NIKON D200-NIKKOR 18-135@70MM-F6.3-1/40th-ISO400
... so, just as jeff probst announced, "i'll count the ballots" (yes, i admit it, but a fellow's got to keep some sort of a sense of mainstream american culture), my television exploded ... okay, perhaps that's too strong a word ... a sort of musty ozone odor, coupled with a sharp crackling noise, like water makes when you splash it into hot grease, then a brilliant flash of light from the rear of the set accompanied by a miniature thunderclap followed by a small mushroom cloud rising up behind the television ... hmmm, close enough that i'll stick to the word "exploded" ...
... what to do ... repair people gave quotes ranging from, "oh, a couple of hundred dollars," to, "you might as well get a new television" ... one problem creates another, of course, since the thought of purchasing a new set involved deciding whether to simply replace the set (at much less than i paid for this one several years ago), or "upgrade" to a newer l.e.d. technology ... either way, was money i didn't want to spend ... sooooo ...
... so, after a bit of internet research learning it is usually the power supply that fails on flat-screen televisions, a few dozen screws removed, and almost an hour tracking down a replacement part that was located in the united states (much, much less expensive in china, but delivery times were rather vaguely promised), i decided to risk fixing the set myself ...
... kudos to "tv city" in washington state ... no postage charged, and if it hadn't been for the transportation disruption caused by the hurricane the part would have been here overnight ... having already mastered the "how the set was put together" learning curve, it only took me ten minutes to install the new power supply ... then, with a satisfying click, the television powered up good as new ... most impressive, the onboard memory retained all the channel and image settings ...
... there's probably some sort of lesson in all this, but i'll leave that to you ... mostly, i'm happy that i made an effort to live up to one of the brags my little girls used to make of me, "our dad can fix anything" ... i can't, of course, boo-boo's and broken hearts and and a legion of disappointments have proven that, but i'm happy that at least i keep trying ...