Living without cable

[ripdog]

We sold our house in mid-June and moved into our new house in late July. The builder didn't pay the cable company enough, they asked him for another $400, he didn't pay, they stopped work, the work permit expired, and here we are in October without cable service. I have to say that I don't miss it at all and when it becomes available I don't want it back. Our last bill for expanded basic was $42 and change. I block out at least a third of the offerings and rarely watch many of the channels that I don't block. Disney, CSPAN, Family, etc. How many shopping channels do I need? In 1992 I took our converter box down to the local cable outlet and presented it to them. They asked me what was wrong with it. I said "Nothing. I'm tired of you guys soaking me with rate hikes and not improving the programming and I'm not paying it anymore." I want to put my foot down again, but my wife is hooked on tv and insists that we'll be getting it when it becomes available. Then again, she'll pay $4 for a gallon of milk, which is not an uncommon price to find at the local supermarkets around here, instead of making a second stop to save $2. And it isn't about the $2. It's the principle. I don't think my beef with the cable company is over principles. I just don't want it and I don't care what they're charging for it. Now if I can only convince my wife...

[adios]

"Our last bill for expanded basic was $42 and change."

Slightly higher than here. I get Direct TV so I don't mess with the cable company here, Comcast, in Albuquerque too much. Direct TV is about the same as the cable company I did have to fork out the dough for the equipment. BTW I'll be moving to the Seattle area sometime within the next year or so, who is the operator there?

[Ray Zee]

ripdog, i can solve all your worldly problems. lucky you.
get a c-band dish. since they are going out of favor you can get them with a reeiver and decoder for peanuts. then with this you can just subscribe to only the channels you want. or get a low priced package. plus get a better picture than with any small dish.

as for the milk. get soy or rice milk. it is much better for you and can be stored warm until opened. tastes better once you try it a few times.

[angry young man]

I didn't have cable for a couple of years, it was great. After a few weeks you almost never find yourself wanting to watch tv, and the money is not insignificant (go toss $45/month into an IRA calculator and see how much you can make with that over 25 years or so). Unfortunately my girlfriend/fiance kept pushing for there to be some watchable tv in our house, so I eventually got DirecTV. It came with a deal where I was given 52 free rentals from blockbuster and paid halfprice for 6 months. Now that the half price is gone I'm paying $33, which is a little better than cable, and I prefer the service.

[Boris]

[ QUOTE ]
as for the milk. get soy or rice milk. it is much better for you and can be stored warm until opened. tastes better once you try it a few times.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aha! I knew it. your a vegan. The evidence is undisputable, art gallery openings, soy milk? I guess next you're gonna propose that we all eat seaweed for thanksgiving dinner instead of those juicy gobblers running through your backyard. Do you think its morally acceptable to kill a mosquito?

[Ray Zee]

boris , virtually all seaweed is edible and tasty and very good for you. my turkeys are going to make it thru thanksgiving for sure. i kill bugs.

[Phat Mack]

as for the milk. get soy or rice milk. it is much better for you and can be stored warm until opened. tastes better once you try it a few times.

I hate to admit it, but Ray has talked me into drinking rice milk. He's right: it tastes better, stores forever, and doesn't have all the hormones and chemistry. For me, it didn't take any time at all to prefer it. I didn't like the soy milk as much.

[Ray Zee]

ah ha support, the plot thickens.