Sunday, January 25, 2009

Gotta Be Somebody

This time,
I wonder what it feels like,
To find the one in this life,
The one we all dream of
But dreams just aren't enough
So I´ll be waiting for the real thing,
I know it by the feeling,
The moment when we´re meeting,
Will play out like a scene
Straight off the silver screen
So I`ll be holdin' my breath,
Right up to the end
Until that moment when
I find the one that I spend forever with...

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Somebody else that feels the same somewhere,
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

Tonight,
Out on the street, out in the moonlight,
And damn it, this feels too right,
It's just like Déjà Vu
Me standin’ here with you
So I'll be holdin' my breath,
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I spend forever with?

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me like that.

'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)
(Ohoohohohhh...)

Ooh
You can´t give up,
Lookin' for that diamond in the rough,
(Because you never know)
When it shows up,
(Make sure you're holdin' on)
'Cause it could be the one,
the one you´re waiting on

'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Someone to love with my life in their hands,
There's gotta be somebody for me...

Ohhhhhh
Nobody wants to go it on their own,
And everyone wants to know they're not alone,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there.

Nobody wants to be the last one there,
And everyone wants to feel like someone cares,
Is somebody else that feels the same somewhere?
There's gotta be somebody for me out there...

"Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Comcast Cared

Last year a new Twitter account opened called @comcastcares and Frank, the leader of a new department inside Comcast, was working hard to improve the image of a company who has, quite possibly, one of the worst set of morals of mainstream companies. Frank really was making an impact and word quickly spread about this new department and people began to think there was hope. I posted a blog about some frustrations I had and a couple others about how Frank had helped me. Frank was able to get me on a promotion and gave me some options. One option he gave me was only 6 months long but he was excited to get me to try the high end plan so he said that after those 6 months were up he'd get me on another promotion.

Somewhere in all of this I felt like Frank was the rebel that could really save the image of Comcast but that once his impact started to be known the company would step in with the "business types" and again show how the books are more important than customer satisfaction or company image. I hoped I was wrong - but I wasn't.

My promotion ended last month and my bill skyrocketed. I contacted Frank and he told me to email his department which got me the response that someone would contact me the next day. When I was contacted I totally felt the same old Comcast feel. The person who called me didn't care about anything and the end result was I downgraded to the economy plan. I contacted Frank on Twitter and really received empty responses.... and it highly reminded me of a guy who did care but who had hands tied. Despite my emails to Frank, Frank's department, and another Comcast employee about how I was told that I could get another promotion after the 6 month one finished ended up with empty responses or absolutely no response at all.

Here's where things get worse. Apparently with the economy package Comcast says streaming video may not work and, well, I've had some issues. The best part is that if you want to go one step above economy the price more than doubles. Oh but wait, it's cheaper if I subscribe to cable TV as well is what I'm told not only by Comcast but Frank as well. Oh, really? So I can get something I need cheaper by buying something I don't need or want. Where am I saving money here? This is certainly the work of "business types". To another level, you can also tell this is another attempt at Comcast killing innovation. Think about it - if you can now watch TV on the internet and don't need cable TV then Comcast loses revenue so the solution they have is to force you to pay them for TV anyway or to charge you more than double to have a plan that should support streaming video. I mean, really, why would you innovate and allow the customers to have what they want.

Its certainly sad to watch Comcast grab their monopoly and do all that they can do to rape their customers and absolutely destroy any innovation. They are a very important part of why the United States, the founder of the internet, is one of the worst countries to be in for accessing the internet. Right now all we can hope for is the FCC to step in and make sure we have real competition and start holding Comcast responsible for their horrible practices.