Quality products

Seems like "they just don't make 'em like they used to."

My mother, rest her soul, always told me to buy quality, buy once. Now that I've reached a point in my life where I can buy quality, I wish the old saw were still true. Case in point: We recently replaced the storm door at the front of our house with a relatively expensive new storm door manufactured by one of the leading brands. A company, which shall remain nameless at the advice of counsel, that claims to, "...create a timeless combination of durability and beauty." Apparently my definition of durability is somewhat different than this firm's definition.

We could have bought a less expensive storm door. We could have bought about four less-expensive doors for what we paid for this door. I specifically sought out this brand and bought one of their top-of-the line models because I wanted a durable door that would provide a good first impression for guests to our home and have a screened window that could be opened. The door we bought does look nice, but I'm having a durability problem caused by the manufacturer's use of inexpensive materials and a less-than-durable design.

This storm door has a horizontally split-glass window and the top portion can be opened by releasing latches on either side at the top and sliding the glass down. As the glass is lowered, a "disappearing screen" follows the glass and provides an insect-resistant opening for breeze and fresh air. The glass is held in place and guided on its downward slide by channels on either side of the door into which fit tangs from the window frame. It works beautifully, except... The channels are of a flimsy plastic construction and are not securely held to the enameled metal door frame. In fact they simply "snap" into place in a secondary channel in the door frame which is hidden behind the plastic channels when they are in place. The real problem is that they won't STAY in place. In fact they pop out of place every time that the door is closed, even gently, when the window is in the closed position. Then the window won't open until I snap them back into place. From the inside as one leaves our home, the plastic strips flapping loose look cheap. You can see the left side channel flopped out over the door handle in the photo above. I expect it is only a matter of time until one or both get broken off completely--then I won't be able to snap them back into place and the opening window feature will be unusable with nothing to hold the window in place. How frustrating!

I have written to the manufacturer asking if there is a fix. Now we shall see if their customer service better lives up to their advertising than their product. I'll keep you posted.

The cruelest cut.

Monday, December 8, 2008. At a busy small airport somewhere in the rust belt. Outside, snow is falling steadily from a cold gray sky.

Having just extracted myself from a cramped coach window seat after the ride in from Atlanta, I was anxious to get to the baggage claim and was feeling good just stretching my legs as I left the concourse. Approaching the "once you pass this point you must reenter through security" line, I heard the following announcement over the airport's public address system (Note, names have been changed to protect the guity...and, also, because my old-man's memory can't remember the real names):

"John Williamson, John Williamson, please return to security with your companion's passport and boarding pass so that she may pass through security. John Williamson...(repeat)."

"Wow," I thought. "What an error. To get through security with his companion's documents and leave her stranded. Good thing there is a paging system."

As I passed beyond the security line, I noted an attractive early-thirties woman, tall, slender, blonde, dressed stylishly in black slacks and a black-and-white sweater, arms crossed, looking up the concourse passenger exit expectantly, tapping her foot. "Hmmm," thought I, "this must be Mr. Williamson's 'Companion'." I moved past her, never making eye contact, and proceeded to the very near-by baggage claim. About then, I heard the earlier announcement for Mr. Williamson repeated.

At baggage claim the flat-screen monitor over carousel 'A' announced the arrival of the luggage from the arriving Atlanta flight. The carousel was not moving and with about 120 other passengers, I waited. During a wait of 5 or 10 minutes, the announcement for Mr. Williamson to please return to security was repeated again.

About the time I began to get impatient for my luggage, a different announcement, this time aimed at passengers of my arriving flight from Atlanta, announced that bags were delayed slightly and that the arriving passengers from Cincinnatti could get THEIR bags on carousel 'A' and the bags from Atlanta would come soon. This announcement was followed almost immediately by a repeat of the plea for Mr. Williamson. I don't know if it was my imagination, or what, but it really seemed that the plea for Mr. Williamson's return to security was getting more strident and forceful each time I heard it.

