No Facilities

Random thoughts, life lessons, hopes and dreams.

It’s Your Fault – 1LinerWeds

Dan Antion
1 minute

No, not you. Not anyone who comes to read this blog. That’s the observation a friend and I reached after he was dealing with a cable company. Seems the cable company made some “upgrades” which caused a number of customers to lose their connections. The cable company said that it couldn’t have been related to the work they did.

Between my friend and I, we have about 85 years’ experience working with computers and communication technology. I agreed with his comment to the cable company:

“When something was working before you did what you did, what you did is the reason it isn’t working now.”

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, or if you would like to join in on the fun, you can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

Farther south in the sky these days
She popped up and snagged a peanut someone left for her
No leaves on this tree yet, but they will come
I love how the new power lines reflect the sun
Rolling off the highway
Running out to the river
CT Rail’s Hartford line ues a few of AMTRAK’s shuttles as well as their own trains
From the south. it doesn’t look like the snow was blowing
Tell tale sign of a nor’easter. The poles are covered with snow on the north side
Lines are heavy with snow
I need a different way home. The power line is down.
Clearing the cypress of their heavy burden
Moving fast to keep this gunk from clogging the auger
After DST, long shadows have returned to my walks
“The treats are in the bottom drawer. You know, in case you forgot.”
Sorry buddy, but you’re going to be covered in snow soon
Books on Gateway Clipper

Knuckleheads — The Evil You Choose — When Evil Chooses You — Secrets held Against Evil

All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.

Bridge to Nowhere

Don’t forget, tomorrow is Thursday and that means Thursday Doors. The URL for my post is listed in the sidebar under our beautiful badge. You can link up at any time. My post goes live at one minute after midnight in the eastern timezone. I hope to see your doors.

93 responses to “It’s Your Fault – 1LinerWeds”

  1. petespringerauthor Avatar
    petespringerauthor

    We’re the kings of having cable problems after unsolicited “upgrades.” Then, it takes them at least a week to get to our house, and the problem is often not solved the first time.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      That’s what this guy is going through. Upgrade – two (failed) attempts to fix it – now scheduled for next week.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Oddment Avatar
    Oddment

    I think we’re being upgraded into oblivion. What an infinite loop of “your call is important to us.” What really is important is to see photos like that one of the moon, which is lovely, and the leaf close-up, which is one of your best, I think. I suppose I have to acknowledge that I couldn’t see them without the technology, but I do wish they’d apply the old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” As for that snow, it looks awful — a whole lot of work and worry.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      “Your call is important…No, wait, your payment is important. We could live without your call. Please enjoy 45 minutes of the worst music on earth.”

      I don’t know how I still see autumn leaves in March, but I really liked that one. I’m glad you did. The snow was wet and heavy, but jogging behind the machine wasn’t too bad. Up and over the hump, Maureen. See you on the other side.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Oddment Avatar
        Oddment

        I should have cried, but I laughed. Your version of the robot message is such lovely snark. It is exactly what they mean. Jogging behind a snow blower is way down on my list of things I want to do.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          I’m glad you can laugh. I suppose ‘walking fast’ would be more accurate.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
    2. Liz Gauffreau Avatar
      Liz Gauffreau

      The moon and the frosty leaf are my favorites, too!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. Dan Antion Avatar
        Dan Antion

        Thanks Liz!

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
        1. Liz Gauffreau Avatar
          Liz Gauffreau

          You’re welcome, Dan!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
      2. Oddment Avatar
        Oddment

        They are really good!

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply
  3. Mitzy Bricker Avatar
    Mitzy Bricker

    Gre

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Rivergirl Avatar
    Rivergirl

    Cats are so subtle. And if that doesn’t work they cuff you …
    There are times I wish we had cable out here in the sticks and then I hear people complain how often it goes out and change my mind…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Preston is anything but subtle. I could fill a month’s worth of one-liners with his “hints” about food. “You came into the kitchen, so you must want to feed me.”

      We now have two services in our town competing for our internet business. It’s amazing how accommodating our cable provider has become. “Fix your problem? No problem. Lower your rate? No problem.”

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Rivergirl Avatar
        Rivergirl

        Maine doesn’t allow that. Each company works out a deal with a town and no other company can operate there. It’s complete BS.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          We can’t have competing cable companies, but we have Cox Cable and two Internet providers. If you go with the internet, you have to get something like YouTube TV or a streaming service.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. Rivergirl Avatar
            Rivergirl

            We have Direct TV which is pricey but reliable for us.. and a slow as molasses broadband internet through our phone line.

