Friday 20 September 2013

An Amazing Day



Wasn't sure what today would bring. I'm certainly a little tired after a 600 mile round trip, but feeling good and buoyed by good news about good friends and being inspired by some great TED talks. I have finished up with a head ache , but that's not really surprising.

No Reason For This Being Here
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's High Bridge Festival for music and street food, then I have another gig on Monday as well as getting involved with a patient focus group.

One of the TED talks was the Peacejam one , watch it love the story about Desmond Tutu when he married them and and the MC5 Manifesto mission statement.

Anyway quite tired , thanks for all your good wishes.

Thursday 19 September 2013

There's Always Something New - Like IOS7



Just had a phone call asking me to be part of a Patients Focus Group for my doctor's surgery, I've agreed to it but going to have to fit the first meeting in between work and a concert.

I got my IOS7 this morning and not impressed so far. Icons look rubbish and first TED talk failed. Download worked OK , but hate new pin lock on it. Still I will get used to it, whether it's Apple , Android or Windows you are locked into their system.

But this, in theory gives us new places to explore and visit , and maybe there will be new frustrations but there will be great things to discover. Though still think the new Icons look horrible.

On the plus side the sun is shining again, and I'm still buzzing after last night's Wire gig , plus there's another gig on Monday. Chapter one of my book is coming along .

So I have my suit out , shirt ironed , tie put aside for tomorrow's interview. I sure tomorrow will be an eventful and successful day for me , and looking forward to it.

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Inspiration Comes From The Oddest Sources

My Bedside Book Pile
Although today's source of inspiration is actually probably quite a normal source of inspiration. On of the reasons I write this blog is the hope that one day it will provide me with the idea to actually write a book. Well in six years the inspiration hasn't come , although it has kept my hand in putting pen to paper , or rather fingers to keys.

Anyway beside my bed is a pile of books which one day I should get round to reading. One of the books was "The Ode Less Travelled" Stephen Fry's book on poetry. Within a couple of pages I saw the obvious subject for what could be my book . No it isn't poetry , and while I've written a few songs , a book of my poetry would be a complete no go, though I have a few Felix Dennis volumes in my collection - but is one of the few super rich people I have time for , along with Richard Branson and Chris Blackwell.

Anyway my book has a title and the first chapter is underway , I know how it will end , and know big chunks of what will happen between start and finish.  Once I'm finished I have at least two literary friends who can advise about proof reading , editing , and will tell me if it's rubbish or not.

So it's a case of watch this space. I've downloaded the Amazon Self Publishing kit , but the main thing is the inspiration has finally hit.

A Brand New Day - I Will Tell You Nothing


It's 6:30 am and today has the potential to be a disaster , but let's face it so do most days and they usually turn out to be good. I feel I'm jumping in a the deep end with something that HAS to be done and the sooner I get into it the better. Unfortunately I can't say what it's about but I know you will all send me your best wishes and I know I will come out of the other end probably battered but intact.

I do find it amazing that I can write about something giving no indication what's it's about , but shall we say it's as necessary and annoying as filling in a tax return. So it's not anything like last week's ECG thing.

Anyway because I've told you nothing I'm going to include The great John Cooper Clarke's poem "Nothing" as a YouTube clip and as text: Enjoy:

Nothing by John Cooper-Clarke

"Something is but nothing
Something it is not
Nil plus nil is nothing
Nothings what I got
Nothing on the tele
Nothing going on
Nothing to get worked up about
Nothing by the ton
Nothing times a million
Nothing minus ten
Don't say nothing to no one
It's nothing to do with them
Come all the way from nowhere
And now I'm nowhere else
Where nothing is out of place
No one lives
And nothing smells
Talking to no one
It's like talking to the wall
I give you what I get
I give you bugger all"

Monday 16 September 2013

You're My Inspiration

It's funny at the moment I feel the need to write. I still haven't come up with an idea for a book but obviously people are enjoying , or at least looking at what I'm putting down. While I know one or two of you are checking this out from things you have said to me , I also realise that there are quite a few others following this.



Today I was coming home from work and decided on a TED talk about the New Yorker catoons by Bob Mankoff. I'd not heard of him before , but he is one of the many intelligent denizends of the USA and very funny with it too. This is the talk and it is well worth twenty minutes out of your day if you haven't already seen it.