Since I had nothing else to do, I strolled back toward the security checkpoint. Ms. Companion was still there, arms still crossed, foot still tapping, now more slowly and with more deliberate force. The look on her face had changed from expectant to concerned. As I stood unobtrusively observing, the look morphed in front of my eyes from concern to anger. I shook my head, wondering just how dense Mr. Williamson could be as I headed for the Starbucks franchise for a bracing beverage. Meh, who knows? Perhaps he was detained in the men's room.

While I was in Starbucks, the airport PA system informed me that baggage carousel 'A' was malfunctioning and the Cinci luggage could now be claimed on 'C.' No mention was made of the Atlanta luggage. The paged plea for Mr. Williamson's return was repeated, twice, while I waited for the Baristas to do their job. After I got my coffee, I headed back to the baggage claim area where I observed 120 other arriving Atlanta passengers doing what airline passengers do: Wait. Since I had nothing else to do...well you get the picture. I went back to check on Ms. Companion. Still there. Then, finally, after what seemed like forever waiting, an announcement for the Atlanta bags up on carousel 'C.'

Poor Ms. Companion. I last saw her on my way to the rental car kiosk, after I finally got my bag, last one in on the carousel. She was still standing near the (only) passenger exit from the concourse. By now the look of expectancy, concern, and anger had melted to a look of distraught shame and despair. She was openly sobbing with huge tears streaking makeup down her face. Her arms were no longer crossed but hung to her sides, hands clenched into fists. About 50 minutes and at least a dozen repetitions of the announcement had passed since my first sighting. Can you even begin to imagine how she felt? I was impatient and I was only waiting for a piece of luggage. It reminds me of an anonymous quote that I once heard, that, to the world, you may only be one person but to one person you may be the world. Was Mr. Williamson, at that moment, her world crashing around her? Can you imagine Mr. Williamson, when approached by the airline's gate agent as the flight for Bemuda boarded, saying, "I'm not going back, she can take care of herself." The audacity is breathtaking. The agony is heart-rending. I don't think this method of dumping another was even mentioned in Paul Simon's 50 ways. Did Mr. Williamson plan this? Or did he find himself separated and spontaneously decide to make the split permanent?

This story has no real ending. In fact, most of it is made up of my impressions and interpretation of what was happening at a small airport on a winter afternoon as snow fell outside. Perhaps the dreary weather just made things seem more grim. Of this I am sure, the tears on her face looked very real, and hot enough to melt the falling snow.

An update on iMac to HDTV connectivity.

Although I could not imagine such, things only got worse after yesterday's entry. The more research I did, the less I knew for sure. There are multiple standards for HDMI, multiple standards for DVI, and some devices don't tell you in their user literature which standard they use. Finally, a phone call to Apple Care, conferenced to Apple's Engineering department AND Hitachi's US operations provided the following information: The best video quality can be achieved from the iMac's mini-DVI output. For audio I can use a standard or optical mini stereo jack to male RCA (component) cable. A big thanks to Apple Care for handling the teleconferencing and knowing who to call. The thanks, of course, is dependent on the solution actually working.

According to the experts, the iMac's mini-DVI output CAN be used as input for the Hitachi TV's HDMI ports.
I will need an Apple mini-DVI to DVI converter (dutifully ordered from Apple) and a DVI to HDMI cable (yet to be purchased.)

The Apple mini-DVI to DVI converter provides a DVI/D connection. No one can say for sure if it is a male or female connector (this seems strange to me, but the photo on Apple's Website is inconclusive--if I were designing it, the converter would have a female jack to marry to a male cable connector). The Hitachi takes a(n) HDMI/A connector and the socket on the TV is female. So I'll need a cable with one end providing a male HDMI/A and the other providing a DVI/D connector of the proper gender, to be determined after receipt of the Apple mini-DVD converter. Datapro's Website has a variety of cables available. I've got a standard audio mini stereo jack to male RCA cable, but Apple Engineering says I'll get better audio quality if I use the optical connector.

