Rant VIII: The Reckoning

Do you want me to pull the plug and pirate all my shows? Because this is how you get me to.

http://www.omaha.com/money/wowt-is-...cle_e98b8df8-9687-11e4-8327-c33a48e28689.html

Our local cable company has dropped our NBC affiliate from their lineup. Each blames the other, of course, but it's the end user who gets screwed. So if there's a show my wife wants I'm just going to download it and she'll watch it on Plex. Won't work for the NFL game this Saturday, but it's the Pats/Ravens so I don't care that much.
This kind of thing happens all the time here in Columbus... basically, the local stations want more from the cable companies for being able to carry their content (which carries a premium because they have local news and weather, as well as sports) and the cable companies refuse to pay it... so they just drop them until the local stations drop their price. Very few local stations can afford to lose even a portion of their audience (news teams ain't cheap) so they usually last a few weeks at best.

Live TV is dying and everyone is racing to the bottom.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
"Oh, hey local TV! It's me, terrestrial radio! Glad you could join us in the depths of obsolescence. Say, wasn't it you who put me down here in the first place?"
 
The sad thing is local TV really does have its use and point - plenty of news that isn't worth larger coverage, but can be important locally - be it a new construction project, land zoning changes, road works or accidents, the local sports team winning something or other,...Heck, the first local turning 100 years old, or local politics.
 
I actually kind of wonder what is going to happen when the major networks go completely digital... TV isn't just going to DISAPPEAR. Radio didn't.
 
The sad thing is local TV really does have its use and point - plenty of news that isn't worth larger coverage, but can be important locally - be it a new construction project, land zoning changes, road works or accidents, the local sports team winning something or other,...Heck, the first local turning 100 years old, or local politics.
Now I'm curious. Where does the average European tune to for their version of "traffic and weather on the 8s" for their particular locale while they're getting ready for work in the morning?
 
Now I'm curious. Where does the average European tune to for their version of "traffic and weather on the 8s" for their particular locale while they're getting ready for work in the morning?
To the local variation of TV :-P I mean, "National" Belgian television covers an area smaller than your average state. Even so, we have smaller regional TV channels per province. In France and Germany there are more regional broadcasts on both levels, and national channels.
 
Another trip to the ER last night for chest pains, shortness of breath, etc. Predictions following my previous trip were, in fact, correct. Cardiac enzymes tested negative for any sign of a heart attack at 0 and 3 hours, blood tests for clotting concerns (DVT, PE, Stroke) were negative as well, chest x-ray was clear, lungs sound clear. Aside from a little bit of still-too-high blood sugar levels, I'm a picture of perfect health, just extremely stressed out. Which means that the next time I have these symptoms, I have to wear a cardiac sling for a couple of days, so a cardiologist can monitor my stress levels and how my heart responds to them.
 
Full rage mode here!

I'm at my specialist's appointment today waiting to speak to a receptionist when an older dude walks up to talk to me. He seems super friendly at first and asks about my hands (I have a cast on one hand and taped fingers on the other).

Then he asks me what sort of arthritis I have and although it's akward, I am at a rheumatology clinic, so I answer.

Then he gets biblically bat shit on me.

So, my AS is a curse from Satan. And as I am "poor in my faith", I require this dude who is "rich in his faith" to lift me up. This curse will only be lifted when I beg Jesus for forgiveness and pray my pain away. Well fuck, who needs expensive biologics when this c-bomb will ask Jesus to make me whole again. This shit stain could have been a billionaire if he'd bottled this bullshit ten years ago. I'm shocked he didn't need naked selfies of me before he prayed.

The receptionist saved me before I bashed dude's brains in with my cast.

But really, what in the actual fuck? I complained after my appointment and the holy douchebag went over to a terminal MS patient after me and let her know that she was going to die. In a few days.

If he wants to play with it in private he can go nuts, but he needs to zipper this shit up in public.
 
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Dave

Staff member
First: Fanatically religious people suck. My sister-in-law HATES the fact that I'm an atheist. She always tries to do things passive aggressively like when we meet for holiday dinners she tries to get me to say the prayer. Little shit like that. And she's socially conservative, anti-immigration because they take all the jobs, etc. She doesn't work. She stays at home with her ultra-spoiled brat of a kid. If you ever see The Babadook the kid in it reminds me of him.

My wonderful rant: Last night was very dark and cold. I got home and was going to log into WoW when there was a huge gust of wind and a loud BOOM! Then everything went dark. And since we have electric heat, it got a bit chilly. They got it fixed pretty fast, but we'd been in bed for hours under layers of blankets.
 
