I started thinking about all I learned over the past few years in breaking free from cable, using streaming options etc…. Thought I would share some thoughts. Some of this may be common sense, some of it may be new to you. Overall I think breaking away from cable is very libertarian. Cable tries to limit your options for entertainment to just what they want (Hey, Beastmaster’s On!). It is like central planning for entertainment. Do not accept it!
I am going to try to break this into three four parts:
- Finding over-the-air channels and getting a decent antenna (and maybe even a TV): Don’t just buy and regret. Find out if you have channels available first.
- Understanding no-subscription streaming options: What is out there in 2023?
- Different options for internet in 2023: Not just the standard choices.
- Figuring out better ways to watch sports: I’ll be testing a couple of ideas for this, including using a VPN where you can set your location or finding better packages for sports with a cheap pay option. Because you folks like your sportsball. This is new territory for me and I look forward to researching it.
Today I want to cover point one.
How Can I Find TV Stations Near Me?
If you already have a fairly modern (past ten years or so) TV, it will pick up digital over the air broadcasts. You may never have used that functionality. How would you find out if there are decent channels in your area before you go buy an antenna? I suggest starting with a free phone app before you buy anything. One of my favorites is Antenna Point, which has an IOS and an Android version. This tells you which transmitting towers are closest to you and can help you direct your antenna. Very useful and totally free. Two example screenshots below:
This shows transmitter locations relative to your exact position. You can also click on each transmitter to see which station uses it. I have a whole antenna farm at 3:00.
For my area this scrolls on down quite some ways. It is constantly updated with the latest information. Unlike the old days, new digital channels come out all the time.
I live in a fair-sized city so I have a ton of channels. It was easy to let cable go. Your mileage may vary depending on your town. Larger cities will have so many more channels than you ever knew about for the most part. My mind was blown when I saw the list for DFW.
How Much Does a Decent Antenna Cost?
I have a small selection of antennas below. You can get antennas from around $15 to upwards of $100. In a big city a $15 antenna may be all you need. Look at the distance to the transmitter and try to get an antenna that receives signals from twice as far away as the furthest transmitter you want to receive.
Basic: It’s a flat sheet for indoor use. Not amplified. I am generally against amplification on cheap antennas because most cheap amps amplify noise as well as signal and generally does not improve things in a radio noisy city environment. If you have a lot of channels you like inside of about 20 miles, this is a good option. But this type of antenna is dreaming if it thinks it can pick up signals 50 miles away. 30 miles away tops. Hence my warning – don’t get this if you want stations positioned 50 miles away. Terrain and radio interference will cut that optimistic reception distance in half.
Better: Mohu Arc is what I have for one TV. Tall Thin Spaniard What Lurks on this Site turned me on to this. Expensive at $80. Worth it if indoor is your only option and stations are more than 20 miles away. Has an amp with really good signal to noise rejection. Also has little lights which can indicate the location of the strongest signal (It shows signal strength in general, not for a particular channel). It’s gimmicky but I like the signal strength lights. It really can grab signals 50 miles away. R.J. tested and approved.
Best: An outdoor antenna is always the best option but not always possible. This one is a great example. It also looks like something used against Godzilla in a Toho monster movie. I consider that a plus. This one even comes with a remote rotator. 100+ miles is not an exaggeration – something like this in a good flat area could pick up very distant signals.
I Have an Antenna, and It Doesn’t Work Well. Any Ideas?
Hold my Beer, Make a Parabolic Antenna: The cheap flat antennas can be turned into a rudimentary parabolic antenna by just putting some tape over the front and bending it (slightly, don’t make a burrito roll). Then as you position the antenna, you will find that it gives you a much better signal than before. Redneck Science! It can turn a $15 boat anchor into a working antenna. Shown below, a couple of big zip ties I found on the back of a truck were used to bend the antenna. Note: This is a $15 antenna that totally blew chunks until I curved it. Now it gets reception 99% of the time without even touching it.
Create a Ground / Ground Plane: The flat antennas have no game as far as a ground plane. If for some reason you have a giant grounded piece of metal nearby, put the antenna on that. Bam! That usually gives an extra bar or two of reception right there. Even if the metal object isn’t grounded it can help. Large, 1950s-style star bust mirrors are excellent ground planes. See helpful picture:
The wife may hate it but at least you aren’t going to miss the Super Bowl!
