Tag: Geoff Fox

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip

Wow – I like this show a lot.

Here’s the funny part. I never would have seen it had it not been for Helaine, who set the DVR for herself. Last week it was just there. This week too.

I’ve told a few friends this is West Wing II. Maybe that’s unfair, because it’s obviously not a show about the White House, but a TV show.

The sensibilities are the same as West Wing. The edgy look, underlit and high contrast, matches West Wing too. Maybe that’s because, though the show is performed by an ensemble cast, all their words come from Aaron Sorkin, also responsible for West Wing.

You won’t immediately know the name of every significant cast member, but the faces are familiar. The biggest names are Bradley Whitford (West Wing), Matthew Perry (Friends) and Amanda Peet (gorgeous).

The premise is simple: a behind the scenes look at a weekly sketch comedy show, not unlike Saturday Night Live&#185. There’s conflict with the network, the public, the cast. Conflict is good for television.

It’s possible I like this show for different reasons than you. I think Studio 60 is showing us a part of television that’s in the midst of disappearing – high budget, mass market, common experience TV.

I like that kind of television. I will mourn its loss.

Can Studio 60, the show within the show, exist when broadcasting has given way to niche-casting? Can a show that hires a symphonic orchestra and chorus get renewed as budgets tighten and audiences shrink?

Even Saturday Night Live, the last of its kind, has been forced to cut back this season. At least four of last year’s cast members were dropped to save cash.

I love television. I love these complex pieces of programming that come together, touched by dozens of hands. There’s an excitement when the control room sits a dozen or more tightly wound souls, concentrating deeply enough to discern each of the 29.97 individual frames that flash by every second.

It’s what I grew up watching. It was attractive enough to sucker me as an employee.

TV is becoming more of an individual effort. TV programs are more narrowly aimed. In some cases TV programs have eliminated he TV station entirely. They are laser like as they look for their specific, targeted audience.

I grew up in an era when each network was a fire hose and everyone got wet!

There are no more Ed Sullivans, no more Walter Cronkites, no more Studio 60s. It’s quite possible there will be no more Geoff Fox’s – air talent who amass as many individual impressions as I have over twenty two years in one market.

This crunch over viewers and costs has been enabled by new technologies. which replace people. I suppose it’s inevitable, even if it’s a shame.

A single TV show as a universal experience will never happen again. That’s why we need to celebrate the glory that is Studio 60, today.

&#185 – Though there are parallels, this can’t be Saturday Night Live. In fact, Studio 60 acknowledges SNL as another network show.

AT&T’s Answer

Here’s AT&T’s reply to my email. I wouldn’t have expected any less… actually, there isn’t an answer that would have been less:

Dear Geoff Fox,

I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you.

Based on the information provided in your request, we are unable to process the adjustment.

If this response does not address your concern, please reply directly to this email. To ensure a timely response, do not change the subject line of your reply.

Unreal.

Bluetooth And Me

Before I left for Maine, I was interviewed by Jim Shelton for a New Haven Register story concerning Bluetooth technology.

“You could be Brad Pitt and if you have one of these on, you still look like a dweeb,” says WTNH-8 meteorologist Geoff Fox, a Bluetooth headset user for six months. “They don

First, A Word From Your Phone Company

I have about 1,000 photos from my Maine trip, and stories to tell. I will in the next day or so.

Meanwhile, a problem was simmering at home while I was gone. Crank, hang-up, phone calls. The caller ID was no help as the display read “Unknown.”

The problem is now fixed, but not without cost – and it really riles me. Here’s what I just sent to AT&T:

This week, while I was away, my wife began receiving calls which were listed on caller ID as “Unknown Name” “Unknown Number.” The caller hung up as soon as the phone was answered. These calls were very disturbing to my wife and me.

I have just signed on for your blocking feature. However, I am incensed to be forced to pay to stop these calls. I am upset that AT&T would charge such a large amount, $60 per year, for a service which costs you next to nothing and which is needed because of a crank caller – out of our control.

