Listen Again To Folk At Five and Teatime Shows

Enjoy again the 2018 editions of my Teatime and Folk At Five shows broadcast on Argyll FM and hosted online by Mixcloud. The peak-time shows inform about Argyll businesses and events with great folk and popular music. Playlists are eclectic and unique.

Krill harvesting threatens Antarctic Ocean environment

Thanks to #Greenpeace for this information:

In the Antarctic, all life, from the giant blue whale to a newborn penguin, depend on one tiny creature: krill. These quirky, shrimp-like crustaceans are one of the Antarctic’s most important species. Without krill, most life forms in the Antarctic would vanish.

But right now, Antarctic krill is being sucked out of the Antarctic Ocean, pulped into oil, and sold as a health supplement on UK shelves. This rapidly growing, multi-million dollar industry is threatening to upset the delicate balance of the Antarctic ecosystem.

The UK is the fourth largest krill oil market globally. And Holland & Barrett is one of the biggest sellers of krill oil products, even stocking their own krill brand.

Holland & Barrett has the power to influence the krill industry to stop fishing in areas that need to be protected. But they’ll only do it if they have thousands of people call on them to stand up and defend the Antarctic.

Email Holland & Barrett’s CEO and tell him to make sure the products on their shelves aren’t putting sensitive Antarctic waters at risk: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/email-holland-and-barrett-emty

Enjoy again

- there's a lot of great new music out, and I'm loving the rock, reggae, folk & dance tunes. Blues, country and Americana are included in the unique playlists too. Catch up by listening to Teatime With Trevox and Folk At Five, on Mixcloud now.

Music to the ears, or deafening noise?

A recent question on Digital DJ Tips went thus: "How Many Watts Per Person Do I Need For DJ Speakers?". Well...

Any 'rule of thumb' relating loudspeaker wattage to audience size is either wrong or at best an over-simplification! Wattage alone does not provide quality or loudness. A set of ground rules for loudspeaker power is proposed below, but first some basics.

People absorb sound and generate alternative sound. Hard surfaces reflect sound. Loudspeakers have varying frequency-dependent efficiencies. There is a helpful noise chart at Noise Help. It indicates that human ears can tolerate exposure to 91 decibels for up to 2 hours. This is a reasonable maximum.

Loudspeaker specifications should indicate their sensitivity as sound pressure level (SPL) in decibels (db) measured at 1 metre with 1 watt applied. (The range of my speakers is 88-98db.) Doubling the wattage increases SPL by 3db. Doubling the distance to the listener decreases SPL by 6db. The critical distance is between speaker and furthest listener.

Rules

1. Minimize the sound absorption of the crowd by positioning mid- and high-range speakers well above head height and angling them down to point at distant head height. That ensures loudspeaker sound can travel direct to audience ears and not be baffled by bodies.

2. No matter how loud the crowd noise is, the SPL at their ears should not exceed 91db. We can use  Geoff The Grey Geek's calculator to determine RMS speaker power for various distances (see table of results for common distances below).

3. Always check sound levels with a Sound Level Meter.

Alesis Monitor One Mk2 Passive (studio)

Distance	Power	SPL
(m)	(w)	(db)
1	1	88
5	100	91
10	398	91 *
15	896	91 *
20	1592	91 *

* N.B. Maximum power for speaker exceeded massively!

Wharfedale Titan 12 Passive (mobile PA)

Distance	Power	SPL
(m)	(w)	(db)
1	1	98
5	10	91
10	40	91
15	90	91
20	159	91

Maxima for Titan 12s

Distance	Power	SPL
(m)	(w)	(db)
10	251	99
25	249	91

Ensure that the maximum power rating of loudspeakers is complied with! If greater distances than these are required, additional loudspeakers would be better than more powerful ones, as the objective is to provide music and not deafen the audience!

Penguin & cat aim to beat mouse issues

Much time is spent by humans in front of a screen using a mouse and keyboard for control, and deliberate avoidance of Repetitive Strain Injury is advised. Enter the Penguin and Cat. Having been impressed in the past by a colleague's 'vertical mouse' and finding a laptop's glide pad to be superior to conventional mice, these two products appeal as mouse replacements.

For more, check out

• https://www.posturite.co.uk/penguin-mouse.html
• https://www.backcs.co.uk/cirque-smart-cat/

The Push Against Plastic Packaging

Hi folks,


Greenpeace have just sent out the following email. How about we all join in and again Push Against Plastic Packaging?


Regards, Trevor.

