What's bugging you? (2017-2018)

[WestCoastCrew]

I've cut the cord, with a bit of mixed reaction. I already had Netflix and Hulu, the latter of which provides a lot of the network TV shows a day later through its regular service. So if you just want day-late TV (again, for most shows), it is a pretty solid option. Most of the local TV stations stream their news, so that checks that off. What you miss is other live TV, particularly sports.

 

I have signed up for Hulu's streaming TV service (https://www.hulu.com/live-tv), which is basically only available on your laptop or phone (the regular Hulu service still functions as it did previously; for me, it is on my PS4). PS4 won't offer the Hulu Live TV service because it directly competes with PlayStation Vue.

 

The only/biggest flaw I have is streaming live, especially sports. Now, this could be because of my wi-fi, which is good otherwise, or because I try to throw something to my TV through Chromecast. But if I keep it to my laptop-only, it functions pretty well. I have added HBO and Showtime and Hulu has all of the significant sports channels, including BTN. What it doesn't have in MLB Network and NFL Network.

 

For me, Hulu Live TV was the best price and channel selection combo.

[Patrick425]

Reading through this it's interesting in regards to the cable companies not relenting any more when you threaten to cancel. We have cable and because of the way I watch TV, I don't have any plans to cancel even though the rates are pretty high. When I turn on the TV, many times I'm not looking to watch anything in particular. I'm a flipper. I like to scroll up and down the guide and many times will watch 2 or 3 things at once (flipping back and forth between commercials). Right now, I'm willing to pay more in order to avoid the hassle of having to go back and forth between different subscriptions and devices to watch something. I especially would not like missing some live sports.

 

Having said that, it is crazy how they just keep jacking up the prices. It use to be if you just called, they would find a way to lower your bill. I was planning on calling at some point in the next month or two and tell them I want to cancel, but from reading some of the posts here, it sounds like that does not even work (until after you actually cancel).

[rwa12]

I've had both happen in the past few years. I use DirecTV, if my contract is up, and I want free Football package, I have to play Hardball. I have not had to cancel all the way, but I eventually get to customer retention, who gives me what I want. I typically only call when contracts expire, as I don't want to pay "retail" for TV. I don't care about the length of the contract, etc...I know people want shorter often, I would prefer longer to avoid the hassle of calling to renegotiate. I recently moved, and they went out of their way to put me in a better package, without asking. I just assumed my service would be moved from Point A to Point B, but apparently a physical move involved a new contract. My cost went down significantly. Unfortunately, it may come down to what representative you talk to, and how eager they are to please.

[FVBrewerFan]

I've had both happen in the past few years. I use DirecTV, if my contract is up, and I want free Football package, I have to play Hardball. I have not had to cancel all the way, but I eventually get to customer retention, who gives me what I want. I typically only call when contracts expire, as I don't want to pay "retail" for TV. I don't care about the length of the contract, etc...I know people want shorter often, I would prefer longer to avoid the hassle of calling to renegotiate. I recently moved, and they went out of their way to put me in a better package, without asking. I just assumed my service would be moved from Point A to Point B, but apparently a physical move involved a new contract. My cost went down significantly. Unfortunately, it may come down to what representative you talk to, and how eager they are to please.

 

It's interesting, because you would think it would be the reverse, will all the people cutting the chord. I would think they would be more eager to keep customers. Oh well, I'll let you know what I find when I play the game with Spectrum/Charter/TWC or whoever they are by the time I have to make that call in August.

[jerichoholicninja]

I've had both happen in the past few years. I use DirecTV, if my contract is up, and I want free Football package, I have to play Hardball. I have not had to cancel all the way, but I eventually get to customer retention, who gives me what I want. I typically only call when contracts expire, as I don't want to pay "retail" for TV. I don't care about the length of the contract, etc...I know people want shorter often, I would prefer longer to avoid the hassle of calling to renegotiate. I recently moved, and they went out of their way to put me in a better package, without asking. I just assumed my service would be moved from Point A to Point B, but apparently a physical move involved a new contract. My cost went down significantly. Unfortunately, it may come down to what representative you talk to, and how eager they are to please.

