Can You Hear Me NOW-OW-OW-OW!!

Our cable company inserts ads for local businesses on several channels. I have no idea how much the cable company charges for this service, but the businesses should get a full refund for every broadcast ever made, on any channel, to make up for the loss of any possible business gain they could have gotten from the broadcasts - and here's why.

Sitting quietly and watching a nice calm episode of CSI, at a nice calm volume. Commercial break. National ad, national ad, regional news blurb insert, national ad, national ad, LOCAL AD. LOCAL AD. national ad, LOCAL AD. Back to your regularly scheduled CSI broadcast.

There is no reason, with all today's technological wonderment, why the volume for my local gardening service, my local Ford dealership, my local storage unit's brand new air-conditioned center, should be broadcast at five times the volume of the surrounding ads and television show. Absolutely no excuse.

I wear headphones, so M****com owes me four pairs to replace the ones that get jerked off my head and thrown against the wall, as I try desperately to escape the agony.

No excuse for this, I say.