As I wrote in my recent blog Bad News For Dish Customers, All American Direct, the company that provided distant network service (DNS) for Dish customers, is going out of business as of February 24. At that time customers will lose their east and west coast network feeds. They can still call Dish to request the local networks, but if they are out of a network spot beam or stopping for just a night somewhere they’re out of luck.
Even though we were paid through February, when I turned on the television yesterday, we had already lost our distant networks. We liked having DNS because if we were out and forgot to record a show, or company showed up unexpectedly, we could still catch a show later on the other feed.
After writing about the DNS issue I got several e-mails from people telling me that watching TV and especially paying to watch TV, is a waste of time and money. To each their own. I think buying cigarettes and booze are a waste of money, or going to casinos, or playing golf. But to each their own.
Under the heading of Rumor Control, yesterday I talked to my buddy, RV fire safety expert Mac McCoy, and he is alive and well. Apparently some fool started a rumor that Mac had passed away and it has been making the rounds. Mac said he even got a couple of telephone calls from folks back east that had heard it. This is second time this rumor has happened. A couple of years ago I got several e-mails from readers who had heard that Mac had died. I checked with him and he wasn’t dead then, either.
I spent most of yesterday trying to get some issues resolved with production of the audiobook version of Big Lake Lynching. Hopefully things are back on track now and we’re back on schedule.
Today our pals Barbara and Tom Westfield coming over for a visit, and while they are here I plan to take advantage of Barb’s technical skills and see if she can fix my phone. It’s on its last legs, but I don’t want to upgrade because I have a grandfathered Verizon unlimited data plan and if I upgrade phone I lose it. I may have to sell a lot of books and just buy a new phone. Anybody want to buy a mystery?
Speaking of mysteries, I do a lot of research and work hard to make my Big Lake books as realistic as possible, but as the old saying goes, life is stranger than fiction. Last night the news out of Phoenix reported on a woman who tried to kill her husband with poop. She is a former nurse and he is in the hospital from a heart procedure, and she was caught adding fecal matter to his IV. That’s a plot nobody would believe!
I get a lot of people asking me to read their manuscripts and I feel bad because I’m so busy with my own books that I just don’t have the time to do it. But Ocean Springs Editing is an excellent editorial service that many of my author friends use that will treat you right and make your book shine.
By the way, one of my author friends, Trish Marie Dawson, has a brand new science fiction/fantasy book out, The Dry Lands: a Hutch and A’ris novel
And for you armchair travelers or globe trotters, Randy Morris’ Traveling Asia: The Philippines is an excellent photo based tour of the Philippines that includes a mini-guide to animals, food, shopping, and scenic shots from around the Philippines.
Thought For The Day – Die with memories, not dreams.
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Nick Russell
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Thanks, Nick!
Nick, if you can’t fix your existing phone, we found we could go on ebay, buy our phones at a much lower price, swap out the sim card and were good to go….Grandfathered plan still in place and a new phone as well.
What Cheri said! I just had to replace my broken phone and was not eligible for a new phone at a discount. Found the same phone I had (Motorola Droid Razr Maxx) for $175 on Amazon. Newest Motorola version would have been $600 thru Verizon with no subsidy. Took it to the Verizon store and they switched the SIM card for me and restored my backed-up contacts on the new phone at no charge.
Nick: Last spring we upgraded to 4G phones at the phone kiosk in the Chandler AZ Costco. The “kid” was able to get us new phones at the upgrade price and keep our grandfathered VZ unlimited data plan as well.
Nick
If you want the east coast feed just choose a service address in the New York City area. That will be your local channels. They are available all over the country and are not spot beamed. It will not be in HD but I don’t believe the DNS was either.
You may be able to do this from the west coast too, but not sure.
phones and tv seem to be the biggest problem on the road I have been in a battle with Verizon hope to meet you maybe next year in florida we stay most of the winter