Bundling

Old school, old fashioned, old timer or just old news, I don't know, but back in the day we did not have to pay money to watch TV.

The reason I bring this up is that I just got off the phone with my cable provider, who I had called in order to explore ways of lowering my monthly bill. Just prior to that, I was paying my bills and the cable bill for this past month came in at a cool $194.95.  The only extras on that bill were 2 movies for $5.99 each, the rest was normal monthly charges.  And to top it off, my Total XFINIYT Bundled Services charge on my bill reads $134.99, but when I do the math, I come up with approximately $182.97 - I think they're probably using 'new math' on their end.  I should rephrase that because cable companies bill a month in advance, so this was a charge for TV that I had not even watched yet, and Internet time that I hadn't used, and of course the landline phone which has been on a closet shelf for the past 2 - 3 years.

So my call to the cable company began with me explaining to the rep on the phone that I wanted to get rid of 2 premium channels that were costing me a combined $25 a month. I also wanted to get rid of the phone that I hadn't used for a couple years, although if I read the bill correctly, only costs me $8.14 ?!? each month.  He did all the calculations and told me that with those changes, my bill would actually go up by about $25 a month.

It all has to do with bundling.

The rep seemed pleasant enough, so I asked him to cut out the B.S. and help me figure this out. I told him that I do not understand the cable bill (I thought I did), don't understand the options, and cannot possibly make any intelligent or informed decisions about what to do and I needed his help. As I said, with the choices I was about to make - getting rid of the phone and losing 2 premium channels, my monthly bill was headed up. The bundle that the cable rep put together for me gave me a host of premium channels - more than I currently had, with all kinds of on demand sports channels, quite a few other channels, their fastest Internet speed, a free modem with built in wifi to handle the increased speeds, and with taxes, fees, hidden charges, apparent charges and such, would cost me $7 a month less than I am currently paying. And I would keep my phone.

I asked him why I had to call them out on my bill in order to receive added value for less money, and he started to explain how it is similar to walking into Best Buy and  .... and nothing my friend - I told him he needed to start his story with, 'It's similar to stepping foot onto a used car lot and the salesman with the checkered suit and white shoes comes hustling over with a big smile on his face and ...'

Did I mention that my DVR is now free every month? Why wasn't it free last month? Or the month before? 

I still can't come completely to grips with paying money to watch television.

Back Then

In today's world, everything, everywhere, all the time, is recorded. Social media leads to instant global access, and just about every tool or appliance takes a picture or records a video. There are hundreds and hundreds of TV channels to watch, (which now have to be paid for) and we have instant access to untold tens of thousands of songs.

In the "olden days" that was not the case. I had a TV that got 4 channels and three of them were somewhat clear, but it didn't cost me $180 a month to watch either. As a matter of fact, I could buy a really decent used car all day long for that kind of money. If you found a car with 100,000 miles on it, and it was still running, chances are the owner would give it to you for free to get it out of the yard. If I had an eight track or two, they had 8 songs on them and I could listen to them over and over until the tape deck got hungry and ate them.  Same with those new and exciting cassette tapes.

Also, I left home at a pretty young age and probably lived in no less than 20 different apartments  between the age of 16 and my mid 20's. A lot of things got left behind or lost moving around so much and some of those things were pictures.  In order to take a picture, you obviously had to have a camera, but it was more involved than just that. You also had to know how to use it because film came from the store, had to be loaded into the camera, pictures taken, unloaded and packaged up and then taken to a little kiosk type store in some grocery store parking lot for them to send off somewhere to develop. Then it was back to the kiosk to pick it up and open the envelope with a lot of anticipation. You were never really sure of what you would find, under or over exposed, out of focus, not centered or film that just did not work out. There was no preview and keep or discard decision to make - each single push of the shutter button meant quite a bit.

So, when I come across pictures from my younger, nomadic, hit or miss picture taking past, they seem to make more of an impact than the on demand, instant, expendable nature that most of today's pictures do.

Anyhow, I came across these and thought I'd throw them up here.





First Beach, Newport RI. Someone got their hands on a parachute, another guy had a boat and voila, parasailing! Late 70's





Sun and Sand bar, early 80's.





Camping in CT I believe.





  Me and my older brother Bobby. Early 60's at Grandma's house.








 Another one of me and my brother Bobby. This was at his apartment in Newport. He's 54 years old now so this was quite a while ago.



My Friend Jeff's wedding. Sorry Jeff, I don't remember the year, but it was a long time ago.

