Monday 30 April 2012

Playlist:
Beatles, The - Day Tripper
Kelly Osbourne - Papa Don't Preach
Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy
Hear'Say - Everybody
Outside Track, The - The Mountain Road
Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To My Lovely
Willie Nelson - Funny How Time Slips Away
Andy Williams - Can't Help Falling In Love
Darts - Duke Of Earl
Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride
M - Pop Muzic
Maisonettes, The - Heartache Avenue
Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra

Charity Single by The Outside Track

The Outside Track are giving all proceeds from their latest single “The Mountain Road” to British charities.

The song is beautiful and costs only $1, but the best part about it is that all proceeds are going directly to charity. The supported charities are: The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, The Scottish Mountain Rescue, Mountain Rescue England & Wales, and the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation.

We'll be featuring it on the Tea Time Show and the Folk Show on Argyll FM. Tune in, check it out, buy it!

Saturday 28 April 2012

Playlist:
Sarah McQuaid - So Much Rain
Outside Track, The - The Mountain Road
Ewan McLennan - The Last Bird To Sing
Chris Flegg - A Song Of Peace
Bill Jones - Two year Winter
Saga - Sweet Peg O' Derby
Moishe's Bagel - Bageliser + Behusher Chosid
Bill Jones - Panchpuran
Sarah McQuaid - What Are We Going To Do
Ewan McLennan - Butcher's Boy
Allan Johnston - The Songs And The Tears
Jennifer & Hazel Wrigley - The Duchess Of Gordon + Scotification

Thursday 26 April 2012

Playlist:
Shania Twain - Don't Be Stupid
Jackie Wilson - Higher And Higher
Dawn - Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree
Del Amitri - Nothing Ever Happens
Pretenders - I Got You Babe
Kinks, The - Autumn Almanac
Abba - On And On And On
Christie - Yellow River
Linda Ronstadt - Blue Bayou
Sam Brown - Valentine Moon
Roy Orbison - Penny Arcade
Bryan Adams - Heaven

Digital Restrictions Management

For years, I used the slogan "Better By Design" for my systems analysis work. Some products now are "Defective By Design". They use Digital Restrictions Management (DRM).

To quote directly from the Defective By Design campaigning web site: "DRM products have features built-in that restrict what jobs they can do. These products have been intentionally crippled from the users' perspective, and are therefore "defective by design". This campaign will identify these “defective” products, and target them for elimination. We aim to make DRM an anti-social technology. We aim for the abolition of DRM as a social practice." As well as being found in much proprietary computer software, DRM is built into products like the Kindle, iPad, Apple/Mac OS X, Sony PlayStation 3, and is a major threat to eBooks in general. It is the antithesis of what many people have strived for since the early 20th. century, probably longer. Help to break free. DRM must be eliminated.

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Playlist:
Patti Smith - Because The Night
Showaddywaddy - Pretty Little Angel Eyes
Son Of My Father - Chicory Tip
Little Eva - The Locomotion
Judy Clay & William Bell - Private Number
Outside Track, The - The Mountain Road
Tina Turner - The Best
Who, The - See Me, Feel Me
Corries, The - Flower Of Scotland
Ella Fitzgerald - I Get A Kick Out Of You
Erasure - Sometimes
Abba - Dancing Queen
Kinks, The - Lola

Charity Single by The Outside Track

The Outside Track are giving all proceeds from their latest single “The Mountain Road” to British charities.

The song is beautiful and costs only $1, but the best part about it is that all proceeds are going directly to charity. The supported charities are: The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, The Scottish Mountain Rescue, Mountain Rescue England & Wales, and the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation.

We'll be featuring it on the Tea Time Show and the Folk Show on Argyll FM. Tune in, check it out, buy it!

Charity Single by The Outside Track

The Outside Track are giving all proceeds from their latest single “The Mountain Road” to British charities.

The song is beautiful and costs only $1, but the best part about it is that all proceeds are going directly to charity. The supported charities are: The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, The Scottish Mountain Rescue, Mountain Rescue England & Wales, and the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation.

We'll be featuring it on the Tea Time Show and the Folk Show on Argyll FM. Tune in, check it out, buy it!

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Playlist:
Herman's Hermits - There's A Kind Of Hush
Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
Olivia Newton-John - Take Me Home Country Roads
Lighthouse Family - High
Mary J Blige & U2 - One
Tina Turner - When The Heartache Is Over
Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love
Captain Sensible - Happy Talk
Faith No More - I'm Easy
Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent
Beatles - Hello Goodbye
Annie Lennox - No More I Love You's

Monday 23 April 2012

Playlist:
Sweet - Wig Wam Bam
Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop
Rocky Sharpe & The Replays - Rama Lama Ding Dong
Charlie Rich - Behind Closed Doors
Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
Chris De Burgh - Missing You
Madonna - Borderline
Roy Orbison - Pretty Woman
Def Leppard - Let's Get Rocked
Wonder Stuff, The - The Size Of A Cow
Fratellis, The - Chelsea Dagger
Rod Stewart - Hot Legs

