TiVo Made Me a Bad, Bad Man

Hey, all.

Neck is at least feeling good enough for me to think tonight, which may or may not be the effect of the good drugs kicking in. (Well, not too good...Extra Strength Tylenol.) Got a haircut (yes, I got them all cut...dumb, dumb joke for those of you in the crowd thinking it), and when I came back, as per my "Season Pass," tonight's episode of The O.C. had been TiVo'ed for my perusal. (Any bets on when that verb will show up in Webster's? I hear "wedgie" made it in this year...)

Now, back when I had the outmoded tool called a VCR, I used to make a habit out of generally being around when my favorite shows were on, and recording them as I watched. Then, I could rewatch the shows as the quality degraded, to be saved just in time these last few years when TPTB released DVD season sets, those miracles of modern science. Sounds logical, right? (You're allowed to say I'm loony. No, really.)

Today, as a result of getting one of those Humax DVRs with TiVo and a DVD burner (which, when quality's adjusted, can burn sometimes 3, sometimes 4 hour-long episodes per disc), I've become a video slacker. Perhaps the problem wouldn't assert itself so much if the TiVo were in the same room where I regularly watched all the shows when I used the VCR. But since I don't have to be in that room where I feel comfortable watching my shows, and TiVo is programmed to automatically record said shows no matter what day or time they air, and since I have the option (nay, the necessity) to burn the programs to DVD for archiving (at least until those season sets with their superior quality and extras arrive)...well, 'nuff said?

So, tonight I finally burned the last several weeks' worth of The O.C. to DVD so I can take them into my other room and watch at my leisure. Pitiful, innit? And you wanna know the real kicker?

Only 3 of the last 4 episodes fit on the @!^#* disc, meaning I probably won't see tonight's episode until...well, 3 weeks from now, give or take a few weeks of possible reruns.

And, to think, next week I'll be able to see the last four episodes of Alias, at long last...

More on my DVD fetish, and a poll for y'all to see who's all out there and reading, next time.

~G.