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  5. GP Avatar
    GP

    OMG, that comment to the cable company is perfect – I’m still laughing about it. It applies to many things.
    (Now – if I can only figure out what I did before my printer quit scanning.)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Haha – it was probably your cable company, GP. I blame them for everything.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. GP Avatar
        GP

        Of course!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  6. Judy@NewEnglandGardenAndThread Avatar
    Judy@NewEnglandGardenAndThread

    Love the comment because I get so sick of all the upgrades and the resulting issues the consumer dealers with. The average consumer is left with opting in or out of upgrades because we don’t have the experience you do to review what it includes and decide on a time by time basis. Can’t win. Hope you got your snow cleared.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      It was still snowing when I cleared the soupy mix on the driveway and sidewalk, but the remaining snow was melting as it landed. The plow came by again, so I have to clean the sidewalk one more time, but we’re good. I’m guessing you got a lot more than we did. I hope the new machine worked well.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Judy@NewEnglandGardenAndThread Avatar
        Judy@NewEnglandGardenAndThread

        We got 10″ of heavy wet sludge. I was down and out so my grandson used the Toro, and it worked like a charm even throwing the wet stuff and didn’t clog up once. So, yesterday when the end of the main driveway, leftover snow, and in between vehicles needed clearing, my daughter even used ours instead of her big one because it works well and doesn’t clog up. Yes, I’ve used your spray, thank you very much. :-)

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          I hope you’re feeling better. I’m glad you got that mess cleaned up. After I finished, the plow came back and spread mostly slush up onto the driveway. I decided to just let it melt. That spray works well.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  7. Murphy’s Law Avatar
    Murphy’s Law

    Love this one liner. Gets right to the heart of the problem. As far as contacting any company these days, my phone call can’t be as important to them as they claim or they would put me through to a human being instead of a robot! 😡

    Love the moon shot. And Smokey looks quite pleased with himself for snagging a peanut.

    Am I seeing a bunny hunkered down in those leaves, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

    Preston just wants to be sure you didn’t forget where his treats are. Gosh he’s beautiful.

    The Nor’easter was kinder to us than expected. I am very grateful! Looks like your snowblower worked overtime!
    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      This comment is important to me, Ginger. Please remain on the page while I craft my reply.

      A friend once told me that the secret to keeping the snow blower from clogging on the heavy wet stuff is to go fast. I always thought he just liked to go fast, but it does work better than chugging along at a slow pace.

      No bunny in with the leaves, but judging from the footprints in the snow, they are out and about.

      As for the upgrades, yeah, they fail as often as they work, but good luck finding a human. Now they say “customers prefer online tech-support,” but they tell their Board Members, “we’re saving tons of money by using robots.”

      Preston also likes to make sure I don’t oversleep. He’s good like that.

      I’m glad you didn’t get hammered too badly by the storm.

      Like

      Reply
  8. Maggie Avatar
    Maggie

    Good one, Dan.

    Everytime the cable company comes out because our service is degraded, they always say, “It must be the wiring in your house.”Ffunny, though, they always seem to find something outside that fixes “our wiring problem”.

    The air looks crisp in your photos. Today we are hovering around 32° F.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Yeah, they always seem to forget to call back and say, “Oh, this was on us.” The air always seems to be nice between storms.

      Like

      Reply
      1. Maggie Avatar
        Maggie

        They never want to take ownership. I hope this will be winter’s last push before spring.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          Me, too!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  9. Mae Clair Avatar
    Mae Clair

    Your friend’s comment to the cable company is spot on!
    And my cat gives me that same look, LOL!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I know, right. “We made a change in your area and you and several neighbors are now without service, but it must be you.” I love their logic.

      I was cat sitting for our daughter. I don’t think Preston trusts me to have the routine down. I also don’t think our daughter feeds him at 2:00 am, but he tells me she does. It’s like the way we treated babysitters and substitute teachers.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Mae Clair Avatar
        Mae Clair

        🤣🐈

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  10. willowdot21 Avatar
    willowdot21

    Oh!

    Like

    Reply
  11. willowdot21 Avatar
    willowdot21

    Oh! I do agree having spent two months complaining about my WiFi dropping with out telephone company and the last three days of ” Intrusive Tests ” with our connection dropping up to twenty times a day. It’s not their fault the cry.. so I told them “why then did it get worse after your engineer came out and made it all worse?”…? Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! Love the photos 💜💜💜💜

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      “That’s a coincidence.” Yeah, they hide behind their little scripts. “Are you sure the modem is plugged in? Have you rebooted your device? Are you running the latest version of the operating system on your device?” – the entire process is designed to wear you down.

      I’m glad you like the photos.

