DMB screws with Coloradoans again

Jeromey Balderrama

And my weekend was off to such a good start…

I’m playing RSS catchup late Friday night when I came across the Nancies.org announcement that Dave Matthews Band has released their Summer 2008 Tour Dates.  As I started reading the story the news was getting better and better, announcing the opening acts such as Spearhead, The Black Crowes, and O.A.R. That’s incredible!  This is too good to be true!

Then it was.

I went over to the tour dates web site and COLORADO WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!!!!!  You’re kidding me!  Why don’t you just twist that knife a little more?  It’s bad enough that there was no Colorado show last year (not to mention that we were skipped in 2004 and initially skipped in 2005, causing me to make 2 trips to opposite coasts to get DMB shows that year.  2007 was the first year since 2008 that I haven’t been to a DMB show, and now it’s looking like it could be two years?!?  I mean you threw us a bone by giving us those 4 incredible Red Rocks shows in 2005, but I would much rather have no Red Rocks shows if it means we don’t get skipped 2 years in a row!

I’m refraining from full panic mode because rumor has it that they are planning at being at this big festival at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on July 20th.  You probably have the same initial thought I had: “WHERE?!?” Yes, apparently that’s where the Colorado Rapids play soccer (Colorado has a soccer team??).  I’m hoping so, but if there is an announcement it won’t come until the end of the month.  That’s bad.

The closest show to us in Omaha on July 22, and the Warehouse Ticketing period closes on March 17th.  I’m tempted to road trip, but that’s a pretty bad time for me to travel (considering I’m going to a wedding the following week on Monday). However if I don’t go and there’s no Denver show, that would be the second year in a row that I don’t request tickets, causing me to wonder if my Warehouse money should go elsewhere.

DMB, please announce Colorado, and announce it soon!  Don’t screw us for the second year in a row, please?

Good customer service, or invading privacy?

Jeromey Balderrama

The strangest series of events happened this afternoon. I received an unsolicited call on my cell phone from someone in Comcast sales late in the afternoon, mentioning that they had received an email query regarding comparisons of services.  I told them I made no such email and was confused as to why I would get a call.  I’ve done some web comparisons but at no time did I fill out any kind of contact form for any of the cable/satellite providers.

I did some investigating and hypothesized that I was called regarding my blog entry earlier in the day,  about my searching for TV/Internet options for the new house.

Why I believe this:

  1. Like many self-indulgent bloggers, I keep stats of who accesses my Ramblings.  Looking at the logs, I found the following subsequent entries (all are from today, times are listed in Eastern):
    WebStats

    As you can see someone in Comcast New York found my entry by doing a Google Blog search for “Comcast”.  I can tell you that the host name did not have one of the customer c-your-ip-address entries, which leads me to believe this is from an office. 

  2. The same IP address visits the site again 50 minutes later, this time with no referring link (which means they clicked on a link from either an email, bookmark, IM or external source). 
  3. 45 minutes later someone from TCI visits that same entry with no referencing link – and for those who remember their Colorado cable history TCI was purchased by AT&T in 1999, which was then sold to Comcast in 2001.
  4. Subsequently I get a call 10 minutes later on my cell phone – which isn’t listed anywhere – from the Comcast Sales Rep
  5. My last name is listed on my blog, along with my abbreviated first name – Jeromey “Romey”
  6. While my cell phone is unlisted, it is the billing phone number for my Comcast account.

There are other possibilities: One may be that I inadvertently provided my contact information in some kind of query form – which because I have no knowledge it means I have bigger problems.  The other option is that they got my name from the mortgage company – but Bethany’s name is on the mortgage app too, she has an account and she wasn’t called.

I think it’s a plausible assertion that someone at Comcast read my blog, connected the dots with my account, looked up my number and called me.  Now the question posed: is this good customer service or is this inappropriate usage of my billing information?

On one hand it’s really good customer service.  Do a Google Blog search for “Comcast” and you’ll find that there are literally hundreds of blog posts each day.  For them to proactively patrol the blogs for questioning or unhappy customers, then contact them to see if they can resolve their situation is a smart approach to put out a brushfire before it burns down the field.

On the other hand, it’s downright creepy.  While I sometimes forget that the whole point of blogging is to share your thoughts with the Internet community, I still can’t help but be shocked when such a direct response is taken to something I wrote.  Aside from questioning their alleged throttling activities and calling their DVR “crappy” I didn’t make inflammatory comments in my blog, and yet it bothered someone enough to call me up and make a sales call.  I provided my contact information to Comcast to discuss billing and service issues, and while I don’t think they violated their privacy policy, one may question the appropriateness of looking up that information based on something I wrote and empower a salesperson to make an unsolicited sales call. 

