Kids these days are continuously nagged for spending way too much time on computer games or on the internet, and not enough time playing outside.  Trouble is, there are a few significant changes to remember –

1) Once upon a time, it was quite safe to let your kids roam free.  Paedophiles hadn’t been invented yet.
2) Modern computer games are so deep and involved that it takes a few solid hours of playing them in order to advance anywhere within the game! 
Finally, 3) The arrival of Social Networking has reduced the need to spend all our time out and about, because we can read all about David’s new Labrador (and even see photos of it) on Facebook. 

Job interviews, and even advanced space exploration, can now be carried out using a computer connected to the internet, so it’s probably time for some people to accept that computers are a way of modern life, and unless you want to be left behind, or live as a hermit, there is no avoiding them.

While all these significant lifestyle changes have taken place, one thing remains constant – computer games have been around for decades, and despite the countless hours I used to spend playing on my ZX Spectrum 48k+ or my Amiga 500, I like to think I’ve grown up not all that bad!  Since the arrival of computer games, kids have always spent most of their childhood locked in their bedrooms blasting aliens away, and I don’t recall hearing that it has ever done anyone any harm (apart from the aliens).  So what is the point in telling a child that they will damage their eyes if they spend so much time glued to a computer screen, when they are probably going to get a job in an office and spend the rest of their life glued to a computer screen anyway?  Most jobs in this day and age require at least some computer knowledge, and so many are almost entirely computer based.  There is so much that you can do with a computer these days that I believe a child probably learns more in front of that screen, rather than kicking a spherical bag of air around on a field while knocking back bottles of Thunderbird.

Let’s return to the subject of computer games.  My eldest kid, who will be eleven next month, loves them as much as I did when I was his age.  To a certain degree, I still do!  Sadly, he is one of the unfortunate children whose parent that he lives with (not me) is one of the people that I mentioned, who haven’t moved on with the times and believe in restricting computer time quite strictly, therefore restricting a child’s ability to grow and learn as an individual in the modern day world.  Which is why, when my son stays with me, if he wants some time on the computer, he gets it.  End of.  Each to their own I suppose on the whole parenting thing, I have my own thoughts on parenting, and I’ll be happy to tell anyone who disagrees with me that they are wrong.

My ZX Spectrum was one of my best friends when I was growing up.  I remember standing with my mum and dad in the Oldham branch of Boots, where we purchased this fine piece of technology for around £300. 

£300 from your local Boots back in the day!

 Unbelievable, isn’t it?  You can pick up a Nintendo Wii for about half that price these days.  I was so excited, and went on to collect almost every game in the catalogue of Spectrum games that ever existed.  Being on audio cassette, they were relatively easy to “clone” too, just in case your mates wanted to hang on to a back-up copy for you, or vice versa

Wind the clock forward 15 years to the mid-90s, and these games became available to play on the modern day PC, through the magic of an emulator.  No longer did you have to sit there for 10 minutes, listening to the awful screeching loading noise (which is now music to the nostalgia geek’s ears) only to get the infamous “Tape Loading Error” message – these emulated games were now loadable on your new PC instantly with the double-click of a mouse!

"Manic Miner" alive and well on PC.

Wind the clock forward another 10 years to present day, and these games are now carried around in my pocket, ready for action whenever I get a spare moment to whip out my iPhone and start gaming.  This fantastic advance in technology in such a short space of time still amazes me, and allows me to geek-it-up fairly regularly.  The guy who has invented the ZX Spectrum iPhone app, which plays these games, is certainly a genius, and an evil one at that.  Sneakily, there is an in-app store, where you can purchase further game releases as and when he decides to be gracious enough to dish them out.  He holds back on you, watching you sweat anxiously, like a heroin addict who can’t get his drugs, and then occasionally throws you a ZX Spectrum hypodermic for the glorious in-app price of £1.19.  All the emulated games on the PC are freely downloadable, but for the iPhone, this guy is holding all the cards and if you want to play them on your little portable device then you have to cough up the dosh.  The additional crafty move by this guy is that the purchases come in game packs of six, generally consisting of one classic game that you know and love, and five others that you either hated or have never heard of.

ZX Spectrum iPhone app.

