__________ is/are overrated.

[Scott5114]

Oh, the interest in weather was ongoing–it's just that in 1996 we moved to Goldsby, which had no cable coverage, so that was the end of me watching TWC. I just shifted to doing stuff like tracking storms with little paper markers on ODOT state maps.

If you have time to kill, it's fun chasing down videos of the WeatherStar 4000 on YouTube or wherever. Its configuration file seems to have been pretty fragile, so if someone misapplied an update or whatever it would come up with some comically buggy stuff. Some of it would actually reveal how the system worked (turns out while one slide is displayed, it's drawing the next one two layers down, so all it has to do to switch slides is rearrange the layers; this is revealed when a config error causes the orange-and-blue background layer not to draw). There's a neat series of videos on YouTube where a guy managed to get a hold of one and is working on restoring it, and he talks about how the hardware works and the difficulties in configuring it.

[kphoger]

Oh yes the famous Autocorrect that doesn't know how to spell or use correct grammar, that is the Algorithm that needs twerking.

I see what you did there.

[Big John]

When TWC tries to be local, they use SR 172 or SR 29 for local highways.  SR is used for Georgia but not Wisconsin.

[formulanone]

Heh, I went through a phase of watching it for about an hour a day from the ages of 10-11. The graphics looked like this:

[kphoger]

coupons

[Bruce]

coupons

Digital coupons are an amazing deal if you use them wisely, especially on goods that take a long time to expire. Can also net some unexpected treats as well.

Instant discounts are always better (e.g. those at Costco), but not as rewarding to find in the wild.

[Rothman]

coupons

Digital coupons are an amazing deal if you use them wisely, especially on goods that take a long time to expire. Can also net some unexpected treats as well.

Instant discounts are always better (e.g. those at Costco), but not as rewarding to find in the wild.

I hated having to clip coupons for BJ's Wholesale Club.  I'm paying for membership and they can't tie available discounts to when I scan in my membership card in hopes some people won't use the coupons?  Slimy.

BJ's became so onerous and less of a deal, I stopped shopping there altogether. 

[J N Winkler]

I use coupons, but reluctantly, because I am not a fan of the time suck associated with couponing.

[kphoger]

I use coupons, but reluctantly, because I am not a fan of the time suck associated with couponing.

This is what I was getting at.  Yes, coupons can save some money.  But, unless you're getting personalized coupons tailored to your specific shopping habits, it can be a lot of work for only a little reward.

I've also found that a coupon that seems like a great deal will prompt me to buy something I otherwise wouldn't.  I can't afford not to buy it! and all that.  Really, I'd have been better off just not buying it in the first place.

[Scott5114]

When TWC tries to be local, they use SR 172 or SR 29 for local highways.  SR is used for Georgia but not Wisconsin.

I was once in a tornadic situation and the place where I was at (a hospital) had no weather coverage available to customers but TWC. Hearing the meterologists attempt to pronounce Chickasaw and Choctaw placenames was cringe-inducing.

Heh, I went through a phase of watching it for about an hour a day from the ages of 10-11. The graphics looked like this:

That would be the WeatherStar 3000. Nice! I don't think any of them are still in active service (the same might be true of the 4000 now; they still existed but were rare as of the time of the Intellistar 1 was current).

[mgk920]

I use coupons, but reluctantly, because I am not a fan of the time suck associated with couponing.

My late father had a metal file box that was FULL of carefully trimmed and sorted coupons that he used while grocery shopping.  I don't even know how much time he wasted on it every week, just that it was a huge time v. money loss.  At least a major grocer here in NE Wisconsin puts stack of their current as fliers by the stores' entrances and it is scanned at the checkout.  Much faster and more convenient.

Mike

[Scott5114]

Most of the coupons I end up with are for things I don't buy. Even if I get a coupon that would be useful and clip it, I forget to bring it with me. Or if I bring it, I forget to buy the product. And if I do both...the coupon is expired.

[J N Winkler]

This is what I was getting at.  Yes, coupons can save some money.  But, unless you're getting personalized coupons tailored to your specific shopping habits, it can be a lot of work for only a little reward.

I've also found that a coupon that seems like a great deal will prompt me to buy something I otherwise wouldn't.  I can't afford not to buy it! and all that.  Really, I'd have been better off just not buying it in the first place.

My late father had a metal file box that was FULL of carefully trimmed and sorted coupons that he used while grocery shopping.  I don't even know how much time he wasted on it every week, just that it was a huge time v. money loss.  At least a major grocer here in NE Wisconsin puts stack of their current as fliers by the stores' entrances and it is scanned at the checkout.  Much faster and more convenient.

Most of the coupons I end up with are for things I don't buy. Even if I get a coupon that would be useful and clip it, I forget to bring it with me. Or if I bring it, I forget to buy the product. And if I do both...the coupon is expired.

