This was asked on the TC-Helicon facebook page by Joey Elkins (a fabulous singer, e.g. I really like this):
Music - where do you think it's headed in the future both vocally and instrumentally? How has it changed over the time you've been alive?
I kinda went to town a bit for a FB post, and it's a bit off the cuff, so not terribly well thought through - however, I thought it was worth posteritising it.. so here is my reply!
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Interesting question. From the point of view of a chap who grew up in the south of England in the 70s & 80s, and went to an all boys school (as an opening disclaimer!)..
It feels like the changes I've seen through the years are from diversity in style to diversity in distribution.
From the mid 50s to the mid(ish) 80s saw bands and individuals be more willing to borrow from other genres, cultures, etc. Rock and pop drew inspiration from India, from the Andes; lifting sections of 'classical' music; high art would borrow from jazz, and emulate rock & disco; the boundaries of what can be done, and rules about what is allowed to be juxtaposed and superimposed on what were broken down. We got progressive rock, we got minimalism pervading popular culture, we got world music. Probably the last innovation was rap, which had already debuted by the 80s.
I love that time, my central love is the progressive rock of the early to mid 70s. You have Gentle Giant, Yes, King Crimson, Family, Stackridge, Penguin Café Orchestra, etc all sipping from a melting pot of music. Today it would probably be given that frightful badge of 'mashup'..
Time moves on.. whilst other musics have developed, they haven't seemed as embracing as previous periods. House music and its derivatives are largely just dirty disco; Techno and it's sub genres has its roots in the electronica of years ago; grunge was arguably just folk with louder guitars, in the same way that punk was rockerbilly played more aggressively. Even prog now has been reduced to rehashing what others did before, rather than forging their own path.
The diversity that was present within albums appears to have given way to more narrowly defined musics, but there is more of it in each bucket, and more ways of getting it out. Maybe its a natural extension of how to get heard - be really good at one thing, refine its essence, and push it through particular channels. 30 years ago the distribution channels were quite fixed, and companies were more prepared to invest in the development and creativity of their 'roster'; time has made the distribution more fluid and the very idea of a roster seems like fairy talk.
Where is is going to..? For the moment, I can only see things getting more segmented, with individuals focussing on niches where they feel happy to create, without reaching beyond too many boundaries. Artist development will be a personal thing, funded individually. I believe that greater diversity per artist will re-emerge, but it'll take some time. Even tho' we have reduced the world to a small café with the internet, the crossover and cross-pollination of styles has barely started - I think there will be a renaissance of the spirit of musical adventure that was seen 30-50 years ago, but it won't happen overnight.
We'll still be playing the same instruments (things like the Chapman Stick, and Eigenlabs wonderful Eigenharp will remain on the margins), we'll still be singing the same notes (microtonal stuff still hasn't caught on, despite various efforts); it's just, perhaps, our method for choosing those notes and the spaces between them needs to relax again.
Feel free to shoot me down.
Thursday 4 November 2010
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Tomorrow never knows
I've been reflecting on a bit of code I've had to write recently, and it's got me thinking about how far ahead one should think in designing things - whether it be software (as with me) or anything else..
For a current piece of work, I have inherited a code base which is well suited for its intended use. It doesn't appear to have much fat/ bloat/ unneeded features. It has structure, it has an apparent internal parsimony which holds it together as one would hope. The user interface of the software is primarily mouse driven, and as such the controls are well set up for the various interactions that the modern computers tend to offer when it comes to pointing devices - move over, clicking with any of three buttons, mouse wheel support, etc.
A new feature was added just before I got the code, something that required accepting keyboard as well as mouse input. This is cross platform code, supporting Apple Mac & Windows. The Apple code was working as hoped, but the Windows code wasn't. So I went to have a look.
It was very clear that the keyboard-based enhancement given to the Mac side of the code was very much an afterthought - something bolted on to the fairly tight code that was already there. It stuck out, not in an ugly fashion, but like a new extension on a house where the bricks haven't been matched to the original structure. The corresponding Windows code had not been written at all, and so my task was to write it. The nature of the framework/library presented certain challenges, based on how the original code had been designed. It had been designed with just the purpose of getting the job in hand done (that is, mouse based input), and so weaving new functionality was not as simple as it could have been if there had been an eye kept open to the future.
My observations are not a criticism of the original developer (be they one or many), but more about the nature of what should be included during the design phase of a project.
The term 'Agile' has been a buzzword in many circles for a number of years, and software development has not been shielded from it. In software it frequently manifests itself as a strategy for getting done only what needs to be done at a given time, and if needs change in the future, then you just adapt what you did previously. There is some sense to this - why prepare for something that may never be needed?
I must confess, I've never been totally sold on the whole 'Agile Development' thing (with a capital 'A'). Being 'agile' (lowercase 'a') seems a good idea to me - being able to respond quickly to change, and building the tools & libraries with which one can meet those challenges looks like reasonable sense. But an ethos of 'do today what you need today' often comes across as a little shallow. Does it work, or does it just commoditise development in an unhelpful way? Many places seem to swear by it, but it's largely the developers who blow that trumpet: might I suggest that there's a hint of MRDA about this - they are the ones who benefit the most, since (perhaps) it is a way of ensuring longievity of employment, as "built-in obsolescence" doesn't really factor with software in the same way that it does with physical products..
hmmm.. Getting a little sidetracked here, I might return to that topic another day (I might not).. However, the question remains - to what extent should one have an eye on the future when making something today?
When a carpenter designs a standard rectangular table, should they make allowance for a possible fifth leg to be added? Would experience suggest that this may be rather pointless excercise?
When purchasing land to build a road, should allowance be made in advance for potential escalation of traffic numbers and the possible need for future widening? Would experience suggest that this may be a prudent thing to at least explore.
My guess is that it's the 'experience' which would dictate these things. Carpenters will generally have some idea how many legs will be needed to support the weight of wood they have before them. Transportation Planners have access to all kinds of statistics of traffic flows & growth rates for more types of road than any of us could be interested to know existed. Based on my time sat writing software I know that, had I been one of the original designers of the library I have been working on, I would have put in some provision for keyboard input. However, I may have well been very wrong to do so, since experience of this type of product would suggest that it was an unnecessary design feature (given that it's a totally mouse driven environment in over 99% of this niche market), and I would be putting fat where it wasn't needed.
It would have made today's job a lot easier though.
For a current piece of work, I have inherited a code base which is well suited for its intended use. It doesn't appear to have much fat/ bloat/ unneeded features. It has structure, it has an apparent internal parsimony which holds it together as one would hope. The user interface of the software is primarily mouse driven, and as such the controls are well set up for the various interactions that the modern computers tend to offer when it comes to pointing devices - move over, clicking with any of three buttons, mouse wheel support, etc.
A new feature was added just before I got the code, something that required accepting keyboard as well as mouse input. This is cross platform code, supporting Apple Mac & Windows. The Apple code was working as hoped, but the Windows code wasn't. So I went to have a look.
