I know several people who have recently given up cable. Until now, I wouldn’t even have considered doing that but I’m beginning to wonder if there aren’t more benefits to not having cable. My sanity being right at the top of that list. My cable company’s got me sitting square in the middle of the fence, and I’m sure that’s just the way they want it to be.

My neighbor switched to an alternative method that touts their wireless system. Fantastic for some things but still tied to a sizable monthly charge that you have little or no control over. A guy my wife used to work with went cable-free a few years ago. He utilizes an antenna for local channels and subscription services for everything else. He was a remarkably convincing advocate for being unplugged and I almost caved… but not yet. My brother-in-law is the most recent convert to the antenna/subscription club and he’s researched and identified several cool alternatives for menu displays as well as recording systems… I’m one step closer but not quite there.

Presently I am burdened with rebooting my Cox Communications, ‘state-of-the-art’ (and I say that in the most sincerely sarcastic way) DVR almost daily, sometimes more than once a day. It’s been wonky and unreliable since installation 9 months ago and I’ve about had it. In addition I was recently offered (informed), at additional expense to me of course, I am entitled (forced) to accept more great services that I didn’t ask for. This happens regularly with all the major cable companies.

Here’s the thing. TV is my entertainment, almost exclusively. I can record up to 6 shows at a time, and so I do. My DVR knows my taste and kindly suggests programing that it has decided I might like, and I do. One touch delivers shows that I missed (because recording 6 at once is simply not enough), and movies that just exited the theatre yesterday. TV is how I relax. It’s my singular down-time diversion. If I were missing even the comfort of The Weather Channel at 5:00am or CNN at 6:30, I’d be rudderless. That guy that used to work with my wife is both tech savvy and gadget addicted, and he’s perfectly happy without cable. I’m just not sure I’m as patient and compromising as I would need to be to pull it off.

I have a love / hate relationship with my cable company. There probably isn’t a single cable company with a good reputation. They’re all huge, more than capable and very forward thinking but they don’t need to be competitive it seems, so service is nearly non-existent. The guy at the end of the phone line or on-line chat for Cox cable will answer your hysterical emergency call with a polite walk-through of the usual scripted assistance, but beyond that you’re pretty much on your own.

Not that I think this scares my cable company in the least but by nature I need to be in charge! I like the product (unnecessarily pricey as it is) but I hate the service, which really puts me smack-dab in the middle of the fence. Do you think Cox cares? Should I disconnect from the soul-sucking Satin that is cable, or breath-in and breath-out and thank God it exists? This really is a most uncomfortable fence they’ve got me hanging over and I’d greatly appreciate someone else making up my mind for me. Who’s game?