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Monthly archives for March, 2011

Mom

Mar15
2011 55 Comments Written by admin

You couldn’t possibly love a mother more that I love my mother. She is 82 years old and her name is Ruth, but everyone calls her Rudy. She lives with me, my wife Yvette, and our daughter Steff. My wife loves my mom more than her own parents and Steff and she are great friends.

Rudy doesn’t get out as much as she used to, and one of her favorite things is watching TV. Her favorite shows include COPS, America’s Funniest Video’s and of course MASH. I think I have seen every episode of MASH with her at least a billion times. My mother loves Alan Alda so much that she is convinced that he grew up near our house and that we are friends, I don’t remember that, but if it makes her feel good I always go along. Every year at the holidays I tell her I tried to get Alan Alda to come, but he was busy filming somewhere.

I love watching TV with Mom, but there is a tiny problem with that also. The problem is when the rest of us are at work or school, Rudy is in control of the TV and more importantly, the TV remote control.

This causes a problem because, let’s face it, the TV remote is not the easiest thing in the world to understand for most people. There are too many functions and too many buttons, and all of this can be very hard to operate. Add in that I bought a high tech remote control for hundreds of dollars, and that works everything I have including TV. VCR, DVD, and my Home Theater system.


Now I must admit that I know how to program and use the remote, but both Yvette and Steff sometimes have problems. But poor Rudy is a mess. I wish I had a nickel for every time my cell rang, and it was Rudy complaining the stupid TV remote was not working. I usually have to stop whatever I am doing and spend at least a half an hour trying to help her. Sometimes it works, and sometime Mom has to wait until I get home.

I have tried several of the Universal remote controls in the stores, but I find most lacking. Either they do not program for my TV, or the buttons are too small and there are still too many buttons in general.

I wish I could find a remote control that could be simple to program and use, and would have nice big buttons so my mother could see them and use them easier. But until I find such a remote control, I guess I will be getting my daily phone calls. Maybe I will at least be able to Get Alan Alda over the house this year!

Contributing Editor: C. Kikel

Posted in Remote Controls - Tagged

The case of the missing remotes

Mar04
2011 3 Comments Written by admin

My husband Chris and I live with our two sons Jake 11, and Cal 14, and our white and brown German Shorthair, Gizmo, just outside of Napa valley. We are very fortunate to have a nice big piece of property where the kids and Gizmo have lots of room to run and play.

One night when my husband and I were sitting down to watch a previously DVR’d show Chris asked me where the remote was. We checked all the usual places, behind the couch and under the cushions. Usually, a search of all these places would turn up the remote. But no, nothing that night. We couldn’t even watch our show, because without the TV remote control, you can’t do anything. Needless to say, Chris and I were not happy campers.


The next night at dinner, we confronted Jake and Cal. Both kids swore they had no idea, which did not convince us, so we made them both go check their bedrooms. After no remote control was found, my husband offered a reward, $10 to whoever found the remote. The kids were off on their hunt but unfortunately turned up empty handed.


I had given up, so that night I ordered a new remote control on the internet and had it shipped overnight to us.


The new TV remote came the next day and we were back to normal. Until the following day, when the remote again mysteriously disappeared. Now this was not funny anymore.


We repeated the same scenario as the previous time and ended up ordering another remote control on line.


Believe it or not this scenario happened 3 more times. My husband and I were baffled. We decided the only way to keep the remote control from disappearing again was to tie it down. Chris invented this crazy contraption and somehow attached a long cord to the remote control. Problem solved, you would think. But no, when we woke up the next morning the remote was gone again.


After close inspection, we realized that the cord was chewed through. And then it hit us, GIZMO!


Apparently our little pooch was taking the remote every night and going out through the doggy door we had installed so he could let himself in and out whenever he wanted.


We ran out to the back yard and found not less than six new dug graves, with TV remotes half buried in each.


It was so bizarre we just had to laugh. Needless to say, when we retire for the night, the remote is placed somewhere where Gizmo will not be able to get it. Sorry Gizmo

Byline: Judy Bizzaro, contributing editor

Posted in Original Remote Controls - Tagged

Germs and the tv remote control

Mar01
2011 3 Comments Written by admin

OK, guilty, I’ll admit it, I am a germaphobe. Well, actually I am a germaphobe with an asterisk. When I am in my home, or at my Moms house, I don’t really think about germs too much. A little, but not too much. I would say I was about average. But when I travel or go out to places, I become obsessed.


I am a businessman who unfortunately has to do a lot of traveling to cover many different tradeshows all over the country. My panic begins in the airport, where I am careful not to touch too many surface and am constantly washing my hands. Then there is the plane, which if I did not feel like such a geek, I would absolutely wear a surgeons mask on. And it goes on and on, but the worst is my hotel room.


Everything in there is a nightmare. The floors, the bathroom, the shower, the sheets, oy vey !


But the worst of the worst is the TV remote control. Yikes. I would rather have to chew on broken glass than touch that filthy thing. Can you just imagine what is going on, on the remote control in your hotel room? (Thank God I have not had to be hospitalized in a very long time, because I don’t even want to think what in the world is swimming around on that TV remote control).


It started when there was a report on the TV how the TV remote control was the single most contaminated item in a hotel room. How all kinds of nasty things were living on that remote control including germs, viruses and even bodily fluids! So when I go to a hotel room now, I usually bring a container of clean wipes with me to clean off the remote control the best that I can. Even the act of me cleaning the remote makes me sick, but is better than nothing. Also, there have been times when I forgot my wipes, and then I had to resort to things like putting a shower cap over the remote so I don’t have to actually touch it. Unfortunately that is clumsy and also still gross knowing that filthy remote control is still in my hands although there is a very minute membrane between me and the filth.


So out of necessity I came up with my best solution to date. I went to the electronics store in my neighborhood and bought a universal TV remote that works with lots of brands of TV’s. It is not a perfect solution, but it is the best so far. Some of the drawbacks are it doesn’t work on all the different TV’s I come across, and sometimes I leave it in the room or forget to bring it with me, so that can get expensive.


Wouldn’t it be great if someone could invent a TV remote control that all the hotels could use that would magically stay clean for always? Oh well, I guess I will have to keep on dreaming.

Posted in Remote Controls - Tagged