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stupid, stupid, stupid -- part II
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William Sommerwerck
Sep 18, 2011, 12:30:09 PM9/18/11
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Following up on Arfa's self-mockery...
The Sony D-FJ75TR is a classic Discman. A very-low-drain two-AA-cell player
that runs about 25 hours on high-capacity NiMH cells, it can be literally
slammed into a soft surface without skipping -- and that's with the skip
protection turned off! Its remote control -- about the volume of the average
person's thumb -- includes an excellent AM/stereo-FM digital tuner, a model
of modern miniaturization. (If you come across one, treat yourself to the
pleasure of opening it up and inspecting it.) It even has a hybrid mini jack
with electrical and optical outputs.
The D-FJ75TR was perhaps the last of Sony's "really good" Discmans. I've
therefore collected spares. A recent eBay auction had one for $10, including
the remote control (the unit's best feature, and often missing). With
shipping, I got it for $16.50. * The seller said the tuner wouldn't
auto-program, but he was wrong -- it worked fine. (The manual is thoroughly
confusing.)
Anyhow...
After stepping outside to program the tuner with Seattle's stations, I
brought it back in and set it on my desk. Or so I thought. When I left for
Intel Monday morning, I couldn't find it. I spent a few minutes looking,
then gave up and left. It gnawed at me all week, and the first thing I did
when coming home Saturday was to search for it. Did I actually leave it on
the stairs? Or in the garage? Perhaps it was under the pile of junk that has
taken over my bed.
The problem wasn't the $16.50 -- or even the loss of the spare parts. It was
the apparent encroaching senility. Why can't I remember where I put things?
**
I'd looked repeatedly on my desk -- where the Discman & remote should have
been -- but couldn't find them. Were they under the pizza pan? Nope.
About an hour ago I decided to have a pizza -- a hearty, stick-to-the-ribs
breakfast. When I lifted a plastic shopping bag off the aforementioned pizza
pan -- there was the Discman and its remote. It was on my desk all along.
The pan was sufficiently warped that the player could "hide" under the bag
where it wouldn't be seen. Naughty Discman -- naughty Discman!
The best advice I can give anyone who's mislaid something is... If you can't
find it in a few minutes, stop looking. It almost always shows up
unexpectedly where you never thought it could be.
* The AC-E455 power supply -- perhaps the most-common wall wart in
existence -- was also included. (I now have a drawerful of them.) Sony made
a universal switching version of this supply. If you want one of either, I
can send you one for $15, shipping included.
** One trick I've learned is to say -- out loud -- "I'm putting object A in
place B" as you do so. And when you find a lost object... Never, never,
NEVER move it until you're ready to put it in its final resting place.
--
"We already know the answers -- we just haven't asked the right
questions." -- Edwin Land
The Sony D-FJ75TR is a classic Discman. A very-low-drain two-AA-cell player
that runs about 25 hours on high-capacity NiMH cells, it can be literally
slammed into a soft surface without skipping -- and that's with the skip
protection turned off! Its remote control -- about the volume of the average
person's thumb -- includes an excellent AM/stereo-FM digital tuner, a model
of modern miniaturization. (If you come across one, treat yourself to the
pleasure of opening it up and inspecting it.) It even has a hybrid mini jack
with electrical and optical outputs.
The D-FJ75TR was perhaps the last of Sony's "really good" Discmans. I've
therefore collected spares. A recent eBay auction had one for $10, including
the remote control (the unit's best feature, and often missing). With
shipping, I got it for $16.50. * The seller said the tuner wouldn't
auto-program, but he was wrong -- it worked fine. (The manual is thoroughly
confusing.)
Anyhow...
After stepping outside to program the tuner with Seattle's stations, I
brought it back in and set it on my desk. Or so I thought. When I left for
Intel Monday morning, I couldn't find it. I spent a few minutes looking,
then gave up and left. It gnawed at me all week, and the first thing I did
when coming home Saturday was to search for it. Did I actually leave it on
the stairs? Or in the garage? Perhaps it was under the pile of junk that has
taken over my bed.