"Wow! In just one week over 135,000 of you have signed the petition calling on supermarkets to ditch throwaway plastic packaging!

"This is the start of something big. After UK supermarket Iceland announced they’re getting rid of single-use plastic packaging in their own-brand products, other retailers have rushed to talk about what they’re doing to cut plastic pollution.

"But in order to tackle the huge amount of plastic waste produced every day in the UK, we need every supermarket to take urgent action on throwaway plastic packaging.

"The more of us who sign the petition, the stronger our message will be. Please can you ask your family and friends to add their names? (If you’ve already shared the petition, thank you so much!)"

Share via Email

Share on Facebook

Ditch throwaway plastic packaging

I’ve just signed a petition calling on UK supermarkets to go plastic-free, and it would mean a lot to me if you’d add your name too!

From turtles entangled in six pack rings to whales with stomachs full of plastic bags, the effects of plastic pollution can be devastating.

UK supermarket Iceland has just announced its own-brand packaging is going plastic-free.

By ditching plastic packaging, supermarkets have the power to lead the way in dramatically reducing the amount of single-use plastic produced.

Please join me in calling on UK supermarkets to ditch throwaway plastic packaging.

Sign the petition >> https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/plastic-free-supermarket-ef

Thank you!

Laptops with matte screens

It seems to be getting harder to find matte screened laptops, but here is a useful page that lists current models: https://www.productchart.co.uk/laptops/sets/1

Windows 10 Explorer settings (note to self, as defaults unfriendly)

Explorer views vary with content type. Modify thus:

A. Add essential columns - e.g. Name, Date modified, Size
Steps: View > Add columns > Choose columns
Optionally change display order by dragging columns

B. Save view for all folders of same type
Steps: View > Options > Change folder and search options > View > Apply to Folders (in resulting popup, choose whether to match folder settings in all folders of same type)

Argyll FM transmission issue

A part of the main 106.5 transmitter equipment has failed, due to a creature nesting inside the cabinet by the mast and shorting it out. We are awaiting spares. I'm still doing my live shows as usual and putting them on Mixcloud in the meantime.

As 106.5 is the first link in our public transmitter chain, the others are silent too. 

 

We'll be back!

http://www.trevox.uk/

https://twitter.com/trevox

https://www.mixcloud.com/trevox/

https://folkshow.blogspot.co.uk/

https://teatimeshow.blogspot.co.uk/

Plastic choke is no joke - why we need Greenpeace

More needs done to ensure plastic is used and disposed of responsibly. Top marks to Greenpeace for their steadfast highlighting of this potentially mortal problem. This is the latest email from them:



Christmas is a big time of year for Coke – but we want to show the world that their happy holiday image hides a less cheerful reality.

This global drinks giant pumps out an estimated 110 billion plastic bottles a year - that’s over 3,400 bottles a second! Our recycling systems simply cannot keep up with this tide of single-use plastic, and it’s overwhelming our oceans. Research has shown that a shocking 90% of seabirds and 1 in 3 sea turtles have ingested plastic.

As the biggest soft drinks producer in the world, Coca-Cola have the opportunity to take the lead in reducing their plastic footprint and coming up with innovative reusable alternatives.

Please take a minute to share the petition with your friends and tell Coke to take urgent action to stop harming our oceans:

Share on Facebook

Share via email

Greenpeace supporters in 14 countries around the world have now joined the campaign – and together we’re showing Coke that there’s nowhere to hide for their plastic polluting ways.

This festive season, join the call for Coca-Cola to make a resolution that will change the face of our oceans for years to come – don’t let Coke choke our oceans!

Oceans cannot stomach more plastic

Hi there,

I've just signed a petition calling on Coca-Cola's global CEO to take action on Coke's plastic footprint and it would mean a lot if you'd add your name too!

Coca-Cola produce over 110 billion single-use plastic bottles a year - and billions of these end up on beaches and in the ocean.

Plastic can be mistaken for food by marine life ranging from giant whales to tiny microplankton. Up to 90 percent of seabirds have plastic in their stomachs.

Our oceans can't stomach any more plastic - companies like Coke must take action to reduce the amount of bottles they're creating.

Sign the petition https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/coca-cola-petition-email-share

Thank you! 

Environmental headlines

• Greenpeace lists 5 things about the 'petrol diesel ban' that it believes the government does not want us to know.
• Floods kill 1,200 in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and shut 1.8 million children out of 18,000 schools. Millions have been forced from their homes. 
• Meanwhile in the USA, the toll of tropical storm Harvey rises to 31 confirmed deaths with 50,000 homes destroyed.