Simon Toon's Blog

Online bookies

2012-01-16T14:21:00.003Z

My new favourite website is http://www.joeje.co.uk - for all your online betting needs!
Not really, just a joke.

SecureClient for Mac OS X Lion

2011-08-06T00:37:00.001+01:00

Well, I've got CheckPoint VPN-1 SecureClient for Mac OS X Lion 10.7 and it's working just fine. I find it faintly ridiculous that they are restricting access to the download so if anyone is without and desperately wants it, talk to me.

Blank printouts from Word X on Mac

2011-03-05T22:42:00.005Z

User was having problems printing from Microsoft Word X on her Mac (latest Snow Leopard). Printing to PDF produced blank PDFs. Printing to the printer resulting in blank pieces of paper. Yet creating a new test document from scratch (just typed a few words into the page) was able to produce a valid PDF.

A quick review of the Console log showed the following:

05/03/2011 21:51:07 [0x0-0x17017].com.microsoft.Word[176] WARNING: Font "Arial" with style 1 can't be handled by the imaging system. This document can't be drawn/printed with this font.

Turns out there were two copies of Arial on her Mac: one in the central Library folder and one in her personal Library folder.

I removed the copy from her personal Library folder, restarted Word, and all was then working fine.

Securing notes across my devices

2011-03-03T23:18:00.004Z

I wanted a secure way to access and edit text notes on my iOS devices (iPhone and iPad) and also on my 'desktop' devices (Macs and Windows), with the notes synchronised across all of those devices, so that any amendments on one device would show up swiftly on all of the others.

I was already using the excellent Dropbox in conjunction with PlainText (on my iOS devices), TextWrangler (Mac), and WordPad (Windows) to work with clear text. Using these tools I can read or edit these text files on any of these devices. I also use Dropbox to sync other document types, including Office/iWork files, but only read access on the iOS devices (although I know there are Dropbox-enabled 'Office' apps available) — but as long as I could edit my text files from my iPhone, the Office files could wait until I got back to my Mac.

This setup was so useful to me that I started wanting to put sensitive information in there. Work stuff: Unix commands, reports, IP addresses, usernames, even passwords. But that's not really a good idea, is it? You don't put sensitive work information on a 3rd-party storage service — well, not unless you can encrypt it in a way that no-one else can decrypt.

I was already using encrypted .dmg files on my Mac to store sensitive data, but I wasn't aware of any tools that could open these on iOS or Windows.

Hence my search for an encrypted equivalent of this toolset began.

Has anyone else found the solution yet? I tweeted the question. I audiobooed my question. No answer was forthcoming.

I searched the Apple App Store for words like 'encrypt', and all I seemed to get were password manager/autofill apps. One of the most popular and expensive ones of these seemed to be one called '1Password'. Some of my Twitter friends seem to like it. But that's not really what I was after. I wasn't looking for an app to auto-fill my passwords into websites.

Evernote is a tool I've been trying to find a good use case for for a long time. They've got encrypted note support... but not on the iOS apps, it seems.

Pop the text in a draft email on our Exchange server? The iPhone talks to the server using SSL, so that's fine, but would all my email clients store their local cache in an encrypted form? No.

Then I thought, why not look on the Dropbox website - they seem to have a healthy ecosystem of 3rd-party companion apps. So I scanned through their page of apps (https://www.dropbox.com/apps), and found a few promising ones...

1Password (http://agilewebsolutions.com/onepassword) is the popular password manager/autofill app, but not cheap, at $14.99 for the iPad/iPhone version, $39.95 for the Mac version and $29.95 for Windows.

SafeWallet (http://www.sbsh.net/products/mac_os_x/safewallet) seemed similar to 1Password but at a lower price ($15 for the Mac version, $3 for iPhone).

Password Touch (https://www.dropbox.com/apps/1699/password-touch) has the advantage of being compatible with the open source 'Password Safe' database, meaning the desktop application would be free, and the total cost could be just $3 for the iPhone app. Unfortunately, the desktop version is Windows only!

Codebook (http://getcodebook.com/faq) seemed like a more pertinent app. Rather than being a password manager, this was actually intended for big chunks of text. That's what I was actually after! Again, based on some kind of Open Source encryption standard but with their own proprietary twist which means there's effectively no desktop counterpart. So no.

So, with the last two apps ruled out for technical limitations, I was left with the choice of SafeWallet and 1Password — both of which have a trial version of the Mac desktop app available to download. So I downloaded both and installed them on my Mac.

I pasted a nice long chunk of text into a text note in SafeWallet, but it only showed about 3 lines, even though all the text was in there, and I could find no way to resize the text box to make the viewable area larger (to make it actually practical). Not encouraging.

Then I fired up 1Password. The whole look and feel of the app was much more secure and trustworthy somehow. I created a secure note. A nice big text box, and even a space at the bottom of the note to drag and drop attachments onto. That was much more like it! Sync'ed it to Dropbox. Very simple and intuitive. But would it be this good on the iPhone?

There's no free trial version of 1Password for iPhone. And the trial version of SafeWallet doesn't do syncing.

I searched on the web to see if I could find any reviews of 1Password on iPhone that would cover the notes feature. YouTube had a bunch of video reviews, but these all focused on the password management/autofill functionality. I feared perhaps the notes would be inaccessible on the iPhone, or at most read-only.