Move it Away from Other Electronics: This is an important suggestion. DVD players, game consoles, even setting a computer near an antenna can mess with reception. Move the antenna away from electronics as much as possible if you are having problems. Even a DVD player that is not in use can give off enough interference to jack up a signal.
Never Assume: Do not assume that a higher mounting point is better with an indoor antenna. Once I just dropped an antenna on the floor. All the sudden, 5 signal bars out of five. This is not a singular occurrence, so try floor to ceiling, flat to vertical.
Don’t Mount it Permanently: My $80 Mohu antenna is usually in a cabinet under the TV. Nobody can see it. It usually works fine. But TV signals can vary depending on atmospheric conditions, and Texas certainly qualifies for varied atmospheric conditions. I can take the antenna out and move it around if I need to.
Update Your Channel Listing: Why would that make a difference? New digital TV stations come out constantly, and sometimes they even swap frequencies. It’s all the time, not like 1972 when you only had the same 8 channels for 30 years. If your antenna was working great, and all the sudden your signal goes to pot when you didn’t touch anything, try updating the channels on your TV. That can make a 1 bar station turn into a 5 bar station. It can also make new channels appear. Especially keep this in mind when certain seasonal channels start to pop up. Merry Christmas!
I Need a New TV to Go with My Antenna. Any Suggestions?
This will become more relevant in the next article. I personally prefer Roku TVs with the streaming box built in. Less wires, less remotes, less B.S. Not only do they pick up local channels well, but the channel display scrolls down from over the air channels to any streaming channels, just like an old cable box (I guess I suffer from cable Stockholm Syndrome). Newer Roku TVs also support Apple Air Play, and allow you to do either screen mirroring or video porting from your phone, flawlessly. One would have to query Pat for the final answer, but I believe Roku cares more about your privacy than Android. It’s also a tad more user-friendly (has both a physical remote for old men AND a better phone app remote with extra functions) than Android based setups. Pricing is really good too. Understand that I am not a TV snob who wants a perfect 4K picture. I want a cheap functioning TV that looks good. If you want to blow money like Joe Biden, go right ahead and buy something nicer. Some suggestions from me, which have been working great for a few years:
32″ TCL Roku TV: $165 Cheaper than most monitors. It’s 1080P, with lots of inputs and a Roku. I have this up high like a bar TV in my game room. The 40″ version can also be found for the same price during sales.
50 Inch TCL Roku 4K TV: $235 It’s on sale for Super Bowl. It goes on sale all the time. It’s a big TV for $235 dollars. TCL has a passable sound bar (I have it) that goes for about $50.
75″ QLED 4K Roku TV: You want a big TV? Wall sized? Here you go for $699. It is possible to get these for half that price on Thanksgiving, I kid you not. This is the latest version.
Where the Hell Are All the Tiny TVs? I Hate Big!
The small TV options are legion. Just realize they are mostly great for over the air channels but the screen resolution is not native 1080P and so it may fail for streaming. Research carefully. All of them are odd brands.
Tyler TVs are pretty good. This one has a great tuner and came with no less than three different antenna options, plus it has it’s own battery. It is NOT native 1080P, no matter what Tyler says. Rokus and Apple TVs attached to it only show a quarter of the screen, indicating to me that it is probably 480i. Experimentation with that problem continues. I own this one and another older one that has a DVD player built in. Solid as rocks and great for over the air channels.
This one is bigger, and has computer monitor inputs and legacy RCA jacks + HDMI. It’s like Tyler knows I am an old fart and builds input options accordingly. You could put a streaming box on that with no issues.
To avoid: Some (maybe all) LG TVs now have this dumbass “magic wand” remote you have to wave around to click on apps on the screen. This is a horrible idea. If you don’t believe me, go try it out at an electronics store. Have a few beers first so you can simulate what it will be like to use that at home.
Why the Hell Do You Have So Many TVs?
That’s it for this first part of the series. Next time, a wrap up of popular and lesser known streaming options. Maybe with a chart! My goal is to cover the options which are subscription free and do not require a sign in. There are way more than just TUBI.
What ever you do, don’t buy into some snot nosed punk that claims you need a “HD Antenna”
*chuckle*
But you have to pay more for an antenna that can handle the increased data rate. The old ones just can’t process all the bits.
Not needed if you have the HD cables-everyone knows that
A fun night for me is asking the Best Buy associate for those items and to explain why I need it.
How did a Tulpa get on television?
