I, not a one. Nor had I heard such a name before watching that vid clip.

I knew a Jim-Bob and a Lee-Ray, though.

 

ok so i dont really know anyone named Jim Jam...but i might have to remember that one for my first born...

 

J.J. Couchman - sounds distinguished when you say it like that.


I'm sure your installation will look better than that one, Bill. Just be sure to post a video reply to that one for posterity.

 

There really should be some kind of test and registration required to buy a video camera. I've never owned one - I'm too hot headed.

Jim Jam the Flim Flam man. Very cool.

 

We have an old Hi-8. Used it a couple of times. Never for the things that I should have, though.

It would have been nice to sit with some of the folks that are gone now and have them tell a little story or two...

 

So, tomorrow is supposed to be my installation date. Monday, I get a voicemail that says, call Verizon because we have questions about your installation. So, that very afternoon after a menu-button-pressing-marathon that gets me nowhere, I log onto their web site to find out my install has been cancelled.

Call them up again, and the guy can't figure out why it was cancelled, but eventually decides that it must have been cancelled by "engineering" because they don't want to leave copper and fiber on the same account. They are all about bundling, and don't like it when you order ala-carte. I was warned about this.

So, we reinstate the install. Still for tomorrow, later in the day. This time I have received two calls confirming that they will be there. We shall see ...

 

We're scheduled for FIOS bundled service installation on Saturday, March 21st. My Charming Bride ordered idiot box and internet service. Since we already have Verizon land line service I guess that's included.

I certainly won't miss Time Warner cable internet....

Let us know how the installation goes Bill. We'll want details of any verbal rants!

 

Fios swings, and misses again. Strike twoooooo!

So Mr. Installer shows up within the appointed time period. Shows me the fiber optic rolled up and hanging on the eave of the house. I hadn't even seen it. Probably because it was NOT supposed to come in overhead, and 3/4 or more of it is inside the canopy of a tree. All my utilities come in under ground, and I made sure they knew that when I ordered.

I guess the three huge boxes sitting flush in my front yard that say TELEPHONE, CABLE, and EDISON were not enough of a clue.

Mr. Installer also tells me that I was signed up for voice - I'm not. So I guess that's really strike 2.5, but whatever.

They will pull it under ground for me, but of course not today. There is a 1-1/4" conduit too, with nothing but their own cable in it. It's not like it is a problem.

 

Sorry you had to suffer but, that's a good tip for me since we have underground utilities as well. Guess I better call Verizon and confirm..... and hope that my call actually makes a difference.

It's just amazing with all of the different ways we have to communicate that it's still so difficult to get or share information accurately.

 

Russ, just to give you an idea of what they do - they have a crew that comes by to drop the fiber to your house. They don't need you to be home for that, and it normally happens a day or two before your "installation" date. But in my case, I do need to be home because the fiber has to run from the box in the front yard, under a fence into my killer-K9 protected back yard. What they should have done is drop enough fiber to reach any reasonable distance, and left it coiled in the yard box. They do not want to, or maybe cannot, cut the fiber along the run from the trunk to your house.

In my case I believe they were just too lazy, or in too big of a hurry, to fish the cable.

If your neighborhood has the easement utilities underground, I don't think you will have an issue like mine. But in my older neighborhood, the easement utilites are overhead, but my house and my neighbors house are infill homes and our utilities run down the poles into the ground and then across our yards. Whittier requires all new construction to be underground, even though everyone else on the street is overhead.

I could have just let them do it overhead. But I just didn't see any fun or humor in that.

 

Great. I guess you'll be waiting for two weeks?

 

I don't know. Indirectly, through the installer guy, they said that they would drop it in on Monday. But they haven't called yet, so I don't know. It won't bother me a bit if it takes a while.

 

They pulled my FO cable in today. Underground this time.

Baby steps, baby steps...

 

Got a notice on my door last night that they have to do some digging for the installation. They marked 2 spots on the side walk with 'GW', for GW Communications, and arrows. One arrow points to the large green box cover by the sidewalk (maybe my guys had better eyesight than yours Bill ) and the other points to the cable inlet on the side of my garage.

I called this morning and gave the OK to dig. Better them than me!

 

Are you all hooked up now, Bill?