Another year older and deeper in debt

I just turned 38 the other day. Whoopie. Just another day.

Still working as a web developer. Pretty cool work, but it would be nice to be making a little more $$$. I have a butt-load of college related debt to pay off, so I don't really get to enjoy the spoils of my edumacashun.

I did pick up a 37" HDTV. It's a Westinghouse LVM-37w1 (Google it) and I'm using it as my computer monitor as well as my TV. The old Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2200 cable box didn't work very well with the new TV, and it couldn't output any HD channels, so I had to upgrade to the shiny Explorer 8300 HD. It's ok, but compared to my ReplayTV (think Tivo, but better), Scientific Atlanta could do a hell of a lot better. The standard channel guide interface is the same one they've been using for the last 10 years or more, which looks crappy on a standard def TV, imagine what it looks like on a HDTV.

The 8300 does record HD channels (which my ReplayTV couldn't do), but there are a few problems with that too. If you want to start a show (that's currently being recorded) at the beginning, you have to rewind all the way from the "live" position to the start of the show. What happened to the "Play from beginning" feature ReplayTVs have had for 6 years or more?

If you are watching a show being recorded, but you aren't at the "live" position, the show will jump to live when the recording stops. This means you have to navigate to the recorded show and fast forward to the point where you left off.

I sent these, as well as a few other, complaints to BrightHouse Networks and they gave me the standard "thanks for your input but we can't do anything about it" e-mail. If I wanted someone to take my money and ignore me, I'd get married.

Laters