Ah, sweet technology!

This morning the kitchen TV would not work--when I pressed 5 and OK, it told me it was Channel 5, NBC, but then it was blank. This, for me, was a serious problem--I like to have the TODAY show on in the kitchen, bathroom, and office as I wander from room to room getting ready for the day. I didn't have time to deal with it this morning, so when I came home this afternoon I called and spent about half an hour in the Phillippines--at least verbally. But it began to work. The woman said they would call back in 30 minutes. Never happened until 8:30 tonight. I figure in the crush in the kitchen last night someone inadvertently messed with the buttons on the remote.
Meantime, Moksha the pet sitter came to meet the animals and see their routine, so I was outside with him and Scooby for a while--and AT&T called twice, both of which I missed. And I couldn't understand the messages they left except that they would call again.
After Moksha left, I tried to turn on the news in the family room and ride my exercise bike. Somehow the bike's time frame had been changed, and the TV said client error or some such. I fiddled with the remote and finally got the TV so it would work--sporadically. The picture would freeze, the sound break up, but I sort of got the gist of what was going on in the world. And the reset bike wasn't really a problem--I still rode my 4.5 miles and sort of calculated the time.
So about 8:30 AT&T called to see if everything was fine, and I told them the new problem. Another half hour in the Phillippines (these people are always so polite and I hate to tell them I can't understand them because they talk too fast). There was a long period when the gentleman on the other end was making "adjustments," and then we waited for the TV to come on. After rebooting three times, it finally did. Another half hour--and patience is not my strong suit.
I think the lesson learned from all this is to hide the remotes and unplug the bicycle whenever kids, big or little, are in the house. Oh, and I found a small white charger plugged into the power strip in my office--I have no idea what it's for and am assuming Jamie left it and will soon miss it.
I really like all electronic things in my house to work perfectly without my having to mess with them. When they're off kilter, I'm most frustrated. Think I need a glass of wine.