The pièce de résistance. After first receiving the TV from the deliveryman, and talking him into helping me heave our old 32" CRT TV/immoveable object off the entertainment center, i noted that there appeared to be a lot of noise in the image. So much that when V saw it, she wondered what all the fuss over HD was about. After perusing some online forums and figuring out how to tweak the picture (bringing down the brightness and sharpness), the Sammy looks gorgeous. My jaw was on the floor while playing Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2. Moreso than my usual "mouth open" video game pose. V has noted that i'll now watch anything as long as it's in HD. I partook of Monster In Law on day 1, followed by a string of Law & Order episodes on TNTHD. We watched Stranger Than Fiction on DVD on Saturday night, which both looked wonderful and got me a bit teary. Will Ferrell should do more parts where he's the straight man. Not even one week old and i'm already in love with our black beauty.
	The day after receiving our showpiece TV, the DirecTV techs came round to put in a larger satellite dish and install our HD DVR. It's not Tivo, and as such it doesn't do some things as well (like fast forwarding and rewinding). Other things it does better though, like adding and managing season passes. After installing the dish the tech moved our old non-HD DVR into the bedroom, and informed me that hooking up a line to the second tuner on the unit would cost me a bit extra. I was under the impression that i could just split the one cable in the bedroom, so i declined. Turns out splitting lines from a satellite dish is no trivial endeavor. Different frequency ranges, transponder settings, etc etc ... not conducive to just popping in a coaxial splitter. I ran a second cable under our house out to the switch box, but couldn't figure out how to integrate it with the mess of wires and gave up. I called DirecTV to get them to return to run the line, and was informed that because i bought the protection plan this service is free. Doh. A different set of techs (equally distrusted by the cynical Tara dog) stopped by a few days later to hook the second line up to our dish (which was very quick since i'd already done the nasty job of running the cable under the house and up into the bedroom). I briefly borrowed the techs' large ladder to replace a few expired floodlight bulbs from around our house. Now our DirecTV setup is full steam ahead in all rooms once again. Having become an HD convert, V is now eyeing our aging bedroom CRT TV as a candidate for replacement by a 27" LCD HDTV. Progress!
	Last weekend i also set about replacing another kitchen light. The one in question was originally a conventional fixture that extended about 4" out of the ceiling. However, it was too close to several of the cabinets and prevented them from opening fully. Veronica had suggested we convert it to a recessed light, so i read a few online tutorials then picked up the necessary materials at Home Depot. Removing the old electrical box, i was faced with obstacle #1: the old box was suspended from a metal bar that ran between the ceiling joists, which to be removed properly would require me to tear up multiple patches of ceiling. Not enthused about that course of action, i found an online This Old House guide that suggested cutting such a bar with a close quarters hacksaw. I had just bought a new multi-purpose handsaw, so i put it to work. Fifteen minutes and a sore arm later, i had chopped the bar up and moved it out of the way. Problem #2: the wiring in our 75 year-old house is insulated by fabric sheaths from the pre-plastic days. Having aged significantly, these covers disintegrate when you bend the wiring. After futzing for a few minutes, i pulled all the decaying sheaths off and wrapped each exposed wire in electrical tape, then connected them to the fixture. I then set about hacking up our lathe and plaster ceiling to make room for the light receptacle. Egad. Looking at the mess i made on the floor, you'd think i tore down the entire ceiling rather than the little 3" ring i actually removed. At any rate, i was finally able to get the fixture in and secure it. Yesterday i plastered over the damaged edges of the hole, and today i'll wrap things up with a little paint and add the final baffle and bulb. Hoo rah.
	And finally, i picked up my new Alain Mikli eyeglasses in Palo Alto last week. Even though my prescription remains unchanged, switching to any new glasses keeps me off-balance for a week or so. I'm just coming out of the feeling of detached haze. V and i now have matching French frames. She insists the new glasses go great with my ever-lengthening locks. I'm still not sold on my hair length. Some days i love it, and others i feel like popping into Supercuts and telling them to chop it all off.