I’ve not had cable television since
I can’t remember when. Let me just say it’s been a long time. I grew fed up
with Cox continually raising their rates, and I was even more upset when I
thought about how I was paying to watch commercials. The real turning point
came when my family room television died, and I was faced with buying a new
one. The overwhelming answer was “No way.”
Now, all my viewing is mostly free,
monetarily and commercially, using my pc monitor or laptop, and I’ve never
regretted pulling the plug, literally. Although some of my viewing is
historical, that is watching a program that has already aired live, many are
available as they are happening through YouTube and other sites. Congressional
hearings are always live on YouTube if you’re into that. Our local news
stations are live, and PBS evening news is published live stream as it occurs.
Most are archived to watch when you have the time and inclination.
I can read the paper online
(incognito mode) if I feel the need of more news, and I can “Google” news to
keep abreast of everything happening in the world. It’s actually much faster
than television where I was continuously flipping channels to find what I
wanted.
For entertainment, I’ve become very creative.
Old movies, British TV series, which I love, and how-to videos proliferate YouTube.
If you can imagine it, it’s there. Someone has already posted the video. Would
you like to make donuts from biscuits, a grocery bag from a pillowcase, or how
about paint a pot of lavender in watercolors? All are available at the tap of a
finger. I find myself watching things I had no idea I might be interested in.
Got a plumbing problem or want to learn the best way to grow herbs inside?
Search on YouTube. You will find an appropriate video…or ten. For any problem
you have, there is a video for it on YouTube.
I have been entertained by concert
pianists, wowed by travelogues to foreign places, and even watched as Insight
landed on Mars. YouTube is full of documentaries on interesting subjects and
biographies of famous people. You pick, you choose.
When I’m bored with the free stuff,
there’s always Netflix and Hulu for less than $10 a month, or I can watch
findtv.net and pay as I go. Then, there’s Amazon Prime which includes a lot
more than television and movies, and even my donation to WUFT comes with Passport
privileges to PBS programs like Masterpiece, which I love.
If you’re into books, silly
question, there’s a website you may not have heard of, C-Span Book TV, which is
all about authors, books, and more. Check it out. It is unique.
And I must admit I have read so many
more books since aborting television, usually two per week, which I mainly download
from our library through the e-books media site onto my Kindle Fire. I only
read at night a couple of hours or so accompanied by a soothing cup of hot
chocolate, so much better than television. There are several sites to read
classics online, classic reader, page by page books, American literature, and
archive.org will let you listen, all of these are free to use. Gutenberg.org is
another gem.
I am confident there are many more
sites out there that I am yet to find. After all it is the world-wide-web. So,
if anyone asks if I miss television, my resounding answer is no, not at all! In
fact, I have benefited 100% by pulling out that plug!