If you’re looking for reasons people are jumping to VOIP or cellular, this is one. I don’t want to be nickel and dimed to death by you, especially when the VOIP provider for my second phone (Broadvoice) offers this feature for free.

Under these circumstances I will consider moving my number to my VOIP unless AT&T waives the fee for this service. I have been your customer for 22 years in Connecticut, but you are surely driving me away.

Geoff Fox

OK – maybe the threat of moving my number, though a real threat, is over-the-top. This is a service that costs them nothing… or nearly nothing. Certainly, once it’s turned on there is no additional incremental cost to AT&T.

It should be noted that since we’ve been here, we’ve had SNET, SBC and now AT&T – all supplying the same line. With each corporate restructure, Connecticut in general and my phone in particular, has become a smaller more inconsequential piece of their puzzling business.

To add insult to injury, while on the phone with an AT&T rep, she tried to “upsell” me more services. Wasn’t this an inappropriate time to try and make a sale?

Quote In The BU Newspaper

I got an email a week or so ago. It was from a Connecticut resident, now a student at Boston University. Chris wanted to know if I’d answer a few weather questions for an article in the BU daily… and so I did.

Continue reading “Quote In The BU Newspaper”

Karmann Ghia – Blast From The Past

Photo from my Motorola RAZR cameraphone

31 Jul ’06, 7.26pm EDT

Originally uploaded by Geoff Fox.

Today, on my way to work, I had to stop at the oil company. If you’re not from the Northeast, this might surprise you. Many homes here are heated with oil, delivered by truck, year round.

Anyway, as I parked, it caught my eye. A blazing orange 1974 Karmann Ghia. I loved those little cars. Back in the late 60s and early 70s this was my dream ride.

Here’s the truth. The Karmann was just a Volkswagen with a nicely styled body. It still couldn’t accelerate out of its own way. It was tiny, tinny and cramped.

My assumption was, they came from the factory with rust pre-installed. That’s probably why, though loved, there aren’t many left.

Actually, this one looked pretty good. It had that slightly oxidized flat finish that cars from that era acquired with age (and without wax).

You know what? All that practical stuff means nothing. It was a sweet looking ride and helped define an era.

Can your Taurus say that?


Like An Old Friend

Photo from my Motorola RAZR cameraphone

21 Jun ’06, 9.12pm EDT

Originally uploaded by Geoff Fox.

As I walked to dinner tonight, I spied this police car from Cheektowaga, NY parked outside a local hotel. Cheektowaga is near Buffalo!

OK – even for me that’s not enough to get the picture in my blog – except, I know some Cheektowaga trivia. I know what Cheektowaga means: “Land of the Green Crabapple.”

And you thought my stint as co-host of PM Magazine/Buffalo had no longstanding benefit.

New Haven Rainbow

Photo from my Motorola RAZR cameraphone

20 Jun ’06, 8.10pm EDT

Originally uploaded by Geoff Fox.

A wicked line of thunderstorms moved through Connecticut this evening. I went out with my RAZR cellphone – but the pictures it takes aren’t all that great. Here’s what Gil Simmons saw, using the camera in his Treo 700W.

Higher resolution and better definition pay off when you’re shooting a rainbow – decidedly low contrast.

The thunderstorms never got down here, though parts of the state were pummeled.


STOP SENDING THIS GARBAGE TO MY EMAIL

I just got an email from Gloria Minnick a few moments ago. Let me quote:

STOP SENDING THIS GARBAGE TO MY EMAIL

Thanks Gloria. Good to hear from you.

Gloria, and thousands of others have been receiving emails touting small stocks, sent as if they were coming from my site. Here’s the email she received. Actually, the email was an image, not a ‘real’ text message. Images can’t easily be read by computers, so they better evade spam filters which might be looking for keywords in the mail.

Gloria’s mail came from Margaret Moore at cul@geofffox.com. There is no Margaret Moore here nor is there a legitimate mailbox with that address.

