Magnavox MX TV and another annoyances

If anything else goes bad today, I'm going to flip out.

Friday the 13th, actually this whole week/ past month or so has been annoying and trying.

1. Finally got the muffler on the Ford Exploder replaced, only to have my power steering lose fluid 3 hours later and on my way home from doing things on Wednesday. It's at the dealership and will be a $500 hit to fix. At least it's really quiet as far as the exhaust goes. Mechanic said all the lines were rusted out and were blowing fluid. Odd that I would have this for 9 months and this happens.

2. Sick dog for the past month, finally got an Xray on Tuesday, signs still indicate liver function problem. Administering meds, food, and Milk Thistle.

3. For the past few days or week, the hot water heater has been leaking water. Flooded basement to about 2 inches deep, as the drain on the floor is clogged with silt and my sister still hasn't snaked it out (or perhaps the septic tank needs drained).

And then to this:
4. Power outage overnight caused the Magnavox MX TV to not want to turn on.

In the past after an electric outage, and over the past few years, it has developed the annoyance of not wanting to stay turned on after being asked to turn on after one of these outages. I've had to keep turning it on only to have it click right off and requiring me to try again. Today it wasn't having any of that. So I found a 6.5mm socket to take the screws out of the back and get my can of air duster and blow it clean.

It may have been the dusting or the replugging of the cord to make a snap as it touched the current, but it finally started doing the clicking back off after being asked to turn on. Eventually, it decided to stay on.

I suspect that after 17 years (it was made in 1996), the capacitors need replaced. Not something to do on a TV, as one is rated to 200 volts, by someone such as me with my skills. Supposedly it was made with some amount of surge suppression protection.

Another thing it does is during completely white or mostly bright screens, it doesn't seem to like them. I have to wait a while to get it to "warm up" before a bright screen doesn't cause it to bend in and out until it adjusts for it. Which leads me back to the capacitors. Which ones, Not sure. I've had to adjust the brightness and picture (contrast) settings down to give it a break.

But after taking the back off and putting it back on, I have oddly colored areas on the tube. A hint of green mostly in the lower left, some odd fades of red or blue at the top. Most of the center, where lots of letterboxed video lives, mostly OK. Really apparent during full screens and certain colors. Maybe the back has bumped something. I was trying to be extremely careful putting the back on, but it was doing this even on the black screen I put it on before I got the back put in place. Maybe it needs degaussed.

I still have my grandfather's Toshiba big screen similar to the MX, but it doesn't respond to the remote anymore, and it needs dust blown out as well. It will shut off the screen and audio unless I rap on the outside, and then when it's decently warm, it will work without too much fuss, but definitely needs dust out of it. If I can't get the remote sensor to respond, watching TV without being able to mute stuff will be annoying.

So I either live with this MX, see if it just needs some adjustment, or (can't really afford it) replace it cheaply or find a suitably sized wide screen with composite video input, which I really need.

I bet my dad would know what to do in order to replace the caps, and maybe to see what's affecting the discolored patches. I would think the image processor is working just fine, getting it to the screen has a problem.
 

In case you have a Barolo weather forecasting clock

In case you have one of those Barolo weather forecasting clocks with the external sensor(s), and the sensors go bad, you can order a new one from the company that made and sold them. Just look at the back of the sensor and it will tell you what kind of sensor it is. In my case, it was ASENSOR4. The instructions you got with the Barolo clock even has the website!

http://www.produktservice.info/ is the website for ordering products from Krippl Watches, the company that came up with the clock I have.

The upside is that now you can order those other sensors you've always wanted to use with the clock - the downside is that they will add their local Value Added Sales Tax no matter what, and shipping doubles the price if you're ordering just 1 replacement sensor. They do take credit cards for payment.

It takes a while to get it (it is coming from overseas) but as long as you got the right sensor, it will work as expected with your original clock.

I had to replace the external sensor when the one that came with it kept shutting off over the summer even though it had new batteries, to eventually completely failing to work at all. It worked fine for over 2 years or so, even working and sending data when the batteries weren't strong enough to drive the LCD display.

A few words about a word

"meme" is pronounced "Mehmm" as in Memetic. ("meh met tic")

Memetic means "A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another."

"mémé" pronoucned "may may" is French for "Grandma." I don't know about any internet grandmas that are funny.

