Author: oneletterup
cable hokey pokey
Instead of “Breaking News” (as we now call World News Tonight with David Muir, because it is always news that is always breaking), the dreaded error message appeared a few nights ago on our television…
V58 channel not authorized
Blue screen – on every channel. And cause for blood pressure to rise…once again. Do Not Want To Call Comcast. Or TiVo.
But, as the kids say, this isn’t my first rodeo.
Step One: Breathe
Step Two: Turn off TV and turn back on. (this usually fixes everything electronic as if it reminds the device what it’s supposed to do)
(if Step Two doesn’t fix it – which it didn’t, you need Step Three)
Step Three: Find file marked TiVo and retrieve ongoing scribbled log dated back to 2012. Also find file marked Comcast, which is much thicker, but only goes back to 2015 due to downsizing.
Step Four: Review notes from TiVo and Comcast files –
TiVo file (9/2014): error V53 blank screen – called and spoke to Zach. Solution – unplug power, unplug internet. Wait (how long is not noted)…plug in power, turn on TiVo & let it dance around and load itself (those of you with TiVo will know what I am referring to). THEN plug in internet. Go to settings, connect to internet…and….do it all again. The hokey pokey! Success.
TiVo file (9/2015): error V53 blank screen – did NOT call this time (sorry Zach), but followed Zach’s method of plugging and unplugging and dancing around….but now(!) connect to internet is called connect to TiVo service. Success!
TiVo file (10/2017): error V52 no signal above channel 840. – tried procedures from 2014 and 2015…no luck. Restarted box again. Nope.
But wait!! Cross reference to the Comcast file log from 2015*…
*Comcast file (2015): phone call with Kevin. If “it” (cable screw-ups) keeps happening, he told me “unplug the coaxial cable from the modem, touch the needle with your finger & blow on it to reduce the static and plug it back in.” He assured me he “heard that from someone.”
Say what?????
Back to TiVo file of 10/2017…
So I “unplugged coaxial cable from TiVo box – blew on it (yes, blew on it), tapped it with my finger…waited a minute…re-connected…all fixed.”
********
So now it’s May 2018 and, after careful study of my intricate cable repair history, I skipped Zach and went right to Kevin. Do not have time for the hokey pokey. The hokey pokey would result in missing the first half of breaking news.
Deep cleansing breaths.
And then… I unplugged – actually unscrewed – the coaxial cable from the TiVo box – blew on it, tapped it, re-screwed/plugged it in and…
Presto!! Like magic (without even having to tap my heels together 3 times) there’s the news breaking before the first commercial for the latest arthritis drug.
It is time for another entry into my Comcast and TiVo logs of nonsense.
May, 2018: error V58 channel not authorized. Kevin, you will always be my hero ♥!
Quote of the Day
lights
Everybody thinks that the most important thing in life is cash. It’s not. It’s your health.
So said Dan in a recent conversation.
Dan is our electrician. He stopped by last week to look at our new condo. We needed his ideas about installing a ceiling light in the second bedroom. It could have been done during construction, but we’d wanted to keep costs down. Not smart in the long term. But Dan didn’t put it that way…
“You’d rip up that nice new sheetrock and never get it looking this good again.”
Okay, Dan, you’re right. Skip the ceiling light, but our aging eyes need more light at the flip of a switch. And our aging brains didn’t think it all the way through.
“Try wall sconces” he suggested. “Those would be simpler – won’t damage the walls.” We agreed to visit a local lighting store and check some out.
One other thing…”We also need some dimmer switches here in the dining area. It gets too bright.” The apparent contradiction of the 2 lighting requests didn’t faze him. Dimmer switches are an easy fix.
“So how do you like living here?” Dan remembered our previous suburban home and recognized the significant life change we had made. He was perhaps 10 years behind us in age and lived out in the country. We now live in a multi-unit condo complex close to a busy state highway.
“I like it…it’s much less work….but I miss the quiet.”
We talked about the unending responsibilities of home ownership and snow removal and such. And why, for various reasons, my husband and I made this move. Entered into a mortgage again. Realized we needed to conserve our strength. I needed to avoid another fall off the deck while removing ice dams from the roof. No more climbing stairs down to a basement and up to a second floor. A shorter commute to work.
As time goes on, our physical limitations come into starker view. And we need to pay attention.
He described a recent evening at his home – windows open – all he could hear were the crickets. He just can’t give that up. As he gets older, it may get harder to keep up with his home’s needs, but…as long as he stays healthy it will be okay.
Same here, Dan, same here.
Happy Mother’s Day (Quote of the Day)
Grammy and Papa
Weeeeellllll, I sure like those crispy things!
