Last chance for Dish Network

I'm pretty patient, but this is getting ridiculous. I warn you; this is a complicated story, but this is as good a place as any to document our problems with Dish Network. Perhaps it can help some poor saps like us who love to watch TV.

While watching television last night, one of my favorite nights for TV, a screen--similar to the computer version of what is commonly known as the blue screen of death--appeared. It said our signal was lost. 

This isn't the first time. In fact, we have had technicians come to our house before about this very issue. 

Sorry we used the Dish Mover Program. When we moved to Arkansas, we mistakenly did as we were advised. We left our dish at the old house and brought our receiver with us. That sounded like a great idea, until we realized all kinds of new equipment and new offers were being provided to new customers. Us loyal old-timers got the shaft. We still had the same old system. Upgrades were not available to us. 

And then it got worse. I have no idea how old the system was in our new house. It didn't work very well, so when it failed, we called Dish Network. I asked the technician about the new equipment and new offers for multiple room hook-ups. He said he couldn't do anything about that but advised me to cancel our service and re-apply as a new customer using my maiden name. I didn't think that was quite ethical, so we never did it.

This went on several times. The system would go out, leaving us without television for a day or two until a tech--always a different person each time--would work his magic. 

How much techs do really know about the systems they service? Once, our system went out because the ground wire beneath our house was fried, seemingly by a lightning strike. One tech said he disconnected it because we didn't need it. He said it would just keep getting fried. It seems to me that a ground wire is a safety measure. It fries before our house burns to the ground. That was also the advice from the next tech guy who reinstalled it.

Finally, a new offer for tried and true customers. We finally got an offer from Dish Network that they were going to take care of their existing customers. They offered us HD TV for life, HD Premium channels, free installation, and no charge for any of it. It would be an all new system if we signed up for auto pay and paperless billing. We did, despite a very cumbersome experience since the website wasn't quite up and running yet. 

Hurray, the new system was installed in September.  Two weeks later however, the television went blank again. We called again. Dish Network said they would send someone out again. I wrote about the experience in this blog under the post "Unhappy Couch Potato".

There is more to that story. When it was determined that our brand new HD receiver was faulty, our latest in a long line of technicians, was to install a new one. Sounds easy, right?

Wrong! The tech who came out told us he had a new one in the truck, but he would be in trouble if he gave it to us. He would have to order it. This was on a Saturday afternoon. He said it would arrive Sunday by UPS. I told him UPS didn't deliver on Sunday. He lives nearby--he should have known that. He said he'd call FedEx then. They don't delivery here on Sunday either. He said then Monday. I reminded him that Monday was a holiday--Labor Day. He said no matter what, he would install a new receiver on Monday afternoon. He even called on Sunday to say he would be back Monday afternoon.

It didn't happen. We spoke with Dish Network again who promised a tech would return Tuesday between 8 a.m. and noon. That didn't happen either. We called Dish Network again. Finally on Thursday night after ranting to Dish Network they promised to send someone else. Someone else came alright, at 8:30 p.m. along with the first guy who accompanied him. They brought a new receiver and after about 30 minutes hooked it up; we had television again.

The result was that we were out of television service for five days; we lost the programming we had recorded on the DVR. We put with up an arrogant woman telling us the technician was here, but no one was home. She refused to listen to me when I told her I had been waiting for five days to get this resolved. 

There's got to be a morning after. We were pretty happy until the next morning when, I noticed a bunch of wires dangling in front of the window. The wires, which had been neatly installed, affixed to the siding of our house had been ripped out. They were now dangling from the roof and blowing in the breeze. We were furious. My husband finished attaching them to the side of the house. Some installation!

Dish Network was conciliatory, didn't charge us for the days we were out of service, and gave us some movie coupons to make up for our bad experience. We even got Starz for three months when we were over billed on automatic billing. 

Deja vu. About a month ago, Starz ended and so did the promised HD Premium channels. We started to see some pixelation again, where the picture deteriorates into little colored squares and the sound also becomes distorted. It is what happens during a weakened signal, such as during a storm, right before the signal is lost completely.

All was well. We have had great reception during a recent snow storm, but when the skies were clear, suddenly, last night, with no warning, the signal died. We tried to reset the switches. Nothing! We unplugged the receiver and turned it back on. Nothing! We called Dish Network again.

