Random 5 for February 25, 2024 – TV, violence, stress, hearing aids, weather

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Is it just me? – Or are TV programs more violent? I was looking forward to the return of “normal” programming after the long hiatus caused by the strikes. I like most of the NCIS programs. NCIS-LA has always been more violent and “global” than the rest. It was more of an NCIS-CIA-FBI spy thriller but there was enough back story to keep me watching. The beloved husband is not a fan of the Las Vegas one as he thinks it’s dark. We finally watched Hawaii and yikes! Everything was blowing up. People barely making it out alive. Perhaps it’s time for me to retreat to the Hallmark Channel for some feel good stuff.

Although – I do love a good hospital series. The beloved husband does not. Most of the stories are interesting without bombs going off except Gray’s Anatomy got a little weird. I still enjoy most of them.

Normal? – With our cat Gus’s surgery on the mend (stitches out Tuesday), we can return to our other stressors, picking out stuff for the bathroom renovation, focusing on solutions to the heat pump issue and deciding whether to keep or return the hearing aids I got in November.

Yes, what about those hearing aids? – I barely ever use them. They are annoying although if I’d wear then all the time, I’d get used to the itchy, something-in-the-ear feel or so they say. Truth is that while they make things “louder,” what I need is for voices to be clearer. I don’t need to hear the dishwasher and garage door. I need to hear speech more clearly. They help a little but not enough to make wearing them worth it. I will put them on for TV because that is where they help the most. If I’m with people, I can hear well enough and for those people I can’t hear, the aids didn’t help. Even with all this, it’s a hard decision to make.

Sun in the forecast. – With all the stress lately, weather predictions are for an unseasonably warm week with sunshine. I’ll take it. Snow may be pretty, but you can’t beat sunshine to make you feel upbeat.

So how was your week?

67 thoughts on “Random 5 for February 25, 2024 – TV, violence, stress, hearing aids, weather”

    • Gus had his follow-up this morning. Stitches out but the cone should stay on for a few days. They cleaned up his booty which was smelly. He is a happy camper even with the cone on. I expect the stitches felt good to get out and the stink make everything itch. As for hearing aids, perhaps if I spent more time out with people or at functions I would find them more useful. I haven’t had a garden club meeting with them yet so we’ll see. If they don’t work in that kind of setting, they are $$ just for watching TV. I could get headphones or a soundbar that would do the job for much cheaper. I already know that if someone is a soft speaker and slightly slurs their words (and you wouldn’t believe how many people do that) they don’t work for that. I have until April to decide.

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  2. I’m so glad to hear that Gus has done well and that the stitches are due to be removed. I’m sure you’re looking forward to being free of the nursing duties.

    We watch a lot of old, sometimes a bit dated mysteries on BritBox. I think we’re kind of funny in our tastes, but I have several that have good story lines and are relatively tame when it comes to violence. Occasionally we laugh at ourselves–we are old! LOL!

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    • Yes. Sasha was getting “friendly” but every time he tried to groom her, he bonked her with his cone. Yesterday we put on the soft cone and it’s much better. They even slept together today. He’s a bit stinky so that’s saying something! Even Morgan isn’t hissing anymore.

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  5. I bet you and Gus can hardly wait for tomorrow! Goodbye cone!

    I deleted my soap box on violence. Yes, I think violence has increased and is more graphic and potentially desensitizing. I also have a problem with the “bad guys” being the stars of some shows and the “good guys” doing illegal or immoral things. The world is just weird.

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    • Please, please make it goodbye cone! Now I’m worried that something will come up and the vet will say more time. I will have a meltdown. Yes, on violence. I love shows like the old Perry Mason. Yep, there was a killing but you didn’t see it in graphic detail. It is desensitizing. I don’t think kids understand what dead really means.

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  6. I think TV programs are more violent and more emotionally disturbing in other ways. I watch very little TV. An occasional Hallmark movie during the holidays. I got tired of all the violent and emotionally disturbing programming years ago. It was actually affecting my stomach. I don’t miss it all. I read blogs that I choose and pick and choose IG accounts that are mostly about cats and horses that are living the good life.
    Tomorrow the cone and stitches are gone! Good for Gus and all!
    I can see how the hearing aids are a big decision. It would be something I would want to cross off the list and not feel bad about my decision. I don’t know all the info about purchasing them but assuming you can buy them again if you think they will help in a better way. Maybe some day clarity will be better.
    I will so be looking forward to a photo and update about Gus!

