Relentless consumerism
In the last two days I have purchased:
One widescreen JVC 30" tube tv. Not HDTV since I don't imagine I'll be using that anytime soon (no cable, all I watch is movies) and it is an unnecessary adition to the cost. $499 - free shipping via brother.
One Philips DVD player - $69.
I would have also purchased a new cell phone but Verizon has temporarily taken the new Motorola (with bluetooth) off the market.. It appears the camera was crooked. So that's next week, or so they tell me.
Why this sudden drive to buy electronics? To help the economy? Yah, right. To fight depression after the election? Not quite. Nope. I have a valid excuse, really , I do.
1. My tv of 11 years ($400 27" Sharp) died. It's really been dying for a year and required progressively more wacking to work.
2. My DVD player refuses to play half the DVDs I put in (it's about 7 years old) and i can't use the subtitle menu on some of the newer DVDs (what the heck did they change???).
3. My cell phone (it's only 2 years old, sadly they're made to last about that long) is having issues. The batteries (I've two that i swap) only last a few hours each which is quite annoying and the #3 key doesn't work half the time. So it's either buy new batteries and put up with the flaky key or just buy a new phone. Phone it is.
So there is an excuse for my recent relentless consumerism and I suppose I just need to justify it to someone. Hi.
PS: Purchase a new tv stand, the new tv won't fit in the old one and watching movies on the floor is only fun occasionally.
PPS: Having a widescreen tv fucking rules.
Comments
I find it at least a little disturbing that I've been reading your weblog long enough that I remember when you bought that phone...
Posted by: garrett | November 10, 2004 10:34 PM
By any chance was your DVD player a DVP642? I ask because I recently bought one for exactly that price and am totally loving it.
Posted by: Mark | November 10, 2004 10:48 PM
Yep, same one, cheap, slim, matches the tv and plays all my Polish movies.
Posted by: kasia | November 10, 2004 10:54 PM
Hey Kasia..be sure to ask for that $100 credit at Verizon if your 2 years is coming near.
Posted by: david | November 11, 2004 03:47 AM
I'm helping the economy too:
Sony DVD Video Recorder: $800
New Dell Computer: $1100 (Old computer was a P2 266)
New Windows for the House: $7000
Going to HD widescreen next year. Got to recover from these bills first.
Be careful moving that tube TV, those things are heavy. I have a 36 inch tube upstairs and a 47 inch rear projection downstairs. My Dad and I nearly killed ourselves moving the 36 inch tube up the steps.
Posted by: pbw | November 11, 2004 10:08 AM
I helped the economy by putting rocks through PBW's windows.
Posted by: Paul | November 11, 2004 05:23 PM
Hopefully pbw returns the favor.
Posted by: Dave | November 11, 2004 06:11 PM
I just got that DVD player too. It's great. Thin, plays *everything*, and inexpensive.
Posted by: Gregory Blake | November 11, 2004 09:46 PM
You should do a CT geek bloggers movie night.
(because I'm a CT blogger these days and I've decided that CT has just way too little going on. Are there even that many CT geek bloggers out there to begin with?)
Posted by: Gregory Blake | November 11, 2004 09:58 PM
I feel the love, Paul. :P
Posted by: pbw | November 12, 2004 08:57 AM
We are close to a large layoff and I'm being miserly with my pennies. This condition may have to continue for the rest of my life or else I'm going to start buying stock in a catfood company that pays dividends in their products to ensure that I can eat after I retire.
Posted by: Doug | November 12, 2004 04:16 PM
I made the jump to HDTV (tube) a couple of years ago when my old TV died, and I love it. I'm not a big TV watcher, but when I do, it's awesome.
My next consumerist purchase will be an AMD Opteron server. Not because I need it, but just want it.
Stewart,
'Shop til ya drop' is OK for geek hardware. :)
Posted by: Stewart Vardaman | November 13, 2004 01:18 AM
'Shop til ya drop' is OK for geek hardware. :)
Amen to that!
Speaking of movies, I just saw The Incredibles. Best Pixar movie to date, IMHO.
Posted by: pbw | November 13, 2004 07:54 PM