I saw this on a couple of sites during the day: Low ratings could end cable deal for Gore's Current TV and it made me smile.
Now, if we could just get all the airport waiting areas, hotel lobbies, etc. to turn off CNN...
(I almost said doctors' offices but more and more of them are tuned to that health station that's pretty much guaranteed to make you feel even more ill after you've sat there for 15 minutes.)
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Random Thoughts of the Day
A couple of quiet days here at the Aerie. It never did get up to the mid 30s yesterday but it did get near to the 32 degree mark this afternoon. That caused the little dusting of snow on the deck to almost completely melt--almost--before we got a wee bit more around sun down.
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The extra whole-house humidifier I purchased on Sunday has succeeded in raising the humidity levels in the house to near 50% which is a blessing. It doesn't do quite as well when the fireplace is sending out its warm dry air but even then it stays around 40% and that's good for the nasal passages and the logs. Without that extra humidity things start cracking and checking--especially when the outside humidity plummets with the temperature.
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I managed to switch out the two 512 MB memory chips in my laptop for two 2 GB chips and have seen some improvement in the behavior and speed of my computer. Now I can make mistakes at least twice as fast.
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I didn't watch the SOTU address last night or either of the follow-ups. From what I've read today I didn't miss much in skipping the President's speech. Even his supporters seem to agree that it was not one of his finest productions.
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I tuned in to Harry's Law the last two Monday nights--mostly because I wanted to see Kathy Bates in action. I followed the first episode through to the end but switched off the second with 15 minutes to go because the liberal leaning, right bashing, rhetoric got to be too much. It airs at 10 PM on NBC and is a product of the Law and Order folks. For awhile there during the second week I thought I was watching MSNBC and that the head writer was Keith Olbermann. I will not be watching any more.
From the sound of this review after week 1, I won't be the only one not watching anymore.
******
Another TV show I've started watching is The Cape. It too appears on NBC on Mondays (in the hour preceeding Harry's Law) but is more comic book super hero action oriented. With story lines, heroes and villains in a fictional city that are all just a bit beyond reality. Pure escapism reminiscent of the weekly visits with my cousins when we would get together with our stash of comic books and trade/read for a couple of hours while the adults played penny ante poker. I like it. Besides, the heroes sidekick (and bad guys estranged daughter) is played by Summer Glau of Firefly and Serenity fame.
I've watched it for four weeks now and I'll be tuning into this one for as long as they continue to air it. Unless they let things really fall apart. This review from after week one gives and indication of why. The author went in figuring to be disappointed and let down--much as I did.
******
Glad I'm not over there on the east coast. Especially in the Rhode Island, Cape Cod area. Another humdinger of a snow storm over there. here? Not so much. Hardly anything at all. AccuHunch is saying we'll get some snow flurries and showers that may amount to an inch.
We stared down the barrel of Mother Nature's gun and she proved to be a bit cross-eyed. Missed us by t-h-a-t much! (Or do you really think she was aiming at all those Democrat controlled cities/states to begin with?)
******
The extra whole-house humidifier I purchased on Sunday has succeeded in raising the humidity levels in the house to near 50% which is a blessing. It doesn't do quite as well when the fireplace is sending out its warm dry air but even then it stays around 40% and that's good for the nasal passages and the logs. Without that extra humidity things start cracking and checking--especially when the outside humidity plummets with the temperature.
******
I managed to switch out the two 512 MB memory chips in my laptop for two 2 GB chips and have seen some improvement in the behavior and speed of my computer. Now I can make mistakes at least twice as fast.
******
I didn't watch the SOTU address last night or either of the follow-ups. From what I've read today I didn't miss much in skipping the President's speech. Even his supporters seem to agree that it was not one of his finest productions.
******
I tuned in to Harry's Law the last two Monday nights--mostly because I wanted to see Kathy Bates in action. I followed the first episode through to the end but switched off the second with 15 minutes to go because the liberal leaning, right bashing, rhetoric got to be too much. It airs at 10 PM on NBC and is a product of the Law and Order folks. For awhile there during the second week I thought I was watching MSNBC and that the head writer was Keith Olbermann. I will not be watching any more.
