Monday Musings...
Schools' out...for the summer (well, for most kids around here), and I can think of no better way to kick off MY summertime activities than with...(drum roll, please)...getting FIOS.
Now before you all go off on me for selling out as the newest prisoner to all this technology, I have a very good reason as to why we've decided to ditch Comcast, our dial up Internet and the "regular" phone and combine them into ONE monthly bill:

"...For da Money!"

I mean when the package was presented to us, and we bounced it against what we're NOW paying separately for ALL THREE, we're saving enough money to make it worthwhile, as well as getting much needed SPEED for the Internet as well as what would have to be better customer service for cable.

Dialup access even with a SEMPRON II processor just isn't going to cut the muster here, folks. Whenever I log onto the "information superhighway", think of it much like Mario Andretti driving a YUGO...UPHILL!
One of the "nails in the coffin" for Comcast, was the fact that we awoke Saturday morning to find the cable OUT. After spending about an HOUR on the phone to get a warm body to tell them about the outage, the wife and I decided that Verizon FIOS was going to be a better gig. At least that's the premise.
If any of you out there already HAVE Verizon FIOS, let me know what YOU think about it, good OR bad. BTW, we already know it will take the better part of a day to do the install, but if it's going to give me faster Internet, decreased pixelation on cable channels and a lot less hassle when trying to contact service...I'm all for it.
And did I mention we'll be saving $.84 in POSTAGE every month because of the combined billing?
Now...all we have to do is decide to dump AOHELL (unless we can get it free with Verizon, which is what rumors say) and use Verizon net as our new emails, which means contacting all the people we've been doing business with and change the accounts from one address to the other, but that will save us money. And today, every penny saved one place will result in pennies applied elsewhere.
After all, we're not part of the "Gimme" Guard.
We don't mind getting OUR money the old fashioned way...EARNING IT.
(Of course an inheritance or lottery win now and then might not be all that bad)
My personal feelings about this new tech coming into our house is mixed (as usual). I have this inherent mistrust for anything that becomes over-complicated (and expensive) while delivering the same goods as in years past.
Sure, it's the "wave of the future", and now we'll be on the cutting edge, but I didn't even want all this in the first place. I was much happier as a kid with 4 channels on the TV (which went dark after 1AM), radio, and albums. We had other things occupying our time. We didn't need a blu-tooth glued to our ears, or an iPod affixed to our skulls. We hummed, whistled, and used a phone booth to call someone (for a nickel no less).
When we got single-channel, 1/4 mile ranged "walkie-talkies" (powered by those 9 volt batteries), we thought we were Buck Rogers. We could talk without a PHONE.
Funny thing about all this...as each successive technology came along, we were "told" we HAD to have it. And in the beginning that wasn't really true. We might have WANTED it, but we did NOT "need" it.
Today, it's a whole other animal.
You have a TV with an antenna that works perfectly and that you're happy with? Come February 2009, tough $hit. You will NEED a CONVERTER BOX to receive the new DIGITAL signals that will supplant the tried and true analog signals for TV reception. OK, another $40+ gone down the crapper.
But wait, we're not done.
The TV itself is fast becoming a dinosaur, and by that I mean the CATHODE RAY TUBE-powered device sitting in most rooms across the nation. It's history...almost. Soon, you won't be able to BUY one of them. Get ready to purchase either a PLASMA screen or LCD screens set (at considerably HIGHER cost to you), not because you "need" it, but because the manufacturers are going to be making nothing BUT them.
The same can be said for automobiles. Time was you COULD purchase a plain old base model car. The ONLY thing that was "power" was the person behind the wheel. Manual shifting, standard brakes (no power or ABS), manual steering (think driving a school bus when attempting to parallel park), manual door locks and window CRANK handles, no A/C (that was what the "vent" was for - 2 vents open at 60 MPH or "2/60 Air"), and an AM radio (if desired). Now, we've got CD players, power EVERYTHING, electrically-heated seats, remote starting, individual "comfort zoning", GPS (learn to read a damn map) and a DVD screen to watch movies while driving.
It's no wonder we have more accidents...it's not that we have more CARS on the road...we just have MORE DISTRACTED PEOPLE behind the damn wheels OF those cars. But who needs to pay attention to DRIVING when we can be entertained in our vehicle of choice? And here I thought entertainment in one's vehicle consisted of a bottle of liquor, a cute girl, and a spot to park along the river at night...silly me.
So you can see where all this technology can take us BESIDE the poor house (but it will take us there in STYLE at least - we can watch a DVD movie). If we only had the wisdom to go along with all this knowledge we're allowing into our homes and vehicles, things might actually BE better, but until that happens, I'm not going to be all that convinced. I will remain skeptical and cautious.
Must be the cynic in me.
Still, we'll get FIOS, not because everyone ELSE is getting it, or because we "have" to have it (which we would eventually succumb to anyway they way "they" plan things)...we're doing it, like I said...
"For da Money".
So remember, everyone has DISPOSABLE INCOME...it's how we choose for these companies, governments, and utilities to DISPOSE of it (for us) that really matters.
We need to eat, be able to get places, have a roof over our heads, and be somewhat comfortable in the process. But we sure don't NEED a lot of what others are saying we do "need". I might WANT it (somewhere down the road), but I know what I truly NEED (as should you), and what they're selling sure ain't it.
This week, we get FIOS at our house.
We're saving money.
Welcome to the 21st century, Bob!
(rolls eyes...)
Yeah, rrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiigggghhht.
Show me the "Wow", 'K?