And it's not pronounced "meem" because that rhymes with "beam" and I'll get medieval on your butt if you insist on saying that.

Maybe we're finally getting to solving this problem

UPDATE ON MELODY:
Took her in to the vet today - I got an early appointment. Talked to the doctors, explained things. They looked at her - there was some weight loss. They seem to think there was some soreness in her gums but generally not bad. So a blood test was run.

Some of her levels on one sheet were all normal.
The 2nd sheet showed some interesting things though. 4 items were showing High, and I forget the names of what she told me the abbreviations mean, but the ALKP, ALT, Cholesterol, and TBIL levels were high. The BUN level was low, but since another indicator was normal (Phosphorus), the kidneys were ruled out as being a problem. Melody pees just fine.

She somehow developed a problem with her liver. The one doctor noted the yellow in her eyes, so that also indicated a liver problem. Without doing a biopsy or other physical tests, it's hard to determine if this is a tumor, cysts, or something close to cirrhosis, and possibly this is something that may heal. But the yellow in her eyes would be due to her not eating well and then the body is using the fat stores in her body. Anyway, the two things are related.

They were amused by her good spirits and sitting up to beg for attention. It was decided to see if medication and a change in her diet could help things, after all a change in the chemistry is expected to help the liver. As such, a protein-restricted diet has also been recommended. They sent home 4 cans of expen$ive brand dog food and a recipe I can make - but I don't know where to find calcium carbonate.

Medications prescribed include Prednisone and to help the liver function, Zentonil. After all those years of giving pills to Ariel, Melody shouldn't be much different.

A PSA - please copy and repost any time you see some idiot bashing the Kardashians

OK, can you please be among the millions of idiots online that can post something not containing the word "Kardashian"? Please? As much as you Want to Talk Smack about them, and as much as You Appear to Hate Them, Each time You post the word "Kardashian," an orphan in a 3rd world country gets killed/strangled/murdered/raped.
If you hate them so much - stop using the word, stop watching the TV show - STOP TALKING ABOUT THEM. PERIOD. If you're jealous they have money and you don't, get over yourself. You're not that special.

I REALLY HATE "RELIGIOUS" ROBOCALLS

I hate telemarketing robo-calls.

But I vehemently detest religious robocalls that do not identify who is calling nor give me a number to call and get them to knock it off. I also hate it when it calls when I'm not home so I can press 8 to get my number permanently off their list. I also hate it when they call and I'm not home and the message gets to the point where I can leave my "name" at the beep at the end, because I can't let loose a tirade of filth that will teach them to call my number like that again.

Religious robo-calls, for all intents and purposes, are illegal.

It's not your freaking job to spread your ideology. Keep Thy Religion To Thyself. If you can't speak 2 sentences without some mention of Jesus, the bible, or whatever, you don't need to speak to me without me hitting you upside the head with an aluminum baseball bat. You also deserve it when you use your religion to make decisions about anything. If you can't decide things for yourself, you have a problem. Seek help.

I don't go to church, and I don't care what you choose to believe in. Leave your beliefs at the door.

Never mind about the kitchen faucet - I took care of it.

I finally got that leaking kitchen faucet replaced. Earlier in the month, Lowe's sent out these envelope advertisements with $10 off a $50 purchase, so I held onto that one just in case I could get a better price than that $65 faucet I saw in a local store. On Sunday, I took $50 and went up to Lowe's to see what they had. I found the Price Pfister Pfaucet you see here for $49.97, which I thought was both good and annoying. It was 3 cents short of being the $50 purchase so I could use my $10 off card. As it turned out, the store also had these various tables around the store with various items on them marked for clearance. I ended up finding some odd item for $1 so my total purchase would then be just over the $50 needed.

I go through the instructions and it says I need plumber's putty for the base as it meets the sink. I check underneath and I have the detachable supply lines and immediate shut off valves. Seems easy enough but I put it off for the moment.

This morning while still having to deal with Melody's intestinal obstruction problem, I'm dealing with the current faucet and getting it to shut off and not drip. At one point, the handle cracks and breaks, so wow, it has to be dealt with NOW.

