We just received an email in work about all our equipment being PAT tested. Zzzz. I devised a much better PAT test, and sent it round to the team. Feel free to have a go.

THE PAT TEST.

1. _______________

2. _______________

3. _______________

4. _______________

5. _______________

6. _______________

7. _______________

8. _______________

9. _______________

10. ______________

I thought they were all fairly easy, but then I was the one googling them

Contained within, in no particular order, is the Christmas list of one Michael Bishop, Esq. No doubt, this will be updated as and when…

Vivitar 145cm Digital Camera Tripod – £13.95
As I’m hoping to get my hands on a DSLR camera very soon, a tripod is definitely going to be necessary at some point as I seem to have the hands of a 50-year old alcoholic.

Waterproof Camera Bag – £15.99
Again to fit the camera and a few lenses in. I’m not sure waterproof is necessary but it definitely can’t hurt at this price.

Maxim LP-E10 Battery – £9.99
I’m due to go to Berlin in January, so a replacement battery would be really handy.

Flumps
Flumps are my favourite sweet thing in the world. They remind me of Christmas morning, as I usually end up with some form of marshmallow treaty goodness. Twitter seems to like flumps almost as much as they like bacon.

Pure DAB Highway – £68.80
It’s frustrating that BBC6Music isn’t a terrestrial radio station, because it’s consistently way better than anything else on offer. I’m usually stuck flicking between Radio Merseyside and Radio 1, and neither are that great really. What this little gadget does is enable a DAB radio sign to be received in the car, meaning that I could listen to Adam and Joe on the move. I guess it’s the radio equivalent to a freeview box for your in-car TV.

Just heard the sad news that Mark Hall, co-founder of Cosgrove Hall Films, has passed away at the age of 75. This man was responsible for many of my awesome childhood memories. In particular, when I used to go round to my Nan’s house after school and sit in her back room watching Count Duckula while eating vinegary chips and sausage from the local chippy. Good times.

Count Duckula

Wind in the Willows

Alias the Jester

Jamie and the Magic Torch

Victor and Hugo

and of course Danger Mouse

RIP dude. I hope it leads to a wealth of re-runs as tribute.

A new show started last week on BBC2; one that I’ve been waiting a good while for. It’s called Life’s Too Short, and is a pseudo-mockumentary about Warwick Davis, the actor that played (amongst other things) Willow back in the late 80s. The premise is fairly simple – a film crew follow Warwick around during his ‘day-to-day life’. The acting work has dried up and his accountant has messed up his taxes, so he takes pretty much anything that comes along. He also likes to visit Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (who he believes are his friends) to chat, and in the hope of getting some work. Think ‘The Office’ meets ‘Extras’ and you’ve got a pretty good barometer.

We’re two episodes in so far, and I’m finding it a bit of a mixed bag. It really feels like The Office, even down to the Laurel and Hardy-esque quizzical and/or bemused glances to the camera every now and then. It’s got that horrifying awkwardness factor, which is something that put me off The Office – I don’t cope with cringe comedy that well because I end up feeling really sorry for the protagonists rather than laughing at them.

However, the Extras-style cameos are exceptionally funny. Liam Neeson turns up in Episode 1 just as Warwick is in Gervais and Merchant’s office (the same one that they use to speak to Karl Pilkington in the excellent An Idiot Abroad, which I thought was a nice touch), and asks for advice about becoming a stand-up comedian. The five minutes that followed were some of the funniest television I’ve seen in years, and very reminiscent of the amazing Patrick Stewart caravan scene from Extras (linked below).

Episode 2′s main cameo is Johnny Depp, who hires Warwick for some inspiration and then tags along with him when he goes to visit Gervais and Merchant. I’m assuming that each episode is going to have one big star like this, and part of why I think this formula works so well is that we get to see famous people in a much more self-deprecating light than we’d usually imagine.

So far, I guess Life’s Too Short is just ‘more of the same’ from Gervais. I haven’t decided whether that’s necessarily a bad thing though. It’s currently showing on Thursday at 9:30pm on BBC2 – definitely worth a watch.

So within the six weeks or so, I’ve watched all three seasons of hit US crime show Castle (within two weeks no less), a season and a half of the hit US crime show Rizzoli & Isles, and I’ve finally started on hit US crime show Dexter. I figure between the three of them, I’ve seen about 80 fictional murders or so in the 40 days or so. That’s normal behaviour right? Anyway, here’s a few things I’ve noticed:

• Everyone answers the phone with their surname. I’m not 100% sure why they do this, but it looks cool and is something I want to try. I imagine it’ll surprise the bank at the very least.
• Everyone you already know pops up now and then. Castle’s had Nathan Petrelli from Heroes, Riley from Buffy, Zach from The O.C. and others; Dexter’s had (so far – I’m only in season one) Jacob from Lost.
• Nobody interrogates people like Jack Bauer. Not even close. They could all learn a thing or two about how to do it – turn the thermostat way up and push them up against the wall. Works a treat. Tempted to start doing it when interviewing people in work.

More to come.