​It would be spectacular if we could watch everything we found interesting on television, but that’s never going to happen. Sometimes I try though.
 
It seems weird to say that. Most times when I surf the TV during a boredom spell, it seems like there is NEVER anything worth watching.

Don’t want to see “Naked Hiking in Alaska” or “Old Men Pawn Wars” of “Kick the Chef in the Gut.” You can hit the clicker relentlessly and not find anything worthwhile.

Conversely, sometimes you may watch a show or record one, and find there are four other things on that you’d like to see. What to do then?
 
I’m pretty dedicated to several series on TV that get recorded. The fun and convenience is being able to watch them any time you want, or go through two, three or four episodes in one evening so you can follow the plot and characters more intently.
 
At any given time, there are usually 2-3 shows where I can go back and watch when I want to. But the summer dead period is upon us. Summer shows have ended. Fall series have not started. There’s not much saved right now.
 
It’s at this time of year when I look around at more channels and reaffirm the wasteland of most TV. At the same time, there’s a wake-up to old movies, odd sporting events and long-forgotten favorite TV series that can captivate you and even overwhelm you with choices.
 
You can’t watch everything. That’s something that you must mentally feed yourself. If you find a whole bunch of excellent shows on at the same time, first, you know you can’t watch them right away. Second, depending on your recording apparatus, you may not be able to record more than two or three shows at once. What the heck happens if you want four shows from 8-9 p.m. this Thursday? You’re dead meat is the anwswer.

You have to make a decision. The way to guide your decision is to recognize you can’t watch it all. What do you really care about?
 
This type of choice is more prevalent today than we tend to consider. We have more books, restaurants, brands of toilet paper, cereals, colleges, doctors, magazines, supermarkets, insurance agencies and hair salons to choose from than we did 40 years ago. Way more.
 
That leads to choice overload. Because we have so many options, we often do nothing. Or we stick to the path we’ve worn out over the years and keep watching or eating the same things.
 
My dad had this interesting he would do that he related to us later in life where he’d look for new driving routes to get places. He was pleased with himself when he saved 12 seconds on a 22 minute drive. That’s an engineer for you.
 
I’ve recently started commuting a couple of different routes just to get off the Interstate, and lower my stress level. That leads to pleasurable unintended consequences of seeing new scenery.
 
It’s probably a good tactic to apply to your television habits. Check out a few new shows. Give them a shot. Maybe you’ll find something way better than your “tried and true” shows, and you yourself a jolt of insight.

Praise the sweatshirt – the multi-use piece of clothing. Why? Let us count the ways.
 
It’s the ideal in-between weather warmer-upper. Think it’s going to be cold later in the day? Slide the sweatshirt on.
 
Is it windy and not too cold out, but you know it will bite into your hands because you have to be outside for hours? Time for the sweatshirt. You can stuff your hands in that front pocket to warm up.

Forgot to bring along a stocking cap when it’s cold out? Wait, the sweatshirt has that covered, too. Just pull the hoodie up to keep your ears warm.
 
For those living in southern climates, I’m not sure they really get the full greatness of the sweatshirt. You might wear one to show off your school colors or your favorite sports team. You may slide one on when it gets below 70 degrees. But you don’t get the feel for its full functionality.
 
Going to a football game on a Friday night and it’s 68 degrees with a northerly wind bearing down at 12 mph is okay for a bit standing around or sitting in the stands. But when the temp is going to drop to 56 by the time the final whistle is blown and you know the wind is going to crank up a few extra miles per hour makes it a sweet spot for the trusty hoodie. You might even be able to wear shorts as long as you have your long-sleeved thick-clothed favorite spring-fall article of clothing along with you.
 
Over the years, the sweatshirt has demonstrated its excellence. If you’re a golfer and the morning starts out damp and cool, you can put on a jacket with those sleeves you can unzip later in the day when the dew burns off and it warms up. Or you can pull your sweatshirt on to cover the bases.
 
Even when extreme cold hits your area, the sweatshirt becomes your warm underwear. Layer with it. Put on your tee shirt, throw on a sweatshirt. Then pull on a light jacket. You don’t need to go with full winter gear. Instead you can stay more flexible and adjust your clothing as the weather dictates.

This works extremely well for folks who are active. If you’re in the yard, for example, chopping wood, you typically begin to heat up even on a cold day. You may start out with the sweatshirt and a jacket on a 40-degree day. But then after 23 minutes of chopping away and perspiration prickling through your undershirt, you know it’s time to strip off the jacket and get down to just the sweatshirt. It has you covered. It’s trusty.
They can be thick or thin. Both serve a purpose. The thick ones, clearly, are much better for those days in your house where you don’t want to turn the heat on yet in the fall to conserve energy. The lighter ones are good on those spring days where a cool front hits later than you’d expect and because you’re already wearing shorts around, you don’t want to get the jeans back out. So the sweatshirt suffices to keep the upper body warm.

Sweatshirts are functional, comfortable and relaxing. Put one on, you’ll feel better.