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Post #127,223 by deSitter 11/22/03 2:49:05 AM Reply	? ? Cable is 25 bucks a month - its the cheapest entertainment available. 1 dollar a day. In these times you need to stay on top of things. -drl
Post #127,251 by orion 11/22/03 11:00:58 AM Reply	In the city maybe but out here in the county it is $70 or more for Digital Cable and 150 channels. Of course DirecTV offers 150 channels for $29.95 with the locals included. Guess which one I picked? *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #127,254 by Nightowl 11/22/03 11:26:47 AM Reply	Re: In the city maybe but out here in the county it is $70 or more for Digital Cable and 150 channels. Of course DirecTV offers 150 channels for $29.95 with the locals included. Guess which one I picked? Yep, and John said also that was about the right price, and now they are evenw wanting to exclude ESPN/ESPN2 from the basic package. For that price I would have rather had DSL, except I learned that it has to connect every time I get on the computer, and I don't care much for that. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,290 by orion 11/22/03 9:10:19 PM Reply	DSL is always on if you get a DSL router it will always be on and as soon as you boot up your computer it will log into the router for instant DSL access. Plus the DSL router will act as a firewall to keep invaders out of your computer. It won't be a direct IP address on the Internet, but rather on a private network. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #127,253 by Nightowl 11/22/03 11:25:11 AM Reply	It's more than cost? ? John says that it would interfere with our VCR arrangements,(i.e. the way we tape shows on more than one TV and more than one VCR on a TV), and it costs more than it's worth to us, because I only want three channels... CNN Headline News, The Weather Channel, and ESPN/ESPN2... although for what I really want, I need Pittsburgh Fox Sports but that only comes with an entire super sports package, and I only watch it half a year. So I read CNN online when I want, and I peek at the weather online, and I listen to Mario games on the internet. ;) And lately, the Duck games, too! Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,255 by tuberculosis 11/22/03 11:51:42 AM Reply	Kill your television Its a tool used by the powerful to remove hours from your life without you noticing. I followed the old Route 66 in NM years ago and came across one of those home made tourist attractions. A sort of mechanical wonderland made out of trash and junkyard parts. Really amazing (yet fading and dusty). I remember most a sign that said "We did all this while you were watching television". "I believe that many of the systems we build today in Java would be better built in Smalltalk and Gemstone." -- Martin Fowler, JAOO 2003
Post #127,256 by Nightowl 11/22/03 11:55:49 AM 11/22/03 11:58:27 AM Reply	Re: Kill your television Not here, we don't watch enough TV to matter. Mostly I watch news, my main soap opera, Whoopie, and a couple silly shows on Saturday morning. Together, John and I watch CSI, and Enterprise and once in awhile a movie on network, but currently we are behind in watching it. Oh, and on Sundays and sometimes on Monday Nights, we watch some feetball. ;) We have 7 hours of CSI to watch and one hour of Enterprise. But we'll get caught up soon cause he goes on vacation, and I like to work on things while we watch, like newspapers and I need to get my Christmas cards all addressed early. So we don't watch all that much TV, and not usually on schedule. Nightowl >8# Edit: added feetball. "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O} Edited by Nightowl Nov. 22, 2003, 11:58:27 AM EST Expand All History
Post #127,267 by rcareaga 11/22/03 1:10:19 PM Reply	the Sovs had it all wrong Secret police, a network of informers, prison camps strung the length of the land—what a stupid, crude and inefficient system of keeping your subject population docile (John Ashcroft, take note)! Rather, give 'em television and easy consumer credit: impart by turns fear, envy, desire; convey the seductive dream that the emptiness these machine-raised souls dimly apprehend within themselves may be filled by goods and services; put the murderous arithmetic of compound interest in the service of those induced cravings and watch the proles erect and maintain their own prison-house with minimal effort and expense to the management. Heck, it's only "CSI"—and of course, a word from Our Sponsor... cordially, Die Welt ist alles, was der Fall ist.
Post #127,274 by Ashton 11/22/03 4:47:07 PM Reply	Shocking, I say shocking! Hast thou then, no Christian Charity, Senator.. none at all? Wouldst inform a height-challenged tyke that, He Hath No Chance of becomimg a professional basketball player {and that, therefore; his life as he imagined it - Is Over?) Wouldst interfere with \| interrupt! the pheromonal interactions between the new-leather seats-smell and.. a salivating purchaser's choice of the 60-month or 84-month payoff of the 95% balance? (While Little Timmy's crutches need revarnishing) Wouldst inform a Thuggee that, it is not Nice to burn the widow (for luck) on hubby's pyre? even if she doth receive a new sari for the occasion. Wouldst Interfere with God's Will re the nailing of a local queer, causing cognitive dissonance within a Sincere Believer-in-Large-Manuals of behaviour? If wouldst do any of these things, why Sir - Thee Be No Murican! Mine breast is filled with Apprehensions and sorely troubled for thine future Tribulations, Norman Vincent Peeled PS - what's a "credit card"?
