Having moved into a new apartment two weeks ago, I was looking forward to finally getting some work done that had been put on hold due to the move. Then I was struck down with that bug that has been inflicting so many Madisonians. Where did all of those days go? It hit me on Tuesday, and then I was deceived into believing I was better on Thursday (hence my appearance at the Madison Interactive panel), and on Friday - bam - back into it. During that time I was also cut off from my Internet, making my isolation nearly complete (I had cable, but that doesn't help isolation - especially when the death of Anna Nichole Smith is more important to the mainstream media than...oh...everything else). I did learn a handful of things during my isolation, and my brief moment of escape on Thursday. Below are some scribbles I made in my notebook concerning local television news, TDS Metrocom, MadCity Broadband, and fire hydrants:

1. TDS Metrocom is really slow when it comes to setting up new Internet service. At my previous residence I had TDS Metrocom for nearly two years. I called last week to set up service for my new apartment and was told I would receive an email between February 13 and 19 telling me when to expect service to be connected. Today is the 17th so I guess I'll be getting that notification on the 19th. The whole scheduling a date to schedule a date thing is also a bit frustrating. Lucky for TDS Metrocom they have excellent customer service. When my Internet went down at my last place they were considerate, prompt, and offered a credit without me having to argue for one. Having dealt with Charter's less than helpful customer service through my business, there is no way I'd switch. Waiting two weeks is worth it if it means I can deal with humans and not robots.

2. MadCity Broadband is a waste of money. When I lived on Jenny Street I attributed my inability to receive a MadCity Broadband signal as having to do with me living on the third floor of an apartment building. Now I live downtown, pretty much on West Wash near the Capitol, and I still can't catch even a faint MadCity Broadband signal.

3. I still dislike television news. The teaser story for Fox News at 9: "the new dollar coins are in Madison, but where can you use them?" Not, "the Capitol building was evacuated today, find out why at 9."

On WKOW 27 anchor Greg Jeschke interviewed Wisconsin State Journal reporter Ed Treleven concerning a story he was working on about "a New York based union" that is being sued by St. Mary's Hospital. The two managed to go the entire story without actually identifying the union. Turns out the union is UNITE-HERE, but it could have been any that are active in the linen or health industry. And to identify a union with a global reach and scope like UNITE-Here as simply "New York-based" seems rather disingenuous.

As for politics, not a single story from NBC15, WKOW27, or FOX47 concerning the primary on Tuesday. Why are we apathetic?

4. Fire hydrants don't matter. The battery for my camera is packed away so I was unable to document this, but early Thursday (when I thought I was feeling better) I ventured out and noticed a pick-up truck parked in front of a fire hydrant on West Washington. Prior to the Madison Interactive panel at the High Noon Saloon I passed the same pick-up truck parked in front of the same fire hydrant - roughly seven hours later. There was a ticket - but why was this truck still there!? Isn't it a fire hazard? When I parked on West Main Street later that night I was blown away to see a second pick up truck parked in front of the fire hydrant on that street. Well, I'm a zero tolerance sort when it comes to jack asses making the jobs of the men and women who stop my apartment building from burning down more difficult. I'm willing to offer up a ticket for the initial mistake, but if you aren't gone in an hour you need to be towed.