Hi Gloria,

My name is Geoff Fox and I own geofffox.com. Unfortunately, like you, I am a victim here.

In order to pass through spam filters, these creeps have become incredibly crafty! They take real domain names, like mine, and throw in made up ‘real names’ and email addresses to make their message seem more real. And, there’s nothing I can do about it. Nothing!

In fact, their message is an image – not text! Try and select letters with your mouse. You can’t. It’s all to fool the filters.

Imagine someone running all over the world saying they were Gloria – and then doing stuff like this! That’s what’s happening to me. In the case of these particular emails, where they are trying to pump up a stock, there is no trail I can find. I suspect the company touted is also an innocent bystander (though I can’t be sure).

I get dozens of (mostly) automated bouncebacks every day. I am hoping, after a while, they’ll pick on someone else. They have done that in the past.

All the best,

Geoff Fox

Hamden, CT

In the past I’ve written about changing email protocols to make email more secure. If our society’s deepest secrets will travel the Internet, and they will, we’ve got to make the Internet a whole lot safer – and soon.

Ever Been Followed Into The Men’s Room? I Have!

This story starts a long time ago – nearly twenty years ago. Helaine was pregnant with Stefanie. It was fall, as I remember, and we were on our way to the North Haven Fair.

We wanted dinner, so we stopped at Danny’s on Route 5 near I-91. I’m not sure if it’s still called Danny’s, but it was a nice family style Italian restaurant.

We were seated, ordered, and then I got up to go to the men’s room.

So, there I am, in the men’s room, standing (as men do), when in walked two small kids. “Are you Geoff Fox,” they wanted to know?

OK – that’s the weirdest place I’ve ever been asked. And, as far as I know, the only time I’d ever been followed into the men’s room.

It’s a good story, and I retell it from time-to-time. In fact, I told it to Steffie last week.

Flash forward to this week – Tuesday night, to be specific. I’m again out to dinner, this time with two co-workers from the station. A nicely dressed man walked up to me and asked, “Do you remember Danny’s in North Haven?”

“Uh… yeah.”

It was the guy whose sons had followed me to the men’s room! He had pictures. They’ve grown. Both are in the Air Force – one a pilot the other a navigator.

Here’s the strange part. He said he and his family had told the story recently too!

Did I Speak Too Soon?

Photo from my Motorola RAZR cameraphone

Snow scene near my house

Originally uploaded by Geoff Fox.

I have now gotten three mean emails. They were sent using a web form, and it’s tough to tell when they were written. My guess is, these were people who didn’t see snow early and threw out the rest of the forecast.

I only wish I could speak to them as they were getting angry with me. Really. Most of the time the anger is misguided.

I make my share of mistakes, but the biggest problem with blown forecasts is that people sometimes hear something other than what I say. That’s why perception is so much more important than the actual numbers.


The Company I Keep

A while ago I decided it would be a good idea to let Google sell ads on my website. Actually, it originally started as an experiment – I just wanted to see how it worked.

I don’t get a fortune from these ads. It pays for my web hosting – not much more. We’re not taking any vacations on this money… even a vacation to Cheshire.

Here’s the funny part – I don’t see the ads!

There are two reasons I don’t see them. First, I use Firefox (instead of Internet Explorer), with an ad blocking extension. It’s sort of scary. I see very few ads on any site… even the most populated.

The second reason is more important. I don’t want my page views to count. On this little website, if I correct an entry or move something around, my ‘hits’ become a substantial fraction of the total traffic.

Saturday, while looking at Helaine’s computer, I caught an ad that upset me. I sent the following to Google.

There was an ad listed on my site for xxxxxxxxx.org. Their ad’s bold type offers advice on how to cheat at hold’em poker. There might be controversy about online poker in general, but I don’t think anyone condones organized cheating. I certainly don’t and find it morally and legally wrong.