Post #127,401 by drewk 11/24/03 9:13:30 AM Reply	Payoff? Where the hell have you been? ... choice of the 60-month or 84-month payoff ... I've seen commercials for leases at "only" $465 a month. For 60 months. With $1800 down. Yes, you read that right: $1800 down and $465 a month for five years, and you still don't own it at the end. Then I remember that no one takes one of these leases unless it's a perk of the job, and the company paying for it is writing off the cost anyway, so it's you and me paying for it. === Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
Post #127,271 by Ashton 11/22/03 4:01:59 PM Reply	Ditto: the Simon Rodia Towers, in Watts. BUT I think it's possible to ration This (prior-to-Billy) Beast, unless one is also prone to heroin and other addictive behaviour generally. Remember - this omnipresence of The Tube began {many studiers of lemming activity have suggested} on the weekend of 11/22/63. And when the {then chastened} blabbermouths most uncharacteristically Shut Up for many-minutes at a time: no other medium could have sufficed for expressing the consequences of those 6 seconds. Unprecedented, that weekend --> Monday funeral. You would have bought a Tee Vee that weekend! (even if you put it back in the closet, as many still do) afterwards, only trotting it out for the odd Occasion. Besides, radio was (IMhO) in many ways a more mesmerizing medium, not the passive take-in-predigested scenario of video. You had to Add-in your imagination Always! even if you were merely idling the brain with the countless Soaps; banality for the banal. I still opine that 'mysteries' play far better (with decent writing, natch) sound-only - than the now tawdry, predictable, too-slick increasingly Violent cgi bloodbaths, now presented as 'entertainment' and gulped down by the Big Gulp (majority?) Yup, the Medium IS the Massage, but - on rare (even rarer today) occasion it actually has Content. Keep it in the ~~pants~~closet, I say. Ashton, progressive Luddite
Post #127,276 by tuberculosis 11/22/03 5:59:03 PM Reply	I know where the local bar is >Yup, the Medium IS the Massage, but - on rare (even rarer today) occasion it actually has Content. Occasionally. I watched the twin towers come down from the bar at Sailors Landing in Sausalito. They opened the doors (and taps) early to let the boat people come in and watch. No reason to actually own one though. "I believe that many of the systems we build today in Java would be better built in Smalltalk and Gemstone." -- Martin Fowler, JAOO 2003
Post #127,281 by deSitter 11/22/03 6:40:17 PM Reply	Multitasking Unless I put in a DVD or tape, I never just sit there watching TV - I'm usually doing something on the computer that is morally righteous and edifying. Right now I'll still trying to get SP4 installed on the Nachi-culture AKA win2k while a program on model rocketry plays on Discovery (FUN!). (Thanks a lot Peter - I was HAPPY with Windows 98 on those few times I need to be in Windows, and you SHAMED me into going back to 2k, and now I've wasted 2 days fritzing with it!) -drl
Post #127,289 by Nightowl 11/22/03 7:34:12 PM Reply	Re: Multitasking Oh me too. I sit in here with the computer and the birdie all day when I'm working on stuff, and have the news, or Dr. Phil on in the background. I also rarely am glued to my soap opera because I know the people so well I can follow it from listening. So I'm almost ALWAYS eating a meal, or reading the paper, or doing something on the computer, or working on a project, or cleaning or something during most TV. When John and I watch the things we watch together, or read papers, fix up cards, make calendars, or do whatever else I have to do while we do that as a rule. Sometimes though we actually sit down and watch a movie and do I nothing else, but that's rare. And even when I put a DVD or video in, like Titanic, it still runs in the background unless I have never seen it before. Of course there are always exceptions, like a particularly interesting news issue or show, but it's rare, because I almost always multitask. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,303 by deSitter 11/22/03 11:09:01 PM Reply	Re: Multitasking Dr. Phil eh - my theory is that Oprah and her bitch Dr. Phil are brainwashing the women of America with their "men are pigs" message and collectivist-insipid-Bradburyan-F451 mantras. The Family, with the occasional police chase as a break-in to the non-stop stream of drivel from those two. Oprah is a monster, and Phil is her bitch. -drl
Post #127,312 by Nightowl 11/22/03 11:38:15 PM Reply	Re: Multitasking Dr. Phil eh - my theory is that Oprah and her bitch Dr. Phil are brainwashing the women of America with their "men are pigs" message and collectivist-insipid-Bradburyan-F451 mantras. The Family, with the occasional police chase as a break-in to the non-stop stream of drivel from those two. I don't like Ophrah, and I never watched her. I discovered Dr. Phil from a friend, and he has actually given really good advice about certain things like grief, relationships and family issues, all of which have really helped me. He never says Men are pigs, or puts men or women down, so I don't know what Ophrah did, but I could care less what she did, I never liked her. Not every show helps me, for example, I have no need to lose weight, on the contrary, but some of the things he tells the weight loss people do help at times. So I tape him every day and watch him live when I can. :) Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,314 by deSitter 11/22/03 11:43:49 PM Reply	Re: Multitasking I've seen Dr. Phil - the receptionist at my last job always put him on in the lobby - he's as big a monster as Oprah. His message is - whatever your instincts are are wrong - follow the collective! Be like everyone else, a selfish, stupid, insipid asshole! He's despicable, almost as bad as Rush. -drl
