Below is an email exchange that shall interest you.

———— Original Message ————
Subject: Re: i knew but i didn’t know how much
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:38:32 -0500
From: tcr!
To: jimithesaint

Yep, we pay only for high-speed Internet through Comcast, the big cable TV provider. We used to have cable for the TV but dumped it a few years back.

We have two main online services for TV shows and movies:

- http://www.netflix.com/
- http://www.hulu.com/

The former we pay the $8 a month to watch as much as we want as often as we want. They have a good selection of old shows and movies.

The latter we go with the free plan and watch current episodes of shows as they become available. A good selection of “aired yesterday” shows. If you wanna pony up another $8 a month, you’ll get a nice archive of older stuff and full seasons.

Between the two of those, we have plenty to watch and so do the kids. Plus there’s always YouTube for quick comic relief or whatever. It took a little while for me to get used to “not” channel surfing but I think it’s better because when we do watch something, it’s because we want to watch it and just not because it’s on.

You can also buy TV shows and movies from iTunes and on Amazon.com to watch instantly. I never use either of those just because Netflix and Hulu do me just fine.

For radio, I use http://tunein.com/ and they have boatloads of stations. Most radio stations also stream their music, shows, etc. online and TuneIn basically puts them all in one easy to find/listen place. And it’s free. I listen to WBEZ, the local Chicago NPR but then also New York’s NPR and Minnesota’s. :-)

We have a couple of laptops and those are nice for putting on the bed to watch a sitcom or something. For movies, we have a Mac Mini hooked up to the TV in the basement. When we bought our big TV, that was one of the criteria — it must be easily connectable to a computer and most are now-a-days.

JZ has a Roku hooked up to her TV in her room — http://www.roku.com/ — and she can use our Netflix account to watch whatever as well. It can play other stuff, too but I don’t know much about it since it’s her thing.

So nuking the cable TV wasn’t a bad thing. And even better is that since over-the-air TV went digital a couple years back, just get an HD antenna and you’ll probably get 20 or so channels for free, just like the rabbit-ear days, but these channels will be crisp and clear. I’d wager that your ballgames and presidential debates will be on there.

I’d suggest giving Netflix’s free month trial a go and using Hulu’s and TuneIn’s free service and see how it works for ya. Plus, if you can’t find your must-see-it movie, just go rent it for your Blu-Ray.

Any other thoughts?

———— Original Message ————
Subject: i knew but i didn’t know how much
Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2012 02:47:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: jimithesaint
To: tcr!

i was watching francis ford coppola’s “dracula” and started reading a comments page about it. it’s obvious that it was on cable this month due to the recent dates on the posts.

i was completely entertained by how serious everyone takes their opinion. all with the safety of anonymity behind them. it was ridiculous. how ambitious and proud they were of their wordcraft. and how sensitive some were to the opinions of others.

i knew this kind of thing went on, IE: chat rooms, but it was such an eye opener. one person would offer an opinion and someone would respond as if it were IMPORTANT to correct the first one. and then it exploded.

i’d like your advice on the whole cable thing. we have our phone and internet bundled, so we have been pretty tied up. we just bought the blu-ray box and are moving toward less cable. we don’t watch too much network programs, and the only sports i watch are baseball. mostly what i watch are old movies or old tv shows. elaine likes old tv shows, ones that are on A&E or USA type networks.

anything you think and how to go about it. i remember you telling me while i was at your house that you get it all or most off the internet. i assume you must pay for an internet connection. are you then able to get network tv and/or radio off the net?

please advise.

#email #tv

elaineorr writes:

Free on Saturday and Sunday — Any Port in a Storm.

You don’t need a Kindle to read it — you can download to your computer. Lots of laughs in this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Gentil-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B0098CF7RC/

Elaine L. Orr
Sept. 17th — Any Port in a Storm
www.elaineorr.com
@elaineorr55 Follow me on Twitter
Links to all books at: www.amazon.com/author/elaineorr, or BN & Smashwords.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968).

#literature

How time flies… 6 years ago this month that I left.

#photos #coffee #microsoft

Only 40 cents for the Black Bottle of Death!

#photos #awesomeness

“Lemme know how your Google comes out for that…”

Feel free to use as needed.

#paddling

10 Hilarious Portraits of Dogs Underwater

Back in February, the Sifter profiled the wonderful work of Seth Casteel. His series of underwater dog portraits took the Internet by storm. The unexpected surge in popularity promptly shut down his website (due to a massive traffic spike), earned him 125,000 new fans on Facebook and also led to tons of press coverage and new work opportunities including: an assignment for the New York Times in Alaska and a marketing project for Walt Disney Design Studios.

The final culmination of this viral sensation is the book Underwater Dogs, which you can purchase online here. Seth was kind enough to share with the Sifter some exclusive photos from the book to celebrate today’s launch.

These are really good.

#funnies

To find out why this beetle has a spiky penis, scientists shaved it with lasers

The thing in the photo above, I’m sad to say, is a penis. It belongs to the male seed beetle. And just in case you’re holding out hope that appearances are deceiving, I can assure you they are not. Those spikes are hard and sharp, and they inflict heavy injuries upon the female beetles during sex. Why would such a hellish organ evolve?

This isn’t just about beetles. The animal kingdom is full of bafflingly-shaped penises adorned with spines, spikes, and convoluted twists and turns. In some animal groups, like certain flies, penis shape is the only clue that allows scientists to distinguish between closely related species.

Oh you, scientists.

#meanwhile #animalkingom

The Walking Dead: Andrew Lincoln on Rick’s Growing Darkness

“I think his humanity is pretty intact but his ruthlessness, his decision making, has moved into a Shane point of view. There is an uncompromising nature that I think has happened over time to Rick. The other thing to bear in mind is that he is the most isolated, both in his group and in his relationship. I don’t think he is in the most stable—certainly when I was playing it, I wanted it to be this instantaneous, almost Pavlovian reaction to the situation. Certainly, in season one and season two, I don’t think he would have been so quick to make that judgment call.”

“That’s one of the joys of playing Rick. The moral ambiguity of the show is the most interesting part for me—certainly as an actor—because in any other world, any other situation that wasn’t Hell you wouldn’t make these kinds of calls. You wouldn’t be pushed into this corner to make these calls. The thing that dignifies him and helps to justify the situation is the fact that he always has their safety as a priority, so it becomes this sort of selfless act even though it’s incredibly evil. His humanity is never fully taken away from him, although as we go through this season it diminishes and diminishes and that’s all I will say.”

I’d wager it won’t be long before he turns on others in the group, just to keep them in line and ultimately protect that baby that isn’t his.

#tv #thewalkingdead

I have CDO. It’s like OCD but all the letters are in alphabetical order AS THEY SHOULD BE.

Finally.

#rememberthis

Balloon Animals: A Video Tutorial by Ira Glass

Ira Glass shares some of his children’s-entertainment skills with you, while answering your questions about haircuts and blow jobs.

He’s quite good with the balloon twisting and his commentary is delightful.

#videos #awesomeness