d00dism

Verizon FiOS is looking real good, $44.95 for 15 Mbps down/2 Mbps up. My Comcast cable access is 8 Mbps for $52.95. Verizon sends me advertisements in the mail multiple times per week advertising their fiber internet service.

Given, it’s lumped in with those mass mailers that clog my mailbox, but it’s getting sent directly to my house. They proclaim in big proud letters:

The limitless fiber-optic power of Verizon FiOS Internet is now here.

Am I interested? You bet. Inevitably, their address checker proclaims me ineligible. After getting the 20th advertisement, I decided I wanted to find out why Verizon was taunting me. I got back this response:

Thank you for contacting the Verizon eCenter. My name is [deleted], and I will be handling your request today.

This message is in response to your email dated September 20, 2006. You inquired about receiving advertisements for FiOS through the mail. I understand your concern and I will be happy to assist you.

I apologize for any misunderstanding. Unfortunately, we do not have the capability of pre-qualifying all of our customers lines for FiOS service before sending out the advertisements for our products and services. Our advertisements include the disclaimer that states that Verizon FiOS/DSL Internet Service is provided by Verizon Online and is not available in all areas. Service availability is subject to final confirmation by Verizon.

At this time we do not have a date when FiOS will be available.

Verizon continues to work to provide FiOS access to as many customers as possible. So, while you may not qualify for high-speed Internet access from Verizon today, it is possible that you could be able to receive it in the future as the technologies improve.

If you haven’t already done so, you may check the availability of Verizon Fios any time you wish at:

         http://www.verizon.net/fios

Simply enter your telephone number in the space provided. If FiOS is not available, you will have the option of requesting an email notification when it is available.

It has been my goal today to address and clarify your concerns related to Fios service availability. I hope I have succeeded in meeting that goal. In the meantime, if you have any other questions, please let us know. We look forward to serving you.

Thank you for using Verizon. We appreciate your business.

Pleasant enough, so I can’t fault them for that. However, the line “Unfortunately, we do not have the capability of pre-qualifying all of our customers lines for FiOS service before sending out the advertisements for our products and services.” is bunk. They can automatically supply that information using the database linked to their website.

Naturally, perhaps the advertising company they’ve hired just blankets areas, but that’s a problem they are completely in control of. They could market more accurately.

Could I just ignore it? Sure, but the fact is that very rarely am I interested in things I get in the mail. The one time I’m interested in buying the product I get jerked around. Bah.

All right guys, Fall is fast approaching and you know what that means. It’s time for football. Last year we all had a lot of fun (though I barely summarized each week’s results and that’s likely to be worse this year).

Without further ado, here is the info to join up.

Go to Yahoo’s Football Pick’em page. You’ll need a Yahoo! account.

Once there, choose to join a private group.

Group ID: 31839
Password: sharpie

I hope you all join.

Despite my sporadic blogging here lately, I got chosen to be interviewed with a local newspaper, the MetroWest Daily News, for an article in their Sunday edition today. I haven’t seen the finished product, but we talked about blogging, professional blogging, journalistic integrity, and a blog’s effect upon your job and career in general.

Hopefully I’ll come across as insightful. I’ll try to post the link once it appears on the website.

Update: The article is up. The print version lacked my picture. I don’t know why, but I’ll suggest it’s because I’m so attractive.

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I’d figure out who said it first, but that would mean I have time to. Here’s a quick rundown of everything that’s been keeping me busy.

The Day Job

I’ve been involved in a task that’s rather new to me, high pressure, and interesting. Overall I’m enjoying it, but it’s still soaking up my free time.

Softball to the Face

I managed to take a softball to the face 2.5 weeks ago. I was wearing my glasses and as a result, I managed to shift my nose over. I didn’t feel any pain and the initial swelling hid the fact that my nose became crooked. I had a nose bleed, but it went away quickly, so I didn’t get it looked at immediately.

Once I found out if it was fractured, I signed up for surgery I underwent Wednesday. My phobia of needles nearly made me faint as they put in the IV. Luckily, I didn’t and moments after they started pumping drugs into me, I was out. They straightened my nose and now I’m in a good deal of pain. I went to work Thursday, which was a total mistake, but the new task was acting rather needy. Luckily, my real coworkers could tell I wasn’t doing well and told me to go home.

I’m taking this week off, so I should be normal again by the time I go to work.

MacUser, Gadgetbox, and iPod Case Reviews

MacUser, Gadgetbox, and iPod case reviews for Playlist Mag are fast becoming more than a part time job.

After blogging on the former two sites, it’s usually just too late for me to do it here. I miss it. I have a bit more freedom here and I’m not really obligated to find a picture to go with my posts, which takes up a surprising amount of time.

Nintendo DS Lite

I bought a Nintendo DS Lite and I love it. I got the New Super Mario Brothers, Mario Kart DS, Brain Age, and Zelda: the Minnish Cap. If you have Mario Kart DS, let me know. I want to play you.

The Future

I want to resume normal posting, but it’s all time dependent. I get a surprising number of compliments from people that I contact for MacUser on this site and it’s made me realize that I was building a readership that’s likely rather disappointed I went on such a long hiatus. It’s time I returned.

If you keep your eye on Macs, you probably already know about Boot Camp. It’s a bit of a surprise, but I suspect it was done so that users choosing to run Windows can do so in a safer manner with proper drivers. The drivers included with the new software are the key part of this announcement.

Hacking the firmware to coerce a Mac into booting Windows took a little while, but it wasn’t really all that complicated. However, putting money into a development staff for Windows drivers is quite an expensive proposition and it goes to show Apple’s commitment to leverage the move to x86 to their full benefit. They can easily scoop up fence sitters that afraid of losing the ability to run Windows.

It’s a bold move and I’m a fan.