About to start the next No-TV challenge

Um, yeah.... It's me again. And yes, I've been watching a little TV.  OK, I've been watching a shit-ton of TV. I'm actually embarrassed to see the last post here was in August of 2006, and I've been back to my old habits for quite some time.

On a positive note, I haven't forgotten all the reasons I gave up TV before, and this blog has been sitting here quietly calling to me for the past 6 years. Holy crap, did I just say 6 years?!?!  :(

Anyway, stay tuned cuz I have a new focus in the upcoming new year. I've started up a new personal blog (http://davemauder.blogspot.com), another blog where I'm going to review Made in USA products I've been buying for the past 2-3 years, and I have a few other irons in the fire as well. If I work on these new projects like I want to, there won't be much time for TV. That's the plan anyway!

Oh, and I'm also going to cancel Netflix before the next billing cycle starts on 12/13 (more on that later).

For now, keep well and please -- turn off the damn TV and do something productive! 

A New Weapon in the War Against TV

OK, this is a beautiful thing! After my last post, I kept surfing around for more anti-TV stuff to get me motivated. Luckily I found this HILARIOUS article about a TV vigilante in New York who goes around turning off TV's in stores, bars, or wherever he happens to find them!

How does he do it without getting busted? With the TV-B-Gone Universal TV Remote Control of course!

How awesome is that? I'm thinking I could have a blast with one of these little devices. Imagine the confusion and bewilderment as TV's start randomly turning off in department stores, bars, restaurants, homes, etc.

You can read the TV vigilante article here, but then how about going to get your own TV-B-Gone and join the fight against MIND SEWAGE!

TV is McDonaldizing our perspectives, knowledge, tastes and desires!

I've been failing miserably at my latest Anti-TV campaign. My goal, when I started this blog, was to eliminate TV from my life. That hasn't quite happened yet, but I won't quit trying until I'm 100% TV free.

I quit smoking cold-turkey over 15 years ago, so I'm not about to believe that the boob-tube is a stronger addictive force than nicotine! If I kicked the cigs and never went back, I can certainly beat this TV thing!

Anyway, after spending almost 10 hours today in front of the television (no, I'm not kidding), I decided it was time for a little anti-TV motivation. I asked my wife if she ever felt guilty wasting so much time in front of the tube doing absolutely nothing. Her answer, not surprisingly, was "NO." She feels that she works hard, so when she has the opportunity to relax, she takes it.

I question whether having your ass plopped in front of the TV for 10+ hours is really the best way for anyone to relax, but it's almost pointless trying to reason with her.

Anyway, after a little Googling for new anti-TV info, I came across an interesting website. Oddly enough, it's a Islamic site and most of the stuff I read is directed as Muslims. Personally, I think we're all equal in the eyes of the evil TV gods, so feel free to substitute in whatever religion you are as you read. :-)

In addition to this article, they have a whole series called the "UnTV Guide". I love it!

So here's an excerpt from the first article I landed on which was titled, "Television and You"...

Night after night, we sit for long hours in dark rooms. Identical images flow into our brains, McDonaldizing our perspectives, knowledge, tastes, desires.

We spend more hours watching nature shows than experiencing the real thing; more time laughing at TV jokes than making jokes ourselves; more time experiencing TV sports than actually picking a ball in our hands.

Halal and haram are lost when eyes are mesmerized, fixed on that 19" piece of furniture.

Our brains are targeted at the rate of 3,000 marketing messages per day -- twelve billion display ads, three million radio ads and over 300,000 TV commercials toxins are dumped on us. Our attention spans are diminishing, our imaginations giving out, we are unable to remember the past.

While competing for the best of this world, we once in a while recall about the everlasting life. But that moment doesn't last very long. It is washed away pretty fast as we willingly set down for another session with the thing.

Continue reading here...

I don't know about you, but I thought that was pretty powerful! The whole reference to McDonald's was perfect too because I just watched "Super Size Me" again with my parents yesterday. Maybe someday, when I get the TV monkey off my back, I'll start an anti-fast-food blog.

8 Changes I Experienced After Giving Up TV

Steve Pavlina is apparently doing a WHOLE lot better than I am at avoiding the idiot box. A couple weeks ago, he published this article about the 8 Changes he Experienced After Giving Up TV.