So, assuming that I don't have to buy extra gender converters for the HDMI cable, and assuming the solution works, I'll have the Apple's display on my 50" Hitachi HD Plasma for only about a hundred bucks and two days of painful research! I guess I can live with that, but it seems that the entire process was just NOT EZ!

See the Blog title.

Early this summer, my eldest son and his wife gave me a great gift: a 24-inch iMac. This is a wonderful machine, which, when wirelessly connected to my DSL pipe, has led to many amazing discoveries. One of the more recent discoveries is the joy of streaming "watch it now" movies from my Netflix account. But as amazing as that crisp, bright 24-inch display is; as nice as those iMac speakers sound, they don't really give the theater experience as well as I could get with my home theater system, which includes a large plasma screen TV and a Bose 3-2-1 sound system.

So now, I'm hoping to connect the 2008-model iMac 24-inch to the 2-year-old 50-inch Hitachi Plasma Screen (built July 11, 2006). The Hitachi is a model 50HDA39. This leads to the blog title: Nothing is as EZ as it should be! I'm not a techno-dummy, but the maze of specifications to be traversed here has my head swimming.

The iMac apparently has only a mini-DVI out for video output (I assume Firewire and USB are only for data, not to include video--although Sony uses Firewire for video and audio in a "consolidated" fashion). The iMac is not a Sony.

The Hitachi has Composite, S-Video, HDMI, and VGA inputs.

The Apple Store Website sells adapters from the mini-DVI to S-Video, or mini-DVI to VGA. The Apple Website says that the mini-DVI to S-Video also includes composite video capability (not further defined on the Website). It offers no such claim for the mini-DVI to VGA adapter.

The Apple Store Website states that the mini-DVI to VGA adapter can be used in both video mirroring and extended desktop modes. There is no such note regarding the mini-DVI to Video adapter. Reviews on the Apple Store Website indicate that video quality is not acceptable on a large-screen display using either S-Video or Composite. Is this true? Should I assume that the VGA is the correct route for my application?

The Web site does not mention the audio component in the discussion of either adapter.

Should I assume that I'll have to have an optical-audio-out (iMac) to composite audio-in (Hitachi) to also get the audio? The Apple Store does not offer such a device. Have you ever seen one? If I select S-Video or VGA inputs for the Hitachi, the Hitachi manual hints that the Hitachi will know where to get the audio if the "PC Picture menu" input is selected for audio and video. Or should I bypass the Hitachi and go directly to the Bose? Wow. I know that third remote control is here somewhere!

The Hitachi manual also says:

Pixels: 1,366 x 768
Video: Suggested scan rates: 1080i, 480p, 480i, 720p, 48 kHz sampling frequency.

PC INPUT = Mini-Dsub 15 pin x 1
· An adapter is not needed for computers with a DOS/V compatible mini D-sub 15-pin terminal.

· The on-screen displays will have a different appearance in PC mode than inTV mode.

· If your PC display output corresponds to a WVGA or a WXGA resolution as indicated in the chart below (example: WXGA 1360 x 768), you must set the WVGA INPUT or WXGA INPUT to the ON position in the PC Picture menu in the TV (see page 43).

VGA 640x480 60Hz
WVGA 848x480 60Hz
SVGA 800x600 60Hz
XGA 1024x768 60Hz
WXGA 1280x720 60Hz
WXGA 1280x768 60Hz
WXGA 1360x768 60Hz

What the...? It's my understanding that the iMac 24-inch has a native resolution of 1920 x 1200. Will I need to change the resolution? Can the resolution be changed?

At this point, if I had hair, I would pull it out! Pardon my ignorance, but, then, as my blog title says, Nothing is as EZ as it should be!

New Year's Resolutions

It may be a bit early to be discussing resolutions for 2009, but how about an assessment of those made for 2008?