Either way, I am more than happy to pay, because we all love things that take us on a path back to our childhood, and for me, this is mine.

So imagine my excitement when I read a very guarded report recently that the ZX Spectrum is being relaunched as it approaches its 30^th anniversary in 2012!  This is going to get massive press and attention among the gaming, geek, nostalgia and 30-somethings communities alike in the coming months.  It is unknown, as yet, what form the relaunch will take, but you can be sure of one thing – while children continue to blast away those aliens in their bedrooms, there are soon going to be a hoard of nostalgia seeking parents who will be joining them.

More information on the ZX Spectrum: http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/sinclair/computers/zxspectrum/zxspectrum.htm

Play ZX Spectrum games in your browser: http://www.zxspectrum.net

ZX Spectrum on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX_Spectrum

More info on the 30^th Anniversary: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/8304237/ZX-Spectrum-relaunch-gaming-goes-back-to-the-future.html

Just a quick entry to say hello, as I notice I haven’t “blogged” since September!
I guess with this being the first of 2011, I’d better say Happy New Year too!
I’ve come across an appropriate picture that I thought I’d share with you throughout the pancake festivities of the evening.
There is something rather sinister about this…

The official birthday of 96.2 The Revolution is actually August 30th, from when we launched back in 1999.  However, since its rebirth in 2008, it now has a second birthday (just like the Queen) on 22nd September.  By pure coincidence, this is also the date that we originally moved to the building we are now in, from our little temporary box room at the Spindles Shopping Centre, to the old Sarah Moor Restaurant in Oldham Edge which was officially presented by Jack Duckworth!

96.2 The Revolution - Officially opened by Bill Tarmey in 2000

Funnily enough, that’s exactly the same date that the plane crash happened on the TV series “Lost” in 2004… but that’s just me being a big old geek.

In light of these occasions, it’s always nice to celebrate such occasions.  Not plane crashes – radio station birthdays.  It gives us an opportunity to remind listeners how long we’ve been around and how bloody great we really are.  So, 96.2 The Revolution has turned both 11 years old AND 2 years old this year, and it was with this in mind, listener John Hall kindly penned a rather long poem for us and sent it into the station.

Enjoy…

Happy Birthday, to the Revolution,
Two years since your new evolution.
Good tunes combined with endless fun,
The entertainment has just begun.

Sara starts her show at five,
The Revolution has come alive.
Then at six, the airwaves rock,
Penky’s show, at stupid o’clock.

Wake up songs, sound out North West,
Listeners awake, from their rest.
But whatever the weather, sun or rain,
Steve’s Revolution will entertain.

Birdie hosts the Top Ten at Ten,
TUnes from a year, to reminisce again.
He gives out clues and loads of cheer,
As listeners attempt to guess the year.

In Studio One, Big Al is along,
It is eleven o’clock, his coffee song.
He also asks for registration,
Reads out texts sent to the station.

There’s questions, flowers and of course,
Battles against the work force.
Music and laughter, all the way,
As Big Al takes you through the day.

At 3pm, with the airwaves alive,
Elliot present his show called Drive.
Fun and laughter in many slots,
With updates on bad travel spots.

The ultimate tune of the day,
anecdotes and BIG questions all the way.
An afternoon of music heaven,
As Elliot eases you through to seven.

Jay’s Jukebox is the feature next,
Your records played, just send a text.
Relax and enjoy your favourite dinner,
The Evening Show will be a winner.

There is much to do, with games to play,
Questions and teasers posed by Jay.
While all the greatest hits flow,
He prepares you for the Wind Up Show.

Penky presents the show ahead,
As listeners prepare themselves for bed.
But for anyone, not sleeping light,
The hits roll on, throughout the night.

Saturday morning, it’s Danny at six,
Continues the great music mix.
More wind ups, then an eighties treat,
Before, Birdie, again will greet.

His Saturday show is very amusing,
Fronting four great hours of Cruising.
The most fantastic jukebox sound,
A show, nowhere else, can be found.

The jukebox hits flow and flow,
Keep tuned in for Jay’s Love Show.
Smooch around as the clock ticks,
John will wake you up at six.

It’s Sunday, relax, as you should,
Preparing yourselves for Phil Wood.
He gargles songs and taps out morse,
With Sunday classics played of course.

