Inspired by this experience:

So last Friday night, Ellie was extremely fussing as we were trying to get some sleep. So I got up with her, put her in her swing, turned off the lights, and flipped on the television to watch the NCAA tournament (though without Davidson and Duke in it, does it still count?). I was startled that as soon as the TV lit up the room, Ellie jerked her head to the light and was immediately entranced by the dancing colors and noise.

Having spoken with other fathers who have experienced a similiar situation, I realized, I need to do something about this.

So I am in the first week of my fast. The parameters have been simple no television unless Lindsay and I, together, watch a DVD or “24.”

Some may snicker that this would be like fasting with the stipulation that you can eat steak, just not vegetables. But realize that my old routine would be 5pm Around the Horn, 5:30 PTI, 6 Dinner (the meal not the show), 6:30 NBC nightly news, and then whatever primetime junk was on would just flicker in the background. Also, I decided to listen to the Atlanta race on the radio last weekend rather than watch it.

So what has my experience been like…somewhat of a mini-withdrawal. This has been one of my most stressful weeks (interviews, midterm papers, preaching, and ords coming out), so having this drug escape at my fingertips has been a good challenge. I have been able to catch up fun reading, I have been able to hang and focus on Ellie, and I have been surfing the net finding random sites like needgod.com and godtube.

What’s next? March 24th is National Shutdown day, so I will be logging off my mac and email to view world atechnologically.