The president is apparently going to be on TV at 9 tonight.

Aw, man. New episodes of House start tonight, too!

OK, I have the most shallow DVR question ever. The president is apparently going to be on TV at 9 tonight. Do I need to do anything to make sure I get all of my shows?

Oh feh. That means the new shows on Fox are going to get delayed. Frells up the plans for a W&P quite nicely.

Aw, man. New episodes of House start tonight, too!

That's just what I was thinking.

I am glad it is not just me having an issue with this. But seriously, will the TiFaux know what to do?

I always tell customer service people when they've been great. I don't talk to telemarketers at all -- when I was working in telemarketing, the only acceptable reason for not making a sale was if the person hung up on you. So saying "I do not accept telephone solicitation" and hanging up the phone is really the most polite thing you can do. Telling them no any other way is a waste of their time and yours.

FRELL. I'd much rather watch Hugh Laurie.

Who watches these things? Because I will actually turn off the TV or radio when that... man comes on. There must be someone out there saying, "Oh thank goodness, let's hear what the President has to say about this," but I don't know them.

While I was visiting my father, NPR delayed the beginning of "Wait, Wait" to bring us Bush's opening remarks on Rehnquist's passing (which turned out to be a quick overview of the man's CV, with a sideways slap to O'Connor) -- neither of us thought there was really any point to it.

I haven't ever found anything this man has done to be real breaking news except declaring war.

So saying "I do not accept telephone solicitation" and hanging up the phone is really the most polite thing you can do.

I know, but I hate to interrupt them. Which, again, is why the script consists of a solid five minutes of talking before they ever ask you anything -- and often they just ask to "confirm some information," as though they were just checking your address, rather than getting your permission to bill you $39.95 a year.

Interrupting is fine, really. Better than hanging up silently, because then they finish the five minute schpiel and wait for you to answer and feel like a jackass. If you just say, "Sorry -- no." and hang up, they can move on.

I'd much rather watch Hugh Laurie.

I'm either going to need lots and lots of alcohol, or some kind of alert system to let me know when to come back into the room so I don't have to see GWB's smug little monkey face on my teevee.