My cats love watching certain programmes on the TV, and are particularly fond of nature programmes about birds. I was not surprised then to learn that a TV channel for dogs has been launched in the US. It is designed to keep your canine friend relaxed and stimulated whilst you are at work. The channel is advertising free and available around the clock. It features content specifically tailored for dogs with the sound, colours and camera angles adjusted to make them more appealing for your four legged friend. It looks great, my only question is when will the cat channel be launching?

I rarely bet on sporting events but do always have a small flutter on the Grand National. This year I picked three horses one of which came in third doubling my initial stake. Watching the race I found myself wincing every time the horses jumped the fences and hoping the fallen were uninjured. Afterwards finding that two horses had died during the race I found myself contemplating whether if the sport were introduced now it would be allowed to go ahead. In my opinion two dead horses is two too many. It seems obvious to me that something needs to change here in order to make the event safer. It will be interesting to follow the investigation into the deaths of the two horses and see what measures if any are put in place for next years race.

I recently got one of these Baby Einstein DVD’s in the hope it might amuse Penny for half an hour. Penny tends to be awake most of the day and whilst I don’t just want to park her in front on the TV there are times when I need a window to do other things. For this purpose the DVD is great. It is quite simple, it includes several of Beethoven symphonies along with puppets and other baby friendly images. Penny will quite happily sit in her bouncer and watch it sometimes even twice before she gets bored. Not only that the cats love it too. Whilst it doesn’t really contain anything you couldn’t reproduce at home, for the £3.99 I paid for it, it really is quite a valuable resource that enables me to get other things during the day when Penny is wide awake.

Toy story makers have created a new range of clothing for adults. The clothes will be available in a limited number of Disney stores in the USA and will feature alien inspired tops and a Mr Potato-head hat. Looking at these outfits I’m not convinced it will be that popular.

The heading says it all really. George from Rainbow has been pictured in a tree at Scotney Castle. If you have forgotten what George looks like, he is pictured to the right. I will leave you to marvel at the uncanny resemblance.

Nestlé has created a TV advert for pet food which has been made to appeal to dogs. The advert features frequencies that only dogs can hear to try and get their attention. Quite how this will convince the dogs owners to purchase the particular brand of pet food is a mystery but one must presume that the dogs will simply ask for it by name. It’s an interesting idea and something which could also be used to advertise cat foods. My cats, already watch the TV, they particularly like bird programmes and often make hunting noises at the TV. Bizarrely programmes with Alan Titchmarsh also seem to have the effect, why? I am yet to find out. I’m sure they would greatly enjoy watching adverts made for them.

If you are a fan of Thunderbirds then you might be interested in the chance to purchase Lady Penelope. The 50cm puppet goes up for sale at auction shortly and is expected to fetch up to £10,000. The puppet has been in the care of her maker since the mid 60’s when it was  used in the series. It is an original and as there are not many left should be highly sought after by collectors.

According to this article advertisers have developed adverts that can be watched at up to 12 times the normal speed and so can be watched by those people who use services such as Sky+. Apparently advertisers are becoming concerned that their commercials are being missed due to people fast forwarding them and so have developed the new ads. These feature lingering shots of brands and logos and are designed to be viewed at higher speeds. Personally I always watch programmes from the planner and forward through the adverts so it will be interesting to see when these new ads start appearing.

According to this article product placement could soon be coming to UK TV. The practice whereby shows can receive revenue for placing brands in the programme will be allowed on British TV shows from February 28th. Characters in shows will be able to refer to products by name and be seen eating, drinking and wearing branded goods. The new rules will allow product placement in all dramas, documentaries, soaps, entertainment and sports programmes but it will still be banned from all children’s and news programmes and in UK produced current affairs, consumer affairs and religious programmes. Personally I don’t really see a problem with product placement as long as it doesn’t detract from the content of the show I am watching but I can see that prime time shows are going to be attractive for large advertisers.

