Another of the Captain’s whims...

It was a sunny, but cool day on Friday. When I got to work, there was an email that went out to all Michigan employees from Facilities, saying that they had a number of used 26-inch TVs that they would sell, first come basis, for $40.00

Now, I remember those TVs. They bought them when we had a two-year project in St. Louis. They rented some apartments for our main guys and bought a TV, microwave, coffee maker, etc. for each apartment. But, that was about 10 years ago, so these would be the big, hunky kind.

Besides, I have a perfectly good 20-inch TV that Jake and Carla bought me a while back. And, would a big hunky TV even fit on my stand I built in the bedroom? But, I was curious and called Ali in Facilities anyway. She said they were all sold before 8:00 AM!

So, Mike and Matt overheard me telling Michelle about the TVs already being sold and we started talking about TVs in general. Our conversation reminded me of talking with B___, as he is a big tech freak. Anyway, after considering price, quality and features, they decided what I really needed was a 32-inch LED/LCD TV that’s made by Samsung (good manufacturer) but is re-branded as Insignia (cheaper price) and sold only at Best Buy.

Intrigued, I went to the Best Buy website and not only found it, but found out it was on sale for $299.99! The upshot of all this was that I went there at lunch and bought one.

The conversation after lunch revolved around High Definition, so I ended up calling my cable provider and asking about it. They assured me I already have that feature (apparently everybody does, but how would I know?)

Then Matt said in order to use the Hi-Def, I would need a HDMI cable and that doesn’t come with the TV. I said, “Oh yeah, the guy tried to sell me one for $50.00, but I told him I didn’t have Hi-Def.” They laughed, even Vicky laughed, and told me that’s how Best Buy screws you. Vicky said she bought hers in a drug store or something for, like, $3.00. I asked if Radio Shack would have them and they said sure. But Matt said a lot of times your cable provider will just give you one. So, I called again and they said sure, just come pick it up. So, I did.

Back home after work, I started getting buyer’s remorse. What the hell did I need this stupid TV for, anyway? It would be more important to have that money in my savings account for emergencies. On the other hand, I do watch a lot of TV (you can see how I was conflicted).

But, after watching the Nightly News on the old TV, I started disassembling all the electronics on the stand. Once I had them all unhooked and removed, I cleaned off the dust and oiled all the shelves. The VCR will not be reinstalled (it didn’t work and I already got rid of all the tapes) but I put the cable box and the DVD player back.

Then I assembled the base to the TV. I was a little worried that the cats might knock the TV over, so I was relieved to see there was a screw hole in the base. After I positioned it, I screwed the base to the stand. Cat problem solved!

I went to hook it up and ended up getting frustrated. I easily found the HDMI connector on the TV, but couldn’t find it on the cable box (it was dark and even with the bedroom and the closet lights on, I had to use a flashlight.

Dammit! Where is that thing? Do I just have an old cable box? And, where the hell is Jake when I need him? Damn whims, anyway!! I checked the clock and it was almost 9:00 PM. I was hungry and cranky, so I decided it would be better to quit for the night.

I made an egg salad sandwich that was so good, I ate another one. I ate those reading my book. When I got tired, I shut off my reading light and went to sleep.