Big Al, then Elliot, continue the flow,
Leading to Steve’s Rewind Show.
Four hours of hits, from the past,
Before more wind ups, what a cast!

John Hall.

There are certain pleasures in life, such as holidays, chilling out with a cool glass of beer, or simply just finding five minutes to enjoy some “me time”. I am a fan of all three, but seldom get the chance to do any.

I have a number of commitments that require a lot of my time, from work related duties, to family related activities, which leaves me a short amount of time to actually indulge in any of my own individual interests. Not that my work, or family, don’t interest me, I love both dearly… it’s just always nice to grab a bit of time to yourself now and again. People with common sense will see where I’m coming from.

I often find myself wishing for a little bit of a break. Maybe three or four days to just do NOTHING. Or maybe just to do a few of the things I keep meaning to get done, ie, read a book, fix that wobbly shelf, clean up the dog’s poo from the garden… oh, hang on, that’s the girlfriend’s job.

So imagine my surprise when (and this doesn’t happen often) I become sick.

Throwing a sicky is often the way the average Brit gets to indulge in a few of the things they didn’t leave any spare holidays for. It’s that inner childish mischief that was always a firm favourite when wagging school. But when you actually become ill for real it’s a whole different story…

I’ve had some sort of weirdness attack my back for the past few weeks – an affliction which began over two months ago and has decided it likes me. It’s evolved from a niggling twinge into wrenching debilitating agony, and it’s given me the break from my responsibilities that I had been craving for so long.

However, this break comes at a price.

The price is an obscene charge for a ridiculous amount of prescription medicine which doesn’t work, and an illness which still continues to prevent me from carrying out any of the things I’ve been wanting to do.

I begrudge forking out money for tablets that don’t work. I feel like I’m paying for the privilege of having a pointless chat with some bloke who likes to fob me off, and gives me some crap tasting sweets to take home with me for a laugh. At least the dentist gives you a sticker.

So, my point? Be careful what you wish for. All that spare time may sound great. But if you’re unable to actually do anything with it, then what’s the bloody point?

There’s nothing I would love more than to make use of all this precious time, but some days I can barely move. I’ll pop the pills, feel dizzy and light-headed for a bit (some of the side effects even include hallucinations – which I can’t wait for!) and then I’m given the wonderful treat of insomnia, which is why I’m writing this entry from my phone at 4am.

I love reading the “side effects” leaflets that come with new medicines. We shouldn’t read them, but it’s like trying not to look at a girl’s boobs if she walks past you topless on a beach. It’s got to be done. So, if I survive the sweats, mood swings, heart failure, nightmares, hallucinations and strokes that these pill’s list of side effects threaten to bring, then hopefully all will eventually be well!

Truth is, I’m getting sod all done at home and I actually miss working.

Miss working? Don’t hear people saying that very often, do you!

I’m gonna toddle off now. My gran has just arrived and she’s been dead for about 7 years, so we’ve got some catching up to do.

Good health to you.

It’s a well known fact these days that you can’t be too careful when posting things online.  Things you say can always get traced back to you if you’re not careful enough.  Look at the amount of reports we keep seeing about people getting fired from their jobs for posting negative comments regarding their place of work, or even their boss.

Take this fine example for instance:

How to get fired via Facebook

On Sunday, around 9:30pm, I received an email from a guy, calling himself Lucky Jim.  Irish?  Lottery winner?  Who knows, but the guy obviously considers himself to be a fairly lucky man.

I’ve censored parts of the text, but his email was as follows:

“———- not iroyton, Jay why do you not become a member of ——— my wife and children always comment on why you dont become a member of ———- as well as iroyton you will be made most welcome.
                Regards Lucky Jim”

IRoyton is an online forum for the people of Royton and surrounding areas.  The censored parts of the text refer to an alternative forum, which I do not wish to name here.  I am a member of the iRoyton forum, as it has been set up by friends of mine and is also a good medium for interaction with my evening radio show.  There have apparently been a few conflicts between the two forums, which I have not been involved with, so I found it odd that one of their members would contact me out of the blue like this to get me over to their side and join their forum.