I’m not usually very interested in what celebrities are wearing but this is certainly an outfit that is designed to get attention. It is reportedly made out of raw meat. Worn by Lady Gaga at the MTV awards it has created quite a stir and the media seems to be in two minds as to whether it is real or fake.

According to this article 3D televisions have recently gone on sale at John Lewis. Their flagship store has started selling a Samsung 47 inch 3D TV. The TV is on sale for £1,800 but in order to experience the full effect you will also need to purchase a pair of 3D glasses which cost £200. This could get a little expensive if you have to buy glasses for the whole family. Apparently you will also need to own a Blu Ray player in order to watch anything in 3D as there will be no other content available until Sky launches their 3D channel in June. I’m not sure I will be splashing out on one just yet.

I watched the Panorama programme about the impact of the palm oil industry on the environment with interest. I have long been aware that unsustainable palm oil impacts hugely on the environment and particularly on the habitat of the orangutan population. What I was now, made aware of, however, was the number of products that might contain palm oil without my knowledge. I prefer to source most of cosmetics from Lush because most of their products do not contain palm oil but the Panorama documentary made me aware that many food products might contain palm oil disguised as vegetable oil.

The problem with palm oil is that it causes a massive amount of deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia. The impact forces not only the indigenous people from their homes but also the ever vulnerable and fast depleted orangutan population. What the documentary highlighted was that many areas that are protected forest are being illegally logged and turned over to palm oil production. It seems, that because the business is so lucrative, the respective local governments turn a blind eye to this breech of the law.

Figures show that the orangutan population has declined by 50% in the last decade and around 50,000 orangutans have died as a result of de-forestation. At this rate there seems little hope for the remaining population. Currently only 3% of the world’s palm oil is certified as sustainable meaning it comes from a plantation that passes an environmental impact test. Most of the big manufacturers who use palm oil also have no way of tracing where it comes from because it is mixed with other oil so they are unable to trace the origin.

Whilst this might be the case what in my mind is inexcusable is the mislabelling of products. Manufacturers are allowed to list palm oil simply as “vegetable oil” without stating the actual content. Although their excuse that recipes can change and the oil can very from week is certainly plausible, surely they can label a product as “may contain palm oil” in the same way they would with a product such as nuts. That way as a consumer I can make an informed judgement as to whether to buy the product or not. Surprisingly the only supermarket which states whether a product contains palm oil and whether it is from a sustainable source is Sainsbury’s. Based on this I think I will make a conscious choice to switch to their own brand products. I wonder whether any others will follow suit.

According to this article we will soon be able to watch 3D football matches in our living rooms. Sky have begun testing its technology by filming some matches in 3D and have promised that football will be a major part of its 3D channel content. In order to watch the 3D matches you will need to have a Sky HD set top box and wear 3D glasses but with many TV manufactures launching their 3D models this year it seems TV could be set to get a little bit more exciting.

According to this article the BBC is considering not renewing the Met Office contract when it comes up for renewal in April. The  news comes after a series of inaccurate weather forecasts which included the “BBQ summer” that failed to materialise and the “mild winter” which has been one of the coldest in recent years. Personally I usually rely on the BBC’s weather forecasts and this winter have found them to be fairly inaccurate. On days when heavy snow has been forecast there has been none and vice versa. The BBC is currently in talks with a company called Metra, the national forecaster for New Zealand so it will be interesting to see whether the Met Office is replaced and if it is whether the forecasts are any more reliable. 

According to this article this is the world’s largest TV. Recently unveiled by Panasonic it measures 152 inches. If you want one it is likely to have a fairly hefty price tag and you will need a large living room as you need to be seated between 25ft and 38ft away from it to enjoy optimum viewing.

I was watching Watchdog last week and was interested to see a feature about a fault with the PS3. The problem starts when a yellow light appears on the console after which it no longer works. Dubbed the yellow light of death the issue appears to affect machines that are just part their warranty date. The Watchdog programme approached three commercial repair technicians who tried to fix a small number of consoles and managed to revive all but one of them, so if your PS3 has the issue there are people who can resolve it for you. What I find surprisingly though is that Sony refuse to acknowledge the problem denying that there is a manufacturing fault. So far my PS3 is still ok but I would be interested to hear from anyone who has experienced the problem and whether you managed to fix it.