From the sound of this review after week 1, I won't be the only one not watching anymore.
Harry’s Law is, first and foremost, a colossal waste of Bates’ talent.
There’s no reason it can’t be a shoe store and a law firm, Jenna says to Harry. In Kelley’s world, that is true. In the real world. it’s not. It’s just stupid. Not whimsical, not quirky, just stupid.
Beyond that, Harry’s Law is littered with bogus courtroom rambling on soap boxes so tall they are an insurance claim waiting to happen. Let’s legalize drugs, Harry goes off, and the next thing you know she’s talking about stupid Republicans and Rush Limbaugh. It’s all cheap, easy, predictable and not very clever.
Layered upon the lectures are gobs of sap, as two African-American clients (one a drug addict going to college but facing a third-strike charge, the other a lovable goon who leans on merchants for protection money -- but they love him dearly!) desperately need Harry’s help. And she does help them, although the treacly piano music meant to pull your heartstrings will have you vomiting in the nearest bed-side or couch-side cylindrical object, so you may not be able to figure out how she pulled it off.
Do you want to know a feel-good story that would help television immensely? If Harry’s Law failed miserably -- now bring up the piano and strings in this part -- and Kelley went home, reconsidered his strengths, then came back with something completely different next time. No crutches, no quirks, no lawyers, no stupidity. Just a show that allows him to reconnect with his talent. Fade to black. Kill the saccharine music. And, redemption.
******
Another TV show I've started watching is The Cape. It too appears on NBC on Mondays (in the hour preceeding Harry's Law) but is more comic book super hero action oriented. With story lines, heroes and villains in a fictional city that are all just a bit beyond reality. Pure escapism reminiscent of the weekly visits with my cousins when we would get together with our stash of comic books and trade/read for a couple of hours while the adults played penny ante poker. I like it. Besides, the heroes sidekick (and bad guys estranged daughter) is played by Summer Glau of Firefly and Serenity fame.
I've watched it for four weeks now and I'll be tuning into this one for as long as they continue to air it. Unless they let things really fall apart. This review from after week one gives and indication of why. The author went in figuring to be disappointed and let down--much as I did.
In execution I found myself reluctantly, completely charmed by it.
The deft flips between SERIOUS vigilante BUSINESS and jokes about stage voices; between a corporate security firm conspiracy that would be just a tiny bit over the top for 24 and a presentation of sideshow life that would seem right at home in an episode of Doctor Who; reminded me of nothing so much as the DC Animated universe. That is, the shows that taught me that in order to make the Joker really scary, you’ve first got to make him really funny, and there’s no reason why characters can’t make sardonic jokes about how weird and mentally hazardous their crime fighting lives are.
******
Glad I'm not over there on the east coast. Especially in the Rhode Island, Cape Cod area. Another humdinger of a snow storm over there. here? Not so much. Hardly anything at all. AccuHunch is saying we'll get some snow flurries and showers that may amount to an inch.
We stared down the barrel of Mother Nature's gun and she proved to be a bit cross-eyed. Missed us by t-h-a-t much! (Or do you really think she was aiming at all those Democrat controlled cities/states to begin with?)
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Commercials
Another reason I'm not watching TV is some of the annoying commercials.
No, I'm not talking about the Sham Wow guy or the Progressive Insurance chick or even the Aflac duck. Although, they are pretty damn annoying.
No, the ones that really bug me lately are the ones for "male enhancement" and "erectile disfunction" and such. How the bloody blue blazes did folks get through life in the past without these products? And don't tell me "oysters". What does it say about a society when this becomes a major medical break through to be trumpeted on the aptly named boob tube every afternoon and evening?