I estimate that I spend about half an hour a week performing coupon-related activities.  Since Dillons (part of Kroger) dominates the local grocery market, we get personalized paper coupons through the mail--generally a small packet once a month and a personalized magazine ("My Magazine") about once a quarter.  I keep them under the pad we use for grocery lists at a corner of the counter, where it is easily accessible but otherwise out of our way when cooking.  Every so often, I fillet out expired coupons, as well as ones for products I know we're not interested in buying.

Every Friday evening I prepare for the weekly shop, which I usually do on Saturday.  I draw up the meal plan, add necessary ingredients to the grocery list, and review both the coupon stack and the online coupons (the latter in a Web browser on my laptop, not my phone).  If I see there are qualifying paper coupons, I set them aside so they are just under the grocery list, and add "(cpn)" next to each corresponding item on the list, adjusting the quantity to buy as needed to qualify for the discount (e.g., "x 2" if I have to buy two bags of potato chips for 40c off).  I add online coupons to my digital "wallet" on a more speculative basis, sometimes even including things I'm fairly sure I won't buy, such as beer in the winter; one way or the other, it's only a click.

I'd say I "pay" myself well over minimum wage doing this, usually without the complexity of stacking coupons or other forms of advanced couponing.  I know I sometimes leave money on the table (e.g., a few weeks ago I came a dollar and change shy of qualifying for $11 off on $110 worth of groceries), but otherwise I feel I am on the favorable side of the point of diminishing returns.

[JoePCool14]

I'm a bit late on the LOT8 discussion, but this is the song I've associated it with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpS-cOBK6Q

I even added it to my music library.

[roadman65]

The fact is too many simple issues that you once could talk about with ease are now considered politics.

[zachary_amaryllis]

The way that the TWC local forecasts work is that there's a computer, called a WeatherStar, that sits at the local cable headend and downloads weather data from NOAA. At a time ending in 8, it starts generating the forecast graphics and they get automatically spliced into the cable feed. There are several different versions of the WeatherStar unit, so the appearance of the local forecast can vary quite a bit in different media markets depending on which version the cable headend is running. Usually the smaller media markets are two or three versions behind, so you can see some ancient graphics if you happen to check TWC when you stay in a hotel in the middle of nowhere.

That video is an Intellistar 1, which was current in the 2000s and had narration by Alan Jackson. For the Intellistar 2, released in 2010, Jim Cantore recorded the narration. I'm not sure if they went back and patched Cantore's voice onto the Intellistar 1 at any point, or if they're still using Jackson's narration.

The really odd thing there is "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" as the music. TWC is supposed to play cheap-royalty smooth jazz from acts you've never heard of, damn it.

I long for the late 80's, when it was just a Chyron or something, overlaying local info over the screen. There was a crawler also, iirc. Where I lived at the time, seemed like it wasn't quite ready for prime time.
SMITHFIELD ISLE
OF WIGHT CABLE 33
[weather stuff]

[Rothman]

Keith Lee on TikTok

[JayhawkCO]

TikTok

[abefroman329]

TikTok

Agreed.  Especially now that the latest "challenge" involves giving peanuts to people who have peanut allergies.

[JayhawkCO]

And it's still a cybersecurity threat. Good times.

[hbelkins]

I've never gotten the fascination with TikTok. What can you do there that you can't do on any other video platform?

As a rule, I don't watch TikTok videos. I don't have the app installed on my phone, and I don't click on links sent through third-party apps or via a browser.

[JayhawkCO]

It's the same thing as the recently departed Vine basically. Just reformatted and loved by the kidz.

[Rothman]

I'd say it's different from Vine -- Vines were micro-sized videos, while TikTok has allowed longer and longer clips.

I actually compare TikTok to what it was like to watch network television.  People would sit on their couches and flip through channels every so many seconds.  TikTok's essentially the same, despite the shorter "programs."

[Bruce]

It's funny that two of the current trends for mass video consumption online are on opposite ends of the time spectrum: TikTok and its clones favoring very very short videos to rush you to the next clip, and YouTube creators trying to pad out time to milk in more ad revenue.

[hbelkins]

We just got a policy update last week that prohibits the TikTok app from being installed on work devices. It's the only app I know of that is expressly prohibited. It was done through a policy update, but there's legislation being considered this year to codify the ban.

Makes me skeptical of clicking on a TikTok link embedded elsewhere in a site accessible via a browser or another app. Since I have an Apple ID for my personal use, that's the one I use for my work phone as well. My mother-in-law texted me a link to a TikTok video the other day and I got the link on both devices, since she uses and iPhone too and iMessages are delivered via Apple ID and not phone numbers.