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March of the Tractors!

June 5, 2013 by

tracFrom June 8th – 9th this year, Ripon is host to the UK’s largest festival of tractors, the Newby Hall Tractor Festival. Now in its eighth year, the festival plays homage to the best in tractor design from the last hundred years.

Locals and visitors alike can spend the weekend learning about some iconic tractors like the Yuba Ball-Tread Crawler, one of the last remaining examples of the tractor in the world. The weekend features coordinated tractor dancing from the Dancing Does (not to be missed) and culminates in the March of the Tractors, when a line of tractors and engines will march from Newby Hall to Ripon Market Square. Check out the Discover Ripon site for more information.

In its eight year history, the festival has grown in popularity in the local community and now marks a fun weekend for many families and individuals alike. It’s great to see local communities taking pleasure from showcasing innovations in local industry whilst never forgetting their heritage.

At Cornthwaite AG, families will have the chance to explore the history of tractor 1engineering and agricultural machinery in such a fun way. They have a comprehensive stock of John Deere, Manitou, Massey Ferguson and McCormick tractors, both new and used, and it is a pleasure to see these vehicles celebrated. All the used tractor and tractor parts are safe and well-looked-after so perhaps in a few decades time, they too will form part of the vintage range in the Tractor Festival!

The Festival is great fun for families but will also be a great source of inspiration for those in the industry: farming is part of the heritage of the north of England and with festivals like this; local businesses can take pride in their work with profitable farms, honored in their communities and it happens every year so if you miss it this year, there is always next year!

Filed Under: culture, Days Out, Education, Entertainment, Family, Featured

Higher Definitions: 2013 Gaming and TV

May 22, 2013 by

It’s all over the web like flies in summer; Microsoft has finally released the information on its next generation games console, the Xbox One. IGN have already reviewed what we know, naturally, and you can find their video blogs on the Xbox One by clicking here.

xbox-one-mattrick-top630

The Guardian has been asking all the right questions for me in this article, namely, can it still play games? Games consoles these days are constantly trying to better the other by smothering the user with features and apps, and it appears that the Xbox One will not only provide fantastical features like Sky TV, multi-tasking, social media (etc etc), but will in fact be able to play games. For the first time it feels like they have finally started listening to the demands of the fanboys and not just crammed in a load of unnecessary media devices! Intense irony aside, it does seem like the next generation of games consoles are furiously scraping the bar ever higher up the entertainment ladder, so how will your TV cope with all this?

 Gamefront released this extremely helpful article on HDTVs for gaming which includes a breakdown of the specifications needed to play the latest Microsoft money machine. Speaking of which, I’m sure you’ll already be calculating your expenses in time for the Winter release, but what about a TV good enough to handle the awesome, mind-blowing, no-honestly-this-one-is-the-best spectacle that is Xbox One.

If like me you’ve been perfectly content with your 25” hand-me-down TV up until yesterday (and I wonder why…) you might be happy to see sites like Electronic World pushing their TV clearance sales. I have never seen HDTVs so readily available, and my guess is that we’re all going to need one come Christmas 2013.

Now, this video is and isn’t a series of highlights regarding the Xbox One unveiling. You’ll see what I mean, but I found it rather entertaining from a marketing perspective:

So it seems Microsoft were under instruction to push one or two key words… but if you’re still craving more info on the new box I suggest you take a look at this hands-on guide from Engadget which should tell you all you need to know. You can stop drooling now, it’s still a little way off, but it certainly helps to be prepared for this Pandora’s Box of entertainment.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Home, television Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

HOW ELVIS BECAME MAGNETIC

May 8, 2013 by

Image credit: Virgin Media

I was killing time on StumbleUpon the other night when I came across a pretty unique motivational blog, from a company that aims to “Up” its business client’s levels of “Elvis” (the word “Elvis”, in this case, being co-terminous with “swagger” or “magnetism”). This positively-minded organisation believes that everyone has Elvis-like charisma hidden away inside of them, and that this hidden power just needs to be brought to the amplified.

