Anyone who's read my blog with any regularity knows that I'm a big TiVo aficionado. I'm a big television aficionado, and TiVo makes that much, much easier. When TV watching is stressful -- labeling tapes, being home at the right time, battling with the VCR, keeping up with schedules -- it loses some luster. When TiVo does it all for me, I am satisfied.

Lauren and I espoused the Joy of TiVo to our families so much that both her and my parents have purchased their own TiVos. And with TiVo's new pricing model (eliminating the "Product Lifetime Subscription" in favor of a cell-phone type model -- the phone is free, with a slightly higher monthly charge), I even motivated a coworker to purchase his second TiVo with the lifetime subscription while he still could.

And each one of these three TiVo purchases had one thing in common: I got "TiVo Reward Points" each time.

TiVo Reward Points are like currency. Only, currency that you can only use for silly TiVo things.

We are now the proud owners of a bright red TiVo remote. It sits in a drawer. We haven't put in batteries, and thus haven't programmed it to work with our TV. We already have two remotes, one for each TiVo. I consider this one a backup.

We're also proud owners of a delightful pair of TiVo slippers. They're extra-large, like my feet. And they even have little antennae sticking out. Cloth ones, of course.

And fret not, dear friends. With one more TiVo purchase that refers me, we'll get enough TiVo Reward Points for Lauren to get her small TiVo slippers, too.