Could I call this strange phenomenon ‘Tulpavision’? Tulpatube? Tulpabox? Have I entered the Tulpa Zone?
Mysterious mysteries.
I do know that Sparkling Ice Berry Lemonade makes me giddy it’s so good.
I will now peruse Tulpa’s literary efforts.
I remember the movie Beastmaster as being enjoyably terrible.
Tanya Roberts RIP
Teenage Scruffy sacrificed a lot of Kleenex to Tanya.
Man those legs…
Yes, Marc Singer obviously did squats.
👍🏻Mm hmm
It really was on HBO like every day for a while there. L’il rhywun was appreciative.
Yep. That and Clash Of The Titans.
Parabolic antenna! Genius!
Problem with parabolic is if you have towers in different locations.
That’s why you have children.
Turn five degrees to the left! Higher!
What I found is that most towers nowadays use the same area. it’s not likely you have them all around in a ring. So it does work. And it hurts nothing to try.
Don’t move to Vegas. We have 4 mountain tops in all directions that we have decided to place broadcast antennas on.
Lay flat on your back, wrap your torso with foil and lay the antenna on top on your chest. Perfection!
I can’t wait to dive into this but I’m first gonna push back a little bit here. Maybe it’s just onion-belting – or more likely, I am more of a “passive” than “active” watcher of television – but I don’t mind this.
Selecting a choice from millions of options is not how I watch television, most of the time. Mostly I just turn it on for background noise.
LOL more like 4. We got #5 in 1979.
This gives me food for thought – a lot of my background noise is old-people channels that I know are digital subchannels of local stations and therefor probably available sans cable.
Looking forward to the rest of the series!
“ a lot of my background noise is old-people channels that I know are digital subchannels ”
How many Rascal scooters have you bought?
I need a couple more My Pillows first.
😂😂
https://otadtv.com/ You can see what stations you can get.
Neat! Files for later reading.
That app I mentioned above will give you your entire channel list for your area, broken out by distance and strength. It’s an awesome thing.
Tucker’s dropping some tapes. Hold on to your hats – the country has been lied to for two years.
I’ll wait for the highlights tomorrow.
Three if we include Fauci
He wasn’t lying, and it was good for you.
I came here looking for this.
Watched a bit on YT. The cathedral is gonna cathedral, but there’s a decent chance some of the railroaded J6 people will have the ammo to win an appeal. Shit looks serious. People should hang if the counter-narrative is close.
So, nothing else will happen?
I’m fortifying my liver so maybe I missed it, but… can I assume that one of these antennas will work with my fancy new “smart” TV? (It’s a Sorny, if that matters.)
Should have a coaxial RF or IEC connector on the back. I think all TVs are required.
If it’s a “smart” TV then it has a digital tuner.
Almost all of them have a coax and a digital tuner. Use that app first to see if it is even worth getting an antenna. If you don’t have anything for 50 miles it might not be worthwhile.
That’s one of the weirder knock off brands.
Here are a couple more.
Now I know where you shop.
“Never Assume: Do not assume that a higher mounting point is better with an indoor antenna. Once I just dropped an antenna on the floor. All the sudden, 5 signal bars out of five. This is not a singular occurrence, so try floor to ceiling, flat to vertical.”
Thanks, I should try that. I have a Mohu flat antenna that has an amp, but it never shows more than one bar.
Some TV’s have WiFi that come with “free” WiFi channels. One of my TV’s is a 24″ 1080 Vizio (it was around $200) that does that (it also has USB, HDMI, antenna, and analog inputs).
The ‘free’ channels are kinda nice addition in modern TVs
Not every brand has them. My big 4K Sony has all the other “smart” internet stuff, but doesn’t have any.
Roku TVs integrate that the best. Android based TVs are fairly good at it, but Roku is just so seamless. It’s like they actually listen to their customers .
Our Sony is an Android, so we can get uh…free stuffs.
Mine is too, all Sony smart TV’s are, but I don’t think it gets any free stuffs besides YouTube. It can do a bunch of streaming services (eg. Netflix) but I don’t think any of them are free. Although, I guess if I got an Alphabet account I could install the app for things such as Pluto.
Kodi + VPN = Stuff
I don’t know what Kodi is, and I’m not sure how I could install a VPN client on the TV.
Well its an Android, which means you can get an app for a VPN. But yeah, requires some know-how to do so and Kodi, while a media center has the ability to pull streams off the interwebs.
