Netflix...whats going on?

This may be a well known occurrence in the world, but this is the first time I saw this.

Last night I put a netflix envelope next to my front door so I would remember to take it to work today to drop in the mailbox.

Thats when I noticed, the return address is to Austin....All of my movies have come from the Houston center, since thats close to where I live.

Check it out:


So I have heard of Netflix throttling the DVD rentals, and they also got in trouble for it a while back.

Is this another sneaky way of getting around that?

We'll see.

Garage Door Opener Issues

Well, as most things go with time, they tend to fail. One case is my Craftsman garage door opener.

Its been getting noisy over time but I didn't realize how much until it completely failed Monday morning. If I didn't look in the rearview mirror and saw darkness. Got out and I hear the motor running, but the door had only moved about 3".

Well, looks like I have problems, but I'm on the way to work, so lets open and close manually and have a look later.

Well, this is what I found when I got home.



The gear that is driven by the worm gear has eaten itself alive. Upon further research, this gear needs to be lubricated regularly, which it obviously has not been. I've lived here almost 4 years and I've only greased the rollers and lubed the chain.

So off to Sears service center I go. Well, guess what, Sears cannot help unless you have the model and serial number. This happened to me about 12 years ago at this same place. Why should it be different now? I get online on ebay, theres a seller there that has the gears. I call his #. He asks "Do you have the optical eye at the bottom of the door?" yes, I do. Then tells me "its the same gear from 1984 to today". Why can't sears figure that out?


I ordered the kit, it arrived in 3 days. My next post will illustrate replacement and chain adjustment.

Call Center (chat) Fun.

Okay so last November, I replaced my well worn Sidekick III with a TMobile G1.

How is it? Its ok, but its one of these deals, where its a computer first, and a phone second.

I have had friends complain about calling me sometimes and having error messages like "Number is not in service", and then they'll call right back, and I'll be fine again. I also get dropped calls, and times when I wont even get a call, yet friends will call and it rolls straight to voice mail.

So I got online today and chatted with a Tmobile rep. Heres a copy of the chat. Note how she really doesn't directly address my issues, rather just updates my "system". I think when my contract is up, I'm going to seek another provider. I've been with Tmobile for 5 years, and customer service is declining rapidly.

You have been connected to Demetria E.

Demetria E: Hi Redassaggie00 , welcome to T-Mobile live help. I’m Demetria and I will be happy to help you. Please give me a moment to review your question.

Demetria E: For your reference, my ID number is xxxxxx.

Redassaggie00 : ok thanks

Demetria E: For security purposes, can you please provide me with the last four digits of the account holder's Social Security number for verification? Once your account is verified we will be more than happy to research this issue further.

Redassaggie00 : XXXX

Demetria E: Thank you.

Demetria E: How long have you been having the problems.

Redassaggie00 : about 4 or 5 months

Demetria E: Redassaggie00, do you receive an error message?

Redassaggie00 : every now and then, my friends will call my cell

Redassaggie00 : and it will say that my number is out of service

Redassaggie00 : and these are people that have me stored in their phone books

Demetria E: Can you place a test call to the device at this time?

Redassaggie00 : you want me to call my cell phone?

Demetria E: Yes, that is correct Redassaggie00.

Redassaggie00 : ok

Redassaggie00 : calling now from my office

Redassaggie00 : its ringing

Demetria E: Thank you.

Redassaggie00 : this doesn’t happen all the time

Redassaggie00 : but several times a week

Demetria E: I am going to update the service, Redassaggie00.

Redassaggie00 : what service is that?

Demetria E: ON my end, power the device off and back on again.

Redassaggie00 : ok

Redassaggie00 : what service are you updating?

Demetria E: The network, Redassaggie00 have you powered the device off and back on again?

Redassaggie00 : I see

Redassaggie00 : yes I have

Demetria E: Thank you, please make another test call to your mobile number.

Redassaggie00 : its ringing

Demetria E: The service, is working, Redassaggie00?

