Living Car Free - Living Car and Television Free

About 10 years ago I was watching something stupid on television and I asked why am I doing this? I had no good answer so I called the cable company and said disconnect. My wife was a bit shocked but I said give it a bit and let's see. She came around very quickly. I bring this up because people at work seem about equally divided on what makes me stranger - no car or no television. When asked why I don't have a television my favorite answer is to say "Television is the eye of Satan." That usually ends the conversation right there.:crash: So do people who are car free tend to be television free or am I an eccentric among eccentrics?

Eccentric I don't know about. Posting this online means you surf the web, do you do this to replace tv watching ? I've noticed I don't watch as much tv now compared to a few years ago. I record programs and watch just those, fastforwarding the ads . I have gone back to reading more. How do you get your daily news and keep up on politics ?

I'm almost TV free in the winter time. We have one in the other room, but I spend most of my time here in the library surfing the Internet or reading. I keep up on politics and the news of the day by reading on-line newspapers and listening to talk shows on KGO via the Net.

In the summer I watch more TV, mostly BBC World and CNN, as well as some Spanish channels, as we don't have an Internet connexion at our summer home. I really prefer radio, though, and I listen to Spanish and Portuguese news and conversation quite a bit.

http://www.kgoam810.com/

P.S. I've been having trouble formatting my posts (bold type, italics, etc.) as well as posting links since the changes were made to the site. Any suggestions?

I sold my North American format TV and never bought a European TV after I moved here. Not because of the language. Dutch TV is largely in English anyways. The key improvement seems to be the return of a civilized living area. No more couch meals. The computer is tucked away in the office, and is still used for entertainment and practical purposes. I don't ever want to go back.

I read online newspapers and listen to radio news. The TV style ads that precede movies at the cinema, I now find to be hilarious.

Ekdog, my formatting, links, and photos are fine. Vista.

I turned my back on Hollywood about 25 years ago now. I don't talk about it much because I didn't seem to be able to do it without seeming as though I was looking down on others. With the introduction of DVDs, though, I'm watching those a bit.

When I got married the TV re-appeared in my life. My wife and I have spent nearly 20 years now fighting (a bit) over that. Oddly enough she seems to be losing interest in it in recent years. It's not turned on nearly as much as it used to be. So things are getting better.

Now if I could only get her to ride a bicycle.

well said bluegoatwoods, I can relate to that

Apparently I grew up in an odd family.:D We did not have television growing up, we had regular trips to the libraries, plenty of books and music around the house and many, many interesting people to converse with. FWIW my dad was a college professor and my mom a high school teacher. They currently have a television, but no cable, they primarily use it for watching DVD's. The interesting people came in the form of foreign grad students, and visiting foreign professors and clergy. Sunday dinners were always well attended and a great treat at our house.:p

Currently there is a television in the house, but I never turn it on. I get my news primarily from internet news feeds, CNN, BBC, Reuters and local sources for the area I happen to be working in. I also read books and magazines to get more in depth opinions and facts on current events, and to research why they are occurring. Funny how history repeats itself. I don't normally listen to radio, but do have an MP3 player and have it loaded with pod casts and my favorite music.

Not carfree but I do everything I can to minimize driving at every turn, whether using Amtrak to travel back and forth between home and my jobsite on weekends (where feasible) or just not traveling home one my weekends off, staying local and riding my bike to get where I need to go.

Aaron:)

people at work seem about equally divided on what makes me stranger - no car or no television.

Same here. It's taken years for co-workers to quit asking me if I saw this or that inane show, movie or commercial. Library patrons, well their flabber is completely gasted when I answer "No" when they ask if I can recommend a DVD.

Fortunately, McCarthyism passed several decades ago. Otherwise I'd be a risk of being picked up and charged with un-American activities:

No car
No TV
No cell phone (I wish I didn't have to have a landline either)
No air conditioning
No credit cards
No loans of any kind
No bank, investment, or brokerage accounts
The list goes on…

I'm not a complete ascetic. I have Internet, use a little electricity, and rather enjoy the central heating and hot water my landlord provides. In the kitchen, I'm rather fond of refrigeration and my gas stove. That list goes on too.

