Daniel Hoult's Blog

Blog is retired

2011-03-24T19:30:00.002Z

With only 11 posts on this blog in 2010 the future's not looking good.

And it's all Twitter's fault as that is where I tend to post comments and link to pics, so @DanielHoult takes over and the blog comes off my website.

Dog grooming

2010-08-28T12:35:00.001+01:00

Dog grooming
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

Betty gets in on Bella's grooming

Matilda and Betty

2010-08-14T21:35:00.001+01:00

Matilda and Betty
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

It seems they're not on talking terms.

Frog in the sun

2010-07-03T12:19:00.003+01:00

Here is how to enjoy a sunny Saturday afternoon in the sun!

Frog in the sun
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

Bella's recovery

2010-06-28T17:38:00.000+01:00

Bella's recovery
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

Last week was the second major hip op for Bella so it's been a long weekend as she had it done on Friday. X-rays of the first hip show it was successful and she has recovered well. It may seem cruel to do the same thing again but it needs doing while she is young.

She may look a bit sorry but she is much brighter in herself. By the end of Sumner she should be better than new. Oh and her hair will have grown to a nice length again!

Reach Meet all over

2010-05-31T22:31:00.000+01:00

Well after so much planning and many miles of driving, and studio building the Reach Meet and TCR fm open day is complete. The photos of the Reach Meet are on my Flickr account for all to see here. Both Reach and TCR fm had a successful day, lots of people left happy after the day. Here's to the next one!

Bella in Spring

2010-04-10T16:48:00.002+01:00

Spring2010-11.jpg
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

I spent some of the nice weather in the garden with my camera, plus the dog, cat and hens.

Take a look at the Spring set now: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dehoult/sets/72157623700170551/

Website Refresh

2010-03-13T22:00:00.002Z

Over this last week I've finally had opportunity to refresh the look of my main website. It was a bit stuck in the past so it's had a small makeover, and white is the new blue ;-) There are new links to my flickr album, twitter and facebook. Most priority is given to TCR fm and Reach OnAir which is where most of my time goes anyway.

During the update I also produced new audio demos for presenting and newsreading - they were only 4 years out of date!

Broadcasting weekend

2010-02-28T21:55:00.002Z

Sunday night is here again and is usually a time when I have an hour to collect my thoughts before getting ready for the next working week.

This weekend has been a bit quiet over at TCR fm, so instead of my 9am breakfast show I was in "cover mode" for the 11am presenter on Saturday and Sunday, and that meant 2 x 3 hour shows. Seeing as I was used to 2 hours at a time that felt like a lot to me. Saturday I managed to break studio 2's computer while sorting out a new hard drive. I learnt the hard way how not to do things. All was fixed by the end of my show on Sunday (and who said I was no good at multitasking).

Then, no rest on returning home as it was Reach OnAir's monthly "Your Voice" show with the rest of the management team. We unveiled some neat new features and asked for more feedback on suggestions put forwards. The show will soon be in podcast form from ReachOnAir.com

So, feeling rather tired, I'd say it is possible to have too much of a good thing. I won't be stepping near a microphone until next weekend. Phew!

Your Voice (and my voice)

2010-02-17T20:49:00.002Z

Our Reach OnAir "Your Voice" show is now available to download as a podcast, and subscribe to directly in iTunes.

Each month we'll be hosting a similar show for feedback and views about what goes on at Reach OnAir. Join in by listening live, as our next show is on 28th February at 7pm.

Meanwhile you can see some of the new features appearing on the homepage of ReachOnAir.com as Chris, Bertie, Aaron and myself have been hard at work.

Bella likes chicken(s)

2010-01-18T21:49:00.001Z

Dog meet chicken
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

To celebrate the return of milder weather, and to remind us of the January snow and ice , here is Bella our labradoodle trying to play with our two hens Martha and Matilda in the snow.

More snowy pictures on my flickr.

Happy New Year for 2010

2010-01-01T12:11:00.003Z

I kind of missed the last 3 months of blogging, and that's probably because of twitter (I'm @DanielHoult). It may be short on words but it's quick and easy.

Anyway, before we get any further into 2010, the last 3 months can be summed up very concisely: TCR fm launched on 31st October. Now we have a full time licence it's hard not to live at the studios. And we have a new pet, Bella the black Labradoodle who is now about 3 months old and settling in (although the cats may have a different opinion). In other news Reach OnAir held the first ever presenter meet on 12th December with over 20 people present. Finally work is ever busy and set to get busier as we move into nice new offices at the end of January.

So Happy New Year for 2010.

Happy 18th Birthday Matt

2009-09-20T23:37:00.001+01:00

Matt 18 cake
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

Happy Birthday to my nephew Matthew who turned 18 today!

Here he is after a great meal at Jimmy Spice's blowing out his candles. Don't try this at home - candles in hot fudge cake don't last long!

2009-09-12T10:55:00.004+01:00

I seem to have missed most of the summer blogging but that's just because I like being busy. Most of that time has gone on setting a launch date for TCR fm, to be a full time community radio station in Tamworth. We are ready to reveal the launch date very soon. See www.tcrfm.co.uk and keep up with our twittering at www.twitter.com/TCRfmTamworth

But this post is about Reach OnAir because today will be my last afternoon slot. I'm just taking a back seat from the presenting while we work hard on TCR fm. I've been doing Saturday afternoons since the station launched in May 2008 so it will be a bit odd not having a show, especially as I will still be in the studio with our new trainees and new members. I was comfortable in a Saturday afternoon slot because that is where I began on CMP Radio in 2003, same slot, same show features so it's about time to give it a rest! Plus there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything and this will give our new TCR members more hours on a Saturday afternoon as we move TCR's times to 2-6pm on Saturdays starting next week.

