,
Home Phone/Internet support.
and in spite of their listing the numbers and link and stating quite clearly For further assistance, please contact:, calling the numbers wasted even more time because the left hands at att still do not speak to the right hands and all the people on the other end of the phone say is "we cannot help you"... and when i ask, then why are you listed quite clearly under the apologetic message that i am reading to you now "For further assistance, please contact:", all they say is "we cannot help you" wtf att?...
so i am still unable to access an email address i've had for more than a decade... random loss of time and internet identity and time and labor seems to be the att way... thousands of web pages containing my original website, many hundreds of hours of my time and energy building those pages, creating the content - gone, poof... because att decided to upgrade and discontinue web pages for customers... and now, because att is upgrading again, email addresses which are online identities, are erased... poof, you are gone...
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
once again, att sucks, yahoo too
and once again, ATT took an afternoon out of my life... a whole afternoon... almost eight full hours... searching the web, waiting on the phone for support that refused to help because just as they deleted websites i worked on for years without warning, they shut down their internet service and emails i had for years became free emails with no phone tech support... but they just merged with yahoo once again and that screwed up all of the free email addresses so they need to provide some support for the change-over... and after searching the websites and following instructions for old problems, i found a chat link and a support rep walked me through the website to the ways to fix the accounts... it required a whole lot of jumping through hoops and repetitive logging in and out and in and out and providing way more information that i want to give (so i make it up... i mean, do you give your real birth dates and other information in online profiles?... hope not), but i finally got the two addresses to work... the other two did not fail, yet... they will probably be migrated over to yahoo and take another few hours to fix some other day...
and then i had to create new accounts in my email client, twice, and finally... i think it's working... we shall see if something doesn't go wrong later or somewhere down the road...
would it have been so impossible to have updated the help pages and support pages before the migration... the last time this happened, i could not log into my yahoo accounts because the att accounts overruled them... had to drop out of the fantasy sports i enjoyed for many years... no support, no help... somehow, a year later i was able to log back into my yahoo account, which is not my original yahoo account because that was corrupted by yahoo and they "could not fix it so just open a new account" and lose all contacts, history, games, and so on and start over from scratch...
not a good customer experience from either of them, and now they work together... figures...
barf...
and then i had to create new accounts in my email client, twice, and finally... i think it's working... we shall see if something doesn't go wrong later or somewhere down the road...
would it have been so impossible to have updated the help pages and support pages before the migration... the last time this happened, i could not log into my yahoo accounts because the att accounts overruled them... had to drop out of the fantasy sports i enjoyed for many years... no support, no help... somehow, a year later i was able to log back into my yahoo account, which is not my original yahoo account because that was corrupted by yahoo and they "could not fix it so just open a new account" and lose all contacts, history, games, and so on and start over from scratch...
not a good customer experience from either of them, and now they work together... figures...
barf...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
NBA fails again
No team should be allowed to win by fouling to prevent the winning score in any sport.
Both teams in game six played well at times and played poorly at times... San Antonio made a huge mistake in the 4th quarter by getting away from the inside game... when a player is having a horrible game, turning the ball over eight times, he should not be the player trying to control the ball in the last few minutes... sitting the best player and rebounder for the last plays of the game was very foolish and gave Miami the opportunity to tie the game in regulation... Miami showed they were not kings or god as the media likes to portray them... every one of them showed nerves and lack of discipline... comparing them to any great team or any great player is way too premature... they backed into the win...
Worst of all... with 1.8 seconds to play in overtime an obvious foul prevented San Antonio from scoring what would have been the winning basket... that foul was obvious to the announcers and very obvious on the replay... allowing a team to win by breaking the rules makes the win and the game meaningless...
San Antonio gave the game away and may not have deserved the win, but Miami did not win the game... the referees gave the win to Miami by allowing Miami to physically and illegally prevent the winning shot... that is not how a championship should be decided... just when i thought the nba could not fail any worse, it did tonight...