This is a great article and should provide some motivation by realizing how much of a time and energy leech the tube really is.

Day 1 - Survived a night without the idiot box

Well, I made it through last night, which I'm considering to be Day 1 in my new anti-TV campaign. As I look ahead, I almost dread all the symptoms I'm going to encounter as I attempt this again. The nervousness, fidgiting, wondering what to do with my time... It's much more difficult that most might imagine, especially if you aren't addicted to TV.

Anyway, I ate dinner away from the tube, and then did some reading and made a few updates to my website. Then I spent about an hour talking to my wife. It was quite nice, and I really didn't miss the TV at all. but then again, the withdrawal doesn't really set in until about the 3rd day.

Another Anti-TV Wakeup Call

Somebody is trying to tell me something... Jesse from "You Need A Budget" just posted an article about investing, and somehow managed to work the TV thing in.

I guess it's time for another full-blown campaign to kill the boob tube! :-)

No More TV for Steve Pavlina

Yes, it really has been almost a year since I last posted to this blog. And yes, I totally fell off the wagon and went back to watching TV. In fact, I'm right back to watching the tube pretty much every night while I eat, and then later falling asleep on the couch or floor while the TV plays on throughout the night.

It's actually quite pitifull...

But today, I was fortunate enough to read a new post over on StevePavlina.com about his experiment with giving up TV. Steve's site and blog is one of my most favorite right now because everything he writes about is stuff I'm interested in. His ability to articulate complex and thought provoking topics is really incredible.

Anyway, Steve is in the middle of a 30 day TV fast which be believes will most likely turn into a TV-free life. His post, and a few other anti-TV sites he linked to, reminded me of all the reasons I tried to give up the tube before.

I was successful last year for a little over 30 days, so lets see how well I can do this time. Drop me a comment here if you've already given up TV, or if you plan to, and tell me about your experience.

PS. Steve blogged last year about his whole family doing a 30 day TV fast. It includes many great comments by other readers.

A Bonified Couch Potato

Here's another one of those "totally scientific" tests I found to determine if you're a hopeless TV addict or not.

I have to admit the test is pretty easy, but it's still no surprise I scored a perfect Couch Potato.

Here are my results...

You scored 100 out of a possible 100 points.

How'd you do? Compare your score to the ranges below.
0-20: You prefer a good book.
40-60: TV temperate.
80-100: Couch potato!

Go take the test and see how you fare. The website also has some great family ideas for things to do instead of watching TV.

Why Does TV Suck?

Don't worry, I'm still not watching TV, but I'm also not doing much else either. I just haven't felt like blogging because I'm still in a mental funk. Until someone sends me some really good drugs, or until I snap out of it on my own, you'll just have to deal.

I was surfing around tonight and found these really good reasons why TV sucks and I figured someone else might enjoy them as much as I did:

1. It's totally passive. One of the biggest problems with T.V. is that it doesn't take much brainwork to operate it. You turn it on, sit down, and watch. And watch...and for millions of people, it takes up 2/3 of their lives. They come home from work, turn on the T.V., and just glaze over until bedtime. They sit their kids down in front of it and let it baby-sit for hours on end. Kids are subjected to all kinds of worthless programming just so their parents can take a break from parenting for a few hours every day.

2. It spoonfeeds useless garbage to the public. Brainless sitcoms, sleazy tabloid news shows, worthless talk shows, cheesy infomercials, biased & negative reporting, and advertisements that insult the intelligence of the average titmouse. But when the public is trained to love this stuff, how can it fail to please? When T.V. is your third parent while growing up, how can you be expected to turn it off after five hours?

3. It's increasingly anti-male. This is something I began to notice years ago. Do you ever notice how men are treated and portrayed in commercials and sitcoms? The average male on T.V. is a shallow, bumbling idiot with no common sense whatsoever. Now, before some of you women out there claim that this is reality, think about it. Do you think this is accurate because all the men you know are stupid, or is it because men are classically portrayed as idiots on T.V., the greatest influence on our culture ever? Commercials are the worst...usually the man is an overweight, balding guy with glasses who needs some help from his omnipotent wife. T.V. men are incompetent and helpless without their smirking, intellectually superior spouses. Once in a while I'll see a woman acting silly and superficial, but usually it's a man. (Radio is getting this way as well. I can't count the number of times I've driven to work and yelled at my radio all the way because of man-bashing ads. They're usually subtle, but sometimes they're just outright vicious.)