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    • Gus is getting feisty so that’s a good sign. I have a dose of his medicine left and I’ll use it to take him to vet tomorrow (and forego the serenade!) Hearing aids, sigh. They have come a long way since I tried them about 4 years ago. No batteries to fuss with, that’s good. The clarity for voices needs to be better. I don’t want to hear the washing machine or the dishwasher noise, just voices. I hope they can do that some day (hopefully while I’m alive!).

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  8. I don’t mind a little violence if it’s just a few minutes in the beginning and then the rest of the program is the good guys (characters you already know and like) solving things. What I don’t like is evil or mean characters who are a main part of the plot. I found Oppenheimer hard to take because of all the ill will and mean-spirited politicking.

    I don’t think I need hearing aids, but my kids complain that I turn the TV up too high talk too loudly.

    Enjoy the sun.

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    • Thanks for the heads up on Oppenheimer. It’s on my list to see but I have to be in the mood. I love the problem solving of detective and medical shows. I don’t need to see the murder to know it happened.

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  10. I cancelled my cable in 2010 and the only TV/movies I watch are from Amazon Prime. I do get the Peacock Channel free with Comcast. I started “Yellowstone” there but couldn’t get into it.

    When the actor Treat Williams was killed in a motorcycle accident last year, I read his obituary and saw he had a TV series called “Everwood” about a doctor, whose wife had just passed away, moved his two kids to a small town in Colorado. It was four seasons on the Warner Brothers channel. I had cable then but not WB. I loved that show! As it got to the last season, I didn’t just treat myself to two episodes once a week, I started binging it. I now see “Northern Exposure” just became available on Amazon Prime, a similar storyline of a doctor living in a small town, so I think I will start watching it since I missed it the first time around. Otherwise, nothing I hear about on social media for movies/TV shows appeals to me.

    Your hearing aids are like my one pair of glasses. I still have not found the “magical seeing spot” I am supposed to be using to see properly. I can walk in them, but in front of a computer screen, I can tolerate them five to ten minutes tops and they come off and I’m using my tinted glasses I use for driving. I am due at the eye doc in June and will not be re-using the frame, a Nike sport frame which I got since it was lighter (like your dilemma).

    Our weather … I have no words … it was sunny all weekend, but wind chills in single digits and teens. Tuesday we get to 70 but with possible severe weather, even the risk for a tornado. Too soon for those worries! I am a weather worrier.

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    • My new glasses are good. I’m glad I replaced them after 5 days because the news ones are lighter and fit well. The lens is bigger so the seeing area is better too. I heard about Everwood but never watched it. I’ll put it on my list to try. Cold day yesterday. Today is the beginning of our short warm up. Fingers crossed.

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      • I am going to go with the frame I always had for years, a gold wire frame, for next time … I only wear them in the house quite honestly and they are treated for blue light/computer glare and perhaps that is the reason? I don’t know, but they said there is nothing wrong with the glasses (almost pointing a finger at me).

        We have severe weather tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. One-inch hail Tuesday morning, two-inch hail and possible tornado Tuesday night – yikes! I am a bigger weather worrier the older I get. Good luck with Gus getting his cone off Tuesday.

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          • We got to 73 today and smashed all kinds of records, but we pay the price by having severe weather overnight. I am going to stay up as it comes in after midnight … I still worry about dead tree dropping another branch on the electrical wire. P.S. – I also liked Mad Men which was seven seasons. I did not have AMC at the time. I streamed it for free on Amazon Prime, but I just looked and you have to pay per episode or season. I worked at an ad agency in the Creative Department right out of college for 18 months. The show begins in the mid-60s and it was pretty much the same when I was working there a decade later. You, as a former HR person, would shudder to see/hear some of the things that happened, but it was true there as well as when I worked there. You sure wouldn’t get away with that talk/actions today!

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              • Yes, anything goes – that is why “Mad Men” was not embellishing anything. Thank you for asking – Michigan got two tornadoes, in other counties, one fairly close to Wayne County was an E1me and the other further away was an E2 – lots of damage there. I waited until 11:45 p.m. and the weather alarm didn’t go off, so I felt safe to go to bed. We have had wind gusts to 45 mph all day. The oddest thing was that the weather changed 50 degrees in 24 hours’ time: we had 73 degrees at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday and 23 degrees with a wind chill of 12 at 4:00 p.m. today plus it is snowing lightly right now. I’d have rather we had a normal Winter.