If the NBA does not own up to this referee error that decided the game, the NBA fails... if the media ignores this referee error that decided the game, the media fails...
There are bad calls and fouls missed throughout any game... there are fouls called when they shouldn't be during any game... no one can expect referees to be perfect... but this bottom line is simple...
No team should be allowed to win a championship by fouling, by breaking the rules of the game, in the last moments of the game...
Both teams in game six played well at times and played poorly at times... San Antonio made a huge mistake in the 4th quarter by getting away from the inside game... when a player is having a horrible game, turning the ball over eight times, he should not be the player trying to control the ball in the last few minutes... sitting the best player and rebounder for the last plays of the game was very foolish and gave Miami the opportunity to tie the game in regulation... Miami showed they were not kings or god as the media likes to portray them... every one of them showed nerves and lack of discipline... comparing them to any great team or any great player is way too premature... they backed into the win...
Worst of all... with 1.8 seconds to play in overtime an obvious foul prevented San Antonio from scoring what would have been the winning basket... that foul was obvious to the announcers and very obvious on the replay... allowing a team to win by breaking the rules makes the win and the game meaningless...
San Antonio gave the game away and may not have deserved the win, but Miami did not win the game... the referees gave the win to Miami by allowing Miami to physically and illegally prevent the winning shot... that is not how a championship should be decided... just when i thought the nba could not fail any worse, it did tonight...
If the NBA does not own up to this referee error that decided the game, the NBA fails... if the media ignores this referee error that decided the game, the media fails...
There are bad calls and fouls missed throughout any game... there are fouls called when they shouldn't be during any game... no one can expect referees to be perfect... but this bottom line is simple...
No team should be allowed to win a championship by fouling, by breaking the rules of the game, in the last moments of the game...
Monday, June 17, 2013
another brighthouse folly
bottom line, two and a half hours of my labor with no compensation is stealing from me... even if the law is weak, it is still theft morally and ethically, so brighthouse is an immoral, unethical corporation... hello friend?... until brighthouse pays me for my labor fixing the crap equipment they provide, brighthouse will not be my "friend" and it insulting to see brighthouse commercials claiming to be a friend... friends don't steal from friends...
2:50... a little lightning and the lights flicker... no problem anywhere with any electronic equipment... clocks are all still telling the time, computers are all running along without a hitch, everything is great, no resets anywhere, except the brighthouse cable box... the cable box can't handle that the way the computer can (which is technologically stupid since all it would take is a back up battery and some circuitry, but that would reduce the number of service calls and increase the life span of the cable boxes which would reduce the planned obsolescence factor and make less money for yet another greedy u.s. corporations, to hell with good service and quality products in the good old u.s.a...
3:15... the box is still in reboot mode... it seems stuck at E-7... E-7 is not a usual screen icon, so i am suspecting trouble... so once again i shudder and call brighthouse again... and a helpful canadian woman who is also a nurse (i didn't ask why a nurse is answering repair calls for brighthouse in the middle of the night) listens to all of my complaints about internet and cable and searches for a better package and finds all the same services i have now with upgrades to full turbo (30mbps) and digital dvr for $2 less than i am paying now...yeah, i know, the rate goes up next year, but it sounded good right now...
4:09... still on the phone with brighthouse... we finally finalized the new package... yeah, so i decided to go with (fall for?) the upgrades and $2 savings rather than the same services with a $10 savings (both monthly)... so while the customer service person was good at sales, she did not do tech support well and the box is still not working... she sent several signals, boosted the signal, and whatever other tricks she knew, but to no avail... i have a tech scheduled out to replace the box and install the new modem and dvr for wednesday morning... unfortunately, that will mean having to take the box in myself tomorrow if i want to watch the stanley cup and nba finals... meanwhile, i say thank you to the sales girl - she was professional, patient, polite, and helpful from a sales standpoint... and i try troubleshooting the tech issues myself some more...