I do find it amazing that even though I didn't know what I was going to write about this talk made me put the words down. The thing I like about it is now , this will effectively be here forever and gives both me and Bob a sort of immortality bestowing God like status on both of us so to speak, except he is the talented one.




But really thanks for reading , love hearing from you all and have a great day and night, whichever part of this world you are in.

Sunday 15 September 2013

Beautiful Tits and The Vagaries of The English Language

A friend this morning liked a Facebook Group with that name , and I immediately thought it was a clever reverse double entendre for a page with pictures of birds. Well I was right , it was a page about birds , but there was no clever reverse double entendre applied. You can find the page if you look for it on Facebook. And it got me thinking just about the vagaries and rich tapestry that is the English Languages. By the way if you search for the phrase in Google you don't get pictures like the one below!

Beautiful Tits
I read a lot , and since the times of  Chaucer , Shakespeare who both used euphenisms and double entendres in their work. English folk songs are notorious. Let me tell you "The Bonny Black Hare" is not about an over-sized rabbit, although these days the use of the word rabbit takes you right back in there so to speak! And all the classical talk of swords and sheaths , well you know what that means.

Anyway thought I'd include the Reduced Shakespeare Company's Othello Rap which starts with a mis interpretation of the word "moor",another thread in the rich fabric that is our language. It's also very funny.

Rain Is Good



It's raining again, but only to be expected at this time of year. Maybe I should have mowed the lawn yesterday , but not to worry.

I'm almost shocked at the amount of good music around , if you want new stuff there's the excellent band from Northern Ireland The Strypes who are still under 17 , while at the other end of the age spectrum Yoko Ono has a brilliant new album out . Add to that new offerings from Franz Ferdinand, Janelle MonaeManic Street Preachers , Bill Callahan , Elvis Costello and The Roots, and many many more the music scene seems to be thriving. And next week I am going to see Wire for the first time in my life. You can find all of these on Youtube and Amazon or just go and see them if you get a chance.

Another success is that I finally manage to export a piece I'd put together in Garageband that I'd originally meant as an accompaniment for a World Book Night montage , but forgot about it and used some random Anthony Gormley images as well as the odd skyline. But it's nothing special , it just means now I can actually use Garageband as a studio now about 15 moths after gettin all the relevant bits and pieces.

So enjoy the rain , enjoy your day and enjoy your music.

Saturday 14 September 2013

Don't Dream It's Over



Nothing deep , but woke this morning to blue skies and sunshine , and it's the weekend, how good is that. It just shows everyone had decided that summer was over and the sunshine has just returned to lift our spirits once more. For some reason the Crowded House song "Don't Dream It's Over" came to mind ,  and they are a wonderful antipodean band who I've loved ever since I first saw the Finn brothers in the wonderful Split Enz.

So today will be spent, enjoying myself taking in the sun , finding good things to enjoy and maybe taking a few photographs if the sky gets blue enough , which I am sure it will . I hope everyone has an absolutely brilliant weekend.

Oh I also need to practice a few more songs using more complex chords , which if they turn out good , I will post on Youtube. Have a wonderful day.

Friday 13 September 2013

Fighting With My Left Hand:It's Alright Ma ... It's Only Severe Nerve Damage


...which may sound negative , but on fact it's actually very positive. The human body has a remarkable ability to just mend itself, in fact your body is continually repairing itself and you don't actually realise it. I learned that from my first brush with ITP when Juliet and Kirsty were around 4 and 2 and I was really frightened that I wouldn't see the grow up. When I was shaving and cut myself , the bleeding didn't stop , so I had to let a beard grow! Don't think the girls remember , but they were amused by it , that was around 1986.

Well I recorded me messing about on the bass, and I am trying to play some proper chords on the acoustic guitar. Electric is not an option to youtube unless I think of an instrumental to do. The thinkg is I still can't get Garageband to export a composition to iTunes, but I can record video as you can see above. The song is an extremely simple Neil Young composition "Love Is A Rose". Now this isn't about showing off or anything , it's just that a couple of months ago I couldn't hold a plate or turn a key with my left hand, now , with difficulty I can master a basic "G" chord. I've just used G,A and D and missed out the fancy bits , but I my hand is very slowly getting better.