      Like

      Reply
      1. willowdot21 Avatar
        willowdot21

        Hi Dan , yes these guys only go by the script. I was driven to tears over the weekend when I had to speak to them multiple times. Each time I had to start from scratch and answer all the questions I had already answered. They told me ” I will sort this issue for you!” I always replied ” your colleagues have assured me the same and failed” .they replied ” be assured I will sort this issue” ……none of them did!
        I do love your photos 💜💜

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          I get angry when I hear stories like this, Willow. They have the technology to keep track of the previous attempts, they just don’t want to do the work.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. willowdot21 Avatar
            willowdot21

            I know I asked them why they can’t give me a reference / job/ problem number; his answer…..” I have taken all your concerns on and will pass them on, also I will solve these issues” I replied, ” You maybe believe that but I don’t and will not be holding my breath!” Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! It drives you mad Dan 💜

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  12. sustainabilitea Avatar
    sustainabilitea

    You’d think it wouldn’t be rocket science but it obviously is. Unfortunately it seems to be a default response for too many places these days. As for photos today, I especially like the moon shot and the leaf shot at the end. Happy Wednesday, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Janet. They always start with “It’s not us, it’s you.” This one is bad because they can check from their office – they don’t have to send a guy out – but they’re making him wait until next week. I was really surprised to find that leaf after the back-to-back storms we’ve had. Seeing it made me smile.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  13. circadianreflections Avatar
    circadianreflections

    I agree with your one liner.
    Winter or the tale end of it looks pretty out your way. The backlit leaves are beautiful, and the trees are lovely.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Deborah. I feel like winter realized it forgot to snow on us and is trying to make up for it. We didn’t have any snow between December 20th and February 27th, but we’ve had three snowstorms between the 28th and today.

      Pretty soon those trees will be covered with green leaves.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. circadianreflections Avatar
        circadianreflections

        Here too! It’s warming up and the storm that was supposed come this week isn’t! Well it did, but brought mostly wind hardly any rain at all down here in the valley so the water has receded a good deal, and the snow is melting so fast! Spring buds should start showing up soon!
        Our lawn that we can finally see is green!! That surprised us.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. Dan Antion Avatar
          Dan Antion

          I’m glad the “lake” is on the retreat.

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. circadianreflections Avatar
            circadianreflections

            Us too! 😃 Thanks, Dan!

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  14. Frank Hubeny Avatar
    Frank Hubeny

    Good general observation. Our messing with something that works is the reason why it’s no longer working after we messed with it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      You’d think that would be easy to understand, Frank. Especially since there’s nothing the customer can do. Do you remember looking at the back of appliances and seeing “No user serviceable parts inside’ ? These are literal black boxes.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. John Hric Avatar
    John Hric

    It is my fault. I must have hit the enter key too soft or too hard when I liked someone’s post there by violating the community’s social guidelines. I cannot wait to see what happens if I actually make a comment. No the software is not broke… it just has a psychic woke detector… whatever that might be. Nice pics today, Try to get a few more leaves before all those spring flowers get here. Thanks Dan!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Autumn leaves must feel like they didn’t get enough attention from me, John. Perhaps they have a quota I wasn’t aware of. I’m sure you have a few flowers waiting for their moment in the blog-sun.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. Jan Sikes Avatar
    Jan Sikes

    Stay warm! I love the photo of the sun glinting off the Highline wires.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Jan. I love it when I see that, and it lasts long enough to get a picture. I usually end up with dull wires.

      Like

      Reply
  17. Bruce @ walkingoffthechessboard Avatar
    Bruce @ walkingoffthechessboard

    “When something was working before you did what you did, what you did is the reason it isn’t working now.” – This sounds terribly familiar to conversations with IT folks I have had over the years lol. “It was fine before the update!” Heavy, wet snow and ice that clogs the snow blower is a bummer. I do however have a very healthy respect for the “guts” of that device, so I always turn it off and do any extraction as safely as possible. It is always interesting how the light and shadows stay out and come out to play when we Spring ahead an hour – like that shot.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I remember telling people that what we did, “shouldn’t have had any effect on their system,” but we always checked. I’d say we had about an 80/20 record of it being user error, but we were often surprised. Of course, we had our share of “It wasn’t a bug, it was a feature,” moments, where people were exploiting an error and got mad when we “fixed” it. Those are the worst, from both sides.

      By the time I was done snow blowing, it had turned to rain, so the stuff on the ground was getting very soupy. Still, If I don’t move it, it will freeze overnight.

      I love the sharp shadows on snow from the bare trees. Perhaps the one benefit of DST – I get to see that twice.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  18. John W. Howell Avatar
    John W. Howell

    Great shots, Dan. I think your friend’s comment is perfect. Did it finally get back to normal?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks John. They’ve scheduled a tech to come out in person early next week. It’s really ridiculous.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. John W. Howell Avatar
        John W. Howell

        Seems that way

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  19. bikerchick57 Avatar
    bikerchick57

    Well, Dan, I am so happy I no longer have to deal with the cable company or their propensity to say it’s not their fault. Been there, done that.

