Disqus - Latest Comments for Regulus

Re: FCC: It's Time to Look at the TV Rating System! - Movie Mom

Regulus — Sat, 14 May 2016 23:53:43 -0000

The ratings mean NOTHING unless the commercials are rated as well. Time and again I see ads for "ED Pills", Woman's personal hygiene products, and other "Adult Products" aired at times when children are certainly watching television. I've even seen these kinds of ads aired during children's shows themselves!

Re: Counterfeit / Bootleg Media FAQ

Regulus — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 00:27:24 -0000

The market for bootlegs would DISAPPEAR if studios got off their @$$es and released what the public wants. Let's face it, if someone who wants a certain program can't get via official means they will turn to "another source" to get what they want. Where there's a will there's a way. Do you know what happens when a bootleg operation gets "busted" by the feds? Just wait a few months, and AT LEAST TWO more sources will go up to replace whatever the busted operation sold.

Re: TCA Journal No. 1: End Days In Cable

Regulus — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:22:37 -0000

Haven't had cable or satellite for nine years, and I don't miss it at all. Too much money, too many commercials. I have better thing to do.

Re: Dish follows U-verse and DirecTV, announces rate increases for 2016

Regulus — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:14:39 -0000

And they wonder why people are cancelling their service (That's "Cutting the Cord" for those of you in Rio Linda!).

Re: DirecTV follows U-verse, sets 2016 price increases

Regulus — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:11:53 -0000

Next Saturday marks the ninth anniversary of cutting the cord. I do not miss it at all. A subscription to Pay TV cost me $65.00 a month when I cancelled it, Today I still spend $65.00 to watch programming. Home Video prices only go DOWN (I stick mostly to bargain bins, flea markets, pawn shops and yard sales), the same cannot be said for Pay TV Subscriptions. In 2009 $65.00 purchased about three seasons and two or three movies, There are times I've purchased over 24 seasons and an equal number of movies at the same price!

Re: The Surprising Truth Behind Those Black Friday ‘Deals’

Regulus — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 15:03:59 -0000

Corporate Greed has RUINED Black Friday. There will be icicles in Gehenna before I'll abandon my Thanksgiving feast to grab some bargains. Black Friday used to be an event unto itself. I called it "The National Day of Insanity" because it was the only day of the year you got to see people doing things that NOBODY in their right mind did any other time of the year. Now with stores opening on Thanksgiving, "Black: Friday" is just another day. But another day has replaced it as my favorite holiday shopping day. About a week before Christmas several grocery stores mark down the price of rib roasts by four or five dollars. I call this day "Git-em while the Gittin's Good Day. I will go to these stores, break out my wallet and GO POSTAL!!! By the end of the day I'll have a year's supply of rib roasts in my freezer!

Re: TruTV is Dropping Up to Nine Minutes of Ads Per Hour Next Fall

Regulus — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 10:40:37 -0000

IMO it's a step in the right direction for this channel. Pay-TV knows they're in trouble, and the second biggest complaint I hear people complain about it (Price is the first) is the glut of commercials.

Re: Vote - Splashin' Safari - Best Outdoor Water Park Nominee: 2015 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards

Regulus — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 22:18:58 -0000

Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas RULES!!!!

Re: Why More Families Are Choosing to Cut the Cable Cord

Regulus — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 23:07:46 -0000

I haven't had pay-TV for a little over eight years. I got fed up with the INSANE amount of advertising being tossed at me, not to mention what was being advertised (The Last Straw was when I saw one of those "E 'Dysfunction" Pill ads aired DURING A CHILDREN'S SHOW!) combined with ever-rising subscriber fees (I was spending $65.00 a month for cable when I "cut the cord"). Using that $65.00 each month since January of 2007 I have amassed a library of programming you have to see to believe, Nearly 850 TV Series consisting of over 40,000 episodes, over 2,500 movies along with over 1,500 serials and documentaries on Home Video (Mostly DVD, but some Blu-Ray and VHS as well). Needless to say I no longer need to subscribe to a pay-TV service. There's no such thing as "Nothing to watch on TV tonight". I have "On-Demand" programming, I watch what i want when I want to (With no commercials to wade through). Even the reruns are on my own terms (After all after you watch a program on home video, you get to keep it). You might say I didn't like what the networks were showing on TV, so I MADE MY OWN NETWORK!

