19000

Yogurt Flavors: Chocolate Decadence, World Class Vanilla, Butterscotch, Butter Pecan, White Chocolate Mousse, and Orange Vanilla.

Cone Day! All yogurt cones are only $2.08 today (regularly $2.77).


The upside to the story that I'm about to tell is that Erica and I don't watch much TV. Our only TV decided to break on Saturday night. After 10 years of toiling away, manly for video games, it decided to freak out and cease operation. As I was playing Final Fantasy XII, the TV flicked off and then proceeded to turn on and off repeatedly. At no point and time did the picture actually come back to the screen. Truthfully, I was a little more bummed about the loss of my progress in the game at first.

The funny thing is how important a TV can become in our everyday lives. Neither Erica nor I watch much broadcast television. Together, we've put in less than 40 hours this year watching programs. While we do watch TV seasons on DVD and movies, even those are usually only once or twice a week. Even my gaming fix can come at the hands of the computer rather than a television. Still, it seem odd to think that I can't turn the TV on to put in a DVD or movie. It's just a thing in the corner that is now dead for all intents and purposes.

This was the first TV that I had ever bought. It was really my first major electronics purchase. While I have joked over the last few years about it breaking and having to upgrade to a new HD unit, I always assumed that it would hold on for another year or two. Now, I'm faced with having to fix it or replace it not because we need one, but because we will eventually want one. After all, the new season of Doctor Who is getting released this week and we will eventually want to watch it. Plus, the holidays have there own list of special movies that are fun to curl up and watch.

The good news is that there are options. The first will be to check into fixing the current unit. Anything more than 80 dollars might prove to much, but it is worth checking into the price and the possibility. If it is something minor, I'd hate to have just automatically taking it to the recycling center.

The second is Craig's List or eBay. If the fix doesn't work, a second hand TV is probably the next best option. Since a lot of people have upgraded over the last few years, there are a good number of relatively cheap and not too old CRT televisions out there. I can't see paying much more than 150 to 200 for one of these, but it might make for a good TV set to last for 3 to 4 years.

The last of course is to wait for Black Friday. Since the Friday after Thanksgiving always has some ridiculous deals, I might be able to find a 37"-42" HDTV for a silly price of 400 to 500. I'm not looking to spend it, but I do have some money set aside in a personal account for something of this nature. If the right deal comes along, I may have to strike.

As I said at the start, the upside is that we don't watch a lot of TV. We're thankfully in a position where we can wait a little while. Besides, this whole thing might be a to my To Be Read list. I've got 8 books to read in less than 50 days. (Although, I might cheat and give myself until the end of January since that was when I actually posted my books to read.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
www.blackfridayads.com

Someone at work recommended this site, I figured I would share.
-E
Traivor said…
Remember that after February 19th next year all analog broadcast signlas go dark. Only digital broadcast will remain. If you buy a new tv it should have a digital tuner built in. If you go used you'll have to get a converter box to continue viewing broadcast stations.

If you go the converter route you can get up to 2 $40 coupans from the government. the boxes start at $40 so... (The Zenith model is apparently the one to get)

If you have cable or satellite you don't have to worry about the analog cutoff.

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