With B in the hands of her sister, I made a dash to PC Richards. This was
in accord with Charles' strongly advocated rule that I should see the set
before I bought it. They all looked alike to me, except for size. The
salesman (called Fidel) said that was because the parameters were
adjusted to make them aggressive. At home they would not look like
that. So I could not follow the spirit of Charles' prescription.
I then followed Jean-Luc's advice, backed up by Jeff, and asked for the
Samsung plasma. The salesman approved. However, I applied Alan's
correction and got a 50" screen. Though it did look a bit large,
the salesman said it was the good choice. I assume he was working
on commission but, still, he did not push me to LCDs.
I got the DVD player suggested by Jeff and bought the whole schmear
on the spot including delivery and assembly, thus giving Andreas more
time to work on his thesis instead of fooling with gadgetry. I was
amazed to get same-day delivery. Charles had said it was best to get
the cable installed before the TV came but the salesman assured me
that having the TV in first was the right way to go. I believe Charles but
I wanted to have the business done with.
Thursday, Sept 16:
It is as I expected. These things are never simple.
Two nice Barbadians (one was the salesman) showed up
at 9:00 last night and put together the stand (not a
trivial task) and set the TV on the table in the living room.
It is very large. One of them told me that they always look
twice as large as they did on the wall of the show room.
It is huge. He said that we would adjust after a week and
would love it. Well Alan loves his so, unless he's moved
into a huge apartment since I last saw him, I ought to be
able to adjust. But Barbara had a shock on entering the
living room this morning.
The set on its pedestal is rather unstable but for $200+
I can get a solid stand that will hold the thing up. I guess
I have to go for this. The DVD came with the wrong
cables so could not be attached. I need those. I need a
surge protector. One of the delivery guys will call me
about all that at 1:30. So we are not in business as yet.
It is pretty big though.
They charged $80 (cash) for the work and I suspect that
there is a fiddle in there somewhere but I have not got
the strength to argue about all this any more.
So continues my brush with technology.
Friday, Sept 17:
I know you are all anxiously awaiting the news of our technical progress here.
With a TV and DVD player installed we can play DCVs. Tonight, we screened
(if that is the word I want) "Top Hat" thanks to the combined NetFlix gift of
Predrag and Milena Cuellar and Predrag's administrative actions. It is a brilliant
display by Astaire and Rogers in their kind of dancing against the backdrop of
the standard formulaic romance of that era. Barbara watched half before
dinner and could not stay up for the other half after dinner. But she does love
that stuff and will see how it comes out tomorrow.
When the set is on, it is a marvel. When it is off, it is the elephant in the room.
I must get a decorative painting to put in front of it when it is not being used.
I promise not to send you a report whenever a movie is played.