Another commercial that has real raised my hackles is the one geared to reducing income tax payments to the IRS. You've probably seen it. "We owed the IRS $20,000 but only had to pay $5,000." And the couple standing in front of their opulent home that says, "We owed $3 million but only had to pay...." I don't know what they had to pay because I've usually found the remote by then and switched channels or, at least, hit the mute button. If there's anyone I have absolutely no sympathy for right now it's the person who has found a way to not pay his or her share of income taxes. Now, if there was a mistake in the filing, fine. You recover what you can. But if the book keeping is correct and you owe a certain amount...then pay it. And if someone owes millions then what, exactly, was their gross income? And what did they do with it instead of paying their taxes? Whenever I see that particular commercial I just want to squeeze the living sh*t out of those people. What I would like to do to whoever is running the ads to help people avoid their taxes I can not write about. Just in case.
No, I'm not talking about the Sham Wow guy or the Progressive Insurance chick or even the Aflac duck. Although, they are pretty damn annoying.
No, the ones that really bug me lately are the ones for "male enhancement" and "erectile disfunction" and such. How the bloody blue blazes did folks get through life in the past without these products? And don't tell me "oysters". What does it say about a society when this becomes a major medical break through to be trumpeted on the aptly named boob tube every afternoon and evening?
Another commercial that has real raised my hackles is the one geared to reducing income tax payments to the IRS. You've probably seen it. "We owed the IRS $20,000 but only had to pay $5,000." And the couple standing in front of their opulent home that says, "We owed $3 million but only had to pay...." I don't know what they had to pay because I've usually found the remote by then and switched channels or, at least, hit the mute button. If there's anyone I have absolutely no sympathy for right now it's the person who has found a way to not pay his or her share of income taxes. Now, if there was a mistake in the filing, fine. You recover what you can. But if the book keeping is correct and you owe a certain amount...then pay it. And if someone owes millions then what, exactly, was their gross income? And what did they do with it instead of paying their taxes? Whenever I see that particular commercial I just want to squeeze the living sh*t out of those people. What I would like to do to whoever is running the ads to help people avoid their taxes I can not write about. Just in case.
No TV for me!
I've stopped watching TV. With the football season ended there's not much I want to watch anyway. You can only watch so many episodes of "The Deadliest Catch" or "Axe Men" any way. I was getting very, very jealous of the folks on the Outdoor Channel. I mean some of those deer they've killed look like they were on 'roids for years! There's Michael Waddell and the Bone Collector crew and Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures and others who are out here living a dream. And just how do a young couple like Lee and Tiffany Lakosky (and here) make enough money hunting full time to, well, hunt all the time? I don't want to watch...I want to BE these guys.
As for "24",the only show I watched regularly last year, well, as soon as I heard that Garifolo was going to be a regular(?) I kinda lost interest. Good thing, too, as The One has preempted the show a couple times already.
See that's a problem. If I'm watching TV, I'm usually channel surfing during the commercials. If I hit the wrong button at the wrong time I could end up seeing The One or one of his sycophants like Chrissy Matthews or Keith Olbermann. And that could cost me a TV. Luckily, the cable system I'm tied into has nearly all the news channels at the high end of the numbers so it's unlikely that I would accidentally stumble upon MSNBC or CNN. Even Fox News is not on the beaten path (i.e. between Outdoor Channel and ESPN and ESPN2).
So I sit and read (I'm going through the entire Terry Prachett library--or at least the Discworld portion there of. (Quite the distinguished looking author is Sir Terrance. Handsome devil.) I'm up to Maskerade right now) do crossword puzzles (from books as I don't buy the newspapers) and surf the internet.
At least that's what I'm doing when I'm not in the workshop. I've got a couple of projects lined up. There's some bird houses to make and a few Christmas presents to start on. (Intarsia can take awhile.)
As for "24",the only show I watched regularly last year, well, as soon as I heard that Garifolo was going to be a regular(?) I kinda lost interest. Good thing, too, as The One has preempted the show a couple times already.
See that's a problem. If I'm watching TV, I'm usually channel surfing during the commercials. If I hit the wrong button at the wrong time I could end up seeing The One or one of his sycophants like Chrissy Matthews or Keith Olbermann. And that could cost me a TV. Luckily, the cable system I'm tied into has nearly all the news channels at the high end of the numbers so it's unlikely that I would accidentally stumble upon MSNBC or CNN. Even Fox News is not on the beaten path (i.e. between Outdoor Channel and ESPN and ESPN2).
