aspir(al)ing

Sam…wha?

Posted by terri | Filed under digital life, home, shiny

As I had reported earlier, I finally purchased a new TV for my living room. I have to say that I am quite surprised that I went with a Samsung. For as long as I can remember, my household has always been a Sony one whether it be a TV, VCR, or stereo system. And if we didn’t get Sony, we would get Toshiba or Panasonic. If someone had told me years ago that a Samsung TV would be the centerpiece of my living room, I would have thought they were crazy!

I can be the first to admit that I never thought highly of Korean products. This was not due to my own personal experience, but I guess in the generation that I grew up, it was always about the Japanese electronics. And then, I dated a guy who, as an American, lived in Korea but had very few nice things to say about Korean made products. And on top of that, my mom was born in Japan right before World War II, so you can imagine her attitudes toward anything Korean might have very well rubbed off on me. To make a long story short, I steered clear of Korean-made products despite seeing its growing popularity in the marketplace.

Upon looking for a new TV, I realized Korean and Chinese brands would come up in my search. That was when I had to remind myself that there was once a time when Japanese products were considered inferior. I remember this coming to my attention when I saw a sequel of Back to the Future where Doc thought a circuit was faulty because it was made in Japan to which Marty reponds, “What are you talking about? All the best stuff is made in Japan.” It seems that we have to expect that any country can make huge strides over the course of several years, just like those before it.

After checking out all sorts of reviews and specs and then finally checking things out for myself in person, it became a toss up between a Samsung and a Sony Bravia model. I went with the Samsung because it seemed to have more value for the money, and I was namely impressed with its ability to scale standard definition TV. I bought it at the Aiea Best Buy, a place that Hunny and I normally complain about because of their high prices, but I figured since they were selling the Samsung LN40A530 at the retail price and offered a good protection plan for it, they seemed to be the way to go. They also had a deal where I could get a $100 off a Blu-Ray player, so I dove in and got that too. I really got it as a upscaling DVD player especially since Blu-Ray discs are so expensive. Yet of course, out of curiosity, I treated myself to one: Iron Man is indeed a very cool movie!

So far, it’s been pretty awesome. I think that ‘housewarming party’ I’ve been itching for might actually be a reality sometime soon. Stay tuned!

Finally upgraded!

Posted by terri | Filed under digital life, shiny, video

After much deliberation over which model to get, and whether or not getting a new TV was even a smart idea, I took the plunge and finally purchased a new LCD TV. I got a Samsung LN40A530, which is kind of on the low end of Samsung’s TVs, but it is a current model and it is a Full HD TV. It is a 40-inch widescreen TV, and in the store, it seemed kind of small but it was an entirely different story when I brought it home. This thing is a monster in my house!

I made a really quick video of the unboxing. I shall follow up with another entry later on:

Update: I realized that Flickr will only accept videos up to 90 seconds, so I had to re-upload and repost. As for the time lapse effect, that was just a feature in my P&S camera. In retrospect, I would have picked a different angle, but oh well, it turned out okay. Thankfully we weren’t doing anything embarrassing during the time lapse…hee hee.

Homework before TV.

Posted by terri | Filed under home, shiny

Even with all this talk of the economy going to the crapper and the crumbling confidence in our markets, I am still thinking of making a big purchase. As I have reported via Twitter, I was deciding between buying a digital SLR camera or a TV for my living room. As much as I would like to get both, I can only choose one.

The scale has tipped toward the television only because it is the most utilitarian solution. If I get the TV, I can give the TV away to someone I know who needs one (desperately.) The TV I currently have in my living room is a 19″ CRT TV which we got from Japan when we lived there. It’s come from Japan, to our house here, to my sister’s and then back here. As to why I want to replace the TV, I think it’s to make my living room a little more inviting. Prior to my housecleaning frenzy, my living room was far from worthy of having a “nice TV.” My house is still far from being picture perfect with needing the carpet cleaned (or replaced, rather) along with a paint job, but I think having a bigger TV will not be out of place in it. Another big motivation is that of being able to play multiplayer games on a bigger screen; a 19″ screen just won’t do when you’re playing Mario Kart or Mario Party on a Wii.

Read the rest of this entry…

A new member of the family.

Posted by terri | Filed under geektech, shiny, tunes

What a pleasant surprise on a day off that I had to spend sick at home:

I got my iPod Nano delivered 3 days earlier than expected!

Read the rest of this entry…

Aloha!

Hello from the island of O'ahu in the beautiful state of Hawaii. I am terri, a local girl who at 30 is trying to make sure that life doesn't entirely pass her by. I've recently become engaged and am enjoying living a great life in paradise.