It was very clear that the keyboard-based enhancement given to the Mac side of the code was very much an afterthought - something bolted on to the fairly tight code that was already there. It stuck out, not in an ugly fashion, but like a new extension on a house where the bricks haven't been matched to the original structure. The corresponding Windows code had not been written at all, and so my task was to write it. The nature of the framework/library presented certain challenges, based on how the original code had been designed. It had been designed with just the purpose of getting the job in hand done (that is, mouse based input), and so weaving new functionality was not as simple as it could have been if there had been an eye kept open to the future.
My observations are not a criticism of the original developer (be they one or many), but more about the nature of what should be included during the design phase of a project.
The term 'Agile' has been a buzzword in many circles for a number of years, and software development has not been shielded from it. In software it frequently manifests itself as a strategy for getting done only what needs to be done at a given time, and if needs change in the future, then you just adapt what you did previously. There is some sense to this - why prepare for something that may never be needed?
I must confess, I've never been totally sold on the whole 'Agile Development' thing (with a capital 'A'). Being 'agile' (lowercase 'a') seems a good idea to me - being able to respond quickly to change, and building the tools & libraries with which one can meet those challenges looks like reasonable sense. But an ethos of 'do today what you need today' often comes across as a little shallow. Does it work, or does it just commoditise development in an unhelpful way? Many places seem to swear by it, but it's largely the developers who blow that trumpet: might I suggest that there's a hint of MRDA about this - they are the ones who benefit the most, since (perhaps) it is a way of ensuring longievity of employment, as "built-in obsolescence" doesn't really factor with software in the same way that it does with physical products..
hmmm.. Getting a little sidetracked here, I might return to that topic another day (I might not).. However, the question remains - to what extent should one have an eye on the future when making something today?
When a carpenter designs a standard rectangular table, should they make allowance for a possible fifth leg to be added? Would experience suggest that this may be rather pointless excercise?
When purchasing land to build a road, should allowance be made in advance for potential escalation of traffic numbers and the possible need for future widening? Would experience suggest that this may be a prudent thing to at least explore.
My guess is that it's the 'experience' which would dictate these things. Carpenters will generally have some idea how many legs will be needed to support the weight of wood they have before them. Transportation Planners have access to all kinds of statistics of traffic flows & growth rates for more types of road than any of us could be interested to know existed. Based on my time sat writing software I know that, had I been one of the original designers of the library I have been working on, I would have put in some provision for keyboard input. However, I may have well been very wrong to do so, since experience of this type of product would suggest that it was an unnecessary design feature (given that it's a totally mouse driven environment in over 99% of this niche market), and I would be putting fat where it wasn't needed.
It would have made today's job a lot easier though.
Tuesday 5 October 2010
The past comes calling
One of my favourite corners of the internet, known as KvR, runs various competitions.
There is a monthly writing comp in which a piece must be written & recorded within certain defined boundaries (mostly a limit to the length, must stick to a given theme, but occasionally others). The first three weeks of a month are devoted to the writing and recording, then the last week all the entrants (and other forum members) vote on the pieces to decide a winner. I've never won, but have entered many times through the years; generally there are 50-70 entries. Worst I did was last, best was 4th, generally I'm in the first quarter. I do it more for fun than chart position. Some of my entries can be found here.
KvR also runs 'Developer Challenges,' where independent developers get the chance to enter a new creation each, and the community gets a ton of new free stuff! There have been three (DC06, DC07 & DC09); I (both uniquely and cheekily) have entered 4 times.. I have faired averagely, which I don't mind; the things I have written have been devised & created during snatched moments and so their ranking is probably a fair assessment. However, they have garnered attention away from the arena of competition, being recommended by folk at varying intervals. This has been very pleasant. From checking server logs (in the way that one does), I have found a new reference to my DC09 entry 'SynecDC.' It's from the myvst website and can be found here.
I enjoyed making SynecDC, and there is an idea for a big brother to it which will add further modulators; but it's not coming any time soon! My favourite patch is "DragonCity" which can be heard at 1:29.
There is a monthly writing comp in which a piece must be written & recorded within certain defined boundaries (mostly a limit to the length, must stick to a given theme, but occasionally others). The first three weeks of a month are devoted to the writing and recording, then the last week all the entrants (and other forum members) vote on the pieces to decide a winner. I've never won, but have entered many times through the years; generally there are 50-70 entries. Worst I did was last, best was 4th, generally I'm in the first quarter. I do it more for fun than chart position. Some of my entries can be found here.
KvR also runs 'Developer Challenges,' where independent developers get the chance to enter a new creation each, and the community gets a ton of new free stuff! There have been three (DC06, DC07 & DC09); I (both uniquely and cheekily) have entered 4 times.. I have faired averagely, which I don't mind; the things I have written have been devised & created during snatched moments and so their ranking is probably a fair assessment. However, they have garnered attention away from the arena of competition, being recommended by folk at varying intervals. This has been very pleasant. From checking server logs (in the way that one does), I have found a new reference to my DC09 entry 'SynecDC.' It's from the myvst website and can be found here.
I enjoyed making SynecDC, and there is an idea for a big brother to it which will add further modulators; but it's not coming any time soon! My favourite patch is "DragonCity" which can be heard at 1:29.
Saturday 25 September 2010
Mixed Emoticons
Some time back, well I can place it between Oct 1997 and mid 1998, I went looking for information about 'smilies,' or 'emoticons' as the are now often called. The internet was a much smaller place, so finding information was (in some ways) easier; but equally, search engines weren't everything we might expect today, and so finding information was (in some ways) harder [www.altavista.digital.com was my weapon of choice, tho' I used others].
In 1995 a friend had printed on A4 the symbols *:O) and stuck it to her fridge. This was my first encounter with the idea of making faces using ASCII. Whilst I had known about Bulletin Boards and the like, they weren't something I'd had much opportunity to play with; though I was computer minded, I had not been exposed to various esoteric elements that we now take for granted.
So there I was, on a dull Friday afternoon, working for Seele (UK) Ltd, looking after their network at the London Fruit and Wool Exchange (lovely place, actually); I dialled up to wander the web, something that wasn't really a common thing to do. I typed in Penny's hieroglyphic to see what else there was about of a similar format. Scott Fahlman's Smiley Lore page already existed, which was a good read - this was before the concerted effort by Microsoft and others to find his original post in 1982 which suggested :-) as a way of highlighting that a thought should be taken lightly.
I also found a few pages which listed out known derivatives - those we know well, like wink ;-) tongue out :-p etc, but also a collexion of many and varied peculiar and artful items. However, I saw a gap. Something was missing. Thus I submitted my contribution to the smiley world, and it made it on to a number of pages which have long since disappeared.
It was 'Davy Crockett'
Q:-)
I give it again in support of all those whose frontiers are wild - may they become kings (and queens) in such places.
