We Have Television Again

Last Friday afternoon, during a rain storm we had DISH TV install a satellite and I felt like it was the first time in my life I had television. Let me tell you the story.

In April we had to move away from our mentally ill landlord (who by the way still is not done harassing us) and tried to have our DirectTV service moved with us. He tried to find the "line of site" but was unable to find his own keys. Seriously, he spent about an hour or so looking for his keys. We called Dish TV and they could not find a line of sight for their regular service and said that if we went with the HDTV satellite for an additional $400 for a total of $600 we could have television. Well, since we had just moved, had a son who broke a collar bone and had surgery just a few days before moving, we didn't have the extra $600 to pay to sit on the couch and watch television. Of course, our recuperating son disagreed with us. He was also upset that the season of Office was not over yet and he couldn't see it. Then there was the internet fiasco (we had satellite internet and couldn't down load anything without upsetting the fair use policy we did not know about). So, we waited from April 24th until September 2 to get television.

Here is the funny thing, it only cost us $91 more to get HDTV. So we waited all that time and it did not cost us an additional $400. I asked why the difference in four LOOOOONG months without television to bring the cost down by over $300 and the answer........they didn't know.

Now we have television just in time for the Burn Notice marathon yesterday before the season finale last night. My youngest son will be able to watch the season premier of the Office. We can watch the Iowa/Iowa State rivalry on Fox Sports Midwest tomorrow and when my college son comes home he can watch BBCAmerica. Life is good.

But more than that, we can finally be able to keep up with what is going on in life outside our home and driveway. We will know when the big storms are coming our way and those who were very affected by the big storms. I am also happy to say that we can now talk about the STUPID commercials we are constantly bombarded with all the time.

Somethings never change,

Taking care of the written word,
Dannielyn

More Child Abuse Reports Coming In: Does That Mean More Children Are Reporting Abuse or More Abuse Taking Place?

A movement has been announced to look at the threat the Internet poses with an increase in child abuse.  The question asked, is the Internet making child abuse more prevalent? Many believe it is.  The truth of the matter is that child abuse has been occurring for many years. 

The Internet has not increased the numbers of children being abused.  It may have made the evidence of child abuse easier to detect.  The detection is not simply seeing images on the screen.  The detection is also seeing resources, online chats and other support for children who have been or are currently abused.  These resources enable a child who is being abused to see help that is available. 

It has also made the common person more aware of what child abuse is.  It has made the signs of an abuse victim easier to identify.  With this awareness comes the ability for the common person to take action to assist a child.  It is an early alert system for the child to receive help. 

Unless the penalties match the severity of the crimes, Internet safety devices will not stop child pornography and child abuse.  Victims are scarred for life from the abuse while the abuser can spend time in prison, probation and sex offender registry.  These short sentences allow the abuser to move on with life and often to additional victims.  

Taking Care of the Written Word, 

dannielyn

Source: Lee Ross