I'm techno-ed out

[billeyler]

So, Danny's Replay TV (5 years old) is on it's death bed as we speak. Recorded shows can be viewed normally, but live TV is full of skips, burps and jumps, making it unwatchable. Obviously a wacko hard drive. He's ordered a new one, but I have to skulk off downstairs or into the guest bedroom to watch TV now. Unless I want to watch one of his British TV show's he's recorded.

Tried to call my mom on the internet phone at home this morning. That's not working right either. Neither of them, actually. She couldn't hear me, but I could hear her. Again, I don't know what's causing that, but luckily she called me back on our land line (which has no LD service out anymore). The only phones that we can call LD from are in our office. So right now, no LD, just local calls.

We were going to get rid of the land line totally until we found that the alarm system won't work on internet lines. We got the internet phone to save money on calls to England.

And I was wanting to watch a VCR tape earlier. Can't figure out how to make that work anymore, what with the six remote controls and other switches that have to be manipulated. We have two functioning VCRs and I can no longer work them.

He just ordered two very high-tech pieces of equipment for home. A 7whatsis digital camera and a new Replay TV...but he was concerned that I bought a 6-pack of long-life Energy Saving Ultra Mini-Spiral 60 watt lamp bulbs for $9.99 guaranteed to last seven years and cut electric sucking down to 14 watts. He says that technology is obsolete and I should have bought LED lamps. My god. This 3500 square foot house has incandescent lamps burning all over the place.

Everything is high-tech patchwork here.

I'm not a technological idiot, but this is too much. Good thing it's time to go call a dance (from my computer). :-)

I'm going to read a book when I get home.

Comments

[discord35.livejournal.com]

Fluorescent light bulbs aren't an obselete technology. They're a mature technology. You'll pay early-adopter prices for LED lightbulbs. I haven't seen any studies comparing the two, but my instinct says that — at this point in time — you'll realize more savings faster with the fluorescent bulbs.

Having said that, LED bulbs are neater. Fluorescents are obselete. :-)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I'd love to ditch my incandescent and flourescent lights for LEDs in the name of energy savings, but then I remember that the big power hogs in my household aren't the lights: they are the refrigerator, the freezer, the clothes dryer, the TV, the computers, and primarily the HVAC. I'm constantly surprised how much juice many appliances suck up even in stand-by mode. At least when I turn off the lights, they're really off.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Plus 17% of electricity (nationwide) is supplied by plants that use natural gas, so we're in a no-win situation. I'm not looking forward to $300/month gas bills this winter.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

We're on equalized billing for both our natural gas and electricity. We'll pay the same annually but it dampens the monthly sticker shock a bit and makes budgeting easier. I'm looking for a contractor to add a few more inches of fibreglass insulation to our attic in anticipation of markedly higher heating bills this winter... by way of a bonus, it should help with AC in the summer next year.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

We thought about IP telephony a while ago but it still strikes me as an immature technology, at least for home. I keep suggesting we drop the landline anyway since both Kent & I carry cell phones, but I get no further with him on this argument than I do about cutting back on our cable service.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Yes, seems to be a bit "immature" as the jargon goes. It's certainly not an end all. We only get the very occasional call on the land lines, but it's more or less rigged for us NOT to get rid of it...so that's $25/month more we have to spend.

[bearfuz.livejournal.com]

Your techno-woes sound a lot like mine!!! Hugs.

Training required

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

I guess I'll have to try and re-train you again! At least in how to watch the VCR. Or I could move the replayTV to the spare room, and retire the internet phone service...

And the new bulbs look just fine, even if the evil GWB was urging us to use them (another reason in my mind for avoiding them!)