I will block this advertiser, but I think you should consider whether this text, or their product, is appropriate for AdSense.

Sincerely,

Geoff Fox

A quick clarification. Though I don’t choose the ads that appear, I can remove or block advertisers I feel aren’t appropriate. I block my TV station’s competitors. I block some national weather providers. I now block this poker site.

Here’s Google’s response.

Hello Geoff,

Thank you for your email regarding a Google AdWords ad.

I’ve forwarded this information to our AdWords team, who will remove the ad in question if it is in violation of any AdWords policies. We appreciate you taking the time to let us know about your concerns.

For additional questions, we suggest you visit our AdSense Support site at https://www.google.com/support/adsense . If you’re unable to find an answer to your question on our site, please feel free to reply to this email.

Sincerely,

Becky

The Google AdSense Team

They probably won’t tell me how this is resolved, though I’m hoping this kind of ad is now out.

Hey – They Called Me A Meteorologist

I’ve been quoted on-and-off in the New Haven Register for years. Today was the first time since my studies at MSU ended, and so the first time to be called “meteorologist.”

The storm, which brought winds clocked as high as 68 miles per in Oxford, coincided with record warmth for this time of year. At 9:32 a.m., it was 60 degrees at Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Bridgeport, shattering the previous 1999 record of 55 degrees by five degrees, said WTNH-TV meteorologist Geoff Fox.

But with all that wind, “I don

My Internet History

I got a mysterious email tonight. A writer is searching for some friends of mine. He wants to find out about some things they did as teenagers, around 40 years ago.

When I “Googled” the author, I found he was responsible for the protocol that makes USENET possible. If you don’t know what USENET is, don’t worry. It used to be more valuable than it is now, though it’s still the best place to find technical help.

I decided to go back and look for my first USENET post. It represents one of my first forays onto the Internet. Back when I made the post, in 1992, the Internet was basically a text medium. If the World Wide Web and its multimedia content existed then, I didn’t know about it.

Comments: Gated by NETN…@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU

Path:sparky!uunet!stanford.edu!bcm!convex!darwin.sura.net!

paladin.american.edu!auvm!WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU!FOXG

X-Vmsmail-To: SMTP%”INGRAFX%PSUVM.Bit…@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU”

Message-ID: <921111123853.2b436aed@WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU>

Newsgroups: bit.listserv.ingrafx

Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 12:38:53 -0500

Sender: “Information Graphics”

From: FOXG@WCSUB.CTSTATEU.EDU

Subject: RE: examples, please

Lines: 2

Please… more on the UIUC thunderstorm simulations.

Geoff Fox

Not exactly a pithy, Earth shattering comment. You’ve gotta start somewhere.

Email To AirTran

I sent this email to AirTran’s president, Joe Leonard, about 25 minutes before my folks told me they had broken down and spent an extra few hundred dollars purchasing tickets to Vegas on Saturday (thereby avoiding Hurricane Wilma’s fury).

Dear Mr. Leonard,

I am writing to ask you to revisit AirTran’s current policy regarding Hurricane Wilma rebooking. I am a meteorologist with 25 years experience.

Your website’s weather update page gives latitude to Florida travelers on Monday, but the storm is not forecast to leave Florida’s East Coast until very late Monday or early Tuesday – meaning you will have planes out of position for Tuesday’s flights.

This is from the National Hurricane Center’s latest technical discussion (meteorologist-to-meteorologist):

THE SPREAD IN THE MODELS REMAINS QUITE LARGE… AND BOTH THE

LOCATION AND TIMING OF THE IMPACTS ON FLORIDA REMAIN VERY

UNCERTAIN.

Won’t you consider allowing Tuesday passengers (like my parents, on their way to Las Vegas for my dad’s 80th birthday) to rebook without additional charge? Think of your passengers… and your gate and counter employees, who will be dealing with people who were denied rebooking and then face canceled flights!

Sincerely,

Geoff Fox

The point is probably moot now. I’m curious if I’ll get an answer.