TV ponderings

We got a new cable service last week, going with AT&T instead of Time Warner. Cheaper, we get a digital cable box for both TV's instead of one, a regular phone line instead of a digital phone line, and faster more reliable internet access.
When the guys were done installing everything, they showed me how to work the remote and showed me all the bells and whistles with their cable program.
It was pretty impressive, really. There are tons of movies you can "rent" ($4 for 3 days or something), free games, you can program in your favorite websites to be able to view them on the TV, there is a photo-slideshow program where you can upload photos to the AT&T website and then view on your TV, plus digital recording (like TiVo) where you can record up to 3 shows at the same time, and up to 120 hours, and other functions I can't even remember!
It was cool, but at the same time depressing. I mean, you could really just sit there on the couch and never move. I was surprised there wasn't a function that would make a snack for you.
There were so many functions that you could seriously spend ALL your free time watching the TV.
I'm reading (actually listening to) this great book called "A Short History of Nearly Everything." It is sort of a history of scientific thought in the Western world, and is really funny and completely fascinating. But I can't help but wonder if some of the amazing, genius leaps of scientific understanding could have happened if TV existed during those times. Maybe so, maybe people with genius brains aren't interested in TV anyway. But still I can't help but wonder what great thoughts the rest of us more average folk might be missing out on because we're so distracted by the TV.
I'm not saying this because I am so righteously above TV-watching. I'm saying this because I know what a temptation TV is for me. The reason I don't watch TV is because when I start watching it, I get completely sucked in and pretty soon my life is controlled by TV shows that I "have" to watch.
Joseph seems to have overcome his TV addiction for the moment. Probably some of that is because I can't figure out how to make the cable box in my room work. I need to call AT&T to figure it out. Or maybe I won't. Whatever the reason, I'm happy not to have to fight that battle.
Anyway, this post is neither here nor there. Just meandering thoughts on TV.