LarryC’s World

In my post about DirecTV, I alluded to the fact that I had purchased a new TV.Well, here it is: Philips 42″ flat screen.

It isn’t a high-end set, but it is pretty nice. It is possible to spend close to $3,000 for a 42″ flat screen TV, but frankly for a guy who wears bi-focals, and isn’t getting any younger, I could not see a significant difference between those high-end ones, and my lower-middle priced model. It is a full 1080p model, but a recent study I read said that the average person cannot tell the difference between 1080 and 720p models. I liked the clean look of the set. The speakers are hidden on the back (and have pretty decent sound). In the store, the picture was comparable to the more expensive brands.

The other feature that appealed to me was that it had a full compliment of inputs. In addition to 4 HDMI ports, it also had 2 component video, and 2 s-video ports, and has an s-video, and HDMI port on the side for attaching portable devices. It also has a USB port. If you aren’t familiar with all of the terminology, you need either HDMI or component video to get HD programming to the TV.HDMI is preferable, because it is a single digital cable that carries both video and sound. Component video requires 5 coaxial cables (3 for video, 2 for sound). USB is a data port that is common on computers.

While I’m talking about cables, if you check the price of cables at the local Best-Buy, a six foot HDMi cable will set you back 50-70 dollars!. Order your cables online! You can buy the same Belden(brand name) HDMI cable that the stores sell for $50, for less than half that price at Blue Jeans Cables. If you don’t mind using made-in-China generic cables, they cost even less at Monoprice.com. I have linked to both of those web sites.

Oh yes, you may have noticed that I mounted it on the wall. I used 2 8 foot HDMI cables, 1 for the Dish receiver, and 1 for the DVD player.

Finished up the Links page. It’s listed on the top, and has lots of links. Check it out and feel free to send me suggestions.

I guess I am obsessing about gas prices cuz we’re planning a trip to California in a few weeks, and it looks like we are going from a place of relative low prices, to some of the highest in the country. If you look at THIS MAP, you will notice that El Paso, has the lowest prices in Texas, and Las Cruces prices are moderate (less than $4.00 per gal.). This map is courtesy of Gasbuddy. Gas Buddy does a pretty good job of listing local prices, but they don’t show every filling station in town.

While our prices may be hovering near $4.00 per gallon, across the border in Mexico, gas is $2.19/gal. Some of the local service stations and repair shops are warning about buying “Foreign” gas. That’s like the warnings about buying Canadian prescription drugs. Near the border here, most of the gas they sell in Juarez and Palomas is from Western refining in El Paso!! Besides, the cars they drive in Mexico are all made in the USA (well at least as much as any car is made here now), and have those foreign names like Ford! They have the same gasoline requirements that our cars have, 87 or 86 octane, I’m not planning on driving over just to fill up my tank, though. Driving into Juarez is easy, but the return can involve lengthy waits at the crossing. What is the sense in filling up your tank with cheap gas, if you use half of it while in idle at the border crossing?

Well here’s a quick link to Gas Buddy in a gizmo. I wanted to put it on the front page, but it is not resizable like the zFacts gizmo is, so I will just add it here. I’ll also put it on my ‘Links” page, when I get the page finished.

Search for gas prices by US Zip Code

Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve added 2 new gizmos to the web page. On the left, I’ve added a box that lists the latest average gasoline prices by State. Remember that they are the state-wide average, and your local price may vary. The gizmo cycles through all states alphabetically. If you don’t have the patience to wait for your state, you can type in the 2 letter state abbreviation and it will list that state and stop the cycling.

On the right, I have added a gizmo that reports the current cost of the war conflict in Iraq (remember it is NOT a war because the US never declared war). These numbers, by the way, are the official government count. There are those economists who claim that the current cost of Iraq is closer to 3 Trillion dollars, not the 500 Billion that the count shows. Just in case you were wondering where your tax dollars are going…

By the way, both of these gizmos are compliments of zFacts.com, a very interesting web site with lots of economic data. If you visit, check out the article on the waste that is corn-based ethanol.