Re: Menards Black Friday Ad Posted!

Regulus — Sat, 22 Nov 2014 22:41:54 -0000

Another "Good Store" (Closed on Thanksgiving) I wish one was in my area because I would patronize them.

Re: Campers Already Out in Beaumont Awaiting Black Friday Deals

Regulus — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:36:09 -0000

I SECOND THIS! Corporate Greed is ruining Thanksgiving by requiring store employees to spend the day working, and in the process have actually ruined Black Friday itself! I used to like getting up at 2:00 AM on Friday to hit the stores at the crack of dawn (I called it my annual post-Thanksgiving daring pre-dawn raid). I refuse to patronize stores that are opening on Thanksgiving itself, instead I'll spend the day at home and recreate what a TV Station used to do on the day after Thanksgiving (They'd show the animated movie "The Man Called Flintstone" at 9:00AM and "Hey There! It's Yogi Bear" at 4:00PM. They would show nothing but cartoons in between the movies. I have both movies on DVD, as well as a boatload of cartoons. Oh, to be able to relive your childhood again!

Re: Old Navy Black Friday Ad Posted!

Regulus — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 16:41:00 -0000

And if corporate greed is allowed to to keep chipping away at this Thanksgiving it will end up like four other "American" Holidays, namely Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, Colombus Day and even Veteran's Day. In most parts of the fruited plain, the only people who get to enjoy these days are either Federal, Bank or Postal Employees. For everyone else its "Just Another Day".

Corporate greed has already RUINED one Holiday, New Years Day. Does anyone remember when you could watch the Fiesta, Cotton, Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowl football games on TV FOR FREE? Not any more, if you want to watch these games, among others from your home you first have to shell out over $100.00 month! Let them take Thanksgiving and they go after Christmas, then Memorial Day, and finally Independence and Labor Day. A line needs to be drawn, and you know where I stand.

A few years ago in the town where I live the School District decided to hold classes on Good Friday. This resulted in an outcry among parents (many of which called in saying their children were "sick") that the following year the Board decided to have Spring Break (which USED to be from Good Friday to the week after Easter) go from the weekend before Easter to the Monday after Easter. If all else fails Civil "Disobedience" will work (For more information check out what Carl Lewis, Walter Reuther, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks and Dr Martin Luther King among others did to further their causes).

PS, I'm a Republican.

Re: Old Navy Black Friday Ad Posted!

Regulus — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:15:57 -0000

Refuse to work ON RELIGIOUS GROUNDS. Jews and Muslims have taken either their supervisor or landlord to court because they refused to work on certain days (Fridays for Muslims, Saturdays for Jews) because doing so violated their beliefs. The courts ruled these people could not be forced to work on a day that violated their beliefs. Guess what? If they can do it WE CAN DO IT! Anything less is HYPOCRISY!!!

Re: Staples Black Friday Ad

Regulus — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:11:29 -0000

I REFUSE to shop AT ANY STORE on Thanksgiving, and am urging all Store Owners who are forced to stay open on thanksgiving, along with all employees to call in "sick" on Thanksgiving. BOYCOTT BLACK THURSDAY!!!

Re: CVS Black Friday Ad Posted!

Regulus — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 07:50:54 -0000

I will NOT patronize any store that is open on Thanksgiving, nor will I work for any store that does this.

Re: Stores Closed on Thanksgiving 2014

Regulus — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 20:54:22 -0000

Corporate Greed has RUINED Black Friday. I will not visit any store that's open on Thanksgiving Day, as well as any store that opens earlier than 4:00 AM on Friday. Enough is Enough!

Re: PwC story

Regulus — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 15:18:08 -0000

NBC Sports, ESPN, ESPN 2,TCM and HGTV and all the Local Channels and THAT'S IT!

One More thing. I want the V-Chip Law AMENDED so that it INCLUDES COMMERCIALS. That way parents can block commercials they don't want their children to see.