The problem wasn't the $16.50 -- or even the loss of the spare parts. It was
the apparent encroaching senility. Why can't I remember where I put things?
**
I'd looked repeatedly on my desk -- where the Discman & remote should have
been -- but couldn't find them. Were they under the pizza pan? Nope.
About an hour ago I decided to have a pizza -- a hearty, stick-to-the-ribs
breakfast. When I lifted a plastic shopping bag off the aforementioned pizza
pan -- there was the Discman and its remote. It was on my desk all along.
The pan was sufficiently warped that the player could "hide" under the bag
where it wouldn't be seen. Naughty Discman -- naughty Discman!
The best advice I can give anyone who's mislaid something is... If you can't
find it in a few minutes, stop looking. It almost always shows up
unexpectedly where you never thought it could be.
* The AC-E455 power supply -- perhaps the most-common wall wart in
existence -- was also included. (I now have a drawerful of them.) Sony made
a universal switching version of this supply. If you want one of either, I
can send you one for $15, shipping included.
** One trick I've learned is to say -- out loud -- "I'm putting object A in
place B" as you do so. And when you find a lost object... Never, never,
NEVER move it until you're ready to put it in its final resting place.
--
"We already know the answers -- we just haven't asked the right
questions." -- Edwin Land
Message has been deleted
William Sommerwerck
Sep 19, 2011, 6:07:01 AM9/19/11
to
"Nelson" <nel...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW.CA9C77B3...@news.astraweb.com...
> On Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:30:09 -0400, William Sommerwerck wrote
> (in article <j556aj$sfh$1...@dont-email.me>):
>> I'd looked repeatedly on my desk -- where the Discman & remote should
have
>> been -- but couldn't find them. Were they under the pizza pan? Nope.
> Why are you storing a pizza pan on your desk?
It just happened to be there, from the last time I had a pizza.
>> The best advice I can give anyone who's mislaid something is...
>> If you can't find it in a few minutes, stop looking. It almost always
>> shows up unexpectedly where you never thought it could be.
> Or not :-(. I am currently trying to find a partial denture with a
> $1,200 penalty for failure.
On the assumptions it wasn't thrown out in the trash, and you didn't swallow
it... I has to be there. It will show up, if you're patient.
In the meantime, pick foods that are easily gummed.
"If you haven't any teeth up above or beneath
You can gum it with your gummy-gum-gum.
You can gum it with your gummy-gum-gum!
Eat food!"
-- Stan Freberg
The same weekend the Discman disappeared, so did the right lens from my
glasses, which is starting to fall out twice a day. I couldn't find it where
it ought to have fallen, but a half hour before I was supposed to leave, it
showed up in the living room on the floor next to my chair. Haven't figured
that one out, yet. And I'm not going to waste time on it.
news:0001HW.CA9C77B3...@news.astraweb.com...
> On Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:30:09 -0400, William Sommerwerck wrote
> (in article <j556aj$sfh$1...@dont-email.me>):
>> I'd looked repeatedly on my desk -- where the Discman & remote should
have
>> been -- but couldn't find them. Were they under the pizza pan? Nope.
It just happened to be there, from the last time I had a pizza.
>> The best advice I can give anyone who's mislaid something is...
>> If you can't find it in a few minutes, stop looking. It almost always
>> shows up unexpectedly where you never thought it could be.
> $1,200 penalty for failure.
On the assumptions it wasn't thrown out in the trash, and you didn't swallow
it... I has to be there. It will show up, if you're patient.
In the meantime, pick foods that are easily gummed.
"If you haven't any teeth up above or beneath
You can gum it with your gummy-gum-gum.
You can gum it with your gummy-gum-gum!
Eat food!"
-- Stan Freberg
The same weekend the Discman disappeared, so did the right lens from my
glasses, which is starting to fall out twice a day. I couldn't find it where
it ought to have fallen, but a half hour before I was supposed to leave, it
showed up in the living room on the floor next to my chair. Haven't figured
that one out, yet. And I'm not going to waste time on it.
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