4. Too damn many car commercials. My God...why can't I sit through a half-hour show without having to suffer through 10,000 car and truck ads? I'm not saying that we need regulations against it or anything, but when will enough be enough? Whatever happened to looking in the Yellow Pages or reading the newspaper?

There are definitely a WHOLE lot more reasons than these why TV sucks, but I don't feel like coming up with any of my own right now.

:-)

Couch Potato Syndrome?

I finally figured out what ails me! Read this article about a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Here's a short excerpt which is a real head slapper.

NBC 10 NEWS - Health - Study: Too Much TV Is Bad For Health: "People who spend a lot of time in front of the TV have this kind of couch potato syndrome,' said Dr. Frank Hu, of the Harvard School of Public Health. 'They eat more food, eat more calories and eat more junk food because of constant exposure to TV commercials. And they also exercise less."

As soon as CPS (Couch Potato Syndrome) is recognized as an official disorder, I can apply for assistance under the Americans With Disabilities Act and finally get some time off work. ;-)

If you're so inclined, you can pay for access to JAMA and read the entire study.

My Brain Won't Remember Anymore

I found a blog post by "Storypage" talking about his break from TV. He's been away from it about 30 days now too, but something he mentioned in his post caught my attention.

My Frugal Life: No TV: "I don't see TV pictures in my head. I see (as in notice) more things as I go through my day, live more mindfully, remember more."

I've been noticing that I can't seem to remember anything lately, and I have to wonder if it's somehow related to my long-standing TV addiction. My brain has been turned into complete mush from the hundreds of hours of TV I subjected it to, and now it's getting even.

When I do try to remember something, I can't seem to get the information to surface when I need it. It's like a wall up there blocking the details from getting to where they need to be. Then, hours later, when I no longer need the info, it pops into clear view! Maybe my brain is trying to heal itself and get all those synapses working again between the two hemispheres.

Hey I don't know what it's doing, but I certainly hope and pray it will get better the longer I'm away from the tube.

The Big 30 Day Milestone

Where has Dave been since July 3rd?? Good question...I'm not sure either.

For the past week, I've been totally in the dumps (mentally) for some reason. I haven't felt like doing anything. I'm not sure if it's because of the weather or because I'm depressed about our modular home. Or it could be because I discovered a bunch of water damage in the master bathroom of our existing home. I've just been laying around the house and doing a whole lot of nothing (it seems). I try to read or surf the net a bit, but nothing holds my attention.

Weather wise, it's been way too hot to feel good about doing anything. I haven't been out on my bike, or working in the yard much. And then to run the air conditioning inside, I'm always stewing about how much that is going to run our electric bill up. I'm hopeless!

As far as the modular home on the lake thing goes, nothing seems to be working out. We never did hear anything back on the counter-offer we made on that piece of property. I guess they didn't like the terms of the offer. Oh well... Now, Michele and I are arguing about whether or not to list it with a realtor and just try to get rid of it. She REALLY wants a place up on a lake in Michigan, and I just want to dump the place.

So anyway, the good news is I've made it to the big 30 day mark of my break from TV!!! I have to say the last week has made it a bit rough and I even had one minor back slide.

Yesterday, which was day 30, I watched one show on CNN called something like The Turnaround. It's where they take a struggling business and bring in a mentor to completely turn the business around and make it more successful. It was around lunch time, and Michele was already watching it. The people talking on the show caught my attention because I love to learn how businesses are able to turn things around and become successful, so I didn't see the harm in watching just while I ate my lunch. It was a very interesting and educational show, and I'm not going to beat myself up about watching it.