Re: Ambien sleeping pills linked to bizarre sleep walking behavior, including unconscious driving of vehicles and wild hallucinations

Regulus — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 23:28:13 -0000

I was prescribed Ambien on Friday, August, 16. I took the pill and went to bed. The next morning I got up and it looked like a Tornado had gone from my bedroom to my Computer room. Two Lamps were broken in the living room, in my computer room my keyboard was on the floor and my Chair was smashed to pieces. This was nothing compared to what happened on Saturday. That evening I took a pill, the next morning I couldn't get up until 5:00 PM. That evening I went to take another pill and the Container was EMPTY! I had sleep-walked to the Medicine cabinet and opened the container and taken 28 five Mg Pills at once! Needless to say On Tuesday I talked to my Doctor and told him I wanted nothing to do with Ambien , that I could have easily O'Ded on this and gotten KILLED. I've been given a different Pill, but my insomnia continues. I've told my Doctor I want nothing that is Habit Forming. Ambien is a DANGEROUS Drug that should be BANNED by the FDA,

Re: FCC Works on Impasse Between CBS and Time Warner Cable

Regulus — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 12:38:52 -0000

I gave up on Pay-TV nearly seven years ago. The value isn't there anymore. When Pay-TV came to my town in 1980 I was like a kid on Christmas Morning. Basic was $6.99 A Month. and HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel were $5.99 each (If you subscribed to the first two they tossed in TMC for free). Fast forward to today. In order to get the same channels you got on Pay-TV in 1980 you have to pay a wallet-busting $139.00 a month. (I don't even know what the Premium Channels cost, I gave up on them in 1999). That's an increase of over 1800 Percent. (If gas prices rose at the same pace as Pay-TV did since 1980 we'd be paying over $18.00 a gallon today!!!). Not only has the price gone up the quality of what's being shown has gone into a tailspin (With the proliferation of "Unscripted" Programming (That's "Reality" and Game Shows for those of you in Rio Linda!) and the INSANE amount of advertising that's tossed at viewers. A house divided against itself cannot stand. I've never seen a business that does this stay in business very long. When customers realize they are no longer getting the same "Bang" for the buck for a product as they used to they do one of two things. They either seek that product from another source, or they simply replace that product with something else. As for the Company, they will place themselves in a "Vicious" Cycle - Raise Prices, Lower Quality, Lose Customers, Raise Prices, Lower Quality, Lose Customers, repeat again and again... I've seen legions of businesses, many of which used to be household names get in this cycle and now they are just dust in the wind. Look out Pay-TV! I see the hand writing on the wall. When this business collapses, don't say I didn't warn you!

Re: How the Time Warner Cable, CBS Standoff Could Set the Pattern for the TV Industry

Regulus — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:49:58 -0000

Pay TV is on the verge of pricing itself off the market. The costs have done nothing but climb, climb, climb,(Basic Cable -1980 $6.99 a month. 2013 $139.00 a month) while the quality of what's being shown has done nothing but nosedived (The Proliferation of cheaply-produced "Reality" shows combined with the INSANE amount of advertisements). I "Cut the cord in January of 2007, and I do not miss it at all. (I was spending $65.00 a month when I cancelled my subscription, since then I have used that money to procure over 35,000 hours of TV Shows, movies, Serials and Documentaries on Home Video, primarily DVDs. At the rate of four hours each evening it will take me over 20 years to watch them all. Not only do I not miss Pay-TV, I no longer need them to provide me with entertainment. I'm not the only one who has done this, since 2010 over 6,000,000 households have "cut the cord", and like me get their entertainment from other, far, cheaper sources. A House divided against itself cannot stand. I've never seen a business that raises prices and lowers the quality of what they sell stay in business for very long. I've seen legions of them do this. Some of them used to be household names, now they are all dust in the wind. Raising prices and lowering the quality is a vicious cycle. When people notice they are no longer the same "Bang for the Buck" they used to get for a product they invariable do one of two things. They either seek the same product from another source, or they replace that product with something else. It won't be long before the Pay-TV reaches the point where they have become so expensive that most people will refuse to pay the price. At this point the entire system will collapse. When this happens don't say I didn't warn you!