Thursday, they are sending someone out to re-wire our house and align the dish correctly. We learned that when it was installed, it was pointed in the wrong direction.

My husband and I have been more than patient. As long time, loyal Dish Network subscribers, this is the last problem we expect to have with Dish Network.

Riding the weather roller coaster

This was the scene on Jan. 29th at Lake Norfork in north central Arkansas.

Everywhere you looked, people were outside, enjoying the first warm days that followed a cold and snowy winter.


The sky was as blue as the crystal clear water of the lake that beckoned boaters anxious to take advantage of the 70º weather. We even saw a girl wearing a bathing suit, as she sat on the sand near the water's edge. It was one of those late winter days that was certainly a sign of things to come. 

We just didn't know what exactly was coming.

After such a beautiful weekend, who could have predicted this would be the scene, just six days later, on the Friday night of Feb. 4. It was a beautiful sight as the snow gently fell.

In reality, it was predicted by local meteorologists. So, my husband and I were prepared. 


The beauty snow was breathtaking. There was wood to burn in the stove, the refrigerator was stocked up and   set out to simply enjoy the view.

Much to our surprise, we woke up on the morning of Feb. 9 to our third snowfall of the season. This one was more beautiful than the previous one. 

Interestingly, it crippled the states of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma with record-breaking snow totals. And then came the record-breaking cold snap. Some temperatures reached well below the zero mark, making for transportation headaches and all the  ills.

At our house, we received just shy of a foot of snow. 

It was so beautiful. It began in the early morning hours and snowed all day. It was so lovely to look out the window. 

Again, this was predicted, so we were ready for it. Being retired, there was no place we had to be, except in our warm, cozy home, enjoying the beautiful wintry scene.

The temperatures are predicted to reach 60º again by Monday. 

I love the weather in the Ozarks. It certainly has been a roller coaster ride. There are 38 more days until the official start of Spring--a day worth waiting for. I can't help but wonder what Mother Nature has in store for us in those last gasps of winter.

Hope springs eternal

Wow; this weekend was one of those rare occurrences when you just can't help but be happy to be alive.

The weather was 70º Saturday in the Ozarks, which provided my husband and me, the opportunity to do a little yard maintenance.  

As shown at left, we burned the some  flower beds, making very short work of the fallen leaves and grass that had invaded it. 

What otherwise would have taken days of back-breaking work to pull the offending weeds was taken care of in about an hour. 

Burning offers a good, organic approach. It was not a practice we've ever employed before. It wasn't allowed where we used to live. Fire is so much better than using chemicals on botanical nuisances. Besides, I like the smell of it. 

If I stare at this darkened patch in the front yard long enough, I can imagine it to be black dirt, rather than the charred remains of spent oak leaves. 

Moving to the Ozarks from the Chicago area several years ago, it was difficult for me to reconcile the difference in techniques necessary to guarantee gardening success. Where the ground here contains rocks and clay, which presents a real challenge. Yet there I was used to digging in the rich, black loam left by the same glaciers that formed the Great Lakes thousands of years ago. There was also an abundance of rain farther north which is certainly not the case here during the summer months.

So while I still consider myself a novice, I'm learning to garden again, however, as evidenced by my second picture--the coming of the daffodils. 

This tells me that despite the prediction of the largest winter storm of the season that bears down on us, hope springs eternal. 

Spring will come, in about 50 days, to be exact. Our beautiful weekend was just a tease, but when it happens for real, it will be easy to settle into a warm-weather routine. 

I so love the Spring. I love the Spring flowers. These venerable little daffodils always surprise and delight me. They seem to hide beneath the leaves until we humans clear away their leafy blanket. Once we do, and the sun shines brightly on them, they seem to grow taller ever day until the magic moment when they become flowers. I will never tire of this Springtime ritual. 

Now if only we can make it through the next winter storm unscathed.

A display of love should not be censored

I was bothered when I heard about a grocery store's attempt to shield the cover page of a magazine that displayed a family photo of Elton John and David Furnish with their newly-adopted baby. I was sickened to know that the store--Harps--where it occurred was in my own town.

When I heard, I had just come from Harps, a lovely store that sells a nice variety of produce.

Many people are saying they don't blame the store for what has become an international incident. 

