How do you (or would you for those without kids) punish?

I'm taking a poll. What is your, I don't want to say favorite so let's just say most effective, punishment? I rarely ever spank Brantley, because to be honest he just laughs at me when I do. I am not against spanking, but it's just not effective for me. Taking things away has always been the most effective thing for me. The problem is that you have to be careful with what you take away and you have to make sure that you follow up. Generally, it's TV privileges. But, taking away TV also means that I have to be the entertainer a lot more than usual. This is probably where a sibling would come in handy. Anyway, last night was a bad night at our house. Brantley wasn't listening and was misbehaving. So, I made a bad decision on what to take away. I put him to bed and he wanted me to lay down with him. I told him that he didn't get the things he wanted when he misbehaved the way he did. In hindsight, it was a bad choice on my part but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Thus ensued the 'tantrum' of a life time. Since I already said I wouldn't lay down with him I couldn't go back on it. All he wanted was for me to lay down for a minute, but if I gave in that would compromise my authority (have to follow through with what you say). He got up multiple times after that, each time with a struggle back to bed. Tonight was a much better night, but he gets to watch no TV until Friday and the TV is gone from his room. I'm not sure when that will go back. And, in the absence of TV I taught Brantley to multiple 2 and 3 digit numbers. They are just now working on the tables in class, but it seemed like a good time to teach him. He was receptive and even thought it was cool, especially when I showed him some long division and the relationship between the two.