Re: Calif. city may require English signs

Regulus — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 12:41:45 -0000

Welcome to America, NOW SPEAK CHEROKEE!!!

Re: Why Television Is the Closest Thing to a Non-Mandatory Tax in America

Regulus — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 19:19:06 -0000

Pay-TV is in a "Damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. People are getting fed up with what they are seeing on TV, as well as the ever-rising costs and and the insane amount of advertising. Consequently, they are "cutting the cord", ending their subscriptions and turning to get their entertainment and informational needs from other sources. As this happens, to make up for lost advertising revenues subscription costs are hiked and/or more time is allotted for advertising, causing another round of cancellations. There is no way a business model such as this one can continue for much longer, a house divided against itself cannot stand!

Re: WINTER: Cable customers deserve real choice

Regulus — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:10:00 -0000

I cut the cord 6 1/2 years ago because of the following:

1. Commercials:

A. in the last 20 years the number of commercials has more than doubled. Purchase a DVD Set such as Bewitched or Adam 12. Each Episode runs 25-26 Minutes each. Purchase a DVD of a Modern TV Show such as The Office or American Dad. You'll find the average length is 17-20 minutes. If it isn't bad enough you have to cope through commercial breaks that can be long enough you can actually cook a meal through, I cannot fathom WHY most advertisers thing the best way to present is to do so in the most obnoxious or offensive manner possible. Yes, I know your products exist, but there will be icicles in Gehenna before I'll purchase your product.

B. Advertisers don't seem to care WHO is in front of the screen when their ads are seen. Time and again I see commercials for "Adult Products" such as sex pills, woman's personal hygiene products and the like aired at times when children are certainly watching (Watch a weekend afternoon sports event such as NASCAR or Major League Baseball. Five will get you Ten you cant go 15 minutes without seeing one of these kinds of commercial. Even children's shows aren't safe from these kinds of commercials. Is it any wonder people revert to DVRs or other recording devices to screen shows before they allow their kids to watch it?

C. You aren't safe from advertising even between commercial breaks. As you watch the program you are bombarded with Logos, "Pop Ups" Snipes, Scrolls and Banners. Some of them are accompanied by sound effects. For example you are watching a program about Circuses. A group of trapeze artists are about to do a dangerous act. The Ringleader tells the audience "Silence Please". At that very moment a loud buzzing noise pierces the silence as a squadron of Biplanes strafes the bottom of the screen, followed with a banner that says a program about World War One Aircraft will follow the movie. Or, something like this happens. You are watching a movie that takes place in a foreign country. A Navy SEAL Team is in the Middle East, their mission, to apprehend a known terrorist. To make look authentic the locals are speaking Arabic. What are they saying? Here comes the subtitle. It reads, "Tornado Watch Cancelled, News at 11:00.

2. Programming.

A. Since the turn of the century (That's 2000 for those of you in Rio Linda), I've seen the overall quality of Programming do nothing but HEAD SOUTH, Time and Again, I've seen decent programs yanked off the air, to be replaces with cheaply produced "unscripted" programming. As for the few remaining quality shows, The seasons have gotten shorter. There was a time when you had as many as 40 episodes in a season, today you may be lucky to see 20. You'll see a few fresh episodes in September, then see reruns or specials until the November "Sweeps" occur, more reruns in December and January (If you are lucky there will be a Holiday-Themed episode). The next time you'll see fresh episodes (If the show hasn't been cancelled) will be in February, another "Sweeps Month" the show will go on "Hiatus" until the following 'Sweep" which is May. Hiatus has been the death of many a program, people think the show has already been cancelled, when the show returns, their audience has already moved on to other things.

B. Time and again, I've seen channels that were originally set up to cater to a special-interest group abandon their format and become just another channel. When was the last time you saw a Music Video on MTV or VH1? When have you seen a science documentary on Discovery or TLC? Or a History Documentary on The History Channel.

C. Repetition has also run rampant, sometimes you can see the same episode of the same show 15 times each day on just as many channels, Some channels devote the entire day to ONE SHOW. If that show is one of your favorites, knock yourself out, if it isn't your cup of tea, too bad, that's all they're showing. Marathons are for runners, not TV Shows.

