Buffalo Gal

I still haven't unpacked the car from the road trip, but two new remote controls are fully functioning. We replaced one of our cable boxes with a DVR and added a second satellite radio terminal yesterday afternoon.
I remember the huge dial on the side of my parents' television that was rotated between the numbers 2 and 7 to get the three network stations. A separate dial below located the PBS affiliate, but that was before Sesame Street, so we didn't bother.
The first remote arrived with a second television in my parents' room many years later. A plastic toggle switch was pinned to the side of their mattress near the headboard as a twelve foot white extension cord snaked to the place where the television was plugged in. With the simple flick of a switch they could turn the television off and on without getting out of bed. One of the best parts of staying home sick from school was getting to use "the remote."
Now they probably have as many two-battery, full function boxes as we do. So many more controllers, so little control.
One hundred and fifty television channels is no longer enough. We have the full movie package and the baseball package. And since there is still, more often than not, nothing on.. the DVR allows us to watch what we want, when we want it as fast or slow as we desire.
I've had more than 100 satellite radio stations in my car and office from XM for more than a year, but when the car kit broke on the trip I stopped at big box electronics store to see what it would cost to get things going again.
As the replacement costs kept mounting I looked at the Sirius display... offering many of the same things with the addtion of NPR, PRI, Court TV and all NFL games. With incentives, it would cost as much to put a new Sirius system in the car as it would to fix the XM. I now have Sirius in the car and streaming at the computer and XM in the portable box. Between the two subscriptions that's more than 300 radio channels.
Online, I have three email accounts and subscribe to several listserves and online publications. In my roadside mailbox are six weekly, ten monthly and another half dozen irregular periodicals. Both the Times and the local paper drop in my driveway daily.
Never before have we had the potential to learn and see so much... or less time to do it.

Copyright 2004 Judi Griggs

Buffalo Gal Judi Griggs I'm a communications professional, writer, cynic, mother, wife and royal pain. The order depends on the day. I returned to my hometown in November 2004 after a couple of decades of heat and hurricanes. I can polish pristine copy, but not here. This is my morning exercise -- 20-minute takes without a net or spellcheck. It's easier than sit ups for me. No guarantee what it will be for you. Clicking on the subscribe link will send you an email notice when each new entry is posted.
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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (0) Share on Facebook		2004-05-06 9:37 AM No control I still haven't unpacked the car from the road trip, but two new remote controls are fully functioning. We replaced one of our cable boxes with a DVR and added a second satellite radio terminal yesterday afternoon. I remember the huge dial on the side of my parents' television that was rotated between the numbers 2 and 7 to get the three network stations. A separate dial below located the PBS affiliate, but that was before Sesame Street, so we didn't bother. The first remote arrived with a second television in my parents' room many years later. A plastic toggle switch was pinned to the side of their mattress near the headboard as a twelve foot white extension cord snaked to the place where the television was plugged in. With the simple flick of a switch they could turn the television off and on without getting out of bed. One of the best parts of staying home sick from school was getting to use "the remote." Now they probably have as many two-battery, full function boxes as we do. So many more controllers, so little control. One hundred and fifty television channels is no longer enough. We have the full movie package and the baseball package. And since there is still, more often than not, nothing on.. the DVR allows us to watch what we want, when we want it as fast or slow as we desire. I've had more than 100 satellite radio stations in my car and office from XM for more than a year, but when the car kit broke on the trip I stopped at big box electronics store to see what it would cost to get things going again. As the replacement costs kept mounting I looked at the Sirius display... offering many of the same things with the addtion of NPR, PRI, Court TV and all NFL games. With incentives, it would cost as much to put a new Sirius system in the car as it would to fix the XM. I now have Sirius in the car and streaming at the computer and XM in the portable box. Between the two subscriptions that's more than 300 radio channels. Online, I have three email accounts and subscribe to several listserves and online publications. In my roadside mailbox are six weekly, ten monthly and another half dozen irregular periodicals. Both the Times and the local paper drop in my driveway daily. Never before have we had the potential to learn and see so much... or less time to do it. Copyright 2004 Judi Griggs Read/Post Comments (0) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top