Dogged Blog

Friday iPod Challenge, the Darling You Look Fabulous Edition

The title of this week's challenge is meant as inspiration to me. I look far from fabulous, having sent my Rosie to dog heaven last weekend, and gotten Rebel through surgery on Tuesday. I'm sleep deprived and crabby and let's just charitably say I'm overdue for a hair cut.

Which I'm getting this afternoon, so at least that'll be fixed.

The iPod Challenge is simple, or if not simple, then at least, it's the same as it ever was: Set iTunes or whatever program you use to shuffle your entire music library, and post the first ten that it gives you without any attempt to thwart the gods of randomness in order to obscure the fact that you listen to Celine Dion.

I was less than diligent in posting the challenge during my traumatic move, and while you were all very kind with the nagging reminders, you've fallen down on the job of posting your playlists. That's enough of that. Tell me what's on your iPod! Then head over to club.kingsnake.com and tell them, because you can actually WIN stuff there.

My random ten this morning:

1. The Only Living Boy in New York - Everything but the Girl
The old Simon and Garfunkel classic given an atmoshpheric acoustic interpretation by Ben and Tracey. I love it.

2. Pop Song 89 - R.E.M.
I'll be reviewing their new "Greatest Hits" album this weekend at club.kingsnake... but in a nutshell, it's great. Of course.

3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears For Fears
The 80s. Love.

4. Extreme Ways - Moby
For a bald vegan he's kind of cute.

5. In A World Called Catastrophe - Matthew Good
Angsty rock.

6. All American Girl - Melissa Etheridge
I adore this song, tough girls, hard times, and that sexy growl.

7. Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) - Talking Heads
From what I sometimes think is the best album ever recorded, Remain in Light.

8. Soviet - Electronic
Strange little tune from the Manchester crew.

9. Madam Butterfly (after "Un bel di vedremo" from "Madama Butterfly") - Malcolm McLaren
He's just weird but this song is purely brilliant.

10. Street Hassle - Lou Reed
I have no words. If you've never heard it, fix that immediately.

Your turn.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Something old...

Rosie, at 13 years, 3 months the oldest deerhound I've ever had, seems to have come to the end of her road. She came into the world in my hands, and she'll leave it the same way.

Something New...

I think the move to the new house was hard on Rosie, but my Borzoi, Kyrie, who started out having some adjustment problems, is thriving. She has stopped growling at other dogs while on leash, and is adapting really well to our new routine.

Something borrowed...

Rebel has to have surgery on Tuesday, related to his genetic disorder canine cystinuria. Three thousand dollars.  Thank god I cleared some room on the credit cards when I sold my old house.

Something blue...

Even though Rosie has had a long, good life, it breaks my heart to see her go. Because canine cystinuria appeared in several of her brothers, none of the dogs in that litter were bred from. Rosie did have a singleton puppy, Bran, before I knew about the cystinuria problem, but he died at the age of 4.

I'm not entirely sure I'm cut out to have dogs. They die too soon.

Friday iPod Challenge, The OMG She Remembered Edition

I didn't do it last week and no one complained, not one person! Not even the ones who normally complain when I'm even just LATE!

I'm doing it anyway.

The rules are simple: Shuffle your MP3 files using iTunes or any other program. Make sure it's shuffling your entire music library, and then tell me the first ten songs it gives you, no editing, no cheating, no increasing your coolness quotient.

Here's mine:

1. Fade Away (Tony Moran and Warren Rigg Mix) - Sarah Atereth
2. Lola - The Raincoats
3. Invisible - Alison Moyet
4. Sandstorm  - Darude
5. Dirty Old Town - Pogues
6. Tango to Evora - Loreena McKennitt
7. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) - David Bowie
8. Down On the Corner - Johnny Marr & The Healers
9. Hide U (John Creamer and Stephane K Mix) - Kosheen
10. Welcome to the Occupation - R.E.M.

Your turn!

Me and Analyst Steve

If you've ever read this blog before, you know I moved at the end of last month. We'll just leave it at that and the fact that it was the worst move ever in the history of moving and I still wake up screaming in the night from time to time.

So, this morning I was downloading my email and it just stopped. I tried again and this time got the message my password was invalid. So I tried via the web interface and got a message that my account was on "inactive status."

I was online. And I had cable TV, also via Comcast.

There was a link in my error message on how to get help, so I clicked on it.  I explained the situation to "Analyst Steve." Anything I've struck through, I didn't say, only thought. I swear to you, I started out nice. I really did.

Analyst Steve: Have you moved lately?

Me: Yes, three weeks ago as I already explained you moron.

Analyst Steve: It looks like your old address hasn't been moved to your new address. Do you have your new account number?

(Little bit of clarification about addresses etc., and we establish, no, I don't know my new account number since every other business on planet earth tracks you through your phone number or something you might actually know.)

Me: I don't think this has anything to do with my move...

Analyst Steve: It does. It just took a while for the account to be closed.

Me: Why did you close it?

Analyst Steve: I didn't, it just gets shut down if a request isn't put in to move it to a new account

(I clarify at this point that I am not blaming Analyst Steve personally for going in and making the tough decision to close down my account, but speaking to him rather in his capacity as a representative of Comcast, Inc. as should be obvious to anyone in the customer service field.)

