It will never cease to amaze me how many thousands of dollars this local South Dakota station budgets for its weather department annually, and just how under-utilized that money really is.
Now, don't get me wrong. The on-air meteorologists actually do have personalities, more so than their newsroom counterparts, and a genuine passion for their chosen field. South Dakota, after all, is considered part of Tornado Alley, and when the atmosphere gets itself all riled up, these men follow suit like it's Armageddon. They get so excited that it's difficult, as a viewer, to not get caught up in the drama of it all. Prime time is pre-empted for live shots of "Keloland Live Doppler Radar" and "Vipir" views. Those who, I assume, choose the short straws, are out in "Dorothy," (yes, I know it's cliche to steal a vehicle name from a movie, but they are chasing "Twister"s) KELO's mobile radar-equipped vehicle, calling in reports every quarter hour. Here's a thought, guys: Try a video link-up.
While you can tell that most of these guys were, at some point in their lives, what the rest of us would call "nerds" or "geeks" or "pencil-necks", Shawn Cable is a hottie. No question about that. And the dude can sing! I don't understand why he hasn't been gobbled up by the networks yet. He can't love this state that much, can he? But, I digress...
The guy who crunches the numbers for Young Broadcasting is allocating a butt-load of cash for this particular department and some dumb-ass is using it to purchase cameras to position atop towers throughout the state. Ok. Not such a ridiculous idea, unless you live or have ever visited this great state. There's NOTHING TO SEE HERE, folks. Move along.
A great idea get worse from there. Where are they placing these "Keloland Sky Cams?" At "strategic points" throughout the state, i.e. the two interstates that traverse South Dakota, and of course, THE MALL! Yes, the mall is located at the most travelled intersection of the state (which, at rush hour, is more like, for my Canadian friends, the corner of Yonge and Queen at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday), but, still, why there? South Dakota is an agriculturally-based state, so what relevance does the mall have to the farmers that support its economy? Would they not be better served by positioning these cameras in their fields so they can keep an eye on their corn and cattle? It seems to me that this television station is positioning itself for the future, laying all the groundwork for a traffic department in a state that has fewer residents than the city of San Jose, CA - a measely 10.2 people per square mile in SD compared to 5118/sm in San Jose. Traffic congestion in South Dakota? Dude, you're about 200 years ahead of the rest of us.
And then it gets even worse. It seems to me the only times these strategically positioned Sky Cams are utilized are:
1. long before sunrise and
2. long after sunset.
I question the purpose of displaying a view of darkness interspersed with tiny points of light during a weather forecast. Is this Shawn's way of predicting the obvious? I can just hear him saying:
"Let's go to Keloland's Sky Cam at the mall. Looks like today in Keloland we'll have a 100 percent chance of darkness. But, hey, lucky for you folks out there on your way to work, we have a 100 percent chance of light starting at about 7 this morning, just in time for your drive into the office."
Unfortunately, despite all of their technologically advanced weather-prognosticating tools, the Sky Cams are the only means for which the Keloland weather team can precisely predict the future.
Now, don't get me wrong. The on-air meteorologists actually do have personalities, more so than their newsroom counterparts, and a genuine passion for their chosen field. South Dakota, after all, is considered part of Tornado Alley, and when the atmosphere gets itself all riled up, these men follow suit like it's Armageddon. They get so excited that it's difficult, as a viewer, to not get caught up in the drama of it all. Prime time is pre-empted for live shots of "Keloland Live Doppler Radar" and "Vipir" views. Those who, I assume, choose the short straws, are out in "Dorothy," (yes, I know it's cliche to steal a vehicle name from a movie, but they are chasing "Twister"s) KELO's mobile radar-equipped vehicle, calling in reports every quarter hour. Here's a thought, guys: Try a video link-up.
While you can tell that most of these guys were, at some point in their lives, what the rest of us would call "nerds" or "geeks" or "pencil-necks", Shawn Cable is a hottie. No question about that. And the dude can sing! I don't understand why he hasn't been gobbled up by the networks yet. He can't love this state that much, can he? But, I digress...
The guy who crunches the numbers for Young Broadcasting is allocating a butt-load of cash for this particular department and some dumb-ass is using it to purchase cameras to position atop towers throughout the state. Ok. Not such a ridiculous idea, unless you live or have ever visited this great state. There's NOTHING TO SEE HERE, folks. Move along.
A great idea get worse from there. Where are they placing these "Keloland Sky Cams?" At "strategic points" throughout the state, i.e. the two interstates that traverse South Dakota, and of course, THE MALL! Yes, the mall is located at the most travelled intersection of the state (which, at rush hour, is more like, for my Canadian friends, the corner of Yonge and Queen at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday), but, still, why there? South Dakota is an agriculturally-based state, so what relevance does the mall have to the farmers that support its economy? Would they not be better served by positioning these cameras in their fields so they can keep an eye on their corn and cattle? It seems to me that this television station is positioning itself for the future, laying all the groundwork for a traffic department in a state that has fewer residents than the city of San Jose, CA - a measely 10.2 people per square mile in SD compared to 5118/sm in San Jose. Traffic congestion in South Dakota? Dude, you're about 200 years ahead of the rest of us.
And then it gets even worse. It seems to me the only times these strategically positioned Sky Cams are utilized are:
1. long before sunrise and
2. long after sunset.
I question the purpose of displaying a view of darkness interspersed with tiny points of light during a weather forecast. Is this Shawn's way of predicting the obvious? I can just hear him saying:
"Let's go to Keloland's Sky Cam at the mall. Looks like today in Keloland we'll have a 100 percent chance of darkness. But, hey, lucky for you folks out there on your way to work, we have a 100 percent chance of light starting at about 7 this morning, just in time for your drive into the office."
Unfortunately, despite all of their technologically advanced weather-prognosticating tools, the Sky Cams are the only means for which the Keloland weather team can precisely predict the future.
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