So I have this second monitor in my work area which is fine for projects I’m working on that require me to have, say, a spreadsheet open that I’m copying information from into a database on my main screen. Most of the time, though, I don’t use it, and having a blank screen just sitting there is unnerving. When the light is right I can see my reflection in the black mirror. Except that I have found a use for it. I don’t remember when I first heard about “slow TV”. Possibly it was around the time Norwegian TV first broadcast eight hours of a fire burning in a fireplace, back in 2013. It was treated as a joke but I could see the appeal. If you don’t have a fireplace of your own, or don’t want to deal with the heat, the ash, the fire hazard, it would be nice to be able to just turn on the TV—use that large, luminous piece of furniture for something other than shows and commercials. It would be nice to fall asleep in front of a fire without having to worry about carbon monoxide or a stray spark.
Mostly I run videos of long train trips, filmed from the conductor’s point of view. My dream is to someday take a long train ride, or even a long ocean voyage, and just sit by a window and write as the world and waves slip by. The long videos are a way to do that. I also sometimes have aquarium videos going. We used to have an aquarium in the den and I read something about how watching fish can lower your blood pressure, which was great because maintaining an aquarium raised my blood pressure. A full screen of swimming fish provides the benefit of an aquarium without the pressure. Some places, like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, even provide livestreams. I especially like the jellyfish.
This meant a lot more to me when I was in an office, stuck in a cubicle with no windows. Now I sit at a window and can look out at trees, grass, birds, squirrels—our backyard provides a nice view without a lot of pressure. But the second monitor provides some variety. Without having to go anywhere I can sit by the window and watch whole worlds slip by.
I have two screens because I usually have way too many tabs open (kind of like my brain) but I love the idea of having one set to a train ride. I remember in the early days, one of the most popular screensavers was the aquarium. I could watch those fish for hours and the underwater sound was so soothing ????
For some reason I never had an aquarium screensaver on any of the computers I’ve ever had. I do remember the maze with brick walls. I miss screensavers. I guess they’re not needed anymore.
I miss flying toasters – that was the screensaver I could watch for hours. I have a friend who plays videos of small boats cresting on waves. I could watch an ant farm for days.
I need to look for ant farm videos now! The great advantage of videos like that, of course, is there’s no need to maintain an ant farm, aquarium, whatever of your own, which is ideal. I had an ant farm once and while it was fun watching them it was also sad to watch each of the ants die since I didn’t have a queen to replace them.
I like having you on my screen, Chris; it’s good for my mental health.
The things you bring to my screen are good for my mental health too–which is why I keep coming back.