According to this article Sky has struck a deal with Microsoft that will see their content offered through the Xbox. Under the deal live football, TV and films will be available through the Xbox. It is likely to be available in the autumn although no details have been released on how much it will cost. There is likely to be some deals available for people who already subscribe to Sky offering them content at a reduced cost but once again no specifics have yet been released.

I watched the program Big Chef Little Chef with interest when it was screened. For those who haven't seen it, it was a documentary about the efforts to revive the failing Little Chef brand. The managing director Ian Pegler had called in celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal to try and revamp the failing chain. They started by looking at one branch in Popham and overhauled the dated decoration and uninspiring menu. However, Heston’s changes failed to make a profit in the opening launch and it was unclear whether they would rolled out across the entire Little Chef brand. Ian Pegler, did, however, agree to trial the new menu in the Popham branch with the possibility of extending it across the chain if it proved successful. According to this article customers have been making dedicated trips to visit the Popham Little Chef and are using it as a dining experience rather than just a convenient stop off on their journey. Mr Pegler has now announced that the menu will be trialled in other parts of the country but will be eventually be rolled out across the entire brand. Unfortunately I do not have a Little Chef near me, but I would be interested to sample the new menu in comparison to the rather bland and uninspiring food I remember from my last Little Chef experience.

This is interesting its a TV that turns itself off when no one is watching it. The new Sony Bravia WE5 Eco TV includes something called a smart presence sensor that will turn the TV off if it no longer detects any movement in the room. The TV detects the movement and body heat of anyone sitting within range of the screen. If the viewer falls asleep or leaves the room the sensor can detect this and switched the picture mode off reducing the power consumption. The set then remains idle for 30 minutes before switching itself off completely. It’s an interesting idea, but I wonder how well it copes with people who sit still for long periods of time and also how it deals with pets moving about the house.

I came across this article that claims the creators of the long running children's program Postman Pat are making a few changes. Traditionally Postman Pat and his cat Jess delivered mail in the Lake District but the creators of the show feel that it needs updating. Instead of delivering mail to the local people in his van, Pat will face a daily commute from Greendale into Pencaster where he will work in a new high tech sorting office. Pat will be provided with a helicopter and a stunt bike to help him complete his deliveries. I'm not entirely sure why a postman needs either a helicopter or a stunt bike, this certainly isn't Postman Pat as I remember it.

I watched a documentary last week that looked at what goes into some of the leading brands of wine. The results were rather disturbing. Many leading brands of wine and champagne were found to contain flavourings and additives that are added to disguise the poor flavour of inferior grapes. Wines are also bulked up with water, sugar and hydrochloric acid and often oak chips are adding to give an the impression that the wine has been fermented in oak barrels. The main problem is that because the wine industry does not have any regulations forcing manufacturers to list the ingredients of a particular wine, you can never be entirely sure what is in it. Some examples included traces of fungicides in champagne made by Moet, Veuve Clicquot and Lanson. The well know brand Hardy's adds yeast to its merlot and egg, milk and gelatine to the wine to make it less cloudy. Jacob's Creek uses tartaric and ascorbic acid in its Chardonnay and Blossom Hill also uses tartaric acid, enzymes and tannins to the grape juice. It does make me wonder how the consumer can be sure what is in a bottle of wine when these ingredients are not listed on the label.

People who remember Fraggle Rock will be pleased to hear that the Fraggles are back. They will star in a new musical film where they leave Fraggle Rock and head for the real world. The film is expected to be released next year.

I find it irritating when watching TV that the adverts are always much louder than the program you are watching. I was relieved to see that the Advertising Standards Authority has now drawn up some new rules to help combat this problem. The rules will mean that advertisements will have to be a consistent loudness to the TV programs and advertisers that breach these rules will face a fine. The new rules come into force on the July 7. Hopefully this could mean the end to constantly adjusting the volume because of loud irritating adverts.