So, as part of my preparation for moving, I’m looking into whether I should stick with DirecTV or go with Time Warner cable (after all, you gotta worry about the important shit first). I’d like to consider FiOS TV, but while that’s an option where I live now, it isn’t available where I’m going (instead of fiber, out there they just use string and tin cans). One concern I have is that TW doesn’t appear to have Comedy Central in HD, whic is pretty close to being a deal breaker, since I’ve gotten quite used to the Daily Show and (especially) Colbert in HD. Anyhow, while perusing the TW site, I noticed a link for ‘live chat’ so I figured why not ask them what the deal is. I also had a few other questions, like how big is the hard drive in their DVR, does it support an external drive, such as eSATA, and what percentage (give or take) of their on-demand content is available in HD. So, after having to sign in with my first and last names and zip code, I was hooked up with ‘Alex’ so he could answer all my questions. It went something like this…

Alex: Thank you for choosing Time Warner support live chat. My name is Alex. May I first have your full name?

Never mind the goddamn thing just made me sign in with first and last names required. Maybe this was a trick to see if I was lying or something. So, whatever. I gave him my name (or a reasonable facsimile.

Alex: Thank you providing me with your full name. Now may I have you zip code?

Jeezus H. Christ, dude. Zip code was required, too. But, OK, whatever.

Alex: Thank you. How may I help you.

At last, we finally seemed to be getting somewhere.

Me: Just a few questions. First, I’d like to know if Comedy Central is available in HD.

Alex: I understand you would like to know if Comedy Central is available in HD. Is this correct?

Me: :nod: Yep.

Alex: I would be happy to assist you with that. One moment please.

Me:

Me: :jerk:

Me: :yawn:

Me:

Alex: I am pleased to tell you that Comedy Central is available on the Classic and Standard tier.

Me: 🙄 That’s nice. But is it available in HD?

Alex: One moment please.

Me: …………

Alex: An HD receiver/HD DVR box is required to receive programming in high definition.

Me: 😡 Uh, that’s nice, but if I had an HD receiver/HD DVR, would I be able to see Comedy Central in HD?

Alex: Correct!

Me: :growl: Correct, what?

Alex: You would be able to receive programming in high definition if you had an HD receiver/HD DVR.

Me: :fustrate:

At this point, Alex and I were, sadly, disconnected. It’s too bad, because I was really looking forward to Alex enlightening me as to the Time Warner DVR hard disk size, and the availability of HD on-demand content.

I’ve had more cogent conversations with A.L.I.C.E. (not to mention fake Kirk).

I then e-mailed their customer support, but it appears I’ve stumped them as well, because, other than the auto-response I got about 46 hours ago assuring me that a tech support person would respond within 24 hours, I’ve heard nothing.

Something tells me I’ll be sticking with DirecTV.

I must confess that not only did I not watch last night’s Emmys, I didn’t even know they were on. Since I haven’t actually seen many of the shows that won, I can’t really comment on the winners, except to say that I like Nurse Jackie, so I’m glad Edie Falco won, I like the kid from Big Bang Theory (which I also think is a good show), and I also like The Closer, because the character of Brenda Lee Johnson is just so gosh darn cute.

Speaking of cute, the normally rather adorable Anna Paquin’s dress made her look pretty stupid. It appears she was wearing some kind of ancient Egyptian football shoulder pads. Oh, Sookie. You have to wonder who talks them in to this stuff.

In other exciting news, after being down since the beginning of the month, Sedition Radio is back on the air. I kind of debated on whether or not to even bother with it, but then I found a Shoutcast host willing to give me a free 25-user server. I still need to run it locally, but it gets relayed to them. Not that anyone cares, but Morning Sedition lives on – at least for a little while longer. It’ll need to be down for at least a while when I move, and since it’s been almost five years now, well, that might be a good time to just say goodbye and thanks for all the fish. But, we’ll see.

Oh well, I guess I’d better get to work. Got a house (and a tractor, and a plow, and a pellet stove insert, and a shitload of fencing and…) to pay for.