Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
rants

annoyance, inc.

That’s what Atlantic Broadband should change their name to. While it is great that Brian’s ftp issue has resolved itself, we found out this evening that we can’t get any of our local channels through the cable box. Argh! We can get them if we bypass the box, though, so at least we can still watch them. I guess I’ll wait till Monday and see if this resolves itself, too. I’m not looking forward to talking to their support people. Given the level of support Brian got with his ftp issue, I imagine it will go something like this:

support: “Atlantic Broadband support. How can I help you?”
me: “None of the local channels are coming through the digital cable box. There’s a message that says ‘to order this service call 1-800-555-5555”.
support: “Hmm. Did you buy your tv from us? We can only support the cable box if it’s connected to one of our tvs.”
me: “No. Do you sell tvs.”
support: “No.”

Dish Network, anyone?

tech

lost in transition

Time to celebrate–Brian can ftp to his website again from home! Ever since Atlantic Broadband took over Charter in June, he has not been able to ftp from either pc at the house. Interestingly enough, I noticed in my blog stats that the pcs from our house were always showing up as IP addresses. But, other people on Atlantic were showing up as charterpa.com. Then, as of last night, both the pcs in our house and other people on Atlantic started showing up as atlanticbb.net. So, I told him to try it this morning. Lo and behold, it worked.

Of course, Brian contacted Atlantic about this months ago and they were absolutely no help. Since his website wasn’t hosted with them, they wouldn’t look into the issue. Of course, the weird thing is that he couldn’t ftp to any site on catalog.com, but all other sites worked ok. Either way, this was obviously a problem with Atlantic. I’m half-tempted to get satellite tv just so I don’t have to give them as much money every month. I’m not giving up my cable modem, though. DSL is not available at our house and I’m certainly not going to use dial-up.

music

america’s sweetheart

No, this isn’t another post about me, but rather Courtney Love‘s newest album. Brian wanted to purchase it because we have all of her other stuff. I was kinda on the fence because it bombed on the charts. But, he bought it and I’ve been listening to it for the past few weeks and I love it! At first I wasn’t so sure about it, but then the songs started sticking in my head–particularly the lyrics–and I got into it. The lyrics are ridiculous to the point of good. Courtney does her usual off-key singing/screaming. I don’t know what, but there’s just something about her voice that I like. If I had to pick a favorite song from the album, I guess it would have to be “I’ll Do Anything”. Don’t get me wrong, this is no Lateralus (the best album ever written. Period. by Tool). I’m sure I will tire of it sooner rather than later, but for now, I’m greatly entertained.

pets

going to the dogs

All of our money, that is.

The vet called today with the first of Ripley’s test results. Her thyroid numbers are way low, so she needs to start on thyroid medication. I’ll be picking that up after work. One good thing about thyroid medication is that it is cheap. In reading about hypothyroidism, a number of nagging health issues she’s had through the years could be contributed to the thyroid. So, this might greatly improve her quality of life (and possibly cut down on the number of trips we make to the vet). If so, then it’s well worth the money.

Something that I think may no longer be worth the money is the place where we board the dogs. Don’t get me wrong, it is the coolest place you could possibly leave your pet. It’s just that the cost of boarding has almost tripled since we’ve been going there (and it’s not like we’ve been going there for 20 years or anything). Plus, it’s not all that convenient to get to. So, between that and the money, I’m thinking about finding a place closer to home. Brian will be thrilled to hear this because he hates driving out there. The girls will still be going there for our October trip, though. But, since we’re just going to Pittsburgh, it’s practically on the way.

friends, music, pets

miscellany

You can add this to my list of things not to buy in the future: German dogs. Today, Ripley made her fourth trip to the vets for the year. She has some sort of infection in her leg and was put on antibiotics. For that and some other reasons, the doctor also recommended a thyroid test. ka-ching! If she keeps this pace up, they’ll be able to add the “Ripley Law Memorial Wing” onto Richland Veterinary Hospital next year. All kidding aside, Ripley is a wonderful dog and I will definitely get another doberman in the future. Just not a doberman puppy. I can’t afford to buy all new furniture again.

Today, we’re having our last hurrah of the summer season. Looks like it’s going to be a nice day for it, too. Lish & Brent, and possibly his son are coming for a cookout later today. Should be fun.

I don’t know what’s gotten into Brian today. He’s washing the car and the truck. I’ve never known him to wash a vehicle voluntarily before. The only thing I can figure is that he’s perfecting his washing technique before he gets his motorcycle! motorcycle! motorcycle! next year. He’s even been reading how to wash a motorcycle on the Harley Davidson site, for goodness sake!

And speaking of Brian…Is it just me or is he in way too many bands? Here’s the complete list:
1. Rottenstone: Brian & me
2. Garden of Ashes: Brian & Shawn
3. East of Eve: Brian, Shawn, John & me
4. Temple of something or another (see, he’s in so many bands that he doesn’t even know the names of all of them): Brian, Slim, Shawn, & Rob

And, if you were really stretching, you could add Stone Rotten to that list. That’s an acoustic cover “band” consisting of Brian and me. I guess you could say that I’m in three bands, but it’s not like I ever go to practice, so I’m really more of a session player. Or maybe just a lazy musician. It’s too early to tell.