4:30... after unplugging everything and rebooting three times, the box made it down to L-3... no E-7... hope?... yeah, well, the equipment brighthouse provides is the only thing about brighthouse worse than the tech support and service, but we let the box continue to reboot... it hung there, so i rebooted yet again... going on two hours paying brighthouse to take my time and energy and labor... and they wonder why i resent the unfairness of that?... a $50 discount this month would be reasonable for my labor would be fair...
4:45... the box made it back to the time, so?... for some reason it is not showing anything on the tv... no signal... so i unplug the tv and replug it in several times and still no signal... the box says it's on... i check the tv and the tv is working... i press the guide button and the guide comes up with the correct time so the cable box is sending some signal to the tv and the tv is recieving it and working fine, so...
5:05... i called brighthouse back again... and we tried sending another signal to the box and waiting for a reboot... and waiting for a reboot... and waiting for a reboot... i could probably type that a hundred times and still have time to go to the bathroom before the box reboots... just one more reason a simple lights flickering power surge should not cause a complete time-consuming reboot that prevents a viewer from finishing a movie or show, but profits must be maximized so screw the customer experience, right "friend?"...
5:20... finally have tv again... and i mention the fact that there is no sound and it's been that way since i first got the box (which was the third box tried back then) and the tech tries to trouble shoot and nothing... i tell him i am going to see what the new box and tech can do on wednesday and thank him and we are done... cable tv and internet service is still way a overpriced rip-off as is most products and services people need more than other products and services... supply and demand... greed and corruption... the american way... yeah, it's not fair or right, but it is the reality of the culture we live in... so two and a half hours of my labor and $50 off my bill would be getting my labor cheap... without the discount, brighthouse service and equipment and pricing continues to suck and what makes it suck most is the free labor they get from me to fix their crap equipment... still appreciate the sale customer service woman for improving the cost-benefit for me...
brighthouse roadrunner broadband turbo internet (updated 6/17/13, improved):
brighthouse digital hd cable tv (table updated 6/17/13, still trending downward):
2:50... a little lightning and the lights flicker... no problem anywhere with any electronic equipment... clocks are all still telling the time, computers are all running along without a hitch, everything is great, no resets anywhere, except the brighthouse cable box... the cable box can't handle that the way the computer can (which is technologically stupid since all it would take is a back up battery and some circuitry, but that would reduce the number of service calls and increase the life span of the cable boxes which would reduce the planned obsolescence factor and make less money for yet another greedy u.s. corporations, to hell with good service and quality products in the good old u.s.a...
3:15... the box is still in reboot mode... it seems stuck at E-7... E-7 is not a usual screen icon, so i am suspecting trouble... so once again i shudder and call brighthouse again... and a helpful canadian woman who is also a nurse (i didn't ask why a nurse is answering repair calls for brighthouse in the middle of the night) listens to all of my complaints about internet and cable and searches for a better package and finds all the same services i have now with upgrades to full turbo (30mbps) and digital dvr for $2 less than i am paying now...yeah, i know, the rate goes up next year, but it sounded good right now...
4:09... still on the phone with brighthouse... we finally finalized the new package... yeah, so i decided to go with (fall for?) the upgrades and $2 savings rather than the same services with a $10 savings (both monthly)... so while the customer service person was good at sales, she did not do tech support well and the box is still not working... she sent several signals, boosted the signal, and whatever other tricks she knew, but to no avail... i have a tech scheduled out to replace the box and install the new modem and dvr for wednesday morning... unfortunately, that will mean having to take the box in myself tomorrow if i want to watch the stanley cup and nba finals... meanwhile, i say thank you to the sales girl - she was professional, patient, polite, and helpful from a sales standpoint... and i try troubleshooting the tech issues myself some more...
4:30... after unplugging everything and rebooting three times, the box made it down to L-3... no E-7... hope?... yeah, well, the equipment brighthouse provides is the only thing about brighthouse worse than the tech support and service, but we let the box continue to reboot... it hung there, so i rebooted yet again... going on two hours paying brighthouse to take my time and energy and labor... and they wonder why i resent the unfairness of that?... a $50 discount this month would be reasonable for my labor would be fair...
