2008 June | What A Slacker!

Archive for June, 2008

Nutty Squirrels Stealing My Internet

Add comment June 10th, 2008

Remember I said Comcast came out and looked everything over and that my outside lines were chewed by squirrels. Well those nice guys sent me the pictures they took while hanging out on top of the pole with those nutty squirrels.

Take a look at what those rodents did to the lines. No wonder I lost my internet and tv!

Bleach Movie Coming to Theater Near You - Sort Of

Add comment June 9th, 2008

Hey anime fans! Bleach the Movie hits select theaters this week for only two days. It will show on June 11th and June 12th at 7:30pm. Be sure to check out the official event site for complete listing of theaters. I know for me it is only playing in a handful of theaters here in PA. Luckily, one is close enough to go see it. The film is dubbed in English for those of you, like me, who hate to read an action film.

While we are on the subject of Manga and Anime, what would your name be if you could choose one? Mine would be Chiharu. I just like the sound of it. Plus in Japanese it means child of a thousands springs. Sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it?

Comcast Came Thru Sort Of

Add comment June 8th, 2008

Comcast came out to review the problems I am having with the DVR. Those problems being many like the screen going black when I try to play anything on the DVR or after I pause or try to rewind live TV, no sound after recording if the DVR was turned off at the time of the recording, and the remote not talking to the DVR (if you hit pause a couple of times and nothing happens then all of the sudden everything happens all at once).

They told me the black screen (which can be cleared up with a hard reboot of the system at this point) means the hard drive is going bad and I should get it replaced ASAP. The remote control issues should probably be fixed with an upcoming upload to the DVR boxes from Comcast in the next few weeks.

Unsurprisingly the same day they were scheduled to come out I lost all cable services TV and internet. When they arrived the also checked the outside lines and found squirrels had chewed through the cables.

So I got pretty good service from them and my outdoor cables were fixed the next day.

Scared and Confused About Credit Cards

Add comment June 7th, 2008

Starting out in life can be scary, maybe not horror movie scary, but scary nonetheless. My nieces are at that point where one will be graduating and the other is starting college. Both will be heading out into the real world and need to start handling their own finances. Trying to figure out what credit card to get to help build your credit instead of hurt it can be confusing even to us adults.

The Credit Cards Club can help explain the differences between different card services. Their articles will help you better understand your choices before you take that final leap. Reduce your fear level and check them out.

Don’t Bother Seeing The Strangers

Add comment June 7th, 2008

Went to see The Strangers last night and quite honestly I was disappointed. The previews and critic quotes they splashed across the screen let me think I would be “messed up for life” and “unable to sleep for weeks”. Well I slept last night without any problems.

The first half hour (felt like an hour) was really, really slow. We were treated (insert sarcasm here) with background information on the couple that was about face unspeakable horror. The next thirty minutes we were treated with some suspenseful scare tactics, which were almost enough to make me never stay home alone again especially out in the country. But then along comes the last half hour of this. The brutal murders we were told happened were actually rather lame and tame. It just brought you way down from the fear you felt earlier. It was a big let down.

Protect Yourself From Scary Monsters

Add comment June 7th, 2008

I went to see a scary movie last night and maybe I am just getting too old, but it wasn’t all that scary to me. You know what is scary to me? The thought of someone stealing my identity is really scary to me. Why don’t the make a horror film about that? Probably because it is too frightening.

I can’t even image the horrors one must face to get the credit cleared up after an attack. Monsters are no longer hiding under the bed or in the closet they’re in our computers and stealing our mail. Thank god there are services out there like lifelock to help protect us from these scary monsters. With lifelock on your side you can come out from your hiding place and enjoy life.

Pet Food Fest Being Held in Exton, PA

Add comment June 6th, 2008

Are you looking for something to do on June 14th? Want to win a years supply of pet food? Head to the Pet Food Festival being held by ShopByBreed on the 14th for your chance to win either a years supply of dog food or a years supply of cat food.

Besides this awesome chance to win a great prize you’ll also get to meet and talk with representatives of the best pet food manufacturers out there like Wellness, Innova, Nutro Natural Choice, Nature’s Variety, and Royal Canin. They’ll be on hand to field your questions about the quality of food you feed your bestest-best friends as well as hand out samples. Who doesn’t love free stuff?

