Best Buy
Yesterday (Tuesday, March 2, 2010) I patronized good old Best Buy on Hylan Drive in deepest, darkest Henrietta.
This was after patronizing Hahn Graphic on Dewey Ave. in Rochester — a long journey of about an hour and 15 minutes.
My first contact with Hahn Graphic is 1968, when I purchased my first Honeywell Pentax SpotMatic 35 mm single-lens-reflex (SLR) film camera, the camera I used over 40 years.
At that time Hahn Graphic was on Driving Park.
The SpotMatic was the camera my college yearbook used, and they loaned me theirs occasionally.
It was wondrous compared to what I had been using, although at that time 35 mm was pushing it — smallish.
35 mm film was much more flexible than larger film formats, and the fact it was single-lens-reflex meant you weren’t fighting parallax error.
Your viewfinder was seeing the same thing your camera saw.
With 35 mm film your camera was small and handy.
So was Leica, but they weren’t single-lens-reflex.
So now even el-cheapo cellphone cameras mimic the sound of a single-lens-reflex camera taking a picture: ker-CHUNK! Viewing mirror retracted so the film can be exposed.
Nikon brought out a digital camera that made me switch from film.
That was the D100 maybe 7-8 years ago. —I think it’s D300 now.
By then Hahn had changed hands, and moved to an old city firehouse on Dewey Ave.
Hahn Graphic had survived; LeBeau Photo on Lyell Ave., my old supplier of darkroom chemicals and printing paper, hadn’t.
I’ve used that D100 since then without incident. No service either.
But the other day (Sunday, February 28, 2010) it went blank, probably because it got snowed on, and thereby wet.
It’s electronic; I had it stuffed inside my jacket, but it was snowing hard.
There was something inside the manual about getting it serviced every year or two; which I had never done.
The camera also returned to operation — it apparently dried itself out.
The original intent of my visit to Hahn was to get the camera back in operation, but now it was just service.
After Hahn was Best Buy.
A couple weeks ago our TV was no longer getting video, after we plugged it back in after a trip.
Something vaporized; smoke and smell.
At first we thought it was our TV, but our combination DVR/VCR is on the same table, so that was suspect too.
I have a gizmo that sends TV channels onto my computer monitor, so I tried connecting the DVR/VCR to that.
No video.
It was beginning to look like it was my DVR/VCR.
The cable (Time-Warner) was also suspect; it might have broken.
We tested the cable to my gizmo, and got the TV channels on my computer monitor.
Off to Best Buy to look at DVR/VCRs.
First time I ever visited Best Buy, years ago, was intimidating.
It’s a big-box store, and my ears were assaulted as I strode in.
I suppose this racket is what passes for rock-and-roll nowadays; not the placid rebellion of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. —Pointless screaming and yelling.
Boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom-chicka!
I managed to walk out with what I had come for, probably a replacement VCR.
I’ve patronized Best Buy quite a bit since; a new TV, the DVR/VCR, and a new computer monitor.
So I went back to Best Buy yesterday.
I had been told VCRs were toast; that they were no longer made.
So I was expecting nothing — a pointless visit.
Ba-BOOM; Ba-BOOM; Ba-BOOM; Ba-BOOM!
I wandered about, looking for DVR/VCRs. Finally saw TVs in their “home theater” section — wandered that way. Brightly flickering hi-def wide-screen flat-screens. HUGE! All tuned to the same vapid channel; the soaps. Always yelling and doing evil!
“Can I answer any questions?” asked a geeky longhair.
“Well, what I’m looking for is a DVR/VCR; something that can both record DVDs and VHS tapes, and dub,” I said.
“This way sir.”
Shelving held a slew of glistening low black boxes.
“This will do this and this and this,” he said.
“This is just a DVD player.”
“I need something that can record DVDs,” I said.
“Sounds like whatcha have already does that,” he said.
“Lemme tell ya my problem,” I answered.
“No video. First we thought it was the TV, an old CRT screen, but my DVR/VCR won’t put video on my ‘pyooter monitor. So we suspect the DVR/VCR.”
“Have ya tried this and this and this?” —Something about the connecting cables, like they may have burned out. Or an output terminal.
“Okay, I’ll try it, but I ain’t no technology wizard.”
By so doing, he was losing a potential sale.
HOORAY; someone more inclined to help than make a killing.
Score one for Best Buy.
Same jones over my new computer monitor; their so-called “Geek-Squad” was more inclined to help then score a sale.
300 smackaroos for a new DVR/VCR.
I left without purchasing anything; “I have more testing to do per your suggestions.”
I also wanted to go online regarding DVR/VCRs.
89 bazilyun hits; anything from $23 clear up to $400.
Too confusing, swathed in gibberish: “-RW/-R DL/+R/+R DL/+RW/RAM.” WHAT?
So what’ll-it-be, Best Buy or online; reward the helpful geek or not?
What he recommended is probably more what I want than poring confusedly through 89 bazilyun hits.
“At least if it ain’t right, ya can take it back,” my wife said.
Tilt for Best Buy.
• “Deepest, darkest Henrietta” is a rather effusive and obnoxious suburb south of Rochester.
• We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester, which is about an hour away.
• “Driving Park” Ave. —Both Dewey and Driving Park are in the northwest of Rochester.
• “Parallax error” is worst in closeups. It comes from having the viewfinder separate from the camera lens. Centering a closeup in the viewfinder is off-center to the camera.
