The Path

The path of least resistance

When I moved in to my 1 bedroom apartment, I didn't have a TV. In fact, I ended up returning the cable box to the apartment office, just to get it out of sight. That is not to say that I didn't watch TV – I would go over to friends' apartments and annoy them by watching TV. The question is what I did to spend my time?

I spent a fortune on an audio system; a bought a Denon CD player[1], an 500W Adcom amp and preamp, and some Kef C75 speakers. I also would make a daily stop at Carol Lee doughnuts to get a cup of coffee and watch the entire town of Blacksburg pass in front of me[2]. Then I'd walk down College Avenue, cross Main, and spend some time at Vinyl Solution, a used CD store. The clerks all knew me, because I'd buy 3 or so discs a week. I collected with a passion. So, I listened with a passion. I had a friend ask to borrow the aparment for a day (why? I never really found out) and I told him to play Moody Blues and Jethro Tull so the neighbors wouldn't think that there was anything awry going on.

I also listened to NPR. Even at the time I listened to Morning Edition and ATC.

Then there were my books. Sigh. At this time my paperback collection was far less than it had been in its heyday. When I was on temporary outs with a girlfriend, I applied and was accepted as a transfer student in linguistics at the University of Hawai'i in Hilo, so I went by the used book store and dropped several carloads of paperbacks for sale—I was trying to reduce what I'd have to move. So, we ended up getting together and the plans for moving to Hilo were shelved.

Then I moved to Alabama. I lived in a cinderblock house in the middle of the woods. It was square and had triangular rooms[3]. There was little room for much furniture and I didn't bother to buy a bed. I slept on the floor, usually with a cat levy. As it was in the woods, I had issues with field mice and scorpions. My philosophy about non-deadly scorpions is to leave them alone – they are territorial and cannibalistic, so eventually you have one large scorpion that you know where hides, who eats the other ones.

Then came the computer. Sigh. I bought a Gateway 2000 (when they were hot shit) for $2800. It was a 386/7 with a 60GB hard drive. I started playing computer games – Sid Meyers Railroad game, which I got from Kolb [4] and Harpoon. Suddenly, I had a path of least resistance – I had passive things to do and my life changed.

Shortly after, my wife came along and then the kids. A TV came back into my life, a bed, and, of course later, TiVo. It is funny how the pendalum swings. As one TV is on the fritz, the other is monopolized by the 4-year old for Barbie movies and Noggin (TV channel). And I have a running battle with my 13-year old over computer time – He plays WoW, which I gave up (the subject of another entry) and is currently watching some multi-part Anime series with, it seems, several hundred parts.

I HAVE HAD THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE REMOVED! Viva La Revolucion!
We'll see how long it lasts.

[1] I was an early adaptor. I bought my first CD player, a Pioneer PD5010 (IIRC), in 1984. It was a bitch to get discs at the time.
[2] I kid you not, I drove down Main Street one day and in three blocks saw two ex-girl friends. And I was noted for long-time relationships.
[3] The architect should have been shot.
[4] Is he coming down this weekend?