And then my friend Pewari (http://pewari.may.be) came to the rescue with an audioboo. She was a very happy user of 1Password on her iPhone, and though she had never used the notes feature, she was kind enough to try it out and in the very same boo she reported that indeed it did work!

That was all the recommendation I needed. I then bought the iOS version on my iPhone, installed it, connected it to my Dropbox, and 'boom!' there were all my secure notes.

So now I'm happy. I may even start using it as a password manager/autofill tool, too, as people seem to rave about this functionality. Sure, I know after 30 days the trial version on my Mac will expire, and I will have to shell out $40 to retain desktop access, but I think it is worth it. I can keep my text safe and secure. It's backed up, it's easily accessible and amendable on all my devices, and I can be sure it can't be read by anyone but me.

Thoughts on Magic Mouse

2009-10-31T00:09:00.001Z

I've been using my Apple Magic Mouse this evening and it does not disappoint, though I feel now like the whole Mac OS needs to be updated to take advantage of the subtleties of the mouse/large trackpads on modern MacBooks. (I'm also hoping for an update to the MacBook trackpad software to incorporate the marvellous momentum scrolling feature from the iPhone and Magic Mouse.) The additional quality now endowed on these touch interfaces is great and enhances the efficiency of interacting with the existing O/S's (both iPhone and Mac OS X), but I feel there are further enhancements to be made and I'm sure Apple have these in mind. Snow Leopard gets us ready for something radical to come. Coverflow makes much more sense with Magic Mouse, and is probably indicative of the future of all file navigation.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Today, for the first time in my life

2009-05-18T21:24:00.002+01:00

Today, for the first time in my life, I had my daughter open the front door to let me into the house.

GoDaddy 20% off up to two domain names .COM .ORG or .BIZ

2009-05-09T17:01:00.003+01:00

Well, Go Daddy is offering another unique offer at the moment. 20% off the price of up to two domain names of the .COM .ORG or .BIZ variety, using source code gdr0506k when you check out. This offer expires on May 10th 2009, but if you miss the deadline, or you want to see whether you can get a better discount, then why not try these source codes:

10% off any order* : SLAM1

20% off £35 or more* : SLAM2

30% off a .com domain: SLAM30

Of course if it is .COM domain names you are after, then the SLAM30 offer of 30% off is better than the 20% off you'd get with GDR0506K.

Find out more on the offer, or other offers I've got for you, at: http://slamidolpodcast.com/offers/ or http://slamidol.com/offers/

* Some restrictions may apply. See GoDaddy site for details.

Blame the shepherd, not the wolf

2009-02-10T13:32:00.010Z

I can't believe the BBC are scapegoating the bankers. Looks like the UK Government is trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes by making it seem like the fault of the greedy bankers and their excessive profiteering and bonus-awards, taking advantage of the public outrage at the bankers being awarded such large bonuses using tax-payer bail-out money.

Okay, so the bankers are not going to be popular folk heroes, but the Government shouldn't be allowed to make it look like it's not actually the Government's fault. It is the Government's fault.

Face it, bankers are employed by corporations to make as much profit as possible in the next reporting period (a year, a quarter, whatever). They are not incentivised to look after the long term interests of the bank that employs them, or the nation as a whole. So of course they behaved in the way that they did. Unless they did something illegal then there is nothing for them to apologise for!

It's like blaming the wolf for eating the sheep that have been left out there in the field. It's in their nature; you can't blame them for that. The finger of blame should be pointed, in this analogy, to the shepherd, whose responsibility it was to look after the sheep.

And so it is the financial regulators (i.e. the Treasury, as the FSA doesn't actually have the teeth) that we must blame for the financial problems the UK is currently undergoing. And the financial regulators are appointed by the Government.

We cannot even blame the bank bosses for going to the Treasury asking for a bail-out. They presented a simple choice to the Treasury, telling them that their companies would collapse if they didn't get an injection of money, and would the Treasury like to take the opportunity to do so in the interests of the UK economy? Seems fair enough. And again the Treasury, and ultimately the Government, failed the UK population by just handing over a huge wad of cash without placing on it certain conditions, or even going as far as nationalising them.

So, we shouldn't accept the bankers as scapegoats, thereby absolving any culpability of the Government or the BBC's beloved over-borrowed consumer who was stupid enough to buy or remortgage an overpriced house, or take out any other forms of credit that they simply cannot afford to pay back.

Don't be fooled.

New Bargains Website for Parents

2009-01-09T23:23:00.003Z

I'd like to tell you about a new website for Parents. It simply has bargains for Mums and Dads in the UK. So, it's pretty much UK bargains for parents.

One of the great things about this site (as opposed to most others) is that it takes a very straight-forward approach:

What you see is what you get

You don't have to give out your address to anyone

You don't have to sign up for a newsletter

And you don't have to sign up for so-called freebies where you then have to remember to cancel a subscription at a later date, and worry whether the company will get your cancellation in time

Check it out at www.PennyPinchingMum.co.uk

GoDaddy Discount Codes for 2009

2009-01-09T23:07:00.002Z

Looking for GoDaddy promo codes or GoDaddy Coupon codes for 2009? So many of the GoDaddy discount codes out there have expiry dates, which can be very frustrating indeed. Well, these ones have no expiry date!

Non-expiring GoDaddy codes

An old favourite is SLAM1 which gives you 10% off pretty much anything on GoDaddy.

