I unplugged 32 years ago.

However, after watching a crew do the filming of a tv show here in Portland a while ago, I was shocked at how many people and how long to took to film tv shows. It takes several hours or even days to film what would be about a minute on tv.

Those people are all paid union wages

Those people are paid by advertisers and subscribers.

So, I can foresee one of two things happening if enough pull the plug like I did.

Either we will see worse shows (skimping on the costs of filming) or more commercials to make up the lose of subscriber revenue.

Here in Portland, we have Movie Madness, a video store with perhaps the largest selection of titles on the west coast. If I want to watch something (and most often it's a classic like Sound of Music), I go there and rent a dvd. Four days for three dollars.

I have been without TV for 34 years and I have have an extremely fulfilling life.

I have these wonderful hobbies that give me more entertainment. I happen to a a light artist and I really love it.

If you want to see some of the things that I make during the time I could have watched TV, go to http://www.allyn.com/

If you are in Portland, Oregon, and you see someone with jewelry and clothing that glows in the dark, that's me.

Motors' speeds are governed by the frequency (60 hz). DC motors will go faster with higher voltages. Not AC.

What you will end up with is an overheated motor.

First run, the house got essentially nothing.

Second run; aka; the 'dollar' houses; the rent from the distributors is much lower.

The first two or three months (first run time) is what makes/breaks a film from what I hear.

Here in Portland, Oregon, McMinimans (a local pub/theater chain) charges 6 in prime time; they also have pizza as well as popcorn

The Laurelhurst and Clinton (two independent theaters) charge $6 in prime time.

The Hollywood (art theater) charges $7 in prime time.

As I see things right now, I think I have been quite spoiled by my experience at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

WPI had a club called the Lens And Lights Club. The Lens And Lights Club (L&LC did all stage lighting and sound on campus. That includes plays, films, concerts; no matter what.

All of the work; including equipment maintenance, operation, selection, evaluation; you name it; was performed by students.

This was a great experience and when I was there, I had made an assumption that this was the way things were at all other universities. It made total sense. It gave the students 'ownership' of the entire process and it was a very good real life experience of essentially running a lighting, sound, and movie projection business.

Then I came to find out that many universities, including the University of Washington in Seattle, use union labor for much of the lighting and sound in its theaters. That means hands off for everyone else.

This, in my opinion, is a very serious mistake. They are denying the students a valuable education and experience.

The members of the L&LC were not paid. However, they got a priceless education over and above their lecture and lab work.