So I sit and read (I'm going through the entire Terry Prachett library--or at least the Discworld portion there of. (Quite the distinguished looking author is Sir Terrance. Handsome devil.) I'm up to Maskerade right now) do crossword puzzles (from books as I don't buy the newspapers) and surf the internet.
At least that's what I'm doing when I'm not in the workshop. I've got a couple of projects lined up. There's some bird houses to make and a few Christmas presents to start on. (Intarsia can take awhile.)
Thursday, December 20, 2007
No TV
As far as I'm concerned that's the best kind, but Terry is starting to have some withdrawal symptoms. There are football bowl and pro games starting tonight and I'd like to watch a few of them.
Yesterday morning we discovered that the TV system wasn't working at the Aerie. We get our TV through the same lines as our phone and internet connection. I called the provider and they sent out Zack who has been here before and is cousin to Don and Deb's daughter-in-law. And he's a real nice guy.
He visited with us for almost 3 hours but really couldn't do anything except confirm that we had no TV reception to any of our three sets. He informed us that they had recently gotten and installed an upgrade to their software and had, as a result lost TV all over their service area. Things have gotten so hectic and confrontational tat the poor gals back at the office are nearly in tears. Since the installation they've had the tech guys (like Zack)running all over the area doing their best to resolve the problem but it comes down to something at base end of the line. They're trying their best but are, at the moment, completely overwhelmed. I joked that it sounded like a Microsoft product.
Anywho, we had a nice visit talking about photography and fishing. (Turns out one of the guys with the phone company also goes up to Caesar's Lodge and the idea of going up there has been in the back of Zack's mind for a while now.) He's also a photography hobbiest and was intrigued with my digiscoping set up.
Hopefully, they'll get the bugs out of the system and we'll b able to watch some TV this weekend.
UPDATE: I just (10:00 AM) called and the office says they've narrowed the problem down but still haven't come up with a solution. Extremely apologetic about the whole thing I was informed that everyone who has been affected will receive two weeks credit on the TV portion of their bill.
UPDATE: (12:00 Noon) It's back! We just got our TV reception back and I believe the folks at the business end were just as relieved as we were. I imagine those folks who have young kids in their household are jumping for joy too. Not that I condone using the TV as a babysitter or anything....
Yesterday morning we discovered that the TV system wasn't working at the Aerie. We get our TV through the same lines as our phone and internet connection. I called the provider and they sent out Zack who has been here before and is cousin to Don and Deb's daughter-in-law. And he's a real nice guy.
He visited with us for almost 3 hours but really couldn't do anything except confirm that we had no TV reception to any of our three sets. He informed us that they had recently gotten and installed an upgrade to their software and had, as a result lost TV all over their service area. Things have gotten so hectic and confrontational tat the poor gals back at the office are nearly in tears. Since the installation they've had the tech guys (like Zack)running all over the area doing their best to resolve the problem but it comes down to something at base end of the line. They're trying their best but are, at the moment, completely overwhelmed. I joked that it sounded like a Microsoft product.
Anywho, we had a nice visit talking about photography and fishing. (Turns out one of the guys with the phone company also goes up to Caesar's Lodge and the idea of going up there has been in the back of Zack's mind for a while now.) He's also a photography hobbiest and was intrigued with my digiscoping set up.
Hopefully, they'll get the bugs out of the system and we'll b able to watch some TV this weekend.
UPDATE: I just (10:00 AM) called and the office says they've narrowed the problem down but still haven't come up with a solution. Extremely apologetic about the whole thing I was informed that everyone who has been affected will receive two weeks credit on the TV portion of their bill.
UPDATE: (12:00 Noon) It's back! We just got our TV reception back and I believe the folks at the business end were just as relieved as we were. I imagine those folks who have young kids in their household are jumping for joy too. Not that I condone using the TV as a babysitter or anything....
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