Redassaggie00 : yes

Demetria E: So at this time the service you can receive calls?

Redassaggie00 : I was able to receive calls before

Redassaggie00 : just every now and then, at least weekly, I would get callers complaining about the number being out of service

Demetria E: Okay, at this time Redassaggie00, the service is working, I have updated the network and you should not be experiencing the problem anymore.

Redassaggie00 : so every time the network is updated, do I need to go onto chat and ask for my number to be updated?

Demetria E: No, it will be fine, but if you want to make sure you have a strong network connection, I would like to make a suggestion, that you power the device off at least every 72 hours, for at least 10 seconds then power the device back on again.

Redassaggie00 : I see

Redassaggie00 : last time I contacted tech support

Redassaggie00 : they informed me that G3 coverage near my home was low

Redassaggie00 : and the I wouldn’t receive calls, but people would leave voice mails and I’d get those, then

Redassaggie00 : the phone automatically switches between 3G and edge

Redassaggie00 : and kills the battery. Is there a solution?

Demetria E: Yes, I see do you have any additional questions, or concerns.

Redassaggie00 : yes

Redassaggie00 : I’m concerned that Tmobile has not resolved the 3G coverage issue in my area

Demetria E: We are currently working on the issue Redassaggie00.

Demetria E: Is there anything else we can assist you with today?

Redassaggie00 : apparently not.

Redassaggie00 : Thanks.

So there you have it. We'll see what the next few days bring.

DirecTV is in the house

Well, after waiting for the satellite guy to come in, I'm officially no longer a Comcast customer. I went to the local Comcast office on Thursday, where I, with 2 dozen other people waited in line at lunch hour while TWO people worked the counter, processing folks through. Over half the people there were canceling service.

DirectTV is now in, but it's still taking a little getting used to with the new Channel line up. I also found out, according to the DirecTV installer, that a bunch of cabling was hooked up incorrectly in the attic. Go figure.

Anyway, back to the world of having 3000 channels and nothing to watch.

Actually, 2 weeks with no cable TV was an interesting thing. I really didn't miss it too terribly, with Netflix and all.

An Update to Goodbye Comcast

Well, an update to my post in February about "Goodbye Comcast"
http://redassaggie00.blogspot.com/2009/02/goodbye-comcast.html

After getting a comment from "Comcast Cares", Mark Casem, whose job is to scour the net for Comcast comments, I sent a letter and got a call from his 'team members' reassuring me that they would be contacting their 'team members' in Houston.

Guess what Mark Casem?? The Cable was turned off March the 2nd, as requested, and NOBODY has contacted me regarding ANY promotions that comcast has/had whatsoever.

Comcast does not care, and comcast fails miserably in my eyes. Did I expect anything more or less from Comcast? I shouldn't have.

Goodbye Comcast

Some of you that follow my blog remember a while back my issues with Comcast.

Comcast did make it right, after a call to their billing center by crediting my account. However, when I got my bill this month, the rate had gone from a reasonable 56 dollars a month to 81 dollars!!!

I usually do whatever provider is giving for promotions for a year, and when it ends, I leave. Last year, when I called to leave Comcast and go somewhere else, after my promotion ended, the rep on the phone asked what it would take to get me to stay. We talked it out and I eventually agreed to a lower bill, 1 more year of free DVR (That I dont use), and a secondary HD box in my bedroom.

Imagine my surprise, has it been a year already? That my promotion is over. Easy enough. I'll call comcast.

A call to their call center leads me to "bubba" who is telling me "Ya see son, its like you go to Sams club, and you buy a case of soda water, you get a better deal than if'n you go to Randalls or Krogers and buy 2 six packs." Then goes on to explain that my "Problem" is that I'm not buying enough goods and services from Comcast, and if I did, they may be able to do something about my bill. I asked why they couldn't extend it to keep me as a customer, and he said,

"Let me tell you, I used to live in Galveston County, and i had to pay 125 a month for a phone line! Just a metro line to get in and get a 281 phone number!" I'm sitting here at this point thinking, "why is this guy giving me his life story??".

