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Newsnight

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:39:42 GMT

Another BBC podcast.... Newsnight has been the flagship TV news programme of the BBC for 27 years now, and is famous for giving politicians of all hues a really tough time. This is not your Fox News kind of set up, where one guy is given all the talking points, and then the interviewer rips into the other guy. Tough questions are aimed at everyone, and answers are pursued if the interviewee has tried to side step a question.

As part of a trial the BBC has been producing a weekly podcast comprised of some of the highlights of the week's stories, and I really enjoy it. It is exactly this kind of media, which enables me to remain in touch with the UK that I could not do without.

My Rating 8/10

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That is all.

LostInTheWoods

Security Now

Tue, 08 May 2007 12:36:05 GMT

The last company I worked for was computer security mad. Anyway, once the corporate brainwashing wore off a little, my own self protection started to take hold. There are lots of nasties out here on the internet, so I thought I would get informed and protect myself.

I found the “Security Now” podcast a few months ago, and it is quite good. There a few things you will need to ignore/discard/tolerate.

Some of the things they discuss can get quite technical, but usually out of it comes some good advice. Be prepared to look a few things up on the net (I did) to get the full benefit of the show.
Maybe it's because I am used to listening to podcasts produced by the BBC or volunteers. But this show has sponsors, but it does go a little over the top with the spiel the presenter gives each time.
The expert on the show is Steve Gibson who develops his own security and data security software. The latest of which is some hard disk recovery software, which he hawks EVERY show. For me it went like this for the first four podcasts I listened to:

FIRST MENTION: ....mmm, that sounds like something I may need one day....mmm

SECOND MENTION: ...didn't they talk about this for five minutes on the last podcast... spin on already....

THIRD MENTION: ...yeah I know spin-rite is great, it healed my sister of rickets, now get to the meat of the podcast....

FOURTH (consecutive) MENTION: ...aaarrrrgghhhhh.... I can't take any more. You are a time burglar, you are stealing my time.... arrgghh!!!

And breathe. Maybe I am not used to as many adverts, sponsors, co-sponsors and “special mentions” as you find in the USA. I know, the podcast is free, but other content providers manage to produce a revenue stream that is not as annoying to the listener.

Anyway all this aside, I continue to listen as it is quite interesting. I am the kind of guy who people ask to fix their computers. I am not an expert, but this show gives me a heads up on things to try if someone's PC is in trouble, and how to protect PCs in general.

My Rating: 6/10

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That is all.
LostInThheWoods

I Protest!

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:29:35 GMT

Not quite a podcast this, but it is a streaming radio show by the BBC. A couple of years ago the British Parliament passed a law preventing people from conducting peaceful protests outside Parliament and a large surrounding area. This was seen as many as an infringement of the right for peaceful protest and free speech.

Enter left, Mark Thomas. He then in his radio show describes the hilarity and farce of following the new law. It has everything from a séance with Winston Churchill, a plethora of exotic protests and protest application written on a cake in icing.

It is hilarious, Even if you have no interest in the new law, or British politics, the absurdities of modern life are laid out in a very funny way. But hurry, the BBC will only have it on their site until Thursday 5^th April.

How to get the stream?

Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/ , and in the “Listen by Genre” panel on the right, click the speech tab, and then click “Comedy and Quizzes”. A radio player pop up will appear, scroll down to “Mark Thomas - My Life in Serious Organised Crime.” and click.

OR.... I have just found out you can download a MP3 of the show from here.

My rating for this show... 9/10. I was crying with laughter at one point.

That is all.

LostInTheWoods

Mark Kermode's Film Reviews

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 16:07:57 GMT

This is a weekly film review slot on BBC's Radio Five Live, which is the main BBC News and Sport radio station. On Friday afternoon's, on a show hosted by Simon Mayo, Mark Kermode is allowed to share the airwaves for the last hour of the show.

Usually the first item on the agenda, is a run down of the UK Top Ten Films based on film attendances for the past week. Each film receives a pithy comment from Mark, and occasionally, a special guest (usually a film maker or actor/ess) chip in.

Next is a review of the films released that week in the UK, so if you are in the states, you would here reviews of films that have been out for a while. His style is quite aggressively passionate. He really seems to care deeply about film, and his reviews always go beyond the usual obvious criticisms. With a tendency to rant, it is always an entertaining end to a Friday afternoon, and even if you don't have a specific interest in film, you will find this more entertaining than a film review section on any other radio station.

If you hear frequent references to “The Exorcist”, this is because this is Mark's favourite film, and he will find find any reason to shoe horn in an Exorcist connection to anything.

My Rating: 9/10

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That is all.

LostInTheWoods

The Digital Planet

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:27:50 GMT

Each week I intend to tell you about the wallpaper of my life. Podcasts. They are very useful for educating, entertaining and enlightening yourself.

I am going to start with a weekly BBC technology based podcast called “The Digital Planet” which deals with recent and imminent developments in IT and technology. It is aimed at the layman but is still very informative. The show often covers the big electronic and computer exhibitions around the world and often takes a broad approach to technology and how it impacts us now and in the future.

My Rating: 8/10

Get the feed here:

That is all.

LostInTheWoods

Taa Dah! (or How did I get here?)

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:24:29 GMT

It seems to me, anyone who can bash a keyboard is blogging.... so here we go, this is my attempt at this new fangled phenomenon.

First thing you have to do, is select a category for this blog post... seeing as I haven't got a clue what to write about (joining the majority of the blogosphere then), I have gone for 'life', as this might make me sound deep.

As it seems most people have been blogging for what seems forever, I am not sure what to put in my first post... but here goes... the title sums up what is coming.

About two years ago, I didn't make a decision, it kind of crept up on me, and imposed itself on me. The decision was to leave the town, and more substantially, the country of my birth. Lots of things came together at once.... boring but fairly well paid job... even crap accomodation was expensive... learning a language with little opportunity to use it... and my girlfriend was kind of missing her home country.

So I broke the news to all my nearest and dearest that I would be leaving behind, and it was quite a moving experience. For some it was a surprise, for some no suprise at all. I choked up telling my father... and I got very touching messages in my leaving card when I left work. Some people asked me "When are you coming back to the UK?". My answer was truthful, yet sounded odd when I said it out loud: "Erm... based on current plans... never. (gulp)".

So a moving firm was booked, bills paid, plane ticket purchased, most of our worldly goods sold at local car boot sales or on eBay, and we were gone... well nearly.

One of the last things we did before going was to tell my "Nanna", who was in her 94^th year, that we were leaving the country for good. Her hearing was not so good, but I think she understood we were going to live abroad, and not just go on holiday. Sadly, five days after flying to our new home, she died, and we soon were heading back for the funeral. She was my last grandparent to pass away, and I still miss her and the two granddads that my brother and I grew up knowing.

So fast forward eighteen months to now... looking back over the time since then, many of life's frustrations have gone, replaced with just a few minor ones... and life is good. I have now realised, that I do not miss the place of my birth, just the people I know, and have known there.

So in my next post, I'll tell you where we moved too, and some of the the things I have learnt and discovered since getting here.

Thank you for reading this post.
That is all.

LostInTheWoods