As much as I like to take in information on various topics, I find that TV is a fairly useless medium for doing so. Most of this is due to control issues. I have no control over the programming on TV. I can record things I’d like to see, but I can’t tell the show itself how in-depth I want it to go on a particular subject. Shows about cars are an excellent example of this. While I enjoy watching car builds on shows like Overhaulin’ I can’t say that I actually absorb any of the information in any of them. Magazines and online publications are much more tailored to this kind of thing. If I’m reading a story about the original Ford GT40 which was said to average 135 mph at Le Mans back in the 60’s, it makes me want to know what the Audi R8, winner of this event for the past few years, is capable of. Google says it’s about 143 mph, but then I would need to figure out whether this is at Sarthe, and if so then it fails to take into account the kink they added to the straightaway (according to Gran Turismo 4).

Regardless, in a matter of minutes I can have more information than a TV show could provide in an entire hour. I think TV is an excellent jumping off point for figuring out what you want to learn about, but beyond that it’s all down to real research (reading). On the subject of skimming over information, I offer a criticism of nearly every modern home magazine (Dwell, Metropolitan Home, etc). Any time I am reading about a house (or seeing it on TV), I immediately want and need to see floor plans. This doesn’t work on TV for obvious reasons, but unfortunately floor plans are not provided for some of the nicest houses featured in the aforementioned magazines. I chalk it up to a space issue, but on occasion they’ll show a multi-level house and floor plans for one floor. I don’t really get that and that’s why I don’t really find myself reading them except as a last resort.

On the other hand, Fine Homebuilding (last I checked), had an annual issue dedicated to specific houses and complete floor plans for them.