Then there's SLAM30 which gets you 30% off your DOT COM, equivalent to $6.95 per year.

If you spend a bit more you can use SLAM2 to get 20% off GoDaddy order £35 or more.

Expiring GoDaddy codes

Save yourself a massive 25% off ALL your domain name and web hosting purchases at GoDaddy.co.uk when you spend £50 or more using the promo code SLAM25. Sadly, this one expires on January 15th, 2009.

Emilia doing some more walking

2008-10-01T09:26:00.000+01:00

Emilia doing some more walking on 27-Sep-2008

Emilia walking unaided on 27/9/2008

2008-09-28T16:32:00.000+01:00

Later that same day, we captured this footage of Emilia walking unaided, and managing more than just 2 steps!

Emilia walking on 27/9/2008

2008-09-27T11:12:00.000+01:00

Well, she only really has the confidence to walk for more than one step if she is holding onto someone with at least one hand.

Nipper News Blog

2008-09-17T18:26:00.002+01:00

If you haven't checked it out yet, please go on over to http://nippernews.co.uk/ and have a look at the new blog my wife is doing on there. There's a iPhone-optimised page too, which you can see here: Nipper News.

Some of the most important stuff she's posting on there is about safety issues, and of course some great bargains for parents, whether you have a baby or teenagers or something in-between.

And you can subscribe to it as an email newsletter, too!

Setting column width, not minimum column width

2008-08-29T23:58:00.005+01:00

I've been working on a web page formatted for iPhone, and in this context the width of the page and the content on the page, is very important. First of all you don't want the page to be too wide, because then the text might be too small to read. But you also want the entire page to fit within the width of the screen, because no-one wants to have to scroll from side to side when reading lines of text.

So, of course, you can use a table and specify the width of cells and table, but this actually sets the minimum width - if the content is wider than the specified width, then the cell or table will expand to suit. In my case it is a long string of continuous text without spaces in, specifically a long URL.

I'm sure the wiser ones of you reading this will already be thinking CSS. Indeed, it gave me the answer. Specifically, CSS version 3, which is not supported on all browsers. Luckily iPhone's Safari browser is one of the few browsers that does support CSS3.

The answer came from searching for how to force text to wrap to a specific width, i.e. <p style="width: 900px; word-wrap: break-word"> which I found from this page:

http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t373091-wrap-long-url-in-table.html

Just bold

2008-08-24T22:38:00.001+01:00

So, now that that's working, the next question is what is the minimum? Can you get away with just having the first 5 words in your posting being in bold, or do you really need to have a mixture of italics in there too? This one just has the first 5 words in bold. We will see...

This time I'll include italics

2008-08-24T21:54:00.001+01:00

Well, something seems to have inserted unintended carriage-returns into my last post, so that proves, I guess, something. Maybe if I include some italics in this post, and some bold, then the richness of this text will prevail...?

Rich text or not rich text, that is the question

2008-08-24T21:47:00.000+01:00

So, that is good news. Sending a rich text email from gMail does not
prompt those spurious carriage-returns to be added. So, what about
Apple's Mail program on the Mac? I have just set up my gMail account
on my Mac's Mail program, just so I can test this, and the email I am
writing is rich text, in the sense that if I go to the Format menu at
the top of the screen it gives me the option to "Make Plain Text" --
which implies that it must already be in rich text form. But so far I
have not included any italics or bold or any other formatting, so
maybe it will make an executive decision when I hit 'Send' and will
unilaterally send it in plain text form only...

More spurious carriage-returns

2008-08-24T21:36:00.001+01:00

Well, there we are, the plain text email from gMail seems to have put in those unwanted carriage-returns. Annoying. Okay, well this time I am going to try with a Rich Text email within gMail. This sentence should be in italics. All the text so far is all on one line, so we'll see what happens this time...

Spurious carriage-returns

2008-08-24T21:28:00.001+01:00

What is it with spurious carriage-returns, or line-feeds, or whatever
is the correct name for them? First we had some problems at work
because some Javascript Include files were being exported from our
repository on a Windows PC and therefore included Windows-friendly
line-feed characters at the end of every line, and therefore made the
file itself slightly larger than it was in Unix format, and this then
caused the Javascript compilation limit to be reached, breaking the
page. Not good. Just goes to show another reason why Unix is better
than Windows.
And then with this email posting to Blogger shenanigans! It seems that
somehow in the email to blog post process, some additional line-feeds
or carriage-returns appear. Why is that?
Anyway, this is a plain text email written in gMail. I wonder whether
it will be affected...

How to post to Blogger from your iPhone via email

2008-08-23T23:04:00.006+01:00

So, my starting point was the old problem of the lack of copy and paste functionality on the iPhone. How on earth would one be able to post links to interesting web pages on one's iPhone without memorizing and typing back in the URLs? The answer comes via the use of email. So when you're on an interesting web page you can hit the plus button and there's a choice of 'Mail link to this page'. You can then craft an email that includes a link to that URL, along with any commentary, and send that off somewhere to an email address.

And blogging services such as iBloggin and Blogger have facilities that allow you to publish blog post via email. Here's the help page from Blogger:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=41452&topic=12461

Well, I set this up for this blog, but I had some confusing teething troubles. It seems this help page was not as helpful as it could have been...

