Screwed by DirecTV

Friday I read an online post the named DirecTV as one of the 15 most hated corporations in America.  American Airlines led the list.  BP was #15.  DirecTV was #12.

I have DirecTV.  I signed up for it after returning from Iraq.  Like many things I did in the weeks after returning from Iraq, I believed what I heard more than I should have.  It turns out, the lower rate I was promised by DirecTV was a rebate.  It was a word I never heard in the sales pitch.

The DirecTV rep I spoke too last night apologized for the salesman's omission, but she said that I was supposed to notice that I was not getting the discount and contact DirecTV.  I had 90 days to do this which has long since expired.

She also told me my commitment was actually 24 months.  The initial commitment was for 12 months, but there was an additional 12-month commitment in some service I agreed to, which I did not know at the time.  I also had 90 days to revise this, but since I did not know it within 90 days, I cannot revise the contract now.

It will cost $20 per month to terminate the contract early.

Thanks for the Welcome Home DirecTV!!!!!

New Bike on First Trip to NYC

I did not actually buy a whole bike, just the frame.  I bought this frame because I wanted to have a bike I could take on AMTRAK that was also full size.  My Dahon folding bike with 20-inch wheels was fine for a short commute, but no fun to ride otherwise.

If you can see the silver couplers on the top tube and down tube near the seat tube, the couplers twist and the bike splits in two pieces.  It also has a quick disconnect on the rear brake cable and both shifter cables.  I could fold the Dahon in 30 seconds.  Taking this bike apart and putting it together will take longer.  It also has to be disassembled before I get to the train platform or I am going to have a dispute with the train crew.  So my commute will be a little longer with this bike than with the Dahon, but it will be better to ride.

When I picked up the frame I replaced, the brake mounting nut in the frame was stripped.  It would have been rideable, but not really safe, so it was probably better to replace that frame anyway.  That makes three bikes in three months that have been stolen, smashed and broken.

Bill at Bike Line said the Dahon is junk after the SUV ran it over.  No surprise there.

At the end of the train ride to NYC, I will assemble the bike, ride it to the hotel, change for a business meeting then ride later in Central Park.  The next test point will be boarding the train in NYC to go home.

Report Filed!!!

Today, I called the Phila police again.  This time the operator said I could report on the phone if I worked with the local precinct.

I called.

They took the report.

It took ten minutes.

Tonight I will drop the bike off at BikeLine of Lancaster to see if it is "totalled".

Still Reporting the Bike Accident

At 130 pm today I called the Philadelphia police and asked to make a statement about the accident on the phone.  They said they would send an officer to take the statement in person because the driver left the scene.  I gave them the address of the 7-story half-block long building where I work.  I waited until 430 pm.  No one came to the door.  There is a receptionist in the lobby till 415 pm.

Yesterday, I called 911 at the scene.  They said three different times they were sending someone.  On the third call, the operator said I was not there.  I did not move from the front of Sovereign Bank at 11th and Market from the time I made the call until 40 minutes later when I left.  I am six feet tall.  I had a bike.  The officer who responded said no one was their.

There is only one bank on that corner.

Tomorrow I am going to call at 845 am when I arrive at my office.  That way there will be eight hours for the police to show up.  I will let you know if thy could not find the building.

Reporting the Bike Accident

After waiting 40 minutes for the Philadelphia Police NOT to show up, I had given up on the reporting the accident.  But my wife said as a matter of justice I should report it.  So I am going to try today.  I am already leaving on the late train for work, so it will be difficult, but she's right.  The guy in the Lincoln SUV ran a red light then ran over the bike.  He would leave the scene with a dead kid in the road.

Now some of you may wonder if I think riding in Philly more dangerous than riding with the rednecks in Southern Lancaster County.

No.

I still prefer Philly to Solanco.  The fat guys in pickup trucks with faded McCain-Palin stickers on their F-150s actually hate people who use two feet of road.

Bike Accident in Phila--No Injury

Today I was supposed to be at the Parent Teachers Organization meeting.  I left work at 420 pm, but my trip was delayed by a Lincoln SUV that ran a red light and ran over the front wheel of my folding bike.  I jumped off the bike seeing that was was running the light and thinking he would not avoid hitting me.

The guy had a vanity plate BY TRIO so I can report the accident.  I called 911 and tried to report it.  I waited at 11th and market for a half hour.  I told the dispatcher I was in front of Sovereign Bank.  I called 20 minutes later, the dispatcher said the police were enroute.  Ten minutes later I called again.  this dispatcher said he would send the supervisor.  He tried to say the police went by and there was no one there.  I had not moved for a half hour.  Ten minutes later I called and said I was leaving for Lancaster.

I am a member of the US Government as a soldier.  I want the government to be there to fix roads and sewers and show up at accidents, but I also know that I am always unhappy when I am subject to the whims of a government agent.  The comedy at 11th and Market made no difference because I was not hurt.  And now if I want to get my bike fixed, I will have to fill out forms with same police department and have to have a judge decide the case when the SUV driver lies about every detail of the incident.

The incident has only cost me an hour and a PTO meeting so far.  I'll find out later how much the bike repair is.

Perpetuating Mediocrity

One of the reasons the motor platoon has such a high pass rate on the PT test is, oddly enough, that the training NCO for our unit is such a stickler for everyone meeting or exceeding the published standard on the test. He fails people who miss the run by ten seconds and who miss the minimum by one pushup or situp. We are a National Guard unit and many active units will allow more slack than we do. But by forcing everyone to meet the standard, eventually everyone really does--except one sergeant. But 98% is very high for any unit and beyond the moon for the National Guard.

But he is not in charge of all training and performance in other areas it is clear how our socialist group both forces us to conform and helps us when we don't. In February, many of us went to the rifle range for two days--one day to zero, one day for qualification. The qualification consists of firing 40 rounds at pop-up targets from 50 to 300 meters distance. To qualify as a marksman, you must hit 23 of 40 targets. To be a sharpshooter or expert requires 33 and 37 hits respectively the first time you fire. If you get less than 23 the first time, no matter how many hits you get the second time you score only as a marksman. But when we were on the range, one soldier scored less than 23 five times. At the end of the day when the people who run the range wanted to go home, this soldier went to position 11 with 40 rounds. At positions 10 and 12 were two range instructors. Miraculously, the soldier who failed to qualify five times hit 40 out of 40. That soldier should have been scored as a Marksman, and hopefully that soldier will have other people who can shoot nearby in a firefight. But the scoring system broke down when a sergeant major showed up. Hearing that a soldier shot 40 of 40, he presented the soldier with a commemorative coin (a standard token for a very good job). So our records indicate this soldier is our top expert marksman. Once the fudging starts, it is hard to stop. Those instructors could not admit they were nailing targets.

Remember Sgt. Oblivious? After he was relieved from his job as a squad leader, he was not formally removed, so he was still squad leader on his soldier's records. So he signed the awards that others rewrote. By putting an electronic signature on these documents, he has proof that he is competent at writing awards when he next comes up for promotion. If the awards were not rewritten his squad members would have suffered. Because they were rewritten, the Army suffers because a thoroughly incompetent soldier has proof he can write awards.

One thing I thought I would get a one-year break from in a war zone is all the gray areas of modern life. But the Army is part of modern life and it is as gray in here as it is on the outside--with an olive drab tinge.