At least it worked for Blogathon!

mr_ed:  Boy, that was all kinds of unpleasant.
Tucker:  All kinds?
mr_ed:  Several kinds, anyway.
Tucker:  What was worst?
mr_ed:  Oh, man, it's hard to choose. The tech's English that I couldn't understand ... saying the program he needed for checking my account was down ... then saying that software that runs 24 hours a day needs to shut down for a half-hour every day ... right when they're cutting in a new customer base ... that I had to have Internet Explorer to finish setting up my account ... not knowing squat about Linux and not grasping the idea that people wouldn't install Windows just so they could use IE to finish setup ... AAARRRGH !!!
Tucker:  Why did we have to do this?
mr_ed:  Because our nice small broadband company sold out to the Evil Comcast Empire, and tonight was when Comcast gobbled us up. Only we didn't have a Comcast account, so >poof< went our internet.
Tucker:  What about when you called back?
mr_ed:  Ah yes. Listening to the recording that said most connectivity problems could be solved by power-cycling the modem.
Tucker:  The woman who pulled up our account easily.
mr_ed:  The different tech who insisted I couldn't be on the internet because she couldn't see my modem. Lady, I'm not getting a Comcast error page from my router....
Tucker:  When she said the MAC address was on the bottom of the modem.
mr_ed:  Yeah, by then my brain had blown a circuit or two. She wouldn't believe that there wasn't a sticker on the bottom. "The modem has to have a MAC address." Yes, of course it does, just not on the bottom. Ohhh, waaiiit a minute ... it's on the side. I sure felt like thunking my head at that moment. But I'm not into any more closed-head trauma these days.
Tucker:  Then you unplugged the modem accidentally.
mr_ed:  Yeah, I shoulda said I did it on purpose. After it powered back up she could sure-nuff see it.
Tucker:  And she activated our account.
mr_ed:  And it worked for a half hour.
Tucker:  And then it didn't.
mr_ed:  And the third tech couldn't see the modem. So it's "obviously" an equipment problem and someone has to come to the house.
Tucker:  And after you hung up....
mr_ed:  ... it worked again. Hey, okay, I understand that an iffy piece of equipment can cut in and out. Buuuut ... I look first to what changed. Change something, problem crops up, look at what changed. Local equipment stayed the same from our computer out to the fiber cable and upstream some ways. But the account got shuffled around. Hmmm.
Tucker:  ::yawn::
mr_ed:  Well anyway.
Tucker:  Blogathon's over.
mr_ed:  It's a wrap.
Tucker:  Be there. Aloha.
mr_ed:  There are eight million stories in the naked city.
Tucker:  This has been one of them.
mr_ed:  In and for the City and County of Los Angeles.
Tucker:  Y'all come back now, y'hear?
mr_ed:  ::sings::  Happy trails, to you....
Tucker:  ::sings::  Until, we meet, again....
mr_ed:  Well that means it's over for sure - the fat Husky sang.
Tucker:  Grrr.
mr_ed:  The pledge part, anyway.
Tucker:  I met my goals.
mr_ed:  The same amount of sleeping but more treats and face rubs?
Tucker:  Goals need to be realistic.
mr_ed:  True.
Tucker:  Did we meet our goals?
mr_ed:  Yeah. Yeah, actually, we did.
Tucker:  So what's wrong with that?
mr_ed:  Oh, nothing. Just tired, I guess. Holey moley, would you look at the time? I'm going to bed. At least we know the modem is working.
Tucker:  Gonna call off the tech visit?
mr_ed:  Think I should?
Tucker:  If the modem's working, yes.
mr_ed:  I'll sleep on it.
Tucker:  The cable won't reach that far.
mr_ed:  Hmmm. But it looks long enough to bean you with the modem. Why don't we just go to bed now.
Tucker:  I don't know.
mr_ed:  All right then. G'night.