Join me from 6pm for the last Muddled Music, 60's at 6 and I'll be forced to fill the show with my favourites! www.ReachOnAir.com

Aaron & Dan site videos

2009-06-20T12:40:00.002+01:00

After the Reach OnAir birthday of 23rd May, I had a special 3 hour show with Aaron, the first one since the New Year celebrations. As we were in Reach's main studio I thought I'd record the view, with 1 video from my presenting seat and 1 from Aaron's co-presenting seat.

The ADOA.co.uk site has been updated so take a look, and the 2 videos are on You Tube and on our site. My 37 second video is below.

Reach's Birthday Present & Aaron and Dan!

2009-05-24T11:15:00.002+01:00

It's officially Reach OnAir's proper first birthday today! We celebrated with a birthday show with Reach Management yesterday. We also released the signup form for new Reach Loyalty accounts which will launch on Sunday 7th June with the new revamped station.

And I'm back on air this afternoon with a special Aaron and Dan show from 1pm. And if Aaron's experiment pays off there will be a streaming webcam live during the show. Tune in!

Martha and Matilda

2009-05-10T13:11:00.003+01:00

Here are our latest additions at home. They are Rhode Island Red cross Sussex hens who are truly free range exploring the garden!

I think I'm going to have to find a new favourite sandwich filling though!

Reach for...

2009-05-04T21:13:00.002+01:00

... change!

Internet radio station Reach OnAir is going to be 1 year old on 24th May and in these tough times to keep Reach going we are introducing a subscription pay account. Note there will be a free account available but with fewer features, although broadcasting itself is still totally free.

Today we revelaed the PDF of all the new changes, as it's a lot more than just charging a fee. Change is coming to Reach. This 10 page PDF, released today, explains all the new features coming next month.

facebook is 5!

2009-02-04T22:03:00.003Z

Social networking site facebook is 5 years old. See this PC World article for 5 reasons why it has been so successful. Ironically I thought I'd post that here and not somewhere on facebook being as I don't use it very much... I'm just not very good being social! ;-)

Winter at it's worst!

2009-02-02T20:20:00.002Z

Snow 2nd February 2009
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

This morning we woke up to as much snow as they promised.

This was 8am this morning, and it's been snowing on and off all day. It's only going to get worse but I had to take some pleasure and do a short video and a couple of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dehoult/3248575200/in/photostream/

Ecofont!

2009-01-17T23:46:00.002Z

Going green is always important, and now there's a font to help those that print too much. I featured it on my Reach OnAir show earlier too. The Ecofont cleverly uses 20% less ink by putting holes in the letters. You can't really see them on font size 12 and smaller but that's the idea. It's free and available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux at www.ecofont.eu

It works even better if you print on both sides of the page.... or not at all! ;-)

Merry Christmas from TCR fm

2008-12-21T17:50:00.002Z

After a little bit of fiddling I managed to convert TCR fm's christmas card into an electronic format so no-one needs to be left out!

Click here to view the card and small message.

Night Sky

2008-12-14T16:13:00.001Z

Night Sky
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

The evening sky of my part of the world just after 4pm tonight.

Happy Birthday to me

2008-12-04T22:54:00.004Z

Another 4th Decemeber and now I am a quarter of a century old, as I have been constantly told today!

That sounds old!

I write this as there is just an hour of birthday left, but its been a packed day of work > presents > meal out, then playing with presents! ;-)

Win fancy dress in time for Christmas

2008-11-16T15:41:00.004Z

Thanks to The Joker's Masquerade I have a big fancy dress giveaway on my Saturday show on Reach OnAir.

Up until 25th November you can submit your own fancy dress pictures to joke@reachonair.com. The best fancy dress will be judged by The Joker's Masquerade themselves and will win a brand new fancy dress costumer ready for a big Christmas party! Checkout joke.co.uk for some inspiration!

The winner will be announced on my show Saturday 29th November on Reach OnAir live from 5pm.

Win with Reach OnAir

2008-10-26T22:05:00.001Z

It was good to be back on air on Reach and it was a really busy show. It was the first one with a major prize from our sponsor Joker's Masquerade. This shot shows the studio drowning in paper prep during the show.

In a major Halloween themed show I gave away 2 adult fancy dress costumes just in time for next Friday 31st October. More give sways to come on the next show.

Radio weekend

2008-10-20T23:36:00.001+01:00

I had a very busy weekend with both radio stations, travelling around 600 miles between Saturday and Sunday. First was a TCR trip to Somerset to visit 10 Radio (www.10radio.org) a community radio station that has been underway full time since January. Thanks to them for taking a chunk out if their day and let the TCR fm team pick their brains about all things broadcast related. Then Sunday was another trip to Essex for the Reach Forward show on Reach OnAir (reachinair.com). Thanks to the hard work of MWS Media and Reachwe had loads of new competitions to reveal and new sung imaging as well as new software all for free. It's been quite an expansion at Reach. The return trip on Monday made up the last of the 600 miles.

