Two great tweets from Kathy Sierra this morning:

Easy to believe we lack the opportunity, time, money, talent, mentors, luck, DNA, etc. when what we really lack, sometimes, is the desire. Kathy Sierra

The template: PersonA: “I’d give ANYTHING to be able to do [X] like you.” PersonB: “Bulls***. What did you do last week in your spare time?” Kathy Sierra

Also, I really recommend a blog post from Giuliano Valentino the other day on how action is more important than “awareness”.

It’s been over a year since we dropped our DirecTV subscription. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious hipster, my life is so much richer since I “killed my television”. Oh sure, we still follow a few shows: The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, and Doctor Who mostly. And, we’re re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, and catching up on classic Doctor Who episodes, Red Dwarf, and The Prisoner. But we’re doing it on our own schedule, when time permits the two of us to be cuddled up on the couch with nothing else to do, and largely dependent on when those big red envelopes arrive from Netflix. In fact, most of our Doctor Who viewing happens at Chronicles of Who meetings, where we get out and watch new & old episodes with other fans, then go out for a hearty meal and conversation. Usually, believe it or not, we talk about things other than our favorite Time Lord.

Being free of the “boob tube” has freed me of some constraints. Most importantly, there’s $100 more in our checking account at the end of the month. And, if nothing’s catching my eye on Hulu, Amazon, or iTunes, then I don’t sit there flipping channels, I get up and do things! That’s really the best part: I’m more involved with the things that matter to me, and I don’t have to worry that all those channels I’m paying for are going to waste. Believe me, it’s more exciting to hack on my WordPress plugins or take an extra shift at the cat shelter. I’m not saying it’s wrong for anyone else to plop down in front of the TV after a long day at work, but I certainly feel better being more productive.