Future of Cable TV

Quote: AZDuffman

Theirs looked as if someone vomited a dictionary on the page.

I had a colleague who was an MIT graduate, and he used to say it looked like someone took a paper, machine translated it into russian and back into English again.

Quote: AZDuffman| English to Russian and back to English

I forgot when I wrote this up, but I had a class of business English, which was devoted to writing business style. Reminders and more. Prof. showed us this note Department wrote to me to forget that. They had her test it, because "it is an English teacher." I do not remember the exact wording, but what they wrote, and she fixed it hardly looked like the same note. They looked as if someone had vomited on the dictionary page. You read it and said, "Yes?" ("WTF" had not been invented then.) You read it, and it read smoothly, you will immediately understand what is transported..

Quote: Pacomartin

I had a colleague who was an MIT graduate, and he used to say it looked like someone took a paper, machine translated it into russian and back into English again.

Asimov claimed to have done that with the phrase "Out of sight out of mind."

It came back as "Invisible insanity."

Quote: AZDuffman

Lawyers are not the issue. I have seen signs saying "NOT AN EXIT" many times. What was written was someone trying to act like the smartest guy in the room.

I forgot if I wrote this above, but I had a Business English class which was dedicated to business-style writing. Memos and stuff. PRof showed us this memo the faculty wrote for I forget what. They had her check it because "she is an English teacher." I do not remember the exact wording, but what they wrote and what she fixed it to hardly looked like the same memo. Theirs looked as if someone vomited a dictionary on the page. You read it and said, "HUH?" ("wtf" had not been invented then.) You read hers and it read smooth, you instantly knew what was being conveyed.

My point was that the owners of the building could have been required to use the term egress by some self important building inspector or he would require them to add the several thousands of dollars of bells and whistles to the door.

Soon the next generation probably won't know what exit means after a decade or two anyway. We all instinctively understand the word because of thousands of "EXIT" signs we have seen over our life.

The new international exit signs slowly being adapted have no lettering just a stick picture of a running person. WTF after getting it drummed into me for my whole life not to run in a fire the new pictures shows a RUNNING MAN.

Quote: kenarman

My point was that the owners of the building could have been required to use the term egress by some self important building inspector or he would require them to add the several thousands of dollars of bells and whistles to the door.

I will just say you have to file it under "you had to see it."

Quote:

Soon the next generation probably won't know what exit means after a decade or two anyway. We all instinctively understand the word because of thousands of "EXIT" signs we have seen over our life.

The new international exit signs slowly being adapted have no lettering just a stick picture of a running person. WTF after getting it drummed into me for my whole life not to run in a fire the new pictures shows a RUNNING MAN.

When I was in first or second grade (1976/78) they had a cop come in and show us the "new" signs that were going to replace simple words. They all seem normal now, but they were fairly new then (truck going down a hill, two people crossing the street.) Times change. I Will still prefer "EXIT."

Quote: Pacomartin

I had a colleague who was an MIT graduate, and he used to say it looked like someone took a paper, machine translated it into russian and back into English again.

Andy Rooney once showed an idea for a piece that never came out. He translated one of Reagan's speeches to one language after another. Say English-French-Spanish-German-? This was manual translation in the 1980s. He got to a language they could not get to another and it stopped.

This speech sounds pretty much the same after being translated into Arabic and back. Of course, the speech was given into Arabic in the first place, so who knows what he said.


“Of course yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure. They insist on putting pressure on our dear people’s economy. What is their goal? Their goal is to put the people against the system. The politics of America is to create insecurity.

Iran’s Supreme leader Ali Khamenei http://www.timesofisrael.com/khamenei-calls-death-to-america-as-kerry-hails-progress-on-nuke-deal/

واضاف "بالطبع نعم، الموت لأمريكا، لأن أمريكا هي المصدر الأصلي لهذه الضغوط. يصرون على ممارسة ضغوط على اقتصادنا العزيز الناس. ما هو هدفهم؟ هدفهم هو وضع الشعب ضد النظام. السياسة الأمريكية هو خلق انعدام الأمن.

"Of course yes, death to America, because America is the original source of this pressure. Insist on putting pressure on our economy Aziz people. What is their goal? Their goal is to put the people against the regime. American policy is to create insecurity.

Quote: Reuters

Dish Network Corp said subscribers have lost access to more than 100 local stations due to a distribution dispute with Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc, affecting viewers of a string of ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC channels.

Dish said 129 stations in 36 states and the District of Columbia were pulled from its service on Tuesday...

Both of these companies are totally in denial about how precarious their businesses are. There's no way they can compete with Netflix, Amazon, & Hulu with these crazy shenanigans.

I'm not suggesting the FCC should intervene and settle these pointless fueds. On the contrary, the FCC should offer them more rope to commit suicide with.

Quote: reno

I'm not suggesting the FCC should intervene and settle these pointless fueds. On the contrary, the FCC should offer them more rope to commit suicide with.

According to Fcc regulations, any broadcast station can opt for "must carry" on the local cable networks. The catch is that they forego the right to be paid.

Local news stations would rather be seen than paid some very tiny sum of money. They often opt for "must carry".

Prior to Sep 1993 all broadcast stations were "must carry" but none of them were paid retransmission fees.

Variety says that this current Dish vs. Sinclair battle is the "largest single TV blackout in history in terms of channels dropped."

Quote: Pacomartin

Local news stations would rather be seen than paid some very tiny sum of money.

Yes, this makes sense. Considering that 85% of U.S. households are still getting their TV via cable/satellite, a local station would probably prefer eyeballs (advertising revenue) instead of a retransmission fee.

But the brilliant geniuses at Sinclair Broadcast Group are much smarter than you or I, Paco.

Quote: reno

Variety says that this current Dish vs. Sinclair battle is the single TV blackout in history in terms of channels dropped."
But the brilliant geniuses at Sinclair Broadcast Group are much smarter than you or I, Paco.

Four of the top 7 broadcast ownership groups are the networks themselves FOX, CBS, NBC and ABD. The other three are Sinclair, Gannet, and Tribune.

This data is a few years old
1 Fox $1,671,250
2 CBS $1,502,125
3 Sinclair $1,344,700 - largest operator by number of stations
4 Gannett $1,303,900
5 Comcast/NBCU $1,294,125
6 Tribune $1,228,850
7 ABC/Disney $1,020,250

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Sinclair owns or operating a total of 154 stations across the country (165 after all currently proposed sales are approved) in nearly 80 markets (covering 30% of American households), many of which are located in the South and Midwest.

Primary Station affiliates
Fox 30
MyNetworkTV 21
CW 18
ABC 14
CBS 20
NBC 7