In 1995 a friend had printed on A4 the symbols *:O) and stuck it to her fridge. This was my first encounter with the idea of making faces using ASCII. Whilst I had known about Bulletin Boards and the like, they weren't something I'd had much opportunity to play with; though I was computer minded, I had not been exposed to various esoteric elements that we now take for granted.
So there I was, on a dull Friday afternoon, working for Seele (UK) Ltd, looking after their network at the London Fruit and Wool Exchange (lovely place, actually); I dialled up to wander the web, something that wasn't really a common thing to do. I typed in Penny's hieroglyphic to see what else there was about of a similar format. Scott Fahlman's Smiley Lore page already existed, which was a good read - this was before the concerted effort by Microsoft and others to find his original post in 1982 which suggested :-) as a way of highlighting that a thought should be taken lightly.
I also found a few pages which listed out known derivatives - those we know well, like wink ;-) tongue out :-p etc, but also a collexion of many and varied peculiar and artful items. However, I saw a gap. Something was missing. Thus I submitted my contribution to the smiley world, and it made it on to a number of pages which have long since disappeared.
It was 'Davy Crockett'
Q:-)
I give it again in support of all those whose frontiers are wild - may they become kings (and queens) in such places.
Friday 24 September 2010
Heck is other people's code
It's been a couple of weeks since my last post, so whilst Bill Bruford's Earthworks captures my aural attention, I will vent a little about one of the main hassles that can beset a jobbing programmer - received code.
I am currently engaged in 3 projects (yay! I have some work!), two of which are longer standing than my recent redundancy. But all three are causing me grief in one way or another...
In most lines of work, one can generally pick up where another has left off. One will mumble and grumble about certain things that have been done before, or be pleasantly surprised by other bits of what is found. A clerk might despair of their previous incumbent's filing incompetence; a solicitor may be pleased to see the last person to touch a case made a note about an often overlooked piece of law; handymen will often have little praise for the last person to lay hands on the items that they have been called to 'fix.'
Software is little different from any other discipline in this respect. When one starts a new project, or returns to work on something that one hasn't touched for a long time (even six months can be a long time in programming), there can be many "err.. Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" moments (I'll refrain from the more common exclamations..). Equally there can be a number of 'oh, that's pretty neat' epiphanies, but they are generally fewer and farther between.
So I have three projects. The latest I have received generally seems of a reasonable standard, and certainly does what's its supposed to (it's code for two products which have been on the market for some time); however, getting the thing to compile on the various platforms for which it's specified has been a challenge, and one I have not been able to get through without some very gratefully received help. Most places I have worked, the received code will at least have the decency to be able to construct itself if you tell it where to look for its component parts. Alas this one has been an uphill struggle; it's almost there, but not totally done yet, hence taking a break to reflect here just to regain some clarity.
The other two projects are conversion projects of work I have previously undertaken (MIDI Madness and a vocal plugin written for the NTrack software studio). Both pieces of kit work well and are 'in the wild', but the respective clients asked me to make them available for the Apple Macintosh [a 'mac' for those unaware of the history ;-)]. This has meant a complete ground-up rewrite for one, and a switch of libraries for another. Dealing with my own code is alright, here and there I notice things and wonder what I was thinking, (let's call it a 'QQSP' moment, or maybe just 'QSP' for brevity); but getting it to grips with yet another person's (or company's) idea of how something should 'work' and how I can stitch something that was perfectly solid onto can be.. well, a long and quite windy road. The odd thing is that at the end of the day, both these projects will just do what they did before!
Right, well, back to it...
I am currently engaged in 3 projects (yay! I have some work!), two of which are longer standing than my recent redundancy. But all three are causing me grief in one way or another...
In most lines of work, one can generally pick up where another has left off. One will mumble and grumble about certain things that have been done before, or be pleasantly surprised by other bits of what is found. A clerk might despair of their previous incumbent's filing incompetence; a solicitor may be pleased to see the last person to touch a case made a note about an often overlooked piece of law; handymen will often have little praise for the last person to lay hands on the items that they have been called to 'fix.'
Software is little different from any other discipline in this respect. When one starts a new project, or returns to work on something that one hasn't touched for a long time (even six months can be a long time in programming), there can be many "err.. Qu'est-ce qui se passe?" moments (I'll refrain from the more common exclamations..). Equally there can be a number of 'oh, that's pretty neat' epiphanies, but they are generally fewer and farther between.
So I have three projects. The latest I have received generally seems of a reasonable standard, and certainly does what's its supposed to (it's code for two products which have been on the market for some time); however, getting the thing to compile on the various platforms for which it's specified has been a challenge, and one I have not been able to get through without some very gratefully received help. Most places I have worked, the received code will at least have the decency to be able to construct itself if you tell it where to look for its component parts. Alas this one has been an uphill struggle; it's almost there, but not totally done yet, hence taking a break to reflect here just to regain some clarity.
The other two projects are conversion projects of work I have previously undertaken (MIDI Madness and a vocal plugin written for the NTrack software studio). Both pieces of kit work well and are 'in the wild', but the respective clients asked me to make them available for the Apple Macintosh [a 'mac' for those unaware of the history ;-)]. This has meant a complete ground-up rewrite for one, and a switch of libraries for another. Dealing with my own code is alright, here and there I notice things and wonder what I was thinking, (let's call it a 'QQSP' moment, or maybe just 'QSP' for brevity); but getting it to grips with yet another person's (or company's) idea of how something should 'work' and how I can stitch something that was perfectly solid onto can be.. well, a long and quite windy road. The odd thing is that at the end of the day, both these projects will just do what they did before!
Right, well, back to it...
Monday 6 September 2010
Signing
Thursdays will be my day for signing on at the DHSS. My first was last week. I attended as requested and was asked what I had done to find work. I listed the things I had done - trip to Reading, phone call with Rough Diamond Productions, a few job sites, etc. The lady seemed happy with this, typed it into her PC and handed me a slip to sign.
The previous day I had spent 5 billable hours playing with some source code, attempting to get it to build with some (but not enough to call 'moderate') success. I was quite happy to tell her, however the subject never came up, I was free to go after putting my pawprint to paper. I thought that it a little odd.
From 1993-1994 I signed on and did temp work. Each alternate Wednesday I attended the DHSS in Staines and declared my hours worked, and the payment received for my labours. Rarely was I asked what I had done to find more permanent work. I seem to recall every 6 or 8 months there was an interview to chat about it, but largely they were happy with the fact that I was getting work, and that they were able to support me during the more lean weeks. But last Thursday they seemed more interested in my pursuit than my success. Maybe it's because of the volume of folk seen in a post-industrial city compared to a smaller suburban town that time must be condensed to crunch the queues; maybe the focus is more on getting folk off the lists rather than helping them through; maybe the lady didn't think that anyone would sign if they'd been working; maybe she just forgot.
It was a pleasant enough experience, but there was something missing I'm sure.
The previous day I had spent 5 billable hours playing with some source code, attempting to get it to build with some (but not enough to call 'moderate') success. I was quite happy to tell her, however the subject never came up, I was free to go after putting my pawprint to paper. I thought that it a little odd.