Saturday 21 April 2012

Playlist:

Sarah McQuaid - What Are We Going To Do
Outside Track, The - Troll+Sean's Slip
Runrig - Heart Hamme
Judy Collins - Albatross
Catherine Howe and Vo Fletcher - Nothing Love Does Surprises Me
Ladysmith Black Mambazo - I'll Take You There
John Williamson - You And My Guitar
Ceili Moss - These Are the Cloud
Rosie Morton and Carrie Thomas - Dorothy's Tartan Pyjama
McCalmans - Scotland
Unthanks, The - Nobody Knew She Was There
Spinners, The - The Derby Ram

Power Cut Causes Radio Blackout

A widespread power outage hit the Kintyre, Mid-Argyll and Islay areas on Saturday 21 April 2012. Lasting from 20:10 to 22:25 approximately, it caused Argyll FM to go off air, affecting the studio and all three transmitters

Thursday 19 April 2012

Playlist:
Adam Faith - As You Like It
Wee Toon Tellers - Hector The Hero
Jennifer Warnes - First We Take Manhattan
Westlife - Uptown Girl
Guy Mitchell - Singing The Blues
Men At Work - Down Under
Smokie - Living Next Door To Alice
Donovan - Catch The Wind
Wild Sarachs - Wild Flowers + Father John
Dr. Hook - The Cover Of Rolling Stone
Sam Brown - Valentine Moon
Hollies, The - Jennifer Eccles
Pink - So What
K C & The Sunshine Band - That's The Way I Like It
Herman's Hermits - I'm Into Something Good
Bay City Rollers - Give A Little Love

Radical pruning

... of Social Media links deemed necessary to isolate any which may have offended Twitter's policies. The six classes left are: Blogs > Web pages Blogs > Twitterfeed Twitterfeed > Twitter Twitter > Facebook & LinkedIn Twitter > Web pages Twitter >< iOS (Apple) Yes, MySpace, SocialToo, Digg and StumbleUpon are all out of it, for the time being anyway. Shows how central Twitter has become. (Although Twitterfeed could update Facebook and LinkedIn directly, I need Twitter to update them to avoid duplicate tweets, so Twitter is the hub.) Let's see how it goes.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Playlist:

• Goombay Dance Band - Seven Tears
• Who, The - I Can't Explain
• Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man
• Runrig - Precious Years
• Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock
• K T Tunstall - Black Horse And The Cherry Tree
• Echo & The Bunnymen - Killing Moon
• Wham! - Freedom
• Take That - Everything Changes
• Chesney Hawkes - The One And Only
• Sutherland Brothers & Quiver - Arms Of Mary
• Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Playlist:

• Traffic, The - Hole In My Shoe
• Three Degrees, The - Take Good Care Of Yourself
• Rolling Stones, The - Paint It Black
• Dr. Hook - Sexy Eyes
• S Club - Alive
• Brotherhood Of Man - Figaro
• Beatles, The - Let It Be
• Billy Fury - Halfway To Paradise
• Buzzcocks, The - Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)
• Spice Girls, The - Say You'll Be There
• Gallagher & Lyle - Heart On My Sleeve
• T. Rex - Telegram Sam
• Stevie Wonder - Lately

Monday 16 April 2012

Playlist:
Bruce Channel - Hey Baby!
Rod Stewart - Love Touch
Britney Spears - Toxic
Thompson Twins, The - Hold Me Now
Corrs, The - So Young
Free - My Brother Jake
Alan Price Set - The House That Jack Built
Pretenders - Brass In Pocket
Henry Mancini - Pink Panther Theme
Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet
Dusty Springfield - I Only Want To Be With You
Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street
Gabrielle - Dreams
Carpenters - For All We Know
Darts - The Boy From New York City

Ferrari F1 car is a dog?

That's what David Coulthard called it today at the Chinese Grand Prix. They finished 9th and 13th after qualifying 9th and 12th - not at their best for sure, but not dogs in my vocabulary. Perhaps I mis-heard. That said, it was great to see racing maestro Ross Brawn's Mercedes car win in the hands of Nico Rosberg, leading home the Mercedes engined McLarens of Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton. The next five cars home were all Renault powered, including both the Red Bulls and both the Williams machines. Cars which I might call "dogs" would not make it through qualifying.

Saturday 14 April 2012

Playlist:
McCalmans, The - From Greenland
Outside Track, The - Poor Lonesome Hen
Hilary James - A Song & Jig For Good Measure
Spinners, The - Pratty Flowers
Alex Campbell - The Overgate
John Williamson - Truckie's Wife
Sarah McQuaid - So Much Rain
L Project - It Does Get Better
Cathal Hayden - Goodbye To Ireland + McKillops (Reels)
Athena - Let Me In
Henry Girls, The - King St. Waltz
Michael Raven & Joan Mills - Jolly Machine

