Sunday, April 25, 2010

Welcome to the 21st century

This past week I had FIOS installed, which not only provides me with wireless access to the Internet but also gives me unlimited long distance (I have been using my prepay cell phone for LD), call waiting (don't really care about that), and caller ID.  Also, my answering machine (which occasionally would record nothing but static) is now redundant, as the service provides its own voice mail.  My phone system is up to the changes, too, which I did not know beforehand.  Wow.

Today I bought a new TV.  I don't watch much television, but I do like movies, usually foreign movies, movies with subtitles which were becoming more and more difficult to read on my 18-year-old Sanyo.  My SO and I were just browsing on a rainy day and wound up in HH Gregg, and there was a TV that suited my criteria:  42", less than $500, and a brand name that begins with an S (in this case, Samsung).  Okay, then.  It's a little big for my livingroom, but I am getting used to it.

And a new digital camera is winging its way to my house.  I have a digital camera, but it is old, there is some kind of flaw on the lens, and lately it has been eating batteries.  Time for an upgrade.

No, I have not won the lottery.  (And if I did win the lottery, the first thing I would buy would not be electronics, but custom made footwear.)  The FIOS is not costing me more than my current telephone and Internet service, I have been in the market for a new TV for over a year, and the camera is nothing fancy, just a point-and-shoot.  It is simply that everything came together at one time, like electronic destiny or something.  I am pretty good at saying NO and depriving myself of many luxuries, both big and small, but eventually the time comes for YES.  Also, when something annoying can be fixed with a little money (and one has the money), why not?

What have you done lately to stimulate the economy?

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Most useless PowerPoint I've ever seen

Slide 1:  Meeting title
Slide 2:  Meeting agenda, 3 items, plus time for questions
Slide 3:  Meeting agenda, with item 1 highlighted
Slide 4:  One line summary of agenda item 1
Slide 5:  Meeting agenda, with item 2 highlighted
Slide 6:  One line summary of agenda item 2
Slide 7:  Meeting agenda, with item 3 highlighted
Slide 8:  One line summary of agenda item 3
Slide 9:  Questions?

I hope no one printed this out.