From 1993-1994 I signed on and did temp work. Each alternate Wednesday I attended the DHSS in Staines and declared my hours worked, and the payment received for my labours. Rarely was I asked what I had done to find more permanent work. I seem to recall every 6 or 8 months there was an interview to chat about it, but largely they were happy with the fact that I was getting work, and that they were able to support me during the more lean weeks. But last Thursday they seemed more interested in my pursuit than my success. Maybe it's because of the volume of folk seen in a post-industrial city compared to a smaller suburban town that time must be condensed to crunch the queues; maybe the focus is more on getting folk off the lists rather than helping them through; maybe the lady didn't think that anyone would sign if they'd been working; maybe she just forgot.
It was a pleasant enough experience, but there was something missing I'm sure.
Investment
So my redundancy money came through... Must confess, there isn't a great deal of it left, I've been investing.
Firstly a set of drum-mics, 7 mics, I'll still need a couple more to completely mic my own standard kit (7 piece), but I also have the roto-toms which, well, one day..!
Then there's been a matter of a couple of guitars, a PRS SingleCut in Grey/Black, and a Yamaha BBG4 (blue, as pictured). The bass needs the pot on the neck pickup replacing, but that's not a complicated job.
There's been a few sundry other items, a WiFi dongle for a PC, plus a graphics tablet to come. I've set up an account on RedBubble for some graphic work I intend to sell [on the subject of RedBubble, my friend Nicola (also recently redundanted from the same establishment) has various cards and posters avialable - go look :-)]
So there it is. There was a 6string fretless bass available as well, which I can't quite justify the expense of, tho' it would be most exceedingly nice to have..
Firstly a set of drum-mics, 7 mics, I'll still need a couple more to completely mic my own standard kit (7 piece), but I also have the roto-toms which, well, one day..!
Then there's been a matter of a couple of guitars, a PRS SingleCut in Grey/Black, and a Yamaha BBG4 (blue, as pictured). The bass needs the pot on the neck pickup replacing, but that's not a complicated job.
There's been a few sundry other items, a WiFi dongle for a PC, plus a graphics tablet to come. I've set up an account on RedBubble for some graphic work I intend to sell [on the subject of RedBubble, my friend Nicola (also recently redundanted from the same establishment) has various cards and posters avialable - go look :-)]
So there it is. There was a 6string fretless bass available as well, which I can't quite justify the expense of, tho' it would be most exceedingly nice to have..
Thursday 26 August 2010
Cartography before the horse
A friend of mine has a blog which has no specific focus, but I find interesting to dip into. He draws (very well), he writes (tho' I have read none of his stories), and is great in conversation. A recent post talked about mapping out the landscape in which a story exists, and that it is a common practise to get your world straight before embarking on telling a story in it. It would appear that his way of working differs from this, and I thought I would respond. Go read his post, then report back; I'll put the kettle on.
You done? Good, here's a cup of hot water, infuse it with what you please, and I'll begin:
I have a similar, but different, situation to Tom's with song writing. Some folk get words and engineer a melody to go with it; others write numerous melodies, then words are found, and one of the those tunes is appropriately married to it. Others collect a bunch of chords and bang them about until words and tune appear out of thin air.
Whilst I have done each of these, I have noticed through time that, overall, I work best doing none of them.
I frequently start with a line or phrase or couplet, which its internal rhythm, pace & sense will suggest a melodic fragment to me, which I use as a starting place - rather like Tom's imagining of a scene. Occasionally a complete verse will come in one go, but normally it's just a beginning.
This happened recently with a phrase 'When I try to talk to you alone/ It's like talking to an answerphone' which formed in my mind fairly spontaneously, words and the melody to support it (even with backing vocal part!).
I will then, from what has been said, tease out what comes next, both lyrically and melodically, at the same time getting some harmony together (the chords). Once I have a verse, I have a structure to follow for other verses, and an idea of what the thing might be saying or expressing - I finally have my map, and I can trace out the course of lyrical discourse from that point. I'm not saying any of what I write is any good, but it's the process I frequently go through.
That phrase above about an answerphone has, unusually for me, become the chorus. I have seen through the years that I don't often use choruses. Generally I find they interrupt the emotional narrative - when you're talking to someone, you don't normally hang your point around a constant refrain, unless it's for a specific purpose to accentuate a point, etc. In the same way I appear to have unconsciously been doing this in my songs. I will only use a chorus when it benefits what is being said. Maybe this is why I'll never get a job in Tin Pan Alley or the Brill Building, who always want something to hang the song on, and give the folk something to whistle on the way home.
Maybe choruses are my deciduous trees.
You done? Good, here's a cup of hot water, infuse it with what you please, and I'll begin:
I have a similar, but different, situation to Tom's with song writing. Some folk get words and engineer a melody to go with it; others write numerous melodies, then words are found, and one of the those tunes is appropriately married to it. Others collect a bunch of chords and bang them about until words and tune appear out of thin air.
Whilst I have done each of these, I have noticed through time that, overall, I work best doing none of them.
I frequently start with a line or phrase or couplet, which its internal rhythm, pace & sense will suggest a melodic fragment to me, which I use as a starting place - rather like Tom's imagining of a scene. Occasionally a complete verse will come in one go, but normally it's just a beginning.
This happened recently with a phrase 'When I try to talk to you alone/ It's like talking to an answerphone' which formed in my mind fairly spontaneously, words and the melody to support it (even with backing vocal part!).
I will then, from what has been said, tease out what comes next, both lyrically and melodically, at the same time getting some harmony together (the chords). Once I have a verse, I have a structure to follow for other verses, and an idea of what the thing might be saying or expressing - I finally have my map, and I can trace out the course of lyrical discourse from that point. I'm not saying any of what I write is any good, but it's the process I frequently go through.
That phrase above about an answerphone has, unusually for me, become the chorus. I have seen through the years that I don't often use choruses. Generally I find they interrupt the emotional narrative - when you're talking to someone, you don't normally hang your point around a constant refrain, unless it's for a specific purpose to accentuate a point, etc. In the same way I appear to have unconsciously been doing this in my songs. I will only use a chorus when it benefits what is being said. Maybe this is why I'll never get a job in Tin Pan Alley or the Brill Building, who always want something to hang the song on, and give the folk something to whistle on the way home.
Maybe choruses are my deciduous trees.
Other Interests
I had a couple of meetings at the DHSS, as I used to know it, today - it had had logos of 'Job Centre', but they're not fooling anyone. It was pleasant and efficient. I was as well, except for the latter; Sheffield has two Job Centres about 5min walk from each other. I went to the wrong one and was consequently late (tho seeing ex-colleague Rich on the way to the wrong place made me pleasurably late to start with). They were good humoured about it all.
I had been asked to take various artefacts and proofs that I was who I said, and that I had a legitimate claim to not being employed, as one would expect. I had also been asked to take a CV with me for them to check that I was giving myself a reasonable chance in the rough and tumble world of the job market. I did as I was asked, and updating my CV caused me to reflect upon them & their nature.