• My wife of 42+ years is “Linda.”
This was after patronizing Hahn Graphic on Dewey Ave. in Rochester — a long journey of about an hour and 15 minutes.
My first contact with Hahn Graphic is 1968, when I purchased my first Honeywell Pentax SpotMatic 35 mm single-lens-reflex (SLR) film camera, the camera I used over 40 years.
At that time Hahn Graphic was on Driving Park.
The SpotMatic was the camera my college yearbook used, and they loaned me theirs occasionally.
It was wondrous compared to what I had been using, although at that time 35 mm was pushing it — smallish.
35 mm film was much more flexible than larger film formats, and the fact it was single-lens-reflex meant you weren’t fighting parallax error.
Your viewfinder was seeing the same thing your camera saw.
With 35 mm film your camera was small and handy.
So was Leica, but they weren’t single-lens-reflex.
So now even el-cheapo cellphone cameras mimic the sound of a single-lens-reflex camera taking a picture: ker-CHUNK! Viewing mirror retracted so the film can be exposed.
Nikon brought out a digital camera that made me switch from film.
That was the D100 maybe 7-8 years ago. —I think it’s D300 now.
By then Hahn had changed hands, and moved to an old city firehouse on Dewey Ave.
Hahn Graphic had survived; LeBeau Photo on Lyell Ave., my old supplier of darkroom chemicals and printing paper, hadn’t.
I’ve used that D100 since then without incident. No service either.
But the other day (Sunday, February 28, 2010) it went blank, probably because it got snowed on, and thereby wet.
It’s electronic; I had it stuffed inside my jacket, but it was snowing hard.
There was something inside the manual about getting it serviced every year or two; which I had never done.
The camera also returned to operation — it apparently dried itself out.
The original intent of my visit to Hahn was to get the camera back in operation, but now it was just service.
After Hahn was Best Buy.
A couple weeks ago our TV was no longer getting video, after we plugged it back in after a trip.
Something vaporized; smoke and smell.
At first we thought it was our TV, but our combination DVR/VCR is on the same table, so that was suspect too.
I have a gizmo that sends TV channels onto my computer monitor, so I tried connecting the DVR/VCR to that.
No video.
It was beginning to look like it was my DVR/VCR.
The cable (Time-Warner) was also suspect; it might have broken.
We tested the cable to my gizmo, and got the TV channels on my computer monitor.
Off to Best Buy to look at DVR/VCRs.
First time I ever visited Best Buy, years ago, was intimidating.
It’s a big-box store, and my ears were assaulted as I strode in.
I suppose this racket is what passes for rock-and-roll nowadays; not the placid rebellion of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. —Pointless screaming and yelling.
Boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom-chicka!
I managed to walk out with what I had come for, probably a replacement VCR.
I’ve patronized Best Buy quite a bit since; a new TV, the DVR/VCR, and a new computer monitor.
So I went back to Best Buy yesterday.
I had been told VCRs were toast; that they were no longer made.
So I was expecting nothing — a pointless visit.
Ba-BOOM; Ba-BOOM; Ba-BOOM; Ba-BOOM!
I wandered about, looking for DVR/VCRs. Finally saw TVs in their “home theater” section — wandered that way. Brightly flickering hi-def wide-screen flat-screens. HUGE! All tuned to the same vapid channel; the soaps. Always yelling and doing evil!
“Can I answer any questions?” asked a geeky longhair.
“Well, what I’m looking for is a DVR/VCR; something that can both record DVDs and VHS tapes, and dub,” I said.
“This way sir.”
Shelving held a slew of glistening low black boxes.
“This will do this and this and this,” he said.
“This is just a DVD player.”
“I need something that can record DVDs,” I said.
“Sounds like whatcha have already does that,” he said.
“Lemme tell ya my problem,” I answered.
“No video. First we thought it was the TV, an old CRT screen, but my DVR/VCR won’t put video on my ‘pyooter monitor. So we suspect the DVR/VCR.”
“Have ya tried this and this and this?” —Something about the connecting cables, like they may have burned out. Or an output terminal.
“Okay, I’ll try it, but I ain’t no technology wizard.”
By so doing, he was losing a potential sale.
HOORAY; someone more inclined to help than make a killing.
Score one for Best Buy.
Same jones over my new computer monitor; their so-called “Geek-Squad” was more inclined to help then score a sale.
300 smackaroos for a new DVR/VCR.
I left without purchasing anything; “I have more testing to do per your suggestions.”
I also wanted to go online regarding DVR/VCRs.
89 bazilyun hits; anything from $23 clear up to $400.
Too confusing, swathed in gibberish: “-RW/-R DL/+R/+R DL/+RW/RAM.” WHAT?
So what’ll-it-be, Best Buy or online; reward the helpful geek or not?
What he recommended is probably more what I want than poring confusedly through 89 bazilyun hits.
“At least if it ain’t right, ya can take it back,” my wife said.
Tilt for Best Buy.
• “Deepest, darkest Henrietta” is a rather effusive and obnoxious suburb south of Rochester.
• We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester, which is about an hour away.
• “Driving Park” Ave. —Both Dewey and Driving Park are in the northwest of Rochester.
• “Parallax error” is worst in closeups. It comes from having the viewfinder separate from the camera lens. Centering a closeup in the viewfinder is off-center to the camera.
• My wife of 42+ years is “Linda.”
posted by BobbaLew at 1:23 PM
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