Sad but true . . .

You may or may not know this, but Pat and I don't have cable - GASP!! I know, I'm behind the times. I'm what's called a "late adopter" in Innovation Diffusion Theory. There's "innovators," "early adopters," "early majority," "late majority," and "laggards," or "late adopters." I think "laggards" might even be a more descriptive term, since it implies that we eventually DO adopt. This other guy has an argument against the "late adopter" name, saying that those folks called "late adopters" in Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Theory, NEVER will adopt.

But that's not me. I just sit patiently with my perfectly good piece of current technology, until I feel comfortable that the new technology is either a) proven, b) affordable, or c) the thing I have breaks and I can't get anything BUT the new technology. That happened with our t.v. After years of listening to Pat grouse about watching movies in "pan and scan," I finally broke down and bought him a DVD player (dual DVD/VHS, of course), only to find out that that particular piece of technology did not work in our good 5-year-old 19" set, the plugs were not compatible. So I had to upgrade to a bigger, more remote-reliant set. I understand that HDTV is just around the corner, when all t.v. sets will have to accommodate that type of emission, but that's not now. I held out about 7 or 8 years before I succommed to CDs and about 10 years for a cordless phone (the cord on the bitchin' turquoise dial phone I insisted on using kept coming detached - I didn't think that was a problem until I hung up on one my cousins calling from France). I'm still holding out for cable. It's highway robbery, I declare! and now, with the whole concentration of telephone/cable/internet issues, which will not, I predict, decrease, rates, I don't see it in my near future.

What that means is I don't get a lot of the shows that the rest of America is watching, unless we rent them on DVD from Netflix (Netflix is the best thing since sliced bread - I think I might have been in the early majority on that service). We have seen all the "Sex and the City" and "Sopranos" episodes, and we're currently almost through the penultimate season of "Six Feet Under." We lost patience with American"Queer as Folk" - the English version was preferable, maybe because it was more succinct. "Angels in America" was an experience, and I've just added "Entourage" and "The Shield" to our queue.

Which brings me around to "The Daily Show." People have been telling me for years that, with my political bent, I would LOVE "The Daily Show"! The only thing they've released on DVD is "Indecision 2004," which are the 4 shows they did covering the Democratic convention in Boston that year. Gaffaws and belly laughs were enjoyed! With the distance of a couple years, we were able to laugh through the pain of the memory of how bamboozed we had been by that spectacle. Sad, but true.

I am also a late adopter of spring fashions. Right now, spring fever has infected the population. Here on campus, students, not known for being practical, have abandoned their parkas, long pants and snow boots in favor of skimpier wear and zorries ("flip-flops", in the local parlance). This starts happening every year when it is still 35 degrees out, for chrissake! It's not much warmer than 50 right now! Until the thermometer reaches at least 70, I will remain in my prudent fall/winter fashions, thank you.

I just saw two outrageous items of clothing on my way back from class

1) a brand new pair of black and white saddle shoes
2) a girl wearing a strappy, backless shirt, she was dressed for dancing, not for school! (Man, am I starting to sound like a crotchety adult, or what?)