This got me thinking.

How did Elvis, himself, become so magnetic?

A little research on the subject allowed me to uncover the importance of his manager, and father-figure, Colonel Tom Parker.

It’s fair to say that Parker masterminded talent management. He looked after, arguably, the biggest rock-star in human history, allowing the project to consume every aspect of his life. He displayed a tenacious devotion to his Presley’s interests and was so valued, by the megastar, that he was allowed to take up to a 50% share in Elvis’ earnings. The average talent manager, of the day, wouldn’t receive any more than a 10% cut.

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Originally a carnival barker, Parker picked up many of the attributes required for entertainment industry leadership early on in life. Barker’s, men and women who attempt to draw patrons towards events and attractions, on the travelling entertainment circuit, are required to be mentally agile, self-confident and, above all else, verbally articulate. During his carnival days, Parker built up a list of contacts that would prove to be priceless in years to come.

Parker’s initial forays into the overground entertainment sphere came alongside popular recording artist Gene Austin. Austin had sold around 86m records, between 1924 and 1938, and had earned around $17m. However, his career had hit some black ice and much of his fortune had been squandered. Parker was able to use creative leadership to bring back crowds to the arenas and mount a challenge to Bing Crosby, the marquee star of the period.

His relationship with Austin took him to Tennessee, where he began to promote charity events featuring stars like Minnie Pearl and Eddy Arnold. After working with a number of popular acts, from across the southern states, Parker would eventually discover Elvis in 1955.

Presley’s singing style was noticeably different to the norm. However, the artist lacked the self-confidence to stick to what he knew. Parker encouraged Elvis to be unique and to express his true personality through his recordings. He also gave the naive young man opportunities to mingle with major stars, acting as support to them on tours that had been booked by Parker.

Parker was able to persuade the big-wigs of the music industry, including Mercury Records and Columbia Records, that Elvis was no ordinary young singer, before, eventually inking a deal with RCA Victor.

Parker realised his dream of bringing his young star to the national stage by arranging for Elvis to showcase his personality and good looks on mainstream TV shows such as The Milton Berle Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. By the summer of 1956, Elvis had become one of the most visible new faces of the year, especially gaining traction amongst the female teenage audience.

Parker also signed major merchandising deals, with the aim of turning Elvis into a household brand name. Branded products included everything from charm bracelets to record players. Presley merchandise brought in $22m in 1956, as the star’s cache rose rapidly. Parker innovated a number of novel money-making methods, accentuating the true personality of Elvis along the way. He even released pin badges featuring the legend “I Hate Elvis” aimed at those who, otherwise, wouldn’t part with their cash. Before long Elvis had also escalated from TV to film, and went on to star in 33 motion pictures.

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After a well-documented spell in the military, Elvis made a controversial TV return on Frank Sinatra’s TV vehicle and began to flirt with Hollywood once again. Parker withdrew Elvis from live musical performance, in order to build anticipation for a future comeback and to keep costs at a minimum.

However, when the threat of Beatlemania arrived in the mid-to-late ‘60s, Parker decided it was time to pull the trigger on a comeback. The energetic ’68 Comeback Special return concert, which can be viewed below, showed Elvis operating at his optimum level. A combination of timing, build-up, man management and carnival barking; from The Colonel; had upped the magnetism of Elvis to a level that has never been seen in and around another cult of personality.

Presley himself has said of Parker “I don’t think I’d have ever been very big if it wasn’t for him. He’s a very smart man”. What better seal of approval could a manager hope for?

Anyway, happy viewing…

Filed Under: business, Celebrity, Entertainment, Marketing, television

Music Players Throughout the Centuries

January 23, 2013 by

Listening to music is something that we have been doing for centuries. Whether it was chamber music at the feast of Henry VIII or dubstep at last weekend’s basement party, listening to music is one of the most important ways of expressing ourselves that we have. But our means of listening to music has changed dramatically.

