Malik
(12/8/08)
The Seahawks game
yesterday was awesome...assuming you didn't watch after there were
only three to four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Now if
you did watch the whole game, then you saw the usual crap that keeps
happening.
The Seahawks
started strongly by scoring on a TD drive to start the game. After
that, the Pats were held to a mere field goal as Seattle soon
followed with another TD drive. In fact, Seattle managed to score a
touch down in each of the first three quarters. Now that is the type
of offense that Seattle should be pulling out.
Sadly, the fourth
quarter, as usual for the 'Hawks, was where it all fell apart. Until
the fourth quarter, the Pats never led in the game. It was a nice
combination of potent offense and decent defense that kept the score
leaning towards the blue and green.
In the end, some
things happened exactly as expected. I don't mean just how the
Seahawks lost at the end. I mean how the offensive line still
couldn't handle protecting the pass. However, with Seneca Wallace in
as the starting QB and with Wallace healthy, he was able to run the
ball beautifully when the offensive line fell apart. Wallace managed
to average around 12 yards per run on his first two QB scrambles. He
was a man who lived up to what was expected from him in speed
(mental and physical) until he dropped the ball on a sack to end the
final Seattle drive.
When he is
healthy, you have to give it to Wallace for being entertaining. He
has the speed to turn any blitz into a potential first down
situation. However, without an offensive line, this is a man who
will become worn down before the game clock expires.
At least, with the
Seahawks being eliminated from any post-season play, it's now easier
to just accept a loss and to see the game for more than the outcome.
There's entertainment to be found when you no longer are obsessed
with seeing your team win. Normally, at this time of year, I feel
the same way due to the Seahawks having locked down a post-season
berth...but it's still good to look on the bright side of the
entertainment value even when they are down on their luck.
Lastly for today,
I picked up the new re-release of Chrono Trigger for the DS on
Friday. It's nothing new (it's almost the same as the PSX
version...but without the load time issues), but it's a game worth
picking up for anyone who missed it any of the previous times it
came along. It's even more worth it if you're like me...obsessed
with the awesome RPGs of the past.
On a final note
for today, I realize I have not bitched about Comcast for too long.
Well, I complain quietly nearly every day...but it's been a week or
so since I complained on this site, so I guess I should have seen it
coming;
Comcast makes another dick move.
Do you remember
those ads from Comcast about the digital switch? You probably do.
They are the ads with some wholesome person (like an elderly
gentleman or a naive looking housewife) talking about how confusing
the digital switch can be. Luckily for them, they have Comcast...or
so the ads go. With Comcast they will not need any different
equipment or changes in service. Comcast has them covered. Too bad
they live in a time warp.
Over the weekend,
I notice the line changed on Comcast ads. They stopped saying that
all TVs hooked up to Comcast would work just fine. Instead, it
changed to all TVs hooked up to a cable box would be alright. The
difference? Well, I have about a half dozen TVs in my house (I like
to have TV in my bedroom for late night news when I go to bed, one
in my living room for main usage and big screen goodness, one near
my kitchen to watch Food Network as I cook, one in my guitar room so
I can rock out with some entertainment if I'm switching strings or
repairing my vintage axe, one by the hot tub on my back patio for
true relaxation, one in...well, there's a good reason for many
others in my home...I have diverse interests and a house that is big
enough to grant separate rooms for each), but I hate to pay for
Comcast boxes when only a few need true digital service. I don't
need digital for Food Network, watching cartoons on Comedy Central
or TBS, or for watching History Channel. So, if I don't need a box,
I don't feel the need to pay.
Ironically, my
complaint last month about being screwed over by fraudulent
advertising from Comcast came down to them not honoring their offer
of two free boxes. Now, I learn that my notice of their ad line
changing (TVs hooked up to a box will be alright)
is coming for a real reason. Just exactly what they denied would
ever happen in their original digital switch commercials; you need a
new box for any channel beyond 30...of the soon to be departed, I
currently get about 35 channels that include all the good favorites
(Food Network, Cartoon Network, History, TBS, Comedy Central, SciFi,
USA, and so on).
If you're in the
same boat as me (having Comcast and not having all TVs boxed in),
you may be in for a hell of a bitchy change. Worst of all, even if
you have a TV hooked up to a direct feed via a D-TV tuner, it will
not do you much good. Once again, with Comcast, the details are all
in what's not being said. They love to make promises. "You don't
need any new equipment!" "You will get some free cable boxes!" You
will love our high speed unrestricted internet!"
However, what you
get are all a bunch of bullshit hidden in their false claims. "You
only need a (possibly new) box on every TV in your house for our
service!" "Your free boxes were actually never real and we hoped to
see you on a higher tier package with bait-and-switch deceptive
advertising (but we do just enough when the government gets involved
to give you nothing but avoid any fees)!" "Your internet is awesome
as long as we don't decide to f$#@ your torrents by giving false
packets from your IP!"
Actually, I said
the worst part is that even a D-TV tuner will not get you out of
this one completely. That's wrong. A Comcast line fed into a D-TV
tuner is currently not even that good. You get a few basic cable
channels (like those below channel 30), but only if you can find
them. D-TV already means nothing to Comcast beyond a way to force
more products, for a minimal fee, down our collective throats.
No, the true worst
part of this is that there's nothing that is ever done from both
businesses and the government to stop this monopoly situation that
exists in the cable world. Comcast can do this and those with
Comcast can only do one of three options. You can cancel all TV
subscriptions (and hope that free online TV stuff can cover what
you'll lose), switch to a two year commitment with a mini-satellite
based service (that may force you into the same price but no way to
cancel during a financial breakdown that could necessitate a
cancelation without a massive penalty fee), or you can do what I
sadly have to do...keep taking it from Comcast. With no competition,
too much uncertainty to face a two year contract, and with not
enough PCs in my house to show online broadcasts to my TVs, I have
to accept the one legal monopoly into my home...and keep paying
higher prices each year as my service remains the same.
I would probably
shit a brick out of sure joy if Verizon would get their FIOS service
to my neighborhood already.
So, to say, once
again, what I keep saying; f#@$ you Comcast and your lying ways.
...and I'm not
even the one who keeps bringing them back to being the subject of my
wrath. If they would stop being such conniving deceivers, I would
happily leave them behind and out of these posts.
Malik
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