In various provinces they are known as a Resumé, the etymology of which I must look up one day, but here in the U of K we use the abbreviated Latin for 'List of Life.' It is a curiosity. As I recall, my life has been rather more than just desk space that I have occupied for the last 15+years..
I wrote my first CV at the Win3.11 powered PC of a then (and still) ex-girlfriend. I filled it with all that I could - a degree, 18months of temping at Proctor & Gamble, musicking, shop work.. to be honest, I hadn't done much that should get me a job. It was effectively nepotism that got me the first proper job I went for, rather than anything I had typed. My friend Abi had been working at a place in Chertsey, and they needed a data inputter. I was interviewed and started shortly thereafter. The database system Access 2 was the new kid on the block, and I started to find my way around it.
<BackStory>I started with a Sinclair Spectrum in the early 80s, and enjoyed the company of RML 380Z & original black 480Zs at school. I got through BASIC very quickly & took to writing stuff in Z80 machine language not long after. As time progressed, the challenges before me dwindled, not that I was some great whizz, but that opportunities to go further were not as apparent - I could do all that was asked of me at school; I had taken books about COBOL, FORTRAN, ComAL, Algol, Pascal, C, and some others out from the library and learned a great deal from them, but had nowhere to try out what I had learned. For various reasons I didn't do CS at A-level, taking Maths, Physics and English, which made me a scientist who could write essays. I had got interested in Psychology, so went to the fabulous Royal Holloway and Bedford New College to study it, got bored and drifted back towards computer courses and very music orientated things for my final year.</BackStory>
So I worked at this place, and over the next nearly 18 months gradually took on more responsibility in the database upkeep, and expanded it as required. The company were a subcontractor to a contractor to Thames Water. The contractor didn't get continuation of work, so I was made redundant (first time of three), but a chat with the boss of the contractors secured me more work, and a little more to put on my CV. The majority of the next 10years work came from that chat. I wrote databases & job management systems for utilities contractors. I kept my CV up to date, but word of mouth, occasional chats and doing a good job got me work, rather than anything formal, and no-one was the slightest bit interested in my CV. Finally, it did dry up, and I actually needed that list to get me work, but now it looked a rather more substantial affair, such that when the accounting software firm Sage (UK) Ltd saw it, they were interested in talking to me, which was nice.
I must confess - I don't like CVs that much. Conversations with both prospective employers and employees over the years have suggested to me that in many ways they are a necessary, but largely useless annoyance. Many seek to sell themselves as the best thing ever on their CV, that they can be the panacea that a company needs, that they will be that missing cog that will keep the wheels of industry running that bit more smoothly. All sorts of airbrushing, exaggerations, deep breaths and pulled in tummies are employed to project that perfect, employable, image.
I'm more interested in how I word the 'Other Interests.'
A CV is an entrée, a foot in the door, no more no less. It is a way to start a conversation, but for me it's the nature of that conversation that is paramount in working out what jobs to take and which to question.
It should be assumed, in any sensible world, that folk would only apply for a job if they consider that they have the skills to do the task [for the moment, we will skip the fact that neither the world is sensible, nor do folk always apply for what they are able to do]; in which case, the job history and skills section of a CV would be something of a null contest, since all the participants can do what is to be asked of them. It then comes to what the folk are like.
After a certain level of job, if a company is only interested in whether or not you can do a job, they probably aren't the sort of people worth working for. I want a company to be interested in me, in the same way that I want to be interested in them. This isn't an egotistical thing, it's industrial self-preservation on my part and that of the employer - I need to know that my employer is willing to take me on, invest time and energy in me, nurture, whatever, such that I can be the best that I can be and contribute to their bottom line within the extent of my (hopefully growing) abilities. If I can't see that they are interested in me as more than just a cog, I'm never terribly sure I want to be there. Thus, their response to 'Other interests' is more important to me than any code test I have to pass.
When I lived in Watford, I discovered Dunstable Downs. This is a fantastic place, somewhere that attracts a lot of wind, and consequently a lot of kite flyers. I kinda became one, really liked it too. I wasn't very good, and with small children to look after not something I could hone my skills with, but it touched my heart sufficiently to make it into 'Other Interests.' We also kept three bunnies, until the charming foxes of Chorleywood decided they liked them more than we did. So having bunnies was on the CV. It was part of my life at that time.
The places that happened to mention, even in passing, the items that I had listed at the end of my CV are the places I ended up working. Those that didn't, either didn't offer me the job, or I passed them over in favour of the ones that did.
At one time, my previous employer had taken each employee's CV in turn and condensed them down to a single page each. They did a good job of it too, I was very pleased with how mine turned out (thanks Sue!) In getting my CV together for the DHSS today, I put aside my 15+ year old CV that had done its job as required through the years, and used this newer version. However - 'Other interests,' or 'who is this guy?' was missing. I know why it was done, the purpose of the CV rewrites wasn't for a charm offensive, it was to prove that the company could deliver what it claimed it could; but it was still a sad thing that perhaps the most pertinent section (so far as I can tell) had been left on the cutting room floor.
So I put one on. I no longer live near a decent kite flying place, and we no longer have bunnies. Those items are replaced with my audio coding and that I have started making cuddly toys.
The agent looked over my CV and was very happy with it in content, structure and presentation. What was the thing they wanted to talk about first?
Postscript
I know this is a long post, but I wanted to pick up about not having needed a CV for many years early on. I realise how blessed I was to have had that situation, and have it perpetuated for so long. For the work I actually want to do (and it looks like I will be doing it too) my traditional CV is no longer relevant. Yesterday I was offered work based on more important matters than anything a 'list of life' can ever show. In less than a week I have had emails from two people asking for drum lessons, coming from recommendations of others, rather than a piece of paper which might or might not have any 'Other Interests' listed.
It feels like I have taken a step back a few hundred years, and I like it. I can't be the only one for whom this happens. Maybe places like Monster and JobSite wouldn't exist if it happened more.
I had been asked to take various artefacts and proofs that I was who I said, and that I had a legitimate claim to not being employed, as one would expect. I had also been asked to take a CV with me for them to check that I was giving myself a reasonable chance in the rough and tumble world of the job market. I did as I was asked, and updating my CV caused me to reflect upon them & their nature.
In various provinces they are known as a Resumé, the etymology of which I must look up one day, but here in the U of K we use the abbreviated Latin for 'List of Life.' It is a curiosity. As I recall, my life has been rather more than just desk space that I have occupied for the last 15+years..
I wrote my first CV at the Win3.11 powered PC of a then (and still) ex-girlfriend. I filled it with all that I could - a degree, 18months of temping at Proctor & Gamble, musicking, shop work.. to be honest, I hadn't done much that should get me a job. It was effectively nepotism that got me the first proper job I went for, rather than anything I had typed. My friend Abi had been working at a place in Chertsey, and they needed a data inputter. I was interviewed and started shortly thereafter. The database system Access 2 was the new kid on the block, and I started to find my way around it.
