Happy Returns

I wasn't going to post anything today, it being my birthday and everything. The 'everything' being having been up to the early hours last night, following my post-pub decision to install that new TV, after I came home to find that everyone on the old TV were no longer green, but lilac. Having got it more or less sorted, with my twin-tuned HD freeview recorder plugged in and the TV's own freeview tuner up and running, I then decided to try and start recording a new pod cast, before finally going to bed and listening to someone else's podcast. Having listened back to the stuff I recorded, I've decided to scrap it and start again. It just didn't sound like what I want to do podcast-wise these days. Lately, I've been listening to Bug Out, a podcast by PQ Ribber, which you can find over at Onsug,com, and I've been left feeling that my own efforts are decidedly inadequate by comparison. (I'd urge you all to give Bug Out a listen. Whilst it certainly won't be to everyone's taste, I find PQ Ribber's mix of various off-beat pop culture elements, taking in soundscapes, old radio serials, film reviews and chat about esoteric postcards and old editions of Life magazine, fascinating. I've also chatted with PQ a couple of times on the - now defunct - Nightstation site and can confirm that he's one of the good guys).

Consequently, I'm rethinking the Sleazecast, both in terms of content and format, and hope to start again on number seven later this week. But getting back to that new TV, I have to say that, picture-wise, it doesn't seem to be much of an improvement over the old one. OK, I know that I haven't been watching anything in HD on it, but nonetheless, I've heard so much hype about how superior the picture quality of LCD screens are compared to the old tubes, that I was expecting better. As for the sound quality, I actually think that it is somewhat inferior to the old one. Like just about every flat screen TV I've watched, it sounds distinctly tinny. Gripes aside, I finally managed to get the DVD player connected up this afternoon, (unlike its predecessor, the TV has only one scart socket - used by the twin tuner/recorder - so I had to connect it up through a set of AV cables), so I've been able to indulge in an Italian zombie movie marathon, (I'm between films right now). That, together with a steady stream of toasted sandwiches and mugs of tea, interspersed with a typically off centre text conversation with my best friend, have made this a pretty enjoyable birthday, so far. Anyway, I'm going to have a bath now, before cracking open the beers for the last leg of the zombie marathon...