Finally, the final finalés

At the moment all the TV networks in 'Merica are bringing there seasons to a close. Nothing to unusual I suppose, particularly if you're from here and used to it, but to me it's pretty bizarre that so many TV shows come to an end at the same time. In the UK, this isn't the case so much, mainly because a TV shows series typically lasts 6 to maybe 12 episodes, and so a new series will just fill the ending ones place, with no connection to what may be going on another channel. Also, there are only 5 TV channels in the UK... unless you have cable/satellite TV, which is the norm in the US - no houses have TV aerials on the roof like in the UK. If you want broadcast TV here you have to use the 'rabbit ears'... a set top Ariel. However, in the UK, you can expect new shows to start in the New Year, after all the Christmas specials are over, and in the Autumn ('Fall', 'Mericans). Some new shows will appear over the Summer, but that's not regarded, or it didn't used to be, as the big a season as the colder, darker months, when people stay in more. I think Big Brother is one of the biggest Summer shows in the UK... it's totally different to the very poor US version, which somehow keeps surviving for another season. Doctor Who is one of the biggest, at least in hype, shows for the BBC at the moment. That started in April, lasting 13 episodes. That lasts 45 minutes, I'm thinking because when it's sold abroad and is repeated on cable/satellite, it will last an hour with the adverts put in there. Aren't I smart.

All these new shows are ending... there's going to be so many repeats over Summer...
CBS - Everybody Loves Raymond, Numbers, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Amazing Race, Without a Trace, Cold Case, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, JAG, Joan of Arcadia, King of Queens, Joan of Arcadia, Judging Amy, NCIS, Two and a Half Men, Survivor: Palau
ABC - Extreme Home Makeover, Desperate Housewives, Greys Anatomy (this had a strangely short run at only 9 episodes (24 is normal), but it was a hit anyway), Lost, Alias
NBC - Scrubs, Law & Order: Trial By Jury (axed), Joey, Fear Factor, Las Vegas, Medium, The Contender, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, ER
UPN - Enterprise (axed!), Veronica Mars, America's Next Top Model
Fox - The Simpsons, Pop Idol, House, 24, The OC
The WB - 7th Heaven, Everwood, One Tree Hill, Charmed, Smallville
USA - Kojac

So there are many new shows in the pipeline, some looking pretty familiar to me. Hells Kitchen is starting on Fox, replacing 24 I believe. Gordan Ramsey is being unleashed on the 'Mericans... I assume they'll have all those councilors back out that had to comfort the America Idol rejects from the first couple of seasons when they were shocked by Simon Cowels delicate manor. They're so soft here. Anyway, Hell's Kitchen isn't with celebrities like it was in the UK, but just regular contestants, and I'm not sure if it's set in a real restaurant either. I doubt it will be as extensive as the UK version either, with the ITV2 show and live stuff of the celebrities in their apartment outside of 'show' time. The advert still looks pretty good though. Simply because Gordan shouts at people a lot. Fun.

Another couple of shows shipped from the UK are; a Strictly Come Dancing clone, called Dancing with the Stars and Hit Me Baby One More Time, where bands from the past compete for stardom once again. I can't remember what this was called in the UK, but wasn't Tifanny on that? Cos she's on the US version, along with Vanilla Ice! Other UK to US shows that have already ended I think are Wife Swap/Trading Spouses and Super Nanny/Nanny 911. Seems that when one network gets an idea, another copies it... really not what paying subscribers want. Another network as a new food related show I think to compete against Hells Kitchen. The original is always the definite article.

Boomshackalack

Wow... last night we had yet another thunderstorm. It seems to be getting to that time when a week wont go by without one, so I really shouldn't report all of them... unless it's bigger and better than the previous biggest and best one! Plus I'm running out of song titles with reference to 'Boom' in it. It was 3am, so this one woke us up. It was right over us. The flashes lighting up the bedroom through the blinds were so constent it was like a disco. And the thunder rattled the windows it was so loud. It was kinda scary to be honest! Bit like a roller-coaster... very cool, but nerve wracking! I really thought a house or something nearby was hit. Or atleast the street lamp across the road as it went out. We had two power black outs through it - the second time was during when J was resetting her alarm clock from the first time it was reset! Obviously I wanted to video it, but given the hour I wasn't able... plus I wasn't totally comfortable about leaving the bed! Jaz (the cat) was meowing furiously at the bedroom door, so I let him in and Bailey who happened to be standing there too, must have heard us talking. Jasper didn't know what to do. Normally during a storm he hides under a table, bed or chair and doesn't move until it's over... but I don't think he could find anywhere he thought was safe! Bailey couldn't careless however. I watched out of the bedroom window for a few minutes and forked lightning was coming down on the horizon (the same horizon that I got the picture during that first storm) about every 15 - 30 seconds with flashes coming from other direcrtions too. At about 3.30 the cat decided he wanted out of the room and the storm started to go away, it seemed and we got back to sleep. At about 5am more thunder woke me up, but I didn't stay awake.