New Year's resolutions are not something I have generally done. In fact, goals are not something I've generally done. Somehow, the establishment of specific, written, shared goals has always seemed to be setting myself up for failure. I apply the same philosophy when I drive on vacation. If I don't know where I'm going, I can't possibly get lost.

Glenda has urged me for years to be better at setting and tracking goals. She's not alone. Over the years Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer and the vendors of dozens of organization and accomplishment systems have told me the same as have my cherished mentors and spiritual advisers. For the most part, I have steadfastly resisted such well-meaning pressure.

This writing is inspired because yesterday, searching for some arcane item, I came across my 2008 resolutions. I did make resolutions. I even wrote them down. My 2008 resolutions were expressed in two simple words: WRITE and CONNECT. I had even set up a notebook complete with calendar to track my progress.

By CONNECT I meant to communicate more regularly and more effectively with family, friends and business relations. My resolution states, "Call siblings and children weekly. Contact three business associates each work day: 1 new prospect, 1 current client, 1 past client." Doesn't sound too demanding, does it?

By WRITE I meant to write thoughts or impressions daily, including a summary of what I had done each day to implement my resolutions. I had hoped that the simple fact of journalling would improve my writing skills and motivate me to write even more.

So the question becomes: How did I do? (Followed almost instantly by, "Who cares?") At the risk of displeasing anyone who has read this far, I'll ignore the second question for now. In an attempt to make an honest evaluation of my 2008 resolutions, I believe that there is both progress and failure. Progress in that I have done SOME of what I resolved. Failure in that I have not done well at all I resolved. For instance, the notebook has daily written entries all the way through January 3, 2008! Then nothing, so: failure. But this blog started late in the year, and I think it should count for something. So, not a total failure. On the communications front I would have to say probably even less successful. I've not been disciplined about picking up the telephone (an instrument that I loathe.) Communication with business associates has been haphazard and reactive rather than proactive. But not a total failure either, as I have done better than in the past, calling siblings quite a few times over the year and having meaningful communications with my children more often.

Resolutions. They surely are not EZ! How did you do in 2008? Do you have big plans for 2009?

Thankful for lost productivity?

The Thanksgiving Day holiday is only three days away. Or maybe less, for some. This morning I noticed that my early commute to work was very easy. Traffic was nearly sparse. Looking from my office window, I see the parking lot, below, is about half-full at mid-morning. Our building's sandwich shop has a sign posted, "Closed Tuesday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Nov. 28." Fellow passengers on the office elevator were deep in a discussion about getting away from work early today with travel plans that will consume the rest of the week. My company's offices will be closed Thursday and Friday.

All of this has me wondering about the impact of the holiday on our national productivity and how that will affect our already-stressed economy. Some pundits on the air waves this past week have been claiming that worker wages have not kept pace with increases in productivity for quite a few years. Perhaps a reduction in productivity will help? No, probably not.

I have no idea how the current chaos is going to play out. I don't think anyone does. We have not seen deflation in my life time. Inflation, yes; stagflation, yes; but not deflation. I do think that it is safe to say that a great number of people are going to suffer some degree of difficulty and, perhaps, most of us will suffer a decrease in our standard of living before the economy stabilizes and comes out of what appears to be a tail-spin. Certainly, in the economy, nothing is EZ!

Just a lazy weekend.

The wife and I went to a live presentation of Michael Feldman's radio show, What'd Ya Know? Saturday morning at Trinity University's Laurie Auditorium. We had to be seated by 9:30 and Glenda wanted breakfast out first, so we had to get up rather early. To make up for that we took a nap after lunch and then did essentially nothing all evening. We did watch, again, The Curse of the Were Rabbit from DVD, but you can't really call that doing anything.

Today I slept in while Glenda went to church. I did not even get up until after 1PM. Now it's 6PM and I'm still in my PJs. Yep, lazy, lazy, lazy.