I pondered the email for a few seconds, taking on board the fact that it had been sent at half 9 on a Sunday night.  Also, I considered the fact that Lucky Jim makes reference to “always commenting” with his wife and children why I am not a member of their forum.  Clearly, there is not much excitement going on in their lives if my internet habits are a common point of interest around their dinner table.

On further investigation, I found a couple of reasons why I won’t be returning to Lucky Jim’s forum, which brings me back to the whole “be careful what you post on the internet” subject. 

My return email to Lucky Jim went like this:

Lucky Jim,
 Thank you for your email regarding my connection to iRoyton, and your suggestion that I should join ——–.  I find it endearing and flattering that you choose to discuss importance of this on a regular basis with your wife and children.  Obviously, I take all suggestions I receive very seriously and make sure I set aside some time so that I can attend to each individual request and give it the rightful and proper attention that it deserves.
 
That being said, I took your advice on board, and have visited ———- to look into it for myself.  However, after seeing the following posts…

 “I am not being drawn into an argument here but how do you think those poor animals would feel listening to Jim Macreary off the iroyton forum.”
 
…and…
 
“I watched it at last and and and iroyton here I come.  Only joking it is at least far better than anything I have seen on there including the radio station with about five listeners.”
  
… I decided that it wasn’t for me.
 
Unlucky, Jim, but thanks anyway!
 Jay.

Lucky Jim, probably being of below average intelligence, had clearly forgotten about the comments he had made on his forum regarding me and the radio station I work for.  He didn’t even have the decency to spell my name right.  The word “bellend” springs to mind.

So remember, everything you post on the internet is available for the world to see.  There may even be things you have forgotten about.  But they are still there, waiting for someone to find them – and one day, you may just get caught out.

Let me set the scene.  Veterinarian School Dead Cow Lecture.  First-year students at the vet school were attending their first anatomy class, with a real dead cow.   They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet.

The professor started the class by telling them, “In Veterinary Medicine it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor:  The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the animal body”.  

For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the arse of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck his finger in his mouth.

“Go ahead and do the same thing,”  he told his students.

The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns sticking a finger deep into the rectal cavity of the dead cow, and sucking on it. 

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and said, “Okay, the second most important quality is observation.  I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger.   Now learn to pay attention. Life’s tough, but it’s even tougher if you’re stupid…”

First of all, if you’ve not seen Shrek 4 yet (I know, “Shrek: Forever After” for the picky ones) then I suggest you go and watch it – in 3D!

This new batch of 3D films that they’ve started to roll out are a fantastic idea.  I had my daughter staying with me this weekend so we decided to take her to go see it.  Now, I’ve never seen one of these new 3D films, I rarely have time to go to the cinema in general, but the quality was amazing!  Makes me want to buy one of those new 3D TVs that are due out later this year.  Then again, are we going to have to sit there in the front room looking like idiots with our 3D glasses on?  Not to mention, when you leave the cinema, your eyes do feel a bit funny from wearing those glasses for almost 2 hours straight.

I say 2 hours straight, it was more like an hour and a half for me.  My daughter Kallie, being only 6 years of age, didn’t realise that sticky popcorn fingers and glasses don’t really make a great combination, so I gave her mine while I  spent about half an hour polishing hers back to clarity.

Great film though, well worth seeing in 3D, and I reckon it’s the best Shrek film since the first one.  Loads of little in-jokes that tie into the others, and a worthy finale to this movie franchise.

Spent the rest of the weekend at the zoo and the beach.  Not been to a beach since last summer and it was a fantastic day for it.  Kallie and her friend Abby decided to take it upon themselves to try and rid the beach of every single razorfish shell that they could find.  They weren’t happy until they had enough shells to make it a struggle to carry.  Thankfully, when she went home on Sunday, she insisted on taking the shells with her!

She also took home her brand new “daddy badge” as she called it.  It’s part of the new range of Revolution merchandise that is now available through the Revolution website.  Or just click here.  I gave her the badge and she was thrilled, bless her.

So here’s a picture of Kal, sporting her new badge, along with a Rev coffee mug. 

My daughter Kallie, sporting the latest range of Revolution merchandise.

Let’s talk Big Brother!