1. When it tells you to keep the email address secret as anyone could post on your blog, that would lead one to believe one could send the email from any email address, wouldn't it? Well, I found that it only posts my email contents if I send the email from the email account belonging to the Google Account for that blogger identity. CORRECTION (24/Aug/08): It now seems like possibly it posts email contents from gMail addresses only, and maybe from any gMail address. As I learn more I will update this post... CORRECTION (29/Aug/08): It seems like all those .Mac emails I sent before eventually were accepted and started turning up as blog posts after a few days of delay. Now I'm very confused.

2. If you allow other authors to post on that blog, they will have to set up their own destination email address if they want to post to the blog via email.

I hope those two lessons will be useful to someone reading this and they will waste less time than I did in setting this up. Still, it was worth it for me in the end!

Sent from my iPhone

35 Free MP3 Songs

2008-05-01T22:44:00.001+01:00

35 Free MP3 Songs from eMusic - Adele: Chasing Pavements, Cold Shoulder; Cut Copy; The Weepies; Spoon; Aphex Twin; Aretha Franklin; and many more... click here.

Seesmic Slam, tenth respondent: keepdafunkalive

2008-02-12T09:38:00.000Z

Seesmic Slam, ninth respondent: kosso

2008-02-12T09:37:00.001Z

Seesmic Slam, eighth respondent: Steve Purkiss

2008-02-11T23:13:00.000Z

Seesmic Slam, seventh respondent: shannon

2008-02-11T23:12:00.001Z

Seesmic Slam, sixth respondent: obstructionist

2008-02-11T23:09:00.001Z

Seesmic Slam, fifth respondent: deek

2008-02-11T23:05:00.000Z

Seesmic Slam, fourth respondent: kathrynjones

2008-02-08T23:39:00.000Z

Seesmic Slam, third respondent: leoncych

2008-02-07T23:14:00.001Z

Seesmic Slam, second respondent: kittenfluff

2008-02-07T23:10:00.001Z

Seesmic Slam, first respondent: sizemore

2008-02-07T23:01:00.001Z

Seesmic Slam, anyone?

2008-02-06T22:50:00.000Z

Emilia's first tooth

2007-12-25T09:59:00.000Z

I noticed Emilia's first tooth emerging yesterday! It's the lower left incisor. I'm so proud!

Merry Christmas!

Mike McGee 24-hour poetry marathon online

2007-12-23T12:18:00.000Z

Check out what Mike's doing on BlogTV.com!

Nipper News featured on Podfinder UK!

2007-12-04T20:49:00.000Z

Nipper News has been featured on Podfinder UK, episode 33!

The bit where Jo talks about us is from 4:35 to 5:49. Thanks Jo!

Find out more at PodfinderUK.btpodshow.com

Nipper News

2007-09-28T14:06:00.000+01:00

Let me tell you about my new podcast: NipperNews! It's the UK news show for Mums and Dads all about babies and children, and how to raise them. Presented by Jana and Simon. Expecting a baby? Interested in parenting news? You can find out all about the show at www.NipperNews.co.uk

The Philadelphia Enquirer: Podcast options aplenty for poetry

2007-09-09T23:02:00.000+01:00

Here is Katie's excellent article on poetry podcasting, written with help from several members of the APP.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I publish her questions to me and my answers here:

Q: When did you start the APP and why? How many members does the APP have?

A: It started out in August 2005 when I suggested to Will Brown that we might start a Poetry Podcasting banner exchange, to allow some cross-promotion between podcasting sites with an interest in poetry. This exchange quickly grew, and an organic community grew around it where we discussed poetry podcasting issues via email.
In June 2006 it dawned on us that the Poetry Podcasting community needed to have a focal point for any parties interested in the subject, for instance, an authoritative voice to speak to journalists, a place for poetry podcasters (both established and new) to get together, and a place for listeners and poets to find relevant podcasts.
We launched the APP on July 1st 2006, with 10 founding members. See our press release here:
http://poetrypodcasting.org/2006-07-01PR.doc.pdf
The APP now has 33 members.

Q: Do you have a sense of how many people out there are podcasting poetry shows?

A: iTunes podcast search for the word 'Poetry' yields 139 matches. A bewildering array. The APP, in which eligibility for membership is judged by peers, hopes to provide listeners with the cream of poetry podcasts.

Q: Do you remember the first poetry podcast you ever heard, the one that got you excited about all this?

A: When I decided to create Slam Idol in March 2005 I was not aware of any poetry podcasts. I was aware of performance poetry, and I was aware of podcasting, but I was not inspired to put the two together by any pre-existing podcast. Once I had the idea, naturally I searched for poetry podcasts, and found poets like PodPoet (PodPoet.com) and Dan Adinolfi (Florn.net) podcasting their own poetry on their personal podcasts, but I thought I would be doing something new by bringing poets together competitively in my own podcast.

Q: How do you spread the word about the APP and its members?

A: We ask our members to provide a link to the APP's website on their own website, and we also encourage our members to play an audio 'sweeper' on their shows proclaiming their membership.

Q: Could you tell us about your Slam Idol podcast? Who gets to vote? Do you have a background in broadcast media yourself? (I really got a kick out of the different versions of the Gary Annal interview in your most recent episode, by the way. Also liked what I heard of Elvis McGonagall's poem and Elf Sex Planetary in Contest 19.)

