Messages

61

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: April 02, 2015, 04:29:05 PM »

I moved to Houston! It's such an amazing and diverse city and I love it so much. <3

Nice!  Hope you're enjoying it.

Also...shouldn't we be in the Porch? It's getting humid in here. xD

You're so right!  With warmer weather across most of the nation, no sense in staying cooped up in here.  The Front Porch is now open!  We'll see you all back here on September 23, 2015 for the start of fall.

62

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: VZ FiOS dropped TWC

« on: April 02, 2015, 04:22:14 PM »

Honestly, this is competition happening right before our eyes.  Before WN and AccuWeather, TWC was the only on-air weather "channel."  Now they've got competition, albeit very little as of right now since WN and AccuWeather are still very far behind TWC.  Of course, to deal with the competition it would be better for TWC to show more weather and cut long-form rather than use the pointing fingers ads and acting like children, but I guess that's just what they want to do.

I'm actually hoping that FIOS will bring back TWC and that some other providers will pick up Accuweather, so we can have some direct competition. Since no one currently has access to both networks on cable right now, there really isn't an opportunity for consumers to choose between the two, yet.

Yes, that would be nice.  I believe DirecTV is the only provider right now that carries two weather channels: TWC and WN.  I'll be curious to figure out which one takes a bigger leap with its presentation: WN or AccuWeather   As I previously stated, both are very primitive when compared to TWC.

63

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: VZ FiOS dropped TWC

« on: April 01, 2015, 09:01:27 PM »

Honestly, this is competition happening right before our eyes.  Before WN and AccuWeather, TWC was the only on-air weather "channel."  Now they've got competition, albeit very little as of right now since WN and AccuWeather are still very far behind TWC.  Of course, to deal with the competition it would be better for TWC to show more weather and cut long-form rather than use the pointing fingers ads and acting like children, but I guess that's just what they want to do.

64

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: March 31, 2015, 03:00:45 PM »

I just noticed the webpage for our NWS office has been redesigned. I think this is that redesign noaa.gov was talking about last year. Is the redesign in place for all offices?

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Atlanta&state=GA&site=FFC&textField1=33.7629&textField2=-84.4226&e=1#.VRrcV_nF98E

EDIT: They should bold the title heading for titles like Current Conditions, City Name, Detailed Forecast, etc. I think it would look better.

Yes, this redesign is in place for all cities across the nation.  Their main goal with this redesign seemed to be to make the point forecast pages mobile-friendly.  Look at a forecast on a mobile device; I think it looks a lot better.  In fact, a couple of months ago they even launched a widget or something for mobile devices.  It's about time the NWS moved into the 21st century.

Of course, their site still mixes multiple designs, which bothers me.  The point forecast pages may look fresh, but go to any local WFO page (except for a few in the Northeast), and you'll see still the old, old design.

BTW, I remember the NWS wanting feedback on redesigning their weather icons maybe a year or so ago.  I'm guessing this was either rejected or simply fell through?  It's too bad, because I'll never forget the time I saw a freezing rain icon that was paired with a high temperature in the 60s.  Obviously, the text forecast explained that, saying that the chance for freezing rain was in the morning, but it was still a weird combination, especially for people who only glance at the forecast.

65

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: VZ FiOS dropped TWC

« on: March 30, 2015, 11:41:41 PM »

That TWC ad makes me laugh.

Important question, though.  That CEO message had a statement in parentheses which said that AccuWeather is also in Texas.  Wouldn't it make sense showing coverage of Oklahoma storms anyway?  People in Texas would probably want to be informed.  In addition, if AccuWeather wants to compete with TWC, they're going to need to do that.  I personally would rather watch coverage of storms than zoo animals.  Also, I'm not sure why the CEO mentioned just Boston as not caring about the coverage.  Isn't the AccuWeather Channel in places other than Boston?  Just further emphasizes the fact that AccuWeather is a Northeast weather company that only cares about the Northeast.   Poor Texas and California.

66

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: March 12, 2015, 07:02:40 PM »

Nice to see ya, Andy! Right now, life is pretty good. I'm moving to Texas soon and I can't wait.

Where in Texas are you moving?

67

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: March 11, 2015, 10:24:17 PM »

Thanks for the heads-up everyone!   I have contacted Martin on the matter, so hopefully he will be able to resolve the issue.  I received the same e-mail again earlier today, so I'm hoping this won't be too much of an inconvenience.  It probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to change your password just in case.  Perhaps that will at least stop you from getting the string of e-mails.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Oh, and BTW, thanks for stopping by Ana and Zach!

68

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: March 10, 2015, 10:33:55 PM »

Apologies for double-posting, but this morning I received an email notification in my Gmail inbox saying that the 'forgot password function' was applied to my account on this forum, but I've never accessed the forums at all today until just now. Perhaps someone was trying to hack into my account? 

OK, I got an e-mail with such a message this afternoon.  Very strange.  I am not aware of any such hacking activity, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to change your password just in case.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  Has anyone else gotten this e-mail?

