It’s creeping down the mountain toward us. Weather forecasters are hedging their bets. Maybe it’ll snow in Tucson, maybe not. I think it’s down about as far as it’ll get this year.
I have plenty of time to observe the weather today. Donna and Polly are out shopping for paint, and normally I’d grab this moment to watch one of the high-definition DVDs I ordered from Netflix, one of the ones I know I’ll like but Donna won’t. But I have no HD DVDs. They’ve been in our queue for three months, and not one has ever come. I e-mailed Netflix but they never answered (goodbye Netflix, hello Blockbuster). Now I learn that Netflix will no longer rent out HD DVDs, only Blue Ray. Right.
Once again, I bet on the wrong horse. Many years ago we bought a Betamax. At the time we knew VHS was the more popular format, but Betamax provided the better picture, so we wound up with an expensive video player . . . and nothing to play on it.
This time we decided to go with the more popular format. When we went to Circuit City last November, there were no HD DVD players in stock, but there were plenty of Blue Ray players collecting dust on the shelves. Clearly, the shoppers of America had voted for HD DVD, so that’s the way we went.
Within a few weeks, a major studio announced it was giving up on HD DVD in favor of Blue Ray. Another studio followed. Now Netflix is abandoning HD DVD, and, no doubt, Blockbuster too.
When I was a kid my father bought a Nash. It must be in the blood. Maybe it’ll snow after all.