The L.A. Times has a story today about the violent disappearance of the "family hour" of television - that vaunted time from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. where mom, dad and the kiddies would sit down and watch good-hearted shows with morals, lessons and other tolerable plot themes (for me, this was The Cosby Show, among others). I guess not everyone's a fan of 24 for the 9-year-olds. The report (Kudos to the Times for actually posting it) says sex and violence have taken over the watching hours after school and work, and shows like Kiefer Sutherland's modern-day MacGuyver (let's be honest) among others have soiled a formerly pristine time for TV. Even The Simpsons and Family Guy (especially the latter) have made a mess of the subset.
 

When making a quick run to the store, pumping your gas or paying the bills, even I must admit the carefree swipe of a Visa Check Card can make life a little easier. My friends at Visa, however, have recently launched an ad campaign that seems to lend more to a growing problem in the United States than a technological luxury.

Perhaps you’ve seen the ads (one link is the title, and if that’s not enough, here’s another.) that makes the conventions of paying by cash or check seem clunky, inconvenient and almost socially unacceptable. Not only are you slowing everyone down around you in these ads – thus annoying the unending conga line of consumer behind you to no end – you’re killing the flowers (as witnessed in ad #2) and making a general ass of yourself.