For those who have followed my little adventure with my cable / internet provider, here’s a “Previously on Chuck the Writer” recap. On Sunday, my modem died. The modem was part of my cable and internet package with Spectrum. After going through all the various unplug and replug and reboot options, I was told that…
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Spectrum: “Don’t listen to our call center, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Guess where I’m writing this blog. Yep. I’m at McDonald’s again. We now begin Day 2 of Spectrum telling me to take down my pants and bend over. Yesterday, I explained that my modem had died. Spectrum told me that I would need to replace my modem – and my router – and that I…
Read MoreSpectrum: “You’ve had slow internet for 2 years? We’re sorry, here’s $10.”
This blog was written at my local McDonald’s – because McDonald’s offers free Wi-Fi. And why am I writing this blog post at a McDonald’s? It’s because the modem that Spectrum provided me has passed away. I came home yesterday and went to log into my computer. Hmm. Can’t access the internet. Checked my phone.…
Read MoreThe bed linens with a money-back guarntee.
Before I tell this bed-linen story, I must tell another story. During the years when I blogged for the Albany Times Union, I had many extensive personality conflicts with the TU’s social media strategist and self-appointed blog snitch, Kristi Gustafson Barlette. She always sent me unwanted notes about how I could improve my blog to…
Read MoreSpeedway math strikes again
My local Speedway gas station has slowly – and. I. mean. slow. ly – switched over to adding 7-Eleven products. It still has Speedway branding, the gas pumps still say Speedway, and the convenience store still offers their wonky Speedway math. I’ve written about Speedway’s problems with math before – where they offer one price…
Read More“You’re paying cash? That’ll be an additional $3.00.”
Time to run some Saturday morning errands. And one of those errands is to pay my phone bill. Normally I just do an electronic payment from my back account, but I had come into a sizeable amount of cash recently, and decided to pay my Verizon phone bill with the cash in hand. You know,…
Read MoreSo much for a “good deed has its rewards,” BJ’s Wholesale Club. Meh.
I was shopping at what was once the location of Northway Mall (now a strip mall with a Target and a Lowe’s and a BJ’s Wholesale Club, among others) when, upon leaving the Lowe’s, I noticed something on the ground. It was a membership card for BJ’s Wholesale Club. Someone must have dropped it. Well,…
Read MoreI prefer my chicken without homophobia, and on Sundays.
I knew it would arrive at some point. The Capital District has suffered from generification for decades – when the locals go crazy for the first appearance of a national chain store or restaurant at the expense of local product. I still remember the crazy-long lines along Route 7 in Latham when the first Sonic…
Read MoreThe Florida Museum of Photographic Arts is NOT on my Competition Season schedule. Here’s why.
Competition Season, my all-encompassing term for when I enter my photographs and artworks into various fairs and shows, is coming up soon. I’ve already got some entries ready, and there’s some concepts that I’m waiting to do in the next month or so. And yes, I’m entering my works in the same five shows as…
Read MoreGas rose 29 cents by the time I pulled in? Come on, Speedway…
Okay. Let’s get things straight right now. Joe Biden does not control the price of gasoline. Joe Biden is not the President of Sunoco. He is not the main shareholder of Exxon. Gas stations are private companies, they determine the price of fuel based on supply and demand. And let’s face it. They’re not above…
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