You may have heard we had a shooting in East London a couple of days ago. This shooting made international news, even though there was one victim, and she was not famous. Why the big deal?
Well, it's because shootings are so rare in London. Guns are strictly controlled in the UK. Compare the numbers: there have been 97 homicides so far this year in London, of which 8 were shootings and 62 were stabbings. In Chicago, meanwhile, there have been 522 homicides as of October 31, and 2,110 shootings (obviously not all fatal). In New York, there have been 368 murders and 1,071 shootings as of Dec. 3 -- figures the city touts as good news because they're significantly lower than last year's.
It's not hard to see that gun control works. You can kill someone with a knife, but it's harder and it's nearly impossible to kill as many people or to kill bystanders inadvertently. I'll say it again: Gun control works.
OK, with that out of the way, let's talk about how our flat is continuing to fall apart around my ears. I was so proud of myself yesterday morning for getting our TV sound system mailed off for repair, and then I came home and found that the TV itself has now stopped working! I can only assume that in moving it around to disconnect the sound bar, I somehow caused the TV to fail. Dave has looked at it too, and we've tried different outlets and checked all connections. We can't turn it on at all. It's deader than a doornail.
I swear, I knock down one task and another one pops up in its place. It's exhausting.
Unlike the sound bar, though, the TV is quite old. We got it free when we moved here in 2011, and it was used even at that point. And we watch it EVERY night. It's given us a lot of hours of entertainment. So I think the solution will be to simply buy a new TV. (Why didn't all this happen BEFORE Black Friday?!)
Meanwhile the string-pull light switch in our half-bathroom is acting weird -- the light wouldn't come on yesterday evening, and then it came on all by itself in the middle of the night. I've got to report that to the management company.
And of course everything is chaos because the painter is here finishing the renovation of our big bathroom and hallway. His ladder is propped up in our entrance hall, and there's a fine film of dust on all our surfaces. He should be done today.
I'm a wreck. TGIF!
(Photo: Finchley Road, during my walk home from work last night.)
31 comments:
It never just rains, does it?
Bite the bullet and buy a new TV.
It never ends. But, yes, that TV has clearly lived a good life — or at least a long one. Black Friday isn't over here in Spain. We're now into Black Friday Month. I can ship you a TV (and, since Brexit, that would cost more than the TV).
You watch TV EVERY night? Have you ever thought of reading instead? Settling down with a good book is a pleasant way of getting through a winter's night. Good TV sets do not cost a fortune. Check out John Lewis online or Currys.
Finchley Road looks rather dark at I guess an early hour.
I despair about guns and gun crime in the US. Citizens of a civilised country don't need guns. Farmers, professional shooters and target shooters, ok.
A thirteen plus year old tv still being watched! Remarkable. Is it plasma? Do yourselves a favour and in this case, bigger is really better. Don't stint on size.
As others have said, just bite the bullet and buy a new tv. It's not worth all this trouble, and your old one really DID serve you well.
I despair of ever having any decent gun control in this country. When that school full of first graders were killed and nothing was done, I knew we were too far gone into the madness. If we won't even protect little kids, there's no hope.
Sorry to be a downer. TGIF indeed!
You've had a week similar to my last weekend. It was one thing after another. I even have a light that is doing something similar to what you describe. The light in my closet works sometimes and doesn't work others. It's out right now. If I wait a day or two, it will be working again. And, that was a minor thing compared to some of the other weekend events. I'm exhausted too!
I couldn't agree more about your gun control comments. It's just common sense which makes it so hard to understand the resistance.
Oh ugh - that is just TOO MUCH. I do have to say that we LOVE our new TV - not just that it's bigger, but it was a big technological leap as well (for example, the sound when we watch movies is exponentially better).
The argument here is to buy more guns. That will fix it. You and Dave can go buy a new television together and then walk out of the store saying in unison, 'well! Now Christmas shopping is done and dusted! '
Steve- haven't you heard? Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
With guns.
I despair that we could never get rid of all of the guns already in the hands of so many Americans. I swear to you- Tallahassee has a new shooting reported every day. And our political representatives just keep sucking on the hind tit of the NRA and there are just more and more and more guns and more and more and more shootings and deaths.
Yep. Get a new TV. Life is short.
A new TV will be a nice Christmas treat for you and Dave.
I don't think that tv owed you anything!
Gun control does work. That's why the nra fights it.
Well the TV's age probably explained the tinny sound you were complaining of in your previous post. If possible, I might cancel the sound bar fix until you've replaced your television and listen to the much improved sound they have compared to older televisions.
Get a brand new flat screen TV!
More and more folks killed over the past week ... as long as there are assault guns being made they will be sold for one purpose only and that is to kill other human beings! Background checks are as useless as tits on a tomcat!
Murphy's Law at work in London!!
Spot on about guns, though; spot on.
There should be some more TV sales just before or after Christmas. I think you'll be well pleased with a new TV. However, I'm sorry all this is happening at one time. It's such a stressful time of year, anyway.
Appliance problems can drive you crazy. However, when a TV gets that old it's done well.
Steve, Steve, Steve. The answer to gun violence is more guns. Any idiot can tell you that.
THe TV: Well...a suggestion: You and Dave go to a store together, pick out your television together, walk out of the store together saying in unison: "There you go, shopping's done. Merry Christmas!"
A new TV will make a good Christmas gift to yourselves. The dust resulting from home maintenance projects is dreadful. I can relate. Ideally, we could all just enjoy the holidays without the mishaps/repairs/maintenance/product breakdowns...No such luck. An extra Martini sounds good to me.
