Movies in the Cab..So Much has changed.

Since I never know if I'm going to be in a place with a fast enough connection on my mobile wireless for streaming, when I'm home I rent about 6 or more DVD's and burn them for watching later. Also, as has been discussed here at length, all major carriers have placed a 5gb cap per month on their bandwidth.

Talking about LCD tv's, here is my setup. I also plug my laptop into it and use as a monitor so when I watch streaming video it is on the big screen.

I'm thinking about getting into gaming. I haven't been into video games since Atari, but with my new setup I think I would like to get into the new games, with their awesome graphics, on the LCD.

 

To me, gaming would be the biggest waste of time, but each to their own. I guess it's no different from watching movies (I just discovered www.Hulu.com) or reading. Still, I think there's something special to reading, and I belong to several websites for my hobbies. Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Hydrogen experimentation, and guitar and mandolin sites.
I'm just hoping that free wifi is good enough for now to get movies or simply surf the net...IF I can get my rig fixed first, and a host of other problems to overcome.

 

I agree about reading. It's really preferable to all other forms of entertainment as far as the benefits it yields. I listen to audiobooks. I know it's not the same. But I listen to a book every month as a member of Audible. I try to get books that are literary, or historical, that I can learn from. Right now I'm listening to "People of the Book." It's the fictionalized historical account of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a rare Jewish prayer book, throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It tells the story of the different people who encounter this rare book as it travels around Europe through the Inquisition, WWII, up to the war in Yugoslavia.

I also listen to podcasts on different subjects including philosopy, technology, and university lectures. So I feel like I'm doing a lot of learning while I'm driving. I guess that assuages my guilt about watching so many movies and tv shows while I'm not driving. I'm not sure I'm going to get into gaming but some of the games now are like movies and are interactive. Some studies even suggest that they help to keep the brain sharp.

You're into something that I am definitely lacking right now. I might be better off getting back on an exercise routine rather than gaming. I used to lift small weights and jog at least three times a week while on the road. I've gotten away from that and need to return.

 

Zero: wow, man I thot I was the only one! I dig learning things and I figured that to pass time I'd eventually get audio rentals and stuff. I haven't had XM yet, but heard somewhere that there are some educational and such type radio stations?
Yes, that was a question.
I know there are audio rentals, but I guess you'd have to mail them back if you're OTR. One thing different I'm definitely NOT going to do from the old days: spend a lot of time on the stupid CB, or at least I'll have the squelch way up. I've become allergic to imbecility in my "old" age!
My new plan for exersizing on the road really wouldn't mess with a guy's entertainments: short and intense does it. Rotate the bodyparts. See, we only have 3 muscles in my philosopy: chest, back and legs. Ask any powerlifter!

 

You can download all kinds of audio on the internet through podcasts for free. You can burn them to CD. I pay a monthly fee at Audible for a book each month that I download in addition to free podcasts. My computer is hooked into my stereo so I bypass the burning of CD's.

A "podcatcher" is a great way to find and organize your podcasts. There's all kinds of stuff out there, unlimited learning.

XM really doesn't have educational channels I don't think. But there's all kinds of talk radio that can keep you occupied. If you read the thread on here about satellite radio, you'll see it has become as important to many truckers as the air we breathe.

Yeah, it's really much better than CB chatter. Though there are still some drivers that get pissed at you for not having your CB on. I turn it on when coming up on accident, bad weather, etc.

 

You can rent audiobooks from Audio Adventures (www.audioadventures.com) at most truck stops. They can be returned at any participating truckstop, which does not have to be the point of origin.