A: Anyone can vote in the Slam Idol podcast, but I try to put mechanisms in place to prevent people from trying to vote more than once. The more genuine votes, the better! Likewise, anyone can compete - they just need to send me a poem they've written and performed themselves. I love the variety, from world champion Slam Poets recorded performing live on stage, to shy amateurs whispering into a microphone in their bedroom. All nationalities, ages, colours, genders and styles are welcome. In the last two and a half years I've done over 200 shows, run 17 contests in audio format and 2 contests in video format, featuring 86 poets and 36 interviews to date. One of the proudest moments was the one where I got 6 poets to write a poem especially for Slam Idol to a 10-day deadline, and got them to record an audio diary throughout the process. It really provided a fascinating insight into the creative process.
Slam Idol has been featured a couple of times in the Guardian, and also in The Sunday Times.

Q: Do you consider podcasts a boon to spoken word/performance poetry, or have they been beneficial for "traditional" print poetry as well?

A: Many of the poets featured on poetry podcasts also have poetry works available in print. They don't all have CD's or poetry gigs to promote, and yet they choose to promote their name and their works on poetry podcasts. Through podcasting they can gain exposure and customers for their written works too.

Selecting Full on this computer may result in degraded video playback

2007-09-07T19:38:00.000+01:00

When I attempt to import Full 1920x1080 video into iMovie '08 on my MacBook, it tells me "Selecting Full on this computer may result in degraded video playback". It doesn't tell me, however, what I can do about it. Is it the CPU? The graphics card? RAM? The slower Firewire 400? Is there a list of Mac models that can support full 1080 resolution? Do I need to switch to Final Cut?
There is a discussion on the Apple Support forums, but no answer yet...

I'm at Podcamp UK

2007-09-01T10:38:00.000+01:00

I'm at Podcamp UK why aren't you?

http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/podcampuk_videostreaming

Slam Idol Contest 19 is now voting

2007-08-26T22:56:00.000+01:00

Identity Theft sketch

2007-08-03T19:39:00.000+01:00

One of my favourite sketches from the recent series of That Mitchell and Webb Sound

Coutesy of That Mitchell and Webb log

Another fantastic issue of Podcast User Magazine

2007-08-03T01:26:00.000+01:00

The August issue of Podcast User Magazine is out now, and it's a cracking 60 pages in size! Download your copy of this bumper issue for free now!

Bad Sinatra is Not The Gillmor Gang

2007-07-23T12:25:00.000+01:00

Bad Sinatra is Not The Gillmor Gang. Don't use the RSS feed on the home page. That will give you a 750MB download. A decent RSS feed is: here.

PodCamp UK Video Promo

2007-07-22T17:06:00.000+01:00

Here's a promo by Paul Knight for PodCamp UK...

Click To Play

Runnymede campus sold off for new homes!

2007-07-15T16:21:00.000+01:00

I just found out about this while noodling around on facebook.

For those interested, Brunel University has agreed to sell Runnymede to 'Oracle Homes Runnymede Ltd' for £46.5 million:

http://www.brunel.ac.uk/news/pressoffice/cdata/runnymede

It seems that Oracle Homes is part of this company - http://www.oracle-group.com

This saddens me. Is it too much to hope that 'the covenant by which the Cheylesmore family donated/sold the campus to London County Council before the war meant that it always had to be used for educational use', may be able to save Runnymede from a horrible 'new homes' future use? Anything we can do to stop them ruining the stunning buildings and grounds? A petition?

ET Run 20070617

2007-06-17T21:37:00.000+01:00

Spent 30 relatively sedate minutes on the elliptical trainer today. Allegedly covered 2.17 miles and burned 273 calories.

Slam Idol Contest 18 is now voting

2007-06-10T21:51:00.000+01:00

Podcast User Magazine June issue

2007-06-01T20:10:00.000+01:00

Another fantastic issue of Podcast User Magazine is out now, available to be downloaded absolutely for free, and with a great new look! Check it out at www.podcastusermagazine.com

ET Session 20070528

2007-05-28T22:31:00.001+01:00

30 minutes on the Elliptical Trainer today. 2.07 miles. 263 calories.
Still leisurely. Barely built up a sweat.
Softly softly...

ET Run 20070523

2007-05-23T22:35:00.000+01:00

Today I actually went on the Ellyptical Trainer again after such a long time. Taking it a bit easy to start with:
30 minutes,
262 calories,
2.06 miles.

Also it was very nice to be featured on PodFinderUK episode 12. Thanks to Josephine and Co.
The movie file can be found here.

Podcast User Magazine May issue... with Andy

2007-05-01T08:09:00.000+01:00

Check out the May 2007 issue of Podcast User Magazine. It features lots of great content as usual, including a guest columnist - none other than my good friend Andy Taylor from the Rantings of a Northern Bloke. Good article Andy!
Check out this magazine everyone. It's a free download in PDF format, and features loads of great content for discerning podcast listeners, and productive podcasters, including...

John Cleese podcast
Lance Anderson meets Cush
Basic Audacity
Olympus DS40 reviewed
Mugglecast
Podcast Prime Time
Vobes Out Of Sync
Ewan Spence
Julian Smith
Tribute to Joe Murphy

ET Run 15-Apr-2007

2007-04-15T22:27:00.000+01:00

Today:
3.35 miles,
405 calories,
30 minutes.

