I am not the biological father of the 13 year old, although I have been the only father he has known since ~4 years old.

Did it ever occur to you that your comment is COMPLETELY off-topic? Did it ever occur to you that many people do not consider their step {son | father | mother | daughter} as steps? They just consider them as family? Did it occur to you that I am well aware that my wife has a history that she is not completely proud of (are any of us?) and yet I love her anyway?

In summary:

When the adults are ready to speak to you, they will ask you to come from the kiddie table. Kindly, keep your tangential asides to yourself until you realize how much words (like RAPE) are counter-productive.

Until then,

Echo Alpha Delta.

Thanks. I thought this would be something other /.ers were thinking about.

It seems incredibly interesting that those who have been the most helpful are the ones that accept that T.V. will be a part of our lives. Those that understand that have offered great advice. It is also interesting that those who are just completely anti-TV often bring up things (such as commercials) which are obviously answered by my question. One of the "requirements" is having a DVR. By definition, I would assume that would mean I can fast forward through commercials. And, yes, I can turn it off. Yes, I can read a book. These are things I do all the time. The T.V. has been off for over 24 hours (even with the kids and wife in the house) and I cannot remember the last time I personally turned it on. Wait... I can. It was four days ago, after I worked a 14 hour day (all of which I was on my feet) and just wanted some mindless noise to end the day. That is when I heard the hard drive start to die. I am not picking on you, A.C., but it sure is funny that: a. the best advice has come from those who understand that there will be TV in the house (thus, actually answering my question) b. those that have mentioned "read a book" or some such are so mighty and pious that, by their replies, they have made it explicit that their way of life is the only "good, true" way. (Reminds me of some people who are a little too enthused about their religion. I am not talking about one with a big I.... or a little i... or a big C. I am just generalizing.) c. Those that HAVE offered advice have never assumed anything beyond the question (i.e., lifestyle, weight, etc.) whereas so many that have said "keep the TV off" have made several incorrect assumptions. d. While I accept that "entertainment" could be better coming from a computer monitor (more interactive) than a TV, it makes me giggle like a little school girl every time I read someone saying that I AM DOING IT ALL WRONG by watching any TV at all, especially since e. THE WHOLE DAMN POINT OF THE QUESTION WAS TO REDUCE THE COST OF TV. Maybe, some day, I will be the perfect dad and husband and just get rid of it completely. In the mean time, doesn't it make sense to lower the cost and make it easier to get rid of the whole thing?

I know this is not directed towards me, but since I was the submitter of the "article", I am interested in following up. I am happy to take this to e-mail if you would like to continue the conversation and not distract others. todd at zabanet dot net.

I don't understand how a bit of leisure activity is mutually exclusive to doing something more rewarding. Can you enlighten me? I am seriously curious about that.

I have several hobbies. I have even made money from some of them. Some of those hobbies can be done with the television on in the background. The television serves as white noise.

I have never had a poem published, but I have had other things published and I agree. I have also done a ton of work in theatre and having a moment that makes the audience gasp is one of the most amazing feelings I have had. It doesn't compare to seeing my daughter walk in our bedroom in the morning and give me a big goofy grin and realize that she loves me completely. I can still watch T.V. with her and have hobbies.

My B.A. is in philosophy and religion from Cornell College. My wife is finishing her BA this year and is eager to get her MA, all while being a full-time mother and full-time employee. She *IS* taking college courses both online AND at the local uni. Also, my mother runs a self-funded program for continuing education for retirees. Our family loves education, and sometimes watches T.V.

In the past year, off of the top of my head, I have fixed my washer and dryer, rebalanced the loads on some circuits, ran new cables to reduce load on other circuits, and replaced all fans in the house with new ones. I do not understand how this has anything to do with occasionally watching T.V.

Again, I agree. Although, with my skill set, I don't think I could help that much.

This is what I do not understand from some of the people who are commenting. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE ARE DOING WITH OUR LIFE. It is just one tiny aspect of our life.

There is enough value in having a distraction for an hour or so from whatever else is going on in my life. Often, distracting myself helps me find a solution to a problem I was working on.

I think I now understand where you are coming from. I DO NOT spend my life being entertained. I spend a tiny portion of it being entertained, and it doesn't bother me at all. I'll bet it doesn't bother you at all, either. If you disagree, I truly don't understand why you are on slashdot, as it is just one of many forms of entertainment. I also expect that you do not see movies, plays, concerts, etc. Seriously, I am more than willing to discuss this via e-mail, because I am struggling with your point of view.

Great advice. Thank you so much.