Aaron and Dan On Air

2008-08-24T10:21:00.001+01:00

P1000650.JPG
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

This morning its the morning after the show before! Aaron joined me for the first show we've done on Reach OnAir. 5-7pm went very quickly. So much so that we decided to do it all again tonight 9pm to midnight! The show has had a bit of revamp with new imaging and so too has our website.

Meanwhile check out the revamped site at www.ADOA.co.uk for photos and show clips, and very soon a behind-the-scenes video (in high definition no less!)

Technical support

2008-08-14T21:35:00.003+01:00

I was sent a link to this animation online. Jeb works in technical support here a bit like me. If you want to know what I do, this is pretty accurate and funny too. Take a look around the site too, Weakend Productions have some other great animations.

Wii with lego

2008-07-29T23:10:00.001+01:00

This is a super YouTube video combining 2 of the best things, lego and the Wii. I bet it took a while to sort out all the white lego bricks for this one!

Jersey and back

2008-07-14T21:27:00.001+01:00

P1000074.JPG
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

Just as we have left Jersey after a week and we miss some exciting news; lots of smoke closes the airport (BBC News article)

This is the view from the hotel room overlooking the mariner. It was a nice long holiday with lots of sun and a great game of crazy golf. Mini video to come online a little later. In the mean time you can view the Flickr set of photos online here.

New view for a week...

2008-07-05T15:26:00.001+01:00

P1000068.JPG
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

The waterfront at St Helier in Jersey. This is the view from my hotel room and the blue sky and sunshine isn't computer enhanced! It's so nice to see as it's been a long journey.

We set out just after 12.30am having had a few hours sleep beforehand and drove through the night to the ferry at Weymouth for 5.30am and after a brief change of passengers at Guernsey we arrived in Jersey just after 10am. Here's hoping for a great week.

I can lick my nose

2008-06-29T19:49:00.001+01:00

I can lick my nose
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

While testing out my new Panasonic Lumix camera Mabel the cat proves she can lick her nose! What timing!

Firefox 3 and beyond

2008-06-22T18:40:00.003+01:00

OK, so I was one of the 8 million downloading the new Firefox 3 web browser earlier in the week and helped them set a new record. I've been a FF user for years. Tabbed browsing took me across from IE, and the add ons kept me!

Something that is particularly impressive (and available for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on Windows and Mac) is PicLens. It's a cool way to browse pictures and photos online. Who said these things had to sit on plain old web pages? Well they don't! You get a 3D wall to quickly scroll through content and zoom in on what you want. The integration with the browser is pretty seamless so it's no extra effort and works with most image search engines, flickr, You Tube and social networking sites. Take a look, it could change the way you browse multimedia. And it looks cool too!

Reach - show 2

2008-06-07T23:14:00.003+01:00

Well show number 2 is over on Reach OnAir and I am just about settling in to the idea of doing a weekly radio show again now. I've been off air a fair while before although never that far away from doing something to do with broadcasting.

All went well with the show, my show features are fitting in to some kind of time plan, even the Saturday 60's At Six now I've blown the dust off them! Lickety Split Wit is proving popular too. You can hear it at 6.30 during my show and then grab a downloaded version after. Thumbs up to the guys at MWS Media for putting it together.

Talking of together I forgot to wear my Reach OnAir t-shirt for the show and I forgot to take the clock to the studio too, both of which I bought from our very own Reach store.

I have only found one draw back from doing a Saturday evening show and that is having to record Doctor Who to watch later. Oh well!

I have just put live my web page for the show, so take a look here.

Reach for the radio...

2008-05-31T21:03:00.002+01:00

Well after a super weekend last week launching Reach OnAir in the Essex HQ with Aaron and the rest of the management it was my turn today to get back presenting my own individual show. I opted to go back for my old favourite Saturday afternoon at 5pm. This time though I wasn't presenting from home but from the TCR fm studio as other members of TCR are also presenting from there, on Reach. Just think of it as 2 stations helping each other out!

The show went without a hitch, bringing back the Muddled Music competition and the Saturday 60's at 6 tracks. Plus you can hear the comedy sketch show Lickety Split Wit each week at 6.30pm. More info on the members page of ReachOnAir and I will soon have my show page online on my own website.

Internet updates

2008-05-11T18:33:00.003+01:00

With 13 days to go until Reach OnAir launches a new Internet radio station, I thought it was time my websites got a bit of a refresh, so they are now "Reach" aware! DanielHoult.co.uk has had a facelift with new pages to follow and ADOA.co.uk is getting ready for Reach too.

So many things to do, don't forget to join us at 12 midday for the launch on Saturday 24th where we'll all be at Reach HQ.

Please don't stop the music

2008-04-30T21:32:00.003+01:00

Things are going to go quiet for music lovers who own MSN Music. Like most online music stores they used digital rights protection on the songs sold, but since MSN Music hasn't been active for a few years Microsoft decided that running the servers for the licences is too much like hard work so they're getting switched off. Bye bye music. It's a bit alarming as it could happy one day to other electronically protected content like music and movies. Ouch.

Relax, take it easy!

2008-04-13T22:56:00.001+01:00

Maisy table relax outside
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

One for animal lovers, this is a photo of our OES Maisy who often tries to sit on outside chairs but this time climbed onto the table and went to sleep! She obviously knows the difference between inside and out... she doesn't try sitting on the kitchen table!