I politely mention that I would be signing up for another cable tv provider and I'd be calling back to cancel. He said "ok" and hung up. Go figure. They sure aren't working very hard to keep me as a customer.

So Mar 1, 2009, at Casa de Redassaggie, DirectTV is coming in and Comcast is going out. Honestly, I even considered doing what my friend, Network Geek did, and get rid of Cable all together, but I like having Food Network.

I have a 1 year promo with DirecTV, and after that year, I'll probably switch again. Yeah its annoying to learn all the channels again, but hey, if its going to save me 30 bucks a month vs staying with comcast, I'll do it.

I called comcast back to cancel, and talked to their 'retention' department, where they told me that my bill was 81 for march, but would be going to 95 in April, because my other promotions expired. If I wanted, I could lock it in for a year at 78. I said no. Then she said 'you can switch your service from Plus to starter'. I said no, I dont want to change the service, I just want to keep the rate, why can't you do that? She said that my rate is the lowest she's ever seen.

So, Thanks a Lot comcast. I'm sorry to see our relationship go, but your folks did nothing to keep me.

Call Centers

So last week, I get a text message saying "Good News, T-Mobile has added a new tower near your home for better call quailty! T-Mobile, stick together!"

This is great, because every day, on my drive home, I always drop the call when I drive through one particular intersection. Two days before I got that text, I noticed that the calls weren't being dropped. This was a nice surprise.

So Friday afternoon, I'm sitting at home and the phone dings, I look down to see that I have a voice mail. Funny, I don't remember the phone ringing. I look again, no bars, and the "X" above the bars and "No Service" on the screen. HUH? I rebooted the phone and had signal, 5 seconds later, the X again. Weird.

I called Tmobile Tech Support, where I was on hold for less than one minute, and immediately had an ENGLISH SPEAKING representative on the line, that spoke with no accents (well maybe a little southern drawl). He was concise, clear, and understood my issues, and his directions to try to help solve the problems were easy to follow. This was GREAT. Anyway, its temporarily band-aided, his guess is there's something not plugged in or configured right at the new tower. Regardless, I have signal (2G Network). I thanked him and told him that I appreciated T-mobile keeping some of their call centers in the USA with good english speaking folks working there. He laughed and thanked me.

So T-Mobile, Thank You for having good, understandable, competent and friendly folks staffing your call centers in the USA.

Comcast: Its our mistake, but you Pay.

So back after Thanksgiving, I get home, and turn the tube on while I make supper.

Nothing, just a blank screen. There's a channel guide, but no picture. So I use Comcast chat and they tell me someone will be out there on Friday afternoon. Friday rolls around, Comcast shows up, come to find out, when they installed my cable, they didnt 'tag' my line as a paid customer, 2 years ago. So earlier that week, Comcasts auditors were in the area checking the lines, and seeing my line wasn't tagged, they disconnected it. No problem. The tech reconnects it and leaves, not checking anything inside.

So, 30 minutes after he goes, I sit down to have a bite to eat in front of the TV. Guess what? The Channels work fine except for the HD channels. Everyone on HD has tourettes and stuttering. I check the bedroom TV, all channels fine. Guest room TV, all channels have snow and ghosting. Great. So Christmas comes and goes, and I get back on Comcast Chat to talk to a person, telling them that this was not like this before they ever messed with the cable. She told me there is a problem, so they'd come out Saturday.

The tech comes out Saturday, checks the drop and the signal, and says that a Booster needs to be put in, and usually "we need to do it because so many new houses are being put in around here". No problem. Guy puts it in, checks a few channels and says I'm ready to go. He leaves, and its 95% better, but still does it a little, but I can live with it.

Low and behold, the next cable bill comes, and its got a charge of $24.95 on it for a service call!!! I was never told anything about charges that I would have to pay for something that was working FINE until they turned it off because they didn't tag it correctly. Un-BELIEVABLE. The chat line rep said nothing, the Tech said nothing. The bill says $24.95.

