Happy Thanksgiving!

Here in the United States we are getting ready for Thanksgiving Day. Lots of people are running around shopping and getting ready to make and enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with their family. I am lucky that this year I am spending time with my family and I have no rushing around to do to get ready for the big day, instead I just need to show up.

Many folks get excited when Thanksgiving comes around, for kids they always look forward to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For the men they look forward to all the turkey day football games. I must admit it I must be a geek because the one event I am looking forward of seeing tomorrow is not football or the parade. Instead I am looking forward to the Science Channels presentation of “Punkin Chunkin” which is a competition where groups build contraptions to see how far they can launch a pumpkin. For some folks launching a pumpkin is just fun and they come up with all kinds of fun launchers, while other view “Punkin Chunkin” as a science and come up with amazing contraptions to blast the pumpkin as far as it can go. You will be amazed to see at what lengths people go through just to smash a pumpkin.

I was hoping for Thanksgiving that we would see some new HD from Dish Network as there were hints they were getting close to launching EPIX and BBC America HD, but alas there is no news at this time to report on either channel.

The folks at DirecTV are thankful as it appears that their new DirecTV 12 satellite is no on track for a December 29th launch. With the successful launch yesterday of Intelsat 14 it lines DirecTVs new DirecTV 12 satellite up next for launch. DirecTV is counting on the successful launch of DirecTV 12 in order to make good on the promise of 200 HD channels. We can only hope that the launch is as picture perfect as yesterday’s Intelsat launch.

If you planning on going TV shopping this Friday make sure you research the television you are interested in buying before heading out to the store on Friday. Just because a TV is cheap does not mean it’s a good TV, remember the old saying you get what you pay for. Use your free time to look at all the models your electronics store offers as you might might be surprised that you can probably find a much better TV for only a few bucks more than the advertised Black Friday special. Remember an informed consumer makes better decisions, so do your research and be happier with your purchase.

I wish you all the best this Thanksgiving, safe travels and happy satellite viewing! We will see you next week!