DirecTv and I have parted ways. And, it was not an amicable split. We’ve been contemplating replacing our TV for several months, and that meant going HD. A few weeks ago, I called DirecTv and asked them about HD packages. I was told, that to get HD, I would have to buy an HD receiver box for $99, and pay an additional $10 a month for the programming. I looked at online offerings, and if I were a new customer, they would give me an HD-DVR, and the cost of the package would be less than my current bill. Dish Networks had similar offers. I did a little research, and found that DirecTv’s DVR was not that great. TiVo was generally considered better, but since TiVo and DirecTv no longer worked together, there were some drawbacks, and it would cost more. The Dish DVR got better reviews, and seemed like a good compromise between DirecTv’s DVR and full TiVo.

Last week, we got around to purchasing our new TV. I didn’t go high end, but it was a decent set, and had 4 HDMI inputs (HDMI is the new standard for carrying both digital video and audio signals). The number of inputs is important when you want to attach multiple devices to your TV, like a DVD player, or a game console. After getting the TV home and setting it up (yes, standard def looks better on an HDTV), I once again called DirecTv. The customer service rep, gave me the same story. When I complained that I could get the box free if I switched to the competition, I was told “Well, the HD box used to cost $199, so you are saving $100!”. I told the rep, that if they couldn’t do better, I was going to go elsewhere for service. He said “That’s the best that I can do.” I told him “too bad”, and hung up. I then called Dish and ordered the same package I had from DirecTv. They gave me there 2 room DVR, HD programming, and all of the channels I currently get. The price is $5 a month more than DirecT, but With the free equipment, and the 3 free months of service, it is still a better deal.

Today the Dish installer came to hook things up. After he finished, I called DirecTv and cancelled my service. Less than 4 hours later, I got a call from DirecTv’s “Customer Satisfaction” department. This lady told me they would match Dish’s offer, free DVR and upgrade to HD, and wave the first year HD charges. I was ticked off. I asked why they didn’t offer that before I cancelled? She said the rep I talked to wasn’t authorized to make that offer. Too damn bad lady. If that is how you treat a customer who has been with you for 8 years, I don’t want to stay. Why didn’t the first rep direct me to someone else? Why don’t they have offers for existing customers? I would have stayed if they had just given me a break. If they had offered the HD receiver for free, not the DVR. But they didn’t, and now I am no longer a customer. I may be switching back in 2 years, but I noticed that on the Dish web site they have a tab for “existing customer offers”. That looks promising.

Comparing the 2 services, DirecTv has more HD channels than Dish. But when I did a channel by channel comparison, Dish had all of the HD channels I would watch. I mean who needs the Home Shopping Network in HD? The big difference is sports. Dish has exclusive deals with the NFL and Major League Baseball. But, since I am a 49er fan, there is certainly no reason I would pay extra to watch those pathetic souls, and baseball lost me when they cancelled the World Series several years ago. So, It’s Dish for me now. It will take a while to get used to the new channel numbers. But, I got to watch TopChef in HD tonite!!

Do you shop online? I do, and I am doing more of it. Part of the reason is because of where I live and the lack of shopping in a small town. But much of it has to do with unsatisfactory customer experiences in stores. I would like to patronize local merchants, although there are few of them around. But the local outlets for the big national chains are horrible. A recent experience at the local Lowe’s home improvement store started me on this rant. We visited the store last weekend to look at and probably purchase blinds for a couple of windows. There was a sales clerk in the department, and we were the only customers around. When I asked for help, I was told “the computers are down”, and “I am really busy”. She finally agreed to call for help. But when the new clerk arrived, she conferred with the clerk I had been dealing with and then left! The original clerk then proceeded to ignore us, so we left. We tried to speak to a manager about the lack of service but… none could be found!

