The History Channel now

[Tom Flanigan]

Reality shows are really garbage. Especially the couple of wilderness survival shows I watched. I can't watch them anymore. They are incredible phoney. I take three trips a year to the Rockies in Colorado to catch the greenback cutthroat trout which only exist above about 12,000 feet. I spend five days alone on a high peak that is 13,300 feet. I take no food and forage for edible greens and eat brook trout for five days that I bring to altitude with me. I know all about survival in a hostile environment and what I need to do to stay out of trouble.

I watched one show that where the "survivalist" stated many things that were dangerously wrong. I couldn't believe it. What he said could get someone in big trouble.
The guy knew nothing about survival in an area far away from the nearest human. I turned the show off when he made a big deal about catching a brook trout. He took the live trout, bit the head off and then ate it whole. What utter nonsense. I'm sure he was at a low altitude location with many people filming. The fact that they put a jerk like that on and called him a survival expert really got to me. Horrible!! It still pisses me off when I think about it.

[stumpstalker]

Quote: "Wow! That’s quite a statement. You have never bought a TV?"
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Mike:

That’s right, never bought one, don’t have one in my house; but, probably will if a house-mate comes in here and buys one for his own room. Huge surcharge, but not impossible, if he wants it put in a common room.

I did once own a TV. Was then renting an apartment in Boston. Girlfriend living across town bought a second color TV and gave me her old black and white. Turned it on one time only, to watch Reagan give his Evil Empire speech. The next time I tried to view something it no longer powered up.

So, we set it up in a friend's backyard as a target for harpoon practice. Had the satisfaction of “breaking the target”, that is, seeing the hand-launched pole smash the plastic screen and continue on through and out the back-side of the unit, all done with a panache rarely achieved since.

Hey, it has been said that the things you like to do between the ages of 13 and 23 are the things that keep you happily occupied the rest of your life.

Books I have never read; others that at this stage in life can now be satisfyingly re-read; there is internet; collections to putter over; fishing tackle to be overhauled; old house forever in need of some sort of maintenance; talk radio to listen to, all of which leaves little time or need for TV watching.

And, as Brian implied, there are always friends who have Netflix available at their houses.