4:45... the box made it back to the time, so?... for some reason it is not showing anything on the tv... no signal... so i unplug the tv and replug it in several times and still no signal... the box says it's on... i check the tv and the tv is working... i press the guide button and the guide comes up with the correct time so the cable box is sending some signal to the tv and the tv is recieving it and working fine, so...
5:05... i called brighthouse back again... and we tried sending another signal to the box and waiting for a reboot... and waiting for a reboot... and waiting for a reboot... i could probably type that a hundred times and still have time to go to the bathroom before the box reboots... just one more reason a simple lights flickering power surge should not cause a complete time-consuming reboot that prevents a viewer from finishing a movie or show, but profits must be maximized so screw the customer experience, right "friend?"...
5:20... finally have tv again... and i mention the fact that there is no sound and it's been that way since i first got the box (which was the third box tried back then) and the tech tries to trouble shoot and nothing... i tell him i am going to see what the new box and tech can do on wednesday and thank him and we are done... cable tv and internet service is still way a overpriced rip-off as is most products and services people need more than other products and services... supply and demand... greed and corruption... the american way... yeah, it's not fair or right, but it is the reality of the culture we live in... so two and a half hours of my labor and $50 off my bill would be getting my labor cheap... without the discount, brighthouse service and equipment and pricing continues to suck and what makes it suck most is the free labor they get from me to fix their crap equipment... still appreciate the sale customer service woman for improving the cost-benefit for me...
brighthouse roadrunner broadband turbo internet (updated 6/17/13, improved):
| working near perfectly working adequately not working properly not working at all | 5% of the time 80% of the time 10% of the time 5% of the time | no problems slow downs intermittent connection, reboot requires a call to tech support or repair visit |
brighthouse digital hd cable tv (table updated 6/17/13, still trending downward):
| working perfectly working adequately not working properly not working at all | 0% of the time 0% of the time 85% of the time 15% of the time | no problems delays, box/channels reset occasionally, software does not adjust aspect ratio and picture size automatically sound does not go on at start (this is 100% of the time) box/channel resets every 10-15 seconds or other issue requires reboot, call to tech support, or visit |
Thursday, June 13, 2013
nba fails again
first few minutes the announcers are already talking about inconsistent referees because they called a foul on the spus and changed the call from a non-shooting to a shooting foul because it was lebron... the bias and script is so obvious it is sad... just before the eight minute mark another cheap found calls on the spurs, of course someone touched james... pathetic... spurs players (and some miami players) get touchd a lot harder during the act of shooting and no fouls are called... the cheap offensive fouls called already is what is keeping miami in the game... letting lebron throw elbows at chest and neck and even face level and making contact and calling no foul (no less a flagrant foul, which the rules say that is) is keeping them in the game... and we come back from commercial with the spurs leading and red hot and the announcers and video clips are all about lebron and wade... the script is way too obvious, nba... i don't watch wrestling, i don't watch reality tv, i don't watch soap operas, and every year, more and more, i am losing interest in the nba...
and the second quarter is even worse... the announcers are wondering where the fouls are... a foul on duncan and the announcers are asking where was it... the announcers are laughing at the refs for being fooled by multiple miami flops... one announcer said "write your check to the league office for that flop" after bosh did what he is best known for doing... the refs actually tried to defend their call immediately following the play, knowing they were outed for their bias... it is so obvious the refs are doing everything in their power to get lebron and miami started and give this game to miami... the game is dominated by phantom fouls on the spurs and no calls on miami when they make contact...
and what happens by the time the third quarter comes around is the bias is ignored by the announcers, the team that was given the bias is running on all cylinders, the team the refs were literally holding down is not in synch... if you understand the game and watch each play closely, you'd see it too... they can give "king james' his championships and history will be written without the flat out nba cheating, but they will never give him nor the miami heat respect from a knowledgeable basketball fan this way...