“But yeah, requires some know-how to do so”
And also an Alphabet account. I don’t think you can use the playstore anonymously.
You can sideload APKs to install anything you want, including alternative app stores like F-Droid or APK-Mirror.
No more “ChannelMaster” devices? I remember visiting family in Kenosha, Wisconsin which is midway-ish between Chicago and Milwaukee back in the 1960’s and early 70’s. All my relatives had a Channelmaster device which would turn the antennae to point at the city of choice so you could watch stations originating from them.
For a three station, start with an agricultural report to the end of Johnny Carson and the national anthem, city we were highly impressed as kids.
Growing up in Kenosha, about half my friends had those fancy antennae devices. Even without the device, we got almost all the Milwaukee and Chicago stations. We had 9 VHF and about 3-4 UHF stations that came in good.
Only time the antennae got moved was for Bears home games. They sucked in the late 70’s / early 80’s so home games were blacked out. Dad would move the antennae to pick up Rockford, IL or Gary, IN station to watch the Bears on a fuzzy, barely decipherable screen.
Out of curiosity, where about did your relatives live in Kenosha? It’s a good sized city, but I wonder if I know any of them.
ChannelMaster rings a bell – when I was a kid in the NW corner of Dayton, we had not a mere rooftop antenna – we a HUGE TOWER UP FROM THE GROUND. But it was OK because my dad had put “Danger” and “No Trespassing” signs on it. It’s surely a miracle that neither the white trash kids two doors down nor, later, the certifiably hyperactive kid next door never climbed it and fell down to make a gut puddle on our driveway. At some point years later, the tower went away so that our homeowner’s insurance wouldn’t. While we had it, though, we had the box with the dial you could turn to slowly rotate the antenna. Dayton stations came in fine, of course, and with the antenna turned just right we could kinda get some of the Cincy stations in, albeit fuzzily – enough to see Uncle Al (Cincy morning kid show) or, on weekends, the Cool Ghoul (goofy host of late night horror movies.)
Huh. I used HomeRunHD but my new TV doesn’t seem to dig it. I appreciate the tutorial!
That’s an interesting option. I had not heard of it. Is the issue with the antenna, or the recorder?
Not sure. I haven’t needed it, so I didn’t dig into it. Will report back!
I currently use one hooked up to an Apple TV. It uses an app called Channels as the front end. Works great, even if I generally only ever use it during major sporting events.
As I’m close to NYC I just hung a full size antenna in my attic. Works a treat compared to small antennas and I got one that is relatively widely focused. I’m fortunate that all the stations are mostly in the same direction.
Can’t recommend these guys any more highly. Very reasonable DVR and /or networked tuners. Use them with cable card and OTA devices and android TV boxes for all my TVs. Sadly they no longer make cable card devices, but still support them years after.
https://www.silicondust.com/
Also OT. Sure why not develop on personal equipment and/or install Plex on it. JFC.
https://www.reviewgeek.com/147554/lastpass-data-breach-shows-why-plex-updates-are-important/
I use those fuckers. Still need to go through and figure out if I’m gonna stay,
My company switched to LastPass a year or so ago. It is unbelievably poor UX – I’d rather just use my browser’s password features.
Man, I still had a SiliconDust CacheCard in my gen 1 modded Tivo up until around 7 years ago when Tivo dropped support for my lifetime subscription.
I second your recommendation for the smaller and medium TCL Roku TVs, we have one of each and are quite happy with them (so far).
Roku is also nice — it can manage any streaming channel and has its own set of hundreds of free channels (with commercials). As with cable, most of them won’t interest you, but there are some interesting options there.
Thirded, of course all I watch is Pluto – Dr Who and The Western channels so my expectations are low.
Next write up will be all about the free options such as Pluto. Tubi even got in the game and has channels now. And don’t forget Crackle, and FilmRise, and FilmFart, etc… All next time. I need to get writing!
I discovered that the Pluto Doctor Who has a different schedule from the Roku Doctor Who. One might be playing a Tom Baker while another is playing a John Pertwee. Freaky. You would think there would be only one Doctor Who streaming channel.
Pluto Who pisses me off because they only have like a third of the library.
I can’t say if Roku Doctor Who is better. Seems like big gaps in the library. I still love knowing Doctor Who is on, if I want to see it. I have bought some of my favorites separately.
They have the entire thing (it’s by BritBox), but they only show the same ones over and over.
The videos are dropping.
I’m sure the claim will be deep fake, but god damn.