Post #127,315 by Nightowl 11/22/03 11:46:25 PM Reply	Re: Multitasking I've seen Dr. Phil - the receptionist at my last job always put him on in the lobby - he's as big a monster as Oprah. His message is - whatever your instincts are are wrong - follow the collective! Be like everyone else, a selfish, stupid, insipid asshole! He's despicable, almost as bad as Rush. Well everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and you're certainly entitled to feel about him however you like. I know for a fact that I do NOT EVER follow the crowd or conform to the "collective" so I know he does not influence me in that manner. I revel in being unique and different. He just gives good, hard advice sometimes that works for me. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,322 by deSitter 11/23/03 12:39:13 AM Reply	Re: Multitasking It's NOT "good advice" - he plays on your guilt to make you behave the way HE thinks is right. And if you think he is cool, then I guarantee you that you are just like the rest of his people - brainwashed. There is still hope - pay attention next time - he's a devil with a silver tongue. He prays on people who lack confidence or are plagued with guilt. An emotional parasite. I wouldn't even shake his limp-wristed hand. -drl
Post #127,351 by Nightowl 11/23/03 2:39:56 PM Reply	Views on Dr. Phil ( was Re: Multitasking) It's NOT "good advice" - he plays on your guilt to make you behave the way HE thinks is right. And if you think he is cool, then I guarantee you that you are just like the rest of his people - brainwashed. First of all, I stopped letting guilt manipulate me some time ago, except in a few rare exceptions, or cases where I'm actually guilty. I'm not brainwashed, and I didn't say he was cool either. I said sometimes he gives good advice. When he gave advice on dealing with grief, it was some of the best advice I received on that issue. The last person who brainwashed me was my ex-fiance, he convinced me that I would never deserve better than him, and could never be even good enough for him. Fortunately, I woke up... and realized he was full of bull. I haven't let anyone brainwash me since, and don't intend to start with Dr. Phil. I never said everything he said was good, or everything he said was helpful. I believe in listening to information and taking from it what is good and helpful and ignoring what isn't, in all mediums. There is still hope - pay attention next time - he's a devil with a silver tongue. He prays on people who lack confidence or are plagued with guilt. An emotional parasite. I wouldn't even shake his limp-wristed hand. Only the devil is the devil. People can do work of the devil, but I haven't seen Dr. Phil do that... now there are some others I can't say that about. The people who go to him go by choice, and he helps them tremendously, so I've seen, because they manage to go away and fix things and he revisits them later and they are better. As I stated before, you don't have to like him, and I don't like everything about him, but each is entitled to their own opinion, and I respect that you have yours. But please don't tell me what's going on with me, "i.e. you're being brainwashed,", because trust me, you don't know enough about me to know that. And I'm most certainly not "his people." The only people I am is one of God's people, a Christian, and one of American's people, I suppose, but I'm not "his people" as in Dr. Phil's people.... sorry, I'm not THAT fascinated by the man by a long shot. :) Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,361 by deSitter 11/23/03 5:29:00 PM Reply	Re: Views on Dr. Phil ( was Re: Multitasking) It's my moral duty to oppose Dr. Phil and Commander "Men are Pigs" Oprah and to intervene on behalf of their female brainwashing victims, in the good name of Men everywhere. I've done my duty. -drl
Post #127,363 by Ashton 11/23/03 5:57:54 PM Reply	Yabut.. might's well tilt at -- massive bloviating on every imaginable topic: a pastime not peculiar to Murican meeja - merely honed, shellacked [you Can polish a turd, if you shellac it first] and Perfected on Murican meeja as -steady diet- while, nowhere else in the world comes at all close to 99%. (Though the -still a minority- Brit-slime appears to be every bit as toxic, with the added capability of using language well, in pursuit of the tawdry and specious). I mean.. Where. Does. One. Begin. in a sea of offal? Ashton I see screaming neurons.. each afraid that it shall never be heeded by Mind Central - in one lifetime.
