Breaking Up the Bordem: Entertainment While Driving

Ok, lets face it, a truck is basically a car. A very long car that requires the driver to be alert at all times. But that can get boring quick. Bordem leads to inattentiveness which leads to accidents. So what do you do keep yourself entertained on those 11 hour trips? Here are some of the things I do, and some of the services I use to fight off the bordem monster.

Satellite Radio:

Anyone who was a passing familiarity with technology has heard of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio. Most cars these days come standard with a built-in satellite radio reciever. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this amazing technology, here's a short explaination: You purchase a reciever for your truck. This is the single most expensive part of satellite radio, but you can usually get a reciever kit for around $100 at a truck stop or $40 on amazon.com. After that you sign up for service. (I believe my plan costs just under $18 a month.) This gives you access to about 150 channels which include a full lineup of music, weather, traffic, news, talk radio, comedy and sports stations. Whatever your tastes or interests in music or entertainment are, there is a station for you. Word to the wise: DO NOT Buy one at the truck stops! They will charge an arm and two legs. The Satellite radio receiver pictured above with all the necessary mounting hardware can be purchased at Amazon.com by following THIS LINK for the paltry sum of $39.99! And that includes free shipping!

Audiobooks:
Some people love them. Some people hate them. But they are a fantastic way to pass the time. I rarely buy CD audiobooks. I have a membership to Audible.com, which is an amazon.com company that has literally thousands of audiobooks to choose from. If you have a smartphone, Audible has an app that allows you to download audiobooks directly to your mobile device. Then it is just a matter of plugging in an auxillary audio cable from your phone to your truck's sound system. Audible.com will even let you try them out for free. just click on one of the Audible.com ads on this page, and get a FREE audio book.

Podcasts:
If you are familiar with iTunes, you probably already know about podcasts. If not, you should really look into them. Podcasts are free audio programs you can download or stream to your phone or other mobile device.

FM Radio:
If all else fails, there is the trusty standby: The FM radio. Honestly, what vehicle these days doesn't come standard with a radio? I use this as a last resort, or specifically for when I am driving into areas with heavy traffic or bad weather. Other than that, i stick to my audiobooks, XM Radio or Podcasts. It is just a personal preferance. I'm sure some people out there enjoy listening to a radio station for 30 minutes before losing signal and having to search for something else.

CB or Ham Radio:
I am a big talker and the radio waves give me a chance to talk whenever I want. I am not much for a CB, as it usually just has a bunch of guys on there complaining. Plus I hate the CBs with the echo feature. Makes people sound plain retarded. I much prefer Ham Radio. YES YES I know. you have to be licensed. dear me, what a tragedy. BUT did you know, you no longer have to know morse code to become licensed? Did you know that you can get on the air with a radio that costs less than a CB? There are thousands of repeaters all over the country that you can talk on. There are, however, a few rules. Mainly, no foul language, no conducting business, and be respectful to others. Sounds simple enough right? I plan to dedicate an entire blog entry to ham radio in the near future. In fact, I think it will be next Monday's blog entry.

Well that's it. That is all I can think of off the top of my head to keep you entertained. If I missed anything, be sure to let me know. Another part to this blog entry, which will be posted in a few weeks, will be about what to do for fun when you pull over. Until then, Drive Safe!