Video promo

2007-04-12T08:06:00.001+01:00

Exciting times at PUM

2007-04-12T07:53:00.000+01:00

Mark Hunter is now in the hot seat over at Podcast User Magazine, and has made some appointments...

ET Run 7-Apr-2007

2007-04-07T13:49:00.000+01:00

Today
3.58 miles
429 calories
30 minutes

ET Run 6-4-07

2007-04-06T17:57:00.000+01:00

3.50 miles
420 calories
30 minutes

28 weeks!

2007-04-04T22:01:00.001+01:00

28 weeks today. Hurrah!

Podcast User Magazine Issue 15 (April 2007) is out now

2007-04-01T23:24:00.000+01:00

Podcast User Magazine Issue 15 is out now. It's the April 2007 issue.
My name has been placed against the Review Roulette segment, as usual, as the editor of the piece. This is not true, as an entire review was parachuted into the segment at the last minute, without even bothering to inform me. This is totally unprofessional behaviour, and I will not stand it.
Despite this, I must say it is another great issue of PUM, so go and download your copy for free as soon as possible, from http://www.podcastusermagazine.com.

ET Run 31-3-07

2007-03-31T23:59:00.000+01:00

Today
3.28 miles
395 calories

ET Run 30-3-07

2007-03-30T23:59:00.000+01:00

Today
3.23 miles
390 calories

ET Run 28-3-07

2007-03-28T00:00:00.000+01:00

Wednesday
3.50 miles
419 calories

Interruptions!

2007-01-08T23:13:00.000Z

Had a nice chat with Andy this evening on Video Skype. Almost did an audio-chat with Paul earlier, too. Interruptions, of course, while I was trying to record a Slam Idol show, but very welcome. I really miss those guys. Hope we can record a 3-way podcast some time soon.

Webmaster? I'm Spiderman!

2007-01-01T01:49:00.000Z

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		70%
Green Lantern		65%
Iron Man		60%
Superman		50%
Robin		45%
Hulk		45%
Supergirl		43%
Catwoman		35%
The Flash		35%
Batman		30%
Wonder Woman		18%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Thank IBIS for their WiFI

2006-12-23T13:10:00.000Z

At last I've found some Wi-Fi access here in Dresden: in the foyer of an IBIS hotel they have a Vodafone hotspot, and it only costs me €6.95 for 30 minutes of lovely Wi-Fi! At last I can upload my latest video podcast. Sorry for the delay!

Britcaster Forum now closed

2006-12-16T11:14:00.000Z

The Britcaster Forum closed last night. The end of an era.
Jon Buckley, over at Citizen Scoop has done a very good job of compiling a commemorative podcast to mark this sad occasion. Warning, it contains a rather embarrassing contribution by me. Take a listen!

You've got to hear this podcast

2006-11-28T13:02:00.000Z

You've got to hear this podcast featuring Brian Haw on Dissident Vox.
http://www.dissidentvox.com/blog/_archives/2006/11/21/2516014.html

PodcastCon UK 2006 was yesterday

2006-11-19T11:55:00.000Z

It was really great to meet up again with John Buckley, Kosso and Dr. Jo, TOTP Rob, Paul Nicholls, Janet and Parky, Neil Dixon, Adam Curry, Adrian Pegg, Phil Coyne and Alex Bellenger.
It was also cool to meet a lot of people for the first time, such as Linda Mills, Brendan Bolger and Brian Greene (who performed some amazing poetry of his in the pub afterwards - an audio recording of which will be in an upcoming Slam Idol).
It was a great conference again. Last year the talk was all about monetization, legally playing music, and the defense of indie-podcasting in the face of the onslaught of commercial radio content repackaged in podcast format. This year those subjects were still talked about, mostly by people that missed last year's conference. The main focus this year was on innovation and the complementary (rather than competing or converging) roles of podcasting and radio. Radio professionals should not lecture podcasters to operate according to established radio rules, but podcasters should not reject the knowledge-sharing being offered. We podcasters have to option to use their knowledge and techniques, and we can find the right balance between their established rules and the freedom from restrictions that we can take advantage of - whatever balance is right for us.
I recorded a Slam Idol (video) podcast while I was at the conference, which includes a recording of John Buckley interviewing me for Citizen Scoop. You can see lots of the attendees in the background. Expect to see this podcast on Slam Idol later on today...

Madge played my Haiku

2006-09-03T02:22:00.000+01:00

Aw, Madge played my Haiku on her Yeast Radio show 442, about 43 minutes in. That's so nice of her! Even though I wrote it myself, she was very kind about it. Shucks!

Poetic Audio-blogging challenge

2006-08-31T07:53:00.000+01:00

Will Brown and I have embarked upon a challenge to write and record a poem for each others shows (Will's show is Cloudy Day Art), and to record a daily audio-blog to document the progress.
Will's blog is here, and the feed is here. I'm using my existing personal feed.
The deadline is September 9th.

Cool cover of Hey Ya

2006-08-27T12:52:00.000+01:00

This is pretty cool. Adrian Pegg pointed to this youTube video of a beautiful cover version of 'Hey Ya'.

I wish...

