I have the same fridge in my garage. It's full of my rolls of unexposed filmstock. Every year my city has a "throw anything of any size you want in a big pile on the curb and we will pick it up and dispose of it for free" Well, as you might guess, this becomes a scavenger's dream. On the way home one weekend, my wife and I spied this fridge on the sidewalk of a house at the end of our block with a "WORKS - FREE" sign taped to it. She liked the styling so much she asked me to go get it and bring it home. I took the utility dolly, walked over to the house, put the fridge on it, and wheeled it home where it sits to this day. I did splice a new cord onto it and install a new rubber gasket on the door. It never really made any noticeable difference in the power consumption of our home. I guess it's because it's a liquid, what is it ammonia? being pumped through the coils? I can hear sloshing when the motor turns on.
Anyway, the reason I came into this thread. I saw this article in the local paper today:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/ci_6817408?nclick_check=1
Quote:
Cable companies launch $200 million ad campaign on switch to digital broadcasting
Associated Press
Article Launched: 09/06/2007 08:59:12 AM PDT
WASHINGTON - The cable television industry has launched a $200 million advertising campaign to assure customers they will still be able to watch their favorite programs after the transition to digital broadcasting.
The ad campaign includes four 30-second spots to be aired on both broadcast and cable networks. Ads began airing in the Washington, D.C., market this week.
The spots open with a graphic that reads: "By law TV stations will end analog broadcasts on February 17, 2009, and broadcast exclusively in digital." That's followed by cable customers assuring viewers that "every TV set you have that's hooked up to cable will work just fine."
Kyle McSlarrow, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, said the industry is following through on a promise made to Congress to help educate consumers on the transition.
"While it may be a broadcaster transition, we felt we had a responsibility to participate in a big way," he said in an interview Thursday.
The biggest impact of the digital transition will be felt by those who receive their signals over the air and do not own digital-ready television sets.
Those viewers will need a converter box, the cost of which will be mostly covered by a government-funded coupon program.
A 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office said 21 million households - roughly 19 percent of the nation - rely on antennae rather than cable or satellite to receive television signals.
Cable subscribers, McSlarrow said, will not be affected, including those who subscribe to analog rather than the more expensive digital service. There is no federal requirement that the industry continue to provide an analog signal, though the FCC has scheduled a vote on Tuesday that may force them to do so.
Advocates for the elderly and minorities are concerned the public will be caught by surprise by the transition. While Congress appropriated $1.5 billion for the coupon program, only $5 million of the total is dedicated to a public education campaign.
The $200 million advertising campaign includes both ads that have been purchased on broadcast channels and donated time from cable systems, the cable association said. It will run through the digital transition date.
The National Association of Broadcasters has pledged to begin its own campaign beginning in December.
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On the Net:
To see the ads: www.ncta.com/dtvspots
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