Monday, March 31, 2008

been making my mind up!

Sounds very Bucks Fizz-ish I know.

I never make decisions that involve technology quickly, that and the fact is hate paying over the odds for ANYTHING. I'm almost so obsessive that i'm daring the prices to go down after I buy things. I torture myself by checking the prices for weeks after a purchase. Am I the only one that does this?? Surely there aren't others too? If i searched the internet I'd bet there a name for it even. Some phobia like post-purchasaphobia! In fact there you go I've invented it!

So anyway as it stands, I have finally made by new TV purchase. I phoned up my local Richer Sounds store in Brighton (local 45 mins away!!) and reserved a Sony Bravia which according to almost everyone I had spoken to and the professional reviews was the best. I had spent weeks comparing reviews so that I didn't get this purchase wrong, and was confident i'd done my best. Last Wednesday I went to the store and had a great shopping experience with the top notch staff there, and inevitably returned home that evening with a .......Philips! (click link to see my choice)

Why the change of mind. For a start that's typical of me. Then it comes down to one simple fact, reviews are a total waste of time and you have to decide for yourself. To me the choice was obvious when i compared products.

So my advice for the future, when making your mind up I suggest you do just that. Make YOUR mind up and ignore anyone else's. And also if you are going to buy Audio or Video go to Richer Sounds as they have the best display and the most knowledgeable staff. (and the prices are very good)

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

I Can't Stop Crying...........read and see why

Crying is a powerful visual show of emmotion, but we cry for many reasons.

For instance:
- Crying because we are heartbroken or upset over a sad news.
- Chopping onions causes us to cry.

- Glare from the son, or bright lights when driving at night can do it too.

- Crying because we have been physically hurt. Like a child in the playground who has fallen off a climbing frame.
- Sobbing out of frustration.
- Then there's the crying because you are happy, tears of joy!


Well yesterday I had an occurance that other guys will relate to i'm sure. Firstly it started when the kettle stopped working, which made me feel a bit miffed as I had to use the saucepan on the stove for hot water. It was obviously the day for electricals to die as in the afternoon my son came up to my office to tell me the telly was playing up. Huff-Puff oh what have you done now and the like came from my mouth. I am convinced nobody else in my household can use anything electrical other than me. I feel I have to make a presentation to the whole family explaining how something works everytime we get a electrical appliance of any sort. I'm standing there with a flip chart explaining what a switch does on the kettle. Also how hot water only happens if you put cold water in it first.

I tried this too when we originally bought the telly. I had diagrams and practicle training sessions on the workings of the off and on button along with use of the volume control on the remote. I'll limit my comment on 'using the remote control' session to a simple nooooo you just dont get it!! This led to the type of crying known as 'sobbing out of frustration'. It has hasnt got any better since, because no matter how many times I explain how the telly works (dont get me started on the differences between composite and RGB, or switching between the Digi Box and the DVD player) 10 mins later the family are back asking the same thing over again. So having my son tell me it was up the spout brought on despair as here I go again! Anyway, immediately I can see the image on the screen jumping about like TV's did in the 70's when you hit them to fix them. Sigh....it must be a knocked out connection or something. After some basic fault checking I realised no this was the real thing the TV was broken. Here's where the crying comes into its own! First i felt a crescendo of despair, 'oh no not something else that's broken'. Then it became tears of sadness over the end of a good television and the subsequent cost of replacing it. Finally and i'm sure you fella's will relate to this, it was the tears of joy! I'm going to buy a new telly!!! I'm going to check all of the reviews and test out lots and lots of tellys to find our new one. I can only explain this feeling as like discovering that chocolate is in fact non-fattening and should be eaten twice a day for a healthy lifestyle and complexion.

So don't concern yourself about my tears, be joyful that i'm entering the world of widescreen LCD entertainment! In fact rumour has it the my darling wife thinks it would be a good idea to get Sky+ whilst we are at it too. Who am I to say no. Ok Ok the reality of all this is that i'll be explaining how it all works again to the family, but thats a small price to pay for the male equivalent to lying in a bath of creamy cadburys.