Tag: sling

Let’s Try That Roku Thing Again

On By Michel McDonaldIn Roku, TVLeave a comment

In January 2011, my life partner and I decided after talking with one of his family members that we would quit cable and get 2 Roku’s because I had complained about the price of cable. This guy said “Well, you watch your shows on the DVR anyway, right?” No, actually, we watch live tv. In fact, at the time we didn’t have a DVR. I knew they existed, but we didn’t have one. I have one now, but we still watch live tv.

In 2011 I received our Roku’s and returned them simply for the fact that the one in the living room didn’t connect to our WiFi which is in the bedroom. I didn’t think the signal was strong enough, but the issue was deeper than that as I explained in this post. https://xanapus.com/2011/01/04/our-roku-boxes-arrived-today-theyre-going-back-tomorrow/

Well, that was 2011, this is 2019 and we have once again decided to quit cable, but there are a couple reasons for this decision.

1.) The price is way too high. Nearly 2 years ago we went to our cable service provider and said we need to change our service because I was paying $170 a month for our cable/internet/phone bundle. They told us there is a special that for 2 years we would get their $30/$30/$30 deal which came out to $90 a month, plus extra for a package my partner wanted, the DVR for one room, the cable box for another room, the WiFi box and the digital phone box. Our total bundle came to about $120 or so. I was fine with that, but then they told us at the end of the first year that our bill was going up because that 30/30/30 thing was only for 1 year, then it would go up to $170 and that is STILL a discounted price, which means when our special is over, my bill goes up even more.

2.) Our channels are constantly getting pixelated and it’s maddening, especially when the channel goes out and it doesn’t even record my show. When I’m not home and then I come home to find out it didn’t even record my show(s), I wonder why the hell am I paying $170 a month for this? We thought it might be our cable boxes, but I’m pretty sure the issue is our cable wire. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me because the app never has that issue.

I discovered there are so many different cable streaming services you can pay for that are cheaper than cable. They are mostly all around $50 or so.

Hulu + Hulu TV is $45 a month and you can stream on 2 devices at a time and they give you a DVR that is only 50 hours worth, and for another $5 you get ad free.

YouTube TV allows you to have 6 users while allowing 3 streams at once, plus an unlimited DVR for all accounts for just $50 a month.

Sling is cheaper at $25 a month, but you don’t get a lot of channels. They have 3 options, each option has specific channels, or both options for almost double the price. It also comes with 50 hour DVR.

For right now we have a Roku Stick + in the living room that works and I didn’t have to call anyone for help, and our cable service’s app is installed, as well as YouTube TV, Sling and Hulu to get us prepared for the switch. We have to decide which one is better, I like YouTube TV better.

The TV in the bedroom is a smart TV that already has Hulu and YouTube TV installed, but our cable service’s app isn’t available, and neither is Sling. I have to keep using my cable box, which is ok for now, even though I will still have trouble with pixelation. I can watch my shows On Demand if I have to. If we do go with Sling, then I will probably have to buy another Roku Stick +.

This is a huge change. No one likes change, especially when they have to remember how to get to their favorite channels, but once you get used to the change, you can pretty much adapt to anything if you are willing. I am willing, but I can’t say that about my life partner who hates change more than I do. We will see. All 3 services have a trial, so we can decide which one we like before we get rid of cable.

Tell me in the comments if you have cut the cord and went with a Roku or similar device and which internet service you are using. I’m curious to know which of these 3 services are better.

Update: Yeah, things have changed. Please read the new post.

My broken arm is on the mend

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

cartoon mike healing broken arm

I am very happy to report that my arm is healing and I can finally go back to my normal routine.  I’ve had a great vacation from my chores for the last month, but it’s time to go back to work.

Well, the truth is, I’ve been doing certain chores like laundry and doing light cleaning here and there, it’s dishes that were too difficult to do.  I even mowed the lawn 2 weeks ago with just one arm lol.  I didn’t do it last week or this week because, well, I’m lazy lol.  I did the dishes today with both arms and laundry yesterday with both arms and it did hurt a tiny bit, but it didn’t hurt so much that I had to stop.

It’s funny how you think that you want to not have to do things, but after awhile you start to miss it.  I know that sounds odd, but it’s true.

I am still wearing the sling when I walk the dog or when I’m just fartin’ around the house because it feels uncomfortable to just let it hang, it even hurts if I’m not holding it up, but when I’m just laying in bed or doing dishes or laundry I can take it off.

The part of my arm that broke is still in a bit of pain, but what is causing me the most pain is the middle of my arm because my arm is bent 24/7 and I guess it just needs to stretch after awhile.  You know how when you are in the car for too long and it’s nice to get out and stretch your legs?  Well, it’s basically the same thing.

The E.R. doctor said it would take 6 to 8 weeks to heal and it’s been 4 1/2 weeks and I can tell that it won’t take a full 8 weeks.  I’m sure I still have another couple of weeks of wearing the sling, then I can probably take it off for good.  Although I can’t predict the future, but I’m sure I’ll be good soon.

I’ve never broken a bone in my body in my whole life so I’ve never experienced this and even though it was torture for me, I’m glad it happened because I finally got to know what it was like.  I know that sounds silly or strange, but it just seems like something I should have experienced at least once in my life.  I don’t have a bucket list, but I think if I did, breaking a bone would have been on it.  That’s not to say I want to experience it again lol.  I can’t imagine ever going through that again so I’m going to have to be really careful from now on.

Anyway, I can’t wait for my arm to heal completely so I can go back to normal, whatever normal is.

I broke my arm

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Health3 Comments

So funny story…  I broke my arm.

What happened was, last night I rode my bicycle to the store and on my way home I was riding through a parking lot to go to the sidewalk on Chester Avenue. In the parking lot of the restaurant is a tax place and they put in a walk way to the front door. For some reason they decided to put a curb on both sides of the walkway. There’s really no reason for it. Long story short, I was riding through the parking lot and it was dark so I really couldn’t see the curb and I rode right over it . I went head over handlebars and landed on my left arm. All of my weight broke my arm.

I sat there on the ground for a few minutes because I couldn’t move. My arm was in so much pain that it hurt to even flinch. I decided that I had to get up, but it was very difficult. I got up anyway and went for my phone which was in my left front pocket. Of course I couldn’t pull it out with my left hand, so I had to reach over with my right hand to pull my phone out. I called home and said “help I’ve been in an accident.” I told my partner where I was and he drove right away to pick me up.

He put my bicycle in the car and drove home because I insisted that he put the groceries in the refrigerator and freezer. He drove me to the emergency room at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital and they took me to get x-rays almost immediately. It took maybe an hour and a half before they finally called me to go into a room to tell me the results of the x-ray. I just assumed that he was going to tell me that I dislocated my shoulder or just badly bruised my arm, but he told me that I did in fact break my arm. He didn’t put me in a cast and I didn’t have any surgery, he said that the bones were in place, so I just need to keep my arm in a sling for the next month.

I feel very stupid for not paying more attention because I have gone that way a million times and nothing like that has ever happened before. The thing that upsets me the most is that I’ve never broken a bone in my body my entire life. 42 years with not one broken bone. Oh well, I guess I was due lol.

Well, the positive thing about this is that I am able to type this by using my voice on my android cell phone lol. So I guess most of my computer activity is going to be with my voice. On the plus side, I don’t have to do any chores for a while lol. I can find a silver lining in anything.

The doctor said it will take a month to heal.