<BackStory>I started with a Sinclair Spectrum in the early 80s, and enjoyed the company of RML 380Z & original black 480Zs at school. I got through BASIC very quickly & took to writing stuff in Z80 machine language not long after. As time progressed, the challenges before me dwindled, not that I was some great whizz, but that opportunities to go further were not as apparent - I could do all that was asked of me at school; I had taken books about COBOL, FORTRAN, ComAL, Algol, Pascal, C, and some others out from the library and learned a great deal from them, but had nowhere to try out what I had learned. For various reasons I didn't do CS at A-level, taking Maths, Physics and English, which made me a scientist who could write essays. I had got interested in Psychology, so went to the fabulous Royal Holloway and Bedford New College to study it, got bored and drifted back towards computer courses and very music orientated things for my final year.</BackStory>
So I worked at this place, and over the next nearly 18 months gradually took on more responsibility in the database upkeep, and expanded it as required. The company were a subcontractor to a contractor to Thames Water. The contractor didn't get continuation of work, so I was made redundant (first time of three), but a chat with the boss of the contractors secured me more work, and a little more to put on my CV. The majority of the next 10years work came from that chat. I wrote databases & job management systems for utilities contractors. I kept my CV up to date, but word of mouth, occasional chats and doing a good job got me work, rather than anything formal, and no-one was the slightest bit interested in my CV. Finally, it did dry up, and I actually needed that list to get me work, but now it looked a rather more substantial affair, such that when the accounting software firm Sage (UK) Ltd saw it, they were interested in talking to me, which was nice.
I must confess - I don't like CVs that much. Conversations with both prospective employers and employees over the years have suggested to me that in many ways they are a necessary, but largely useless annoyance. Many seek to sell themselves as the best thing ever on their CV, that they can be the panacea that a company needs, that they will be that missing cog that will keep the wheels of industry running that bit more smoothly. All sorts of airbrushing, exaggerations, deep breaths and pulled in tummies are employed to project that perfect, employable, image.
I'm more interested in how I word the 'Other Interests.'
A CV is an entrée, a foot in the door, no more no less. It is a way to start a conversation, but for me it's the nature of that conversation that is paramount in working out what jobs to take and which to question.
It should be assumed, in any sensible world, that folk would only apply for a job if they consider that they have the skills to do the task [for the moment, we will skip the fact that neither the world is sensible, nor do folk always apply for what they are able to do]; in which case, the job history and skills section of a CV would be something of a null contest, since all the participants can do what is to be asked of them. It then comes to what the folk are like.
After a certain level of job, if a company is only interested in whether or not you can do a job, they probably aren't the sort of people worth working for. I want a company to be interested in me, in the same way that I want to be interested in them. This isn't an egotistical thing, it's industrial self-preservation on my part and that of the employer - I need to know that my employer is willing to take me on, invest time and energy in me, nurture, whatever, such that I can be the best that I can be and contribute to their bottom line within the extent of my (hopefully growing) abilities. If I can't see that they are interested in me as more than just a cog, I'm never terribly sure I want to be there. Thus, their response to 'Other interests' is more important to me than any code test I have to pass.
When I lived in Watford, I discovered Dunstable Downs. This is a fantastic place, somewhere that attracts a lot of wind, and consequently a lot of kite flyers. I kinda became one, really liked it too. I wasn't very good, and with small children to look after not something I could hone my skills with, but it touched my heart sufficiently to make it into 'Other Interests.' We also kept three bunnies, until the charming foxes of Chorleywood decided they liked them more than we did. So having bunnies was on the CV. It was part of my life at that time.
The places that happened to mention, even in passing, the items that I had listed at the end of my CV are the places I ended up working. Those that didn't, either didn't offer me the job, or I passed them over in favour of the ones that did.
At one time, my previous employer had taken each employee's CV in turn and condensed them down to a single page each. They did a good job of it too, I was very pleased with how mine turned out (thanks Sue!) In getting my CV together for the DHSS today, I put aside my 15+ year old CV that had done its job as required through the years, and used this newer version. However - 'Other interests,' or 'who is this guy?' was missing. I know why it was done, the purpose of the CV rewrites wasn't for a charm offensive, it was to prove that the company could deliver what it claimed it could; but it was still a sad thing that perhaps the most pertinent section (so far as I can tell) had been left on the cutting room floor.
So I put one on. I no longer live near a decent kite flying place, and we no longer have bunnies. Those items are replaced with my audio coding and that I have started making cuddly toys.
The agent looked over my CV and was very happy with it in content, structure and presentation. What was the thing they wanted to talk about first?
Postscript
I know this is a long post, but I wanted to pick up about not having needed a CV for many years early on. I realise how blessed I was to have had that situation, and have it perpetuated for so long. For the work I actually want to do (and it looks like I will be doing it too) my traditional CV is no longer relevant. Yesterday I was offered work based on more important matters than anything a 'list of life' can ever show. In less than a week I have had emails from two people asking for drum lessons, coming from recommendations of others, rather than a piece of paper which might or might not have any 'Other Interests' listed.
It feels like I have taken a step back a few hundred years, and I like it. I can't be the only one for whom this happens. Maybe places like Monster and JobSite wouldn't exist if it happened more.
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Reading week
Today (well, yesterday, it's actually tomorrow now), I had a very nice time sitting on a train reading (book, magazine, newspaper, in that order) & doing some listening. I will write about some of my recent listening in another post.
In between journeys I met up with some very pleasant gentlemen in Reading. I was hoping to meet Tiny & Keyop, especially Princess.. even 7zark7, but alas no, they weren't there. The very fine fellows have asked me to do some work with them. At the moment it will be a week a month, but it's exactly what I want to be doing. I know that not everyone who reads this will share my views, but I see this as an answer to prayer, and I feel very blessed by the day, the attitudes of the chaps, and that very nice lunch they took me for. Oh and the chance to fiddle about with some fantastic and rare old gear :-)
Tomorrow (today - see above) I meet with my local Job Centre. They will, no doubt, ask what I will be doing the other three weeks of a month.
In between journeys I met up with some very pleasant gentlemen in Reading. I was hoping to meet Tiny & Keyop, especially Princess.. even 7zark7, but alas no, they weren't there. The very fine fellows have asked me to do some work with them. At the moment it will be a week a month, but it's exactly what I want to be doing. I know that not everyone who reads this will share my views, but I see this as an answer to prayer, and I feel very blessed by the day, the attitudes of the chaps, and that very nice lunch they took me for. Oh and the chance to fiddle about with some fantastic and rare old gear :-)
Tomorrow (today - see above) I meet with my local Job Centre. They will, no doubt, ask what I will be doing the other three weeks of a month.
Friday 20 August 2010
..of cabbages and things..
I find it a peculiar thing just what one can accumulate - physically, mentally, emotionally...