I proceeded to write a complaint on Lowe’s web site, but I also started looking at window treatment options online, and found that I could save 50% by ordering myself. So why should I put up with the aggravation of poor customer service. Of course maybe that is what the big chains want, so they don’t have to hire adequate employees, but in Lowe’s case it is self-defeating. Even online, Lowe’s prices were higher than at least 6 other options. So, for lack of reasonable customer service, Lowe’s has lost my purchases. This isn’t just a rant about Lowe’s, all of our local national chain outlets suffer from the same problem. Home Depot, Best Buy have the same issue, poorly trained, unmotivated sales staff. At least Best Buy’s web site is better. You can often get better prices on their web site than you can in the store. And, you can buy online, and pick up at the local store saving shipping costs, and getting almost instant gratification. But, even on the web, big national retailers seldom have the best prices.

One product I never thought I would buy online is prescription glasses. Last fall my prescription changed and I wanted to buy a new pair of glasses. I was unable to find a pair of no-line bifocals (spare the jokes) in Las Cruces for less than $300. I wanted to get the new pair before our Paris trip in December, so I drove to El Paso and bought a pair at Costco for about $200. Then a couple of months ago, I came across the Glassy Eyes blog (link:Glassy Eyes Blog.) I thought about it for a while and then finally decided to try ordering online. I chose 39 Dollar Glasses (link:39 Dollar Glasses .) A pair of no-line bifocals, with decent frames and anti-glare coating cost me $102. The glasses arrived in 8 days and they are great. They fit well, and the lens are accurate and are comfortable. I have been wearing them for about a month and they are great. I have no complaints. So, if you wear glasses, give them a try. If you use the link for 39 Dollar Glasses that is on the Glassy Eyes blog, you will get an additional 10% off. I will put the links in my ‘links’ list on the left side of the page.

It was bound to happen. It has been 3 months since we lost poor Simba. I was suffering from dog withdrawal. So on Friday May 2, we went to visit the Safe Haven Animal Shelter. They are a No-Kill pet shelter here in Las Cruces. I knew that if we visited a shelter, we would not return home empty-handed. Sure enough, this little black Dachshund mix stole my heart. She was in a kennel with two other small dogs, and she was the shy one. It took her a while to even be willing to get close enough for me to pet her. I think I am a sucker for the shy ones.

She is about a year old and neutered, but it appears she has already had a litter.Our vet said she is in good health, no parasites, and good teeth.While I love all dogs pets animals, I am settled on mutts as my favorite breed. And, I think I will always adopt from a shelter from now on. Actually, I have always adopted from shelters or rescue leagues, except for Sasha, Sarah’s Dalmatian. Anyway, without further ado, here’s Lucy:

What’s Twitter?? How to explain… Well basically it is a method to let you tell the world what you are doing at any moment. It is part of the new ‘Social Networking’ craze that started with Myspace and has now expanded into hundreds of networks. Twitter is the next step after IM. Instant Messaging lets you talk online with someone. Twitter users don’t care if you are online are not, it just sends your thoughts out into Cyberspace and if anyone cares enough to follow your ramblings, it will be sent to their Twitter account.

Twitter is currently all the rage for the geek/technorati crowd. It isn’t the only stream-of-consciousness type of web service. If you are really interested, there is also Pownce and Jaiku. But, Twitter is clearly the most widely used. Of course most people use this on their ‘web enabled’ phone, like IPhone or the fancy full keyboard models. Frankly us old fogeys usually only use our cell phones to make phone calls (go figure!!). My eyes aren’t that great that I want to srf the web on a 3 inch screen. I have a 17″ and a 20″ screen on my PC, and wish I had bigger! So, I am not about to join the Iphone PDA crowd anytime soon.

So as long as I am ranting, I don’t understand the Ipod video players. Does anyone really enjoy watching a movie on a 3 inch screen? I might watch a movie on my 20 inch Pc screen, or in a pinch the 15.4 in screen on our laptop. But a 3 inch screen!! Not for me.

Anyway, I have a Twitter account. You can see my updates in the right sidebar, and I have set it up to add my Blog posts as updates. If you want to follw me, send me an invite . My Twitter name is llsee. Oh, you have to have a Twitter account first.

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