Phonograph: The first mass-produced music player was Thomas Edison’s phonograph, invented in 1877. The device could record sound through use of a 220px-VictorVPhonographmouthpiece, which when spoken into, would cause a metal cylinder wrapped in foil to spin. The needle would then vibrate due to the sounds waves, leaving markings on the foil. Interestingly, Edison invented the phonograph for dictation purposes, but many people used them to play music in their homes instead.

Vinyl player: Otherwise known as a record player, this machine is still seen in some homes today, though seldom used. Invented only ten years after the phonograph, this long-produced machine was originally called the gramophone. This was a widely popular machine as it could play a wide variety of different kinds of music, and when record production become mass-produced and nearly every musician was able to make one, it revolutionised home listening. We’ve recently seen records make a comeback, as people seem to have rediscovered the distinctive crackly but rich quality of vinyl’s played on a record player.

Cassette player: Here we are entering a more modern age of music listening. Brought into real recognition in the late ‘60s and widely celebrated in the ‘80s, the cassette player was more compact, efficient and durable than the vinyl player. Instead of being kept in paper sleeves as easy prey for dust and scratches like vinyls, cassettes were encased in plastic and were much smaller, making for the possibility of the world’s first portable music player. They could be carried round in people’s pockets and even installed as sound-systems in people’s cars!

CD Player: Another sound-system-come-portable music player, tmp3he CD player is still widely used in homes today. Albums that are split into tracks are much easier to navigate with a CD player, as you can skip tracks and return to earlier ones simply with a touch of the button.

MP3 Players: Now we’ve reached the age of music players that we’re still a part of. Although the mp3 format was invented in 1991, the first mp3 player wasn’t available until years later, when a Korean company called Saehan brought out the MPMan (a play on the cassette portable player, the Walkman) This format is revolutionary, meaning one can keep virtually thousands of tracks in one small machine. For those who love to blast their music loud and proud, there are a wide range of docking stations for your mp3 players, the most popular of which being the iPod. You can buy iPod speakers for discount at Discount AV Direct, a store that has a wide range of music players (though only the modern ones!)

This technology, although much more convenient, does signal the demise of physical record production. High street music retailers such as Virgin Megastores, Zavvi and even recently HMV have folded due to the lack of interest in CDs and records. The mp3 format isn’t intrinsically bad in itself; but it makes it much easier to steal than trying to shove a 7” vinyl down your top and walk out of the shop looking inconspicuous. Illegal downloading of music is the music industry’s biggest problem, meaning that artists aren’t getting the money they deserve for their music and record labels are beginning to suffer. So if you still have a cd player or even a record player lying round your house, consider buying a physical copy of your music and try keep physical music production alive.

Filed Under: Entertainment Tagged With: , , , , , ,

THE FIRST DIGITAL CAMERA

January 16, 2013 by

first digital cameraCreated in December 1975, by an engineer at Eastman Kodak, the first digital camera had a lens that was stolen from the reject bin of the factory’s Super 8 video-camera production line. Tacked onto the side was a digital cassette recorder.

Inside the contraption were 16 nickel cadmium batteries, an unreliable early version of CCD imaging area array, and a/d converter implementation stolen from a digital voltmeter and several dozen circuits and circuit boards.

Steve Sasson’s creation was cumbersome, to say the least, but, nevertheless, revolutionary.

 

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the first digital camera

With less that 100th of a Megapixel, the camera recorded only black and white photo to the cassette tape. Each photograph would take 20-30 seconds to display. To play back images, data was read from the tape and then displayed on a television set, via a “microcomputer” that didn’t exactly live up to its name.

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In many ways, this device broke new ground. It was the first camera that operated without film. The first to display images without the use of physical media.

Despite these advances, it met with much resistance. Sasson has explained that many individuals questioned the logic of the move. Many couldn’t envisage anybody wanting to view their pictures on a screen. Many couldn’t imagine an electronic version of a photo album. It was also predicted that it could take the technology between 20 and 30 hours to reach a consumer – an ETA of the mid-1990s. Some even went as far to as to say that Kodak ‘would never find a way to sell digital cameras‘.

