Six Cups of Coffee

I just got cable again (Verizon FiOS), adding to my already-overloaded entertainment slate.

I must say, FiOS is pretty intense. Tons of channels, super-fast Internet (25Mbps up and down), and a really nice DVR that lets me stream my iTunes music and iPhoto photos right over the wireless. Also included are widgets that let me check out Facebook and Twitter right on the DVR, as well as get weather, sports and news. 

With the subscription, I can schedule DVR recordings right on the web and watch HBO online. That's a nice feature.

Now I've got too much going on. My own music and video collection and podcasts on iTunes, newspapers and magazines on my Kindle, and talk shows and more music on my XM radio. At any given time, I have a multitude of choices in what to do with my leisure. (That's not even to mention being here, on my MacBook Pro, online, trying to keep up with tech news and other things.) 

Are our lives getting too crowded with too much choice in entertainment? It seems like every ten years or so, our selections for leisure time double, along with our subscription costs, while our time spent doing other things lessens. Granted, all of these outlets are expansions on already-existing pastimes - music, TV and reading are nothing new - but the way these things are delivered and presented becomes, all the time, more appealing and more convenient (for a cost). With all this comes questions we must ask ourselves, like, "am I using my time wisely"?

Yeah, I'll ponder that question later. Right now, I've got about six HD shows on my DVR I need to watch before it fills up.