About 10 years ago I was watching something stupid on television and I asked why am I doing this? I had no good answer so I called the cable company and said disconnect. My wife was a bit shocked but I said give it a bit and let's see. She came around very quickly. I bring this up because people at work seem about equally divided on what makes me stranger - no car or no television. When asked why I don't have a television my favorite answer is to say "Television is the eye of Satan." That usually ends the conversation right there.:crash: So do people who are car free tend to be television free or am I an eccentric among eccentrics?

To not watch something "Stupid," is hardly eccentric.. Congratulations.. I do suggest you get slightly better broadcasting if you have satellite TV with more choice.. We are car light.. TV free. If not for certain satellite networks and good movie channels. , We'd be TV free. As to selecting the lower tier which is the most idiotic, we never do.. Our logo against TV is not that it is satanic but just mostly stupid. Our logo Kill Your TV...

No bank, investment, or brokerage accounts
Do you keep your money in a shoebox or under the mattress?

There are several televisions in our household for other members of my family to watch, along with the many channels that are offered today. My viewing tastes changed considerably some 30 plus years ago; gone are the ridiculous sitcoms, infomercials, and reality shows. Back then, and now, I've just kept my viewing format to an educational one, letting the other family members have their choice in what they wish to watch.

My wife and I were actually TV free before we were car free (about 4 years now). For us, it was the fact that the cable company had suddenly decided that the one channel we watched was no longer part of the standard package and was going to cost extra. So, we ditched the TV and never looked back. Recently, we spent two weeks with her parent's who have a television, and it was painful to watch. They flip between shots so fast it gave me a headache (I counted, the longest shot was 10 seconds), and there are more ads than content, and all the ads are screaming at you to buy buy BUY!

I think if you watch TV, you become numb to the constant flickering and endless screaming ads. However, after a couple years away from the sensory overload, it becomes physically painful ti watch TV. The only shows that were remotely pleasant to watch were BBC dramas.

Do you keep your money in a shoebox or under the mattress?

What does a single guy, a steady job, living in a simple apartment with a good Internet connection, and no apparent interest in doing anything that might cost money need with more money?

I think if you watch TV, you become numb to the constant flickering and endless screaming ads. However, after a couple years away from the sensory overload, it becomes physically painful ti watch TV. The only shows that were remotely pleasant to watch were BBC dramas.

Thank goodness for DVR, it's tough enough to remain awake in order to watch my educational programs, much less if I had to watch only BBC dramas.

Thank goodness for DVR, it's tough enough to remain awake in order to watch my educational programs, much less if I had to watch only BBC dramas.
But swearing that the TV is only used for watching BBC dramas has the same ring of snobbery and smarm (and truth) as swearing that the pile of Playboys under the bed are only used to read the interviews.

When asked why I don't have a television my favorite answer is to say "Television is the eye of Satan." That usually ends the conversation right there.

I can see that. I'd stop talking to anyone who dropped that line on me too...

Same here. It's taken years for co-workers to quit asking me if I saw this or that inane show, movie or commercial. Library patrons, well their flabber is completely gasted when I answer "No" when they ask if I can recommend a DVD.

Fortunately, McCarthyism passed several decades ago. Otherwise I'd be a risk of being picked up and charged with un-American activities:

No car
No TV
No cell phone (I wish I didn't have to have a landline either)
No air conditioning
No credit cards
No loans of any kind
No bank, investment, or brokerage accounts
The list goes on…

I'm not a complete ascetic. I have Internet, use a little electricity, and rather enjoy the central heating and hot water my landlord provides. In the kitchen, I'm rather fond of refrigeration and my gas stove. That list goes on too.

Let's see:
No car
TV that gets occasional use, about halfway between DVDs and broadcast
No landline, keep a cell for job contact (required)
Would have no A/C if my extended fam wasn't loaded with wimps
No credit cards EVER AGAIN!
Mortgage
No bank contact other than paying mortgage @ a local branch

I'd use a free wi-fi if it wasn't already in the house (ext. fam), library a mile away or local business (Taco Bell, McD, etc.)
I holler daily about wasting electricity, gas, water

The day will come when I'm in the house by myself; I will have a small stove, microwave, fridge, and coffeemaker, MAYBE a washer/dryer (math will determine if ownership or rental < laundromat); I'll keep the TV & DVD
The bike WILL be back in the house; garage will likely get torn down.
The only allowances above pure minimalism I'll have will be for my daughter.