The team at the Kodak Apparatus Division Research, had no real idea as to whether these questions would be answered. That team; which included Rick Osiecki, Bob DeYager and Jim Schueckler; were ultimately vindicated by the many technological developments of recent decades. Personal computers, the internet and fibre-optic technology have all advanced the taking and storing of photography.

Steve Sasson, in the technical report of the time, expressed an unsure hope that this could be the case:

“The camera described in this report represents a first attempt demonstrating a photographic system which may, with improvements in technology, substantially impact the way pictures will be taken in the future.”

Filed Under: Entertainment, Family, Featured Tagged With: , , , ,

Taking your Land Rover Off Road

January 11, 2013 by

Land Rover have been synonymous with off roading and quality vehicles for a long time and are a firm favourite with countless British and international motorists. Land Rovers are owned by and enjoyed by a range of customers and perform well in the country and the city. Land Rovers were however clearly designed for more challenging terrain and I personally find it a minor injustice that some full spec Land Rovers will never leave the confines of the city they were bought in.

So, if like me, you love the great outdoors and all the benefits it has to offer and you also have a passion for motoring why not combine two passions and try your hand at off roading? Read on for a quick introduction to off roading.

A starting point for planning your first journey is your destination. Britain is surrounded by expansive stunning countryside and coastlines with impressive sights and surroundings to take in. Make sure you choose a route without hitting any private land or greenbelt or other conservation areas. Preparation is the key so make sure you fully research your route before embarking on a journey. Popular destinations include the Lake District and Peak District in England and numerous trails across the rest of Britain. The Peak District National Park Authority has prepared a guide for acceptable use of green lanes which can be reached through the previous link.

land rover parts

Before embarking on your trip do a bit of basic maintenance and a few checks on your vehicle. Make sure your tyres have adequate tread for the road parts of your journey and that they have plenty of air. One of the key points of off roading that surprisingly enough people overlook is that when you are in remote parts of the country there are not many garages or access routes for mechanics to come to your rescue with repairs and spares. It’s a good idea to take spares for components that receive a lot of wear and may possibly need replacing. A good supplier for Land Rover Parts can befound in the previous link, even if they don’t have the part you need in stock they can usually find it for you.

If you are going to use a GPS for most of your navigation make sure it’s batteries are fully charged and that if you are heading out on a trip for a few days that you will have access to mains power to recharge it if necessary. It’s a good idea to take a back up GPS on longer journeys, many mobile phones now incorporate easy to use GPS functions and spare mobile phone batteries are readily available so it’s worth considering.

If you want to find out more about off roading the British off road driving association or BORDA is a great resource with information on a whole host of topics relating to off road driving in Britain. Good luck finding the right vehicle and spec to suit when making a purchase and have fun exploring!

Filed Under: Entertainment

ELECTRONICS EXPLAINED: WHAT IS VESA?

January 6, 2013 by

VESA Logo | TV Set Standards

If you’re an electronics consumer, it’s likely that you’ve come across the term “VESA standards” at some point in time.

Despite the ubiquity of the term, many people don’t know what the acronym “VESA” stands for, or how VESA standards are applied to electronics industry products.

The initials VESA stand for Video Electronics Standards Association. This organisation, first created in 1989, originally focused on personal computers, in particular those with Super VGA displays.

Over the course of the past 24 years the company has evolved and has moved on to the grading of tv screens and related accessories – from remote controls to tv brackets. VESA have also branched out to become experts in performance standards relating to peripherals for personal computers.

VESA is a global, not-for-profit corporation. It boasts a voting membership of over 170 corporate members internationally. They support and set industry-wide standards for PCs, workstations and other arms of the consumer electronics industries.

As a platform for the development, the promotion and the support of open, uniform standards across the display industry; their expressed vision is “continual growth in technical standards development and evolution, into an international trade association, with a worldwide membership, driving standards initiatives, product implementations and market implementation.

The VESA brand-name has also become a byword for the mounting holes of a tv bracket or those on the rear of a display. Typically, a VESA mount, regardless of its size will have four evenly-spread screw holes. Usually these holes are arranged in a square-shaped layout.