#nbafail
PS... here's a rant with some links and other opinions... meanwhile, just like last year, nba finals once again disappoint immensely (because of cheating (as a former referee has stated in court which was whitewashed by the nba... summary here)... solutions?...
and i am coming to the realization that the main reason i don't like the miami heat is because both lebron and wade are dirty players - they are street players, not professional basketball players... they need the refs to not call fouls on them for them to win... their favorite mo dirty cheat is to slap players across the eyes... they also, like street players, travel a lot and it is not called... and three second violations are not called on them... and let's not get into bosh the flopper because he and others like him (battier, for another) make a mockery of the nba... all in all, the nba bias has become too obvious for an educated fan to ignore...
and the second quarter is even worse... the announcers are wondering where the fouls are... a foul on duncan and the announcers are asking where was it... the announcers are laughing at the refs for being fooled by multiple miami flops... one announcer said "write your check to the league office for that flop" after bosh did what he is best known for doing... the refs actually tried to defend their call immediately following the play, knowing they were outed for their bias... it is so obvious the refs are doing everything in their power to get lebron and miami started and give this game to miami... the game is dominated by phantom fouls on the spurs and no calls on miami when they make contact...
and what happens by the time the third quarter comes around is the bias is ignored by the announcers, the team that was given the bias is running on all cylinders, the team the refs were literally holding down is not in synch... if you understand the game and watch each play closely, you'd see it too... they can give "king james' his championships and history will be written without the flat out nba cheating, but they will never give him nor the miami heat respect from a knowledgeable basketball fan this way...
#nbafail
PS... here's a rant with some links and other opinions... meanwhile, just like last year, nba finals once again disappoint immensely (because of cheating (as a former referee has stated in court which was whitewashed by the nba... summary here)... solutions?...
and i am coming to the realization that the main reason i don't like the miami heat is because both lebron and wade are dirty players - they are street players, not professional basketball players... they need the refs to not call fouls on them for them to win... their favorite mo dirty cheat is to slap players across the eyes... they also, like street players, travel a lot and it is not called... and three second violations are not called on them... and let's not get into bosh the flopper because he and others like him (battier, for another) make a mockery of the nba... all in all, the nba bias has become too obvious for an educated fan to ignore...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
brighthouse "service"
just when i was accepting the mediocre service provided by brighthouse as the best they can do, it gets worse... the internet went out tonight suddenly and i rebooted the modem three times to no avail, so i called brighthouse from the phone associated with my account and the automated screening program asked if i was calling from the phone number associated with my account and i said yes and was asked why i am calling and said "internet tech support" and was told i was being connected to road runner tech support and waited for a representative... after coming on the voice said "welcome to brighthouse" and i was asked for the phone number associated with my account, again... i gave the csr my number, repeated it, and explained that i am calling for internet tech support because the internet connection went down about an hour ago and i rebooted the modem properly three times before calling and there was still no connection and the ready lights were blinking...
after a few minutes i was asked for the address and my name... after a few more minutes i was asked for the mac number on the back of the modem and i told the csr tech support representative i could not read it... after a few more minutes i was asked for the account number, which i did not have with me because i pay electronically automatically each month and do not look at paper bills or go online to their site... after a few minutes i was asked for my phone number again as if i was never asked in the first place... the csr then told me to look on the back of the modem and find the coaxial cable "which is a thick round black cable that screws into...." and i cut her off reminding her that i already told her that i already tried rebooting the modem three times before calling and informed her that i know how to reboot a modem as i do it at least weekly... a few more minutes went by and i was asked for my name and address again as if i was never asked in the first place... a few more minutes and i was asked for my account number again, which i again said i did not have... a few more minutes and i was asked for the mac number on the back of the modem once again, and i responded that i could not read it, once again... after a few more minutes i was asked for the telephone number associated with the account for the third time as if i never gave it...
it was then i asked to speak to the csr's supervisor...
