The Cable Guy

The only thing we really like about our "home park" is the location. There are whole bunch of things we don't like about the place. And, we just added one to the list: Television.

Actually, it's a lack of TV that's the problem. The place is surrounded by trees, which is great for shade but makes satellite reception impossible. We can pickup Kansas City stations over the air, of course. But, as we found out last night, if you're interested in news of national importance the local stations fall short.

We know what you're thinking. What about cable?

The approach this park has taken to cable has us scratching our heads. The park advertises that it has cable. But, here's how it actually works. Every site has a cable hookup. But, if you want to use that hookup you need to call the local cable company and subscribe.

Seriously!

(We don't want to open a quality RV park in Johnson County. But, this place keeps piling up some good reasons to do just that!)

Anyway...since we're here a month we decided to make ourselves comfortable in the TV department. We suspended our DirecTV account for the month, which we've never thought to do before and were so surprised at how easy it was. Then, Paul initiated the process of becoming a cable subscriber.

Installation was scheduled for sometime between 10 AM and 1 PM today. While I lunched with my mom and sisters, Paul welcomed the cable guy into our rolling home. Within minutes the dude had everything hooked up and just about ready to go. The only thing that needed to happen was a 20-minute software update for the cable box. With the update underway the cable guy went on to his next gig. With the update complete, Paul turned everything on. All the channels were there. But, the picture is a bit ghostly. And, oh yeah, the TV now has a buzz.

And, it's a really annoying buzz!

With hopes that we can make this fancy cable service actually work for us, Paul dialed the company to ask for help. Twenty minutes later he was still on hold, with no help in sight.

By this time, it was cocktail hour. So, he hung up and decided to mix our favorite beverages instead. Maybe that will make the buzz go away?

Yes, this is a heck of a lot of hassle for a month of television. But, if we didn't do this, what the heck would we blog about while we sit in this dumpy little park?

We'll keep you posted.