I was listening to an expert on gun control talk about the US. He said that gun control is now impossible in the US because of the number of guns. I don't know if he's right or not but I doubt that the good old USA would be able to bring in legistation to restrict firearms because of their fucking constitution which was written in a much different time. That's just my opinion.
Hopefully the chaos in your home is resolved soon. I hate that feeling too. I'm heading to the basement today to throw out a whole bunch of my husband's shit that just sits there, taking up space. He doesn't even know what he has down there. I do and it's going:)
Get a new television, they are quite reasonable now, even the large smart ones. Just call it Merry Christmas to you both!
Don't get me started on guns in America, multiple shootings are a daily occurrence, they don't always make the news any more.....
Gun control does work. No guns, no shootings. It's not the violent video games, the mental health issues, none of that. It's the guns.
New TV will be good, there has been a great leap forward in the technology. We did discover, the hard way, that when you've had a sound bar attached, and then you take it off, there are settings that must be changed to get the TV's internal sound to play again. This doesn't apply here, because the TV is dead, but might in the future.
I had the same problem with our t.v., all of a sudden nothing would work. After trying multiple ways to get it fixed, I changed the batteries in the remote and everything was back to normal. Duh.
A nice new tv won't set you back very much and will have all the latest technology on it. You will wonder why you didn't do it years ago.
I'd say you got more than your money's worth out of your old TV. It's definitely time for a new one.
“ big deal” not the best words to use x
My parents were fond of saying (about old stuff), "It doesn't owe you a thing!" Still, I hate replacing what I'm used to with something that will take me a long time to figure out. I too enjoy TV in the evenings, especially since I live alone. I hated the mess with painting but love the result!
Here in Australia we have gun control too, though knives are beginning to make a bigger appearance than before. Particularly in the late night nightclub areas where it is easy to get in close, then melt away in the crowd.
Your TV certainly lasted a long time. I had one that was a few years old when I moved here and gave it to a friend when I bought the next size up and she says it is still working just fine. I think it was a Samsung.
I hope that bathroom light gets fixed quickly.
Caro: This has been a ridiculous autumn. Between the dishwasher, kitchen drain, the damp hallway wall delaying our bathroom renovaton, the TV sound system, and now the TV, we've had a lot going wrong! (Plus the light switch and a leaky radiator which didn't even make the blog.)
Mitchell: Yeah, I don't think it's worth it! But thanks for the offer! LOL
YP: I read all day long! At least when I have down time.
Andrew: I have no idea whether it's plasma or not. All I know is, it works. I know people like a bigger TV but we don't have a whole lot of space so we're sticking to one about 32" across (diagonally).
Jennifer: No, I agree. I thought Sandy Hook would change everything. It's amazing how Americans are so wedded to guns, unlike any other country. I think it stems from our extremist roots.
Sharon: It's a minor thing but it's annoying enough that it has to be fixed, right? And in your case that probably means calling an electrician, which isn't cheap.
Bug: Yeah, we'll see how our sound system works with it!
Ms Moon: It's so strange how Americans equate being armed with "freedom," and have a related fear of "tyranny." It's all so unreasonable and frankly paranoid.
Ellen D: It will indeed! Our Christmas present to ourselves!
Boud: I like that expression -- "doesn't owe you anything"!
Ed: Unfortunately the sound bar is a done deal, but I can always use it to play audio (as if I ever listen to audio like that).
Marcia: I agree. What possible reason could there be for anyone to own an assault rifle? It's the creeping militarization of our civilian lives.
Bob: And SO OBVIOUS, no matter how the NRA tries to spin it.
Colette: It has been a crazy autumn, as I told Caro above!
Red: I agree. I can't complain about the TV's longevity!
Debby: That sounds ideal to me, but Dave will want more. He likes presents under the tree and I'm terrible about giving them. :/
Susan: It's actually amazing how well he controlled the dust, but there's still a fine layer of it over everything.
Pixie: I suspect the only way to clear substantial numbers of guns is to give a worthwhile incentive -- a big tax break, or cash buybacks. Which will cost the government money. Most people won't give away their guns for free.
Jim: It's shocking to look at the web site of organizations that track mass shootings. They are indeed daily occurrences.
Allison: Mental health is undoubtedly an issue too. But if there were fewer and better controlled guns, mentally deranged people wouldn't be able to get a hold of them as easily. It all seems so obvious.
Catalyst: Well, I know that's not the case here because the remote died long ago. We turn it on using the buttons on the TV itself.
Rachel: Yeah, I'm kind of looking forward to it, honestly. It would be great if we could Bluetooth our streaming and get rid of the cables connecting our computers to the TV.
Kelly: I absolutely cannot complain about that old TV!
John: Well, obviously it's a big deal to people who knew her -- but why would it make international news, is my point.
Margaret: That's a great expression. I've never heard that before, at least not that I remember, but several bloggers have used it here!
River: Oh, good, a Samsung is what Dave bought. Our existing TV is a Toshiba, and I can't complain about it at all!
I can relate. It's always something and those things just keep piling up. Sending all good wishes that the TV is just a matter of needing to be rehooked to the sound system. No one wants to have to get a new telly when there is so much other chaos and expense at this time of year. Good luck with it all!
Re: your tv. I have heard (and experienced) that when you have a device that has been plugged in for a long time, often when you unplug it and plug it back in ...... it dies!
Completely agree about the guns in the U.S. And it's become so political I doubt things will ever change. However, citizens and organizations must continue to fight back.
A new TV! Just in time for Christmas vacation and extended watching!
And the trick to providing lots of presents under the tree is to buy something with many parts, eg a Scrabble game, and wrap EVERY PART. lol
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