The future at present

Streaming, streaming, streaming.  Everybody's streaming.  Obviously I'm able to stream movies and TV on my laptop, although that's not how I'd prefer to watch.  I can access Netflix through the Wii, but the best it can output is standard definition.  Not good enough.  (Yes, how incredibly spoiled that sounds.)

Recently I bought a Roku.  Tonight I hooked it up with an HDMI cable and proceeded to see what I could find and might want to watch.  Without intending to seek it out I ended up burning through all six episodes of Portlandia's first season.  The picture quality was remarkable.  Suddenly I have the potential of always having something I could be watching.

Sure, cable television has offered lots of channels for awhile, although there's always been the issue of finding nothing worthy on.  (Look how far we've come.  Springsteen's song sounds like he's talking about a puny lineup now.)  The channels on Roku don't have everything one could ever want, but it would take an intensely dedicated or hard-to-please viewer to exhaust these resources.

I imagine some of you don't think this is a good thing.  Having the capability to find something to watch on TV at any moment may even sound like a nightmare scenario.  Fair enough.  I just can't help but marvel at how quickly the technology has made this a reality.