Messages

3886

Everything Else TWC / Re: TWC going dark for Earth Hour

« on: March 29, 2008, 08:09:11 PM »

Maybe they turned out the lights in all their offices and other studios that they're not using right now. That would be my guess.

3887

Everything Else TWC / Re: TWC going dark for Earth Hour

« on: March 29, 2008, 08:02:03 PM »

Everything looks normal on PME to me...

3888

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: March 29, 2008, 07:59:17 PM »

LOL, anyone see Google.com lately? Looks like they've gone dark  for Earth Hour too! 

Yep. I saw that first thing this morning. 

3889

Local Forecast / Re: Trammell Sightings

« on: March 29, 2008, 06:59:28 PM »

Trammell cut into the 6:58 PM ET LF about half way through.

3890

General Discussion / Re: Wow...

« on: March 29, 2008, 04:58:40 PM »

Gil, are you planning on throwing out that bottle?

No, I think he's going to drink it at dinner tonight. 

3891

Everything Else TWC / Re: A new series?

« on: March 29, 2008, 03:52:47 PM »

A few minutes ago, Carl Parker introduced us to what he termed "a new series" called Off the Beaten Path, and then a Lifestyles segment for said series played.

AFAIK, we haven't heard anything about this yet, so I'm wondering if this series will actually be a show or if it's just going to be a Lifestyles series.

A while back, Carl had mentioned "a new show is in the works." Maybe this is it...

3892

TWC Fan Art / Re: Billy's Artwork

« on: March 29, 2008, 03:48:18 PM »

What if TWC made a classic CD?

3893

General Discussion / Re: Mac Discussion

« on: March 29, 2008, 12:40:15 PM »

That's an extremely inaccurate percentage. You may not realize, but lots of things today are made using macs. Take movies for example. 99% made on Mac. same with music, TV, etc.

And guess what? Those Mac's are used by less than a percent of our country's total population.

Exactly. Macs have such an insignificant market share... My question is if Macs were so good, then why don't more people use them?

3894

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: March 29, 2008, 10:27:25 AM »

I had a dream that I heard "The Setting Sun" by Trammell Starks on the radio.

3895

General Discussion / Mac Discussion

« on: March 29, 2008, 10:17:56 AM »

Said it before, and I'll say it again. Get a Mac! Your problems will disappear...

Sorry to burst your ego bubble here, Gil, but Macs, just like any other computer, can experience problems.

3896

Everything Else TWC / Re: Changes in First Outlook come Monday...

« on: March 29, 2008, 02:10:14 AM »

Well, they didn't say anything.

Now we wait until 4:30 ET...

So what are the logistics behind this?

If we see Weekend Outlook at 4:30 AM ET and they're at Studio 1B (GFC desk), then that means that they will be there all throughout the weekend, and theoretically that means whoever hosts EEWC on Sunday night/Monday morning will the last OCM to host at this studio?

If we see Weekend Outlook at 4:30 AM ET and they're at Studio 1A (big desk), then that means that Rich and Sharon were the last OCMs to host at this studio, and all shows this weekend will be in 1A?

Do I have this right?

Also, where does the Weekend View/A&B set play into this?

3897

Everything Else TWC / Re: Changes in First Outlook come Monday...

« on: March 29, 2008, 01:55:00 AM »

Well, guys, we might be coming up on the last segment from Studio 1B; I guess we'll know for sure when Weekend Outlook comes on or if Rich and Sharon say something.

* beanboy89 fires up tuner to record segment.

Edit: Rich or Sharon mentioned nothing about moving to a new studio......

3898

Everything Else TWC / Several suitors show interest in The Weather Channel

« on: March 29, 2008, 12:49:48 AM »

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Several suitors show interest in The Weather Channel

By KRISTI E. SWARTZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/26/08

Early bids are in for the Atlanta-based Weather Channel, and speculation about the likely buyer abounds. Family-owned Landmark Communications Inc. is said to want $5 billion for the weather-forecasting enterprise, which includes the coveted weather.com. But analysts say that the company should expect a disappointing price because the economy is so sour and credit is tight.

Landmark is keeping mum about the names of, or number of, suitors. But the reported list is a who's-who in the media world, though analysts say some of the companies may just be using the sale as an opportunity to look at each other's financials in private. The finalists may go through one or two additional bidding rounds unless one particular company's price is significantly higher than the others'. A decision probably won't be made for the next couple of months.

Favorites

• News Corp.: News Corp. has the money as well as the history of combining traditional media — television — with new media, experts say. And, its popular Fox News Channel and foxnews.com are chief competitors to Atlanta's CNN, whose parent company may also be in the hunt. But News Corp. just paid a lot for Dow Jones, and media reports say it has submitted a bid to buy Newsday from Tribune Co.

&bulll; NBC Universal: NBC has made good money off of its cable networks, which include Bravo and USA, and could stand to do so with this purchase. What's more, Weather Channel's TV network and Web site could tie in with NBC's own operation, Weather Plus. However NBC's parent company, General Electric Co., is going to be too worried about its earnings to do such a deal at the purported asking price, analysts say.

Maybe, but issues

• Time Warner Inc.; A weather-focused station would fit in nicely with Time Warner's CNN and give the company a leg up over key rival News Corp. But analysts aren't sure whether the new CEO Jeff Bewkes is going to want to pay $5 billion for another cable station.

• Comcast Corp: As the nation's No. 1 cable provider, Comcast is also the Weather Channel's biggest customer. On top of that, Comcast may want to add a weather channel to its other networks, which include E! Entertainment Television, The Golf Channel and TV One. As with NBC and Time Warner, analysts say Wall Street also likely wouldn't support this deal unless Comcast does it for dirt cheap.

Probably not

• CBS Corp.: Even though CEO Les Moonves recently said he'd be interested in the Weather Channel at the right price, analysts say Wall Street would punish the company severely if such an expensive deal was done.

• Discovery Communications: The Weather Channel's new high-definition studio could be considered an asset for the HD-heavy Discovery Communications, which has captured viewers through core nonfiction channels, such as Animal Planet and the Military Channel. Discovery also bought the Atlanta-based HowStuffWorks last year, giving the company somewhat of a local tie.

Analysts value this company at about $5 billion, which means it would be trying to buy a company of roughly equal size.

What some of the experts are predicting:

• Alan Breznik, senior analyst with Heavy Reading:

"It makes more sense for an NBC or a Time Warner or a Fox and News Corp. because they have news networks, and NBC has a weather network... it has more in common with a news network than entertainment programming."

• Alan Gould, media analyst with Natixis Blechroeder:

"The best fit would be News Corp. Weather is news, it's not one of the critical news items, but something that at the right price, News Corp. would be interested in."

• Joe Bonner, a media and telecom analyst with Argus Research

Despite the skepticism of some other observers, "CBS is certainly a leading candidate because they are hungry for the Internet property — that's a good part of the Weather Channel."

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/stories/2008/03/26/twc_0326.html

3899

General Discussion / Re: DVD Drive Problems

« on: March 28, 2008, 11:54:57 PM »

No, this is on my PC. It's an HP drive. Man, this computer is cheap. First I had the "secondary" drive (the CD drive) go, and now, only six months later, the other drive is failing.

Yeah, I thought I remember you mentioning having trouble with a drive a while back. I thought it was the same one again.

3900

General Discussion / Re: What have you eaten today?

« on: March 28, 2008, 11:07:45 PM »

Breakfast: None
Lunch: Potato, macaroni and cheese
Dinner: Sub (same as Mike )