Time Warner keeps giving me the number I just called to call to solve the problem. This is an epitome of the right hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

When I tried to call Comcast about internet issues, I kept running into the problem where the machine would ask for the phone number associated with the account, and I'd enter it, but then, rather than doing the sensible thing and looking up what account was associated with that number and transferring me to the regional Comcast office that was in charge of that account, they'd transfer me to the regional Comcast office in charge of accounts for the area code of that number. Which was useless, because my account is in Pennsylvania, and my phone is a DC cell phone. After getting caught in a loop several times, someone finally told me that, when the system asks for my number the first time, I should enter the phone number of the pizza place down the street. That will get me transferred to the right regional office, where a person will answer the phone and ask me for my name and address, which they can use to pull up my actual account.

this is so fucking stupid.

Thankful for Charter Communication's Twitter Customer Service team.

The even better thing is that the people giving me their own number apparently thought they were pawning me off on TiVo. Now that they finally have, of course TiVo thinks it's a Time Warner issue. I fear this will be my day's energy getting TNT back. I managed to get the National Geographic channel back myself, but that's not where Major Crimes is aired. Perhaps this is a sign.

At least to torrent.

Cablevision's automated menus mostly try to hard-sell their website. Which would be a really helpful thing to know if I ever called them for a reason other than my internet being down.

I was tweeting Comcast all the time for a while there, but it never really did me any good. My box seems to have gotten better, though, because the special phone number I got from Twitter is answered by people whose only idea is to "send someone out." Which, you know, if they could come right now would be fine. But they can come next Wednesday at 11.

Hey, what was that website for alternative historical female costumes?

Okay, TiVo tech support is ten minutes late calling me back. Time to start wasting their time again. And I bet it's a Time Warner issue, just because that would be funnier. I was on with TiVo for at least an hour, most of the time doing nothing. Just waiting for Hardison to get to the next step.

Sigh. I have to call our neighbors, with whom we are very close, and tell them that their son bit our son hard enough to break the skin in two places. Through his shirt. More or less unprovoked. Now, these are 5 year-old boys who have been best friends essentially since birth (Dylan is 6 months older), so it's hardly the first time they've fought, but it's the first time one of them has actually *injured* the other, and I feel like biting is in a different class of activity than horseplay that turns into punching.

So this should be fun! Maybe I should open some wine first.

Awww, Mitik the walrus pup is in his new home: [link]