Fuckers need to hang.
link please
https://twitter.com/sn00pdad/status/1632915659880292353
Trespassing – for the majority, a ticket and fine you pay over the internet, but instead our government went whole hog.
thanks
Between that and Fauci commissioning a report at the very beginning to discount the Wuhan lab theory….sigh..it won’t matter. Battle lines are drawn, we are just in a Cold Civil War.
Sadly, this.
Are Republicans gonna make them explain why they walked the Buffalo hat guy in for a photo op, unlocking several doors along the way?
ha. So dumb. Remember when it was security risk to reveal this?
It’s not gonna matter. The true believers won’t acknowledge whatever evidence comes out. And Trump, the dumb motherfucker, let those people sit there for years.
What a cocksucker.
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1632934037831532545/photo/1
Well, if he wasn’t a politician in 2015 he is in 2023.
He could have pardoned each and every one of those people. I hope he gets dick cancer.
Maybe. I can see the establishment canceling his pardons at that point and say they don’t count. And everyone going along with it.
Come on. There are people doing legit prison sentences for trespassing. How the fuck could he not go to bat for them?
Nah, he’s a piece of shit. Most powerful man on the planet, allegedly, and he did nothing.
Yep. He gave lip service to it and could have thrown his weight behind it. He could have probably saved his shit in this moment and he is trying to ride this wave.
Exactly!
“I want the video. Today.”
Cowardly fuckwit.
I’d have very much liked to have seen Trump at least try to defend his supporters from that day.
But I think you are sorely mistaken if you think it would have mattered or that he had any weight after what happened. The narrative was set, and in the days following January 6th very few Republicans were going to back Trump on such a play.
Remember that the head of the GOP in the Senate was gleeful that he could use what happened to ruin Trump. He had no weight in that moment and had he defended the people who entered the building I guarantee he would have been removed from office. They would have impeached and removed if he even made the attempt.
Perhaps. But it was a cowardly act. Even at the time, supporters couldn’t figure it out.
Layer in Ullrich, Snowden and Assange, and it looks even worse.
Trump is talk.
^So much this. The worst domestic tyranny in my life came about under that cock suckers administration. The rosiest picture you can paint of him is that he was hopelessly inept.
Loyalty as a one way street is Trump’s M.O.
Outside civil libertarians, who really cared about Ullrich getting screwed over? Why would Trump, a tough on crime conservative (I guess we’ll call him that) care about using political capital on that?
Snowden – it’s the same deal. Assange? They were hounding him over Russiagate for years and pardoning him would have just lead to howls. You can call this stuff cowardly, but your dream president who would have done these things is never going to exist. That guy is never getting elected.
Trump is a guy best taken as a joke. He’s not in on the joke himself. He’s the piss on the rug that you rub the career politicians’ noses in. He was ineffectual in a lot of ways. We can haggle over how much was his own doing and how much was inevitable given the massive obstacles he was facing. But Trump was just a symbol of indignation for me against the powers that be (I did not vote for him, regardless). I cannot take him as anything more than that and I can’t even really understand people who seriously do so.
Outside the stuff that was a direct backlash to his election in the first place, most of those things (I’m assuming we are really talking about covid) would have been far worse with just about any other president. Outside DeSantis, who in the Republican party in a position of power gave up less to the covidians than Trump?
I think even among libertarians, I may be especially cynical. Basically, all the puritanical arguments against Trump always just boil down to nearly every realistic alternative is worse and at least with Trump you get the laughs.
I’d support his election if DeSantis blows it if just means I get to see a rerun of election night 2016. In reality, I think the election is going to be fortified either way.
“I would have been worse under someone else” isn’t much of an argument.
My COVID would have been worse if I hadn’t forced to get vaccinated. I don’t live in the realm of the hypothetical.
I think it’s the only argument that really matters.
Who do you think would have resisted the massive amount of pressure to do something than Trump? How electable is said person in 2024?
I’ve got one name that’s above Trump there. And he’s attacked quite a bit on here because he is fighting kulturekampf against Disney too hard.
If you are wanting me to spit out a name fine; Rand Paul would have been better. But ultimately it’s “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”
The fact of the matter is he allowed it to happen. For that I will neither forgive or forget. He earned my enmity forever.
That answer is why I specified that these guys were electable as president. We’ve seen Rand run and I don’t see any groundswell in the future for him.
DeSantis is just about the only guy who fits the bill that I see. Then you are stuck with Trump if it isn’t him.
