Just been thinking of doing a podcast from a cruise ship. Great way to do work and have a holiday at the same time. Now with all the equipment needed, and maybe not needed but I would like to take along anyway, it will be a struggle to get it all in my luggage allowance if I were to fly. The way around this is to take a cruise directly from the UK. Southampton is not too far away from my home so looking at all the cruise line operating out of this port it has plenty of choice. Cruises from Southampton is the answer for me.

I do fancy the idea of a cruise around the Med. A 14 night cruise is about the right lenght of cruise for me. To go to places in the South of France, like Nice, and then on to some place on Italy is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I just wait for Rome.

The larger ships look the best option. I have not cruised before so I want something that as lots to do onboard. I saw one ship even had a zip wire! Scary! The theatres on the ships look amazing too. They are better than the one we have near to me at home. Looking forward to the great dining too but I am not one for formalwear. Still, I guess that with elegent surrounding, fine food and everyone dressing up it will not to be too much for me to put up with.

I could do podcasts of my cruising experience and about the destinations. Plenty to chat about. Now off to search the web and check out all the cruise lines and cruise ships.

Its’s that time of year again when the nights are longer than the days and thoughts turn to what to buy your loved ones for Christmas. To make it easier xmas shopping, you should join the majority of people who now order online and let the gifts come to you. You can even arrange to have the presents gift wrapped at many of the online stores.

Whether you are buying for an adult, or a child, you will be pleased to know that when you order online you are normally getting the very best price possible. This applies to ordering a book, a record, an ipod or a podcasting mic. Some of the best online sites take the top 10 toys and christmas gifts and check out the prices to show you the best prices found online. Not only do they do this for kids toys and  the published best xmas toys for 2010, but they also do this for toys that are suitable for teenagers, parents and grandparents. Take a look at all the toys and gifts now before you set out in the the cold to buy your xmas gifts. It will save you money and lots of hassle.

Some of the top toys we have found this year are the Barbie Video girl, the lego city airport (that is should to go out of stock very quickly), Sylvanian Families, Fireman Sam Firestation, Moon Dough Barn and the ever popular Nerf toys.

Tim Baker is producer and host of the long-running mashup podcast Radio Clash. An early adopter of podcasting, Tim remains passionate about bringing new and original mixes to his global audience.

When & why did you begin podcasting?

I began podcasting in in November 2004; I’d not heard about it until Ross from the sadly-missed MashupPodcast started his and posted about it, I listened to a few and loved the idea so much I started mine 4 days later (I’m a quick worker!). Inspiration was definitely primarily Ross’s MashupPodcast, but also the shows I was listening to at the time: Yeast Radio, Radio Zoom, Daily Source Code, Dawn and Drew and Insomnia Radio.

What is the most significant thing to happen to you personally as a direct result of producing your podcast?

People recognising me or knowing me purely through the podcast, and meeting new friends. The former doesn’t happen that often; it’s freaky when it does, but I’ve made some lasting friendships via the podcast which alltold given the press or the attention, is the really important thing.

What podcasts, if any, do you regularly listen to or watch?

I listen to quite a few – that would be a massive list, but the ones I never miss are Night Nurse Show, WOBCast, Some Assembly Required, Pods and Blogs (BBC), £50 Note, Skip to the End with Juxtaposeur and Do or DIY (WFMU).

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

Until my mother or someone threw it out (I’m still gutted can you tell?) I had a drawing of myself as an artist I did when I was 8. That’s what I wanted to be – and I did it to degree level. Also later an interest in journalism, so that’s probably where the blogging comes from. I also wished I was musically talented; that’s one superpower I wish I had.

What does the future hold for you and your show(s)?

I think new shows and different formats and mediums; Radio Clash will continue but maybe not in the format that people expect or current medium; I’m toying with the idea of doing a video podcast or integrating with YouTube and social media in some way – despite me being as photographic as an old teapot. Also more tie-ins with the Parkade in Second Life (which I co-run with 2 others); be they recorded sets or more interactive cross-promotion. Watch this space (quite literally!).

This week’s Mini-Interview is with Mike Yusi, producer and host of The UC Radio Podshow, and co-presenter of Pacific Coast Hellway – check out the latest UC Radio episode here.

When & why did you begin podcasting?

It started off with me plugging in my USB headset, opening Quicktime and reading pages from a website I had when I lived in Chicago in the late 90’s called “Mike’s Midwestern Updates”. The site was full of stories about the Midwest that were hard to believe, things like people freezing to death in their bathtubs because they opened a window to let the steam out, then fell asleep in the tub. That kind of stuff. The site was really successful, but reading the stories years after the fact was boring as hell.

After a couple of weeks, I wrote to Adam Curry, because I was addicted to “The Daily Source Code”, and asked him for advice. Adam had no idea who I was, but he wrote back and said that I should think about doing a show involving something that I was passionate about. His exact words were,

“talk about the things that you and your closest friends talk about when there is nothing else to say”.

