So Give it to Me

Sometimes I just shake my head and wonder how some people ever make it out the door in the morning, let alone lead their life without major harm or incident.

Above the reception desk in the office where I work, there is a flat panel TV that silently loops a promotional video. The receptionist turns it on when she arrives at 9am and turns it off when she leaves at 5pm.

So you can imagine the kind of wear and tear that would have on a TV over the course of two years.

About a month ago, the picture on the screen started to flicker. My boss tried changing the DVD, changing the RCA cords, and changing the DVD player. Alas, the flicker continued. He gave up on it for a while until this morning.

When I came in, I saw my boss fiddling with the DVD player again. He said if he couldn't figure it out today, he was going to buy a new TV.

I stopped and watched the screen for a few moments and immediately realized something.

The flickering happened in time with the movement of people's mouths. Which to me, suggested an audio problem rather than a video problem.

I'd like to think I'm a genius, however, it ain't rocket science to figure out it's a problem when the TV is being fed audio but it's not being output anywhere.

I told my boss to unplug the RCA cord going into the audio jack.

Voila! Picture problem solved.

"You saved me $200!"

Yup. That's me. The likable-hard-working-quick-thinking-money-saving employee you've been grossly underpaying for a year.

"I'll buy your tea this morning, my treat."

I saved my boss $200 and all I got was a $1.35 tea from Tim Hortons.

Man, I should get that printed on a t-shirt and wear it to work on casual Friday.