Do you remember that night 10 years ago when you raced home because your favorite TV show was starting in 10 minutes? You broke every traffic law on the books and endangered the lives of everyone in the city (and you may have even clipped that neighbor boy's shoulder with your side view mirror, but we'll just go ahead and forget about that). No one is judging, we all did it. But when was the last time your television made you drive home like a maniac? Nowadays it would feel silly and illogical, and we have one thing to thank for that: DVR's. Now that DVR's come with every satellite TV system, it's hard to find someone who doesn't own one. DVR's only hit the market about 10 years ago, and they only became ubiquitous about 5 years ago, so it's hard to believe just how quickly we've come to take them for granted.

As opposed to the scenario with the crazed driver who would rather die than miss a minute of their program, this is the scenario we've become accustomed to over the past several years:
"Hey! American Idol is starting!"
"Great! Let's wait 20 minutes so we don't have to watch the commercials."

The fact that we never had to miss one second of Simon Cowell's face in High Defintion is something that should be celebrated; although now that it's been replaced with Steven Tyler's face in HD we might hold off on that celebration. The fact that we can decide how many times we watch the replay of a close play while we're watching a sports game is something that should be celebrated. The fact that we can set our DVR's to record every repeat of old Twilight Zone episodes is something that should not only be celebrated, but also call for a National Holiday in honor of the DVR.

Anyone who's ever been lucky enough to flip back and forth between two NFL Sunday Ticket games, or any two simultaneous sports games for that matter, without missing a single play from either, knows the God-like power that the remote bestows.

So the next time you're watching The Situation flex his abs on Jersey Shore, or Adam Richman shove an absurdly large meal down his throat on Man vs. Food, just remember to say thank you to your DVR, because chances are you wouldn't be watching it if you hadn't recorded it. So go ahead and thank it, and go ahead and use its name…don't be ashamed to admit that you named it. Make sure not say the "thank you" out loud though, or your family might wonder if you're overdue for a psych checkup. Which brings us to what may be the best thing of all about DVR's: the fact that your family is able to hear that "thank you" (if you were foolish enough to say it). DVR's have made it possible for you to watch the TV shows you love with the people you love, at the time that is best for you, not the time that the TV networks decide.