We seem to be talking past each other. I’m uninterested in the question. Since you seem to need this, here you go:
Trump was the tallest midget in the room. He’s the best we can hope for.
Fuck, if that’s true bring on Sulla.
‘Maybe. I can see the establishment canceling his pardons at that point and say they don’t count. And everyone going along with it.’
How can you cancel a presidential pardon? I don’t think there is an mechanism to do that, unless it was somehow unconstitutional via Supreme court? Seems like a long shot.
Agree that Trump had no balls at that point and should have just blanket pardoned anyone who had not committed a violent crime.
My impression was that McConnell made it clear that if he pardoned anyone that Mitch would make certain he was impeached and ineligible to run again.
Trump doesn’t hate me, but I would never put him in the position of deciding between his interests and mine. I know how that would turn out, he’s not a willing martyr for the cause.
Read the replies, they are already doing everything to Jedi mindtrick themselves out of what they see.
They’ve been doing that at least 3 years (covid stuff) so their minds are all gone to shit. Bending over backwards to take Democrat dick like a Chinese honeypot is all their base knows.
What makes me sad is not just the failure of the fuckhead politicians, but the support given by all too many Americans of all persuasions to those cockroaches.
Black pilled me wants Schiff et al helicoptered on National television.
(Hi Preet. Fuck you Preet, you taint licking retarded goat looking motherfucker.)
‘What makes me sad is not just the failure of the fuckhead politicians, but the support given by all too many Americans of all persuasions to those cockroaches.’
Correct.
I’ll have to give that outdoor directional antenna a try. At my childhood home in rural Louisiana we had a very tall antenna with a directional control box that sat on top of the TV. So changing channels usually required changing the antenna direction also. I think we got 5 or 6 channels, most stations were 50-100 miles away. One day lightning struck the antenna while we were watching TV, the control box exploded in an impressive ball of plasma. We all had to change our shorts. The TV was also toasted.
Why you should always ground your antenna and look for an omni antenna if you have TV towers in multiple directions.
Back to the future.
Relevant
https://www.duffelblog.com/p/shaking-hmmwv-makes-it-up-to-88-mph
OBE knows his shit
Got any specific recommendations for an omni?
I don’t have any recommendations, but the market has tons of options.
Yes, ground it with a 1/2” copper pipe. If you want to be really anal, bury a big flat section of chain link fence about a foot underground and connect your grounding pipe to that.
ALL the streaming!
We have almost all the services now because I wanted to see one show here and one show there and one show somewhere else. Now I’ve seen those. I have analysis paralysis on what to watch on where. I’m going to have to make a spreadsheet.
Can’t cancel them because now husband’s invested and daughter chips in expressly so we won’t cancel them.
That happened to me too. I go in every quarter and delete every subscription except NetFlix and Amazon. Nobody ever notices.
We watch WAAAAY more Hulu than Netflix, but, yeah, I don’t think the wife would notice a lot of them.
That is exactly what I refuse to do. Fortunately I am not interested in most “shows”, just old stuff, some movies, and sports. And still it feels like it would cost a fortune to assemble what I want but maybe not if some of this news I can use pans out.
What really pisses me off is how “cut the cord” has turned into “nickle and dime you to death”.
I could afford to construct an array of streaming services that brings me back to what I used to get on cable a few years ago – but I refuse to play that game.
I refused as well. And what I discuss next will show how most of what you ever got on cable is already out there. If you avoid the temptation of the brand newest thing, you’ll be happy. Most of the new stuff is crap now anyways.
That’s me. Other than sports, I have no interest in new stuff except a few shows that I plan to eventually get on DVD when they end anyway.
Lol..
Ownbestenemy
@mhsradar
·
16m
Replying to
@Cernovich
What? This is just the benign stuff that is being put out before they attempted to overthrow the government. Fox pushes propaganda, not the government! They would never, they are good and just
I guess people can’t see the trees through the forest. My hate replies are gonna be fantastic.
RJ, this was fun. I kinda felt like I was my homesteading great great grandfather reading a Hippie Back to the land manual in 1969.
How to make your own soap becomes how to watch tv with antenna.
I almost felt silly writing it. But where are The Kids gonna learn how to do stuff?
Not just kids.
Thanks, RJ
I’ve been spending most my life livin’ in a Firster’s paradise…
As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my firsts and realize there’s nothin’ left
‘Cause I’ve been firstin’ and laughin’ so long, that
Even my momma thinks that my mind is gone
You make The Great Firster proud.
