Oh yeah, I’ll pick up that bill…NOT.

So, Monday, I got a certified mail slip in my mailbox (good place for mail, no?) indicating that I had a certified letter from my ISP, Cox Communications. (Also my cable carrier.) I’ll admit, this has been nagging at me since then, as work has kept me from picking it up, and I’m also completely caught up on my payments to Cox – why would they be sending me a certified letter?
I mentioned it to my wife tonight and she told me that it’s a promotional offer. Sent certified at a rate of something like $4.00 apiece. And not just that, but a promotional offer pushing Cox’s high-speed internet service (to which I already subscribe, or else how would I be typing this as we speak?). Gee, I wonder if we’ll have a rate increase soon to cover what has to be one of the most insipid promotions I’ve ever seen? I sure hope someone in Cox’s marketing division feels important having sent all those certified letters. A few years ago when, behind in paying the cable bill, we were getting calls from Cox, my wife once brought me the phone and said “It’s Cox.” “No dear,” I corrected her, “it’s pricks.”
Couple of other notes: happy 42nd birthday (hmmmm…) to Doctor Who on November 23rd (I’m eagerly, eagerly awaiting the upcoming release of the first three stories in restored DVD form so I can resume my custom of watching part 1 of An Unearthly Child at 5:25pm on November 23rd every year). Also, according to an ABC notice that hit my e-mail at work today, what you’re reading is true – Alias has indeed been cancelled. Unlike Night Stalker, which wasn’t even allowed to conclude a two-part cliffhanger, Alias will run through its series finale in May. I’m not sure anyone can actually claim not to have seen this coming, what with Jennifer Garner’s pregnancy and just a general jump-the-sharkiness surrounding the whole current season. Frankly, I’d rather have J.J. Abrams’ attention focused on Lost. (Of course, that’s easy to say with Mission Impossible 3 on the horizon…)
Have a safe Thanksgiving. Go forth, eat turkey (and/or stuffing), play some Utopia, and fall asleep on the couch. Not necessarily in that order.