after almost ten minutes the same csr comes on the phone as if she was someone else and asks me to give her the mac number on the back of the modem... i told her that i asked to speak with her supervisor and she said "ok"...
about five minutes later someone identifying herself as a supervisor came on the line and i explained why i asked for her, especially the ten minute wait and attempt to fool me, and she said she would look up my account... about five minutes later brighthouse hung up on me... i looked up at the modem and it was working... apparently the "supervisor" was able to locate my account and send a signal boost within five minutes after the csr gave me a runaround for more than a half hour...
i don't call that "friend"... i don't call that "service"... i call that being lied to, manipulated, and disrespected by an incompetent csr who should not be working customer service or tech support and disrespected by a supervisor with poor customer service skills... just what i've come to expect from brighthouse...
hello friend, right...
after a few minutes i was asked for the address and my name... after a few more minutes i was asked for the mac number on the back of the modem and i told the csr tech support representative i could not read it... after a few more minutes i was asked for the account number, which i did not have with me because i pay electronically automatically each month and do not look at paper bills or go online to their site... after a few minutes i was asked for my phone number again as if i was never asked in the first place... the csr then told me to look on the back of the modem and find the coaxial cable "which is a thick round black cable that screws into...." and i cut her off reminding her that i already told her that i already tried rebooting the modem three times before calling and informed her that i know how to reboot a modem as i do it at least weekly... a few more minutes went by and i was asked for my name and address again as if i was never asked in the first place... a few more minutes and i was asked for my account number again, which i again said i did not have... a few more minutes and i was asked for the mac number on the back of the modem once again, and i responded that i could not read it, once again... after a few more minutes i was asked for the telephone number associated with the account for the third time as if i never gave it...
it was then i asked to speak to the csr's supervisor...
after almost ten minutes the same csr comes on the phone as if she was someone else and asks me to give her the mac number on the back of the modem... i told her that i asked to speak with her supervisor and she said "ok"...
about five minutes later someone identifying herself as a supervisor came on the line and i explained why i asked for her, especially the ten minute wait and attempt to fool me, and she said she would look up my account... about five minutes later brighthouse hung up on me... i looked up at the modem and it was working... apparently the "supervisor" was able to locate my account and send a signal boost within five minutes after the csr gave me a runaround for more than a half hour...
i don't call that "friend"... i don't call that "service"... i call that being lied to, manipulated, and disrespected by an incompetent csr who should not be working customer service or tech support and disrespected by a supervisor with poor customer service skills... just what i've come to expect from brighthouse...
hello friend, right...
Saturday, June 8, 2013
out of control blogger stats
why does goggle/blogger continue to reset the settings feature "don't track your own page views" when i do not want to track my page views... ever time i re-check that feature i find it is reset to counting my page views which fools me into thinking there are more people visiting my blogs - when in some cases i am the only one visiting some of my more obscure blogs... it is very annoying to find that feature reset on a regular basis...
bad form, blogger... another google fail... fix it please...
bad form, blogger... another google fail... fix it please...
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
htc inspire
i don't know what the problem is with the htc inspire but i know what bugs me about it and why i won't be buying another htc unless the same issues are definitely not in the next models... bugs or flaws or whatever, the htc inspire has them... the battery life is short... some apps came pre-installed and they cannot be removed... these apps always seem to be on... i installed advanced app killer and every time i open it, i find more than a dozen apps running and worst of all, these are apps i've never used... i can kill them all, turn off the screen, wait two seconds, turn on the screen and open app killer again and there they are... draining the battery... turning on the gps and/or other apps when i am not using any apps... and i watch the battery life go down...
there's no tick tock on your electric clock, but still your life runs down...
i don't get it... maybe it's not all the inspire's fault... maybe the apps themselves refuse to turn off or turn on automatically... or maybe the android os does it.... and maybe my carrier (att) forces some apps on me (why can't i delete apps that came with the phone that i do not use, especially when they turn themselves on without my permission and drain my battery?... can i sue them if the phone is out of juice during an emergency?)...