    Hope you are having an awesome Wednesday!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Mary. Those guys are masters at the blame game. We are having a good week. Exciting weather, but no problems. I hope yours is a good one, too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  20. quiall Avatar
    quiall

    The shadow man is back! Love the leaves. I must think a bit… When did it become unfashionable to accept responsibility for something you know you did?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Several years ago for most companies, Pam. For cable companies, I think it’s in their charter. The shadow man is back for a few weeks. Then he’ll be gone until October. Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  21. Ally Bean Avatar
    Ally Bean

    No truer words. Seems like it’d be common sense yet…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      No such thing anymore, Ally.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Ally Bean Avatar
        Ally Bean

        Yes, I feel that way too.

        Like

        Reply
  22. Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com Avatar
    Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com

    I recently installed a VPN on my computer, phone and tablet. All of sudden, about half the time I open my Yahoo start page (not sure that’s what you call it), everything is in Japanese. Cause and effect? Who knows, but I have my suspicions.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I’d bet on those things being related. Despite knowing where you live, Yahoo is going from the IP address of your server (which likely is in Japan). Companies make that mistake all the time. Our ISP is in Providence, Rhode Island. When I login to shop at Home Depot, they select Providence, RI as my home store.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  23. hilarymb Avatar
    hilarymb

    Hi Dan – I do wish they’d apologise … but I guess that means paying up … but it’d help if they’d acknowledge their errors – so much easier. Love the photos – I could do with the Spring weather appearing … it will I know – cheers Hilary

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Hilary. I think “never admit a mistake” is their rule #1.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  24. lois Avatar
    lois

    Preston is such a handsome boy. Nugget was sleeping on my lap but lifted her head and I think I heard a little ‘Meow’ when she saw his photo. 😻
    Isn’t it amazing the ‘coincidences’ that cause systems to fail right after the cable company has worked on them? The one liner is perfect.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      The universe is a curious place, Lois. Give Nugget a scritch form us.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  25. John Holton Avatar
    John Holton

    Our recently-departed Molly loved her treats, and wanted them at noon. If Mary happened to be out past noon, Molly would go down to the door between the basement and the garage and wait for her to return…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. John Holton Avatar
      John Holton

      And yes, cable companies can be a real pill. I was having all kinds of connection issues, called them multiple times, and they persisted. Then I get an email one day several months after the problems started, informing me that my modem was out of date and that I needed a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, or I would have all kinds of trouble with my Internet connection. Gee, Comcast, thanks for telling me now…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Dan Antion Avatar
        Dan Antion

        After months of dealing with the problem. We also were informed, late, that our modem was out of date. You’d think that would be an easy thing to determine ahead of time.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
    2. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      They do love their schedules.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  26. JoAnna Avatar
    JoAnna

    I’m always a tiny bit nervous about “upgrades”. I love the amber translucence of the leaf.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      I try to wait until others have been upgraded. But companies like WordPress and our cable company just push them out.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  27. sustainabilitea Avatar
    sustainabilitea

    Dan, do we have Thursday Doors tomorrow? I don’t see a link.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Yes we do. I forgot to set the category – sorry.

      Like

      Reply
      1. sustainabilitea Avatar
        sustainabilitea

        It’s fine. I just though I might have missed an announcement about a week off. :-)

        Like

        Reply
  28. Dale Avatar
    Dale

    Passing the buck or not accepting guilt is prevalent today. The one-liner says it all. Lovely photographs, Dan.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Dale. Agreed, the first response seems to be to point the finger. Usually back to the person affected by the problem.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Dale Avatar
        Dale

        No one wants to take responsibility. ‘Tis a sad state of affairs

        Like

        Reply
  29. rugby843 Avatar
    rugby843

    I gave one of my grandsons a tshirt that read”Its not my fault” on the front😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Haha! That’s great.

      Like

      Reply
  30. marianallen Avatar
    marianallen

    Oooo, the moon in the trees! And OF COURSE I love your friend’s comment. It’s apropos all too often.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      It does seem to fit too many situations.

      Like

      Reply
  31. robertawrites235681907 Avatar
    robertawrites235681907

    This is exactly right. Usually, I am the problem when it comes to computers though and its something I’ve done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      We won’t hold that against you, Robbie ;-)

      Like

      Reply
  32. dweezer19 Avatar
    dweezer19

    That sounds perfectly plausible to me, Dan.

    Like

    Reply
  33. wrookieschu Avatar
    wrookieschu

    Great saying and so true!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Unfortunately, it is true.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  34. Jennie Avatar
    Jennie

    My favorite tree! Of course your friend’s comment was right.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Dan Antion Avatar
      Dan Antion

      Thanks Jennie.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Jennie Avatar
        Jennie

        You’re welcome, Dan.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

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