My roommate has a device called a Slingbox. If you don't know what a Slingbox is, I'll wait while you check it out on Wikipedia. I'm sure it's a wonderful device if you have access to it and are bored in mass transit somewhere, but I don't have access to ours and I'm not sure I would watch it if I did--what if someone else is already watching the tv and I change the channel?
I experienced the other end of this possibility yesterday when I was watching a movie and the channel changed. My assumption was that my roommate was on vacation to Mexico, and if I were on vacation in Mexico I think the last need on my mind would be "The Family Guy," but I have to give this situation the benefit of the doubt. Since I do pay for half the cable bill I switched the channel back, but then powered off the tv after that movie was done. About an hour after I did that the channel changed again. So I need to rethink my television habits.
At first, admittedly, I was annoyed. I pay half of a bill so that I can't watch? But it is a wake-up call too...where are my priorities, exactly? About the only thing that I'm really devoted to on television at this time is baseball--everything else is just noise to unwind with, and couldn't I unwind with noise that is a little more productive, like the 26 podcasts I'm still trying to whittle down? And baseball can be listened to on the radio, or I could go to a game, or go to a bar and watch a game (usually Pacific Catch plays them in my neighborhood). It's frustrating about the baseball thing, but for everything else, isn't it a lifesaver? I have so much that I want to do and just end up rotting in front of the tv most of the time to combat it--wouldn't it be better to combat it with working toward my goals of reading, writing, and fitness?
So change the channel to your heart's content, Family Guy. Read/write/run on, dear reader.
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