Posts from — June 2005

In a bold move, Detroit automakers announced yesterday they will no longer be adding turn signals to their vehicles. “With the current economic climate, we are looking at ways to cut costs all across the board.” said Ekim Nietsdlef, a designer for a major automotive company. Ekim continued, “Anyone driving on the road today is aware that only a handful of drivers actually use their turn signals. Since the devices are rarely used, it makes sense to stop placing them in our cars.” Sources close to the automakers say this decision will save the companies millions of dollars per year.

Future money saving plans for automakers may have seat belts as optional equipment for the people that actually use them. People that don’t use their seat belts will no longer be forced to purchase an accessory which is never used. Horns and brake lights may be next on the chopping block. “When was the last time your horn actually prevented another driver from cutting you off?” said Nietdslef.

In related news, the Michigan Highway office said last Monday it will stop placing speed limit signs on the road. Studies have repeatedly shown the the total disregard for speed limits. In construction zones for instance, the signs have little effect on the actual speed of the vehicles. Collateral savings to this new policy will be the elimination of the 4 highway workers (3 to watch, one to actually do the work) needed to install the signs.

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So with all of our new home theater upgrades comes another minor irritation. We have 6 remotes for each device and to watch a DVD or HDTV it required switching back and forth between all six of them. I even created a crib sheet for Pam to help her figure out the huge array of buttons. It was ridiculous.

To solve the problem, I did some research and decided to purchase a Logitech Harmony 688 remote. This unit promised to make our lives easier with one-touch “activities”, internet-based programming and all the features we would ever need. I got it home, loaded the software and connected to the the Harmony website. You enter the brand and model of each piece of equipment you want to control and the codes are downloaded automatically. Then you configure activities like “Watch a DVD” or “Watch Tivo” and a macro is recorded for one-touch operation.

The problem came when I had to continually reconfigure the remote because it wasn’t controlling the TV or Amp correctly. I was able to get it to work each time after some troubleshooting but the next day it wouldn’t work. I figured this thing cost a lot of money ($149) and it needed to work perfectly without all the hassle. Yesterday I returned it for another less complicated remote (URC6131) that works fairly well, controls the Tivo and only costs $17.

Now there is only one remote on the table and no crib sheet to explain which buttons to press to watch TV.

A few weeks ago our big screen TV “blew up” on us. The last time this happened the repairs cost over $500. This time we decided it was time to let our 12 year old friend go and get a new set.

So after considerable research and comparison shopping, we decided to get a Samsung 50″ DLP HDTV. It was delivered the next day and we were enjoying it that night. But I still wasn’t satisfied with the picture. I knew we wouldn’t be able to see things in high definition until Comcast installs the new cable box but the DVD’s should have looked better.

More research revealed our current DVD player (now going for $29) wasn’t up to standards. So yesterday I bought a Samsung high definition DVD player with HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) and an optical audio cable. I installed it with no trouble and finally we can watch DVD’s with amazing clarity and awesome sound.

Tomorrow Comcast will be out with the new HD cable box (only $5 more a month) and I’ll be in home theater nirvana.

I take great pride with myself in being a very good driver. My driving record is perfect. I started driving when I was 14 years old working as a porter at my Dad’s car lot. I have never received a ticket (even for a parking violation) or have been in an accident.

It amused me the other day when I asked a young man working in the department how he enjoyed the Chrysler 300c SRT car he took home for the weekend. I teased him by asking if he was able to handle such a fast car and not get into trouble. “I’m an excellent driver” he said. “After I got my license back from being suspended I haven’t been in any accidents” he continued.

I chuckled about the pride he takes with his driving and realized most people think they do it well. They don’t realize they are bad drivers and continue on their way getting their licenses suspended and causing accidents that only cause to delay me.