What a week!

Here we are to Saturday! Spring Break is nearly over, and I have a few minutes to write something short, maybe.



I am "benefitting" from the most talked about subject in Arkansas....the weather. We have had rain nearly every day this week. Fortunately, it has waited till evening nearly every day. Today has been cold and windy, and it started sleeting this afternoon. I am glad I had some time this morning to put some fresh chicken in the freezer. That's an outside chore, of course. I have already written about my woodsman activities of the first couple of days. Then I got to spend the next 2 1/2 days cursing the government "brains" who decided that changing broadcast signals from analog to all digital was a good idea.



Now, for those of you who live in major population centers, or even within 30-40 miles of one, the following will be hard for you to fathom. Anyone who lives out in the sticks, you probably understand my grief.



In major towns, and "suburbs", it is probably hard to imagine people not having a choice between broadcast "freewaves", cable, satellite, or any of the internet options that allow perfect signals at lightning speeds, with practically no limits to capacity.



I have watched satellite dishes crop up around us like mushrooms after an Arkansas rain, and I have listened to neighbors and relatives complain about how frequently signals are lost due to weather, wind, or stray blowing leaves. To say nothing of the monthly fees just to be hooked up.



Cable is not an option. I am unaware of anyone close to us who has cable, because the closest town with cable access is 15 miles away, and not enough people here to make it worth it for the cable co. to run line all this way. No one wants to be the first to pay for the cable run, and even if we ALL got together, it would make the hook-up pretty pricey.



Internet has the same issues, of course. Many of our friends have added separate phone lines for internet, so as to "speed up" their access, but nothing like what many of you experience.



Now TV! Our digital signal.... after spending 2 days installing the longest range antenna available, running individual cables to each of 2 TV's, so as to not degrade the signal by splitting it, and even adding a signal amplifier.......tops out at 21 on the converter box's meter. And that's when there is no wind or rain. Clouds, wind, etc. have dropped it down to 15-16.



Our problem is terrain, and distance, according to the websites set up to help with the digital switch. We live about 75-80 miles (as the crow flies), from our major broadcasters in Little Rock. We live in hilly terrain, and the issue of direction causes problems. Digital requires a direct line of reception, whereas analog was much more forgiving. We can't point the antenna straight at the broadcasters. (Trust me, I know how to use a compass, and have tried using the compass settings given by the broadcasters, to improve signal reception.) It hasn't helped boost signal strength at all.



I guess we will just have to live with signals going in and out. We can hope that channel 4 comes in strong enough to watch once in awhile, because the kids and I really like "Heroes". I can also hope that in June, when all channels make the switch, that their increased signal strength will benefit us.



Perfect example of government ignoring the people in rural America. I have been reading up on this issue, and there are going to be regions in this country where people will no longer have access to TV signals once the "Big Switch" is final. I guess we will make do. Books can be far more interesting. The nice weather maps and reports will be missed, but we can always read about the tornado that wiped out Drasco, in the next day's newspaper, right?