Published Photos

2008-04-06T11:37:00.002+01:00

Good old Flickr, publicising millions of photos from it's members has aided one of my photos from a holiday in Rome being published in a Schmap guide to Italy. See the guide here. My photo is of The Fountain of the Four Rivers in the centre of Piazza Navona and is credited as such.

iLove Malta

2008-03-15T14:50:00.001Z

Malta08d7-71.JPG
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

A week ago I was on holiday in Malta and this time I was armed not just with the still camera but a digital camcorder. I managed a final count of 309 photos (after trashing some). Since I've been back I've been working on the several gigabytes of video footage. This is one of my favourite snaps of all, framed just like a postcard... and they say don't work with animals!

When I bought my Mac laptop I wasn't intending to edit movies but the free iLife software has been super to use. I won't pretend I could edit together a feature film with iMovie's 12 transitions but ease of use is the best for any software I've ever used. The swish DVD menu from iDVD adds a bit of professional polish to it all. The only drawback it takes a long time to export and burn the video. My Mac's on fire... almost literally!

Happy 50th Birthday Lego

2008-01-29T20:02:00.000Z

I couldn't let the week go without posting a happy birthday to the humble lego brick. I was a big lego fan and must have lots of bricks stored away somewhere gathering dust. It wasn't until I happened by Google at work (it's my homepage) I saw their Google Lego logo. One better than that is this picture of Google actually IN lego! Read more about it for lots of Lego related facts such as, did you know the bricks are produced in special plants in Denmark, the Czech Republic and Mexico?

TCR fm Community Radio

2008-01-17T19:47:00.000Z

This week saw the deadline for applying for a community radio licence in the West Midlands and Lincolnshire. I have been hard at work with Martin to get TCR fm's application in. Now it's on the list of applicants the waiting begins. There's no telling how long before Ofcom reach a decision as it has varied a lot in the past. We're keeping our fingers crossed that Ofcom appreciate our project and ideas. The application form was quite a work of art! ;-)

Aaron and Dan on the little screen

2007-12-30T23:35:00.000Z

This festive season Aaron visited and completed our latest project, the video of August's TCR fm broadcast. We finished on 31st August but it just took a while to get the video put together. It's all done and now online for your viewing pleasure, if that is the word! (Very nice editing work too Aaron if I do say so!)

There are also a few funny audio clips from the show. Be warned though it's all a bit random.

Visit the TCR fm page of ADOA.co.uk to view and listen.

24 today

2007-12-04T21:05:00.000Z

Happy birthday to me.
There may be lots of things that have changed since 1983 but have you noticed certain things are going round in a circle these days? When I was younger that was music from Take That, Spice Girls and Westlife and I watched the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles on TV. Now there is music from Take That, Spice Girls and Westlife. The turtles have made a big screen movie and even Alvin is regrouping for the Alvin and the Chipmunks film! Deja vu!

"Snow Joke"

2007-11-18T21:49:00.000Z

Tonight is the first night of snow of this winter. It's rained since the early hours and then it turned into snow when I wasn't looking. That was a shock! Maybe I will get some nice snowy photos again this year but probably not today and tomorrow as it's very wet.

Talking of all things cold I was cold last weekend when I took a tour round London and backstage at BBC Television Centre - The streets were cold, TV centre wasn't. It was interesting in a broadcasting anorak way which suited me just fine! It's an iconic building with lots of interesting stuff going on, just a shame it's being sold.

Reach.... for your web browser

2007-11-04T15:40:00.000Z

As the new pages at www.reachfm.co.uk show Reach is expanding from a community station in Chelsmford and allowing more opportunities by broadcasting on the web. Funding is not confirmed so there is no start date but take a look at the plans on the site and register your interest if you think this is something for you.

Inspired by the once-excellent, now defunct CMP Radio, Reach allows you to download software and broadcast from your own home. However there is Reach HQ in Chelmsford with a studio and training available and the TCR fm studio in Tamworth is also available for you to broadcast from. Training given too. If this is for you, you have no reason not to get involved!

More sleep, more tired

2007-10-28T12:33:00.000Z

The extra hour that you hopefully remembered seems like a good thing but it can take people a few days to accommodate the time shift. You can suffer from semisomnia, which is basically exhaustion. You may suffer more exhaustion on Monday morning but that may not necessarily have anything to do with the clock move! Read more here.

Political Wrongness?

2007-09-28T20:09:00.000+01:00

Here's an e-mail I was forwarded today about political correctness gone a bit mad. I've signed the petition and encourage everyone else to.

The world-famous Red Arrows have been banned from appearing at the 2012 London Olympics because they are deemed "too British".

Organisers of the event say that the Arrows military background might be "offensive" to other countries taking part in the Games. The display team have performed at more than 4000 events worldwide, but the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have deemed the display team "too militaristically British". Red Arrows pilots were said to be "outraged", as they had hoped to put on a truly world class display for the Games, something which had never been seen before. Being axed from a British-based event for being "too British" is an insult - the Arrows are a symbol of Britain .

The Red Arrows have been excellent ambassadors for British overseas trade, as they display their British-built Hawk aircraft all over the world.

The Arrows performed a short flypast in 2005 when the winning bid was announced, but their flypast at the Games was to have been truly spectacular.

It is to be hoped that common sense prevails.

If you disagree with this decision, sign the petition on the link http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/RedArrows2012/?ref+redArrows2012

To Mac or not to Mac

2007-09-25T21:13:00.000+01:00

... That was the question but it has now been answered.

After the near explosion of my laptop battery and the fact that my trusty 3 and a half year HP was the slowest machine in the house I bought a Mac Book Pro. Well if you're going to upgrade, you may as well make it worth while!