We didn't get the digital box. Before that I only watched the NFL football. That is all I miss about TV. We do have cars for work and school.

Same here. It's taken years for co-workers to quit asking me if I saw this or that inane show, movie or commercial. Library patrons, well their flabber is completely gasted when I answer "No" when they ask if I can recommend a DVD.

Fortunately, McCarthyism passed several decades ago. Otherwise I'd be a risk of being picked up and charged with un-American activities:

No car
No TV
No cell phone (I wish I didn't have to have a landline either)
No air conditioning
No credit cards
No loans of any kind
No bank, investment, or brokerage accounts
The list goes on…

I'm not a complete ascetic. I have Internet, use a little electricity, and rather enjoy the central heating and hot water my landlord provides. In the kitchen, I'm rather fond of refrigeration and my gas stove. That list goes on too.

You are my hero! I am not nearly so evolved (but I have no TV and am car light), and I have noticed that people see it as less strange as they used to.

jim

We didn't get the digital box. Before that I only watched the NFL football. That is all I miss about TV.

This Charger fan watches the NFL on the Internet.

But swearing that the TV is only used for watching BBC dramas has the same ring of snobbery and smarm (and truth) as swearing that the pile of Playboys under the bed are only used to read the interviews.

I have a TV only so I can watch episodes of "Living with Ed" on Planet Green. Or maybe Trailer Park Boys.

How did you know about my magazines?

i pretty much despise TV
my girlfriend watches it
i look over my shoulder time to time

there is nothing on TV
why wait for the file to download?
when you can watch whatever you want, whenever you want, on a computer

i'd rather read a book, anyways...

why let media dictate what is in your brain?

that is, I'm amazed how much our (US) culture is idiosyncratic to pop culture
watch TV and mimic it?

Eccentric I don't know about. Posting this online means you surf the web, do you do this to replace tv watching ?

Well, yeah, it is harder to claim you are tv free these days when you can use the web as a television if that is how you want to use it. I don't, although I occasionally follow links to youtube from places like this forum. Mostly I use the web for work related stuff, e-mails, research (it is really great having access to a huge amount of literature online through my university library's server). I think I am able to avoid the tv like uses of the web more easily because I've been tv free for so long. I view the web as a working tool and not as an entertainment vehicle but a lot of that is probably a generational thing. I do watch the occasional DVD (once every two weeks) but I don't see that as intrusive as television.

By the way, I was just kidding about the "eye of Satan" ... although I must admit my sense of humor gets me in trouble sometimes ... probably the result of the anti-social characteristics I've developed from being TV free and riding a bicycle. :)

We have one, being out in the country we've got DirecTV. We also have a 10 acre woods as our yard, so from April through mid-November you can kiss off the local 'broadcast' channels. I don't miss them. Now it gets hilarious around here as my wife is a complete burnout on (retch, gag) "American Idol", and we can count on the leaves coming back about half way through the season. I try not to cackle too loudly.

OK, as to the snobby aspect of watching TV: Yeah, I'm one of those 'educational channel only' types, and I'm not bragging. I'm a complete burnout history freak, and have been for at least the last 50 years. About the only thing I find entertaining on the tube is some historical documentary. Either it's my "all Nazi's all the time" as my wife calls it (did you know that between 1800-2000 eastern time, one of five 'cable' channels minimum are showing some WWII documentary every night?), something to do with any odd or little known period of American history, or anything to do with either English or French history anywhere from the Normany Invasion to pre-WWI.

And I'll happily settle in to some minor show about the early Assyrian empire . . . . . . .

Sitcoms make me retch, a good mystery can hold my attention (it's about the only thing on 'broadcast' TV that I can watch), some science fiction can hold my attention (I burned out on the stuff after 26 years of attending SF conventions) but I'd prefer to watch entire seasons at a time on DVD.

No, give me a good history ANYTHING!