So all in all things are improving , and the future is looking bright 


Don't Worry .. Be Happy


Just a short post today , but I'm quite surprised that I'm getting 50 views of the page and comments from unexpected sources , all positive. Hope you are all enjoying these.

There's only one song , obviously , the totally happy Bobby McFerrin number "Don't Worry, Be Happy". Well today we have rain , the weather is overcast , people are saying summer is over , but it can always be summer in your heart. The rain waters the gardens and plants which can feed is or give us something enjoyable to look at. That just reminds me of a wonderful TED talk about a guerrilla gardener in LA. I'm including it here. Watch it - it is inspirational and uplifting and may give you some ideas!!:


 
 
Anyway the weekend is here, and if you can bring your sunshine to others , spread the happiness, help others and feel good. Enjoy yourself and if you see me say hello !

Thursday 12 September 2013

Be Nice



The Second Coming
Last year I read a book called The Second Coming by John Niven , which posited that Jesus had to come back and win X-Factor to save the world . It's a great book, funny but with a lot of serious points to make, and worth a read by anyone.


When he came back Jesus had a simple mission statement "Be Nice":


It's easy to do that , generally you can be nice to people , smile , talk with people , offer help , accept help , give and take encouragement. It's easy to do.



There are situations which will test this, and yes they are sometimes exasperating to deal with , but by always keeping positive you will find the strength to get you through.

One thing I've found with Facebook is that I have made some fantastic friends from unexpected places and walks of life who have pointed me in good directions.

So I live my life to never regret anything , never to put off anything you can do , especially if it's talking and meeting friends and loved ones, always look for the positives - it makes life interesting and fun, and be yourself.

So please go out today and "Be Nice" , it will make you and someone elses day much, much better.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Another Fine Day ... A Week til Wire



No reason for thinking it's going to be particularly fine apart from the fact that I am feeling particularly happy. That comes from having certain things confirmed and that allows you to take control of things. Added to that I'm going to see my youngest daughter for the third time in a week at Starbucks (that must be some kind of record for recent years) , and in a weeks time I am going to see one of my all time favourite bands Wire and The Cluny in Newcastle.

So really this is just a diary entry, yes I have to go to work and do the mundane stuff , but I will be reading , maybe watching a TED talk or a downloaded Channel 4 program (Blackout) , have coffee and porrige when I get to work (unless they have sold out then I need to go for the fall back bacon sandwich , or god forbid sausage sandwich) , who knows what the day will bring. But I am going to make sure it is good.

Tuesday 10 September 2013

What Happened Today - The Clash, Electric Shocks, Fighting With My Left Hand Again (and Winning)



Before I tell you what's happened it's all fine.

Basically I have had about an hour of increasingly sever electric shocks put through both arms . The doc laughed when I told it was like grabbing an electric fence when you were a kid. He told me he used to do that but stopped when people started looking at him as though he were weird . "Why would you want to grab hold of an electric fence? they would ask" . The answer is to prove that you weren't soft , however when someone asks that question it becomes rhetorical.

Anyway I told him that I knew how to do chords on a guitar and it turned out that he had played cello since he was six , and said there's so way he could switch from left to right hand. I said like Jimi Hendrix could, ah but he was special came back the reply. All the while I 'm getting increasingly severe pulsing electric shocks , giving a mind boggling display on a biggish display , to which the doc annotated highs, lows and means. Although I still couldn't see where this was going, it was interesting, and I was trying to make sense of it. While chatting he was asking what instruments I could play , told I could make noise on electric and acoustic guitars and mandolin, but could play bass with just three fingers! He told me he had a friend who had designed and built his own mandolin!

Conversation then turned to to The Clash , and I mentioned the new Sound System Box set. Turned out one of the guy's previous patients was a friend of Joe Strummer who used to come it and visit her, which resulted in the doc getting a copy of the first Mescaleros album from Joe which he has to this day. We were talking for ages about the Clash and I told him my favourites and he told me his , White Riot , Train in Vain , White Man In Hammersmith Palais and Clampdown all surface and we agreed on the brilliance of the London's Calling album.

Anyway the prognosis is I have bad nerve damage around elbow on right arm , and sever nerve damage on left arm , as well as mild carpal tunnel syndrome on both hands. So I need to do more of what I'm doing , may have to form a band to get some real left hand exercise. The damage is caused by pressure on the elbows, so if you see me resting on my elbows shout at me. Going have sort something with doctor to see what happens next. Need to get some neoprene elbow protectors to force me not to damage my elbows. The human body is good at repairing itself so in theory I might get away without surgery.