I'll get back to blogging on a regular basis again, mainly for me, because it helps keep me on track and focused on the reasons I stopped watching TV in the first place. I also need to figure out what to do to get out of this mental funk I'm in. Exercising would probably do the trick, but every time I think about doing that, some little voice in my head quickly talks me out of it. :-)

Finally - TV Addicts Anonymous :-)

I just found out one of my blog visitors, Chris S., has also been blogging about his TV addiction. I believe he's on day 9 of his TV abstinence. Way to go Chris!

The absolutely hilarious thing is that Chris and I have discovered we're going through very similar experiences during our liberation from the boob tube. Specifically, the withdrawal symptoms and our desire to start organizing everything!

So, I encourage you to visit Chris over at his blog, TV Addicts Anonymous, and show your support.

TV and Procrastination - A vicious Cycle

Check out Kat talking about her TV addiction and how it feeds her procrastination problem. Boy oh boy, can I relate to this blog post!

Here's a short excerpt I pulled out:

First and foremost, I am a complete and utter T.V. addict. If they had a T.V. addicts anonymous, I'd be at the front of the line. I turn on the T.V. when I wake up in the morning and as soon as I get in the front door after work. It's a habit I've nutured since my car accident and I'll be the first to admit that it's soaked up almost all of my writing time. And I've let it.

Read the entire post here at...THE SOAPBOX:

A link between TV watching and ADD

Alright now, I'm certainly no expert but I just knew there had to be a link between the television and ADD. Here's a quote from the article I found:

Studies show ADHD increased with the introduction of children’s television in the 1950s and then spiked higher in the mid 1980s when VCRs and home video became commonplace. Although the condition is known to be genetic, scientists have noted its rapid spread throughout every social class of children, and guessed that there could be an environmental cause. TV watching is a cause, this study shows.

Read the whole thing here...

The Long Awaited Before & After Office Pics

It's not perfect, but I'll take it! Here are the long awaited pictures of my office after the I-can't-watch-TV-so-maybe-I'll-organize-something bug bit me.




There's definitely more to do, but it's a great start. My bookshelves need some serious help. I plan on eBay'ing all the books and manuals I no longer use or want. The printer you see sitting on the floor should be up on eBay sometime this weekend too.

If you look at the right side of my desk (in the above pics) you can see a couple of stackable trays. Out of the entire mess that used to be on my desk and around the office, that's all I have left to process. Well, OK... I lied just a bit. There is one box left in my closet which contains the remains of all my sorting and purging. It's not stuff I really care about now, but it is stuff I need to file away for reference/archive purposes.

Here's a brief reminder of what my desk looked like just two days ago:


I vow, right here before God and all my Anti-TV peeps, I will continue to collect, process, and purge all my "stuff" until only the important "stuff" is left.

Now here's the biggie (for me anyway)... I'm also going to get my personal financial information back up-to-date in the computer, starting at January of this year.

Back in the day, I used to keep my info (bank, credit, and investment records) up to date in Quicken like it was a religion or something. It felt really good to be in total control and know exactly where we stood financially at a moments notice.

Today, I have a pretty good idea, but I'm not in control like I used to be. I miss that. It's also hypocritical of me to preach to others about matters of money when I myself have managed to get slightly off track recently. Hey, I blame it on the TV!

So this year, I've decided to dump Quicken and make the big switch to Microsoft Money 2005. I spent some time playing around with Money 2005 and it's a HUGE improvement over past versions. Where they were lacking in past versions, there are now several great reasons to switch.

I'm rambling about things you probably don't care about, so I think I'll sign off for the night and get some sleep.

My Life Has Been Reduced to...

THIS!

That's right fellow TV haters -- you're looking at bag #2 of feckless indoctrination obliviated into tiny bits of nothingness.

Actually I did most of the work last night, but was simply too tired to care about taking a picture at the time. Tonight, I finished up one last small stack of shredding that needed to be done. I even took time out to watch Coach Carter on DVD, which I highly recommend by the way! It was inspirational...I laughed...I cried...I felt good inside.

My office is starting to really show promise. I can see the top of my desk, and I've eliminated at least 3 of the boxes that were sitting around on the floor. However, it looks like I might need another day before I can post some 'after' pictures. So stay tuned...

If you're wondering about that little dog head sticking out of the bag, I'm not sure what to say. I tried to keep him away from the shredder, but he kept begging and jumping up on it. Next thing I knew, he was getting sucked in. Thankfully it got stuck at his shoulders, overheated, and turned off.