Today over 90% of the TVs produced worldwide conform to VESA standards.

FURTHER READING

Official Website | VESA
Information on VESA standard measurements – TV brackets | 123 Brackets

Filed Under: Entertainment, Home, Lifestyle Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 3 Methods for Enhancing the Safety and Enjoyment of Your Event

December 19, 2012 by

From stadium festivals to small community events, regardless of where you are situated – crowds can cause an infinite amount of chaos. Where there are crowds, there needs to be control – and there are a myriad of methods to enforce this. It may sound a little restrictive but people should not worry that this may have a detrimental effect on the enjoyment of the event, in fact safety is one of the feelings that contribute to enjoyment. According to the Health and Safety Executive: as an organiser of an event you are the one who holds prime responsibility for the safety of the audience, the employees and any contractors you may have hired.

Crowd at the Wireless Festival 2012

Crowd behind control barriers at the Wireless Festival

If you are looking to avoid evoking the stress so often evident in large crowds, you could do so through the following methods:

  1. Signposts: as you become averse in the ins and outs of your event it becomes easier to forget that the people attending are entirely new to the layout. People dawdling or backtracking due to a lack of direction can lead to a vast amount of congestion. There is a simple and cost effective remedy to this problem and this manifests itself in the form of posted signs. Without a posted sign it is all too easy to become overwhelmed with stress and let you perceive the event negatively, an emotion which is incredibly contagious. Signposts allow for maximum efficiency and make the process of getting anywhere far more seamless. Simply put, a clear and concise sign can help people get to where they need to go quickly.
  2. Extra Staff: this may sound excessive to some, but should there be a sudden influx of customers there needs to be someone on hand to deal with it. Precautions need to be taken; you can ease the strain of increased throughput by getting people to perhaps drive customers to certain areas of the event, or even to guide people quickly to their location, or divert people to areas with less traffic. Likewise, should any merchandise stalls be struggling with the extra pressure – someone could jump on to assist. This way no-one will become overburdened and the event-goers will not become restless or impatient.
  3. Crowd Control Barriers: Simply put and without the intention of patronising the reader, these give people a strong indication of where they should and shouldn’t go. Without an obstacle like these in place there may be relatively little indication that people are putting themselves in danger, they aren’t to know.  It also has a positive psychological effect, the barriers can help attendees feel safe and when they feel safe they are more prone to enjoyment without any reservations or worries. Crowd control barriers are very useful in terms of maneuverability and affordability; there is very little incentive for not putting them into use.

If you place a lot of enthusiasm and effort into the safety of your event the crowds will reciprocate in spades, it is an entirely worthwhile venture. If you want a sure-fire way to make your event a success, prioritise safety and the results will speak for themselves.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Planning, Uncategorized

Top Tips on Throwing a Surprise Party

December 3, 2012 by

Throwing a surprise party is a lot of fun when you see the result, but every stressful up until that point. There’s a lot of organising to do, and a lot of secrets to keep. Be sure you want to take the task on before you do. There’s no way out once you’ve started!

  • Find a venue, if you’re throwing it in your house, make sure the person you’re throwing it for a) isn’t there whilst you’re planning, or b) hasn’t made any other plans for that night.
  • Send out invitations to everyone, even via Facebook you can make events private so the person you’re surprising doesn’t know! Make sure everyone keeps quiet!
  • Get a good surprise cake. The whole party is a surprise so make the cake one too. If you want it to be a more personal cake then there are those that can supply excellent quality cakes.
  • Get decorating, go all out and tie up some surprise banners, balloons, really go to town to shock them.
  • Organise for someone to distract them, taking them out for a meal, or simply escorting them home from work. The less suspicious the better.
  • Make sure everyone stays quiet whilst their hiding, no giving the game away. Any late comers, will have to wait as to not ruin the surprise.
  • And then…SURPRISE!

