The Day the Plip Plops Stopped

Earlier this week, something happened in our house. Something of the worst magnatude. It's so horrible that I can barely summon up the courage to type it.

The TiVo died.

I was sitting there using it, and the remote stopped responding. Then the unit turned itself off. Multiple attempts at reviving it only resulted in a screen that said "Just one minute more ... " for hours on end. A call to TiVo's tech support confirmed the worst - dead. Only thirteen months old, too. TiVo offered to send us a replacement for $99, but we passed - choosing instead to get the DirecTV/TiVo combo unit installed for the same price. We called DirecTV and - horrors! - they were out of the units. So we got put on the waiting list (DirecTV knocked $25 off the price for our troubles) and will have to muddle through a TiVoless existence for what may become months.

I'm already feeling the effects. Waiting through commercial breaks is excruciating. I use the idle time to learn stuff. Like, did you know that BBC America only has about five commercials that they rotate all the time? But I'm not complaining. Being without something will make one appreciate it more when it comes. If sharecroppers could do it during the Depression, so can we!
Posted by mhinrichs at December 21, 2003 04:43 PM