12-18-20

 Just a quick post tonight...

The image you see above is a digital painting I did a couple years ago in Photoshop. For those of you not steeped in Star Wars, the painting is of one of my all-time favorite SW characters, Ahsoka Tano. This would have been during her time as Anakin Skywalker's Padawan. The background is courtesy of NASA, and is a photo from the International Space Station.

Yesterday - Thursday - absolutely sucked. From time to time I experience annoying itching on my legs, arms and back. I'm not sure what the cause is, but it's pretty miserable when it happens. And this was one of the worst episodes ever. It started Wednesday night, and I don't think I got an hours' sleep. Most of Thursday was nearly as bad. Along with walking into things most of the day, I got to enjoy the following fun..

Firstly, I tried to order a new TV online from Best Buy to replace the one that died. That went OK, but then I read how to pick it up with their "curb-side pickup." Apparently you have to have one of those fancy (expensive) cell phones on a fancy (expensive) network, with a Best Buy "app" on it to let them know you're there. Sorry, but I don't have one of those. I'm not going to buy a $900 phone and pay $50.00 a month just so I can use an app maybe once or twice a year at most. I don't make $52 grand a year anymore.

So, I called the store to try and talk to a human. Silly me. After punching through 10 - 15 options, then waiting 15 minutes listening to "music" only slightly less annoying than that hip-hop crap, I was finally connected to an organic life-form. Her exact words were "Oh, no problem! Just pull up to the curb in front of the store and someone will be right out to take care of it." Right. Just like Trump is going to help Biden move into the White House... (more below...)

Then I looked at my T-Mobile minutes. 1 left. $0.36 on my account. Great. So I got on T-Mobile's website to add minutes. Jumped through all their hoops for 12 - 15 minutes and finally was able to add 10 bucks. Buuut... It didn't go through for some reason. So, again, let's call their 800 number. More robots. Another 10 minutes of annoying music. Finally got connected to a rep. Got my 10 bucks in minutes.

By this time - aside from being ready to walk on kittens - my itching was beginning to subside. It usually takes a couple days. Got a halfway decent night's sleep Thursday night.

So now, it's Friday and time to continue the Best Buy TV adventure. Warning: Keep the kittens inside.

So.. As I was told, I pulled up in front of the Best Buy store and waited for someone to "be right out to take care of it." And waited. And waited. I finally got tired of sitting there, watching all the people glaring at me over their masks for making them walk an extra 5 steps around me. I took my order printout and went inside. I was greeted by a young man at a pedestal who looked at my order and told me to go "over there to customer service." I told him about the previous day's conversation. He reiterated the part about having a phone app to be able to use that "service." He apologized for the misinformation given me the day before. I should file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court...

OK - fine...

I went to the customer service desk, and the rep brought out my TV. Glad it wasn't one of those 120-inch beasts.. We took it home, unboxed it and began the next "adventure." Setting it up.

Keep the kittens inside, still...

Setting this thing up would have not only tried the patience of Yoda to the breaking point, but it apparently requires an engineering degree from M.I.T. to get this piece of (insert expletive of your choice here) installed, set up, and working. Or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Oh... By the way... No "owner's manual" was included.

First, it wanted a password for my WiFi router. Tried for 15 - 20 minutes to get it to work. "Not Connected" over and over again. Tried multiple times to get a picture via the Comcast cable. That took 15 minutes of fiddling, scrolling through the TVs cryptic instructions. Finally got a picture that covered maybe 2/3 of the screen. No matter if it was connected to the BluRay player / smart thingymabob, the VCR (yes we still have one), or the cable connection. Couldn't get a full-screen picture to save my life. I'd say "to save my sanity" but that's already long gone.

As I frustratingly scrolled through all the "settings" I finally found an "Owners Manual" title. Woo-hoo! I selected it, punched "OK" and.... and....

The (insert expletive of your choice here)-ing thing wanted an internet connection! Which of course it refused to do multiple times earlier. Apparently it's far too costly to actually PRINT a booklet of 1-page, easily-understood Chin-lish "instructions." Of course they do have to print it in 39 different languages, so excuuuuuse me.

 

Sooo.... That TV is now back in it's box, and will make a return trip to Best Buy on Monday. I've put my older TV back in it's place for now. At least it works. It's not as big as the TV that died, but it'll do for now.

I guess I'm just getting old. You used to buy a TV, bring the damn thing home, plug it in, stick a cable in the back of it and you were done. And they call all this new stuff "smart?" Not so much...

Well, I said a "quick" post - and I wrote a book....