i had the cablemodem ready in the basement (where the feed line came in): all i needed from the cable guy was to hook up the modem and test to make sure it was working. setting up the router i could do myself after he left. actually, i could've done everything myself, as the original comcast cable line was still intact. but comcast wanted to make some money ($30 installation fee, originally $60 but i talked them down) and said we were required a technician visit, justifying it by saying it'd be so long since we last used comcast they wanted to make sure the lines were still connected. but the cable guy basically came in and hooked up the modem, and after a few minutes all the right lights were on.
however, we ran into problems when i tried to activate the modem via the browser on my laptop. it wouldn't recognize the address because it used my phone number to authenticate the account, but that number is already tied to my home account, so it kept sending me to my cambridge address instead of my parents. so the cable guy had to call up the main office and talk directly to someone there to set up the account correctly. this was probably something i couldn't do on my own (not without spending some time in comcast tech service phone tree hell). while we were waiting for the new info to get registered in the comcast database, the technician changed the head of the coaxial cable, said he didn't like the signal reading. at one point his supervisor called him asking where he was, as he was about to miss his next appointment. the cable guy didn't seem particularly bothered by that news. finally i tried activating the modem again and it worked this time. the cable guy created a username and password for me, but said i could change the password once i logged into the account.
the cable guy finally left by 12:30pm. i immediately went upstairs and hooked up the asus wifi router. setup was easy since i already primed the router back in october when i flashed it from a TM-AC1900 to an RT-AC68U. i basically just changed the network name, as the user and login remained the same.
i also called verizon FIOS to cancel service. they offered me a new deal, much better than the ones they offered me on monday, but it would still be more expensive than the $35/month internet only we'd be paying for comcast, and i would still have to rent the special gateway modem with them not to mention the cable boxes ($10/month/box). it was too little too late, and they should've just offered me the better deal from the start instead of playing games. verizon told me they'd send me a return box and i just had to put the equipment inside and drop it off at the nearest UPS store. my sister came around 1pm to get me to sign some bank documents and also give me a ride home.
bruce texted me in the evening, asked if i'd be interested in some beet burgers. i immediately went across the street to pick some up. i didn't even realize there were such a thing. beets are the natural candidate for vegetarian ground beef as they already have that red color (though more beet magenta than beef red). other than the artificially-looking magenta color, they looked like thick beef patties. bruce instructed me to fry them and add a liberal amount of sauce. i followed his instructions (he even included the buns), squirting an assortment of dijon mustard, relish, and ketchup. the fried patties looked even more beef like. the texture is very similar to a normal hamburger. the fried exterior offers a savory crunch. the interior was still a little mushy, and the bright red color made it seem like i was eating a super rare burger. as for the taste, the more its fried the more beef like it tastes, but you still can't hide the beet flavor, which has a sweet taste (it always reminded me of sweet corn). i really liked it though, not sure if i'd choose it over a normal burger, but as novelty food it's really good, and definitely a healthier option.