The main thing is I know what the problem is , I can start doing something about it now , and its not anything that is life of any part of body threatening . I was worried that they might find something worse , or even nothing, so that , in my opinion is good news so now I can get on with doing something.


I've Got A Feeling .......


There can only be one song for this . Of to hospital as soon as I've posted this, I've been in for much worse and intrusive things than what will happen today , although in theory (and hopefully) it will result in the need for corrective surgery. The NHS is brilliant bar the odd pedantic nurse and obstructive receptionist , but they are so few and far between it doesn't matter to me. I expect, and 99% of the time, get excellent treatment and service in the NHS.

The weather is fine so will probably get the bus and take a walk over Leazes Park , then to negotiate the labyrinth that is the RVI. Have I given myself enough time? We shall see. Have a great day everyone.

Monday 9 September 2013

Relax - I Can Tell You Don't Love Me No More All Through The City


Well that's what I intend to do before hospital tomorrow. I have a certain amouth of trepidation , like what if it's not just a trapped nerve? But that's the whole point of going in for these things , if it's good news then that's a relief and if it's something else it means you can take the appropriate action whatever that may be. I have know people who would not go to the doctors in case they got bad news!! For the reasons above you just HAVE to go.

We are so lucky in this country to have the NHS which means you don't have to worry about health insurance or paying for care. It is a treasure we should jealously guard. I am going tomorrow , hoping and expecting I will be fixed , not wondering if I can afford it. It will be a pleasant experience , I have many friends who work in the NHS and would trust them with anyone i their hands.

There is a huge amount of lies and scaremongering , and they should be subject to the highest scrutiny before being believed.

Anyway that's enough serious stuff as I say I want to relax tonight , just need to find a way to do it !! Maybe some Dr Feelgood , Wilko Johnson is my all time guitar hero ..... two of my favourite songs ....... "I Can Tell You Don't Love Me No More .... All Through The City"

Sunday 8 September 2013

The Rain Has Gone - The Sun Is Back - Fighting With My Left Hand Part Whatever



We had the rain on Friday , the sun was back yesterday and this morning is shaping up to be good , too. Blue cloudless sky , which may make it initially cold cold but still it looks very nice outside.

During the week I managed to play G and C chords almost , and recorded me playing Ian Prowse's "Does This Train Stop On Merseyside" for a Youtube post. I wasn't happy with it, but do intend to post if I get a vaguely acceptable cut. The song is very easy to play, just the chords D, Am G and C played in repetition with it's 3 minute story of Liverpool. I've posted various Ian Prowse videos before , but will include the documentary on this post.

The song is John Peel's second favourite about Liverpool and has been covered by Christy Moore. I don't disagree with Mr Ravenscroft.

Anyway on Tuesday I am in hospital for an EMG session which will hopefully establish that I have a trapped nerve and that will account for what happened to my left hand and the muscle wastage and stuff. The session will take up to an hour but obviously there's all the getting there , waiting about and questions and form filling that goes with it. So  on Tuesday I expect to have some good news.

Saturday 7 September 2013

A Day Of Rain


Well yesterday was overcast and very very wet, and some people were saying well that's the end of the summer, winter's here , implying that it was all misery doom and gloom from now on. As I walked out of Darlington Station a guy was walking up wearing only a shirt, no jacket and no umbrella , and I thought why his is only wearing a shirt , when really I should have been admiring his optimism. Although he my have just not been prepared , but I like to go with the optimistic view,

On Thursday I mowed my lawn , saw the lawn and garden got a good watering, and it definitely was not walking out weather unless you had at least an umbrella. It's still warm here, and it's four in the morning , I've had six hours sleep , and the rain has finally stopped . There was a serious amount coming down last night.

We shall see what the weekend brings, but after a brilliant but hard week at work, it will be nice to relax with may a nip out somewhere to relax even more.

I'm just writing this because I realise that I should actually still be asleep for another three or four hours, although I am feeling absolutely great. Still buzzing from my doctors visit on Thursday for my diabetic catch up where she was so pleased with what's happening to me . I'm just feeling good and I love the rain as musch as the sun , because you need both in your life.

