Why An Earthquake Should Bring Down Xfinity Live

A few weeks ago I bought a ticket to Wednesday night's Phillies game. I wasn't planning to go originally, even though they were giving the t-shirt pictured to all fans 15 and over. Then I read that the Phils set up their starting rotation so that Roy Halladay was pitching that night. In the previous two years I haven't seen him pitch once in person. I've only been to a few games the last couple of years but every time I went someone else pitched. So I got a ticket.

(I almost didn't go because my mom passed away the day before, but I spoke to one of my brothers and he said she wouldn't want me to waste the ticket, which I sort of felt myself, and it wasn't as if I was missing the funeral or needed for anything else related to it.)

I figured I could check out what has come to be known as Xfinity Live. (Officially the title ends with an exclamation point but I refuse to use it.) When plans to tear down the Spectrum were first announced, it was known as Philly Live, and was quite ambitious. A shopping/dining/entertainment experience, perhaps even a hotel, was planned. Although I hate that the Spectrum had to go (I'd have liked to see them build around it somehow), the idea sounded really exciting.

It became less exciting when the project was delayed and scaled back due to the economic meltdown.

Then they decided that it would be given the same bizarre made-up name that Comcast came up with for its cable, internet and phone services because the name "Comcast" had such a poor reputation.

The Comcast Xfinity Mega-FAIL

So there I was late on Sunday afternoon, in front of my computer, which is in my basement. I think I've mentioned that before, but in case you weren't aware, keep this in mind as you continue to read. I was scrolling through my Twitter feed when I noticed that none of the pictures people were posting, via Twitpic, Instagram, etc., were opening when I clicked on them. I looked at the cable modem and the little light on the side that indicates a signal is available, was out. I had no Internet service.

I tried cutting the power to my modem and rebooting, but it didn't help. I figured Comcast, or Xfinity, or whatever they're calling themselves this week, was having a temporary glitch. (I'll just use Comcast the rest of the way, because Xfinity is a monumentally stupid name.) So I went up to my living room to watch the rest of the NFC playoff game (by the way, as well as the New York Giants played, the Green Bay Packers really, really gave the game away with flat-out awful play). When it ended I watched "The Simpsons," and then went back downstairs to try the computer again.

No luck. No Internet connection. Which means, because my phone service is VoIP, I had to rely on my cell phone as I called Comcast. I was on the phone for an hour as their representative tried various things or had me try various things. Because my cell phone gets no signal in the basement, I kept having to run up and down the stairs each time the guy did something. First he sent a signal to refresh my cable modem, then tried something else, then asked me to push the reset button, then asked if I had a wireless connection of some kind. Then he asked if my modem was connected to a splitter or if it was connected directly to the main wire. Since I have an extra TV outlet in the basement, there is a splitter. One line then goes to the TV, the other to the modem. So I suggested I try switching out the cable going from the splitter to the modem, because my TV service was fine; I thought that stretch of wire might be causing the problem. I took off the old cable, put on the new cable, and...still no luck.

The rep finally said he'd have to send a technician out, but because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday the earliest someone could come out was Tuesday. I told him I didn't want to go two days without service. He said that they have some people to work emergencies, but that in my area of the city they didn't have anyone to cover it (really!). He said he could set up a service appointment for 5 pm-7 pm Tuesday. I explained that I could not miss work and, because of my lengthy commute, wouldn't get home until 6 pm at the earliest. He said that the best he could do was put a note on the schedule to make my stop the very last stop of the day. So I told him to do that, but if everything didn't go perfectly that I'd cancel my entire Comcast service, noting that I've been a customer for over 20 years.