The elderly, hermits and people too cheap to get cable weren't the only victims of the recent transition to the digital airwaves.

Apparently, the lack of an analog signal means that somewhere out there, an alien race that mankind has yet to discover will not know the winner of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

An astronomer from the SETI Institute has speculated that undiscovered alien races or other forms of intelligent life in the universe won't be able to watch Earth's television because of the switchover.

You've seen the countless ads with the dire warnings: switch to digital TV by February 17 or you won't be able to watch any of your favorite shows and you'll have to read a book or play with your kids. And I bet your local news stations have been running various tests and a crawl at the bottom of the screen to remind you about the transition. Now it looks like it might not happen when it's supposed to..

The Obama transition team is asking Congress to extend the deadline because the way the transition has been handled hasn't been the smoothest: there's been a problem with the coupons that the government is giving out so people can get a converter box, the education on the new technology has been inadequate, and the government doesn't have the funds to make the current date a reality. Consumers unions are also asking for the date to be extended.

My sister asked me if I was ready for the digital transition, and I told her that I've been ready for years. Then I met someone last week who says she still has a small portable TV with rabbit ears. Are you ready for the change?

On February 19, 2009 all television will switch from an analog to a digital signal. Anyone who doesn't either purchase a special box for digital conversion or purchase a TV specifically designed to receive a digital signal will be dragged into the town square and ritualistically murdered. Those who escape will live out the rest of their days in fear as they're hunted down and exterminated one by one.

Well, maybe it won't be that bad, but it's certainly going to be interesting to see how smooth this whole "digital conversion" thing goes.

Rabbit ears, or television antennas, could soon become a relic of the past. A new poll, out in time for the CES convention in Las Vegas, finds that 22% of Americans get their television "over the air". That is, through television waves transmitted by stations. The big powerhouse for television is cable, with 51% of people receiving their signal that way. Only 26% of American households have satellites. The report says the findings "are significant, because they indicate that analog services are now the minority in the TV marketplace." Interestingly, the poll also found that 25% of adults have a DVR hooked up to the television set.

Personally, I like DirecTV and TiVo over rather than cable. How do you prefer to get your television?

[Via Lost Remote]