Sounds like as long as we can find another couple VHS/DVD players to set aside for when they don’t make them any more, we should be set for entertainment until our golden years. It is always so much fun to pick up a brand new tape at a yard sale for a dime and think of the bloke who probably spend $10-15 on it and never saw it once, and knowing hubby will use it at least 100 times. What is that 1/10th a cent per view plus electric? Very frugal.

I prefer books and this weekend I should be starting to read a brand new copy of Dean Koontz’s latest book, then sometime next week I will take it back to the library. Free beats paying any time!

Further, I have little interest in music these days, I listen to the news and talk radio when I am driving. My wife listens to the radio when she drives, and while she is home cleaning. Otherwise, the radio is not a big deal to us.

As for the VHS collection, I think I can legally copy my VHS cassettes to my hard drive and then create chapters and such, so that I can skip around through the DVD or choose the scene selections.

I just do not want to get rid of my VHS cassettes because I have so many good ones that I could never find on DVD, be it at Amazon or Best Buy. I had to have some specially ordered by Block Buster years ago, because they were so old that they had to be found in a warehouse some where…

Like I said, I do not feel like getting rid of those, but I would not mind digitizing them, just so that they could still be watched, and would take up considerably less space.

But I do like to watch some movies and TV shows over and over again. These purchases have saved me money over time. (I used to rent Absolutely Fabulous so many times before I bought it!)

And they have given me joy. When I’m feeling blue, I enjoy popping in a Friends or Gilmore Girls DVD to lighten my mood. On the holidays, I enjoy watching my favorite holiday movies with my family, at the time we choose and without commericals. (Home for the Holidays is a Thanksgiving favorite, and Elf is my Christmas obsession.)

Finally, these DVDs that I enjoy so much are something I can share with my future children, much as I would share a beloved book.

That is worth the $5-$20 price tag to me. Your mileage may vary.

There are so many other things such as the homeless, corrupt government, rising prices, forclosures, real estate, crime, and so many other things that REALLY matter where you should be devoting your time and energy!

Me thinks there are yuppies in this place….(shiver!)

I don’t run out to get the latest electronics — to me it’s a waste of money. I have an old fashioned tv with a digital converter box ’cause I’m not interested in being able to get 500 channels. Built into my tv are slots for playing both dvd’s and vhs tapes and I have quite a few of both.

I like old movies and kids movies and certain current movies. I stick one in and sit in my most comfortable chair, work on something with my hands and glance at the screen periodically. Let’s face it, there aren’t a whole heck of a lot of good shows out there anywhere these days and this works for me.

I’m seeing that things are changing, but I’m in no rush to run out to buy something to play Blu Ray or get into downloading a bunch of stuff. I’m happy to sit back and see where things lead. When the dust settles and I want to replace what I have, I will but I see no advantage and a lot of unnecessary expense in jumping on the latest bandwagon.

I’ve lived long enough to see a LOT of technical changes. Even the ones that last tend to be up to 10 times as expensive when they first come out as they are 2-3 years later. I was raised to respect money. If something is going to save me time, which I find precious, it’s worth the high cost, but for entertainment? I don’t think so.

I think that’s where things will go in the not too distant future. Pay for the download through Netflix or Amazon and have the digital file rather than the physical disc.