My TV Doesn't Work for Good Channels

I just noticed over the last week that my television is crappier than previously thought.

So I've had this thing since I was like 13, so it's now over 7 years old. It has a VCR still built into it - not that it's a good one that works, but it's there nonetheless - and it has wavy lines all over the screen. The kind that when cable is sort of cruddy and you haven't watched the channel lately, the ones higher up on the dial, they fuzz out? That's sort of what my TV does to every channel.

But now I discover that like 3+ channels that I usually watch have no sound to them. Like, silent movie without the music. I can't watch E! (which is a problem, because that's where "The Soup" is). I can't watch TBS (which is where "Conan" is). And I can't watch USA (which is where "House" marathons and general time wasters are).

I don't know when this started, but I don't get why some channels are perfectly fine (like the never watched Nickelodeon) but these other ones aren't.

It's Official: I'm an Apple Whore

It started when I got a Macbook Pro for my "beloved" Park School of Communications when I started my freshman year of college. I'm entering my senior year of university (yikes) and I'm still a big fan of my baby DiRegno.

More on how I name my appliances after shows I love later.

I then got an iPod classic because my Dell DJ - which I adored and still really do like - couldn't sync with my school laptop. Which isn't really good, because I could only put new music on it and charge it when I was home on breaks every few months. I fell in love with that as well, and how easy it was to use.

And when that one started to fritz on me 3 years later - meaning I've restarted it like 30 times in the last 3 days - I decided to break down and buy myself a newer model. I needed something capable of holding 20 plus GB of music (thanks, BoGirls!) and some photos if I could swing it that way. I decided to go with the 32 GB iTouch - one that could shuffle just by shaking it, had WiFi, and could essentially do everything that an iPhone can do except make phone calls. I found one for $250 at Costco ($50 cheaper than it was at the Apple store) and have fallen in love with it.

Unfortunately, this pricey little toy came in the same week that I had to replace my cell phone. So it's a good thing I have two jobs this summer.

For Your Entertainment

So I was sitting through my journalism block today and I kept thinking: what did kids do for entertainment during class before portable laptops?

I mean really. When you're not paying attention to your teacher (much), you can be "researching." And by "researching," I mean looking up stuff on Stumble Upon, reading up on BBC or EW or the Guardian or whatever to supplement that awesome internship you got. Or sending e-mails. Or playing Sporcle.

I don't always bring my laptop with me to classes, because it's not always worth the trouble of lugging the thing and the power chord with me everywhere. And last year, Sarah and I made do just fine during our News I class by playing an epic championship of the Box Dot Game. But seriously. Before laptops, how did kids sit through their boring college classes? I want to know. I would also like to thank Mac for creating my lovely little piece of tech heaven.