anyway, and if that's not enough, some apps and features will not work if i am connected to a wireless network... voice texting, for instance... or some web connections,,, weather... it's ridiculous...
there's no tick tock on your electric clock, but still your life runs down...
i don't get it... maybe it's not all the inspire's fault... maybe the apps themselves refuse to turn off or turn on automatically... or maybe the android os does it.... and maybe my carrier (att) forces some apps on me (why can't i delete apps that came with the phone that i do not use, especially when they turn themselves on without my permission and drain my battery?... can i sue them if the phone is out of juice during an emergency?)...
anyway, and if that's not enough, some apps and features will not work if i am connected to a wireless network... voice texting, for instance... or some web connections,,, weather... it's ridiculous...
Saturday, June 1, 2013
the nba reality tv show
wrote this last week and posted much of it in the tv blog, but the venting needed to continue checking in on nba games just had to come here... last season the miami heat did not deserve to win it all, boston would have beaten them if not for a few key calls be referees at critical moments in a few games... indiana had a chance too, and referees giving lebron james carte blanche skewed that outcome... but boston was cheated last yet, no doubt about it...
i'd rather watch women's softball (and give me college sports over professional almost any day)... the nba game is so reflective of the american culture, scripted drama, reality tv, and arrogant overpaid kids with little or no education, sportsmanship, or class trying to show off... the usa may be the most egocentric culture in the history of mankind, but if it isn't, it is up there with any others... and like the others, the fall is coming... but back to the nba...
not every team is made up of over-dramatic macho egos, some do have exemplary class (san antonio lead by tim duncan, for one)... we might as well watch boxing or hockey (and there is less theatrics in both)... since the beginning of the playoffs (i seldom watch the game before the playoffs), the knicks are a perfect example (as are miami and the lakers), egos inflated by their urban home venue... they play like selfish thugs and act like punk kids who have no clue that basketball is a team sport and at times, appear to have no clue as to what the game of basketball is about...
too many teams are like them these days, with one mega-star having amazing individual games now and then, but that does not work against a team playing together in a seven game series... what gives miami an edge (besides the refs who consistently call plays in their favor... lebron, of course, is the best example of the nba reality tv show) is they have two of the best players in the game who've learned to play two on two ball pretty well, sometimes... it's still not what the five on five basketball game was meant to be and teams that played like teams (like boston from the 60s and the knicks and lakers from the 70s... watch tapes and learn if you are really interested in the game)...
one reason i like charles barkley is, through instinct, intelligence, or naivety, he says what a lot of people are thinking but most if not all are afraid to so... he is not politically correct... he does not go along the company line... and many times, he speaks truth no one wants to hear or believe... not in the scripted nba... for years people swore wrestling wasn't scripted, foolish fans... the nba is obviously scripted to some extent, maybe a lot... and espn plays right into the soap opera... ridiculously overblown drama on reality tv is the american way these days... what is obvious is the same physical interaction between players can happen a hundred times during a game and a few times it's called a foul, purely at the referee's discretion... and too often those specific foul calls come at points in a game that turn momentum toward one team or another... too often those specific foul calls determine who wins a game or a series, as with miami over boston last year... so thank you charles barkley...
"i know the nba wants miami in the final, but come on man" ~ charles barkley
it's pretty simple... small market teams do not bring in the tv viewers (and therein revenues) that big market teams do... so at least one team in the finals needs to be a big market with controversy... just look at the big city teams, they are soap operas... and the good teams from smaller markets?... seldom is there major drama or controversy... they play to their markets, they play to their scripts...