The song is John Fogerty with Bruce Springsteen performing one his Creedence Clearwater Revival songs, which I've loved since I first heard it in the seventies.

Now , I might go back to bed, I know that's where you are .

Friday 6 September 2013

Some Thoughts On Diabetes and Five Dollar Shakes

Five Dollar Shake from The Stateside Diner
Diabetes is a condition that effectively forces you to live your life as you are supposed to, eating and drinking in moderation and taking exercise. 

When you gave it you made have to take supplements in the form of tablets or injections.  People have said to me they could never inject, they'd rather die. Well that is your alternative. I do have a phobia about needles because they can hurt a bit and I'm not that much into pain. I inject 5 times a day. Sir Steven Redgrave does seven times a day. It's as easy as eating a sweet. The odd time you will catch a nerve but it's like stubbing a toe

It amazes me that there are diabetic jams and chocolates still on the market  they taste horrible. Just go for the real thing because they taste good and really appreciate.

On thing my brilliant doctor once said is that alcohol is the purest form of sugar so ideally cut it out. But if you want a drink just really appreciate it and don't get wrecked. Throughout my diabetes I have had two doctors , the first guy was great but went to Australia. I trusted him so much I let him do my vasectomy. 
My current doctor is a lively lady who combines her work with raising a family and is brilliant positive , always coming up with suggestions and really look forward to seeing her.

Living with diabetes is also about building a good support group,  lots of people want you to fall off the path, maybe not out of malice,  but even when you say no they keep trying to push you towards having cake, chocolate or alcohol. This is something you have to deal with as you see fit.

I'm actually writing this on my phone so hope I get a signal to upload and publish it

It's taken years for me to get somewhere near understanding what diabetes actually is , and for the first tine since getting it I actually feel in control  of it. There could be a number of reasons for this and I still need to confirm what it is, but a very positive mental attitude is help no end and when good things happen you tend to take actions that will cause more good things to happen.

This may not work for everyone but it seems to be working for me.  Another brilliant day lies ahead. Everyone have a fantastic one.

Oh and the picture is of a five dollar shake from the Stateside Diner. I can enjoy them because I treat myself once in a while.

Thursday 5 September 2013

...and the weather's good

 
 
It's into September and the weather is still excellent . We have had the best summer for a very very long time . We've had the odd storm , but that just meant I didn't have to water the garden , which is always a bonus. Most of the rain has come overnight, while during the day we have had bright sunshine. Every outdoor music event I have been to has enjoyed brilliant sunshine.

I have a Facebook group called For Everything That Happens In My Life Theres A Song and often songs come into your mind that you just associate with people.  Music really touches us on so many levels that you don't really think about it, there's probably some people that I associate aggressive or bad feeling s with but I would say 99% are good.

And I wonder what songs people will associate with me ? Probably the one one above (Li'l Devil by Spoon) , which I still think is better than The Cult's version , but then I have a vested interest in it. Also so glad in this digital age that that effectively stuff now lasts forever and is not subject to the deterioration of vinyl and cassette tape.

Have a wonderful day

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Morning Has Broken


Well autumn is here and the mornings are a little darker. The big benefit of this is that you get to see the sunrise , and that is something that lifts my heart everyday. After the dark the light always comes , some people attribute it to God and some to Nature , it does not matter enjoy the spectacle that is presented to you. It is a fantastic way to start the day as that big orange ball climbs the heavens and lights up our world bringing warmth and sunshine to everyone.

Paddington Flare

Fenham
I always love trying to get photographs of the sun , which you are never supposed to do as it can obviously damage your eyes if you are not careful , and the effects on cameras that the sun has is sometimes amazing. If you look through my Instagram galleries  and Weather gallery on Facebook there will be some. I'm sure there will be many many more.


Anyway , time to get ready for work and see what good things this day brings , and have Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens as was) as my song post.

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Happy Days



Another gorgeous red sky this morning after the ones last night . Is that a good or a bad thing. I can't say I really care because it's going to be a good day.  If it rains you don't have to water your garden , if the sun shines you just feel better anyway.

Me Then
Me Now
This morning my arms aren't aching as much despite another session on the Wii last night and I'm am feeling a lot better in myself , especially as I can now fit into a T-Shirt my daughter Kirsty bought me many years back , but was unable to wear without looking like Matt Lucas' Last Gay in the Village!






