TV

If I didn't record this, I'm not sure my children will really believe me when they're older. I mean, I know my parents and grandparents have stories about their televisions, about black and white TV sets and only getting one channel, and the little tiny boxes they would crowd around to watch programs. But as today is admitantly an age of inexpensive, massive, widescreen, High Definition TV sets, my kids will one day find it strange to read of how we watched TV in 2009.

We have a larger TV downstairs, but because we don't pay for cable, we actually don't get an television programs on the set downstairs. We tried to hook up the large rabbit ear anntennae, but to no avail. So, in the end, the rabbit ears migrated upstairs to the little 14" TV in our bedroom.

The TV itself cost $80. It's a no name brand with no fancy functions.

We only consistently get one channel. That's it. Fortunately it's a pretty good channel, so most programs we're even interested in watching (which isn't much) we can see. Most days we also get a second channel, although the colour signal often drops, leaving a hazy black and white image. It is also generally pretty fuzzy, which you get used to. My mother-in-law came up the other day and couldn't even make out the picture! A third channel with mostly reruns comes in periodically, the but signal won't hold more than a minute. But if you flip the channel up and then back again, the signal reappears. Yes, I have watched more than a few shows this way, remote in hand, constantly flicking back and forth, back and forth.

And la creme de la creme about our TV - our neighbours have some sort of device that interferes with the signal. I have no idea what it is, but it completely scrubs the image, and the sound converts to a local radio station! It generally lasts about 30 seconds to a minute and then reverts back to the TV signal. Sometimes this will go on every few minutes for 10 or 15 minutes, sometimes it's just a one-off. I've learned how to follow along story narratives while missing several chunks of the plot line.

We don't watch much TV under normal circumstances, so it's never really been an issue for us. People keep suggesting we go out and buy a new TV, but I can't bring myself to do that when the one we have works perfectly fine. What business do I have of throwing away a perfectly good appliance? My mind shift in consumerism has definitely contributed to the way I look at buying new things now. Plus, it makes a great story for posterity.