I am an idiot. This much is not a secret. I also like old stuff. This is also not a secret. That my CRT's general well being has been in question... that is not a secret, but falls more into the category of 'who gives a damn'.

Why do I have one at all? Light gun games. Try getting a Zapper or a Justifier working on an LCD or plasma set. I'm sure with heavy modification, enough blood, sweat, tears and maybe a goat/orphan sacrifice or two it could be done but I'm not that ambitious. Having a tv heavy enough to squash said orphan is much, much easier.

I'm not really sure how many years I've been using the Sharp for. What I do know is that it's been rolled down the stairs at least once when I was moving and later suffered a nasty drop which cracked the outer rim of the casing. It's a survivor but eventually even survivors die...

So, duder was ditching a TV and offered to let me have the thing out of the goodness of his heart- more likely he just didn't want to drag it all the way to the dumpster, and hey, it's technically recycling, right?

It is the cutest damned thing. I'm a sucker for woodgrain and the stylings of years passed by. I really don't think anyone would like my old-ass radio, either, but I love it even if it's a mono-only monster with poor reception.

The TV's been sitting in my room for about a month. I've dreaded turning it on for fear that it wouldn't turn on, or the picture would be incredibly wonky or something that would necessitate getting rid of it. Not knowing allowed it to have the potential of being useful without actually having to prove that it was. Today, however, it was time.

DUEL OF THE TELEVISIONS. On the left, the 'newcomer', a Sony Triniton with a manufacturing date of 1985. It's noticeably smaller, has poorer black quality than the Sharp but seems so much brighter. What's really impressive, however, is the sound. This thing has an impressive set of internal speakers and the means to tamper with them. We have the means to control its treble from a conveniently-located panel secreted in the front. The only real drawback apart from its smaller screen size is the question of its durability- ain't no way nobody rolling this one down the stairs unscathed.

The Sharp... ugh. All of its higher functions were tied to the remote (which I lost) so I'd need to find some sort of universal remote to even try and fix the colors which may not even be possible. Its picture has rapidly gotten darker so I'm more suspicious that the unit is just dying.

Part of me feels kind of silly replacing a TV from 1998 with a unit that's a year younger than I am. But... how can I really argue with results like this?..