No… not that crap programme on Channel 4 which we all say we hate, yet still watch it so we all know what our mates are talking about.  I’m talking about the REAL Big Brother.  I’m talking cameras on every street corner, every supermarket, every car park, pretty much any public place that you visit.  Let’s face it, the cameras are now everywhere.  But surely they are only there to secure our safety or protect against crimes, so they can only be beneficial… can’t they?

The growth in the use of CCTV footage in criminal investigations has seen a rise in the amount of prosecutions, particularly over the past decade.  A good example is the use of systems in the London borough of Newham in 2006, which nearly tripled the number of arrests compared to the previous year.  But while this form of evidence is usually called upon retrospectively, CCTV footage could soon be monitored live, thanks to a new company who are starting to pay for volunteers to watch cameras and report any crimes that occur. 

The value of the use of CCTV cameras has been met with a difference in opinion, with some police officers still criticising London’s CCTV network and others complimenting them as a crucial tool to catch criminals.

One U.K. businessman has pitched an idea to stream CCTV footage over the web and get volunteers to watch the images live.  Tony Morgan of Internet Eyes has recruited “watchers” who will receive a cash prize of up to £1000 for spotting the best crime over the previous month – and approximately 10,000 people have already signed up. 

The volunteer would have a series of camera feeds on their screen, and if they witness anything suspicious, or a crime being committed, then they simply click the “report” button, to report the crime as it happens.

Example of what a "watcher" would see.

A similar scheme is carried out in Texas, where volunteers can register as “Virtual Deputies” and monitor the Mexican border from the comfort of their own home.  However, civil rights campaigners are rallying against the proposals to begin the scheme in the UK, as they insist people are already being watched too much in Britain.

But if one is doing no wrong, then surely one should have nothing to worry about.  The whole concept is designed to make us feel safer, at very little personal cost.

Obviously, everyone who signs up to be a “watcher” would have to be securely checked out.  The last thing we want is a team of Gary Glitter clones salivating over a video stream of our kids playing on the park swings.  But, as long as the volunteers who will be watching us are put through a stringent application process, then the question we should really be asking is what harm could this cause?  If it is going to be beneficial to the arrest and prosecution of more criminals, then surely this can only be a good thing. 

I suspect the decision to either abandon the idea, or go ahead with live monitoring of CCTV will take some time to be made.  The company plan to launch early this year, but currently are delayed due to certain stipulations that have arisen with the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) whose guidelines the company wants to ensure they are working within.  So those who oppose the idea still have time to make their feelings well known.

But as for the people worried about privacy, bear this in mind.  There is a hypothetical statistic from the 1999 book “The Maximum Surveillance Society: The Rise of CCTV” by Gary Armstrong and Clive Norris which states “a person can be captured on over 300 cameras each day.”  This statistic has since been mistakenly quoted as fact in many news reports.  However, the fact remains, no matter how many cameras watch us throughout our daily lives, they are still there, watching us and recording us, so does it really make a difference whether they are being monitored live or not?  The overall benefit is the fact that crimes may be responded to much quicker than if the footage had to be relied upon retrospectively.  CCTV images are monitored live in supermarkets, so why not roll this out on a bigger scale?

I’m all for personal privacy, don’t get me wrong.  But if you don’t want to ever be seen by anyone, then go live in a cave.

If properly policed, I think live monitoring of CCTV is a great idea.

Happy New Year!

I thought I would start the new year off by devoting a few minutes of my rare spare time to writing some nonsense here on my blog.  Fingers crossed I can hopefully use this space to get things off my chest more often and also maybe talk about stuff that I might not be able to get away with on my 96.2 The Revolution blog.  I’ve let the blogging thing go recently, due to either being ridiculously busy or blatently non-arsed whenever I do have 5 minutes to sit down, but this year I’m gonna make more of an effort.

Hopefully the ridiculous amount of snow we’ve been getting hasn’t been causing you too many issues, but if it has, don’t forget at 96.2 The Revolution we’re looking for details on how the bad weather has been affecting you.  We want details and photo uploads please!  For further information, go to http://www.therevolution962.com and follow the Snowline 2010 links.

That’s it for now.  Hope you had a fantastic Christmas, and here’s to an even more fantastic 2010.

Jay.