I shut off the water to the faucet, and after having looked up at things earlier in the week, it didn't seem all that hard to replace. In fact, the thing I had to wrestle out with pliers was the sprayer hose thingy! I detached the supply lines and got the retaining rings off the old faucet (now broken) and instead of following the instructions, I work to get the sprayer connected before fastening down the new faucet. Trying to get that hose pushed up and connected after the thing goes in just is not going to work.

Anyway, I get the whole thing fastened down, supply lines connected one at a time, turned on, and no immediate leaks. Looking good.

That old faucet leaked since we moved in. Now I have one of a style I prefer, rising up high over the sink like it should. AND IT DOESN'T LEAK ANYMORE AND even better -  it doesn't drip underneath like the old one. That area can finally be fixed and worked on - the moldy wood removed and replaced.

I just wish Mom was here to enjoy this nice faucet.

No idea what to do!

Melody has been vomiting for past 3 days. Tonight I decide to feel her abdomen and she yelps when I get to a certain spot. I fear the worst that she's eaten something she shouldn't have and I don't have the f_ing money for a vet appt or surgery! no idea what's wrong but it doesn't look good.

Trees hate us

Tree fell down across road and took out cable & internet. Neighbor called fire dept who looked at it, put up yellow tape and left. Tree is still on road and RR still out. Probably until tree is removed. WHEN?

Nice update - later that day, someone from Time Warner did re-connect the cable, then a crew later came to remove the tree and replace the broken utility pole, and then Time Warner crews returned the next day to make a more permanent repair.

The reason why you should do good things for people you don't know

Some months ago, a fellow who frequents one of the Sailor Moon forums that I also get on from time to time asked me in email - out of the blue as it were - about a set of map points based on info from Genvid's Warriors of Legend book. Map points that show the real places in the Azabu Juuban area of Tokyo where most of Sailor Moon was based on. The reason was that he was planning a 2 week trip to Japan around the time of the Japan Anime Expo at the end of March 2013 and another event the next week to finish up his visit, along with a few days in Kyoto to see some things. There might have been a few other details that I've left out, but while he was going to be walking around Azabu Juuban, he was going to take photos and just soak in the area.

Because the 2 anime events were going to be happening (and at the time Sailor Moon fans were hoping for more info on the show only to find out later there's a delay for some reason), and he was going to be there, I asked him that if there were any free items they were handing out to see if it's possible to get one for me and he could thank me that way. Even if it was paper items with artwork promoting something, anything would be fine. I didn't really expect anything, but sent him my mailing address and left it at that, after sending him the Google Earth file he asked for. I have no problem offering that. But so far he's been the only person to ask for them.

Months go by and I note at the end of March what the fellow would be doing. I had encouraged him that if he doesn't have too many issues with local Japanese food and if he can afford it, to try whatever there is. I also tried to see if he would shoot some video - even though I saw some of his photography work (he sent me a link) and it was really good, I figure if the moment comes and a little video might work, he might get something really nice based on what I saw.

It was only a week or so ago that I remember "Whatever became of that fellow who asked me for the map points?" I figure Oh well, he had a good time (I hope someday soon I get to do the same thing for my trip to Japan), and if there wasn't anything, that's OK.

Yesterday I got a packet in the mail. It had a little noise coming from it, and I figure what did my older sister order this time - only the packet is addressed to me! The return address has the name of the fellow who contacted me! Oh wow!

I bring it inside and open it carefully to find a March 2013 issue of Newtype magazine, and a smaller dark blue plastic bag with a few things inside, and a note.

The blue bag had a beautifully designed sakura flower petal bell with a little string (for attaching to a cell phone for example) in a packet that when I looked up the kanji on it, it was the name of a shrine in Kyoto. There was a 2nd smaller blue plastic envelope type baggie inside as well and in that was a Hetalia phone strap and a Nanoha "A"s pin!

The note, to summarize, told me that: The map points were accurate and everything he was expecting and it made his trip that much better. It was something he had been planning for about 20 years. It could not have been more special. He apologized that he was somewhat late in sending the thank-you gifts, but hoped I would enjoy them none the less. He didn't see anything about the upcoming Sailor Moon anime, just a lot of Hello Kitty, Hetalia, and Rilakkuma.

So you see - this is why I do some of the things I do for people I don't know.

But dang it - when am I going to get my trip to Japan?!?!?