Let me just say that the week has been every bit as ugly as I promised on Monday, and it’s showing no signs of letting up until, well, mid-December.

That said, I’m now announcing that after seven years as a satellite household, we’ve made the switch back to cable. The primary factors were cost and customer service.We’re saving a little money, getting better internet service (by bundling and ditching the DSL), and we no longer have to deal with Dish Network’s special “once we install it, you’re on your own” brand of customer support.

I have to admit the Dish Network DVR interface runs circles around Time Warner’s, both in appearance and customization options. But Time Warner has some plusses as well, like the “start over” feature on some channels (I don’t really know how well this works yet) and the ability to watch one show while recording another. And it’s also nice that we can pretty much connect as many TVs as we want to ghetto cable at no extra charge.

The switch might have been more traumatic if I watched TV more than I currently do. The biggest drama so far was that the installer spent almost eight hours wiring our house, and then made me jump start his truck before he’d leave. Glad I didn’t have anything to do on Tuesday. Oh wait. I did.

There it was in Food Lion tonight, reminding me that after Sunday, Opus will be no more. I’ll miss him despite the fact that he was never quite the same once Milo and Binkley deserted him almost twenty years ago, ending the best comic strip that ever was. I wish him all the herring snacks he can eat in whatever future life he may have.