More Video Sharing Websites Reviewed

The Ultimate Guide to Video Sharing has been updated to include Sumo and Veoh to bring the total up to 28 different video sharing websites.

Other sites the guide compares are: YouTube, Google Video, Metacafe, Soapbox, Revver, Blip, Brightcove, MyHeavy, Vimeo, AOL Uncut, MySpace, DivX Stage 6, Kewego, Yahoo Video, Vidilife, Daily Motion, Ning, Eyespot, YouAreTV, Break, OneTrueMedia, eefoof, FlixYa, MyNumo, VodPod and iFilm.

Check out The Ultimate Guide to Video Sharing now!

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PC World To Sell “First Green Computer”

The Mail on Sunday has reported that PC World is developing the first ‘green’ computer as part of parent company DSG International’s efforts to tackle global warming.

The carbon-neutral computer will cost between £550 and £650 and go on sale in the autumn. Its hard drive will be made from recycled or recyclable materials, as will the cables and most other parts.
DSG chief executive John Clare said: “It will be the first energy-efficient computer in the world. While it will cost about £50 more than an equivalent-spec computer, it will not be double the price. It will appeal to environmentally aware consumers”. The retailer will also plant trees to offset carbon emissions from the manufacture of the computers central processing unit.

Whilst the chief executive clearly admits the absence of a maths degree, old computers and other gadgetry could do with being much more environmentally friendly so this could be great news. I’ve got old bits and pieces of computer equipment lying about that I don’t want to throw in the bin but am not sure what to do with. Anyone have any ideas? Where in the world…..?

Comic Potential - Play Review

When is a actor not an actor? When it’s an actoid, that’s when. Alan Ayckbourn’s Comic Potential is set in the near future when actors in TV soaps are replaced by robots. When one robot starts becoming more human than robot, a young writer falls in love and tries to make her the star of his new show and ends up on the run to stop the actoid being sent back to the factory to have its memory wiped.

The Bridewell Theatre in London played host to the Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society’s (SEDOS) performance of the play on March 7, and what a performance it was.

The show was extremely enjoyable to say the least. I wasn’t sure what to expect but what I found was a polished, well acted, funny and all round good night out.

As in any play, it relies on it’s leads to carry the show. The actoid who comes to life, Jacie Triplethree, is played by Sarah Boyes and she gave a fantastic performance. The role involves a huge range of emotions, accents and physicality and she made it all look effortless. Having seen amateur dramatics before, I never expected such a great performance. It’d be interesting to see her in a totally different play to see if she’s just as convincing.

And the rest of the cast seem to shine in her reflected glow. The young writer Adam (Panagiotis Skrivanos) is relaxed and confortable in his part, Peter Bryans as the jaded director Chandler Tate gives the play some weight and in the first half some nice comic moments, and Tash Wilcox as the TV channel’s regional director makes a convincing ‘bad guy’.

While the focus is on this group of leads, much of the play’s enjoyment comes from the wider cast. Occassionally I’d look at two of the other ‘actoids’ called Mother and Father (played by Charlotte Price and Andrew MacPherson) who’s job is was to sit still by the side of the stage for ten minutes or so. I stared at them for about a minute before seeing one of them slowly blink - totally in character yet the focus of the play is elsewhere. It’s little touches like that that made the show a success. Also Andy Marchant’s many roles as Marmion, man in dress shop, young man, technician and Turkey the pimp had me smiling every time he appeared.

The only negative point I can think of is that it was a shame the theatre wasn’t full and it wasn’t enjoyed by more people. The staging and direction were also well handled and I couldn’t recommend it enough.

The play is on until Saturday 10 March, catch it if you can.

Interesting Ways to Use Paper

Continuing on the paper art theme from a while ago, here’s another one. I love them.

What Happened To All The Milk Bottles?

When I was growing up into the fine figure of a man I am today, I used to like opening the new bottle of milk and when it was finished, washing it out and leaving it on the doorstep. In fact I used to like to try and amaze the milkman by leaving as many empty bottles as possible on the doorstep. Whether he was amazed or not remains to be seen as I was never up at 5am to see.

Anyway, having moved away we no longer have a milkman. I would have thought a block of flats would be ideal as he’d be done for the day after a couple of blocks, but I suppose there’s not much money in the cow juice game these days.

So we’re lumbered with plastic milk bottles that aren’t reused. Or are they? They can be recycled (remember to take the tops off as they’re a different type of plastic and also means the empty bottles can be crushed more easily) but also used in the home. I’ve scoured the web to find some uses for them. Many are garden related but I’ve missed about the one about peeing into them and pouring on your compost heap…

• Use the top part of drinks bottles as cloches for plants. (I had to look ‘cloches’ up. It means “1. A small glass or plastic cover for protecting young plants or 2. a woman’s close-fitting hat”. I take it they mean the first)
• Fill empty milk cartons with water and use instead of dumbells.
• Cut the tops off so you have a big pot fill full of soil and plants. Hang on the fence once the trailing plants have trailed and they look lovely dotted all over the fence.
• Use them as watering cans for the hanging baskets.
• Fill with water and freeze (remember to leave a gap at the top for the water to expand) and use as ice packs in your cool bag.
• Those two litre milk containers make good scoops. Leave the handle on and cut the other side in a diagonal line, cutting off the ‘neck’ at the same time and use it for chips.
• Cut the plastic milk bottles into strips and shape into labels for your plants using a permenant marker pen to write on them.
• Can use the empty bottles to pour the leftover oil from cooking in so you can throw it away instead of pouring down the sink and the problems that causes with the drains.
• Use a water-filled plastic milk bottle for the toilet cistern. This is the same as using a brick to reduce the amount of water used for each flush. It’s probably safer to get something like this, some water companies give them out for free, best to ask whichever you use.

Why Don’t You Take A Rural Retreat?

A couple of weeks ago, a few friends and I took a “rural retreat” through the aptly named Rural Retreats. We stayed in Norfolk, in a place near North Barsham and Walsingham, at a set of “cottages” called The Barshams.

Comprising of a few different joined cottages - High Barsham, was once a threshing barn and overlooks Stiffkey River valley. Despite the close neighbours all was pretty quiet. A shared spa and steam room can be booked and there is a games room (though no actual equipment could be found) if further entertainment is needed, which is likely with a longer stay (or kids).

I took a pretty quiet video tour of the place that gives an overview of the inside of the cottage/barn.

A few tips, some of which were covered in TheLondonPaper also.

• Some people like to sort out bedrooms in advance to save arguments. Though if you’re staying a weekend it doesn’t really matter.
• Book taxis in advance if no-one fancies driving to the local village. My friends did a great job finding one, but it would have been easier if we had planned earlier.
• Take plenty of food and drink, your local shop could be a long walk away if you’ve been drinking in the afternoon and fancy some snacks. Mind you, we had enough crisps for about 40 people.

Thanks to everyone who came!

We all knew there had to be a better way!

And here it is, the beer launcher. Like most men, I hate getting out of the comfy chair to get a beer out of the fridge, so I am delighted that someone has taken the time to create this MAGNIFICENT machine!

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