Toys

Jenny Lewis (gettin' sick of her yet, gentle reader?) sings that "The exit from debt can be the entrance into paradise".

I wouldn't know a thing about it.

Well, that's not entirely true. Other than the 29 year mortgage I got hanging over my head, I've rid myself of debt. No credit cards (except one for Christmas and true emergencies). I even got my car paid off last month.

Coincidentally that about that same time, I started paying more attention to flat panel tv's.

I think I've written about how little I know about technology. It's not so much intimidation as it is unfamiliarity.

I commented to Melissa the other night that when Brooke and Chris got their iPods, they came to me with questions about how to set it up. They must've really been in trouble.

Anyway, I started to research different flat panels to see which one best fit my needs. I've spent an hour or two each evening (and my lunch hour) comparing and studying and learning more about different brands and different models.

Reading consumer reports is like watching the scene is Donnie Brasco where the guys are sitting around the bar debating whether a Lincoln or a Cadillac is a more superior car. Which one has more acceleration, more power, is better looking, and has more power.

When Melissa mentioned that she thought research ad nauseum was a quirky trait unique to me, a male colleague of hers informed her it's embedded in the Y chromosome. "It's what we do", he informed her.

After about a week, I was ready to actually look at the tv's in person. We went to Best Buy and a few things called my name but I wasn't blown over by anything. It's off to Circuit City we go.

I found a model that was reasonably priced with a pretty good picture. It got decent customer reviews but nothing spectacular. I tried to tell myself that I could live with decent and not spectacular.

On the way home from work last night, the car mysteriously steered itself to Circuit City again. I ended up talking to a kid and asked about that the particular model I had my eye on.

He confirmed what I had been telling myself. It's a decent tv but nothing great. It's the girl you date, but never take out in public.

He showed me a couple of tv's that reaffirmed the "wow factor". Finally feeling comfortable with what I should be looking for, I was able to ask about dual HDMI, orbital pixels, and 16:9/4:3 ratios -- the things that make you feel smart when, indeed, you have no idea what you're talking about. Believe me, I've done it my entire life with all things.

Which brings me to this weekend. Melissa is going out of town. Who knows what she'll come home to. Or how long I'll be staying around.