Today there are reports on the news about the storm, confirming that it past over South Charlotte, where we live and about some homes that we struck by lightning, one of which was hit directly on it's gas pipe and blew a good portion of the house up! ... and it was only a mile away! The local fire department calls the area down Highway 51 'Lightning Alley'! This road is just around the corner from where we live (infact we're nearer to it than the house than the house that was hit) and it's the first time we have heard the area have this nick name!

I'll never leave the house during a storm again.

Couple's home destroyed by lightning Strong storms rolled through the Charlotte area Thursday night, knocking out power to thousands and sparking at least one house fire in south Charlotte. Lightning struck a home on Painted Tree Road and destroyed it, but a couple and their five dogs were able to escape. [News 14 Charlotte]

The PS3 is here...

...well, at the E3 gaming exhibition anyway. Have to wait a year for it to appear on the shelves. It sure looks impressive, if the hype/Sony is to be believed, and I sure hope it is. I may actually get myself one of these things, like when it comes out (I'll obviously be earning mega bucks by then to be able to afford such a thing)! There is the old Xbox 360 which is due out in half the time of the PS3, but it just seems to be in Sony's shadow, that coupled with the really lame promotion it's getting, perticularly the Frodo fronted MTV show. If the 360 is to garner my interest, it's really gotta get some new offerings together... like a redesign probably. One game though looks pretty dung hot, Gears of War - exclusively on the Xbox 2, so no PC version... boo-hoo.

Nearest I've been to jumping on the gaming bandwagon was when I got an original Gameboy for my birthday (14th?). Man I loved that thing and I still harbour a whole lotta anger to unleash on whoever stole it from my house while I was at university in Middlesbrough...grrr... I digress. I also got an Amiga 600 not too long after it came out, but that was really towards the end of the Amiga's life, unless you have Sensible Soccer, in which case it's life is eternal... unless you're me and have that stolen too! ...also from my house in Middlesbrough (but on a different occasion). I wasn't as attached to that as the Gameboy, but the stupid burglar only took the keyboard... leaving behind the transformer, mouse, joysticks and other cables needed for it. Thinking about it, I'm bound to have the PS3 stolen too! Though I've still got the GameCube, though it's not exclusively mine... and I'm not in Middlesbrough anymore, and very unlikely to return, especialy with any electronic equipment thats worth enough for a local scrag-end to get their next fix... grrr...

I digressed again.

Anywho... thought I'd round up all the latest PS3 (& Xbox 360) coverage for us...

Live from E3: Day One - PS3 and Xbox 360 [Engadget]
All the Xbox 360 news from E3 [IGN.com]
All the PS3 news from E3 [IGN.com]
PS3 price rumours [Engadget]

Long wait for Nintendo Revolution Gamers could be in for a long wait before they get a chance to see Nintendo's new home console in action. Nintendo officials at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles suggested that the first opportunity to try out the Revolution would be at next year's show. [BBC NEWS | Technology]

Crack down on dumbass drivers...

N.C. may curb cell phones in cars North Carolina could be next to outlaw drivers using handheld cell phones. A proposed law would require drivers to use a speaker or headset, except in emergencies. The bill is scheduled for discussion at a House committee hearing today. Curbs on using cell phones behind the wheel are speeding up nationwide. New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., have laws similar to North Carolina's proposal. Chicago joined them this month. [Charlotte Observer]

About time too. Driving while holding a mobile phone was banned in the UK, which is a good thing, but the situation wasn't anything like it is here, in Charlotte atleast. Everytime I'm out in the car I'll see people on their phone while driving and more often than not they'll do something really dumb, proving they're not paying attention. Really makes me nervous sometimes and it's all thanks to people that don't give a crap (often from South Carolina as it happens). Anyway, it really get's on J and I's goats! Lisa, next-door-but-one to us, doesn't seem to be able to drive without her phone to her head... not that that means she can drive with it there, but you know what I mean. I saw this news story on the TV last night and it said that people will get $100 fines if caught... if I had the power to issue these fines to Lisa everytime I saw her on her phone while driving, she'd have had to re-mortgage her house by now. Man, when she told me about her party the evening before the thing, she had her phone to her head, almost in her mouth - while talking to me - I could barely tell what she was saying. I shudder to think what her mobile bill is.

