Insulted.

I work hard.

I am degreed, and am working on a graduate degree at an accreditated university.

I pay my bills, take out the trash, play with my kids, and don't smack around my wife.

But I work evenings and deep nights, which means that when I have a minute to watch TV, it's either late at night, or mid-day.

Have you SEEN the crap that they broadcast during those times?

Daytime is what it's always been: Soap operas and game shows broken up by commercials for backpain clinics, lawyers who'll fight tough, and technical schools that'll certify you to fix diesel engines (with no background checks). I decided back when I was sick one time at age 8 that this crap was not for me.

Late at night, you get the same commercials, but they're tacked onto creepy shows like “Cheaters” and “Elimidate.” It’s crap. It’s insulting. Apparently, if you're watching the telly at that time (not prime time), you're of a lesser caste. You not only deserve less than the A List-- you deserve a list below Fit For Human Consumption.

No, I don’t have cable. I don’t have satellite. See, back when, people used to use something called an “aerial” to pull in signals from the sky. Crazy, huh? That’s what I do. Like Grizzly Adams, but with less buckskin.

Now, damn it, I know that there’s some decent stuff broadcast out there. And I’m not an erudite, greater-than-thou jerk who’ll try to tell you “well, I NEVER watch television.” But I’ll be damned if I’m going to waste a second on the crap available to me at this point.

I need to get a DVR.