I won't go that far. If it were my store and I was asked to censor this magazine cover from public view, I would have refused. I am a middle-aged woman who has been married to the same man for 34 years. I am not gay. 

I abhor censorship.

I'm saddened that there is so much hate and misunderstanding over something that is no one else's business--how people enjoy sex. How or with whom people have sex is no one's concern outside that of the participants.

I never understood the stigma toward gay couples.

Isn't the most important issue the happiness and love of two people? Are they really any different than heterosexual couples? Do children raised in an atmosphere of domestic violence between Mommy and Daddy fare any better? What about the child that witnesses Mommy shooting Daddy or Daddy beating up Mommy? Or what about the kids that just plain aren't wanted? Or there are the babies that are abandoned? To me, these incidents require much more attention than a couple of gay men who want to share their love with a child and who have the means to give the child every advantage possible.

Elton John is a talented, caring, giving, loving man. Why should he be denied fatherhood simply because he doesn't sleep with women? Having a child artificially is a widely accepted practice; why not for him?

The argument against homosexuality is ridiculous.

To appease the political arguments, all men are created equal.

To appease the religious arguments, love they neighbor.

It really is that simple. Isn't love a much more appropriate response when a happy couple has a child? I say congratulations Elton and David. May you enjoy all the joys of parenthood.

To the rest of you, look around. It is time you learn to accept that people should be judged by much more than their sexuality. That is just a small part of what makes us who we are.

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Don't be shy. Leave a comment, or better yet, 'follow me.'

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Walking while texting is stupid

When Cathy Cruz Marrero fell into a mall fountain while texting, she decided to sue the mall. Tsk, tsk; How irresponsible! 

Something similar happened to me six years ago, but with very different results. 

My husband and I were in town to pay our taxes. I got out of the car, stepped over the curb and onto the concrete walkway the led to the sidewalk. I stepped on a manhole cover that was situated in the walkway. The moment I stepped on it, the cover flipped, causing my foot to go into the hole. My knee broke the fall as it slammed into the concrete. I have no idea how deep the hole was, nor how this happened.

I had to laugh though because I can only imagine how funny it looked. My husband helped me up. He looked pretty worried until he saw that I was laughing. Actually, it was a laughing/crying thing, since it really did hurt. He made me laugh more as he explained that he was talking to me when all of a sudden I disappeared from his view. 

I was scraped, bruised, and bleeding a little, but my injury was obviously nothing serious. No bones were broken. When we got home I opted for a little Tylenol, an ice pack and assumed my favorite couch potato position with my leg elevated. I supposed I could have sued the city, though the thought really never crossed my mind. 

One of the differences between my situation and that of Ms. Marrero is that I would have welcomed a video of the event. It would have been humorous to watch and would have explained just how this happened. Another difference is that I probably had a case since negligence cause my problem. She, on the other hand, caused her own injury by carelessness.

Truthfully, there are far too many cases like this these days. Everyone seems so bent on a 'get rich quick' scheme that they fail to take responsibility for their own actions. 

It appears that Ms. Marrero is embarrassed by all the attention her 'fall' has received. Good. Maybe then she will realize that this boneheaded move was caused by her own actions. Perhaps next time she will take responsibility, if for no other reason than to avoid the embarrassment.

We are and should remain "The Natural State"

I am proud to live in "The Natural State." I love to boast to all my friends about how Arkansans care about the environment, evident by our state slogan.

There is an effort in the Arkansas House to change that defining phrase. A bill sponsored by Rep. David Sanders, R-Little Rock--House Bill 1005--proposes changing the state's slogan back to "The Land of Opportunity," its former nickname.

The initiative was discussed in the Government Affairs Committee. Thank goodness, legislators didn't act. According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, there are concerns about the cost of changing the name even though the change would not mandate changing license plates or by tourism.

Sanders claims there is no cost claims. He says the effort is about a vision.

Our state's vision is my concern as well. I like the message provided by "The Natural State." Our uniquely natural environment is our best opportunity, one that is enviable. I would hate to see our state mirror other states whose focus is strictly economic development over that of the environment. I would never want to see the Arkansas legislature turn its back on the environment in favor of concrete and asphalt and border-to-border building as has been done elsewhere.

Costs must be measured beyond dollars and cents. In my view, this is one change that isn't needed. And it is certainly is one we can afford.