Speaking of technology madness, I've been alerted that here in North Carolina my access to Viacom television channels via TimeWarnerCable will be discontinued at midnight tonight. The two corporate giants are in the midst of a heated dispute over fees charged by Viacom for TWC to carry the channels (MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon) in its line-up. As a rebuttal to Viacom's demands for higher fees, TWC will not only discontinue carrying the channels at midnight tonight, but also block it's cable Internet users (aka Me) from accessing their websites to see their shows online. Here's the NYT:

The increasingly bitter financial dispute between Viacom and Time Warner�s cable division took a sharp turn that could result in shows like �SpongeBob SquarePants,� �The Hills� and �The Daily Show� being removed from the schedule in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and several other cities on Jan. 1.

Viacom, the corporate parent of MTV Networks, has insisted on an increase in rights fees for its 20 channels, which include popular destinations like Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and Comedy Central.

Looking to instigate a full-scale viewer revolt, the company has placed full-page advertisements in The New York Times and several other newspapers on Wednesday featuring some of its characters, including Dora the Explorer, who is depicted crying because she is being taken away from her fans.

Time Warner Cable, which operates cable systems reaching about 13 million subscribers, has argued that this is no time to charge consumers more to watch television, especially when much of the content they are being asked to pay for is offered free online.

�Our channels provide 20 percent of their audience, and we only receive 2.5 percent of the fees Time Warner pays,� Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom�s chief executive, said Tuesday in an phone interview. Viacom also argued that its fees � it did not disclose the exact figures � were 65 percent lower than cable channel operators like Fox, Walt Disney and Discovery charge.

Time Warner has retaliated, saying that Viacom is trying to squeeze more money in fees because it has had sharp declines in advertising revenue. Viacom�s stock price has declined more than 57 percent this year, closing Tuesday at $18.21.