August 31, 2008
8 Channels Added to Yokota Premium Cable
Allied Telesis will add eight channels to its premium cable television lineup at Yokota, an AAFES official in Dallas said in an e-mail to Stars and Stripes.
The “premium cable television lineup at Yokota” is nothing more than their paid-tier cable channel offering, which is far more expensive than the benefit supposedly provided. There are far too many pointless channels which nobody watches hence the need to add even 8 channels to the lineup. If this were anywhere else, nobody would blink.
The long-awaited new selections are Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, TV Land and Spike. They’re expected to hit the airwaves by Monday.
Translation: we finally got tired of all the complaining on Yokota and decided to get off our lazy asses and do something for the base population. Hopefully these lame ass channels will calm people down for a few more months while we continue to charge extremely high prices to the captive audience that is Yokota AB, Fussa, Japan.
We might get around to turning these new channels on this Monday but do not count on it. For crying out loud, it’s Labor Day weekend and our guys need time off too, especially since our team was working extra hours this weekend to fix the after-affects of the crazy lightning storm.
That raises the total in Allied’s premium TV package to 71 channels, at a cost of 70 cents each, according to Larry Marshall, a strategic communications planner for Resilian Communications, the brand name for Army and Air Force Exchange Service telecommunications products.
Wow, 71 channels of absolute nothingness. What real and exciting value being offered to the captive audience. We will continue to tell Yokota what they need to watch as opposed to our listening and providing what the people truly desire.
The offering includes the free basic service, which consists of the American Forces Network, base information and local Japanese channels.
Excuse me? The new channels are only available to customers who subscribe to the sole pay-for-service cable TV plan, which is far too expensive for what is offered.
Overall charges on Allied Telesis monthly invoices can vary due to built-in discounts for customers who bundle cable, Internet and telephone services. But using the figure provided by AAFES, the cost for premium TV alone at Yokota is about $49.70.
Again, excuse me? There are no built-in discounts for customers bundling the advertised “triple play” service. Does Stars and Stripes do any fact checking of any kind?
In this initial satisfaction assessment, 64 percent of participants rated Allied’s service “OK” or better, according to Marshall. Of that group, 28 percent stated it was “Very Good” or “Excellent.”
Because 64% of the survey participants selecing “OK” as their satisfaction assessment is considered acceptable, right? Everyone I’ve talked to is adamantly not satisfied with the cable, hence the reason they do not bother paying for the crappy service offered by Allied Telesis.
He didn’t say how many customers took the survey.
Imagine that.
“Ratings below these levels are unacceptable and are being addressed through service improvements,” he added.
Just like the unacceptable internet ratings are being addressed through service improvements? Just like the fact that the internet service has gone down 3 times in a 1 week period, all for multiple hours at a time, right?
Allied Telesis is the absolute worst cable, internet and phone provider in the world today. How these bumbling idiots won the contract for service on Yokota AB is simply beyond me!
Stimulus Money Still Available To Some Who Don’t File Taxes, Officials Say
Servicemembers married to foreign nationals initially had been blocked from receiving the checks unless both spouses had Social Security numbers. But lawmakers corrected that oversight in June — specifically pointing to overseas military marriages.
Interesting how this money is available to “service members” but there is no specific clarification of the term. I have to question whether “service member” specifically means those people who are on active duty in the service, or if the terms is used loosely to describe those American citizens abroad who are married to foreign nationals. Additional clarity is required methinks!
How to Avoid Having to Reactivate Windows XP After Fresh Install
The only issue with re-installing Windows is that you have to be careful about the reactivation process. By default, if you use the OEM CD that came with your computer when you first bought it, re-installing Windows should be a breeze and you won’t have to reactivate.
However, this may not always be the case. If you don’t use the original CD that came with the computer, you may have to re-activate. Also, sometimes even when you use the same CD, it may not force you to re-activate XP.
You can avoid having to reactivate XP by simply copying a file from your Windows directory and saving it on a USB stick, floppy drive, or CD. When you first activated Windows, XP creates a file called “WPA.DBL” and stores it in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory.
I really wish I had known about this “tip” sooner rather than later because it sure would have saved me from having quite a few headaches! I’ve been meaning to reinstall XP on my sole Windows box but have opted against doing so for this very reason. Now that I know activation will not be an issue I just may tackle this without the worries I once had.
Radioactive Substance That Leaked from U.S. Nuclear-Powered Sub Was Cobalt
The U.S. government has informed Japan that a radioactive substance contained in coolant water that leaked from the nuclear-powered submarine USS Houston when it called on Japanese ports was cobalt.
August 30, 2008
60 Days To Judge a Commander in Chief?
In times like these, with the stakes so high, and the decent chance that McCain might not live long into his first term, I can think of no scarier thought as a proud war veteran than someone with such an empty resume holding in her hands the lives of my buddies still in the service.
August 29, 2008
Sailors Disciplined for Roles in Fire Aboard George Washington
Six sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington received nonjudicial punishments for a shipboard fire in May that caused $70 million in damage and injured 37 crewmembers, the Pacific Fleet command said Thursday.
The Pacific Fleet refused to release the names and ranks of the sailors disciplined, citing privacy concerns. Filostrat said details of the punishments are an "internal matter" of the George Washington and would not be released.
Got a Pirated Copy of XP? Expect to be Nagged
When Windows Vista was first introduced, it came with a powerful defense against pirating. In fact, it was so powerful that paying customers complained when it malfunctioned, and Microsoft wound up making some big changes.
Unless Vista was properly activated, it would drop into "reduced functionality mode", in which the only thing you could do with it was access the Internet in order to complete online activation — or buy a valid product key.
In Service Pack 1, the behavior was changed so that the operating system would still operate, but the background turned black and nagging boxes warned you that you "might be a victim of software piracy".
Now, Microsoft is going to bring this "feature" to Windows XP Professional with a new version of the Windows Genuine Advantage.
McCain Decides on Running Mate
Republican presidential candidate John McCain decided on a running mate early today, and one top prospect, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, abruptly canceled numerous public appearances.
The Arizona senator will appear with his No. 2 at an Ohio rally tomorrow, aides said, though they provided no details on who McCain had picked.
Without explanation, Pawlenty called off an interview with The Associated Press at the last minute, as well as other media interviews in Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention.
August 28, 2008
August 27, 2008
Kirin Unveils ‘Strong Seven’ Beer with Higher Alcohol Content
Kirin Breweries on Tuesday unveiled a new type of beer with 7 percent alcohol content — higher than most beers — in a bid to gain a bigger share of the market.
The company announced that it will begin selling its "Strong Seven" third-category beer on Oct. 22. Over the past few years demand has been increasing for light-tasting beer with low alcohol content, but Kirin decided to develop a new genre targeting male beer drinkers aged from their 30s to 50s.
Satisfy All Your Asian Cravings at Monsoon Cafe
When reality kicks in, and I realize I have to get my culinary kicks someplace that doesn’t require a passport, I look no further than the Monsoon Cafe. And with 11 locations in Tokyo, I know I don’t have to look far.
I’ve always described Monsoon as Asian-fusion: you’ll find reasonably priced Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Laotian and Vietnamese fare for both lunch and dinner.
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