Brace yourselves boys and girls on Saturday, Sept. 29 Nickelodeon, along with preschool channel Noggin, Nicktoons and Nick G.A.S., will go off the air for three hours to encourage kids to get off the couch and get some fresh air. I remember the "good old days" when you could only watch cartoons on Saturday morning if you were disciplined enough to get up early, walk over to the TV, and turn it on. And you watched the commercials... all of them...because if you didn't want to watch you had to get back up and turn the knob on the TV. It's amazing how much the TV has become a part of our lives. I had a box with a knob you slid along until you found a station you wanted to watch amongst your 40 or so choices. Now my five year old can successfully navigate through our hundreds of channels and work our DVR. I applaud Nickelodeon for trying to fight childhood obesity by encouraging kids not to watch TV, if only for a few hours. I suspect that during the noon to 3 p.m. blackout in honor of Worldwide Day of Play, children everywhere will be freaking out wondering when Spongebob is coming back . My hope is that their parents will encourage them to get out and play.