Many of you will recall back in June when I excitedly announced that Richard and I were entering the 1990’s in our communications systems. New cell phones, new email address and new blog. Well, we’ve just received notification of a couple of serious set-backs.
First, our land-line telephone company, Embarq, has sold. (Please note: in our little corner of the world, land-line telephone company = internet access.) In February, we will be on our sixth or seventh phone company in 20 years. I know little about the new company, Last-Century Tel, but their motto, “Committedly Indifferent to the Needs of Our Customers” does not inspire confidence. (To say in their defense, they wanted to use "Raising Ernestine", but Lily Tomlin slapped them with a lawsuit so fast , it made their heads spin.) Now, if it were your new phone company, I would find their honesty in advertising refreshing. But it is our new phone company; it’s not funny. We don’t know how this will affect our internet connection. Last-Century Tel reports that have a team of scientists trying to determine if they can pillage cyberspace for a tidy profit. They report there will be some changes a-coming to our service. Fortunately, Richard and I still own a rotary-dial telephone, so we won’t be left totally out in the cold.
On an equally unnerving note, Valley TV Co-op will suspend service on January 1st, 2009. I am particularly concerned by this catastrophic collapse in the television industry. (We are customer number 110 to give you an idea of the scope of this disaster. Literally, dozens of people will lose access to the reruns of Law and Order.) Richard and I have no known recourse. Satellite TV is not an option for us, due to the large hill to the southeast of the homestead. When I spoke with Valley TV Co-op about viable alternatives, they suggested buying a good book. So funny I forgot to laugh.
First, our land-line telephone company, Embarq, has sold. (Please note: in our little corner of the world, land-line telephone company = internet access.) In February, we will be on our sixth or seventh phone company in 20 years. I know little about the new company, Last-Century Tel, but their motto, “Committedly Indifferent to the Needs of Our Customers” does not inspire confidence. (To say in their defense, they wanted to use "Raising Ernestine", but Lily Tomlin slapped them with a lawsuit so fast , it made their heads spin.) Now, if it were your new phone company, I would find their honesty in advertising refreshing. But it is our new phone company; it’s not funny. We don’t know how this will affect our internet connection. Last-Century Tel reports that have a team of scientists trying to determine if they can pillage cyberspace for a tidy profit. They report there will be some changes a-coming to our service. Fortunately, Richard and I still own a rotary-dial telephone, so we won’t be left totally out in the cold.
On an equally unnerving note, Valley TV Co-op will suspend service on January 1st, 2009. I am particularly concerned by this catastrophic collapse in the television industry. (We are customer number 110 to give you an idea of the scope of this disaster. Literally, dozens of people will lose access to the reruns of Law and Order.) Richard and I have no known recourse. Satellite TV is not an option for us, due to the large hill to the southeast of the homestead. When I spoke with Valley TV Co-op about viable alternatives, they suggested buying a good book. So funny I forgot to laugh.
On the bright side, it has been announced that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Union will be opening a state-of-the-art telegraph office in Parkdale next spring.
The future of television in the Upper Valley is bleak at best.
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2 comments:
Dammit! Now how am I going to watch America's Got Talent?
My name is Joey and I'm with Embarq Reach Out. If there's anything I can do to help with your Embarq service, please let me know. You can send me an email at Embarq_Joey@embarq.com or follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Embarq_Joey.
Thanks!
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