Well, yeah, it is harder to claim you are tv free these days when you can use the web as a television if that is how you want to use it. I don't, although I occasionally follow links to youtube from places like this forum. Mostly I use the web for work related stuff, e-mails, research (it is really great having access to a huge amount of literature online through my university library's server). I think I am able to avoid the tv like uses of the web more easily because I've been tv free for so long.
:rolleyes::rolleyes:
I avoid prurient like uses of dead tree reading matter (as well as electronic imitations) and only use them for stimulating my intellect. I think I am able to avoid the crude "stupid" uses of such media because I think my choice makes me far superior to those lowlifes who have different interests than me, and furthermore am not too proud to boast about it on the Internet. :innocent: :innocent:

I like TV. As an adult, and even as a kid come to think of it, I've found it easy to change stations to find shows that I actually like. Better than whining that "there's good nothing on TV, oh woe is me".

-Mythbusters
-Dexter
-Project Runway
-Iron Chef
-Formula One racing
-Tour de France
-Ninja Warrior
-Unbeatable Banzuke
-Family Guy
-The Simpsons
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-UFC

And the list goes on and on.

You guys can go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for having no TV. I'm gonna go grab a brewski and relax for some good watchin'.

:rolleyes::rolleyes:
I avoid prurient like uses of dead tree reading matter (as well as electronic imitations) and only use them for stimulating my intellect. I think I am able to avoid the crude "stupid" uses of such media because I think my choice makes me far superior to those lowlifes who have different interests than me, and furthermore am not too proud to boast about it on the Internet. :innocent: :innocent:

LOL, really, I wasn't trying to brag or anything ... I was just interested if there was a connection between car free and television free. On a more serious note, I think television is sort of like gambling ... for most people it doesn't cause a problem but there are about 10% of the population that gets in real trouble if gambling is easily accessible to them ... I think I may be one of those people who can easily waste inordinate amounts of time watching television once I get started ... so, I'm not sure that makes me superior ...

-Mythbusters
-Dexter
-Project Runway
-Iron Chef
-Formula One racing
-Tour de France
-Ninja Warrior
-Unbeatable Banzuke
-Family Guy
-The Simpsons
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-UFC...
Was this supposed to be a list of good reasons to own a TV, or to change the channel?

Eccentric I don't know about. Posting this online means you surf the web, do you do this to replace tv watching ? I've noticed I don't watch as much tv now compared to a few years ago. I record programs and watch just those, fastforwarding the ads . I have gone back to reading more. How do you get your daily news and keep up on politics ?

Using the internet is, at least, interactive. With a TV, you turn it on, and then sit there and stare at it. With a computer you can select the pages you want to see, when you want to see them, and can interact with them. You can also use a computer to write to family and friends and share your lives ... especially if you live on the opposite sides of the world.


When I moved here in June, I gave up my TV. Rowan and I don't have one. We have purchased a few movies if we want to watch something. We use the internet. And I read lot.

As for getting the news ... here it is: http://www.news.com.au/

I'm not a complete ascetic. I have Internet, use a little electricity, and rather enjoy the central heating and hot water my landlord provides. In the kitchen, I'm rather fond of refrigeration and my gas stove. That list goes on too.

We opt to shut down the electricity use all together while we're not home. We've both been working the last two days, for example, so for roughly 16 hours a day our electricity is completely off. Our heat comes from a fireplace, but it has warmed up enough now so that we don't need it. We don't have a refrigerator, but we do have a gas stove ... a Coleman camp stove. Not having a fridge makes for some creative shopping these days when the temps get up and over 30C.

Apparently I grew up in an odd family.:D We did not have television growing up, we had regular trips to the libraries, plenty of books and music around the house and many, many interesting people to converse with. FWIW my dad was a college professor and my mom a high school teacher. They currently have a television, but no cable, they primarily use it for watching DVD's. The interesting people came in the form of foreign grad students, and visiting foreign professors and clergy. Sunday dinners were always well attended and a great treat at our house.:p



Sounds a bit like my family. We had a B&W when I was really young ... I vaguely remember watching some kids shows on it now and then. And then, when I was about 9 years old, my parents got rid of the TV and we didn't get another one until I was about 16 or so. I would go watch some shows at friend's places, but I basically missed out on almost all of the late 70s/early 80s shows.

Instead books and music were a huge part of our lives. We all read hundreds of books each year. I still read as much as I can. And my music taste is extremely eclectic and varied.

Part of the reason they got rid of the TV was because my father returned to school to get his Master's Degree, and then he became a college professor.

They have a TV now, but my mother rarely watches it, and my father often records the old movies that come on in the middle of the night and watches them in an evening rather than the usual evening programming ... or he watches sports.

