New TV aerial

 Last night I watched two old fave movies on the new 55 inch TV that Lib and Gord bought. They were "In the Heat of the Night" and "Once upon a time in America". They were on at the same time so I decided to watch ITHOTNight, seeing I had to choose one, and I reckon the first half hour or so of it is brilliant, and OUaTiAmerica is a very long movie. I switched during ad breaks back and forth and the two finished almost together after midnight. Having seen the movies multiple times in the past and knowing the plot, it was easy to switch with the ads and enjoy them both. They contain some great scenes and dialogue, and in the case of the OnceUaTiA, the music is hauntingly beautiful.

We've had this TV a couple of weeks and I had to get a TV antenna man to set it up in our lounge/theatre room. I hadn't been in a hurry to get a TV and connection prior to this because when we moved in the TV we brought with us wouldn't pick up signal from the aerial connection in the wall in the family room and I had an antenna man come and he put a booster on the old aerial and ran a connection to a point in Gord's room. This cost us $440, which seemed a bit steep to me, but no matter we needed a working TV. Channel 7 reception still broke down in the evening sometimes (we're in a bit of a reception hollow we were told), but Foxtell worked OK and most of our viewing was satellite. The man said if we still had trouble we'd need a new aerial, cost maybe $1000, so I was in no hurry.

When L and G bought the new TV it was time to move. I thought I'd try a different antenna guy, not because I was unhappy with the previous, but the thinking was a second opinion would be worthwhile as I'd already had one estimate. The new guy was someone who had been recommended to Gord by the lady who runs his mindfulness class. To cut the story short this guy came back three days after my initial call, having paid a visit to see the same day I called. He installed a new aerial on the existing big pole attached to the house and tuned in the new TV, total cost $295.

I gave him $320 cash, said the extra was goodwill. I told him the other bloke said maybe $1000 or upwards. He told me he knows that guy well, he's semi-retired and deliberately charges high because he can, and only needs a few jobs a week to do well.

So there you go, it pays to get more than one quote.