 

It's interesting, because you would think it would be the reverse, will all the people cutting the chord. I would think they would be more eager to keep customers. Oh well, I'll let you know what I find when I play the game with Spectrum/Charter/TWC or whoever they are by the time I have to make that call in August.

 

I'm guessing the number of people cord cutting is vastly overstated. It's probably more people who never had cable or satellite to begin with are choosing streaming services instead of people with cable/satellite getting rid of it.

[Baldkin]

I've had both happen in the past few years. I use DirecTV, if my contract is up, and I want free Football package, I have to play Hardball. I have not had to cancel all the way, but I eventually get to customer retention, who gives me what I want. I typically only call when contracts expire, as I don't want to pay "retail" for TV. I don't care about the length of the contract, etc...I know people want shorter often, I would prefer longer to avoid the hassle of calling to renegotiate. I recently moved, and they went out of their way to put me in a better package, without asking. I just assumed my service would be moved from Point A to Point B, but apparently a physical move involved a new contract. My cost went down significantly. Unfortunately, it may come down to what representative you talk to, and how eager they are to please.

 

It's interesting, because you would think it would be the reverse, will all the people cutting the chord. I would think they would be more eager to keep customers. Oh well, I'll let you know what I find when I play the game with Spectrum/Charter/TWC or whoever they are by the time I have to make that call in August.

 

I'm guessing the number of people cord cutting is vastly overstated. It's probably more people who never had cable or satellite to begin with are choosing streaming services instead of people with cable/satellite getting rid of it.

 

The number of cord cutters in 2017 went up 33%, to over 22 million.

 

https://www.emarketer.com/Article/eMarketer-Lowers-US-TV-Ad-Spend-Estimate-Cord-Cutting-Accelerates/1016463

 

This year, there will be 22.2 million cord-cutters ages 18 and older, a figure up 33.2% over 2016. The overall tally is much higher than the 15.4 million eMarketer previously predicted. Meanwhile, the number of US adult cord-nevers will grow 5.8% this year to 34.4 million.

[BrewersSuperCollector]

I cut the cord 18 months ago, but I’m trying to lessen my tv watching. I use apps, but they do take longer than spectrum to find the shows I want. I would never DVR a sporting event anyways, and use an antenna to watch a Packers game if I want. I save $100 a month, and just use Spectrum for the internet

[wallus]

I can't believe these places aren't just jacking up the price of internet to compensate.

[GAME05]

I'm really bad at kneeling down and also standing back up again from a kneel. I'm a bit tall and my father is bad at it, too. Did that again and again for two days during some training this week, along with training which included (lightly) getting knee speared in the thighs. My quads hurt like crazy.

[jerichoholicninja]

People who don't respond to emails even if the answer is no or I'm not interested. Over the past month or so I've sent about 40 or so emails for various things that I'm involved - not asking for money or any sort of solicitation or anything like that. I've gotten 2 responses so far. I always respond to emails. If the answer is no, it takes 5 seconds to write and send. Seems courtesy would be to respond as to not leave people hanging or even unsure if you got the email.

[GAME05]

I found out this morning that I had been mis-understanding the retirement structure of my job. If I still retire at the time I originally thought I would, I'd make about $1000 less per month than I thought. So I basically just added 5+ years to the length of my career in order to raise the amount of my pension.

[Samurai Bucky]

What the freaking world???? Please don't always hit "Reply to All" when you get an email sent to the entire (athletic) team!

 

GAME -- sorry to hear...

[Thurston Fluff]

I bought a frozen turkey breast. The Instructions say no need to defrost before cooking. It has a plastic package of gravy froze inside it. Anyone else see the problem?

