Improve your TV experience via the Internet

BE2 (Blog entry number 2)
Today's entry :

How To Productively Watch TV

This week I found a great way to more productively watch TV.

Short Story:
Have a PC with you as you watch TV and look up people or things as you see them on TV. You will learn a lot more than if you just watched the TV only.


Long Story:
While watching TV, have your laptop (or any "PC") right next to you. When something or someone of interest is on the TV, go to http://www.answers.com/ (or your favorite lookup site) and immediately look at the topic of interest.

My mornings are usually started by drinking a cup of coffee while watching the news. I watch some local news, German news, and the Russian news,-all broadcast in English.

The international news sources are very informative and like local news, have supporting web sites. The German web site is (http://www.dw-world.de/) and the Russian site is (http://russiatoday.com/).

These web sites are wonderful. They allow you to get more information on a story, or forward a story link to people you think should know. For example, this week I forwarded an inspiring story http://russiatoday.com/features/news/26704 about a farm they have for disabled people:

Disabled thrive on farm work

"A group of people with special needs have moved to a remote village in the Leningrad region, and made it their home. They work alongside local residents, doing tasks they thought they would never be able to perform. The sort of people who came to live in the isolated village of Svetlana are usually termed as having special needs, but they actually don't need very much. In the sleepy Russian hamlet, 17 disabled people aged between 18 and 54 have found a new home living and working alongside the residents..."

The lady (Sarah Hagnauer) who runs the program is from Scotland and a guy from Germany is also helping out on this Russian farm.

The article ends saying there is really a need for public awareness as we need to create many more facilities similar to this one.

OK, the real premise of this Blog entry now appears!

While watching the Russian News they interviewed Igor Larionov, a former Soviet Hockey player. I didn't know anything about him so I had to make a trip to answers.com The link (http://www.answers.com/Igor%20Larionov) brought back a story of an extraordinary person. After some huge efforts, he won freedoms for the Soviet hockey players that allowed them to play in the NHL. These poor guys had hardships including being stuck in the barracks for up to 11 months of the year -even if married. [For details on this, please see (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/hockey/story?id=1326249)]

Besides working tirelessly for the player's freedom, he was one of the world's best hockey players of all time.

This lesson of using the PC while watching TV has been useful to me and hopefully you will find it of value too.

It is time to start a blog. The goal will be to say things in a somewhat coherent manner that make it worth your while to read this blog.

Maybe readers can avoid making some unnecessary mistakes by learning from people who already made them.

Disclaimers: I will try by best to be accurate and always tells the truth, but nothing written here is guaranteed accurate. Do your own homework and do what makes sense to you.

Today's thought: Personal Freedom. What is it, why you want it, and why aren't more people free?

What is it?
Freedom means being able to do whatever you think you should do.

Why you want it?
Even when you "work" extremely hard to the point of exhaustion on some activity, if you are free to make this choice, you are happy. (I can speak from experience -and from reading about the experiences of reading about other people.) Consider freedom more precious than gold, diamonds, or whatever "the world" considers precious. Freedom means you have control of your time. Even gold or diamonds can not buy you time.

What is the opposite of freedom ?

Having to do things you think are wrong or not worth doing Often this is work related where the company has you do things equivalent to "stick your finger in your ear and hold it there for two hours". And the company does not want to hear any suggestions as to why you shouldn't stick your finger in your ear. Rent the movie "Office Space" http://www.answers.com/topic/office-space?cat=entertainment if you need to get an example.

Why aren't more people free?
Because the businesses do not want people to be free -they will lose control of you. If you always owe them money, they will own you to some extent.

People lose -or never get their freedom because they don't think. They never were taught to think, only react. React to the ads to spend money you don't even have, which of course you must repay at a high interest rate. (In my much younger days, I spent so much time thinking about cars. I wanted a Ford Torino with a 427inch 425 horsepower engine. http://www.answers.com/topic/ford-torino How would having this car made my life better?) Other than maybe my house, I can't think of one possession that made my life better or more enjoyable long term. Certainly no possession worth sacrificing my freedom.)

Even now, every month the credit card companies send offers pleading for me to get into debt. The car companies send offers encouraging me to get into debt. And we haven't even mentioned the loan equity offers that arrive on a regular basis...

Does this sound familiar to you?

Consider carefully anything that will put you in debt. Five years from now, will you be happy with this purchase? Think about what is really important.

Footnote: There are life events not in your control. Taking care of an ill person, or having to finish unpleasant school work to get a desired degree. Since these types of things are not in your legitimate control, accept them and focus on what you can control. Working at an unpleasant job to pay the bills may be unavoidable in the short term, but long term you should be able to find change this and gain some measure of freedom.)