I almost miss cable. But only today.

A few months ago we turned in our cable boxes to Time Warner and went completely to Internet TV. I bought a Mac Mini to be the HTPC or media server or whatever you want to call it: the computer that stays plugged in to the TV and stereo all the time. “I pretty much killed an older HP laptop trying to make it do that.”

We’ve been watching a lot less TV, which was certainly a big reason we did it, along with saving a hundred bucks a month. Most of the shows we like are streamed via the network Web site or Hulu. The one exception was Mad Men, and we bought that per episode from iTunes, which I will probably do with Top Gear, the BBC car show, once the new season is available. All in all, apart from some glitchy periods “possibly due to the fact that we live in an unusually-high-bandwidth-using neighborhood”, it’s worked well. Until the snow.

We’ve been stuck inside the house for almost 48 hours. We’ve watched everything in our Hulu queue. We watched the Netflix DVDs we had in the house and, cruelly, discovered that the copy of “The Hangover”; we received is unplayable for some reason. Last night, desperate for some form of mindless entertainment after a long day trying to keep The Boy amused, I delved deeper into the Netflix and Hulu archives.

Let’s just say there isn’t a lot of deep there to delve in. There’s a reason you haven’t heard a lot of people standing around the water cooler talking about most of these shows. A lot of them have that quasi-Euro crossover look that means they were probably filmed in Vancouver by a director who was shortlisted but ultimately rejected for a series on The WB. I’m sure a lot of them have cult followings. That may sound like a good thing to you. It may not.

The sun is out and the snow is thinking about melting, but I’m not optimistic we’ll be going to work tomorrow. Which means I may soon be catching up on old episodes of “McMillan and Wife.”

The Boy in the Snow


We got about six inches of snow overnight Friday, which is a heck of a lot for North Carolina. I was hoping Conrad would enjoy it, but so far, not so much. I think it’s the uncertainty of the footing that bothers him. We went out yesterday and he immediately fell over about five times, then wanted to be carried. Can’t say as I blame him. It’s no fun feeling like you’re not in control of your feet.

We tried it again today and he was over it after about five minutes “so today’s time-getting-dressed-to-time-in-the-snow ration was more like 6:1”. I think he only humored me for the promise of hot chocolate.

A few observations on the human condition, from I-95

Most obnoxious drivers: NY, NJ, MA. Most clueless/oblivious: SC, NC “sorry, beloved home state”.
Impossible to classify but still likely to be doing something stupid: FL.

I also despair of our ability as a nation to master the complex issues facing us when we are unable to grasp the concept, “Slower traffic keep right.”

Finally, I’m thinking that I didn’t really need the TomTom iPhone app for this trip:

“Take I-95 North… for a long, long time… until you know where you are.”

Posted via email from David B. Thomas