Anyway have a job application to complete , work to do , and need to get myself out the house. I've wasted loads of time this morning because I made the mistake of thinking that transferring photographs from my iPad to my PC via the iCloud Photostream wuld be simple. Yes I could see the photos , I could delete them , I could share them with people , I could make them public but I couldnt actually open them or copy them !! Thank you intuitive Apple . You know on Windows we have this thing called drag and drop. It is simple , intuitive and works.

That's my Apple rant over and for some reason the wonderful Television song Days came into my head!!


Monday 2 September 2013

NIce Things Come Unexpectedly



Today a friend told me that they really enjoyed reading my blog even though often they were not sure about some of the words I use. That may be really pleased and gave me a warm feeling inside. Sometimes i am not sure what to write about but I always try and put down the good things that happen and that is one of them. I know they will read this and know who they are and really  I need to think of some obscure words to use , but I am no William Shakespeare. Or even William Shagspear

Anyway such wordsmithery is probably beyond my ken or ability , so you will have to put up with the mundanity of my everyday life. Today I applied for a new job , based on the title , then read the job description and realised it was completely the wrong job. A word with a friend and we both searched the jobs list and couldn't find the job I was looking for, well it was there , just the title wasn't exactly what I expected . Anyway tomorrow I will be applying and hopefully will be successful.

Also pleased that I can fit into a Large T Shirt my youngest daughter bought me a few years back . I will take a photograph tomorrow and post it, although I managed to forget to take my drugs tonight , so ended up taking them late so loaded up with my new lower dose of insulin.

So for the music for this post I think the Othello Rap by the Reduced Shakespeare Company would be appropriate .

Month Nine

 
 
Two days into the ninth month and the weather is still very windy. September was originally the seventh month in the ten month roman calendar. September begins on the same day of the week as December every year, because there are 91 days separating September and December, which is a multiple of seven (the number of days in the week). No other month ends on the same day of the week as September in any year. Apparently it's also the sixth moth of the astrological calendar, but you how based in reality that is.

My arms are still hurting from my new non exercise regime , but weight is still coming down at a reasonable rate, The thing is as you weight comes down you start to do more and eat less so it becomes a self fulfilling cycly . I think. I only say this because at other times in my life it hasnt worked , this seems to be working.

 Also the heating has now gone on for this year as it is getting a little nippy. There's still blue skies outside which is good. Just seed some pretty clouds blowing pretty quickly across the blue sky so Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell is a good choice for today.


Sunday 1 September 2013

Windpower , Websites and The Fight with My Left Hand




The winds been blowing all through the night , wasn't sure if it was raining . September has blown in , the ninth month of the year is here for us. Woke up this morning aching all over, that'll teach me to to boxing on the Nintendo Wii !! Love all the stories about the complaints they got when it first came out . It's called exercise !!

Well another interesting week ahead , and I finally have got an appointment with a neurologist to see if I can sort out the potential trapped nerve in my left hand. It was funny when a similar thing happened ten years ago , I thought it was a trapped nerve and it was probably a stroke, this time they though it may have been a stroke , well TIA , and it's probably a trapped nerve , which is good because hopefully they can do something about it and I will be able to use the little finger on my left hand normally again.

Song of the Salesman Page Views Over The Years
Also found out that my website has had 26 million page views according to my hosts , Brinkster.  That' about four times what I thought it was , wish it translated into financial reward, but the website was just set up so I could bluff my way through .NET to get a job when I was made redundant at the turn of the millennium.

Also for the first time in ages going to apply for a new job , in the same company , so if anyone sees this it won't come as any surprise. I actually like what I do and love the people I work with but sometimes it's good to see if you can do something else.

Anyway , I was originally going to post Thomas Dolby's Windpower , but then the wonderful boxing song "No Mercy" by Nils Lofgren came into my head , so that get's my vote this morning.


Saturday 31 August 2013

...but I'm Feeling Good



.. rather physically better than I have for a long, long time. If something is working then you tend to do more of it , even if it may not seem logical or you don't actually know why it's really working. Still I haven't noticed that I've lost any weight but three sets of scales say I have , so I'm going to try and keep doing what I've been doing in the hope that I can get weight down a lot further.

