Finding a new ISP

I got a friendly letter in the mail today from Time Warner Cable (you know, that giant media conglomerate that is trying to disguise itself by rebranding as Spectrum) that our "promotional discounted rate" is coming to an end after a year and now they're going to charge me $180 more per year for teh internets.

I mean, I'll give them a call and declare that I will cancel no matter what, but at the same time, when we moved in I couldn't find any alternative ISPs for my area (city of Albany NY). There's an awesome-sounding ISP called Hudson Valley Wireless in Upstate New York, but they said they don't have coverage within Albany (maybe somebody drove them out, ahem).

Am I really stuck with a terrible monopolistic media conglomerate that spams me with unwanted advertising for the television set I'm never going to get? I told them as much from day one, but still the stupid junk mail comes.

And for those who don't already know this, this type of business scheme is very common for insurance providers: punish anyone foolish enough to remain loyal to your business for an extended period of time, reward the twitchy people who will cancel and switch periodically (usually, what, about once a year?). They do it because it works, but it's stupid and I hate it.

Subscription services are generally evil.

Mass; spirituality books

Just so you are aware: this post is difficult for me to share publicly, so I may make a decision later on to lock it.

Since this small liberal arts college is Catholic, the announcement of the president's sudden death was accompanied by an announcement for a Mass to be held that same day (yesterday) at 12:30. I listened to my heart, and my heart told me to go, so I did.

Cue strong flashbacks to the other most recent Mass I attended, also for someone's death (yeah, my Dad's). So, wow, here's something I have now learned about myself, that this is probably going to happen every time I attend a Mass in the future. Whether I like it or not, my relationship to the Mass is changed. [I will continue to refer to myself as a Cathaholic.]

When I was home in Seattle, I spent some time perusing my parents' bookshelves in the living room. Our family home has two built-in bookcases on either side of the fireplace (which is how all houses should be built, naturally). The rough organizational system for the bookshelves is that my Mom's books are on the left, my Dad's books are on the right.

My Dad was an intensely spiritual person. My entire life, he has always woken up an hour early to pray each morning. He read extensively and discussed a wide range of theological literature (and beyond) with a range of spiritual community members, both within the Catholic Church and beyond. The "beyond" part relates to his sense of the importance of placing the human story in the broader context of our current scientific understanding of the origins of the universe as a whole (preferred term, "Cosmos"). Part of my perusal was, are any of the books here things that I would like to read, that would give me a connection to my Dad and continue the exploration of where his perspective and mine overlap and diverge?

I picked one or two books up, and started to thumb through them. My immediate, clear reaction was that the books didn't speak to me. At all. Which is interesting to contemplate, because I do share my Dad's sense of wonder about human existence within this universe. Just...zero connection with the rhetorical style, there. Beyond that is the more general question of when and whether there are books in this arena that DO have the power to speak to people across generational divides. (and of books vs. oral traditions). I am certain of at least one thing, that there's more than one correct answer this question, heh.