Price. When Cable TV arrived in my town in 1980, I was like a kid on Christmas Morning. For $7.99 a month you'd get "Basic" which got you 25 channels, all of which. as I mentioned before catered to a certain group. Three "Premium" Channels, HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel. cost $6.99 each, if you Subscribed to two you'd get the third for no additional cost. $27.97 bought you Video Heaven. One evening I held a "Cable TV Party" with my friends. A Scourge that plagued us throughout our childhood was about to be eradicated. On that evening, Then-President Jimmy Carter was about to hold a News Conference on "The Big Three" (That's ABC, CBS and NBC for those of you in Rio Linda). For some reason I cannot fathom, several of the Cable Networks ran their shows about five minutes into the hour. On this night we used that to our advantage. We placed an electronic clock that could be programmed to count down the minutes and seconds on top of the TV Set. We tuned to ABC, and at the proscribed hour we were greeted with "This is an ABC News Special Report". We heard Tom Koppel say what the president was about to do, and when the announcer said "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States of America" our Clock was in its final seconds. We all shouted "Three, Two, One, SWITCH!" and we pressed a button and watched the James Bond Movie Moonraker on HBO.

Fast Forwards to today. Those 25 networks are still available, but to get most of them you have to shell out money to get all of them on a "Tier" which means you'll get hundreds of channels you don't care to watch, and in some cases you do not want to pay for them because you find their content objectionable. In my city if you subscribe to the highest tier (This does not even include the 'Premium" Channels) is $139.00 a Month. That's almost 1,800%!

The TV Industry is beginning to reap what they've sowed. Viewership is down across the board, and the number of people who no longer subscribe to Pay-TV or have never subscribed in the first place has grown to over 5,000,000 in the last three years. A House Divided against Itself cannot stand. After over a dozen years of seeing Prices for Pay-TV do nothing but go Up, while the quality of the programming do nothing but decline, people are pulling out. If the TV Industry keeps going down the same path it's on, they'll end up collapsing like a House of Cards. When this happens, don't say I didn't warn you!

Re: John McCain Pushes for A La Carte Cable Options in Letter to FCC

Regulus — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:06:17 -0000

A House divided against itself cannot stand. The current business model is going to have to change, a business cannot continue to raise prices and lower the quality of their product. When customers realize they are getting it on both end (Higher + Decreased Quality) they do one of two things, they either seek that product from another source, or replace that product with something else). In my lifetime I have seen legions of businesses, many that used to be a household name, raise their prices and lower the quality of whatever they were selling and where are they now? They're all dust in the wind. Unfortunately this is the same thing the Television Industry, both Broadcast and Pay-TV TV are doing right now, and both are losing customers. To satisfy their shareholders the Pay-TV industry has raised their prices to the exorbitant rates we have today and replacing high quality programming with low quality "unscripted" programming. They also have increased advertising to a mind-numbing level. In the last 20 years, the number of commercials tossed at viewers has more than doubled. And the customers have responded by no longer watching "Appointment" TV and turning to other sources to get their entertainment and informational needs. Keep up your current Model TV Industry. You are sitting on a "Bubble", and WHEN it "pops", don't say I didn't warn you!

Re: Travelers take aim at kids on a plane

Regulus — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:14:28 -0000

I was on a flight from Houston to Orlando and I had a couple of seat-kickers behind me. Their father tried time and again to get them to quiet down, but to no avail. I had a DVD Player I take with me so I can have something to watch. I decided to watch a cartoon and guess what? The kicking stopped. While I had been doing this the father had gotten out of his seat. When he returned he noticed the kids were peering through the seats at my player. He tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I could sit with the kids. My Player had two jacks and i had an adapter that allowed two earphones go into one jack, so we switched seats and I ran cartoons on my DVD Player. The two kids were as quiet as lambs for the remainder of the flight. Once we arrived in Orlando I told the father to get over to a Wal-Mart or Target ASAP and get a DVD Player, I added one with the 12-hour battery. I told him if you are traveling with kids this will be one of the best $120.00 you will ever spend. He said he'd do exactly that.