Jeff the Great Gets His FiOS TV

My FiOS TV was installed on Friday and I am happy to report that I love it! Installation took a few hours so be prepared (and my installation was considered easy since I already had FiOS internet plus CAT5 and coax in every room). I received a fancy new wireless router during the install and they even left me with the old D-Link router.

So far what I love about FiOS TV is the channel line up. I think it is around 223 channels for the standard premier package. I honestly never finish watching an entire show because I am always surfing around to see what else is on during commercials.

Here are just a few channels that I am excited to have and that I didn't have with Comcast:

• NFL network (wish I had this a few weeks ago)
• Speed Channel
• Fox Business News
• BBC World
• BBC America
• ESPNU
• DIY
• Fine Living
• ...and so many more!

I had heard that the delay time when selecting channels or doing things with the on screen guide was non-existing. It is shorter than Comcast but there still is a delay.

I am also not too happy with the on screen guide. Maybe it is because I don't have any big fancy TV's so it appears small on my screens but I just feel like they crammed too much in. I sometimes have to get up from the couch to see what the heck it says.

Picture quality is great, though I haven't seen anything in HD. Not sure if this is urban myth or not but I swear it looks better than Comcast did.

The remotes are great and cable boxes are just like you'd expect (Motorola). I used the multi-room DVR and love it but noticed a delay when pausing and skipping ahead/back when watching recorded shows in a second room.

Pricing is great....$42.00 for 223 channels with FiOS verse $52.99 for 70 channels from Comcast.

BOTTOM LINE: I love it! If they would just clean up the on screen guide a bit it would be perfect!

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Welcomes You to Dr Roberts Office

Have you ever arrived at the doctors office, 40 minutes late for a scheduled appointment, and had the staff tell you "it's okay, we have nothing better to do. In fact, it's our fault you are late. We are so sorry, come on in and let us take care of you"?

No? Me neither.

Imagine my surprise when I showed up on time for an appointment, waited 40 minutes for the doctor, and then when I had to leave and return to work without fulfilling my appointment, being told it was my fault that I had to wait.

Here's my story:

Last month I underwent a very expensive, insurance covered, procedure from Dr. Janet Roberts at Dermatology Specialists NW in Portland, Oregon. Until today I have been very impressed with Dr Roberts and her staff.

Today was my follow up appointment to make sure everything turned out okay after last months procedure. My appointment was at 3pm and I showed up right on the dot. Almost immediately after arriving I was told they were running behind and I should go shop or get coffee for a half hour.

I did and returned promptly at 3:30pm. I took a seat and flipped through a magazine. I noticed my doctors nurse coming to the lobby multiple times but not giving me the time of day. At 3:40pm I approached the reception desk to confirm my appointment really was at 3pm. The receptionist told me I was correct and I politely replied that I needed to return to work and that we should reschedule for another time.

Right then the afore mentioned nurse came out (to get another patient that had a 3:30 appointment) and overheard that I was leaving. Instead of saying sorry or begging me to stay, she said this:

"Next time you should give us a call to see if we are running on-time."

What?!? I should call you to see if you are doing your job? I don't think so! If you are running late you should call and tell me!

Let's get something straight, Doctor Roberts, my time is valuable too. How would you react if I showed up for an appointment 40 minutes late and then told you that it was your responsibility to call me and see if I was on time? You wouldn't stand for it and I would still be charged for the appointment (or at least the cancellation fee).

So this is what we will do, Dr Roberts. I'll call my insurance company and make sure they don't pay you for today's scheduled visit. In return I wont invoice you for my wasted time.

What do you think, readers? Who was right...should I have called to make sure they were on time or is it okay for me to assume that they will provide me the service I am paying for when they say they will?

-Jeff the Great

Jeff the Great Introduces FiOS TV

I am pleased to be the first to announce that FiOS TV from Verizon is now available in the Portland Area.

My contacts at a Verizon re-seller said they are now able to sign customers up. A check of my address in their system confirms it.

Premium package is $42.99 which is a killer deal....it's about 200 channels. Compare that to Comcast's expanded basic package of around 70 channels for $52ish.

You can order right away by visiting or calling a GoWireless/Verizon store near you (they have 2 in Hillsboro, and 1 each in Tigard, Beaverton, and Sherwood).


-Jeff the Great

Have we gone too far?

I came across this when posting a comment on another local blog. It is called a CAPTCHA which stands for "Completely Automated Public Turning test to tell Computers and Humans Apart." Gotta love the acronyms that geeks come up with!

I thought this one to be particularly ridiculous. Are spam posts really that much of a problem? I author 3 blogs and have not turned CAPTCHA on for any of them. As a matter of fact, I don't even have comment monitoring on!

So is this ridiculous or is it just me?

-Jeff the Great

Attack of the Fake Bloggers

It all started with the Fake Steve Jobs blog. Now, us Oregonians have our own 'Fake' CEO blog to follow.

http://fakephilknight.blogspot.com

Wait, isn't he the Chairman...not CEO? Anyway, enjoy.

-Jeff the Great