Maybe some hope?
Yeah, probably not, but I love Scott for trying so damn hard. And kudos to Gaetz.
I’d like to think so but you are more likely to find a virgin in a whorehouse than a congress critter voting agains the war state with a few notable libertarian leaning representatives excepted.
A couple tweets down someone points out that the Squad voted unanimously to continue the sanctions, so much for the peace loving lefty mavericks.
Not that I expected different. I believe I predicted AOC would be brought to heel by the uniparty (and worth millions) by the end of her first term…I wasn’t wrong,
All true. We’re so completely fucked that tilting at windmills seems a rational reponse!
I’m fighting the urge to say, fuck it, bring on Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix. I know better, but it’s tempting.
There are going to be proscription lists from the Left long before Sulla 2.0 gains power.
The reason the siren song of right-wing authoritarianism is appealing is because I’m operating under the assumption that they are already writing those lists.
“writing those lists.”? You sir are an unbridled optimist. The first couple runs of those lists are already out there and ready to distribute. I just hope that some of the Glibs get to be in the same cattle car. My boat will be “overdue and presumed lost” as far as I can predict.
Late to the party, but I’ve had good results with this type of DIY antenna, as well as this type. The 2nd variety, in particular, is nearly free – you just need a clear plastic sheet protector, some al-foil, a balun and a couple of screws. Worked better than the $60 fractal antenna w/ amplifier that my idiot dad bought.
Also, why in the holy hell would you buy a TV with built-in software that’s not only going to deprecate before the TVs useful lifespan is 1/4 of the way over, but also spies on you? If you’re going to use Roku or another mainstream streaming appliance, get the set-top box. You can upgrade it for a lot less money than replacing your entire TV. Better yet, pick up a Raspberry Pi 4 or a small form-factor PC, install LibreElec or a similar OS to turn it into a Kodi appliance, and enjoy.
Whoopsie, posted a comment with too many links. I’ll post it in two parts:
Late to the party, but I’ve had good results with this type of DIY antenna, as well as this type. The 2nd variety, in particular, is nearly free – you just need a clear plastic sheet protector, some al-foil, a balun and a couple of screws. Worked better than the $60 fractal antenna w/ amplifier that my idiot dad bought.
Also, why in the holy hell would you buy a TV with built-in software that’s not only going to deprecate before the TVs useful lifespan is 1/4 of the way over, but also spies on you? If you’re going to use Roku or another mainstream streaming appliance, get the set-top box. You can upgrade it for a lot less money than replacing your entire TV. Better yet, pick up a Raspberry Pi 4 or a small form-factor PC, install LibreElec or a similar OS to turn it into a Kodi appliance, and enjoy.
I did give you a mention.
😉
Roku is better than some, but still a bridge too far for my paranoia.
That said, you can keep your TV on its own subnet and use a Pi-Hole to block some of the spying, and that mitigates a lot.
I mentioned that I was looking into streaming and a buddy gave me a TV with Netflicks built in. Cool. I signed up and got a free 30-day trial.
30 days later I got two emails from Netflicks: 1- my 30-day trial was expiring and 2- they no longer supported my TV.
LOL a TV with a camera? GTFO.
Mine has a mic but it’s in the remote that I don’t use. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Think of the fun you could have with silhouette outlines. Fetterlump, squirrel, penis, etc…
I’m now picturing those wall-size silhouette murals in glorious al-foil shapes of the spiciest memes.
My apologies if someone has already linked this.
Today in Adventures in Degloving Very Late At Night:
Patient had a left ovarian cyst. I swear to you I typed “leftover cyst,” like you’d put it in a Tupperware and throw it in the fridge.
I’m going to bed.
Nice.
Regarding the evening links Trans thread, I suppose it stands to reason that if Hershey’s can declare itself to bd chocolate, then a man can declare himself to be a woman.
(Lindt chocolate or GTFO)
Thanks for the article. Now that I’ve uprooted to WA and I’m starting over, I’ll probably stick with Amazon Prime and Hulu. That covers just about everything I watch, except for NFL Sunday Ticket, which I might just give up.
The TV show I edit airs on CW station that comes from the same broadcast array out Green Bay that carries the Fox channel for the market. I can receive the Fox station OVA, but not the CW station. This baffled the station engineer when I brought this up, as the CW signal is more directional and should be stronger where I am located. Even in the age of The Science, known quantities are still arcane.
