Dear dimwit on the phone

But Comcast carries it on its digital tier. I don't understand why they don't offer it on both, but oh well.

 

I'm guessing the digital tier costs more?

There are a lot of networks offered here on the premium tier. I just figured I wouldn't watch them enough to justify the extra $10 per month (my bill is pretty high already).

For instance, I can get several live NHL games every week on NHL Network. But between NBC, NBCSN, Comcast Sports Net and Fox Sports Net, I already have access to between 6-10 games per week. Since I'm not avidly following one particular team, that's more than enough to satisfy my appetite. I really don't want to watch sports on TV more than, say, 4 nights a week, max. If there is something I can't get and am dying to see, I'll go to a sports bar. Done it all of once in the past 12 months. YAWN!

 

It's even more fun with most service providers still required to carry analog and HD, isn't it?

 

At one point, our Comcast carrier did not have SyFy in its channel selections, yet it was part of the OnDemand service, which seemed odd to me. In a recent reshuffle, we did get SyFy and a bunch of other stuff.

But still no MSNBC, which has been good for my blood pressure.

 

No MSNBC? Now if only Fox and CNN would get the boot I'd switch to your provider in an instant.

 

Dear soccer mom,

I'm sorry you're offended by the line in the story about the match being closer than the final score indicated. I'm sorry you think a poorly-executed cross curling into the net and a ball ping-ponging around the 18-yard box before one of your players toe pokes it in are not lucky goals.

But you're a fucking moron.

And so is your coach, since he didn't call A) the guy who wrote the story or B) the sports editor to complain about it. He called a writer who has never covered a soccer match. That's idiotic.

Fuck right off,
Inky

 

I think that guy called me Friday. He asked if there were any Final Four games on.
"Uhhh, no. Those are on Saturday. Always have been."
"Oh. OK. <click>"

 

Let me say here - and since this thread is so long, perhaps I have said it before - that most of us do get calls from readers that are helpful. We probably get a dozen story ideas a year we might not have stumbled across from random callers, and sometimes a decent suggestion.

As newspapers' institutional memory fades - through deaths or layoffs - having readers who care enough to call can still be a powerful resource.

 

Absolutely. But, still, fuck the dimwits.

 

Having dealt with both types of callers on numerous occasions, I agree with both of you.

 

Got an angry email that included the phrase "you're hurting these kids" along with a threat to stop buying ads if his daughter's picture isn't in the paper more often.

I hate people.

 

With luck, his daughter will get busted for DUI. Then you can run a big picture.