Grammy, my paternal grandmother, was born and raised in Tennessee. She often unwittingly entertained me with her distinctive southern accent…and dietary habits. And observations about life. She loved to fish, pick walnuts, hickory nuts, berries and eat fried food (especially at the Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips near my home)…hence the favorite crispy things/bits left on fried fish. Oatmeal bread was too “rich” for a slice of toast. The best part of a leftover roast from dinner was what rose to the top in the broth amongst the congealed fat — which, once cooled, she poured over cold cereal for an evening snack. An expert seamstress, she sewed Barbie clothes for my sister and me; as well as long colorful “dress-up” dresses embroidered with rick rack and lace. She crocheted orange coasters for my wedding gift in the 1970’s. And over many years, she mended our countless “holey” socks, ripped seams and torn play clothes when she visited.
Grammy and my grandfather Papa, lived in Cincinnati, Ohio in a large house (or at least it seemed large to me) set on a hill. We made the trip from NY and NJ several times in my early childhood to visit them and my mother’s relatives as well. It was always an adventure: my sister, brother and I stretched out in the rear of the station wagon – back seat flattened out – supposedly to sleep during the long trip. We would leave around 9:30pm. This was the 1950’s and 1960’s when the risk of kids flying through the air from a sudden stop wasn’t on the parental radar. Not sure how much sleep we actually got amidst the rolling around and poking each other. I do remember being somewhat awestruck by seeing the stars in the night sky out the window. The worst part of those trips: when I threw up out the window due to my tendency to get car sick. (at least I hope it was always out the window)
Papa was from the Chicago area, and met Grammy passing through her small country town on a train while working as a lumber inspector. He wooed her to Cincinnati, but she forever missed her southern home. And she missed her sisters and brother and fishing holes and woods.
The last time I saw Papa was in 1964 after one of those long car trips.
Several weeks later he died unexpectedly at the age of 78.
We all missed him and his sweet smile, but I don’t think Grammy ever completely got over losing him.
spring has sprung
I love this time of year. It seems like anything is possible! Trees are coming back to life; tiny buds one day and full bloom the next (or so it seems). Hardy evergreens – the storm and snowplow survivors – are still standing. The green leaf beginnings of iris and other “mystery” plants poke out of the soggy ground. Every day they reveal themselves a little more.
So much snow this past winter. At times it would have been hard to imagine it gone.
Early yesterday evening as the light was getting low, I caught some of my favorite trees against a blue sky.
Quote of the Day
school pictures
My Opa and Oma grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was aware of that from a very early age. We traveled many miles by car and by train to visit various relatives there when I was young. It’s where my parents grew up too. Baseball meant the Cincinnati Reds – Opa’s favorite team. Both my brothers wore the requisite Reds baseball hats and jackets, even though we all lived on the east coast. Oma sometimes reminisced about the sales job she held (until she married) at the Wurlitzer Company in downtown Cincinnati. I remember stories about riding streetcars and shopping at Kroger’s.
Opa and Oma were very proud of their childhood beginnings…and the schools they went to. I’m not sure if they attended the same grammar schools. I wish I had asked more questions about their earliest years. Opa did mention some hijinks involving a piano in the music room which I won’t go into here; but suffice it to say he was a prankster. And proud of it. Which doesn’t surprise me at all. The class pictures I found – some over 100 years old – make me wonder…what happened to all those children? What were their lives like? What were their stories?
Below is Opa’s kindergarten class (he is identified by the arrow). I wonder how long those 5 year olds had to stand or sit still for the photographer. First or last day of school? Was that one class or 2 together? What a group…all those hats!
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Below is (what I assume to be) Oma’s Kindergarten class. Unfortunately this photo has deteriorated and there is no mention of what school it was (although I suspect it might be the Kirby Road School – it seems similar to her 8th grade location in the next photo). She is 4th from the right in the second row (black mark pointing her out). Oma told me how much she loved the big bows she wore in her hair as a child.
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Next is Oma’s 8th grade class photo. There she is in the front row, still wearing a big bow in her hair. She went to the Kirby Road School, which is now listed on the “National Register of Historic Places” in Cincinnati, Ohio. It has been (or is planning to be) converted into apartments – 50,000 square feet of them; most complete with original chalkboards and wood floors & trim! I can just imagine her reaction to hearing that news. Perhaps a sly grin and a shake of the head….
Another Kirby Road School class picture is in the form of a postcard. It is not dated, but appears to be 1914 or 1915 judging from how old the children look. Oma would have been in the 3rd or 4th grade; still wearing the bow, but not looking too pleased this time. She had written the note on the back of the postcard, shown below.
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This is my favorite.
Opa’s grammar school class – not sure exactly which grade. Look at all the children carefully posed at their desks. Holding books open as if the photographer was interrupting a reading lesson. Library books are listed on the blackboard, so perhaps that explains the reason for the photo…promoting library books? Something new for the school? The flag draped on one desk – which seems odd, but there may have been some tie-in to the book theme.
They all look so serious…except Opa sitting in the back with a big grin on his face.
Quote of the Day
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 