I wouldn't willingly have a tv or a car. However, DON'T mess with my internet.

I like TV. As an adult, and even as a kid come to think of it, I've found it easy to change stations to find shows that I actually like. Better than whining that "there's good nothing on TV, oh woe is me".

-Mythbusters
-Dexter
-Project Runway
-Iron Chef
-Formula One racing
-Tour de France
-Ninja Warrior
-Unbeatable Banzuke
-Family Guy
-The Simpsons
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-UFC

And the list goes on and on.

You guys can go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for having no TV. I'm gonna go grab a brewski and relax for some good watchin'.

Your list omitted forgot College Football games.

Today will be a busy day. I have to bicycle to the library to return the DVD's of the first season of the Twilight Zone, do a little shopping, get some beer and get home in time for the kickoff of the Illinois-Cincinnati game. I hope I will still be awake to watch the Boise State-Nevada game tonight.

Enjoying my activities is much better than smugly telling the world how stupid everybody else is for enjoying their chosen activities.

We opt to shut down the electricity use all together while we're not home. We've both been working the last two days, for example, so for roughly 16 hours a day our electricity is completely off. Our heat comes from a fireplace, but it has warmed up enough now so that we don't need it. We don't have a refrigerator, but we do have a gas stove ... a Coleman camp stove. Not having a fridge makes for some creative shopping these days when the temps get up and over 30C.

Just as an FYI there are several types of non mains refrigerators out there. Some are LP powered, others kerosene and some are 12 volt and can be supported by a modest solar panel array. They range in size from a medium cooler up to an what the US calls an apartment sized. Dometic and Electrolux are two brands that seem to be available internationally. We are almost to the time of year when I can leave bottled stuff that needs to be kept cold on the back porch:D

Aaron:)

I have never watched much TV, did not grow up with one, and at age 35, 21 years ago, my father-in-law insisted we have his old one. That was the first time I had ever lived with the noise-box in the house. I find it pretty annoying. I do watch it very occasionally. But, I pay the cable bill and take care of a disabled husband, who enjoys the TV. I do this because I care about his comfort. Otherwise the TV would go in the yard sale pile!!

I have always subscribed to the philosophy that I would rather be a doer than a watcher. And in the evenings I would much rather read a book.

I do like the internet. I like the interchange of ideas and information on forums such as this on. I love to write, and I do occasionally write articles for a magazine. I take internet college classes, and enjoy learning. You can learn things by watching tv, too, but it's not interactive, it's very passive.

Your list omitted forgot College Football games.

Today will be a busy day. I have to bicycle to the library to return the DVD's of the first season of the Twilight Zone, do a little shopping, get some beer and get home in time for the kickoff of the Illinois-Cincinnati game. I hope I will still be awake to watch the Boise State-Nevada game tonight.

Enjoying my activities is much better than smugly telling the world how stupid everybody else is for enjoying their chosen activities.

Ah, I didn't forget. I'm not into the footballs. But of course for you football fans that's a pretty important piece of television programming. =)

Just as an FYI there are several types of non mains refrigerators out there. Some are LP powered, others kerosene and some are 12 volt and can be supported by a modest solar panel array. They range in size from a medium cooler up to an what the US calls an apartment sized. Dometic and Electrolux are two brands that seem to be available internationally. We are almost to the time of year when I can leave bottled stuff that needs to be kept cold on the back porch:D

Aaron:)

Yeah, I know. We actually do have a 12 Volt cooler. But because our generator has decided it had enough, and since we made the switch completely to solar, we've been very careful with our power usage.

I have a TV, but get no programming on it since the big digital changeover. It's now just a screen on which to view DVDs.

I do Loooove TV, however. Still watch a fair amount on Hulu and Netflix. Roll over to my neighbors to catch up on Pawn Stars episodes.

Some good ones on Netflix:
30 Rock
The Office
Little Brittain
That Mitchell and Webb Look
MST3K
Munsters
Dick Van ****
Fawlty Towers
Nova

Hulu:

Manhattan, AZ
Glee
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Community
Daily Show
Colbert Report
Modern Marvels
Nat'l Geographic Specials

etc, etc...

^^ Love The Office, Daily Show, Colbert Report, Modern Marvels, and Nova. Good shows.