Me: I did what I was told when I called to move my service, and no one told me I had to request to "move" my email address.... I didn't get a new account, or if I did, no one expressed it to me that way.  How do I get my email address up and running? And how do you explain the fact that I have Internet service here at the new house and you sent a guy out to set it up and everything, if I didn't request to move my service?

Analyst Steve:  Do you have your new account number?

Me: I believe we already established that I do not you moron. No. My bill goes to my employer.

Analyst Steve: I am sorry, I will need the new account number to move the old email account. Please chat back in, or call 1-888-COMCAST, when you have the new account number.

Me: how do I get it? I'm on the phone with my employer, he hasn't gotten a bill yet.

Analyst Steve: It would be on the new install order, written on it

Me: Yeah, I just moved, what part of "my life is in boxes and filled with chaos and I can't find some piece of paper a guy gave me three weeks ago" do you not understand? and if I don't have that? how do I get it?

Analyst Steve:  Wait until you get a bill

Me: I can't, I need my email, nor can I believe you really said that, how does this company stay in business?

Analyst Steve: Get your employer to call 1-888-COMCAST, maybe he can get them to give it to him

Analyst Steve:  Is there anything else I can help you with today?

Me: You haven't helped me with anything at all, so there's no honest way to reply to that question with a yes or no, is there? No.

Analyst Steve: Thank you for contacting Comcast!

Fortunately the nice people at 1-888-COMCAST didn't need my "new account number" but were able to access my account with my phone number, apologized profusely for the mistake which was entirely on their end, fixed  everything, and restored my faith in corporate America.

Have a nice day.

Reality TV for the Thinking Person

I guess I'm pretty much over the interview nerves...  I had a great time interviewing lesbian chef and Top Chef contestant Josie Smith-Malave this morning for AfterEllen.com.

Even if you hate reality TV, you probably won't hate Top Chef, last year's breakout hit from Bravo, which returns for its second season on Oct. 18. It's smart, serious and wildly entertaining.

Spicing things up will be out lesbian contestant Josie Smith-Malave, 31, a former women's professional football player who is now a chef. Colorful, outspoken and pretty much the poster child for joie de vivre, Smith-Malave is nonetheless serious about food.

Full story here.

Can You Stand It?

The excitement level on this blog is just woah. I'm surprised people are still reading it, but it seems you are. I'll try to become, you know, interesting again soon.

Plumbing update: The sellers wrote us a lovely email saying they'd pay for the entire plumbing bill and how sorry they were that this happened and that they hope we still love the house!

Since I love my house like Xena loves Gabrielle, well... yes, I love my house. And next week we'll have a nice shiny new sewer line.

I hope the accompanying photo in some small way mitigates the relentless boredom of this post. I felt you needed to see my new shoes.

Because I'm Not So Bright...

... at least about technical things, can you tell me: For the last couple of years I've been blissfully happy using a Logitech Trackman Trackball, with a cord.

You can open it up and clean out the contacts, enabling the "marble" trackball to spin freely.

I clean them, oh, once a week.

The trackball has finally stopped working well and I got a new one. The same basic model, but "updated," so that now you cannot open it up.

I'm assuming there's a good reason for this, as I see NONE of the new models of "trackball" style mouse-alternatives can be opened for cleaning. I just can't think of what it is. How am I supposed to clean it? Is there a secret? Because the way things are now, this thing is going to have a lifespan of one week, and I'm going to guess since I haven't heard a hue and cry across the Internets about this, I'm missing something.

What is it?

Lassie, get help, Christie's in the well.

Wrestling with Angels

I may have gushed a bit too much in this review of Wrestling with Angels, a documentary about Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner.

But I meant every word.

From the Neighborhood

I know you're all out there breathlessly wondering, so I'll tell you:

The former owners admitted having their doubts about the sewer and offered to pay half. I kind of don't see why they shouldn't pay for it all, since California's disclosure laws are draconian, I had to even list all repairs I'd done on the house in the last year! However, I'm letting the real estate folks deal with it.

My bronchitis is better but not gone.

Rosie is better but won't use the ramp, we're still looking for some kind of "no slip" treads to put on it.

I love Sigmund Stern Grove and am so happy in my new neighborhood.

The view from my office is lovely.

Tomorrow I'm going to visit a friend with a new litter of Silken Windhound puppies. At lunchtime. It won't take six hours out of my day. I love living here.

Aren't you glad you asked?

Just Another Day in the Neighborhood

Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb? -Prince, 1999

Ok, explain it to me like I'm a six-year-old. First I have the Move From Hell (trademark pending), then my poor old dog Rosie is all discombobulated by the changes in her life, then I get bronchitis, then we figure out a way to build a ramp to the second floor of the new house for Rosie to use and we're all happy and BOOM, the sewer line breaks. On a house I've lived in for a week.

WHO THE HELL DID I PISS OFF? And how do I get them to stop messing with me?

Which is all nothing, really, comapared to the world I suddenly emerged from my fog to live in again. North Korea may, or may not, have exploded a nuclear bomb. The Republicans knew Foley was diddling pages for years and did nothing (although Focus on the Family's James Dobson finds the whole thing v v amusing).

I may really just quietly turn off my internet connection and cable TV and live  here with the dogs and my Xena: Warrior Princess DVD collection, letting my broken sewer line cause a catastrophic sinkhole in the street outside that will eventually suck me, the dogs, and our new house down into the bowels of the earth. Because apparently we're all doomed anyway.

That is all.