Cell Phones Add Years To Driving Age Chatting Adds 18 Percent To Reaction Times [WSOCTV.com]

What can drivers do at the wheel? Almost half of all motorists say they have been distracted while at the wheel by in-car gadgets, and thousands admit near misses as a result. So what can you do and not do while in the driving seat? [BBC NEWS | MAGAZINE]

Skyscrapers caught on camera

Downtown Charlotte webcam [WSOCTV.com - WeatherCam]

Boom boom boom, let me hear you say 'way-oh!'

Last night we had a bigger thunderstorm than we had on Tuesday evening, plus it was later so the lightning stood out even more in the night sky. Saying that though, I went outside onto the porch with the video camera and filmed for about 10 minutes and didn't get one decent bolt of lightning on there. Saying that though, what I did get on Tuesday I didn't even know I'd filmed! I did get a load of flashes and thunder, but that's just not great TV is it. I have also now figured out how to do manual focus on the camera, so any future storm filming wont drift in and out of focus as I point it into the distance and the rain plays havoc with it!

Lightning causes several house fires The Charlotte Fire Department stayed busy Thursday night as strong thunderstorms moved through the area. [News 14 Carolina]
Lightning Ignites Fires In Homes Strong thunderstorms moved through Charlotte Thursday night, producing vivid lightning which ignited fires in at least three homes. [WSOCTV.com]

Boom, shake, shake the room...

We had some pretty major thunderstorms last night. It started at about 4.30pm and went on until atleast 10pm but with rain continuing. We get quite a few thunderstorms over here, atleast more than I'm used to back in Blighty, and bigger too... but last nights was a perticularly big one, with lightning flashes every few seconds and constant thunder rumblings. I tried video taping it, hoping to catch that big bolt... well, as with all forked lightning, it's terribly camera shy. I had the camera angled out of my bedroom window pointing at rather dark bit of the storm cloud... as soon as I hit the button to stop recodring, there was the money shot. Typical! It would have been slap bang in the center of my frame of view. I got plenty of flashes and rumbles on tape though... and I may have cought some forked lightning across the sky, I've yet to review the tape. More storms were forecast for today but it looks like it exhausted itself last night. Instead we have fog.

Here's the alert that scrolled across the screen during last nights new episode of Scrubs;

From the WCNC SKYMAX Weather Center. . .. Slow moving thunderstorms continue to produce torrential rain, frequent lightning and pea to golfball size hail. The storm over Mecklenburg county is nearly stationary and a Flash Flood Warning will continue through 11pm. Street flooding is likely. Remember you should never attempt to cross flooded areas. DON'T DROWN TURN AROUND. Stay tuned to Carolinas' News Channel for the latest weather information. . .

I'll post the video, if it's any good, later.

Storms pummel area with wind, rain, hail Lightning strikes 8 homes in county, causing at least 1 fire. [The Charlotte Observer]
Region withstands severe storms [News 14 Carolina]
Spring Storm Slams Charlotte Bonner Heath said she saw a bolt hit a light fixture outside her home - then saw the current treavel to the ground. Heath was on the phone when it happened."It sounded like it was coming right through the phone into me," Heath said, adding "I did not feel anything - when I returned the phone to the holder, I felt I smelled smoke." [WSOCTV.com]

*Update: Stills from the video added, below

Me, from above

[Google Maps]

There's an election...?!

Election battle enters final day All the parties are launching a last frantic grab for votes on the final day of the UK election campaign. [BBC NEWS | Election 2005] The 2005 Election (in the UK you 'Mericans) had completely bypassed me until a week or so ago. I knew it was coming - I remember Tony announcing that there would be one, which I don't get. Why would the government that's in power want an election when you don't have to have one? Isn't it just a set date every number of years like every 4 years in 'Merica? I read the BBC News online, but you just don't get the impact of a story as when you see it on all the newspapers and on the TV. The news over here hasn't really covered it. Which seems unfair, our media was nearly as crazy about the Bush v Kerry elections as it was here in the US. When I first came here in 2003 they had BBC News24 here, but sadly no more. Just BBC America, with it's endless re-runs of Groundforce and Cash in the Attic. The BBC World News is shown on there in the morning and evening, and on other networks too, but it's world news, so it's the same news as America but in a British accent by someone I've never seen before (think graveyard shift on BBC News24). I'll probably have to rely on Peter Snow's election alerts and remain infront of my computer while it tells me what's going on back across the pond there.

Can't you tell how well connected I am with UK politics. I do try and keep up, I really do.