digital television! Yes, the government is getting pushy now. Several times per day we see ads (paid for by our tax dollars, and set up by IBM) reminding us that we will soon have no use for analog tuners on our televisions.

This has been something foisted upon us by Washington, and goes along well with all the other programs they have put into place, none of which are necessary. But it will happen.

So, for those who don’t want to get caught without television, you’d better buy the new digital model, or else send off for the coupons for the converter boxes. (Also, if you are not in an urban area, it would be good to set aside a hundred or so dollars for a new antenna. If you have an antenna designed for fringe areas, you should be good, if not, try to pick up one from old stock. The older VHF-UHF fringe antennas are all being discontinued, and the new ones  with extra gain in the UHF region are being priced for the captive market segment.)

I signed up for my coupons on September 23, soon saw that they were to have been mailed on October 10, and finally got them on November 10. (These things must have been routed by Pony Express through Saskatchewan! If the U.S. Postal Service had been in charge of the trip to the moon, it would have occurred right about the time of the millennium.) I revisited the site several times, looking for what the hold up was, but as usual for government business, there was no explanation.

The coupons only last for 90 days, and expire thereafter, so all speed should be used if you wish to obtain these – they also state that the total number of coupons distributed  will be limited (my guess is that this is a psychological ploy, to make the customer feel really privileged when he/she gets one of these substandard tuning devices).

Oh, by the time you read this, it’ll be 122 …

Money is like manure. You have to spread it around or it smells.Jean Paul Getty