Alone and bored on a 30th century night
Will I see you on The Price is Right?
Will I cry? Will I smile
As you run down the aisle?
  -Barenaked ladies

14 Jul 98: AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! My 26-inch TV, which has been acting funny for a year, finally bit it tonight. Right after the picture tube warranty expired last year, I started having problems, with, yep, you guessed it, the picture tube. The picture would be shifted down and sometimes the TV would shut itself off, and I couldn't turn it back on for several minutes. Other times, I couldn't turn it off unless I pulled the plug. Last night, everything seemed OK. In fact, the picture was actually good for a change. I went to bed early, but was awakened by a phone call, so I decided to flip on the tube. It wouldn't come on, so I bagged it and went back to sleep.

Tonight, the TV wouldn't go on at all, no matter what I tried. In the past, turning the power strip switch on and off remedied the problem, but not this time. I am so bummed. I've spent a good part of the evening head in hands, moaning, "precious TV" in my best Homer Simpson voice. I am thankful that this didn't happen five minutes before Game 7 of the World Series, but it still sucks. Lest you think the death of the TV will result in my getting an actual life, fear not; I dragged my old 13-incher in from the "livingroom" (I put that in quotes because how can you rightly call something a livingroom when it only has a tiny TV it? Who's want to live there? That's where all my stuffed animals hang, and I live in fear that someone will call the Humane Society on me for subjecting them to such conditions.) It's small and mono, but it's been a faithful soldier since 1990, and I am grateful.