Let's not do the PC vs Mac debate but its really great. Out of the box, plain and simple, online and with lots of software already installed. I'm just doing a little re-learning but it's not hard if you can point and click!

Herald: " 'We'll be back' vow radio team

2007-09-06T20:49:00.000+01:00

This week's Tamworth Herald has an article on the end of our 2007 broadcast and reassurance that work is beginning on the return of TCR fm.

See the Tamworth Herald dated 6th September or read online.

2007-09-02T14:45:00.000+01:00

TCR fm shut down at midnight on Friday night after 28 days of broadcasting. We had a great time with nearly all members present. As well as the photo gallery we have a video including behind-the-scenes parts you didn't hear on air! It's on the front page of the TCR fm website, so go download it now to share in the fun.

TCR fm FInale

2007-08-30T23:32:00.001+01:00

AzDan TCR
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

All good things come to an end and TCR fm's 28 day broadcast ends tomorrow, in just over 12 hours from now in fact. It has been a superb month with lots of presenters doing their thing.

The last Aaron and Dan show is from 10am Friday, and the last show of the broadcast is from 10pm. At 10pm we will be taking a look back at TCR fm and generally feeling pleased at how well everyone has done. Tune in at tcrfm.co.uk or 106.9 FM in Tamworth.

Aaron and Dan On Air

2007-08-26T10:23:00.001+01:00

Good morning. Another summer and another radio broadcast with Aaron and myself starts at 11am this morning. We'll be on 106.9 TCR FM for Tamworth, and available online at tcrfm.co.uk too.

Some old favourites like the impossible question return as well as some new film quotes and the usual insults from Aaron no doubt! We're then back at 10am every weekday up to the end of August.

More details at our online home, www.adoa.co.uk
(This pic is as you've never seen us before! More to be explained on the show!)

TCR fm - the show must go on

2007-08-13T22:04:00.000+01:00

We've been broadcasting TCR FM for over a week now, having begun on 4th August. Nearly every member has had 1 show so far and those who have just keep coming back for more!

I've been on breakfast duty but due to going back to work (yes, real work) I will hold back to weekends for a while. Then Aaron joins me for our last week from Sunday 26th August when we'll be on for a week until the end of this transmission.

You can listen online across the UK at tcrfm.co.uk or around Tamworth on 106.9 FM

TCR fm is go!

2007-08-06T22:52:00.001+01:00

... And it has been since Saturday 4th but I've been a bit pre-occupied to mention it here. We started the launch show with a rather spectacular countdown and introduction to our team. Launch evening was our successful broadcast of local bands from The Palace. Since then it's all systems go to hear from our new presenters.

In the Tamworth area you'll find us on 106.9 fm and across the UK it's www.tcrfm.co.uk and click the stream icons to the right to listen from there.

Must go, I'm sure there's some more station admin I should be doing. Or alternatively sleep!

2007-07-14T22:49:00.000+01:00

Week 1 of our TCR fm ad hits the Tamworth Herald. It's been a while since some of my work was the in the paper - in fact there were a couple of school pages I helped put together a few years ago. There will be a few more ads over the next weeks as we get ready to switch on 106.9 fm

"Radio silence"

2007-06-27T20:10:00.000+01:00

Internet radio in the US has been vocal on the subject of music royalties... by being silent. Big royalty payment increases upset Internet radio as a whole. While it is the smaller broadcaster who will feel the cost difference most the big online broadcasters joined forces to protest. (http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2192628/net-radio-prepares-day-silence)

Lets hope we don't see the same thing in the UK any time soon. Music royalties are one of those necessary evils in my book!

Community Spirit

2007-06-03T17:33:00.001+01:00

As I prepared a few websites to feature on tonight's Weekend Live show (7pm UK time) I just realised how many "Web 2.0" applications I use rather than simple websites, meaning sites you look at, then leave.

I had a recent success when an old friend from pre-primary school found me and said "Hi". I hadn't bothered with a profile much but my listing was enough to make contact. Now I'm a bit busier on facebook, not to mention the photos I take and upload to flickr. Then there's the music that gets logged courtesy of last.fm. Not forgetting this very blog itself.

Who needs to play an online game to start living online?!

Relaxing...

2007-05-28T17:51:00.001+01:00

Mabel
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult

How to relax on a bank holiday, as demonstrated by Mabel on her new cat bed! She makes me feel sleepy....!

New phone, N95

2007-05-05T23:54:00.001+01:00

05/05/2007
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult.

I just uploaded my first photo from my new Nokia N95 phone. All the hype you may have seen is justified; the phone is very nice. The camera is better than our Fuji digital camera and everything with the phone is very speedy, especially compared to my N70, the phone which it replaces. Even that was the greatest once upon a time...!

I'll play with more pictures over the long weekend no doubt and post some. Possibly the best feature is that as I did the photo at home I uploaded it from the phone but using WiFi, therefore no costly data charges.

Pick of the web

2007-04-25T20:41:00.000+01:00

Time for some selfless promotion of my new feature on part of Weekend Live, the live radio show podcast. That is, it's live when it's done and then made available to download if you missed it.

