The world in my living room

Dubai: I have gained a lot over the years thanks to the invention of the TV remote control.

The gain is about a couple of kilos around my waist and now my doctor wants me to go outdoors and get some exercise.

But without a remote control I wouldn't have known what's going around the world. I am talking about the time before the internet and my smartphone.

From my favourite place in the living room—the old leather couch, I used to flip channels all evening while munching on wholesome snacks.

While the TV, the idiot box, brought the world into my living room, the remote offered a way for me to surf around the globe without budging from my couch, except for a walk to the fridge to replenish my glass.

Total control

Before Eugene Polley's flash-matic came into being, I remember the remote was a tiny box with a wire. Sometimes the wire would pop out of the TV socket and I would have to ask my wife to get up and reconnect it, since she sat nearer to the TV.

Over the years there has been an ongoing battle in my home between me and my sons, who devised various tricks to control the use of the remote control.

But I have showed them who's boss.

Meanwhile, the number of remotes in my home have multiplied like rabbits. As I plop on the sofa I have to rummage in a box because there's a remote for my TV, a remote for my DVD player, a remote for the set-top box… the list goes on.

Now I am looking forward to the future where a remote can put a partner on mute, but that would be wishful thinking.