69

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: VZ FiOS dropped TWC

« on: March 10, 2015, 10:29:40 PM »

That's not gonna stop the bleeding, the damage is already done. I'm not saying this to be arrogant or snarky, but I think TWC (on the television side, not the website) days are numbered imo. The network is not sustainable long term in the condition it's in currently. They're competing against some stiff competition (internet). Folks don't have time to sit around and wait every 10 minutes for a local forecast and they sure as heck don't have time to wait around for a OCM to maybe mention what the weather is like in their city. It's a losing battle. The same goes for WN and what sounds like a complete joke Accuweather Channel. Kinda ironic that TWC is getting a taste of their own medicine in this way since part of the reason TWC became famous/popular in the first place was because people didn't have time to wait around half an hour or so for a weather forecast from the local news so they turned to TWC to get a faster/frequent forecast.

You make a couple of good points, Tavores.  It's kind of interesting to see how "impatient" we've become, especially with newer technology.  Back then, I'm sure the every 10-minute Local Forecast was a "thing of the future."  Now, why wait 10 minutes (or even longer during long-form) to see my local forecast which goes too fast and severely lacks in information when I can just look up the weather on my computer, phone, tablet, whatever?  I understand WAAT exists, but that still doesn't provide enough information.

Another thing is that TWC doesn't (and honestly can't) talk about every single city or town affected during a major weather event.  Take this past snowstorm, for example.  All the way from Dallas to the Northeast were people affected, but TWC focused more on the hardest-hit areas like Kentucky and only brushed over the other areas.  Why would I watch TWC wanting to see an OCM not ever (or only briefly) mention my weather when I could get much more up-to-date information from social media or a local news station?

If TWC isn't needed anymore because of the internet, why would they replace it with AccuWeather?

I really wish cable channels would stop repeating the lie that such and such cable company decided to drop us. If a cable company's contract with you runs out, they legally cannot continue to air your programming. Likewise, if a cable company has a contract with you, they can't drop you. You have a contract. Of course, it's just a ploy to get you mad at your cable company, even though the channel is most likely asking for more money, and the cable company doesn't want to push the increase on to the consumer.

I'm sure some of the population who grew up with TWC (obviously not us ) still watch TWC and refer to it for their weather as that's what they're most used to.  Same thing with DirecTV, replacing TWC with WeatherNation seemed to spark a huge outcry, so removing a "weather channel" completely from the lineup would probably be even worse.

I am also tired of cable channels complaining that a company has "dropped" them.  You're right, Matt.  In this case and every case, the Verizon FiOS contract with TWC ended, and Verizon simply chose not to renew it.  I understand the verb "drop" can mean "removed," which is essentially what happened.  But it's not like Verizon FiOS broke their contract with TWC and abruptly removed the channel for no reason.

When an OCMs contract is not renewed next time, I want them to say that TWC "dropped" them and to retaliate by calling TWC and demanding they bring them back.

70

OCMs & Personalities / Re: Kelly Cass and Nick Walker moved from OCM to Contributor Role

« on: March 10, 2015, 03:15:24 PM »

So Nick (and Kelly eventually) are gone with the station completely now?  I mean, I have no idea what a "contributor role" even means or entails, but it sounds like they have gone from being demoted to leaving entirely.  Obviously if they can find a better job outside of TWC, then they will definitely take it.

71

General Discussion / Re: AccuWeather Channel

« on: March 10, 2015, 03:12:33 PM »

This was mentioned briefly over in the VZ FiOS dropped TWC topic, but it appears as though the AccuWeather Channel has launched on Verizon FiOS, replacing TWC.

Here's an article from the Washington Post talking about the situation:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/03/10/verizon-fios-drops-the-weather-channel-picks-up-accuweather/

72

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: VZ FiOS dropped TWC

« on: March 10, 2015, 03:09:55 PM »

Hmmm, where have I seen this before?   I'll give Verizon a month (which may be generous) before they come to an agreement with TWC and pick the channel back up again.

73

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: March 05, 2015, 07:38:57 PM »

35°F Clear skies

OKC's Snowfall Total from March 4: 3.0 inches (new record - old was 1.4 inches 1915)
OKC's Low Temperature for March 5: 10°F (ties record from 1960)

Winter went out with a bang!

74

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: February 28, 2015, 07:59:05 PM »

27 °F Cloudy


Norman's Official 2-Day Snowfall Total: 2.6 inches
OKC's Official 2-Day Snowfall Total: 2.2 inches

Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect until tomorrow morning.

75

OCMs & Personalities / Re: OCM Layoff- Bill Keneely

« on: February 19, 2015, 12:58:10 AM »

I was curious to find out what Bill has been up to lately.. found this.. http://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/Bill-Keneely_Roswell_GA_1635484_033624117

Interesting.  From on-camera meteorologist, to real estate agent.  Thanks for the information!