Tell Cable to Shove it!

I have finally officially said "screw you" to Charter cable in Kalamazoo. I have wanted to do this for a while, I just couldn't bring myself to give up my college football games, and DVR. After a year of debating, I finally canceled my service, and ordered a 768K DSL line from AT&T for $20/month without a home phone. I am very happy with the cost - VERY happy. I was paying nearly $100 for Charter's internet (5MB) and basic digital service (under 100 crappy reception channels) with one DVR - and that was a promo price! The DSL line is definitely slower than the cable, but I barely notice it when I am trying to stream off sites like hulu.com. Every once in a while, I have to pause for a few seconds and resume the program. But for savings of $80/month - I'll deal with that! I can watch most of what I watched before on cable via the internet or over the air on the TV. With AT&T, you can even stream many of the ESPN sports events to your computer. iTunes also has a lot of free programming.

I can even watch it all on the TV! Both of our laptops have S-Video outs and I run stereo sound to the TV via the headphone or SPDIF jack and an RCA Y-connector.

More people need to start doing this and tell big cable to shove it. We all could use a little more money in our pockets (and a little more time for reading).

So here it is: Screw you Charter! Get with the times, lower your prices, and start offering better quality digital and high-def feeds or you will lose many more customers. AT&T's U-verse is going to be your demise. Good-bye!

Sorry for the disappointment...

This blog is not about that Jesse Palmer, it's about this one. I'm sorry if I've disappointed you, but that's life.

Have a great day.

Charter Cable and the Big Ten Network

Finally, Charter has negotiated with the Big Ten Network to give me my non-stop college football action. This is really the only reason I have cable TV anyway. I really enjoy watching college football. In 2006, the BTN came out, and stole a bunch of the good games. Cable couldn't get their heads out of their arses and pay BTN the $1 per subscriber they wanted. According to mlive, Charter finally got their act together, and I will have the BTN as early as this Saturday at noon. This weekend's MSU and U of M games aren't on the BTN this week; so, if Charter doesn't make the updates by gametime this weekend (I wouldn't be surprised) I won't be out of luck.

The BTN is the result of a 20-year partnership between the Big Ten (eleven) and Fox. It's been on the dishes since the start, but cable was slow to adopt, apparently holding out for a good deal, completely disregarding their customers. Personally, I nearly left cable like many others because of this issue.

The Thirteen Year Plan

I've been doing a lot of research on MBAs lately. With the fast-approaching completion of my undergrad degree (February 3rd, 2009 - not that I'm counting down the days or anything), I have been trying to decide what to do next. The logical choice for me would be to continue the same path and pursue an MBA. While I might be happier with an engineering degree, I can complete an MBA program much quicker.

MBA programs seem to be gaining popularity with people from all walks of life. Some are enrolling in Executive MBA programs to continue working in their executive capacities while attending school. Some students who finish their undergrad degrees elect to continue on to get an MBA before going into the workforce. I do not recommend this. Employers do not want to hire 20-somethings with MBAs and no legitimate work experience for any decent jobs. That is, of course, unless you consider management at the Gap as a career goal.

My approach was a little different. I started at the community college straight out of high school. It took me five years, but I graduated with an Associates in Business Administration. After a two year stint in the pre-engineering program at a state university, I decided to attend an adult learning program at the satellite location of another university to get a Bachelor's in Business Management.

While I am nearing the end of a ten year road to a Bachelor's degree, I don't consider myself in a bad spot. I have gained great business and corporate experience with three great companies along the way. 1 2 3 It's time to figure out the next chapter in my life, and I don't think I'm alone:

"While the largest spike in applications is in full-time MBA programs, applications are also on the rise in the part-time and executive MBA programs. GMAC's [Dave] Wilson predicts that the part-time and executive MBA programs will be the next to see a significant jump in application volume because they largely cater to applicants who want to stay in their current jobs. "As the slowdown in the economy continues, we're going to see a shift to the part-time programs because people aren't going to want to leave work if they have a good job," Wilson said." ref

My Quest for iPhone 3G: Part IV

I never did update the blog with the outcome of the iPhone 3G trial. I decided to keep it, and I couldn't be happier. I have been very happy with the phone, and mostly happy with the service. AT&T is a much more robust network that Nextel ever will be, and the calls are crystal clear. I lose signal occasionally in the hospital, elevators, or anywhere deep inside a building. Nextel's service seemed to outperform AT&T in terms of building penetration. Beyond that, Nextel sucks. (And they're for sale.)


Just a few of the things I've done recently with my all-in-one iPhone device:

-Listen to podcasts (which I'm really enjoying)

-Listen to music out on the golf course (the built in speaker of the iPhone isn't too bad for iPod playback, but for conference calls, it leaves much to be desired)

-Facebook mobile

-Instant email

-Taking and sharing pictures

-GPS

-Fighting off enemies with my Light Saber

Get off the air FOX News

I knew there was a reason I never watched the FOX News. Griff Jenkins is a tool. However, I do appreciate the uncensored chants from the crowd. Watch and listen...



I mean, these kids are trying to do some good, and Griff's all up in their business. Come on.

Recreate '68. The whole world is watching.

Just what we needed

This is hopefully not a sign of the times. A robot designed to fill a job that should be taken by our overabundance of uneducated slackers. Our good friends, the geniuses at the University of Minho, have created a robot that can tell you when you are about to do something wrong, place the correct large purple bolt on the "car", then thank you for your help - all in a blazing minute-and-a-half.



This induces about as much hope for the future as the thought of four years of McCain.