Four years ago, I bought a 42 inch plasma TV. At that point, plasmas were still wildly expensive, but Gateway had just inexplicably stepped into the space, and was selling one for literally thousands and thousands of dollars less than any competitor.

Beyond the cheap price, I was able to write off the entire purchase (hooray, running a film company!). So, I picked one up, and for the last four years, a giant flat screen has dominated my living room.

A few weeks back, however, that TV stopped working. It would power on and back off again, cycling endlessly. I called Gateway, who had long since given up on manufacturing TV’s, and was told that the outsourced repair would cost $800, plus parts.

So, in standard idiotic style, realizing I could buy a whole new TV for not much more, and realizing that, despite the impressive size, the TV kind of sucked, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

By now, I have a lot of parts of a 42 inch plasma TV. All strewn across my living room floor. And, when I plug in the largest, screen-containing, chunk, it still endlessly powers on and back off again.

Crap.