2006-08-13T01:14:00.000+01:00

I wish Israel would act like a grown up country and stop killing Lebanese civilians, especially as a lot of the victims are children.
I also wish the UK and USA governments would stop trying to create a 1984 society with their 'war on terror' and all these suspiciously fake-looking terrorist attacks, engendering racial fear of the enemy within, and using all this to 'protect' their citizens with constant surveillance (biometrics identity cards, RFID tags, plundering of ISP and mobile telephone network data, etc., etc.) and legislation enabling them to silence, expel and detain people without evidence for great lengths of time.

Tony's off round the World

2006-08-04T15:27:00.000+01:00

Tony Lees and his girlfriend Nikki are off around the World. I wonder whether they'll find somewhere they prefer to be rather than here in England. Probably.

Podcast Magazine Issue 6 is out!

2006-07-01T11:53:00.000+01:00

Another fantastic issue of Podcast User Magazine has just hit the podosphere, and you can win a great sE Electronics Reflexion Filter!

Aren't you glad he calls?

2006-05-11T23:29:00.000+01:00

I got a call from Podshow today. This could get interesting!

Will Saunders of the BBC

2006-04-08T00:45:00.000+01:00

In the Drill Hall bar after the recording of The Now Show on Thursday, I had a great chat with Will Saunders, Deputy Head of BBC Radio Comedy, about podcasting and The Now Show. You can hear the recording I made on my personal podcast feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/SimonToon.

BBC picks up the Gervais gauntlet

2006-04-07T08:02:00.000+01:00

BBC flagship comedy podcast, The Now Show, hits the podosphere tonight. I was lucky enough to be invited to see the recording of the topical comedy show last night, which will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 6.30pm and then be made available as a podcast at 7pm. It was an absolutely hilarious show, and included a very funny podcasting-oriented song by Mitch Benn, which may or may not make it into the final edit.
I've been a fan of this radio show for many years, and it's great to see it join the BBC's podcasting trial. It's a flagship in my book, as it is BBC radio's first proper comedy show to break through all the comedy writer licensing issues and be made available for people to download for free and store on their hard drives in perpetuity. I hope this will be the first of many, and if it is successful in the podosphere I'm sure it will be.
The keys to its success in the podosphere will be the quality of the writing, and the position the BBC has in being able to offer its content to the public for free, due to the unique way in which the BBC is funding. Therefore it will always remain a free podcast, unlike the Ricky Gervais podcast which, after a hugely successful free first series, has transitioned into a paid model. I just don't think the podosphere is ready to support paid content - if the BBC can be successful in producing such high quality shows and podcasting them for free, then the download numbers for these show will soon eclipse the likes of Gervais.
Is The Now Show the BBC's answer to the Ricky Gervais podcast? I think so!

Download at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4

A Bit of Fry and Laurie Series 1 on DVD

2006-03-30T22:11:00.000+01:00

It worked! The petition worked! A Bit of Fry and Laurie Series 1 will be available on DVD from Monday!

Rantings of a Northern Bloke Show 29

2006-03-28T22:26:00.000+01:00

Today I did a show of The Rantings of a Northern Bloke for Andy while he's away in Wales. Well, actually Andy did all the talking really, recording it on my answerphone. I just did all the technical stuff. Fun! I hope I can do that again. Hopefully also Paul will record something for the show soon.

PodSlam

2006-03-14T12:46:00.000Z

Wow, look at this cool new video podcast: PodSlam. It's a Denver-based, very polished video variation on my Slam Idol podcast.
I think it is rather cheeky of them to claim "PodSlam is the first online poetry slam" (here and here) and I hope they will retract this claim, but I think their content is very good, and I welcome them onto the poetry podcasting scene.

PodcastUser Magazine Issue 2

2006-03-02T12:59:00.000Z

Issue 2 of PodcastUser Magazine is now available to download for FREE! You can also susbcribe to an RSS feed to get the new issues immediately! I've got an article in there and Andy Taylor has got a letter in there aswell. Enjoy!

Incompetant or a Liar?

2006-03-02T08:24:00.000Z

BBC News: Video shows Bush Katrina warning

USA President Bush, the man who said no-one could have foreseen the breach of the levees in New Orleans, has been shown on video being told by Michael Brown that the levees had a strong possibilty of breaching and that all available resources should be made available. Bush is either incompetant, or a liar. Either way, he is unfit for office and must go.

Save Peep Show

2006-02-19T18:37:00.000Z

Adrian Pegg has done it again: he has pointed out this petition hoping to get Channel 4 to make Peep Show series 4.

Podcast Magazine

2006-02-04T13:53:00.000Z

The Podcast Magazine I have been involved with seems to have gone down really well! It's called Podcast User Magazine, but it's not just for users – it's also for podcast creators and businesses interested in using podcasting. It's a free PDF download, too! Check it out!

Podcast User Magazine Issue 1 is out!

2006-02-02T08:51:00.000Z

It's out! Podcast User Magazine is now available to download! Well done and congratulations to everyone involved in its production. You all worked bloody hard. Download it, and blog about it, now! Point to it here: http://podcastusermagazine.com

Podcast User Magazine

2006-01-30T20:42:00.000Z

Just like podcastpaul and Phil Coyne, I'm jolly excited to have an article of mine published in the new : Podcast User magazine that will be coming out very very soon. Keep checking here for further details.
(Sorry, Paul, it's no longer an exclusive for you.)

Stop the War; impeach Bush!

2006-01-07T23:27:00.000Z

Please everyone, sign this petition for 'A bit of Fry and Laurie' to be released on DVD.