I’m not really sure where I stand, but I do have to be honest and say I was unnerved by the cold-call.  It’s not that I don’t want a response from people reading my blog, it’s just that one should use the same medium – the comments system – to respond. (Note to self: put email address back on template).  To reference the information I provided to a company for a different purpose probably isn’t appropriate.

The Comcast rep is supposed to call me back, but I’m not really sure what they can say that will persuade me. Unless the promotional price won’t expire (which is unheard of), they finally port the Tivo interface to their DVR’s (something they announced 15 months ago) and stop forcing me to pay $5 just to get the NFL Network, I’m going to Satellite for my TV.

Trying to lose the cable

Jeromey Balderrama

The countdown is on until closing on the house (39 days!) and all of those pre-move activities need to get in gear.  One of those things is figuring out how our information utilities – TV & Internet.  Currently I’m paying a hefty $150 check to Comcast each month for both digital cable and Internet.  If you were to itemize my bill you would see:

  • 1 HD DVR Digital Receiver
  • 1 Standard Digital Receiver
  • Cable Internet (I own the modem)
  • Digital Plus (or whatever it’s called) that includes the music videos tier
  • Sports Tier package (thanks Comcast v. NFL Network)
  • HBO (to watch Inside the NFL)

One of the advantages of moving is to reassess whether you’re using all of those services and better define your needs.  Things have changed since I originally subscribed to this package and I’m realizing I don’t need the bazillion channels that I’m not watching.  I also no longer need HBO as Inside the NFL has been canceled from the network.  A good HD package is important to me, and I want a DVR that actually works rather than the piece-of-crap that Comcast gives us.  I also want the NFL Network, and do resent paying an extra $5 a month to Comcast just to get it.  The music videos are nice, but not really necessary.  With that in mind, I’m evaluating my satellite options:

DirectTV: $55.96 (for 12 months, rates hike back up to $73.96). Setup Costs: None, but $99 DVR purchase fee.  Pros: You get Sci-Fi in HD (good for BSG) and they have a good offering of HD channels (includes NFL Network on standard HD tier).  They also have the NFL Sunday Ticket package available, something I may be interested in having in the fall.  Cons: Their DVR is rated as moderate, price hikes $20 after 1 year.

Dish Network: $52.99 (no indication of price hike) Setup Costs: $50 (opted out of 2 year agreement), doesn’t indicate about DVR costs.  The HD channels are good, not as many as DirectTV but it does have the NFL Network. Pros: Cheapest solution and offers the best value of HD that I watch.  The DVR is the highest rated on CNet. Cons: Not sure about DVR charges, no NFL Sunday Ticket option.

Comcast: $102 but if I remove HBO it’ll drop $11. Setup Costs: Unknown since it would transfer.  Decent selection of HD channels. Pros: It’s what we know and most convenient to move. Cons: Crappy DVR, still need to pay $5/month for NFL Network, no Sunday Ticket option.

The Internet Wrinkle

Dish Network looks like the best option to go with for now, but now comes the Internet wrinkle: I want high speed Internet, and Comcast offers the fastest download speeds.  I like to game from my Xbox Live, so a consistent speed is needed as well.  However, I’m pissed about their throttling and wouldn’t mind canceling the service.  DSL isn’t an attractive option because of the slower download speed and the fact that I we may need a phone line (don’t know about naked DSL in Fort Collins).  There are some WiFi providers in Northern Colorado, but I’m concerned that my HOA will prevent me from putting an antenna on the roof.

The ideal situation: I would like to go Dish + Comcast High Speed.  My friend Kyle told me that he had it done before and a splitter can be installed, however this result in momentary connection loss, which can be very bad for gaming.  The other thing I’m not sure about is that there are currently only 2 cable drops in the house (Living + Master Bedroom) so it may be difficult to split those cables as well.  I could always run another cable to the office area, but I realize what a pain it is to run cables through finished walls.

If anyone has any ideas about the Internet solution (either naked DSL or some Comcast tips), I would greatly appreciate any input.

Update: After further research Qwest advertises up to 7mbps and offers naked DSL for $45 a month – comparable to what Comcast is doing.  I’ll have to research this.

(Favre) Oh Please…

Jeromey Balderrama

Sorry for keeping my football hat on longer than I should, but this is also too good to pass up.