First: Fanatically religious people suck. My sister-in-law HATES the fact that I'm an atheist. She always tries to do things passive aggressively like when we meet for holiday dinners she tries to get me to say the prayer. Little shit like that. And she's socially conservative, anti-immigration because they take all the jobs, etc. She doesn't work. She stays at home with her ultra-spoiled brat of a kid.

"since we have electric heat"
First: I am sorry, I too deal with this issue.

Second: You poor bastard, we have gas heat for this very reason.
 
Work work work, work work work, @HCGLNS likes to work!

Ah, quitting time after a fine week back at work.

I'll just put on my coat and hat and gloves and drive on home to the kiddies!

=sniff sniff sniff=

{Is that me? Is that smell coming from my jacket? Is it my stink? Could it be coming from a coworkers boots that they leave here?}

{It got stronger as I put on my jacket! It must be me! What the hell man? I don't smell bad? This is insane!}

{Wait now it's getting weaker as I walk to the door! It must have been something that stayed in the locker area. Hmmm, wind sounds terrible outside, better get my keys out.}

{Wait! The smell is getting stronger again? How is that possible? It's like it's followed me to the door?}

{OMG IT'S MY CO-WORKER! HIS BO HAS PERMEATED EVERYTHING!!!!}

{AAAAAHHH! This rain isn't strong enough to get rid of the smell! It's clinging to my clothes! Ah! It's in the car now!}

Screaming out loud "OH MY FUCKING GOD I'M LIVING IN A FUCKING SEINFELD EPISODE!!!"
 
At the ER. had chest pains this morning at work, and told doctor about it when I went in to get prescriptions renewed. Not allowed to drive myself, so went via ambulance.

Feeling okay now. Waiting for blood test results.

So much for practicing bass after work. [emoji31]
 
Is it too much to ask for a straight answer when I wonder if I should just return the bass I bought on Friday in order to meet my financial obligations if I wind up missing more than this one night of work? Apparently so. [emoji21]
 
Is it too much to ask for a straight answer when I wonder if I should just return the bass I bought on Friday in order to meet my financial obligations if I wind up missing more than this one night of work? Apparently so. [emoji21]
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Dave

Staff member
$150 for a bass? I think we could do something about that if you would accept it. I got $25 just sitting there. What choo think?
 
I was finally able to wring a "keep it" out of family I was trying to get something said either way. I've only missed one day of work so far. It's not a crisis point yet.

We'll get there if I have to miss more meals. Nothing allowed since midnight, which in my case is a full day. [emoji21][emoji24][emoji36][emoji36][emoji36][emoji36][emoji36]
 
Finally allowed food. Should be here shortly. Meds have been adjusted and a I've been instructed to schedule a stress test within the week. Then see the cardiologist. But they're booting me out of here in a couple of hours.

Calling off tonight, but I'm flexible about the next two. Scheduled off, but can work if the need me. If they do, I wind up missing nothing.
 
Working tonight and tomorrow in place of the two days I missed. Finish off the week and I wind up even. :)

They've doubled the dose of imdur/isosorb, and cut me back to low dose/baby aspirin instead of a full regular tablet per day. Nexium was prescribed, but I'm not paying $95 for that even with insurance. Regular doctor said Prilosec OTC was fine. Need to go in for a stress test within a week and see the cardiologist within 2.

Tests all came back negative/satisfactory, but that isn't explaining why I'm having for frequent chest pains. Most times it's a few seconds of pressure or tightness. Like someone is sitting on my chest. Then it passes. Once the Prilosec kicks in and the stress test is done, I can move forward with a better regimen of medication or whatever.
 
Plenty of generic forms of omeprazole on the market, should be just as effective. Just be warned that they have side effects of dry eyes/mouth and occasional dizziness. That was the surprise for me...I felt suddenly less coordinated, and assumed it was the meds, even before I knew it was a side effect.

--Patrick
 
Yeah. About that stress test. I skipped coffee and certain meds when I woke up. Fasted the required 4 hours after lunch before going in. They hooked up all the leads, did the preliminary blood pressure checks, and I was just waiting for the doctor to come in so I could step on the treadmill when...

"We want to do this other, more extensive test instead. It'll take about 3-4 hours." ARRRRGH!!!

What they were talking about was the imaging stress test. Where they inject you with a radioactive tracer, wait about half an hour, take pictures, run the stress test, inject another tracer, wait again, and take more pictures.

BUT... it has to be pre-approved by the insurance company. They won't authorize it on the spot. It takes a few days to process the request. So that was the end of that for the day. I left the hospital having accomplished absolutely nothing. I'll have to request more time off when and if that test is rescheduled. It'll have to be at least another week from now so I don't wind up missing shifts. So much for the cardiologist's order to do the test within a week of leaving the hospital.
 
Skip the chemical stress test if you can. That one really sucks. But since I had a couple of surgeries just before the test, they did not want me on a treadmill.
 
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