Steve Zodiac - Analogue Puppet!

I remember watching one of the first episodes of Fireball XL5 in black and white back in the 1960s. Steve Zodiac and Dr Venus were visiting a strange planet and making their way through some spooky caves on their jetmobiles. Venus was attacked and fell from her jetmobile ... blood...blood on her head ... what would Steve Zodiac do?
I was about 7 years old at the time and it scared me!
Steve Zodiac, Venus, Mathew (Matt) Matic, Robert the Robert (On our way home!!) and that strange creature Zoonie.
The series was way ahead of its time, imagine if they made the series again using digital technology?
They remade THUNDERBIRDS using real life characters and changed the look of the crafts .. it was awful!
Let's remake FIREBALL XL5 using computer animations similar to Shrek or Ice Age

Some great Fireball XL5 websites and images:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhw05Ssxiw&feature=related
www.nostalgiacentral.com/tv/kids/xl5.htm
http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/GA/fireball-xl5.html

Avril

Today was my last day after an incredible year at my new school site. Moving into a new level of digital technology makes me reflect on where I was this time last year. Last night and this afternoon the children leaving school presented their end of year Mass to their parents and rest of the school, part of this was our Powerpoint Presentation. I have done this a couple of times with the children before, but this time the feelings came right to the surface - a real tear jerker. This along with the school play (Joe White) and some wonderful kids brought to life the technology behind it.
The Powerpoint was so popular that we needed 60 copies of it on CD in half a day. The kids responded and set up a production line of disc burning using Dell Laptops churning out discs in packets ready for distribution!
Fantastic!
These are nine year old kids!
They harnessed the digital technology!
The song by Avril Lavingne 'When you're gone' was used in the presentation and will never be forgotten ... Rock on Avril!!

Disco Diva!

Back in 1991 I became a DJ!
I can't believe that some of this equipment is being used at this moment at school in the same hall that it was was originally designed for...
The story...family night discos at The Moss School where my children are and one night the disco does not turn up. The hall is full of parents and children waiting for a disco and we have a problem. Some quick thinking and I decided to wheel in the school hi-fi connect it up and run home to get some records and tapes along with a couple of children. We now had a disco!
I became a DJ overnight and had a great night, the parents and kids didn't even notice the lack of disco! After this I decided to build some equipment and have a disco of my own to use in school. I have lost count of the number of discos that I have done over the years, first with two twin SP25 decks and then added one and even two CD players. We had flashing lights and a superb 100 watt FET Amp (Kit from Maplin) Speakers are brilliant, I later added tweeters which further improved the quality. A couple of years later I bought a Maplin Mixer Unit which I still use today.
The photo shows the new equipment ready be used along with my BBC Computer and twin disc drives, printer and modem in 1991.
On Friday in our new school building (Re-built The Moss School) we presented our Summer production in the same hall area as 1991 and with the same equipment - it still works!!

Digital Narnia

Premier of the new 'Chronicles of Narnia' film 'Prince Caspian' (Edmund, Lucy, Susan, Peter and Prince Caspian)

Back in class 5 at primary school we had a brill teacher called Mr Dewhurst. He read us 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and then 'Prince Caspian' in class. I was totally begotted with the first story. When I became a teacher myself I have read these to the children and they love it! The british cartoon version of the story is super and Jacquie loved to watch it. The BBC version was disappointing, especially when Lucy asked "Are you a Faun?" having never seen or heard of one before!!
Now we have the digital versions...
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is fantastic, the whole school went to watch it at the cinema and loved it. Now comes the next bit ... Prince Caspian! I must admit that I didn't fully understand this story when I was in Year 3, but I can't wait to see the digital film version!

Jazzy FM - Digital Radio!

Jazzy FM is our school internet radio station!

Radio...but not as we know it...making radio broadcasting accessible to all through on-line radio.

An intresting concept because it has meant that children in my class at school now control their own station through RADIOWAVES - an on-line facility for children to safely create their own Podcasts and broadcasts using MP3 digital recording then publishing them onto the school radio station.

We have been doing this for a couple of years, but now I am launching our new JAZZY FM station. We use a program called 'Audacity' to edit and produce podcasts.

www.radiowaves.co.uk/jazzyfm

Check out other stations on Radiowaves!

http://www.radiowaves.co.uk/

Analogue Holiday!

Talk about a working holiday...how about three weeks in a holiday camp!

Monday morning July 1972 and I have just returned from a week in Wales with Mum and Dad. Arrive at work and am told "How do you fancy a couple of days at Pontins?" "Great!" I said. Right...need you in that lorry at 9.30 to Rhye...rush job!!!

Err...I have no money....or clothes....and my Mum and Dad don't know! "No problem" says Martin Foy, my boss. "Send you some money and we will phone Mum"

So off I went with Brian to join a load of other TV Engineers at Camber Sands on the South Coast in glorious weather!

The mission...to replace 900 duff televisions in 900 chalettes at Pontins at Camber Sands with new ones.

Alice Cooper and Hawkwind were at the top of the charts and Mungo Jerry 'In the summer time' was about to become number one. I remember watching Top of the Pops in the chalette were we stayed for the first week and a half until we got thrown out! We stayed for the rest of the time in a pub in Lydd which was great!

'Slot TV' was the analogue buzz word then...you put 50p into the slot in a box on the back of the TV to watch the television for a couple of hours.

Today's digital equivalent is 'Pay as you view' on SKY or VIRGIN MEDIA...but no slots!

Back at Camber Sands we struck some good deals with the punters by bypassing the slot. I remember doing this with a group of great girls from Camber Sands who worked behind the bar ... result...cheap (and free) beer!

In the last week it was my 18th Birthday my Mum and Dad sent me a 'TELEGRAM' to the camp. I was amazed how this crude analogue device managed to find me on my birthday. The girl at reception made a big thing about it and anounced it over the camp loadspeakers!

Speaking of which...we managed to get hold of a 'LOAD HAILER' and at 7.00 in the morning we drove around the camp (ten in the van) shouting 'MORNING CAMPERS!!!' (No wonder we got chucked out!)

A fantastic three weeks and I came back in the clothes I went in!

BBC Computer

The BBC 'B' Computer...digital icon!

In 1989 I 'upgraded' my computer system to the famous BBC 'B' Computer. Before this I used my Sinclair Spectrum, which was a superb machine!

In 1989 I gave up my job in electronics to start a PGCE course at Uni, my placements involved teaching ICT to students using the BBC 'B' computer. Gosh...I remember teaching 24 hairdressing students at Salford College using BBC computers, quite an experience!!

I set up a bench in the loft with my BBC computer along with monitor, 5 1/4" disc drives and dot-matrix printer. I had a pile of computer software on floppy discs. I used this set up to complete my assignments for Uni and print them out for submission (I still have them in the loft!!) I remember once having to meet the deadline for my final assignment and spending two nights typing in my work on 'WordStar' then closed down the programme before saving my work! In those days you didn't get a message that said 'Do you want to save your work?'

I lost it and stayed up all night typing it in again!

I used my BBC to back up and repair copies of the BBC software at school, a wonderful machine, but expensive. In 1989 it would cost £350 plus disk drive and software. I bought mine for £150 including two disk drives and software.

I sold my Sinclair Spectrum and used the BBC for a while until taking the plunge and buying a new PC!