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  14. Hi, Kate – I totally agree with you about increasing violence on tv. That’s one reason that I read (and even finding non-violent books can be a trick).
    I’m sorry that your hearing aids are not working for you. Richard was VERY resistant to getting his – but once he did, he and the hearing aids have been inseparable, and the itch and frustration is gone.

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    • I think part of my hearing aid resistance is that they were set too loud. Even if I turned them down, the noise gave me a headache. I don’t need them when I’m home or with small groups of friends so I’m at a loss as to whether I should keep them. They may be great for plays or theatre but I don’t do much of either.

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  15. I’m glad life is getting back to normal for you and your household. I have never heard anyone that I know say they were really satisfied with their hearing aids. Sunny here – I think spring has arrived! Our winter was one of the mildest.

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  16. Glad I was not on your hospital show Kate, my experience belongs on the horror channel. Designer dishcloth knickers, fetching compression stockings and a hospital gown were my garb for 4 days. (never changed despite three requests) As soon as the drain was out, it was great to have a decent wash and wear my own pants even if the gown and socks remained!!
    Glad Gus is doing well.
    We used to love the original NCIS but the Gabby left and we stopped at season 15 I think. No interest at all now, especially as Gibbs has retired and Ducky has passed away in real life.

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    • I actually like the new guy better than the moody sullen Mark Harmon. I’ll miss Ducky. Sometimes I like the new actors and sometimes I don’t connect with them. I miss Emily Wickersham but the new woman is good too.

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  17. I have some difficulty hearing because of the ringing noise in my ears which is only a problem when in public places with lots of people and background noise. Although, I have been considering those aid things for tv so I don’t have to have the sound on blast.
    Good to hear Gus will be stitchless soon!

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    • Those TV things work but the pair my husband has wasn’t a cheap pair. We’ve been considering getting a sound bar for the TV which is supposed to clarify speech. If the networks would get rid of the dang background music and noise, I’d be fine. I can watch the news and talk shows without any issues. It’s dramas and comedies with “stuff” going on that are more difficult.

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  18. Husband is unbothered by the TV violence, while I hate it. I fail to see the need for so much torture. So while I enjoy “Abbott Elementary” and “Ghosts” and various K-dramas, I’m generally leaving the room when he’s watching “Warrior” and “Jack Ryan” and “Lioness.” “Ted Lasso” was one of my favorites. I think the only medical show I ever got into was “Scrubs”–so darn funny, but often bittersweet.

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    • My husband likes more violence than I do. I love the sitcoms (at least some of them) and detective-type programs without the actual violence. Over the summer we watched and rewatched both Castle and Rissoli and Ailes multiple times. We also watched Good Witch (again) and the first 7 seasons of NCIS (the original).

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  20. I cut the TV cable about 6 months ago and have no idea how to work a streaming service, so I have no idea what TV shows are like these days. I get my news from my cell phone. Overall, I have not missed having TV to watch, since I am definitely NOT one of those people who must have the TV on as background noise no matter what I’m focused on doing.

    Yay on Gus getting his stitches out! I think you and your beloved hubby should start bets, when one of this fur balls gets home from something at the vet’s practice, to see how long you can go until there is a new reason to take one of them to the vet for something not “normal”. Your bundles of fluff seem to be assisting the vet on paying the mortgage on his second home!

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  21. I bet Gus is ready for those stitches to be out…..and he can be “coneless” ! My sister is the only person I know that has hearing aids (so far anyway). My husband needs them when he’s watching TV but he says that’s not enough of a reason to get them……I told him about that “headset” that amplifies TV sounds and he MIGHT be on board with that one. We will have a couple of days in the 60s – I’m clinging to that possibility anyway – I’m tired of cold.

    Hugs, Pam

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  23. Sunshine and clear blue skies makes all the difference in the world for me, too. In spite of aggravations like traffic, and other urban problems, I remind myself how lucky I am when there’s a blue sky and sunny conditions (even if it’s chilly-as long as it’s sunny, it’s ok). With 300+ days in Colorado, I understand why people continue to flock here (though I hear Utah is open, hint, hint tourists). 😉 Happy Sunday.

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