 



 Same thing. Jeff tying the knot with his future ex wife Ann. There are a couple people in the picture who have since gone on to a better place.



And So It Begins - A Motorcycle Trip to Alaska

http://matoak.blogspot.com/

Significantly Insignificant

A host of stars framed by the night
Sat staring down past me
I slowly looked up toward their light
Wondering what they see

To them a speck on a sphere                                      
Hanging in the sky
I asked them to look over here

In unison they asked why
                                  
They gaze across ten billion miles
Anywhere they look
Toward the end of endless aisles
Their intention I mistook

They weren't intent on looking here
With all there is to see
Across the heavens was their goal
At all there is to be

The Passing

I hear a sound, it beckons me
A noise across the way
It draws me close to have a look
Then silence fills the air

I slowly turn to head away
With one ear slightly cocked
Again a sound; faintly heard
Now gone into the night

With a slow drawn breath I ponder why
Do others hear it too?
I float across the empty way
In silent journey's flight
 
gg

The Journey

A brewing storm in the distance,
Threw a raindrop down to me.
I let it run from my fingers,
To one day end up in the sea.

gg

Whispers

Trees marching through the forest,
In rank and file, silent journey.
Progress marked by age and eon,
Faces turned up toward the sky.

Groaning whispers floating ethereal;                      
Stories known too slow to tell.
Epic battles lost and won, tho
Attrition felt in silent, song drenched time.

Lest a visitor hear the chorus,
Dialogue escapes our mind.

Friends and family, foes and villians,
Attack the hard shield of their souls.
Brandished iron, fire and brimstone,
Time and detail bygones known.

Still forward, upward, outward headed,
'till facing where they'd been before.
A distant memory stirs within them,
A familiar place, a silent word.

Stopped not by man nor weary station,
Direction, purpose, time unknown.

Glenn


A poem about a venerable old growth forest that is very gradually growing and migrating. Maybe. Maybe it is actually about something else.

.

http://www.poetry.com/poems/whispers/14451682/


September 07, 2010

daniel-e.-pitcher


This is a great poem, though I think that line 7 could be fixed, I felt like it was out of place. Maybe take out the though and put in a period. It is a very very good poem though. You are talented. Keep practicing your poetry. I can see wonderful works coming from you, and I would love to read them.

August 23, 2010

suzanne-c.-goudreau


10! This one is a masterpiece! Lovely, creative, interesting. (Still forward, upward, outward headed..beautiful thoughts!) Well achieved piece of art! Please keep writing! You have a lot of talent. Would you kindly rate (until the fold) ty

The Birth of A Poem

How do you write a poem? I don't know.  Is a poem created or written? I think starting is probably the hardest part, so I am going to write something here. I am going to write whatever comes to mind and write it as quickly as it comes to mind. No do-overs. Ready?

Like a falling bomb
barding my mind
caught in the race
killing time
fragile moments
caught with a stare
caught a glimpse of
you over there
looking at me
looking at you
looking at me
what do I do
my heart begins racing
the moment is here
the time is right now
my motive's not clear
crescendo of thoughts
splitting my mind
words spilt on paper
tend be blind


Well, it is what it is I guess.

I'll come back in a few days and re-read it, maybe try to make it into something, maybe leave it. I like the fact that it doesn't matter.

.

Keep Your Mouth Closed When Traveling 120 MPH

In the end, when I jumped, I just did it.  You can't really prepare for it, it's almost like you are standing at the door and have an impulsive moment and then you're free falling. 

The jump master who I was supposed to jump with was sick that day, so they assigned a photographer to jump with me. What? Is that even legal? You mean to tell me that you've jumped plenty of times, just never with someone else's life in your hands? OK, that's cool I guess, let's go!

The plane ride to 14,000 feet was the fastest flight I ever took, I mean we were at altitude way before I was ready to be there.  Was I scared? I don't know.  Like I said, when you are at the door and the light turns from red to green, and you hear someone yell "GO", that's when you start figuring it all out.  I probably hesitated for a couple long milliseconds, weighing my options and knowing that if I didn't jump at that instant, I probably wouldn't jump at all .... ever.

You know how you feel when you lean back in your chair and it is just about to tip over, then you suddenly catch yourself at the last second?  I guess that is probably how it felt, but without catching myself for several minutes.

I always wonder if I would do it again.  I have already done it once.  I'll tell you what - I'll do it if you'll do it.  We can go together and you can jump first. Let me know.

.