Exposing your 8-year-old diary

2006-01-07T13:08:00.000Z

I think Andy is amazingly brave to read out his own private diary from 8 years ago on his podcast. I wonder if his wife has heard it? Knowing Andy, she probably has. Anyway I think it's really touching to hear what was important to him in his life back then when he must have been about 17 years of age. It's really cool that he is doing this.
By the way, I still owe you some happy new year wishes: Happy New Year!

That Mitchell and Webb Look

2005-11-26T12:03:00.000Z

Here is some awesome news. Why I why did it take the BBC so long to realise the talent in these two excellent comedy writers? I'm so looking forward to this pilot.

Loomia

2005-11-15T13:00:00.000Z

Hey, this could be just what what Madge Weinstein and I are looking for. Now they just need to make it plug into the rating system on the iPod and iTunes and it will be perfect!

ExpOpml

2005-11-14T15:05:00.000Z

Kosso make a very good point here. Surely podcasters couldn't be that short sighted? The site is completely oriented to pre-selling the Expo. At least Britcaster.com provided a forum for PodcastCon UK, before and after.

Stephen Fry on Chris Evans BBC Radio 2

2005-11-02T20:32:00.000Z

Here is the MP3 file that Paul was asking for.

Trackback Marshall

2005-10-26T22:46:00.000+01:00

I wonder whether Paul will teach me how to trackback.

Yesterday evening I went to see Stephen Fry

2005-10-26T22:44:00.000+01:00

Yesterday evening I went to see Stephen Fry talking about his new book, 'The Ode Less Travelled' at the Institute of Education (sponsored by Blackwell's) in London. It was a marvellous evening, and at the end he was nice enough to sign books for the huge queue of fans. I was near the back of the queue, so I had to wait for ages, but when I introduced myself he remembered me and jumped up to shake my hand, which was a nice boost to my ego, as I'm sure you'd imagine. He also congratulated me on the Slam Idol podcast and told me he has subscribed. Wowee! I thanked him for being such an inspiration, and left on a bit of a cloud.
(I include a link to someone else's photograph of the signing.)

2005-10-05T22:23:00.000+01:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Last day, first day

2005-10-03T21:35:00.000+01:00

Well, today was my first day working at my new job. I was apprehensive of course, due to my nervousness at changing jobs. I spent 3 fabulous years at my old firm, and learned so much, and really became integral - part of the furniture. I am very sad to leave behind so many wonderful colleagues, who were (mostly) lovely people and very kind to me. If you, reader, are among that number then you'll know I would love you to remain in touch. I had a small but wonderful leaving meal on Thursday, and though it was a shame that not all of the people that wanted to come were able to, I'm sure we'll meet, and eat, again.
Thursday seems like a very long time ago, so back to today. Despite my aforementioned apprehension it was a very good day and I'm really excited about the new challenges that lie ahead of me. My new colleagues all seem to be very nice and welcoming. How I wish I could memorise all their names on the first day, but of course that is impossible. I'm sure I remember being just as bewildered by the vast array of new faces 3 years ago, and indeed 6 years ago when I started at the previous firm, so I'm sure I'll get to know all my new colleagues just as well.
Similar is the feeling of frustration I have that there is so much knowledge I have yet to learn before I can perform to my full potential in my new job. Again I can cast my mind back to 3 years ago, when there seemed to be so much going on at my firm that I couldn't begin to comprehend, but in the end I suppose I managed to learn a lot of what there was to know and more than I needed to know. Here's hoping that history will repeat itself. I'm very hopeful that it will, and that I will prove to surpass the expectations that my new employers have of me. Likewise, I am full of hope that I'm going to love my new job just as much as I did my last one.

Me-casting

2005-09-24T12:22:00.000+01:00

Great 'cast John.

Some people I'm most thrilled that I met yesterday:

2005-09-18T15:42:00.000+01:00

Adrian Pegg, Alex Bellinger from SmallBizPod, Chris Skinner from Simulacrum, Jen and Neil Dixon, John from Dissident Vox, Dr. Jo Twist, Kosso, PodcastPaul, Phil Campbell from R3wind, Phil Coyne from BitJobs, Rob and Jon from TopOfThePods.

The back of my head

2005-09-18T12:55:00.000+01:00

I'm amazed at how many photos there are of the back of my head on the PodcastConUK Flickr page.

PodcastCon UK was yesterday

2005-09-18T11:16:00.000+01:00

I had a great time yesterday at PodcastCon UK. Everyone was really nice and it was so good to hear what people are doing with podcasting, how they're doing it, and what their approach is. It was fabulous to meet everyone at last, and share a few beers and a nice Chinese meal. It was a shame that Chris Kimber of the BBC only got to field one question, which meant that the Indie Podcasters were forced to save up any anti-establishment venom for James Cridland of Virgin Radio when he delivered his speech. There are two sides (at least) to every story, and it may be a bit naive of either side to believe that it really understands podcasting and the others just don't 'get it'. Even this episdode, however, played itself out in a well natured manner, James handled it well and even came to the pub with the Indies. I can't say enough times how nice all the people were, and it was wonderful to meet most of UK podcasting's minor celebrities. The day was a great success, and ran very smoothly, which is a trubute to how very well it was organised by Adrian, Alex, Neil and Paul.