[LouisEly]

I returned from a 10-day trip on Jan 16th to find two roof leaks while I was gone - one coming through/around a HVAC vent, the other through/around a recessed light. (I live on the top floor of a "4-flat" - one building, five floors, four units.) They were not actively leaking when I got home - I found dried splatter on my desk and water under the office supplies holder, and I found dried splatter under the recessed light in the kitchen. They have not leaked since, but we have not had any precipitation since either until the snow Saturday night and it's been too cold to melt since.

 

I notified the other three owners that night and sent pictures, told them that a roof repair expense was coming. No response. The next weekend I had roofers and deck repair contractors over and got estimates the following week - they noticed rust along the side of the roof near the leaks and standing water under the deck. I passed along the info ($8000 to do the north half of the roof, not including what I have to spend to remove the deck) the following weekend. We don't have those funds in the reserve and would need the owners to either do another assessment (did one last year) or pay me directly.

 

The first floor owner responded, and said it sounded like an issue he had with his other condo and was just a frozen drain spout that was backing up. (He rents his unit and doesn't live here.) It was in the 50's while I was gone, and I think any frozen drain spout would have melted - if there is standing water on the deck, then you think any ice would have melted. Neither of the other two owners responded though. It's been a week and a half and still no response from the other two owners. Meanwhile I have a bucket on my desk and in the kitchen just in case. I sent another message to the owners asking the other two to chime in and they have still not responded.

 

We have two other outstanding issues (front gate won't latch shut, drywall at roof of interior stairway is still damaged from the roof leak last year) and the other owners won't spend the money to fix them. As mentioned, we had an assessment last year... and the other owners talked themselves into doing the absolute minimum possible to fix the other roof issue and not increase the reserves. I pitched hard to do a bigger assessment because the building is ten years old and things will start to break, but they refused to do more than the minimum. Not only that, but I'm the only person who does anything around here - replacing burned out lights, sweeping leaves out of the driveway, hiring contractors to fix things... the other owners don't do a damned thing around here.

 

I know there are a few attorneys on the board... what can I do here? I have made them aware of these issues multiple times. If my roof leaks again and causes more damage, what can I do? Do I have any legal recourse forcing them to take action?

[BrewersSuperCollector]

Last winter I went into our full bathroom and seen water all over the counter and floor. I thought one of my kids did it and was yelling at them to take ownership of the mess. I quickly found out the water was coming from the bathroom fan vent. Snow must have blown into the vent ductwork and the stayed frozen in the cold attic for a while before it melted. I haven't had any leaks since that time. Just saying it might be something really simple before you go spending a whole lot of money. A roof shouldn't need to be replaced after only 10 years.

[chuckiehacks]

I returned from a 10-day trip on Jan 16th to find two roof leaks while I was gone - one coming through/around a HVAC vent, the other through/around a recessed light. (I live on the top floor of a "4-flat" - one building, five floors, four units.) They were not actively leaking when I got home - I found dried splatter on my desk and water under the office supplies holder, and I found dried splatter under the recessed light in the kitchen. They have not leaked since, but we have not had any precipitation since either until the snow Saturday night and it's been too cold to melt since.

 

I notified the other three owners that night and sent pictures, told them that a roof repair expense was coming. No response. The next weekend I had roofers and deck repair contractors over and got estimates the following week - they noticed rust along the side of the roof near the leaks and standing water under the deck. I passed along the info ($8000 to do the north half of the roof, not including what I have to spend to remove the deck) the following weekend. We don't have those funds in the reserve and would need the owners to either do another assessment (did one last year) or pay me directly.

 

The first floor owner responded, and said it sounded like an issue he had with his other condo and was just a frozen drain spout that was backing up. (He rents his unit and doesn't live here.) It was in the 50's while I was gone, and I think any frozen drain spout would have melted - if there is standing water on the deck, then you think any ice would have melted. Neither of the other two owners responded though. It's been a week and a half and still no response from the other two owners. Meanwhile I have a bucket on my desk and in the kitchen just in case. I sent another message to the owners asking the other two to chime in and they have still not responded.