For the last 2 weeks I've been putting together some of my favourite sites that I hope interest others. Over the last 2 shows I've featured www.20q.net (and I can't beat the classic game!), the Google Pack of freebie software to name but two. There is more to download at www.weekendlive.co.uk

106.9fm confirmed

2007-04-13T23:56:00.000+01:00

The TCR fm bunch are happy this week, Ofcom have confirmed we will be broadcasting on 106.9fm over Tamworth again this summer. We were hoping for the same frequency so we're now advertising it. 106.9fm coming this August!

100% spam free?

2007-04-04T21:48:00.000+01:00

There's an interesting article on spam free email. After a year of tests ClearMyMail says it will have a 100% success rate. Perhaps we'll see in another year if that is still the case!

CMP Radio memory "On the Media"

2007-03-22T20:18:00.000Z

About a week ago I received a message through my Flickr photo account to tell me that On The Media (a New York Public Radio production) want to use one of my photos. Well here it is - http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/16/05 It's the studio from the CMP Radio finale in December 2004. My Flickr set of that is here. Follow the link to read/hear the story on music royalties - another subject of memories!

CD Ouch

2007-03-20T20:43:00.000Z

CD Wow, the third biggest online music store is being fined for buying cheaper CDs in Hong Kong and then selling them to a UK market. It's illegal and in breach of an agreement they had. Read more here. It's a pretty understandable business approach, buying cheaper and selling lower than competitors. The record labels didn't like it though; they strike again.

ADOA Update

2007-03-11T17:17:00.000Z

Hello. I have been busy giving our Aaron and Dan website a facelift over the last week. It was one of the projects I started just because I got bored with the old creamy yellow look. Plus this one now has a photo of us at the top of every page. An improvement or not? You decide! Check out www.adoa.co.uk for a sleeker black look.

Wales Photos

2007-03-09T21:32:00.000Z

Wales-6-3-2007-26
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult.

We had a day trip to the north Wales coast, to Telacre and Prestatyn and the surrounding area. I had to take along the trusty camera (as well as our Old English Sheepdog, Maisy) so you can see some snaps here. Amazingly after all the rain of the weekend before it didn't rain until we were driving back. Some of the scenic pics were taken with a mind to use as my PC wallpaper, and they work pretty well if I do say so myself.

R.I.P Triops

2007-02-25T21:49:00.000Z

Earlier this week the last of the 5 ancient triops died. They managed just under 2 months which is better than some attempts I've heard but not so close to their suposed maximum lifespan of 90 days. The first to die were eaten by the remaining creatures. Survival of the fittest! They were fascinating to watch grow as they were so fast, and their final size was well over an inch. I have half the quantity of eggs and supplies left so maybe later in the year I'll give it another go. Perhaps they will prefer summer conditions.

Our digital world

2007-02-14T21:07:00.000Z

I came across 2 techy stories today which are all about our obsession with technology.

New York officials are looking at banning the wearing of iPods because of accidents while crossing the road. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2174433/york-plans-ipod-ban And a typical science-type story of statistics warns us that we're squeezing the Internet too much to expect high quality video. See http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2174574/web-tv-pushing-net-breaking. Maybe I should give this blog a bit of a prune, to save on capacity!

Talking of technology, did I mention I'm after an Apple laptop in the near future!

Let it snow... but please stop now

2007-02-10T13:02:00.001Z

Garden Snow1
Originally uploaded by Daniel Hoult.

Thursday and Friday this week was very snowy! Thursday needed a lot of care on the roads to get to work but Friday trying to come home was potentially very dodgy. I did skid a couple of times but only on the small roads. I only bumped into the kirb at 6 miles an hour!

The rain came this morning and it's virtually all gone. Just got to watch for the floods now! A few more photos of snow are in my flickr album.

TCR fm Video Highlight

2007-02-01T20:42:00.000Z

This Saturday just gone the TCR fm team were part of the youth centre's open day as we did a broadcast in-house all day. Aaron was visiting me (pure coincidence, honest) and took time out to record some of the day's activities. He kindly edited it all down on his Mac and produced a 3 minute video. You can see it online here. Next step is a full TCR fm media course in February. Recruits still needed, so head over to the site!

Aaron at TCR fm at Tamyouth

2007-01-27T23:58:00.000Z

Aaron has returned to Staffs for a few days bringing his trusty new MacBook with him. Today we were at the Tamyouth open day with TCR fm broadcasting in-house all day. We split the day into 3 shows with me, Rob and then Dean. Aaron caught us all on camera, so he's now working hard to edit together a short video for the TCR fm website. Check back for that.

In other news my triops have moved to a new fish tank as they are getting so large now. They have a lot more room and are eating loads. Maybe time to try some raw fish and carrot for them. Photo coming soon.

Growing so fast

2007-01-20T18:20:00.000Z

An update for you on my jurassic triops. The tank now has 6 in and the biggest is just over 1cm long and the eggs were only released into the water last weekend. I have been feeding them every-other day as per the instructions but it's pretty full in that tank so time to start regular food I think. The size has pretty much doubled every day so far which means they will soon be big enough to photograph!

New Year, New Creatures

2007-01-14T21:55:00.000Z

It's the first post of the year and already 14 days have gone by! 2007 is going to be faster than last year at this rate.

This weekend I've managed to kick start a Christmas present of mine - a ready to go box of Jurassic creatures known as Triops. You've probably seen them in your favourite gadget-type shop and they're similar to sea monkeys but will grow bigger. I've had the water acclimatising with a nutrient pack, and at the desired temperature and yesterday I added the tiny eggs. I'm meant to be able to see babies within 72 hours so I'll let you know. I'll need some serious zoom for a photo, as the eggs were smaller than a full stop!!

