Well, It Almost All Continues

But Chance is Feeling Better

A word to begin As I noted yesterday, my 40" Samsung Smart TV arrived vis UPS. So far, so good. It seems to be working on just about all fronts although I still have not tried the keyboard.

However, I had it hooked up to my standard cable TV box, so it was not receiving a high definition signal. In order to get that, I had to swap out the old cable box to a new HD one. I'd already done that with the bedroom TV, so it was no big deal--the Comcast place is only about 5 miles away--and the hookup is pretty straightforward.

I decided to so my swim in the early morning so I'd have the rest of the day to do "stuff," including getting the new HD box and hooking it up. That all should have taken an hour or so.

Dream on.

I got the box before 10 AM.  I brought it home, hooked it up, pressed the power button on the remote and....nothing. I checked all the wires, tried another outlet and still...nothing.

I cannot tell you how frustrated I was. After all the nonsense with all those defective products I'd had the previous weeks, this was the last straw.  I gritted my teeth and headed back to Comcast. (The road I have to drive on to get there is the route I used to take to school every day. The traffic is slow going with tractor trailers and a bunch of traffic lights. I hate driving on it.)  So, cursing for most of the drive I arrived back at Comcast to trade in the box. When the woman there tried it...no power, nothing. With no problem, she swapped it out for another brand new box.  Before I left, she tested that one to make sure it had power and she activated it there. I was going to be able to just plug it in at home, make the connections, and then be all set.

Dream on.

I hooked everything up, turned on the power, watched all the pretty lights light up, and then saw my TV screen read, "No HDMI signal."  I checked all the connections, went on line to reactivate the box.  And still, "no signal."

So, I called Comcast technical support. The very helpful second tier technician spent about a hour with me. He sent signals to the box to activate it, read all the computer readouts on my system and, after trying all kinds of connection techniques, told me the new box was defective.

I was a bit worried now, because this was a new TV set that had not yet worked off the HDMI cable connection, so I wasn't sure if it was defective or if it really was the box.

Then I had a brainstorm and after checking with the techie, I disconnected the new HD set in the bedroom from its Comcast HD box and connected the new Samsung to that box in the living room.

Voila!! Picture, sound, and a good connection!  Indeed the second new box was defective as well and it wasn't the TV.

Back I went to Comcast after waiting out their lunch break. By now it was already 2 PM and I'd been out since 6:30 AM when I'd gone swimming.

This time, I asked for a Motorola box like the one I had in the bedroom.  The techie there checked to make sure it had power and sent me off with a new box.

Third time pays for all.

With a bit more fussing, I got the new box working and now, at last, I have two functioning HD TV's.

I guess I would have been less upset if the brandy new fiber optic Christmas tree I bought had been perfect--another long story I'll tell on another day--but that too had a broken part making it non-functional until I did a major operation to get it working. And it was, indeed, broken.

*sigh*

At least Chance is less broken. I managed to get a short ride in before I fed the Boys dinner.

He was feeling pretty good. Now, this is on two bute, so I can't claim he's actually sound, but he wanted to move out on his own and when I let him trot a little bit, he felt even.

We only took the middle road through the woods which took just a bit under a half hour. There are a few very shallow ups and downs, all of which he handled with ease, so all in all, I'd say he was a happy boy.

I'll give him two bute tomorrow, then taper off to one a day for a few more days and then see how he is. If this is a muscle issue a bit over a week of pain med should be enough to help him work it out.

I will increase his exercise a little at a time, hoping to get him fit enough to stay sound.

Riding him was a good ending to a frustrating day. At least I have a smile on my face.

Oh, and Chance had an apple.