Why I cancelled television

We've been saving $40/month just watching stuff on the internet and the movies we get from Blockbuster Online this summer. My wife isn't as keen, but she humors me. I love it. I read. I get outside. I go online. I don't miss it at all, and in fact, enjoy the absence knowing that it is not there.

I am trying hard not to sound "holier than thou", but boy I'm sure I do. But, it's hard being stuck in the rut of television, to really understand cutting the cord completely. I was hesitant. Now, I'll be sad to go back, for sure.

Anyway, I was recently asked by a co-worker how I find out "what's going on". It seemed to her (self-admittedly baby-boomer) mind, that we would be hopelessly cut off without that connection to the outside world. I find the opposite is true.

I had occasion to be bombarded with CNN's so-called "Headline News". It consisted of sound bites from a recent debate (involving YouTube), a story about a lady missing 30 pages in her copy of Harry Potter, and then "stories" regarding Wal-Mart's price drop on some basic school supplies, and Starbucks' price hike (9 cents) on coffee.

Having not seen television for a while, I found myself thinking during those stories, wow, "I should run up to Wal-Mart and buy school supplies", or boy, "I could really go for a Cafe Mocha." Then I realized... Half of Headline News is already commercials, now half of their stories are product placement.

It makes me wonder how people who have television find out "what's going on". It would seem to my (self-admittedly GenX) mind, that they would be hopelessly cut off wasting their time waiting to glean little snippets of real news through all the chaff of the advertising wasteland that is television.

Even my TiVo didn't do a good enough job of pop-up blocking on old-school television. Unfortunately, we'll probably resubscribe when the baby's born, as there's nothing better to just zone out with and not think about anything than television.

Harry Potter

It's funny that I didn't even start reading the books until Azkaban came out in the theater... Now, I pre-order book seven, the final book, from Amazon and I just finished it, a little over 24 hours after I got it in the mail.



It is good. No spoilers here, just definitely worth reading, although I think I like book six better, as it focuses more on my favorite character, Severus Snape. (Ironic, because my wife has this thing for Alan Rickman...) Book seven does have some very satisfying flashback sequences that J.K. Rowling herself has said fill in any gaps a potential prequel series might have done. (I promise I'm not giving anything away by saying that.)

I'll have it handy if anyone wants to borrow it.

Wherever he laid his hat was his home...

Had an interesting event near where I live today... They're demolishing some brick outside the library and using a wrecking ball until sometime this morning. At some point, it detached from the equipment and on its way down the hill into town bounced off a few cars, curbs and eventually rolled into this person's trunk.

I don't believe anyone was seriously injured, but it must have been something to see!


Photo courtesy of a neighbor of mine...

Additional note (7/10/07): It turns out 3 people were injured, but it sounds like they were treated and released. Here is a full story.

Welcome back work

I unblocked the IP range of PC's at work today so that they can reach this website. I've decided there's nothing on here that I really care if work people read from their desks at work, although, be warned: I still maintain a strong political voice during election season. But, if you and I don't agree, that doesn't mean we can't agree on work stuff. Some of the best co-workers I've had have been from the opposite side of the fence as me politically. In fact, if I build a team of anything, I like to have dissent, argument, disagreement. It makes for better decisions.

Blocking IP ranges has kind of faded anyway as a security tool, especially with ye ol' .htaccess file. There are so many ways to get around that these days, particularly if you're just reading content.

Enjoy.....

Coming soon... to a family near you!

One of the reasons for the news blackout... It's a boy. Or a girl. This is all you get:

Isn't technology great? (I don't think the baby thought so - to get him/her to turn around, the technician had to really bounce him/her around in the womb! I could see it all on the monitor, arms flailing around. Welcome to the world, sucker. Now turn for the camera!)