Archive for the 'General' Category

Do Not Ever Buy a Panasonic TV

A few years back, I bought a Panasonic PT-50LC13, which was, at the time, a great LCD rear projection TV.  Well, it turned out the TV was laden with defects, most notably that the set would not regulate voltage properly, resulting in constant lamp blowouts.  This problem could not be repaired, it was a fundamental defect.  Thousands of others had the same problem, resulting in a class-action lawsuit.  I wrote about my experience here.  The real problem for me was that in the end, Panasonic would not stand behind their product, even after I asked, and I was left with a $3000 brick.  I vowed never again to buy a Panasonic TV, and I’ve told all my friends the same.

Now, it seems history is repeating itself.  I recently saw an article, here, Panasonic G10 plasmas have a problem with voltage adjustments which affect the black levels on the sets.  Here is my advice to all of you who have been screwed:

1. get as much as you can via the class action lawsuit that is now in place.  If you can get a credit, do so, and buy a tv.

2. sell your tv as fast as you can.  if you get a new tv from Panny, sell that too.

3. Never buy another Panasonic TV again.  I have since bought a Samsung Plasma, and could not be happier.

Take it from my experience, cutting your losses now will pay huge dividends to your psyche down the road.

For better or worse…

Things that make the world a worse place (in no particular order):

“Jersey Shore”
“Real Housewives” (all of them)
“Keeping up with the Kardashians” (notice a theme starting to develop?)
Jay Leno
The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Times Op-Ed piece here)

Things that make the world a better place:

Google, for standing up to China.
Sorry, thats all I got.  It’s easier to be bad than good, I suppose.

Where is my mind?

Twenty years later and it sounds like it came out yesterday:

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse
But there’s nothing in it
And you’ll ask yourself…
Where is my mind

Halloween!

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1. I’d never carved a pumpkin before.  Seriously.  Not bad for a first time, huh?  Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year.

2. Saw Where the Wild Things Are.  Not bad.  The book didn’t give them a lot to work with, but they made it work. 

3. Saw Away We Go.  Awesome.

4. According to my Facebook photo feed, there is a baby boom going on.  When did Facebook stop being about hot girls and start being about babies?

Presented without comment:

A man accused of beheading his wife at the television station they founded to counter stereotypes of Muslims is likely to claim emotional distress was behind the killing in hopes of avoiding a murder conviction.

My New Office

For the last five years at my job, I have been in the same office. Recently, due to seniority, I was given a new office. By all measures, it is superior to my old office. It is larger, it is better located, and it has a better view.

But I still miss the old one.

When I was 6, my parents told me that they were getting rid of our family car (a Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme) and getting a new one (a Volvo). I remember being sad to the point of tears.  I remember pleading with them to keep it, saying “but we have so many memories in that car!” Heh. Six years old. Guess I will never change.