Everyone knows there's a fine line between brave and foolhardy; the trick is to know when you've crossed it.
Sometimes the distinction is obvious. Skiing your first double-diamond slope after a winter of lessons? Brave. Dropping into a Class V rapid when you've never kayaked before? Foolhardy.
On my very first visit to Costco, I saw something that burned itself into my brain: a shopping cart loaded with baby formula, junk food, and a 23-inch flat-panel TV set. I felt the same way a fashionista would watching someone use an Armani shirt as a dust rag.
Audio and video often seem like nothing more than numbers games. So much is specified in some kind of figure: 7.1 channels, 200 watts, 800 lumens, 90 decibels. Sure, it's simplistic and pandering, but on the whole it's good. If Match.com could deliver this level of precision, I'd be a much happier man.
Many A/V enthusiasts dream of having a custom theater designed by home theater pioneer and Sound & Vision columnist Theo Kalomirakis. But mystery novelists Jonathan and Faye Kellerman (Capital Crimes, When the Bough Breaks) have something twice as nice: two theaters designed by Theo.
Most video display demos aren't terribly convincing. First, the manufacturer spends 15 minutes telling you about his whiz-bang new technology. Next, he turns on the display and shows you pictures of flowers, vegetables, and Japanese girls in bikinis.