That made it easy. I grew up in a musical family, I got my first three rock albums at age 11, (Led Zeppelin 3, Jimi Hendrix Are you Experienced and Jim Croce’s Greatest Hits), I’ve got a pretty good internal censor that weeds out crappy music pretty quickly, and I played in a band in Southern California in the 80’s and 90’s. Music is what I know, it’s what I’m passionate about and it is easy for me to talk about it. So, I ditched the stories and went with the music. That was in October of 2005.

What is the most significant thing to happen to you personally as a direct result of producing your podcast?

I played in bands for years and found that I missed being connected to new music. Getting it out there, whether on a stage or through my show, has reconnected me with the one constant passion in my life, music.

And getting involved with the people at the MEVIO network, Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff mainly, has been an incredibly artistic and creative experience. There is no way my show would be seeing the growth and success that it has over the last year and half if I wasn’t a part of the PodShow family.

Podcasting has also been a great way for me to explore myself and why I’ve loved music my whole life. I’ve said it many times, podcasting has been my therapy and my addiction at the same time, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

What podcasts, if any, do you regularly listen to or watch?

Well, as Co-Producer and Co-Host of Pacific Coast Hellway, I listen to that one pretty regularly, and after two years, I’m still a Daily Source Code fan, Accident Hash is a favorite, The JerseyToddshow and RubyFruit Radio to name a few. There are about 10 other music shows I listen to, but I tend to let them pile up then listen to them for hours in one sitting while working.

Video casts, not that big a fan, however, I wait by the inbox as it were, for GeekBrief TV. Love that show. I think Cali has just got it nailed down. Not just her personality, but the content is always so well presented, even when it’s about Windows products. (insert random Mac fan comment here) I also like The Lost Tapes and PCH TV.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

Honestly, I wanted to be a hockey player, but I never learned to skate and ice is hard to find in Santa Monica. Then I thought pro football or baseball, but after high school, I gave up on that dream. Then I wanted to be an English teacher, but that changed as soon as I stepped onto a stage on the Sunset Strip with a guitar strapped on. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out, but I lived the dream for a while. I ended up living in Belize for 7 years starting and working for a couple of companies, moved home in 1998 and went into web design. I’ve done that for the last 10 years.

What does the future hold for you and your show?

I just resurrected my second show, “Sonic Wallpaper” at sonicwallpaper.mevio.com, which is where I play 10-12 of the most commented on songs from my main show, The UC Radio Podshow in the previous month. It’s like a greatest hits show, if you will. I don’t talk much, just intro the bands and give you 35-45 minutes of good solid rock.

As for UC Radio itself, I just did my first interview with the band Urbansnake and it was a huge success. Listeners loved it, and the band thought it was great so I’ll be doing more of that. My hope is that I’ll be able to get one interview in a week, on the Monday shows, and continue to do an album referral on Thursdays shows as I’ve done for over a year now. I’d also like to start doing more live interviews with bands around Hollywood, so you can look for that as well.

Mostly, I’m hoping to develop more offshoots from the show, maybe a show with just interviews, or just album referrals, but UC Radio is my baby so it will always be the central character in my play.

Jo Laurence is back with another great selection of shows just for you.

It may be winter, but the surf’s up on The Panic Button, learn from the fascinating real world experiments of Doctor Krampf, and save those £s with Wallet Watcher. Let Marcus Couch guide you through the best in independent heavy metal on The Scene Zine, and finally understand your life and relationships with the psychology of InsytWorks.

Josephine Laurence scoops up a handful of the best of the podcasts just for you.

Taste the dedicated citizen journalism of Documentally, follow the exploits of TV show Lost with Jay and Jack, and prepare to be scared out in space with Crescent. There’s the quirky daily life essays from Short Cummings Audio, and learn a little magic with iTricks.

FitLife, information and advice on cancer and the work of the Association for International Cancer Research with the AICR Podcast, and learn how to peak your fitness and refine your body with tipes from Certified Fit. Relax and centre yourself with Yoga Today, and learn about the pain and joy of going through fertility treatment to being first time parents in Just Relax.

Josephine Laurence once again travels through the hills and valleys of podcasting; so you don’t have to! This week, Jo loves the eclectic rantings from Twittervlog, learns all about our domestic furry and feathered friends from the Petcast, and takes a little abuse from the Crud Cast (clip contains explicit language). There’s a funny look at one man’s life in Hyde Pod Corner, and a great way to choose just the right camcorder with help from Simply DV.

Join Josephine Laurence as she serves up a fine selection of delectable podcast dishes. 64MM Skateboarding Vlog captures the thrills and spills of skateboarding, meet the first lady of Formula 1 podcasting in the SidePodcast , and keep up with the hugely popular TV series on the Lost podcast . Jo gets a taste of a foreign tongue with Japanesepod101 , and finally gets into geeky gadgets with the Smartphones Show .