Scambaiting

2006-12-27T21:43:00.000Z

Over the holidays I've had time to get in to reading a book I had for my birthday earlier this month. It's "Greetings In Jesus Name" by Michael Berry but otherwise known as "Shiver Metimbers". The addictive book is all about replying to the numerous scam letters to waste as much of the scammers time and resources as possible. Mike has a huge website, and whole community helping out which you can check out here - http://www.419eater.com

There's a link to his book there too, which comes recommended. I am surprised just how quickly and easily people are able to get a reply from a real human considering how many messages scammers must send out. My inbox certainly has it's share. Bearing in mind the criminal connections possible I think I'll stick to reading other people's efforts.

Happy Christmas

2006-12-24T17:45:00.000Z

Long time, no post but I have to post some Christmas wishes on my own site!

I popped over to the CMP Radio Forum and left a Christmas message along with a small montage of fellow CMP Radio presenters wishing a Merry Christmas. It was just 1 of many 100's of clips from 2 years ago that brings back memories. Ah, CMP and all who broadcast on her!

Looking to the future, TCR fm is bursting with plans for the new year. We're starting with a few taster days of our media course and then starting the full thing in February. There's so much to do before then.

I'm off now to finish wrapping presents (plenty more of Christmas Eve left yet) so Happy Christmas to all and I'll try and write more on here so this festive message doesn't stay at the top of the page for ever!!

Bond is back

2006-11-22T20:48:00.000Z

I was itching to see the new James Bond film, and I managed it on Monday. I remember the search for a new Bond actor when I was presenting on CMP Radio 2 years ago, as I used to cover entertainment news. When I saw Daniel Craig arrive at the press conference I was disappointed because he just didn't look the part. As the film start it took about 60 seconds to realise he had transformed himself to become Bond in every way he could. Without a doubt I consider Casino Royale to be the best action film I have seen, and possibly the best best Bond film too. A new Bond with fewer gadgets and more action was perfect. 10/10 go to a very well deserving "new" James Bond. Go see it! (And don't miss Richard Branson's cameo appearance as I was informed I did. Oh well, better go and see it again!)

Designer Dan

2006-11-07T21:42:00.000Z

I've been busy recently designing bits and pieces. Now that TCR fm has got the go ahead for another upcoming broadcast I am preparing a leaflet to have printed as our first bit of publicity. You won't miss out, as I'll upload a copy here when it's finished.

I'm also still working on a flash interactive demo and training CD for work. It'll be fab when it's done but is taking so many hours to get right. Plus if my sore throat gets worse you wouldn't want me narrating anything!

Last thing to mention about designing is the newly released Serif PhotoPlus 11 which I bought and installed as soon as possible. It's really powerful software and still easy to use. I always read the manual and resource book from cover to cover so I best hurry up to make a great job on the TCR leaflet! And talking of software, Firefox 2 has been released. It's a nice update to my preferred web browser which now comes with a built in spell checker, for things like this box that I am typing in. No excuses for typos now!

Anyway enough blogging for now, back to being productive.

TCR fm Open Day

2006-10-21T19:13:00.000+01:00

A bit of free press coverage is always good, so see this news article about today's TCR fm open day in the Tamworth Herald.

Growing Google Empire

2006-10-10T21:21:00.000+01:00

Google is buying the video (community) website You Tube. Hardly surprising, but I hope Google makes best use of the deals and memberbase it gives them. I'm hooked on Google Mail now and I'm also recently relying on the Google Calendar that works with it. The only significant web product I use which isn't Google is Flickr for photos. The Google equivalent in beta isn't as impressive. Go Google! The co-founders of You Tube have a small video message for every user out there.

TCR fm Open Day

2006-10-02T22:00:00.000+01:00

Another TCR fm meeting and we came up of the genius idea of having an open day so we can meet some new local people interested in radio. We're inviting anyone to pop in and see the home of TCR fm to see what we do on Saturday 21st October. We'll soon be running a media course again and want to grab more people to take part and become our next broadcasting superstars! More details on the day at www.tcrfm.co.uk including a snazzy poster (PDF) by yours truly.

Wet Wet OES

2006-09-24T22:32:00.000+01:00

Maisy Clippers 1

Maisy, our Old English Sheepdog has had some pampering treatment this weekend. W started, for the first time, some D.I.Y bathing and clipping. All done apart from the neat bits on her feet. The finished version to be photographed next weekend!

(I only had to change clothes twice; once for getting too wet after the bath and once for getting too hairy!!)

Mind the transition

2006-09-23T23:11:00.000+01:00

Just to let you know that my main website is moving web servers, so there will be a little down time and the odd error (or more than normal, anyway). As soon as that's done I'll be uploaded a newly revised site, seeing as most of it is untouched from 2004!! Just give me a weekend or 2 to sort it all out.

Possibly the most useful little download ever...

2006-09-16T18:06:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I just discovered what I'm calling the most useful thing that I've ever downloaded on the Web. It's the Browser Sync from Google which is a plugin for Firefox. (OK, so perhaps Firefox should be the best thing I ever downloaded although I originally tried it out from a magazine cover disc, so technically I'm alright). Anyway, the plugins are the best thing but I've tried to keep my Firefox isntallation(s) as minimal as possible and because of Firefox's search at the top right I haven't found the need for the Google toolbar.

