Toob Mess: Ok, a confession. I have, for the past decade, been getting HBO for free. No I did not reply to one of those shady email ads or pay some shady character for a strange looking black box. I did nothing, it was just there. In fact, when I first realized I had it, I never changed the channel for fear of losing it. But it stayed with me, through at least three different VCR/DVD/Tuners and two different addresses. Naturally, I became completely attached to it. It started with the Larry Sanders and Dream On and now it's Deadwood and Curb Your Enthusiasm. And if it wasn't for HBO I probably wouldn't have seen any movies made since 1987.

So you can imagine my trauma level when it disappeared Thursday. I went through all five phases. Denial: It's just a glitch, it'll come back tomorrow. Anger: Wait 'til I get those Comcast bastards on the phone! Bargaining: Maybe if I order high-speed internet they'll let me keep it through the end of thee month. Depression: Oh gawd, now I have to watch Karate Kid 2 on TBS. Acceptance: OK, OK I'll pay.

Except I won't pay. At least not right away. It turns out switching to digital cable will get me not only HBO, but about 7 different HBO variations, about 50 more channels than I have now, about 40 digital radio stations, and a Digital Video Recorder (a TIVO), for a year, for less than I am paying for basic non-digital cable. This is truly a world gone mad.

This is so cool. I am going to have lots of new excuses to do nothing and it won’t cost me a thing. Now I have to buy an HDTV and a recliner.