Before you go head over to the Nature’s Variety website to get yourself a coupon for a free bag of dry kibble or raw food for your pet. You might as well go prepared, right?

from PetSaverCoupons.com: Pet Food Fest in Exton, PA

Get Off Your Butt And Do Something

Add comment June 5th, 2008

It is summertime, well not officially yet. That means it is time to get away from the TV, computer, xbox or wii and get out into the great outdoors and enjoy yourself. You don’t have to do anything too strenuous. There is plenty to do without breaking the bank you’re a sweat. You could go bird watching. All you need is a book, a pair of binoculars, good walking shoes and some time.

On the warm evenings you could check out the night sky with those very same binoculars or step it up a notch with a telescope and see that UFO zooming by. (For the techno-geek that has to have his PC along you can still bring it and use the night sky software or bird guide of your choice on your computer or PDA.) If your out at night you might want to pick up a night vision scope to see what is out in the woods with you. Any good bigfoot hunter worth his weight would not be caught without one.

Funny People

Add comment June 5th, 2008

Reading, PA is known for its outlet stores (at least it used to be, many of them have closed since it got the title of outlet capital of the world so I cannot see calling it that any more). So it is no surprise when things that aren’t even outlets start calling themselves outlets like the Reading Comedy Outlet. With a name like that you would expect to get funny on the cheap, but you don’t. Tickets sell for the same prices you would find at any comedy club for big name laughs. This August you can come see funny guy John Reep from the TV show The Last Comic Standing.

Oh, when you head over to the Reading Comedy Outlets website don’t laugh it’s not a joke. It is just an awful website and will most likely pop up on websites like webpagesthatsuck.com.

Who Gets to Say What is Beautiful

Add comment June 5th, 2008

So you think you are young and beautiful enough to be a model, yet Top Model is not knocking down your door to get to you? Why not try something a little more realistic and much less painful (maybe). LookOfTheYear.com is an online beauty contest that anyone can enter from across the globe. You can win $10,000 or even be spotted by a modeling agency for a chance at a career working in New York, Paris, or Milan. Who judges this beauty contest? The visitors to the site, that’s who. So put your best face on, head to http://www.lookoftheyear.com, and upload your pictures for your shot at fame.

YouTube My Dirty Little Secret

Add comment June 5th, 2008

YouTube was one of those sites I was late to get into. I mean really into. But alas it has happened and I often find myself spending hours looking for comedians, cartoons, LEGO films, silly how-to-videos, silly pet videos and more on YouTube.com. You could waste your time in worse ways you know. The visoes below are pretty funny. I first stumbled on these guys (at least I think it is the same group animation and voice seem the same) on that lame Jack Black TV show that tried to cash in on the YouTube video craze.

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

More Ways To Make Money Blogging

Add comment June 5th, 2008

A new company has arrived on the scene that lets you make money from blogging. It is called Bloggerwave. Really easy to sign up and be approved. Once you are you will almost immediately be able to pick a topic to blog about and make money from the sponsor. It is based in Europe, but is available to bloggers around the world.

Comcast Still Sucks - DVR Has Black Screen AGAIN

Add comment June 4th, 2008

My sucky Comcast DVR is at it again. Just like before it has a completely black screen. I have a date with the folks at Comcast to come out and look at things. (This all came about because I posted how awful Comcast is. Someone in the corporate office must have a Google alert for the terms Comcast Sucks and/or Crappy DVR.

Well they are scheduled to come here between 5 and 7 pm. I’ll let you all know what they say about the DVR with the black screen of death (this is happening every time I try to watch something that has been taped or if I try to rewind or pause live TV).

Honestly, I am glad it is doing it again so I have something to show them. Otherwise it would have been no different that my telling the over the phone.

What I hate the most about this is that they have no customer service at all. The people I spoke to were nice enough, but they cannot offer rebates, refunds or free services to make a customer fell better about staying with a service that is as sucky as Comcast is.

I am looking into getting a TIVO if I stay with Comcast, if I leave I will look at DirectTV with TIVO DVR service.

Want to know why Comcast sucks so much?