Thursday 12 April 2012

Playlist:
Byrds, The - Mr. Tambourine Man
Del Shannon - Runaway
Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth
Sam Brown - Valentine Moon
Matchbox - Rockabilly Rebel
Motors, The - Forget About You
Vatersay Boys, The - Shed Lot CDB
Saw Doctors, The - I Useta Lover
Tina Charles - I Love To Love
Wet Wet Wet - Sweet Little Mystery
Who, The - Substitute
Wilson Phillips - Go Your Own Way
Jam, The - David Watts

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Playlist:
Tom Jones - What's New, Pussycat
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Proclaimers - Letter From America
Elton John - Nikita
Rita Coolidge - All Time High
Rolling Stones - Lady Jane
Big Country - Look Away
Lisa Stansfield - All Around The World
Catatonia - Mulder And Scully
Five Star - System Addict
Whigfield - Saturday Night
David Gray - Babylon

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Playlist:
Troggs - Love Is All Around
Maisonettes - Heartache Avenue
Beatles - From Me To You
Aztec Camera - Somewhere In My Heart
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Get Down
Blondie - Call Me
Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
Donovan - Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness)
Lesley Garrett - O Mio Babbino Caro
Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor
Liberty X - Just A Little
M C Hammer - U Can't Touch This
Vatersay Boys - Tam Bain's Lum
Drifters - Under The Boardwalk
Toyah - I Want To Be Free

Monday 09 April 2012

Playlist:
Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
Lynrd Skynrd - Sweet Home Alabama
Big Bopper - Chantilly Lace
Who - We're Not Gonna Take It
Spandau Ballet - Gold
Kenny Rogers - I Will Always Love You
Maxi Priest - Some Guys Have All The Luck
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
Mud - Tiger Feet
Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse - Valerie
Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
Rod Stewart - I Can't Deny It

Saturday 07 April 2012

Playlist:
McCalmans - Corrywreckan Calling
Sarah McQuaid - In Derby Cathedral
Tommy Sands - Carry On
Martin Byrne - Sixy One Days
Catherine Ennis, Liam O'Flynn - Easter Snow
Spinners - The Calton Weaver
John Williamson - Bill The Cat
Joel & Cedric Perri - The Cuckoo And The Flute
Unthanks, The - The Gallowgate Lad
Allan Johnston - Jane And Joe Johnston's Golden Wedding Waltz
Bidh Clann Ulaidh Air Do Bhanais (The Clan Of Ulster Will Be At Your Wedding) - Ishbel MacAskill
Archie McAllister - Salute To Frank Ferrell

Thursday 05 April 2012

Playlist:
Squeeze - Cool For Cats
Abba - Waterloo
Dollar - Shooting Star
Frank Ifield - I Remember You
Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now
Mental As Anything - Live It Up
Sam Brown - Valentine Moon
Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
Killers - Human
Monkees - I'm A Believer
Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69
Proclaimers - I'm On The Way

Effectiveness - the true bottom line?

So, now we know what six-figure sums Boris and Ken earn (Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, two candidates for Mayor of London, see http://bit.ly/HyWkZ5). That may be interesting, but many commentators seem to be acting as though remuneration is the only "bottom line", and high pay is being spun as a negative. Most companies would consider cost-effectiveness as the true bottom line. In their personal lives most people would strive towards happiness and/or fulfilment, and in their work lives towards job-satisfaction. I consider that voters too are concerned about cost-effectiveness from their elected representatives, and they want society generally to be improved by the political process - social-effectiveness. It is up to the politicians to persuade their electorate how effective they will be in delivering what people want. Once transparency in monetary reward has been achieved, the pay is a distraction. The real political bottom line should be effectiveness, embracing both cost and social components. For an individual, the bottom line includes fulfilment; happiness; job-satisfaction. There are no readily apparent units to quantify these terms, but surely ££s are not an effective substitute measurement either?

Wednesday 04 April 2012

Playlist:
Kinks - Death Of A Clown
Pilot - It's Magic
America - A Horse With No Name
Donovan - Catch The Wind
Katie Melua - The Closest Thing To Crazy
Paul McCartney & Wings - Listen To What The Man Said
Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working
Slade - Cum On Feel The Noize
Gary Moore - Parisienne Walkways
Lemar - It's Not That Easy
Patti Smith Group - Because The Night
Carpenters - Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft

Tuesday 03 April 2012

Playlist:
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - The Onion Song
Smokie - Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone
Country Joe McDonald - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag
Foundations - Baby, Now That I've Found You
Katie Melua - Mockingbird Song
Boris Gardiner - I Want To Wake Up With You
Lemar - If There Is Any Justice
Doris Day - Move Over Darling
Fairport Convention - Chelsea Morning
Spice Girls - Mama
Suzi Quatro - Daytona Demon
Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil

Monday 02 April 2012

Playlist:
Chubby Checker - Let's Twist Again
Electric Light Orchestra
Katie Melua - Piece By Piece
Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Robbie Williams - Tripping
Maria Muldaur - Midnight At The Oasis
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Emmylou Harris - Together Again
Bananarama - Love In The First Degree
Curtis Stigers - Your All That Matters To Me
Cliff Richard & Percy Sledge - I'm Your Puppet
Gene Pitney - That Girl Belongs To Yesterday