Post #127,375 by Nightowl 11/23/03 10:26:22 PM Reply	Re: Yabut.. might's well tilt at -- Ah, I take it you don't like Dr. Phil either, huh Ashton? ;) Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,377 by orion 11/23/03 11:02:54 PM Reply	Dr. Phil I don't understand how Dr. Phil can be mean-spirited at the people we is supposed to help and still have a show. It just turns me off of his show. I didn't like him on Opera either, he must have had blackmail material to be on her show or something. *"Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"*
Post #127,378 by Nightowl 11/23/03 11:10:53 PM Reply	Re: Dr. Phil Well, I always saw him as a kind of reality check. Kinda like my friend Jan, hehehe. I call her when I want the straight facts and no pussy footing around, and that's what I think I like most about Dr. Phil. He's straight to the point, whether it be mean spirited or not, some people just call it tough love talk, or straight talk. Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,380 by orion 11/23/03 11:17:43 PM Reply	Well I don't like it it is more important to be nice, he could find nice ways of saying things but he does not. Makes him a big ahole in my opinion. "Lady I only speak two languages, English and Bad English!" - Corbin Dallas "The Fifth Element"**
Post #127,385 by deSitter 11/24/03 3:52:08 AM Reply	Re: Dr. Phil Anyone who takes advantage of people who are laid low by guilt and lack of confidence is a right absolute bastard. I'm an excellent judge of (male) character, if nothing else. Like Springer, he parades these pathetic people in front of the world, for the tittilation of bored housewives - but not only does he fuck with the people who are willing to submit to his "treatment", be undermines countless households by planting imaginary bugs in the ears of susceptible homebound women, all for ratings. Three things you can be certain of - cameras don't belong in courtrooms, church does not belong in public school, and head shrinkers don't belong on afternoon TV where helpless, ego-crushed women can be further undermined by them. -drl
Post #127,340 by lincoln 11/23/03 1:04:01 PM Reply	OT: did you watch both rocket showS I taped them for my son. He laughed his ass off when they launched a Porta-Potty. lincoln "Windows XP has so many holes in its security that any reasonable user will conclude it was designed by the same German officer who created the prison compound in "Hogan's Heroes." - Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun-Times [link\|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/resume.htm\|VB/SQL resume] [link\|http://users3.ev1.net/~bconnors/tandem_resume.htm\|Tandem resume] [link\|mailto:bconnors@ev1.net\|contact me]
Post #127,408 by jb4 11/24/03 9:50:23 AM Reply	Cable is how much?!? Ross, ol' buddy, I don't know what you've been smoking, or if things are just cheaper in Saint Louie, but up here in NE ILL, cable starts at $42/mo...and rising! jb4 "There are two ways for you to have lower Prescription-drug costs. One is you could hire Rush Limbaugh's housekeeper ... or you can elect me President." John Kerry
Post #127,416 by Nightowl 11/24/03 10:56:07 AM Reply	Re: Cable is how much?!? Yep, and in St. Louis County, it's around $70.00 like I said earlier. Plus they keep trying to eliminate things like ESPN, and that's one third of what I would want. Not worth it, really for the TV watched. Speaking of TV, we caught up on 4 episodes of CSI yesterday afternoon... talk about a marathon! ;) Nightowl >8# "The difference between being immature and child-like is that one is what you are, and one is what you choose to be." Comment by Nightowl {O,O}
Post #127,429 by jb4 11/24/03 12:25:31 PM Reply	Yabut you've got (IIRC) additional stuff (like PPV or movie channels) and you're digital, which means 1.2 Bazillion channels (and nothing on, to quote the Boss). This is Good Ol' Analog out here in the hinterlands (and only about the proverbial 57 channels, and nothing on, again to quote the Boss). And it's still $42 and rising... jb4 "There are two ways for you to have lower Prescription-drug costs. One is you could hire Rush Limbaugh's housekeeper ... or you can elect me President." John Kerry
Post #127,432 by inthane-chan 11/24/03 12:30:55 PM Reply	Interesting point of comparison Here in the King County Metro area, we are beholden to Comcast, with no choice for alternatives. Our prices are fairly rediculous. Not too far away, in Tacoma, prices for the exact same services are roughly 50-70% of what we pay, and service is very good. Why? Because Tacoma built the Click! network as a competitor to Comcast, then AT&T. Competition, it's the only way to go. I have a red sign on my door. It says "If this sign is blue, you're going too fast."

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