Madness in March -- and Man am I Mad

I was not happy to learn that my college basketball team was being sent to the west coast to play in an East Regional game. No wonder students don't do well in school: the NCAA (a college group) doesn't know east from west. For anyone who might be confused, they are opposites. Antonyms, not synonyms.

Then I learned the game wouldn't start until nearly 10PM  (it was actually later than that). How is that "area of natural interest" friendly? Or does the NCAA no longer take that under consideration?

Then I learned the game would be on Tru TV. Which used to be part of our cable package, but when my "TV provider" last raised the rates, they turned Tru TV into something for which one needs an adapter. Which we do not have. TV Stevie tells me the adapter would be free for the time being, but next year, we would be charged a monthly fee for it.

Then I remembered all the ads about watching the games on the NCAA website. So on Thursday night, I logged on and lo and behold, there was basketball! I started watching the Louisville game.

At no point was I informed (and no where on the website where one watches is is stated) that streaming live games from the NCAA website is good for only 4 hours. For the entire tournament.

After about 3 hours, I started seeing something on my screen stating that my pass was going to expire in an hour, and I would need to connect to my "TV provider." I had no clue what this meant. Because no where on the website where one goes to view the games does it state one receives only a 4-hour pass. No where.

About 10 minutes into the Syracuse - Montana game, I was booted. I was directed to a FAQ's page, where I was then informed (after the fact) that I was able to stream only 4 hours before needing to log in through my "TV provider." And, if I didn't receive the service through my TV provider (such as Tru TV), then I would not be able to watch the game on-line, either.

So the NCAA is not only guilty of not understanding geography and area of natural interest, but also the concept of  truth in advertising. One doesn't watch the games through the NCAA website. One links to one's cable system's website from the NCAA website to stream the games.


Makes one wonder what else the NCAA is hiding.

Especially This Time of Year?

A couple of weeks ago I started writing a blog complaining about the phrase "especially this time of year." I loathe and despise that string of words. Tragedy is tragedy, joy is joy. Helping others shouldn't depend on a date. The Salvation Army used to say, "Hunger knows no season." True. We have to do the right thing year round.

Yesterday, 20 students and seven adults were murdered in a school in Newton, Connecticut.

I waited for someone to say "especially this time of year," and I wasn't disappointed.

I heard it on the news last night. I saw it posted on FaceBook this morning.

So if these people--the adults as well as the children--were murdered in April instead of December, that would be better?

For whom?

Why?

Sorry, I disagree. Their deaths are an outrage, a travesty, and a deep, lingering sorrow that will never go away for their families and friends, and that doesn't change whether it's Christmas, the Fourth of July, or Arbor Day.

NCAA Conspiracy: A Crackpot Theory

This blog should probably be under my Cranky Old Fuddy Duddy blog, but it's also a crackpot theory, so I'm putting it here.

The NCAA did not want Syracuse in the final game of the 2010 Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament. Everyone knows that Duke got the easy round and shouldn’t have been ranked ahead of Syracuse. (If you don't know this, Google it. The pundits and experts have been having a field day.) But the NCAA took it even one step further.

How, you may ask, do I, a simple woman who'd rather cook than play a sport, know this?

Easy.

KANSAS was a Thursday/Saturday team in the 1^st/2^nd rounds

Had they survived, they would have been a Friday/Sunday Sweet 16/Elite 8, giving them an extra day of rest.

KENTUCKY was Thursday/Saturday team in the 1^st & 2^nd rounds and remained as such in the Sweet 16/Elite 8 rounds.

DUKE Friday/Sunday, Friday/Sunday.

Anybody seeing a pattern here?

SYRACUSE was a Friday/Sunday, then switched to a Thursday/Saturday, not giving the team as much rest between games as the other number 1 seeds.

SYRACUSE should have remained a Friday/Sunday contender in the Sweet 16/Elite 8 rounds if for no other reason than Sweet 16/Elite 8 games were scheduled at the Carrier Dome (SU's home court) on Thursday/Saturday.Talk about a scheduling travesty!

Looks blatant anti-Orange to me. 

Now maybe you've have read this in the paper, on-line, or heard it in the broadcast media. I have not (because of that rock under which I live), but being a moderately bright old lady, I figured it out anyway.


Because it’s blatant.

Don't Call Me: Divine Telephone Etiquette

I hate telephones.
Sometimes they're good; sometimes they're useful. Emergencies are perfect for telephones.
And editors/agents are always welcome to call me, day or night.
Writing contest coordinators, too.
If you're X-Chromo, Y-Chromo (especially if you're at college), or TV Stevie, I'll talk. I may not want to, but I will. Mom, Dad, Sissie, Bro -- I'll talk to you too, but you all have my e-mail address.
I prefer e-mail to telephones because e-mail isn't intrusive. It doesn't interrupt naps, meals, movies, muses.

Here are my top 5 Phone Peeves.

1) If you're a telemarketer, don't bother. I will not buy from you simply on principle. I do not have a telephone so you can intrude on my life. Frankly, I don't understand why I have to pay for an instrument of torture.

2) Rudeness. When I worked at my last job, I had to deal with a lot of incoming customer complaints. People were just plain nasty. They wouldn't speak to their doctor or their lawyer or even their spouse they way they spoke to me. And it wasn't only younger people. People old enough to have been taught manners were disgustingly rude. Just because you can't see someone's face doesn't grant you a license to be mean. And remember: what goes around, comes around (or as Bea Arthur used to say as Maude, "God will get you for that.") Next time you want to call someone to complain, remember that the person logging your comments probably isn't responsible for the situation and probably can't do anything about it. TPTB rarely face the music directly. They can and do underpay some shlub to listen to you rant.

3) I'll just get settled on the sofa with my lap desk & my laptop computer . . . and the house phone and/or my cell phone will ring. This is my fault. I know this will happen. Without fail. And it's never only one call. Before I settle in to write, I should put the cordless and my cell phone next to me.

4) Receptionists/assistants who don't know how to answer a phone in a professional manner. There is training out there. Often the receptionist is a customer's first impression of a business. "Yeah," or "hang on," are not appropriate responses (there is no HANG button on a phone*). And what's with the thirty-somethings (and younger) not ennunciating? Everyone slurs. It sounds . . . ignorant. Words have consonants in them for a reason: so we can tell the words apart.

5) Voice mail messages. Now, I happen to be very fond of voice mail, but there are two things people do that drive me right straight up the wall. Again, this should be basic training for anyone in sales or who does a lot of phone work (except telemarketers, who should hang -- not hold -- their heads in shame and embarrassment). When you leave a voice mail message, state who you are, your company and your phone number right away. That's right. State your phone number up front, followed by your message. And when you leave your phone number, say the numbers slowly. I don't know why everyone thinks that as soon as they start to speak numbers, they need to race. SPEAK THE NUMBER S-L-O-W-L-Y so people can write it down. And if you give your number at the beginning of the message, someone won't have to listen to an entire two minute message repeatedly in order to check that the number is written down correctly.

*If there were to be a HANG button on a phone, it should be used for people in Peeve #2

So now you know how to get hold (not hang) of me. I'd love to hear from you.