The secret to happiness, get rid of your television.

[geepondy]

I believe the big radio is a 7600G, is that correct? What is the little radio? Does that receive shortwave as well?

+1, I don't like doing more than ~1 hour of TV a day, but one of these guys is always on in the background:

 

[StarHalo]

I believe the big radio is a 7600G, is that correct? What is the little radio? Does that receive shortwave as well?

The big one is a 7600GR (http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...51&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11037231), the little one is a Japan-only SRF-T615 (http://www.audiocubes2.com/brand/So....html?osCsid=6bf31f7ad938fa0a5078e688a04ab1de), it doesn't get shortwave but it does pull in AM just as well as the GR..

 

[LLCoolBeans]

Was this a unilateral decision made on behalf of everyone in your household?

Or perhaps you live alone. If so, should families, head of the household, or the more dominant of a couple make the same decisions as a single individual?

It's just me, the wife and the dogs. Dogs didn't get a say, wife is down with the program.

Here's how it went down...
I bought a house about 5 years ago. Cable guy must have forgot or was too lazy to disconnect service after previous owners left. So, I had free basic cable until a few months ago when it just stopped working. I guess they finally figured it out. Anyway, I figured there is no way in heck that I'm going to pay to be marketed to. So I just went with it.

On a side note, how great can toilet paper really be? It's the same stuff since I was a kid. Sheesh, get real TP pushers.

Also, this does not apply to radio, I listen to the talk radio station most weekdays, and almost always when I am in the car.

 

[Dan FO]

I watch 24, NCIS and The Unit ............. I will not give them up voluntarily.

 

[PhantomPhoton]

While I don't believe that getting rid of the boob-tube will make one happy, I can agree it can help.
I rarely watch TV anymore. PBS is all I watch with any regularity. I flip on local news sometimes but that's it. (though I also have a weakness for Discovery, History, NatGeo, Science Channel, Animal Planet... but no cable so it has no hold over me :tinfoil

 

[LLCoolBeans]

I watch 24, NCIS and The Unit ............. I will not give them up voluntarily.

I don't know about your other shows, but 24 is availible to watch on FOX.com. We hook the laptop up to the projector every Wednesday and watch the new episode.

Check out Lie To Me while you're at it, I love that show.

 

[LLCoolBeans]

While I don't believe that getting rid of the boob-tube will make one happy, ...

http://www.miwatch.org/2009/02/tv_and_depression.html
http://www.healthvideo.com/video.php?id=1025108&category=Teen+Health
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081113080006.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112201985.html
http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/weblog/index.php/2008/11/16/happiness-and-tv-watching/
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/World/Story/STIStory_305469.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/World/Story/STIStory_305469.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/health/research/10beha.html?partner=rss

With most of this research it is not clear whether watching TV causes unhappiness and depression or whether unhappy and depressed people just watch more TV. Most people draw the latter conclusion, but I'm thinking the other way around.

 

[qip]

"Lost" is finally getting good , im not ready yet but i need tv for sports games and morning news and weather

you know they have a cell phone with built in tv projector :twothumbs

 

[R@ndom]

I spent more time trying to revive my flickering e01 yesterday than tv. I wonder if time away from cpf will make me happier..:devil:

 

[RA40]

Combined with net access, the cable run nails us $105/month. If we cut the TV portion, I don't think I'd miss it. It would nearly halve one "utility" expense.

We know a family that to calm the kid, they plop him in front of the TV or drop in a movie. Suffice to say, the child desires constant entertainment. The impact is this child's communication and socializing ability are lacking. As a kid, I got 30 minutes in the morning with Sesame Street then maybe 30-1 hour before bedtime. Homework, no TV till all school work was completed. There were enough times I didn't get TV. Maintained similar in college but by then Sesame Street was a bit too easy.

 

[bearhunter]

"Lost" is finally getting good , im not ready yet but i need tv for sports games and morning news and weather

you know they have a cell phone with built in tv projector :twothumbs

Cell phones Now that is what we need to get rid
of It is the ruination of the world. People are to lazy to walk to a phone. But they can try to drive with a cell crammed in there ear talking
trash or trying to text there ex. Well we just
started a 35.00 fine for driving in town with one crammed in there ear. Finely :twothumbs

 

[EngrPaul]

Save the planet, stop having children. :tinfoil:

LOL, your computer is just another TV.

 

[bluecrow76]

Kudos LL, my family is addicted to electronic stimulation... we are slowly making headway changing habits.

 

[LukeA]

http://www.miwatch.org/2009/02/tv_and_depression.html
http://www.healthvideo.com/video.php?id=1025108&category=Teen+Health
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081113080006.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/22/AR2008112201985.html
http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/weblog/index.php/2008/11/16/happiness-and-tv-watching/
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/World/Story/STIStory_305469.html
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/World/Story/STIStory_305469.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/health/research/10beha.html?partner=rss

With most of this research it is not clear whether watching TV causes unhappiness and depression or whether unhappy and depressed people just watch more TV. Most people draw the latter conclusion, but I'm thinking the other way around.

Correlation does not necessarily equal causation.

 

[LLCoolBeans]

Correlation does not necessarily equal causation.

True, but it's interesting.

I can tell you for certain that my quality of life has improved dramatically.

 

[Sadsack]

Over here we have to pay an annual fee for a TV licence.

It is needed to viewing any publicly broadcast TV channels and I have never once met anybody that is happy about paying it - me included. Refuse to pay it and an enforcement officer will make an unannounced visit to you're door for a little inspection.

There is a friend of mine that does not pay it and instead chooses to watch movies and DVDs and catch up on the news etc online (yes he had an "inspection").

Now I would rather give up TV than the internet.

If someone is willing to sponsor me to give up TV for a year I might consider it!

I just love the way Governments can call something a license when it's really a tax ..

 

[LLCoolBeans]

I just love the way Governments can call something a license when it's really a tax ..

That's what a license is. A tax coupled with a registration.

 

[BVR]

I will keep my TV for a while.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

I don't watch "TV" anymore (other than the Superbowl )

My HDTV is used with my computer as a secondary monitor now, and it gets used for much more productive purposes.

If I do decide I'd like to watch some TV, I'll take a day that I have off, and have nothing better to do, and buy a season of a show I like. I'll then proceed to make some popcorn and snacks and watch the entire season in one go.

I'll watch an episode of House once in a while, but other than that, I don't watch much regularly.

I don't really notice a change in my quality of life since I switched, but I do notice I get a lot more done :shrug:

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I don't know about getting rid of the T.V., but lately it seems like all the news stations say the sky is falling or it's becoming hell on earth. I try to avoid watching the news as it's all doom and gloom. It doesn't seem useful like it should be. I hate watching the T.V. right before dinner and hearing a commercial saying, "A popular food has been recalled and caused the deaths of hundreds. More details to come at 9p.m." Or right before bed 9,10, or 11p.m. they'll say something like, "A murderer who killed 15 people and disposed of the bodies by grinding them up in a wood chipper has escaped and is at large. Tune in tomorrow at 6a.m. to find out who they are, where they escaped from, and if they're in your neighborhood." Try sleeping at night after that announcement. The news doesn't help in real time. When I hear those types of announcements, I don't wait for the news. I find out about it on the internet immediately. I mute commercials or change the channel because half of them gross me out or try to sell drugs that have sideeffects worse than what they treat. I think the weirdest sideeffect I heard was that one drug caused you to drive while sleeping. I try to watch safe channels like the disney channel (no product commercials), or watch movies.