Luckily Google's Browser Sync is independent from that. I've installed the plugin on my laptop and my desktop PC and it keeps the bookmarks updated between the 2 without them having to be turned on at the same time. It also transfers your session history, so for example I can view the History of my surfing done on my laptop on the desktop so I don't need to try to remember what I was doing! (I can live without being too paranoid that Google are reading everyone's bookmarks list). It's a recommended download if you have more than 1 PC.

Steadily picking up speed

2006-09-08T23:38:00.000+01:00

Some progress on the TCR fm front this week with another funding application being submitted to the Borough Council and also some tweaks to the still newly revised website, at www.tcrfm.co.uk

Legal free music

2006-08-29T20:20:00.000+01:00

...if you're in the US or Canada. Buy hey, it's significant news that Universal are backing a free download service that will exist just on adverts. If all goes well I hope the UK isn't left out too long. Read the article here.

Cornwall 2006

2006-08-27T21:50:00.000+01:00

cornwall2006_11

I'm back from holiday in Cornwall and a bit disappointed in the weather but Cornwall was great as ever and that includes the 4 and a half mile coastal walk from Tintagel to Boscastle and the Camel Trail bike ride from Wadebridge to Bodmin (I cycled the other way to Padstow, 2 years before). I took just over 200 photos in total and there are 144 to see on my flickr album.

To Google or not to Google

2006-08-16T21:01:00.000+01:00

Google is great, their web tools are very useful (and free) but the search engine is the best. But although added to the dictionary the verb "to google" is not appreciated by Google, as they would prefer their name is used in the correct, trademark sense. Sorry Google. Read more in this article.

Reach no more

2006-08-04T23:08:00.000+01:00

As with all good things, they must come to an end. Reach 87.7 FM closed down and switched off at 10pm tonight, but not without a celebration of the first ever broadcast - see the leftover party poppers in the desserted studio. Unfortunately I was unable to do another 300 miles to be there but I was on the phone for a bit and presented the leader, Aaron and manager, Chris with their Reach certificates. What a lot of work all year round for 28 days - but a brilliant result!

Infestation!

2006-07-30T12:54:00.000+01:00

Wasps

I don't know if that's the right term, but I do know I found a wasps nest at home. They seemed to be waking up and coming out 10's at a time and right by our outside table! There must be something special about the house... it'll be our second wasps nest and not in the same place.

Mind you, it's not as bad as finding a rattlesnake, as has been found down the road from here. Tamworth in the national news again! See this BBC News article about the runaway snake - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/5226510.stm

"If I get knocked down..."

2006-07-17T19:48:00.000+01:00

... I get back up again" - the words of Chumbawumba on the first show since Reach has been back on air. An eventful weekend, but that's the past. The future is 3 more weeks of community radio for Chelmsford. http://www.reachfm.co.uk

Aaron & Dan Clips...

2006-07-16T22:24:00.000+01:00

On the Aaron & Dan On Air website I have updated 3 show clips just to let you know that there are some more coming but all in good time!

Reach back to air

2006-07-16T16:34:00.000+01:00

After a very busy weekend Aaron has secured another transmitter and equipment to get the station broadcasting again. The theft made the lead story on ITV's Anglia News on Saturday and there were plenty of supportive companies and people offering equipment. It will all be installed in a secure location during Monday and back on the air later that day, to keep going strong until Friday 4th August.

Reach 87.7 FM is OFF AIR

2006-07-14T23:58:00.000+01:00

It is with regret that we have to announce that as of 9.45pm this Friday 14th the Reach transmitter equipment was stolen. Reach is therefore currently off air on 87.7 FM. Reach will update members and this website with more information as soon as possible.

ADOA Updates coming along

2006-07-12T21:57:00.000+01:00

Webcam looking down

I'm back now from the Aaron and Dan shows on Chelmsford's Reach. Reach is still on air for another 25 days on 87.7 FM and you can see the webcams at www.reachfm.co.uk

On the ADOA.co.uk website we've got some up-to-date photos from the 5 days. In the next few days there will be some show clips too.

Still going strong on 87.7FM

2006-07-10T13:06:00.000+01:00

Aaron and Dan Reach

So many hours, so much presenting and so many things still working smoothly, including the two of us! See ADOA.co.uk for more updated photos and reachfm.co.uk for all things Reach related.

Reach.... 2 days

2006-07-05T21:28:00.000+01:00

Tick tock.... just 2 days to go until a brand new sound and a brand new activity for this Summer launches across Chelmsford, Essex. Reach goes live at 9am this Saturday morning and as well as having over 100 miles to drive to join in there are so many finishing touches left to do we need another spare month!

If you are in the area of Chelmsford, tune in to 87.7 FM from this Saturday, failing that I'll let you know the latest here and on ADOA.co.uk with photos and show clips. The full Reach website goes live late on Friday night at www.reachfm.co.uk.

Az & Dan Update

2006-06-25T18:33:00.000+01:00

After a week of moving this, setting up that, and transferring the other, a new Aaron & Dan website is now online at www.adoa.co.uk. Most importantly is the new Reach page with information about this year's Summer broadcast that kicks off on 8th July 2006. Show times to come very soon.

Fun Run Cash Boost Plea

2006-06-15T20:29:00.000+01:00

Here we are again - TCR fm received £500 from the Great Midlands Fun Run from last year's funds but as you can read below there is insufficient cash to go ahead this Summer. Thanks to GMFR for this article.

Cross your fingers for December. Christmas songs anyone?!