I saw the first episode of The Colony on a friend's computer. I've been meaning to check out the rest of it. At least for that first episode, the show is awesome!

I'm car-lite, & don't own a TV.

Please don't hate me cause I work for a company that is a local cable/internet/telephone service provider. I'm only a few years away from retirement so if I'm lucky the TV will not become a completely obsolete technology in that time.

TV is an incredible technology that I'm most familiar with on it's delivery through cable systems. I've seen plenty of incredible technology go obsolete in my career and it has caused me to shift jobs every decade or so. I started out my engineering career in the "wireline" phone business over 30 years ago when my first employer was then called Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. Everyone got phone service over copper pairs along pole lines or underground, and TV was delivered over the airwaves to nearly everyone. You could not buy or own your own home telephone - you had to least a telephone from the one and only local phone company. How technology has changed. Broadcast TV will likely survive a few more years in it's current form. It used to be such a simple thing with a handful of local off air channels to choose from. For the last decade or so I have received free cable service from my employer with the full lineup of nearly every channel in the USA plus dozens and dozens from many other coutries, somewhere around 500+ total. Even with that, I am guessing there are just a few channels that I might check out a few times a week.

Let's see, Turner Classic Movies has great old movies, no commercials. CNN, CNBC or MSNBC for a bit of news or news magazine type programs. HBO for an occasional in house drama or documentary, but I haven't seen anything as good as the Sopranos from them in recent years. Showtime does some occasional good in house documentaries or drama. I watch a few Spanish language channels occasionally to check up on news reports and watch futbol (soccer) games. OK, that's about it from a 500+ channel menu. Compared to most households, that would be "TV lite".

In another few years or so, people will probably be saying how they got rid of that stupid internet connection because something newer, faster or better came along.

I have a TV but all I watch is programs featuring this little guy:



http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:BlOOIOcIJj9IRM:http://oraclespeak.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/gary-coleman.jpg


;)

Eye of Satan, that's a good one. Personally I can't stand those squawking strobe lights. Now that I'm no longer accustomed to them, even having one on in the same room makes it very difficult to concentrate. I don't even watch much video on the web, although we did just finish working through all of Battlestar Galactica on DVD. Other than that light use of Netflix, primarily older stuff.

As for the car, it hasn't been driven in eighteen months and I really need to get off my [saddle] and sell it.

I am in a co housing house.

I use my computer if I ever need to watch anything.

I have always subscribed to the philosophy that I would rather be a doer than a watcher. And in the evenings I would much rather read a book.

That doesn't mean you can't enjoy television or cinema. Good storytelling, is good storytelling whether it's from a novel, a tv show, comic book, whatever. They're all just different mediums that are all capable of both entertaining and inspiring us.

I apologize if I'm being over defensive here. I just love and enjoy fiction in any form. Don't get me wrong, I hate most of what gets by as television and movies in this country, but I'm one doesn't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

As for myself, I don't own a television, but I watch plenty of programming online, and use netflix. I also drive a car, and ride my bike when possible.

ALSO. This post reminded me of this awesome story:

http://techland.com/2009/09/08/true-tales-of-conversational-vengeance/

I bike to/from work,
work 10 hours/day
play with my 3 year old kid for a few minutes
study for my MBA
and read bikeforums during my study breaks

...there is no time for tv, car, movies, reading (other than textbooks).

but i graduate in may 2010 :)

I bike to/from work,
work 10 hours/day
play with my 3 year old kid for a few minutes
study for my MBA
and read bikeforums during my study breaks

...there is no time for tv, car, movies, reading (other than textbooks).

but i graduate in may 2010 :)

Congratulations on the upcoming graduation! I sometimes teach in our MBA program and know how tough it can be sometimes for students with small children.

I just canceled my cable yesterday. I sold my car a few months ago and now felt comfortable enough to get rid of the tv. everything I watch is online anyways.

Car and TV free here. I still spend an unhealthy amount of time on the internet so I'd say I've only traded a passive distraction for an active one. I acknowledge that TV can be tremendously entertaining, but there are sundry forms of entertainment, many of them more enriching than what you can find on the boob tube.

I'm winding down a TV-free weekend with a little "cheating" on the computer. I did get halfway through a pretty big book (Years of Rice and Salt by KS Robinson, one of my favorite SF authors).