Tuesday thoughts

So. We’re already into the second day of the new year and so far so good. At least on the home front. I made no resolutions which makes it a certainty that I won’t break any. I’m already ahead there.

While I don’t have any written resolutions, there are still a few ideas rattling around in my head. As the year wears on, they’ll turn up here.

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The weather is unwinterish again with temps within a half a degree of 41°. And while it would be nice to see a blanket of snow out there, I’ll at least grant that it’s a lot more pleasant going out to fetch arm loads of wood without having to dig through snow to get to it. I’ve also run out of kindling so not needing a fire today is a relief. It’ll take a day or two to scrounge some up from out in back and dry it out.

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Last night the lad and friends arrived home safely from their jaunt to the north woods. The drive back was icy and foggy at the same time, so I was nervous. When they arrived at the door, I had a huge pot of pasta waiting for them and it disappeared in a hurry. I got to hear all about their primitive life style of feeding wood stoves and cooking on them. Yes, there was a regular stove to use, but they wondered if they could survive without using it. Apparently they did. But they surely did make short work of the pasta when they got here.

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The lad’s first semester grades arrived in his e-mail box this weekend. Isn’t technology grand? He did well for his first semester, coming in with a GPA of 3.25. He was very worried that he’d blown a couple of his finals, so was thrilled to find out he’d done much better than he’d thought. Enough to raise his grade in one class. So, three Bs and one A. He allowed as how he could probably raise his grades next semester. He acknowledged that he could play less and work more. I said that sounded like a good attitude to start a new semester off with, but, you know, I’m not complaining in the least. He did well.

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For the past several days I have not had the television on. The world seems to revolve all on its own without me monitoring it. I’ve missed out on the ceremonial aspects of burying a former president and by the sounds of things, I’m probably better off. I’ve been considering just how necessary a multi-channel subscription is since I get almost all my news from the internet and some from public radio. I’m better informed now than I ever was before. There’s not that much entertainment on television that’s worth the price and DVDs are a viable entertainment option. I don’t need 150+ channels and if I’m not using them, it’s a waste. But, of course, neither satellite nor cable offer anything on a level that would satisfy my viewing habits. What I’d like is a basic local channel line-up with an ala carte option for a couple of other selected channels with TiVo. But nothing like that is available here.

I’m not quite to the place yet where I’m ready to cancel contracts and go cold turkey, but I think I’ll experiment by keeping the television turned off for a couple of weeks to see if there are any withdrawals. And then maybe another couple of weeks until I’ve convinced myself one way or the other. I think my options really are limited to all or nothing until cable and satellite offer more options for those of us who don’t want or need huge channel line ups. It’s all about making money for them and my meager wants and needs aren’t money makers, so I don’t anticipate seeing my viewing wishes become reality any time soon.