If you didn’t hear, Brett Favre retired.  I respect him as a player and what he meant to the Green Bay franchise (especially since we Broncos have the myth, man & legend of Elway), but my eyes are starting to roll to the back of my head when I see this on ESPN:

OhPlease

Oh please.

Look, he retired – he didn’t die!  While this was mildly surprising – especially since he was a self-thrown interception away from being in the Super Bowl – this was the same thing we’ve been hearing for the last 4 years!  You know how the news media has their little vignettes on-deck for old guys they think are going to die soon – I bet sports writers had these graphics and stories sitting in the queue, just a click away from being published.

Favre had a great career.  He has the all-time TD’s record (as well as the all-time Interceptions record, but Favre slurpers forget that).  He took some pretty bad Green Bay teams and made them competitive, and he did bring enthusiasm and fun to the game.  He did wonders for Green Bay and deserves all the Cheesehead accolades.  While I celebrate Favre’s achievements, I can’t help but bring up things that prevent me from jumping on the Brett Bandwagon.

  • His Starting Record: He’ll be hailed like Ripkin for starting so many consecutive games. However, I think that Favre let that record get in the way of his better judgement.  In 2001 1999-2000 he had injured his thumb, which only sent Green Bay further spiraling down.  It was obvious he wasn’t helping his team by being out there, but Favre wouldn’t take himself out and because of the hype around the record no coach would take him out either.  This reared it’s head again in these last few seasons, notably this season during Week 13 when he separated his right shoulder.  Favre probably shouldn’t have played week 14, and while they won (it was the Raiders), he risked injury in a game that he probably shouldn’t have played in (again, it was the Raiders).
  • Constant Retirement Contemplation: For the last few years we all tuned in for The Days of Our Packers, where Brett Favre went through his soap opera of whether he felt like he should come back again.  All players contemplate retirement – I get that – but there were two things that bugged me about Favre’s contemplation: 1 – It was so damned public – It bothered me when he sat around in interviews wondering out loud whether he should come back and said that he’d wait and see if the Packers would make good moves.  To me this came across like he was holding his team hostage, being a GM from the sidelines.  “If you guys make good enough moves, maybe I’ll honor you with my presence for another year”.  2 – He made his decisions far too late. With the exception of this year, Favre didn’t arrive at a decision regarding retirement until the summer, preventing the team from making any free agency moves or draft preparation.  Had the Packers known sooner they could have better groomed a replacement for Favre appropriately, instead of gambling with the Aaron Rogers pick. Even this year, the Packers are too late to make any pushes for free agent veteran QB’s, all the best are already off the market (not that it was a great QB year anyway).  Now they have to deal with the problem that is Aaron Rogers.  This leads me to my next point…
  • Hurting Aaron Rogers. This same “consecutive start” probably hampered Aaron Rogers’ development from seeing any real game action.  There were a few meaningless games the Packers played in 2006 that would have allowed the Packers to evaluate Rogers, but Favre still had to start those games,dare they not break his coveted record. Granted, Rogers did end up getting hurt both of those seasons, but at the time a Rogers evaluation would have been prudent.  The Packers took a gamble and drafted Rogers to groom as successor to the Favre QB regime, but due to the Retirement Soap Opera they never were able to solidify their QB strategy.  Now they’re faced with Rogers’ rookie contract expiration and have to make a decision whether to keep Rogers and put up big money for an essential unknown.  Favre isn’t directly to blame, but one can’t deny that he has contributed to this circumstance.
  • “The Gunslinger” . The only difference between being called a “Gunslinger” and “Bad-Decision Maker” is luck & a ring.  Without his Super Bowl Championship, Favre would essentially be Jake Plummer.  The fact that Favre won his Super Bowl relatively early in his career enabled his apologists to brand him “the Gunslinger” who “gambles and takes chances” – whereas Plummer is “erratic” and “makes mistakes”.  This enabled sports writers to continue slurping him and ignore the fact that Favre also holds the record for career interceptions thrown.

Again, don’t get me wrong: Favre is an amazing player and the NFL is worse off without Favre playing – but let some time pas so people can ignore the above before branding him “the legend”.  I believe that history will consider Favre a great quarterback, but overshadowed in the 90’s by Elway, Marino & Young, as well in the 2000’s by Payton Manning & Tom Brady.

As for Packer fan: Take it from a Bronco fan – you don’t realize how good you had it until it’s gone.  A QB as legendary as Favre and Elway only comes to your franchise once in every 30-50 years.