Conference rdvax::grateful

    I agree. It's mind-numbung and not useful as an educational medium
    unless you have some sort of playback system for reference; i.e. VCR.
    
    Especially since Star Trek: The Next Generation smoked...
    
    ...mike
    

    heh heh heh heh heh

    TV Sucks.

    heh heh heh heh heh

    
    - jeavis

	TV ain't the problem. it's like blaming the paints for a poor
	painting. TV is a fantastic medium, when used as part of a
	conscientiously applied program of oral hygiene and regular
	professional care. No, just kidding. But, when used properly, TV
	is a very powerful medium. The fact that *millions* of people can
	witness a single event, real time is amazing. The fact that it's
	the OJ Simpson trial is alarming. Yes, it can be mind-numbing.
	But it doesn't have to be.
	
	Where's my TV Guide(tm)?
	
	;-)

That's not to say I don't like software people. And the basic video tool is 
certainly a worthwhile device. But when I think of TV I think of network 
television. TV does not bring to mind the video monito aspect of the machine
but more TV means to mean the network programming, bad sitcoms, OJ trials and 
that sort of thing. the thought that someone would find life itself not worth 
living without sports television is so far away from my concept of life I was 
unable to restrain myself from replying right then and there (I also didn't 
realize that I only needed to wait half a day or the TV hater's note). 
	Life has so much more than TV! Life has spring and summer, it has 
fall and winter. Each of these seasons has great outdoor entertainment, 
beautiful surroundings, fresh air and abundant reasons to make it to the 
next day. If perhaps you've never seen these, turn off the tube and step 
outside. If you were to see the outside, enjoy some of what it has to offer 
it's easy to find worth in living without sports on television. 

Okay, I've said enough, but since there's this note and that's what I thought.

There's a lot more to life than TV.

    jeff please be aware that off the collar remarks are often hinged with
    sarcasm..
    i am not putting a dull rusty butter knife to my wrists if tv
    disappeared.... i am just saying that half hour of sports gives me all
    i need to know when it comes to scores and up to date info on player
    trades etc etc...
    a sports addict's heroin fix if you will

>If perhaps you've never seen these, turn off the tube and step outside.

	jeez geoff! you're not giving us much credit here  ;-)  ;-)
	
>There's a lot more to life than TV.

	it's a safe bet no one here is denying this.  ;-)
	but you see, chris is so busy living life, biking, hiking, joking
	and toking that the 1/2 hour sports news can bring him up to date
	on all that's happened in the sports world. with video clips!
	why, it's the best of both worlds.  ;-)

I actually tried to shut up a while ago and just kept on typing. 

I actually tried to shut up a while ago and just kept on typing. 

    As Homer Simpson so eloquently puts it, "Ah, tv - it gives
    so much and asks so little in return!"

    On the other hand, if viewed as a narcotic or mind-control
    instrument it would prolly be banned ;-)  except it's too
    useful as a means of keeping us all in line...  bread &
    circuses, ya know

    :-)

    re Chris in .5 not putting a rusty butter knife to his wrists
    
    	too bad...  if youtaped it, it'd be a sure bet for prime time...
    
    					:^)
    
    					da ve

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	the reason why i gave up tv...  back in college, my roommies would
gather 'round the toob and watch soaps all afternoon, then watch other
crud into the wee hours.  being a social guy and not much into watching
soaps, i didn't much care for TV watching, 'cuz, i'd personally would
have rather spent the time playing cahds, or other games.  more interactive
if you will.  so, that started it for me: i saw tv as a one-way anti-social
device.  that was during the mid80s.

	growing up in harvard ma, we did not get cable until
'89 or so.  so, i never got the cable programming experience except
when i went to deb's for the weekend in peabody ma.  i moved
out, and bought a vcr so i could record late-night Hawaii 5-O episodes.
where i lived, we did not subscribe to cable.  i pretty much only watched
Danno and the Boyz.  the thing that really
did it to me is that when i was watching some cable tv program at
deb's, or even just watching regular tv, i wouldn't wanna deal with
ANYONE.  deb would come and try to play w/ me and i'd just push her
off and get pissed 'cuz i was afraid i was gonna miss something.  then
and there i saw the effect TV has: i had me by my hair.  i was glued.
then, work got wicked busy, i just didn't have time, and that's when
i ended my TV career: nov '91.   but, from '83-'91, i watched VERY little
tv.  now, as geoff says, there are many more things in life to do vs.
TV watching.  i don't miss it one bit.  to each their own.


	btw, what's the avg viewing time for kids in america?  i've read
figures ranging from 4 hours to 6 hours PER DAY!  the electronic
babysitter.

	

    4-6 hours per day!  Some kids are watching a h*ll of a lot of TV!
    We have no cable (by choice) and no antenna (again choice) and so
    our TV is basically a VCR monitor.  Sometimes it goes weeks without
    getting turned on at all.  Its biggest use is an occasional 
    movie video on a weekend night.  Our average (counting all 3 of us)
    can't be more than 2 hrs/week and is probably less.
    
    With Megann, its been like this since she was 3.  I can notice
    the difference come Christmas time and birthday's when I compare
    her wish list to that of my niece who is probably a lot closer
    to average when it comes to number of hours in front of the TV.
    Her list is much less commercially-influenced.  You see it in lots
    of other ways to.  Megann is much more into board games, drawing
    and coloring, building (Geoff got her into Lego's) things, and books.
    She reads lots of them and I still read to her quite a bit.
    
    She still sees some TV when visiting friends or her Dad but its
    not a big part of her life, nor has she ever wanted it to be.
    
    Me, I haven't watched commercial television in over 5 years (since
    Megann was 3) and even before then it wasn't much.  Like Jc, I once
    (was going thru a bad period in my life) found myself starting to
    get a little to glued too it, but I got over it pretty quick.  I
    just reminded myself I didn't want to be like my parents - they
    used to consult the TV guide before deciding whether to go out or
    not!  Yuch!  That's when I had the cable turned of and yanked the
    antenna!  And I never once missed it!  Now, I don't have enough time 
    for all the things I want to do as it is.  TV doesn't even make it to 
    the list.  I'd much rather do than watch!
    
    Robyn
    
    p.s.  There was a TV where we stayed our last vacation.  The discovery
    channel stuff was pretty neat and the old re-runs of stuff from when
    I was a kid was kind of cool but some of the newer stuff (Megann watched 
    some Nickolodean shows) made me really glad we don't have it at home!

       Heard on CNN(how ironic) and saw in the newspaper:
    
     It really actually is National "Turn Off your TV" week, sponsored by
    some TV hating group to promote other things for kids to do besides
    watching the tube....
    
            :-) daveB_admitted_TV_holic