 

We have two other outstanding issues (front gate won't latch shut, drywall at roof of interior stairway is still damaged from the roof leak last year) and the other owners won't spend the money to fix them. As mentioned, we had an assessment last year... and the other owners talked themselves into doing the absolute minimum possible to fix the other roof issue and not increase the reserves. I pitched hard to do a bigger assessment because the building is ten years old and things will start to break, but they refused to do more than the minimum. Not only that, but I'm the only person who does anything around here - replacing burned out lights, sweeping leaves out of the driveway, hiring contractors to fix things... the other owners don't do a damned thing around here.

 

I know there are a few attorneys on the board... what can I do here? I have made them aware of these issues multiple times. If my roof leaks again and causes more damage, what can I do? Do I have any legal recourse forcing them to take action?

 

Not an attorney, but I am on the condo association board of my building. Your condo project master association documents should spell out pretty clearly what the association is responsible for replacing. I would assume roof repairs are one of the items. If the association is responsible, and there are not enough funds in the reserve, you're going to have to do a special assessment. Do you have a management company that works with your association? If so, they should be able to handle the communication and collection. If you self-manage, you're going to be stuck in the boat you describe - trying to get money out of your neighbors.

[RobDeer 45]

Do the other owners live in the building or do they rent like the other guy? I'd go knock on doors.

[GAME05]

I just don't think I can do Facebook anymore. I open it up and first thing I see is a cousin bashing [members of my faith] and adding "I even have them in my family!" and other family members insulting anyone who prescribes to my brand of politics. And being that I work in the field, the occasional anti-cop posts from friends and relatives don't help, either. I have no desire to start arguments with family members, so the only choice I see is continue to be insulted by friends and family, or delete the account and not see it anymore. I'm tempted to join the club and start posting tons of polarizing opinion stuff, but that would probably only make it worse.

 

Stinks that I'll end up losing contact with a number of people I don't otherwise have information for. Maybe they have email addresses on their page.

[jerichoholicninja]

You can just unfollow or unfriend the people you're sick of. I did that during the election and cleaned a lot of negativity out of my life. It's a shame this is what social media has come to as I actually enjoy staying up to date with people I rarely see in between the posts of people saying they hate everyone who doesn't agree with them.

[GAME05]

OK. I took your advice and un-followed a bunch of people instead of deleting my account. That meant un-following my brother and sister, though.

[TURBO]

I have unfollowed family members as well, it's part of the life on social media. It's disgusting, but reality.

[jerichoholicninja]

Unless they ask you or dig into it, there's no way for them to know. And if it's something they bring up in person and make a stink about it you should probably unfriend them in real life too.

[LouisEly]

OK. I took your advice and un-followed a bunch of people instead of deleting my account. That meant un-following my brother and sister, though.

Facebook uses tagging and machine learning to feed algorithms to determine what stories make it to the top of your feed. Every post is tagged for content including pictures (I've seen pictures when the feed is slow to load and for a brief second before the picture loads it will say things like, "This picture may contain a dog, (etc.)"). When you hide a post, machine learning picks up the tagged content of that post and slowly learns not to put that content at the top of your feed. You have to keep doing that for a little while for the machine learning to figure out you don't want to see that content. But it will allow you to still follow your brother/sister/etc.

[RobDeer 45]

You can also just block people, so they see you as a friend still, but you don't see anything they say. I decided several years ago to not waste my time on FB. I keep my account and check it once a month or so. I too kept it, just in case I wanted to reach out to someone, that I didn't have contact info for. When I check it, I don't even look at the feed. It's such a time suck, in my opinion. I also think it's become the new "email forward." Just so much junk.

 

I use twitter, mainly for following news, sports, and a few close friends. Different vibe on twitter, I think. I don't follow a lot of people that aren't reporter types. You can really tailor twitter to fit what you'd like to see. I use instagram to post pictures (Kind of in to taking pictures, so works well for me to post them) and only follow closer friends and family.

[hawing]

What's bugging me today is coworkers who come to work while sick, which this week has resulted in my catching a cold JUST AS the season is getting underway.