When recently planning my sons 18th birthday party I was constantly affraid during the planning that it was going to be too childish for him and a little too young but quickly learnt that by following these simple steps you really can’t go wrong whatever age they are. The cake though was perhaps the most standout item in the whole party as after searching for birthday cakes in Harrow I quickly found a local cake maker that made a custom cake in the exact same shape of his favorite guitar. Not only did he enjoy the aesthetic of the cake, I also enjoyed taking a knife to the guitar that had made so much noise at so many late hours.

Filed Under: Entertainment

HOW TO FIX A TV TO A WALL

November 30, 2012 by

Santa TVPicture the scene…

Father Christmas has knocked up a shiny, new 65″ plasma for you, back in his Finnish woodwork factory. What’s more, he’s gone to the trouble of climbing down your disused chimney flue, battling through the creosote, to leave the TV slap bang under your tree. Awesome! Right?

Well, yeah, that would be pretty awesome, if it wasn’t for one small problem.

WHERE THE HELL DO YOU PUT THE THING NOW?!?

As the size of television sets continues to grow, more and more people are being faced with the dilemma of placement. Many houses weren’t built with monster TVs in mind. In an attempt to remedy this problem, TV mounting scientists have been working overtime, of late, to bring bracket technology in line with screen technology. A knock on effect of this accelerated pace of change has been  that many laymen are being left in a state of unfamiliarity, when it comes to hanging a modern TV set.

Hopefully, this guide can go some way to fixing the problem.

 

Installing a bracket from home, without the help of an expensive tradesman, is entirely possible. You just have to make sure that you have the correct tools and hand, and a friend to help. Yous should also take the time to assess the construction of the wall in question, not just in terms of material but also whether or not it has cables and pipes running through it.

 

TOOLS

Some of the most important tools required, when mounting a TV include:

- An electric drill, with attachments to suit the wall

- A dust cover, to keep the mess off your carpets and furniture

- A spirit level

- A set of screwdrivers that includes both flathead and Phillips variations

- An electronic cable finder

- Rawlplugs

- A pencil

 

BRICK WALLS

Fortunately, walls made of red brick, breezeblocks or similar are very sturdly and will easily hold a large plasma screen TV.

As a general rule, you can hang your TV anywhere on a brick wall, without compromising structural integrity. Once you’ve decided on a spot, mark the centre of the area with your pencil.

Now take the wall-plate provided, and place it over your centre-point and proceed to carefully mark the corner fixing points, through the gaps in the plate.

Use your bubble-level to check whether or not the back-late is straight (interestingly, some modern TV brackets have spirit levels built into them).

Once the bracket is level, drill the holes, in the spots that you have marked. Now screw the plate to the wall, using the purpose-made fixings supplied. Tighten the screws until the bracket is secure, be sure not to over-tighten beyond the point security.

Once the bracket is set, attach the arms, whilst taking the opportunity to fit the power leads. This is often where a spare pair of hands will begin to be useful.

The bracket, itself, should now be fully in place, with wires attached. If everything seems safe, you can now begin to screw the arms and back-plate to the appropriate holes on the back and sides of your TV. Most modern TVs have four holes in them, that are designed specifically for this purpose.

 

PLASTERBOARD WALLS

This process is not too dissimilar to that required to mount a TV to a solid wall. Except, in this case, you must be sure to fit the bracket to two of the vertical struts that will sit behind the face of the wall. Plasterboard, alone, will not permanently support the weight of a television set.

Locating the struts is easy, if you have access to an electronic finder – this device can also help you to avoid drilling through electrics or piping. If you don’t have one,the old-fashioned method of knocking and listening for changes in tone can be effective. As a guide, UK-built houses generally have struts of around 3in thick once every 10-15 inches. You should also beware that, when drilling into plasterboard, it is often best to use rawlplugs to support the holes.

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No matter what material your wall is constructed of, you should double check the tightness of your screws once you’ve mounted your TV, and at regular intervals over the coming months and years. Otherwise, you are ready to stand back and admire your handiwork.

Image courtesy of 123 Brackets.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Home, Lifestyle, Video Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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