Maybe its time to switch to U-Verse.

Did you know....

That an AC adapter or battery charger continues to use electricity even when it is not plugged into the device? Recently, manufacturers have reported that most adapters or chargers continue to consume as much as 40% of the electricity that it normally does during usage or charging of the device... such as mobile phones, power tool chargers, laptop computers and the like.

In these times of increasing energy costs, higher prices of everything, we need to minimize use of things, right? Unplug that alarm clock in the guest room! Unplug the phone charger when its not in use, your laptop charger? unplug it if its not being used!

You may notice that when these chargers are plugged into a wall outlet, they're a little warm even though they are not plugged into the device they are designed to power up or charge. This heat can only be created by the consumption of electricity. The transformer in these adapters continue to draw electricity and produce the heat at anytime it is plugged into an electrical outlet.

So, unplug all of your unused chargers and adapter when not in use... you will save some electricity, and although it may not be noticeable on your electric bill, it may be saving you a couple of bucks per month.

More electronics.....

So my latest product I have been testing, is Logitech's Harmony One Remote. Okay so I sound like a product testing infomercial now, right?

This new remote allows you to control everything like a Universal, but theres one huge plus. You can program the remote's actions in the computer and sync it via USB.

So you can program all these activities in it. (Watch TV, Listen to Radio, Listen to CD, Watch DVD etc) and when you're done, one button turns it all off.

Here's an example. I want to watch a DVD. Press "Watch DVD" on the remote, and it powers on the:

TV, DVD player, and Home Theater unit......one click.....and also, it will tune the home theater to "DVD", open the DVD player, and set the volume on the home theater to my preprogrammed level.

Pretty nifty huh? All from ONE remote. No batteries to replace, theres a charging cradle like a cordless phone!

Home electronics......

So, the Oral-B electric toothbrush I've been using for the last TEN years finally had its last hurrah before heading to the electronics trash bin in the sky.

So I went to Target to look for a replacement, and picked up an Oral-B Sonic Complete. Apparently, sonic tooth cleaning is the new trend, as last time I went to the dentist, the scaler that the hygenist used was also sonic.

Its very wierd at first because, 1. Its quiet, 2. it does a really good job without having to make large brushing motions. Just let the bristles do their job. Quite nice once you get used to the feelings. The charging light on the base is a neat blue color, kinda matches the UV brush sanitizer I have too!

Tech Post: Modular V8 Ford AC Compressor bypass/delete

So a friend and classmate from school has been driving the same pickup since our college days.  This truck has served him faithfully for years, but recently his Compressor crapped out.

He doesnt want to replace it,  since he will buy a new truck soon, so we improvised.

After looking at this 1998 F150 4.6L Pickup, it was determined that the Compressor itself wasnt bad, but the clutch gave up the ghost.

How do we do this?   Well, theres actually two trains of thought here.

1. Work around it....
2. Rip it off and plug the lines.

Looking at the belt routing and tensioner, I can just bypass the compressor but to keep tension, I want to run the belt OVER the idler, instead of under.  This wont be that hard.  I wont bore you with the how to of taking a belt off and replacing a pulley.  If you cant do that, you shouldn't be attempting this workaround/repair.

We got out the Gates catalog and started looking. I found a 6 rib grooved pulley (to help keep the belt in place) and a shorter belt.  In this case, after trial and error, we found the best combo was a gates Micro V #K080806 or equivalent, and buy gates 38053 idler pulley. Boom and done.
(See below. You will replace Item #1)


If you want to pull the compressor, run  Ford Racing's AC compressor delete bracket, or, Dorman Products just released their version last year for much less. Look at Dorman 34188, AC compressor delete assembly.  Amazon has it, and oreillys and auto zone can order it for you.  Keep in mind you MUST plug the refrigerant lines properly if you plan on running AC again in the future to avoid contaminating the system. 


In this case, we kept the compressor in place and kept the system sealed and the truck was traded.