Today has not been an easy day. The laptop at which I currently type is a pleasant thing, 17" screen, good keyboard with numeric pad (tho' CTRL is not always where I expect it); plus it has a collexion of software I like - AVAST for anti-virus, Agnitum Outpost for firewall, VMWare Server for sandboxed development work, plus various other juicy bits of kit. But all is not entirely well.
I like Outpost, I was one of the first adopters, buying my license within a year of the product coming out. I liked the way it presented itself, the way the rules worked, etc. But most of all I liked the way it was extensible - one could write one's own plug-ins for it. Being a coder, this was very appealing. However, I could never work out what I would want a firewall plug-in to do, since everything seemed to do what it needed via the rules. One chap wrote a plug-in which showed network traffic in a task-tray icon, which was very good - but since he'd done it, there was no need for me to. Oh well. After trialling ZoneAlarm, Symantec and a number of others at the time (this was 2001/2), I went with Outpost and have stayed with it for the last 8 or more years.
However, it has an issue with this laptop that I've never been able to get to the bottom of, and it appears neither did Agnitum. I was not the only one to report it - sudden, unexplained BSODs. I use the past tense, since I am using version 4. Agnitum are upto version 7. So, why don't I just upgrade? Well, as previously stated, I use VMWare products, and Outpost blocked all the VM network traffic in version 5 & 6, something reported on both Agnitum & VMWare forae, but never adequate resolved. Version 4 doesn't have this problem.
In the last week I have had upto 3 BSODs a day, and today I have downloaded the latest version having it in mind to try it out. However, I have a lot invested in this harddisk (both in terms of data & installed programs), and don't want issues of having to start over - so I thought I'd get my BART disk (Backup And Recovery Tools to the initiated) with a trusty copy of Drive SnapShot on it, and image the disk for safety, then try out Outpost 7.
I then go to find the disk - ha! Where did I put it? I knew it had come back from where I had been working sometime ago, so it must be in the flat. For reasons best explained elsewhere, for almost 2 years I have been living away from my family, the last 16months in this flat. I have various items with me that I have procured from where my family are, plus items I have gained since being here. I hadn't realised quite how much was here! There is a bedroom and a living area - two rooms.. shouldn't be too hard to find a disk in a clear red jewel case, surely..
And this is where I find what I have accumulated. Since being here I have been given a bookcase & have a set of shelves, plus a desk and some drawers. This furniture houses many things - I have my DSP library (as in Digital Signal Processing, not some documentation of an ego trip) culled from countless websites & PDF printouts; I have home-burned CDs & DVDs; I have books; I have artefacts of my life.
In looking for the disk I have ended up wading through things that need filing... I have found that in the time passed since printing of various bits of DSP papers, my knowledge has accumulated to the point where some things I remember struggling with in the past seem that much more readily accessible... and I have found various bits of art & craft and such that the children have made for me whilst I have been out of the house, even a father's day card that my eldest made for me when she was about 5 (7 years ago).
It's a curious thing that, in a relatively short time, a person can accumulate such a wealth of 'things' that occupy space, mind and soul, and the effects that they can have on one's being. Having to hawk through the stuff was a fairly tedious chore (and not finished - filing still needs to be done...); finding that one has progressed in the field in which one endeavours to create is gratifying; and being presented with emotionally significant artefacts can hamper one's desire and ability to remain focussed...
With this somewhat draining task, along with various other duties in the administration of my welfare today, I haven't done much dev work, which I know I should have done. I'd be interested to here folk's views on the extent to which I should feel guilty about that! [I did some useful work the last 3 days, in my defence]
Did the disk turn up? Well, yes it did.. I had given up & was going to settle down with a beer & watch 'Gonks Go Beat' whilst having some Llama pie I made yesterday, and idly looked in a pile of things on the desk where my DevPC is. Bottom of the pile. I think I saw it wink at me.
Today has not been an easy day. The laptop at which I currently type is a pleasant thing, 17" screen, good keyboard with numeric pad (tho' CTRL is not always where I expect it); plus it has a collexion of software I like - AVAST for anti-virus, Agnitum Outpost for firewall, VMWare Server for sandboxed development work, plus various other juicy bits of kit. But all is not entirely well.
I like Outpost, I was one of the first adopters, buying my license within a year of the product coming out. I liked the way it presented itself, the way the rules worked, etc. But most of all I liked the way it was extensible - one could write one's own plug-ins for it. Being a coder, this was very appealing. However, I could never work out what I would want a firewall plug-in to do, since everything seemed to do what it needed via the rules. One chap wrote a plug-in which showed network traffic in a task-tray icon, which was very good - but since he'd done it, there was no need for me to. Oh well. After trialling ZoneAlarm, Symantec and a number of others at the time (this was 2001/2), I went with Outpost and have stayed with it for the last 8 or more years.
However, it has an issue with this laptop that I've never been able to get to the bottom of, and it appears neither did Agnitum. I was not the only one to report it - sudden, unexplained BSODs. I use the past tense, since I am using version 4. Agnitum are upto version 7. So, why don't I just upgrade? Well, as previously stated, I use VMWare products, and Outpost blocked all the VM network traffic in version 5 & 6, something reported on both Agnitum & VMWare forae, but never adequate resolved. Version 4 doesn't have this problem.
In the last week I have had upto 3 BSODs a day, and today I have downloaded the latest version having it in mind to try it out. However, I have a lot invested in this harddisk (both in terms of data & installed programs), and don't want issues of having to start over - so I thought I'd get my BART disk (Backup And Recovery Tools to the initiated) with a trusty copy of Drive SnapShot on it, and image the disk for safety, then try out Outpost 7.
I then go to find the disk - ha! Where did I put it? I knew it had come back from where I had been working sometime ago, so it must be in the flat. For reasons best explained elsewhere, for almost 2 years I have been living away from my family, the last 16months in this flat. I have various items with me that I have procured from where my family are, plus items I have gained since being here. I hadn't realised quite how much was here! There is a bedroom and a living area - two rooms.. shouldn't be too hard to find a disk in a clear red jewel case, surely..
And this is where I find what I have accumulated. Since being here I have been given a bookcase & have a set of shelves, plus a desk and some drawers. This furniture houses many things - I have my DSP library (as in Digital Signal Processing, not some documentation of an ego trip) culled from countless websites & PDF printouts; I have home-burned CDs & DVDs; I have books; I have artefacts of my life.
In looking for the disk I have ended up wading through things that need filing... I have found that in the time passed since printing of various bits of DSP papers, my knowledge has accumulated to the point where some things I remember struggling with in the past seem that much more readily accessible... and I have found various bits of art & craft and such that the children have made for me whilst I have been out of the house, even a father's day card that my eldest made for me when she was about 5 (7 years ago).
It's a curious thing that, in a relatively short time, a person can accumulate such a wealth of 'things' that occupy space, mind and soul, and the effects that they can have on one's being. Having to hawk through the stuff was a fairly tedious chore (and not finished - filing still needs to be done...); finding that one has progressed in the field in which one endeavours to create is gratifying; and being presented with emotionally significant artefacts can hamper one's desire and ability to remain focussed...
