Chance FTW

Let me start out by saying that if you want to upgrade to Digital Cable, DO NOT, by any means, try to install it yourself. I spent over 10 hours on the phone with Comcast Tech Support trying to get them to try and get the box working. Everything was hooked up per their speculations in the manual that came with the Motorola DVR box.

I found out by day 4 that Comcast didn't actually give me Digital Cable, just the boxes. I immediately wanted a tech to come to the house and fix whatever ailed our cable lines. After showing up two hours late, the first technician did nothing at all. He did nothing but to tell us to drive to Comcast's office on Byberry Road and switch out the boxes, to which I obliged.

Soon after, the same old song and dance occured on the phone again. I've even had tech support lie to me, saying they sent out signals to the boxes while all they did was sit on their ass. By now, I'm sizing up the hard drives inside the DVR, seeing as how it would solve my PC storage woes. A week later, another technician arrives at the house. I dig out the cable box from under the junk it was buried under in my corner after I threw it there in disgust.

This was the end game for Comcast. This guy was either going to make this work or, well, who knows what the reaction would be? Unlike his collegues, this Comcast employee actually believed in working for his pay and helping people instead of lieing or committing the sin of sloth. He drove up a half an hour early (shocking) and tore through cables like a madman.

An hour and a phone call later, everything was where it should have been a week ago. Now onto the actual Cable...

Comcast Digital Cable offers a pretty wide variety of channels with nice HD support. I'm somewhat dissapointed by the lack of HDNet (I want Arrested Development re-runs!) and varied sports channels with the normal digital package. The highlights though are definately the DVR and OnDemand, both of which are great for someone with not a lot of time on their hands.

OnDemand allows customers to order premium content or view free content from various providers. They have anime, news, comedy, and lots in-between. This is near what I would like to see online, free ad-supported shows that you can watch at your leisure. Though, this might not happen for years or at all, the Comcast DVR combines many features to allow you to watch TV the way you want.

You have the standard options to record the television show you are watching, but also to set up recording schedules and record multiple episodes in a series over a period of time. This box, the Motorola DCT3412 I, is dual-tuner, so no longer will the viewer need to decide which show to watch at a certain time, just record one and watch the other.

Overall, Comcast Digital Cable is a great service with essentially no hands-off support. If you decide to join the digital age with your cable, let a professional handle it and pray you get one of the good ones.

Not a whole lot by the way of posting. Tonight, I went to Royce's for nothing in particular. We ended up mini-golfin' at Nifty Fifty's and grabbin' a sammich. Unfortunately, he killed me 54-47.

Pictures up on the Flickr account, just click to the right.

This piece from Time is one of the best pieces I've seen that describes the war in Iraq without playing to a base or a crowd. It's a brutally honest account from a man on the ground. No matter where you stand politically, please read this without bringing in your own stance on the topic.

Baghdad Diary

In the coming days, I'll hope to have some entries up on varying subjects. Just whatever strikes me, really. Last night I was flipping through the channels, and ESPN Classic was counting down the top 20 boxers of all time. It was amazing hearing the stories of guys who fought over 200 times and you count their losses on one hand. Boxing is only semi-popualr now, and I decided to type up something last night.

NOTE: It was 2:00 A.M. and I have a tendency to ramble.

A Case for Boxing

Listen to the sounds coming out of your television set every Sunday as you watch the football announcers talk of that days competition. You hear words like battle, warrior, or gladiator. Words that are best reserved for writings on ancient Spartan conquests are used to describe a game. That's all that it is in the end. The same goes for baseball, basketball, hockey, and so on and so forth. Comparing men throwing a ball to men putting their lives on the line is foolish, at best, if not plain dumb.

Over the years, and unrightfully so, boxing has fallen out of the public eye. If you ask any boxing fan why it has, then they probably will look at you with a puzzled look. In recent years, boxing has seen great fighters such as undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., the best boxer of the past decade Roy Jones Jr. and the man some would say is the real-life Rocky Balboa, Bernard Hopkins. The lack of talent seems not to be the case for public disinterest. No drastic rule changes have taken place, and access to fights is easier than ever. The only factor left is the disinterested, fickle fan. The public interest waxes and wanes almost seemingly by the minute. Yet, no matter how far down boxing falls from the general conscience, it will always rebound.

Why? Boxing touches our interest in sport at it's very foundation, the very core of us. Boxing is one on one, two sides engaging in combat, giving everything they have until the very end, whether it be by bell or by fall. These bouts are more than two people throwing hands at each other, they can be beautiful spectacles of skills, speed, and power. It's the essence of competition in the purest form. The participants are people we connect with, people whom we marvel at. The sport has gone beyond entertainment for nations at some points. Sometimes, these pugilists can carry the hopes of nations on their backs. Joe Louis, a black fighter in a racist country, defied stereotypes and public perceptions to become an American hero with his first-round knockout of Max Schmeling, then a symbol of Nazi Germany. Muhammad Ali both drew the ire and respect of a nation with his public denouncement of the Vietnam War and subsequent rise to become one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Boxing reflects the struggles and obstacles we face in everyday life. It touches us at the root of why we watch sports or why we compete with each other. There are no helmets, no strike zones, and no instant replay. Boxing is one man versus one man, plain and simple. These modern-day gladiators fight with broken ribs, hands, jaws for what? Sure, there's money, but the reason they do it is for the challenge; the thrill of the fight. These fighters transcend statistics and sports norms to become superheroes. We as a culture need boxers and we certainly need boxing, the greatest sport of all.

What you're reading right now is the first ever post on Chance FTW. First, I'd like to thank Vince from Rawr // For The Win for helping me with my numerous mistakes.

Anyways, in the coming days more posts and features will come and go. I look forward to bringing some quality content and actually updating this thing.

So, sit back, relax, and get a drink of your choice and toast the arrival of Chance ForTheWin.