Kicking Television

I have moaned a bit of late regarding the idiot box. Not that it matters. I didn't get the free tickets and the Canucks reverted to form. Go Sens!

As a postscript to that tale, three days after the cable was reconnected we received a disconnection notice which referred to the initial cause of the without-notice disconnection. It was alleged we had a basement suite. We do not. We have an unwanted rodent down there but no tv-viewing tenant. Unless that little shit was up watching Stuart Little on his own very small tv.

During the course of the cable imbroglio we decided to move our cathode-ray-emission device to the basement. Unhelpful Shaw Cable Guy #1 informed us our basement cable functioned just fine. He lied. Due to the immense bulk of the tv and my unwillingness to move it again I resolved to purchase a new tv. A flat tv. A monitor tv. Thus began my quest to join 21st century tv-ownership. I will not, in keeping with my own policy of avoiding name-brand references on this blog, refer to any products or sales outlets by name. Some approximations may occur.

After a brief period of searching I located 32" product manufactured by Damdung. More to the point, the sales guy at Narcotum Londinum raved about the product. After it went on sale, and was packaged with a hockey print autographed by Bobby Orr, I was defenceless. Christmas shopping for my brother-in-law was complete, and I had a tv with awesome R&D bucks behind it.

What the tv did not come with, however, was a picture. So I returned it yesterday and purchased a larger tv manufactured by Pony. I love it - it has a picture. I haggled a few bucks of the sale price. I felt a minor degree of vindication until this morning. E and A got involved with the local free newspaper/unsolicited flyer vehicle and I went to clean up the mess. I noticed a competitor had the same product for $400 less. Back I went to Mr. I'm Sorry About the Damdung But Here's the Best Price I Can Give You on the Pony and played my Mr. I'm Trying to Figure Out Why I have to Pay More to Buy Suspect Home Entertainment Products From You role to the hilt. He Attempted to cop the I Didn't Find That Price Yesterday Guy act on me until I established my Mr. I Can Read the Fucking Flyer and It Says "Prices Good May 4 Thru' May 11" Guy-thing was no act. I got my discount. Cue applause.

And so I give thanks for the 40" of viewing pleasure at a very small increase in price over the 32" unit, although there's next to nothing I want to watch. The satisfaction, however, is priceless. Thank you, Damdung, for manufacturing your cheap piece of shit. Thank you, Mo, for demanding 40" of tv viewing surface. Thank you E and A, for stirring up the flyers I would have recycled unread.

PMO