If it ain't broke...

It is broke, unfortunately.

A few weeks back, the LCD on Tammy's laptop went kaput. After a bit of research I found that it was most likely the power inverter that failed, causing the backlight of the LCD to go out. I ordered a replacement part online and set to fix it. Amazingly, it was the problem and Tammy's laptop was back to working correctly.

WAS

It looks like it is broken again. Same symptoms. Is there a power problem? Is it just a bad inverter that I got? I could replace the inverters until the cows come home, but if they keep going out it's a fruitless effort. I need to find the cause of the problem. It could be that the laptop is just on it's last legs and it's time for a refresh. Ugh.

poor TV

What is this a picture of? Well, it's a picture of my Samsung television. As you can see, on the right hand side of the screen, it looks like there is some kind of shadow there. What is going on here is that the light tunnel in the light engine assembly of the television is collapsing. Being that I bought this set back in 2006 (wow, has it been that long already?) my one year Samsung warranty is no longer in effect.

Good thing I bought an extended warranty when I bought the set, right? WRONG!

I bought my set online through bestbuyplasma.com. When I purchased the 5 year extended warranty, the outfit they go through is Repair Tech, Inc. Wouldn't you know that their website no longer exists and there are tons of complaints out there about poor warranty service. Now, in 2009, it looks like Repair Tech, Inc. has gone out of business and all us lucky folks who bought extended warranties are now SOL.

After a bit of research, I found that the light tunnel assembly can be ordered and shipped for about $70 and there is detailed instructions on how to replace the tunnel myself. The question is, do I want to do this myself or get a service tech come out and do it? I also learned that Samsung is making good on their poor QC with this part and are authorizing repairs for this problem even if your warranty has expired. I will probably just give them a call and see if I can get service done on the TV. Now that I know that my warranty is no longer in affect, I have no problems cracking open this set and getting my hands dirty :)

The sickness!!!

With the change of seasons, comes the inevitable change in health.

The passed week or so has been pretty rough on the family in regards to feeling 100%. It started with Briana feeling out of sorts with a stomach ache, headache, back pain and sore throat. Joshua was then hit is a sore throat, coughing and a fever.

Could it be Strep Throat? Well, the Doc said no for both of them, but still took some samples to get cultured to find out for sure. We haven't heard back from them in a few days - so I would say that would be a negative.

Anyhoo, the kids were starting to finally feel better. Joshua back at school and Briana feeling good most of the day yesterday and finally beating her elevated temperature. Out of the woods? I would have liked to say yes, but Bri was hit with ear pain last night. Needless to say, she acquired an ear infection. Now with antibiotics on board and some Motrin to dull the pain - things are hopefully getting better...