HA! Just kidding! Now I hope that doesn't generate a flood of hate mail from a bunch of animal lovers. Trust me, I would NEVER do anything to hurt my little Reeses boo! :-)

Of course, I did use him against his will to pose for the picture. That's pure poochie exploitation. Hey, he got a treat out of it!

I'm sure you're asking yourself why Dave spent 2 hours tonight in front of the evil boob tube to watch a movie. Well I've talked about this in previous posts, but I do think it's OK to "use" the TV once in a while for a little entertainment. It's also one of the rare occasions when I can still spend some time with the family. Remember, they're all still possessed by the thing, but I'm slowly working toward a full exorcism.

Simply trust that there is a method to my madness.

Until next time...

Time for a Party - I'll Bring the Confetti!

Friends, that is one MONSTER bag of shredded uselessness!

In case you're wondering why I've posted a picture of a bag filled with tiny scraps of paper, you'll need to read my previous posts from earlier tonight. Er, make that from late last night.


As always, you can click on the pic for a larger view.

If I had to guess, I'd say it weighs at least 30 pounds. I even had to squish it down with my foot twice to get more in there.

Do you realize that bag represents about 4 years worth of old receipts, statements, bills, and God knows what else? All the while I was shredding, I kept asking myself, "Why...why in the world would I save all this crap?!?"

Wait, I know! Because I was too busy doing other important things like trying to make a permanent imprint of my butt in one of the couch cushions.

Geesh, would ya' look at the time? I'm obviously delirious from sleep deprivation.

BEFORE: The Home Office Wasteland

After my last post, I decided to throw you a little bone by at least posting the before pictures from my home office nightmare.

Check these out... (click any picture for a larger view)




Can you believe that mess?!?! How do you suppose I can find anything in there??

Oh, news flash -- I CAN'T!!! :-(

The boxes you see sitting on the floor contain paperwork I've been moving from house to house for several years now. And there are at least three more boxes in the closet which you can't see in these pics. If you ask me, that pretty much defines insanity!

Like I said, I'm working on it now, and I'll post the "after" pictures in a few days. I would've never got around to doing this if I was still watching television.

The Paper Clutter MUST BE STOPPED!

It's Day 20 of my TV-fast and either I'm getting really bored or my energy is returning and I'm finally starting to get more productive.

Why? I'm gonna tell you...

At the moment, I'm sitting in my office next to three boxes and several stacks of old paperwork and receipts I pulled off my desk and out of my closet. Next to the paper mess is my shredder and a garbage bag full of shredded paper! For the past 2-3 hours I've been sorting and tossing, mostly tossing.

Gosh it really feels good; almost spiritual if you can believe that! Having tons of old useless stuff around you all the time literally saps your energy. You might not realize it, but you are always thinking about things in your life that are not done or not in their proper place. Even if it's totally on a subconscious level, it's still consuming your energy and affecting your daily routine.

Remember my post from a couple days ago about the book, Getting Things Done, and how it spurred me to completely empty my email inbox at work? Well, it was last Thursday when I did that, and it's STILL empty today!

This is a very strange phenomena, but I truly feel about 10 times more productive at work. Since I no longer have 1000+ not-dealt-with messages in my inbox and I'm now dealing with new emails almost the moment they come in, I'm able to get a lot more done, and feel much more in control of my day. If I'm away from my desk for a while, I take 5-10 minutes when I return to deal with everything that has accumulated. No matter what it is, I either delete it, defer it to someone else, file it away for future action or reference, or I create an appointment or task out of it depending on what it is of course.

Needless to say, this puts me in a MUCH better mood while at work, and I feel closure and accomplishment when I leave for the day.

So, do I attribute all this new found energy and desire to get organized to the fact that I'm no longer watching the idiot box? You bet I do!!! Otherwise, I'd still be laying on the family room floor staring at the cool blinky flashy screen for 4-6 hours every night. In fact, that's what Michele is doing right now. She has MAJOR issues! LOL

Stay tuned because in a few days I'm going to post the before and after pictures of my home office so you can see the results of my organizing efforts. You're gonna love it! :-)