Google vs. the Yellow Pages

Turned on the TV this morning with the notion to re-watch last night’s Battlestar Galactica episode. No picture. Perhaps one of the kids had left the video input selector set to the Wii. That wasn’t it. Blinking red LED. The owner’s manual said that this meant that the projector lamp was burned out. Well, the lamp was a little over three years old. Best Buy doesn’t carry them. Google turned up a large number of sites where it could be ordered online. But this is Super Bowl weekend and I didn’t want to wait for Monday delivery (at the earliest). What Google didn’t find was places were I might obtain one locally. Well, it did find one; but their number had been disconnected.

Fortunately, the Yellow Pages turned up a shop that wasn’t too far away, was open, and could get a bulb from their supplier. They said I would need to come down and pay for the part before they would go get it. I pulled the lamp assembly from the TV, hopped in the car, and went to the shop. I stopped at a nearby Bank of America ATM, but it was out of service. With an almost empty gas tank I detoured to a nearby BofA branch. Arrived at the store, paid for the new bulb, was told to come back in an hour and a half. Walked to a nearby comic book shop to start killing time. While there, I got a call on my cell. Turns out they had one bulb in the back so I didn’t have to wait too long. They were kind enough to replace the bulb in the assembly housing. Filled up the tank, went home, and reassembled the TV.

A shout out to Electronics Master in Mall Corners in Duluth, GA. The lamp was a bit pricey compared to online, but they were willing to drive to their supplier to get it, they replaced the bulb in the assembly, and I didn’t have to wait. The TV picture is much more vivid now, too.
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