Messages

541

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: May 11, 2012, 12:47:12 AM »

Prince Charles and Camilla did the weather report for BBC Scotland.   

[Full]Charles and Camilla Present BBC Scotland Weather

That's wonderful!  You can tell Prince Charles especially had a lot of fun doing that! 

542

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: May 08, 2012, 11:02:14 PM »

It's a learning experience in more ways than one, but definitely worth it.

Being a linguist, those particular subjects were totally off my curriculum.  I was required to take four semesters of natural science, so I took two of biology in my freshman year and two semesters' worth of geology in my last semester as a senior.  I also studied humanities sciences extensively, as would be expected.

Surprising to everyone, especially to me, my math placement test scores were high enough that I automatically qualified for the math requirements and I didn't have to take a single one!  I still don't know how that happened, considering my 12th grade calculus teacher bribed me to leave the class and never return...  That was truly the happiest day of my life - knowing I'd never have to take another math class again!!   

543

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: May 08, 2012, 09:58:40 PM »

Congratulations!

544

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: May 04, 2012, 08:10:08 PM »

Good luck!

So long as you've prepared (and I'm sure you have), you shouldn't have anything to worry about.  Don't let the pressure get to you and you'll do fine.

545

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: Sigh... frustrating

« on: May 04, 2012, 02:49:24 PM »

The emails have been going back and forth for a week between TWC, Bright House, and me.  Bright House insists it's working, when it clearly isn't, TWC is deferring to Bright House, and I'm just begging for someone to do something.

And, alas, my original post to the Star team in this forum has still gone unanswered. 

It's just so annoying having to not watch the long-awaited HD feed because of the lack of local weather. 

546

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Sigh... frustrating

« on: May 04, 2012, 09:26:08 AM »

About a week ago the Intellistar 2 stopped working in my area.  I contacted TWC through their website, and they said they'll get in touch with the cable company to see what the matter is.  Nothing happened.

I contacted the cable company myself, and they said there was an "issue" with it, but in three separate emails they insisted it was working and that I should be seeing its output.  Nothing doing - only the national LDL and local forecast segments.

The cable company just sent me an email saying there's nothing more they can do about it and that if I want to pursue the matter I have to get in touch with The Weather Channel.

I was so happy when the HD feed got added to my cable company, and downright ecstatic that it had the IS 2, and it's killing me to have to go back to the SD feed to watch the local forecasts.   

547

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: May 03, 2012, 05:55:19 PM »

Too many graphics on one page.  That could take forever to download on slower connections.

548

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: May 02, 2012, 01:25:27 AM »

Regular taped programming was on at the start of the 5pm ET hour.

So what was Crystal talking about when she said "continued coverage" and "hour #4"?  I'm very confused.   Did they pre-empt at all today?

I would have guessed they did local inserts for Intellistar units in the affected areas, but I'm under the impression that they don't do this anymore... even though the technology for such a thing exists.

549

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: May 01, 2012, 09:51:13 PM »

I don't mean to sound disgusting, but does anyone have parts of their skin that are dry and cracking? I do all over.. from my index fingers' knuckles, to my elbows, to my right ankle, and then to the bottom of my toes! Is this normal for someone my age?

I've had various skin problems for a long time - since high school (at least).  Even the strongest lotions and creams offer only superficial and very temporary relief.

550

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: May 01, 2012, 09:50:14 PM »

The Weather Channel is no longer a channel that covers weather; it just happens to be an entertainment channel that is "weather-related."

That, in my book, is a tragedy.  But you're 100% right.

551

WeatherSTAR Tech Support / Daytona Beach, FL IS2 outage

« on: April 28, 2012, 10:31:40 PM »

Sometime today the Daytona Beach, FL Intellistar 2 became unavailable, and we now receive only the satellite LDL and local forecast segments on the HD feed.

The Star ID is 33004.

Thank you for your help!

552

Programming and Graphics / Re: New 2012-2013 Graphics?

« on: April 24, 2012, 04:09:04 PM »

If there were to be any change to the logo, I'd wager it would be the addition of a NBC peacock, nothing more.

I doubt that.  Other NBC-owned networks, such as Bravo, don't have the peacock.  It appears usually only when "NBC" is actually part of the network's name, such as "NBC Sports" or "Shop NBC."

553

General Discussion / Re: Facebook's change to timeline

« on: April 23, 2012, 12:59:41 PM »

I started using Facebook in 2007 or 2008, and the changes that site have gone through would make it totally unrecognizable unless you lived through the changes as they happened.

Yes, everyone complains, but everyone also begrudgingly gets used to it.  That's the control that technology has over us now. 

554

Programming and Graphics / Re: New 2012-2013 Graphics?

« on: April 23, 2012, 12:58:22 PM »

Considering how old the Intellistar is, I think it's due for a replacement.  The Weather Channel has never gone so long without introducing a new Star before.  Of course, the Intellistar is also the most versatile and upgradable system yet introduced (excluding the miracles The Weather Network in Canada was able to do with the 4000 compared to the primitive look of its American setup).

On the other hand, just how long is American television in general going to accommodate separate SD and HD feeds?  In most European countries, for example, if you watch digital television downgraded on an analogue set, you simply have to live with letterboxing and the knowledge that you're using outdated and obsolete technology.  However, most European countries are quite small and such changes can be made more quickly and more easily than in the United States.

Would it behoove The Weather Channel to spend the time, money, and resources on developing a new SD Star without the knowledge of just how long SD will be accommodated to the point that it is?  The changeover happened almost 3 years ago already.  Accommodations in most of Europe ended long ago.  How long will the United States keep doing this?  In other words, if, say, separate SD feeds will end in 2015 (for example), it hardly seems worth it for The Weather Channel to spend all that money to develop a new system that will only last a couple of years.

That said, the Intellistar 2 seems like a woeful waste of money, too, considering how brief the local forecast segments have become (no real flavors on that - just the same screens over and over, and occasionally the marine forecast will pop up).  The L-bar was a lot better, in my opinion, when it was first experimented with many years ago (and the HD L-bar is a shameful waste of space).  And if the LDL is going to be relied upon as a major source of local weather information (and then only for Intellistar viewers!), they should at least bring back the larger LDL from time to time, since it has a lot more information than the small LDL - especially on the SD Intellistar.

</rant> I'm tired now.

555

Weatherscan Discussion / Re: Weatherscan Topic

« on: April 23, 2012, 12:51:05 PM »

Well... that's subtle. 

Red text on a blue background like that looks horrible.  I know the video quality of this clip is bad, but I doubt it looks any better at full resolution, either.