My wife is keen on the savings. And, <bragging> my 4 yo is so smart </bragging> that she will love the challenge of a new way to access t.v.

I am still thinking long and hard and will think some more. Thanks again.

Interesting idea. (And, thanks to everyone else for their input, as well. I am enjoying all the different replies.)

Of course, the idea is to save money, so I would probably only offer them 20 bucks each. (or maybe $30... a dollar/day for no T.V.) Of course, as bright as my four year old is, I am not sure that handing her a $20 bill would really latch on...

Since you mention crafts, I want to clarify something that seems to have been lost by many of the people who have commented. Television is only one small subset of our daily lives. Hearing the hard drive start to die in our DVR got me to thinking about the money we are spending on television in relation to the utility it brings us. $100/mo seems excessive when the kids get as much joy helping in our garden, playing in the back yard, going fishing, helping cook dinner, etc.

Oh, and crafts. My 4 yo made me a 2' x 1' father's day card. Every day she colors, draws, etc. and she loves books way more than T.V. She can already sound some words out and is very close to being able to read. She loves dancing and will start dance school in two months. My wife and I have both been actively involved in theatre for the past 7 years. I have done light design for dozens of shows, as well as being tech/crew for several dozen more (including some IATSE gigs). My wife has had roles in plays as has our son.

So, I do appreciate everyone's comments and I do understand why some people have made the assumption that television is a priority. In fact, the reason I wrote the Ask Slashdot question is the the opposite. It seems like we are paying an exorbitant amount of money for the convenience of having T.V. when we want it and I was looking for ways to kill that bill, since T.V. is not necessary, but can be nice...

I was probably not clear enough. I don't think we should do it. I am just saying that what the GP mentioned has been done, so it could be done again. I definitely don't think it is worth the cost to do it for Manhattan with so much more development (both because of being Manhattan and because of having an extra 110 years to develop), but it could be done. I am not an engineer by any means, but I don't see why all the buildings would have to be elevated... fill in the first two stories while you are elevating the land and you are good. (Yeah, you would have to then add doors to what was previously the third floor, etc.)

Again, I am not saying it should be done. I am saying it can be done, as history has proven.

By the way, there are plenty of wooden houses that survived the 1900 storm. Downtown Galveston is full of them.

Well, yeah. That was my point when I said:

"Before the storm, Galveston was nicknamed "the Wall Street of the Southwest" and the storm killed all of that, so it might not be a bad idea for Manhattan to learn from the past and prepare for any future storm."

As far as risk mitigation goes, Manhattan certainly has more pressing concerns than if a hurricane hits it. Yet, rising water levels for whatever reason could definitely have a negative impact there...

As a point of information, we actually did something very close to that in Galveston after the 1900 storm. Neat, huh?

Before the storm, Galveston was nicknamed "the Wall Street of the Southwest" and the storm killed all of that, so it might not be a bad idea for Manhattan to learn from the past and prepare for any future storm.

Yes, I know it won't happen, but we have done it in the past. Imagine if we did do that to Manhattan, right now. Good bye unemployment!

I actually agree with you, and I wasn't trying to be a grammar nazi. It was just amusing to me that an A.C. (who, granted, was replying to an A.C.) would give someone grief about... I dunno... ANYTHING regarding language and then split an infinitive.

After reading the wikipedia entry, I am even more amused for this reason:

Splitting infinitives with negations remains an area of contention:

        I want to not see you anymore.
        I soon learned to not provoke her.

Even those who are generally tolerant of split infinitives may draw the line at these.[10]

The fact that A.C. #2 even decide to respond and then split an infinitive with "to not" whatever... The point IMHO would have been better made if A.C. said

"Is it really that hard to look like a moron?"
"How hard is it to sound smart?"
"Can you you sound like more of a moron?"

et cetera, ad nauseum and so forth...

Conversationally, I am sure I split infinitives all of the time. I don't really care one way or the other. It's just the "to not" that always sticks out, whether I am reading, writing or talking.

With that, I promise to not comment on this thread again.

(You see what I did th...yeah, I am sure you did.)

Just because Star Trek did it ("to boldly go") does not mean you should split infinitives, especially when bagging on someone else's intelligence.

Just sayin'...

What's even worse is living less than 200 miles from Shiner, TX (home of Spoetzl Brewery, only place Shiner beers are brewed) and finding so many restaurants that price it (or even call it!) an import.

I don't have a problem with someone charging me for a "premium" beer, but FFS, if I live in Texas and the beer is from Texas, how can you call it an import?

(The even bigger grumble is that Shiner only costs about seven bucks more per 1/2 bbl... your typical keg.)