so thank you tnt for putting him on the air... the talking heads on the others stations are so bending over backwards to please the corporate network execs and corporate nba, they take the joy out of the game... sir charles (and shaq and kenny on tnn, were remarking about the ridiculous referee calls between commercial breaks and this particular statement was made supporting shaq and kenny's similar statements during a review of the biased calls by the refs during game the first half of game two of the conference finals... ridiculous technical fouls on indiana, while miami is allowed to argue and provoke much more than indiana does and nothing is called... i am waiting for them to notice how many 3-second violations are called against indiana just as someone is going in for an easy layup... besides the ridiculous disparity in foul calls, 3-second violations taking away point opportunities from indiana and giving more point opportunities to miami is the rule the refs follow...
as long as street ball is played and the obvious scripting continues, reality tv fans can have the nba... as long as individual stats and double doubles and triple doubles are more important than team play or even winning, i'll just tune in now and then to check the score...
i'd rather watch women's softball (and give me college sports over professional almost any day)... the nba game is so reflective of the american culture, scripted drama, reality tv, and arrogant overpaid kids with little or no education, sportsmanship, or class trying to show off... the usa may be the most egocentric culture in the history of mankind, but if it isn't, it is up there with any others... and like the others, the fall is coming... but back to the nba...
not every team is made up of over-dramatic macho egos, some do have exemplary class (san antonio lead by tim duncan, for one)... we might as well watch boxing or hockey (and there is less theatrics in both)... since the beginning of the playoffs (i seldom watch the game before the playoffs), the knicks are a perfect example (as are miami and the lakers), egos inflated by their urban home venue... they play like selfish thugs and act like punk kids who have no clue that basketball is a team sport and at times, appear to have no clue as to what the game of basketball is about...
too many teams are like them these days, with one mega-star having amazing individual games now and then, but that does not work against a team playing together in a seven game series... what gives miami an edge (besides the refs who consistently call plays in their favor... lebron, of course, is the best example of the nba reality tv show) is they have two of the best players in the game who've learned to play two on two ball pretty well, sometimes... it's still not what the five on five basketball game was meant to be and teams that played like teams (like boston from the 60s and the knicks and lakers from the 70s... watch tapes and learn if you are really interested in the game)...
one reason i like charles barkley is, through instinct, intelligence, or naivety, he says what a lot of people are thinking but most if not all are afraid to so... he is not politically correct... he does not go along the company line... and many times, he speaks truth no one wants to hear or believe... not in the scripted nba... for years people swore wrestling wasn't scripted, foolish fans... the nba is obviously scripted to some extent, maybe a lot... and espn plays right into the soap opera... ridiculously overblown drama on reality tv is the american way these days... what is obvious is the same physical interaction between players can happen a hundred times during a game and a few times it's called a foul, purely at the referee's discretion... and too often those specific foul calls come at points in a game that turn momentum toward one team or another... too often those specific foul calls determine who wins a game or a series, as with miami over boston last year... so thank you charles barkley...
"i know the nba wants miami in the final, but come on man" ~ charles barkley
it's pretty simple... small market teams do not bring in the tv viewers (and therein revenues) that big market teams do... so at least one team in the finals needs to be a big market with controversy... just look at the big city teams, they are soap operas... and the good teams from smaller markets?... seldom is there major drama or controversy... they play to their markets, they play to their scripts...
so thank you tnt for putting him on the air... the talking heads on the others stations are so bending over backwards to please the corporate network execs and corporate nba, they take the joy out of the game... sir charles (and shaq and kenny on tnn, were remarking about the ridiculous referee calls between commercial breaks and this particular statement was made supporting shaq and kenny's similar statements during a review of the biased calls by the refs during game the first half of game two of the conference finals... ridiculous technical fouls on indiana, while miami is allowed to argue and provoke much more than indiana does and nothing is called... i am waiting for them to notice how many 3-second violations are called against indiana just as someone is going in for an easy layup... besides the ridiculous disparity in foul calls, 3-second violations taking away point opportunities from indiana and giving more point opportunities to miami is the rule the refs follow...
as long as street ball is played and the obvious scripting continues, reality tv fans can have the nba... as long as individual stats and double doubles and triple doubles are more important than team play or even winning, i'll just tune in now and then to check the score...
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