According to the FCC, I get:
That is all.
Morning! 😋
It’s not Monday!
Good morning, Sean, Roat, Lack, and….whoever’s still making their way down the threads.
Morning.
Great primer on this subject.
I have had similar experiences- at 5pm everyday I would lose signal at my old house- not sur eif it was a change in the transmissions, the sun activity, nearby EMF interference or what, but it was like clockwork.
“The wife may hate it but at least you aren’t going to miss the Super Bowl!”
Somethings are important. Agree also with hiding the thing unless you are actually using it, they’re all ugly, unless you have the Godzilla-killing one, that is just cool.
‘Have a few beers first so you can simulate what it will be like to use that at home.’
Who are you who is so wise in the ways of Glibs?
I really enjoyed this, one question I do have though, will any of this help stop the mind control waves?
Yeah, LOL at that.
Sounds like the Wiimote. *spit*
Mornin’, reprobates!
Very nice article, RJ. I had no idea over-the-air teevee was a thing, I shall now need to investigate. NYC metro should have quite a selection.
Happy Purim to OMWC and the rest of (((you))). Be sure to carry out your religious obligations with appropriate enthusiasm!
Good morning, ‘patzie!
We have a digital antenna that we usually only use when the cable goes out. If the price of cable keeps going up at the rate it has been, I’d be very tempted to scale down to the bare bones selection of channels or, most drastically, ditch the TV part, keep the cable internet access, and just go with the antenna for TV.
I’ve been without TV (both cable and OTA) for some time. It is weird when I encounter it in hotels. Streaming is such a different experience.
My neighbor, in addition to signing for my wine shipment while I was away, bought me some hamantaschen from the local temple.
I’m not one of (((them))) and my (((wife))) has a gluten allergy, but it was very sweet of my (gentile) neighbor nonetheless.
Why the Hell Do You Have So Many TVs?
Five isn’t so many. It’s not like I have them in bathrooms.
Right? Who needs a TV in the bathroom, that’s where I keep my stash of high class “literary” publications.
The bathroom spank-bank?
Good morning, Glibs.
Nice write-up, RJ.
It’s been nearly a decade since we told Comcast to pound sand. We have two antennas in the attic. It helps a little, but there is a mountain in the way of some stations. Also, some stations are north of the city at a bad angle.. Since I don’t watch sports any more, pretty much the only use I have is when it’s tornado time. Mrs. T watches syndicated crap when she’s cooking sometimes.
“Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat”
https://nypost.com/2023/03/06/snowmobiler-nearly-crushed-by-angry-moose-when-animal-charges-in-idaho/
Yikes. I think I’ll stick to chess.
A moose once bit my sister.
The Tee-Vee, but especially Disney, portrayal of animals as all docile and nice has made people dumb as fuck. Animals are animals. Assume they want to kill you every time and show them the respect they are due. Especially the big ones. Then remind them who is boss by shooting their ass and grilling them.
Speaking of dumb as fuck about animals, did you guys see the clip of the man on the street advocating for fighting climate change by outlawing farming?
Real men of genius….
Electricity comes from the wall, food comes from the store.
Watched the latest Last of Us episode.
The show writer has shown his penchant for certain things, like playing themes to absurdity. He can’t stop sexualizing a fourteen year old girl. He can’t not make ridiculous situations like a pedophile cannibal cult leader who tries to rape a girl after having been bit and stabbed and while in a burning building.
Too bad, it could have been good.
So, Tucker released his first episode about the Jan 6 tapes. Saw a few clips on the internet, didn’t see show.
But wanted to see the response.
So… CNN…
Already had their debunk locked and loaded. But they burried it halfway down the page. “What you need to know about Tucker Carlson and the January 6 video”.
First, it is super shady that he is allowed to violate national security. Second, he is using it to support Donald Trump, who is despicable. Third, he claims that capital police showed Q-Anon Shaman around and opened doors for him. This is a lie. They asked him to leave and he didn’t. They were concerned about violence, so they continued asking him to leave. Plus. He is in jail because he plead guilty. So..yeah.
And Carlson is despicable because he lies about Officer Brian Sicknic, hero of Jan 6. His reporting is dishonest because it contradicts every fact we know. I mean. How are we to even verify that this is even him on the video. Plus, his whole family totally condemns besmirching his name and bringing him up…. It is too painful. (No, really).