With this somewhat draining task, along with various other duties in the administration of my welfare today, I haven't done much dev work, which I know I should have done. I'd be interested to here folk's views on the extent to which I should feel guilty about that! [I did some useful work the last 3 days, in my defence]
Did the disk turn up? Well, yes it did.. I had given up & was going to settle down with a beer & watch 'Gonks Go Beat' whilst having some Llama pie I made yesterday, and idly looked in a pile of things on the desk where my DevPC is. Bottom of the pile. I think I saw it wink at me.
Wednesday 18 August 2010
For the Benefit of Mr..
Well, Mr Kite might have had a show, but my experience this morning was more of a 'no show'..
My redundancy communiqué had suggested I sign on with the local Job Centre, just to make sure that, if nothing else, someone knows about NI contributions. The one in West Street seemed to fit the bill, I walk in and they wonder why I'm there.. Apparently it's all changed.
In the early/mid 90's I used to sign on, and the computer system they had then was OS/2 consoles onto the IBM system behind, followed later by a Win 3[point-11 ;-)] front-end. It worked, I declared when I worked, I got paid, they had the satisfaction of helping someone who was trying to help themselves (not so sure about that last bit).
Today, I walked in to see a solitary welcome 'hot-desk' - no chairs, just floating receptionists to lead you to your appointment; and a collection of flat screen terminals mounted as little table-top islands dotted about a sea of carpet (which was even blue as I recall). You don't just walk in anymore, I'll need to make a phone call which forms the initial application, and then have an appointment as get back to West Street for another floating greet. It wasn't a wasted trip - I got the phone number I needed.
From there I wanted to visit a Citizens Advice Bureau, mainly to ask about any benefits I may be entitled to. I have no intention of being reviled as a sponger (or whatever the Daily Mail is choosing to call such folk today), but if there is help available in what ever form (Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, etc), then I would like to know about it.
Sheffield is blessed with many CABs it turns out, but checking the website it seems the majority of them are specialist ones. It seemed that a visit to the library was in order to find out where I should go. Word on the street is that CABs are now a regional institution - you go where your local one is, which is fair enough. I live in S11, for which there is no officially recognised CAB. humph. On advice from the very helpful librarian [must visit the Central Library more, they are very nice folk :-)] I set out for the Sharrow CAB on London Road. It seems the other few that I could visit are open long enough for one get there just as they are closing, whereas Sharrow are open for upto 5 hours at a time most days.
Got there, got my number, got a seat. Waited about 45 min (seat was fairly comfy, thankfully) then had a 10 minute interview where they asked what I wanted to know. I have an appointment in 10 days time when I will get an answer; in the meantime, they suggested I do what I thought would be a sensible things to do anyway.
Overall, It was a pleasant 5 or 6 mile walk around the city. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and those clouds over there looked less grey than they do now..
My redundancy communiqué had suggested I sign on with the local Job Centre, just to make sure that, if nothing else, someone knows about NI contributions. The one in West Street seemed to fit the bill, I walk in and they wonder why I'm there.. Apparently it's all changed.
In the early/mid 90's I used to sign on, and the computer system they had then was OS/2 consoles onto the IBM system behind, followed later by a Win 3[point-11 ;-)] front-end. It worked, I declared when I worked, I got paid, they had the satisfaction of helping someone who was trying to help themselves (not so sure about that last bit).
Today, I walked in to see a solitary welcome 'hot-desk' - no chairs, just floating receptionists to lead you to your appointment; and a collection of flat screen terminals mounted as little table-top islands dotted about a sea of carpet (which was even blue as I recall). You don't just walk in anymore, I'll need to make a phone call which forms the initial application, and then have an appointment as get back to West Street for another floating greet. It wasn't a wasted trip - I got the phone number I needed.
From there I wanted to visit a Citizens Advice Bureau, mainly to ask about any benefits I may be entitled to. I have no intention of being reviled as a sponger (or whatever the Daily Mail is choosing to call such folk today), but if there is help available in what ever form (Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, etc), then I would like to know about it.
Sheffield is blessed with many CABs it turns out, but checking the website it seems the majority of them are specialist ones. It seemed that a visit to the library was in order to find out where I should go. Word on the street is that CABs are now a regional institution - you go where your local one is, which is fair enough. I live in S11, for which there is no officially recognised CAB. humph. On advice from the very helpful librarian [must visit the Central Library more, they are very nice folk :-)] I set out for the Sharrow CAB on London Road. It seems the other few that I could visit are open long enough for one get there just as they are closing, whereas Sharrow are open for upto 5 hours at a time most days.
Got there, got my number, got a seat. Waited about 45 min (seat was fairly comfy, thankfully) then had a 10 minute interview where they asked what I wanted to know. I have an appointment in 10 days time when I will get an answer; in the meantime, they suggested I do what I thought would be a sensible things to do anyway.
Overall, It was a pleasant 5 or 6 mile walk around the city. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and those clouds over there looked less grey than they do now..
Count de Monet
'Moe-nae, Count de Moe-nae' as the Mel Brooks sketch in 'History of the World (Part 1)' insists..
So I got my first post-redundancy pay-cheque on the day of being let go. I have been involved with a producer in Italy who has been commissioned to put together an album of the first 10 Psalms, to be sold in to the Indian market. I contributed composition, guitar & some keyboard parts to Ps7 & Ps10. Some of it has a slightly Doobie Brothers feel, and there's a hefty dose of 7/4 & 5/8 elsewhere, with a kinda proggy groove (quel surprise..) I've heard back some of the mixes, and they're very good; I'll post details when it's released.
It's nice to be a paid muso again!
So I got my first post-redundancy pay-cheque on the day of being let go. I have been involved with a producer in Italy who has been commissioned to put together an album of the first 10 Psalms, to be sold in to the Indian market. I contributed composition, guitar & some keyboard parts to Ps7 & Ps10. Some of it has a slightly Doobie Brothers feel, and there's a hefty dose of 7/4 & 5/8 elsewhere, with a kinda proggy groove (quel surprise..) I've heard back some of the mixes, and they're very good; I'll post details when it's released.
It's nice to be a paid muso again!
Tuesday 17 August 2010
Start where the start is
Yesterday I worked for a small company in Sheffield, until about 15:30 whereupon I found myself made redundant, in common with 7 others who have exited over the last week. I harbour no hard feelings about this, and wish the company well - I see it as a God given opportunity to pursue some things that have been on my heart for, well, quite some time!
This blog will trace what happens to me.
Me? I'm Duncan, a musician and a coder. Well, other things too; but for the purposes of this we'll focus on those two, but other subjects may creep in as time goes on (never let it be said I'm not a creative chap..).
This blog will trace what happens to me.
Me? I'm Duncan, a musician and a coder. Well, other things too; but for the purposes of this we'll focus on those two, but other subjects may creep in as time goes on (never let it be said I'm not a creative chap..).
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