I've made efforts in the past and read articles that diet drinks can actually cause you to put weight on because they mess with your metabolism , but the six teaspoonfuls of sugar in your average full fat Coca Cola can't do you any good either.  The guy at the hospital says if I lose too much weight I'll be pulled from the trial for the fatty liver treatment , but if I'm losing weight I'm not going to stop for the sake of a trial , they can find something else, just hope it's not the tablets that are causing the weight loss.

I think it's something else that is helping me with the weight loss though , which will sound too mental to be true , but I'm going to keep on with it. Anyway basically despite the odd cloud on todays horizon , I feel good and we had victories for Preston , Newcastle and Crystal Palace which also means Sunderland are still without a win in the League so good times are coming ..

Disturbed By Payday Loans Companies



Today is really sunny and has been fine but my walk from The Stateside Diner to the Green Market took me past a few payday loans places. The purported concept of a payday loan is creditable , a short term loan to cope with an unexpected event. The reality is that for people in a reasonable financial situation that can easily be resolved using a credit card , overdraft or similar.

The reality of payday loans company is that their main users are people who cannot go to banks to help them , and often end up having to pay the extortionate rates for a very long time because they end up taking a short term loan to pay off your previous short term loan.

The thing that shocks is how mainstream they have become , with TV advertising, celebrity endorsement (I saw one featuring David Dickinson today) , and sponsoring of football teams such as Newcastle United , Blackpool and Hull. So they are obviously raking in the money with an effectively captive market , standing between their clients and either loan sharks or destitution. That makes them sound good.

I really don't what the answer is, bar ensuring employers pay a living wage and ensuring that essentials such as food, utilities , transport and power are not allowed to hike their prices as and when they deem fit for the benefit of the shareholders. And this is not the fault of the companies , they have to answer to shareholders and their only purpose is to fill shareholders pockets. It is the fault of governments who sell off services in the name of "giving people a chance to share in the profits" when in reality what happens is that the people who can't afford to buy shares (the payday loans companies' captive market) line the pockets of those who can afford to buy shares.

There's something wrong when a county's utilities are owned by a foreign company.

Anyway that's my post over . Sorry it's been a general downer. But at least it's a reason to post the excellent Aloe Blacc song "I Need A Dollar".

Behind The Wall Of Sleep


When I was young I had problems sleeping , which persisted up to getting a job as a computer operator working continental shifts which meant I learnt to sleep anytime anywhere when the opportunity came. Certainly didn't do me any harm . I can sleep on buses , trains anywhere where it's safe to do so. In my life I've never missed a train stop and only missed a bus stop twice so I do have it down to a fine art.

The problem is my body is so well adjusted to the concept is I get  situations like now. Yesterday I had a lot of important stuff on at work , I had a hospital appointment in the morning and needed to provide one small report ideally by ten o' clock , plus some data extracts.

Something woke up , I don't know what , so then my mind started racing and thought if I spend an hour now I can get that report done, then I can have a nap during the day when I am bound to need one. Well report and data extracts got done , went back to bed , got up , went to hospital got back and worked through to just after five  (why does everything become really important at 4:30 on a Friday?) , then eventually got out to meet some friends at The Strawberry at six o'clock.

A good night was had by all severely tempted by Lynn and Julie's bowls ofchilli and chips / curry and chips (you must try if you ever go in there), but I resisted , and came home. By half past nine was shattered so went to bed.

Half past three I woke up. I've had six hours of sleep so it's time to get up my body say. My eyes say different , but thought I may as well write this down. I hope what will happen today is that I will have a lie in or nap or something and by tonight I will be back to normal , in fact I know that's what will happen. Anyway I thought an excellent song for this post was The Smithereens "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" , Black Sabbath do a song of the same name probably based on the HP Lovecraft story.. Maybe I can find that soon .

Friday 30 August 2013

Can You Make A Wasp Smile?



For some reason I am posting a lot at the moment. I don't know why it's nt as though I have anything interesting to say. But was getting buzzed by a wasp and wondered if it makes them happy that they annoy and frighten people. Although wasp could be WASP , the acronym for White Anglo Saxon Protestant or the 8o's beat combo, famous for the ditty recommending you to be like Doctor Dolittle.

Anyway as the Ape of Wrath stated wasps are the insect world's own football hooligans. One is bad enough but swarms are downright scary. I once saw a column of wasps in Sedbergh, mesmerising and frightening at the same time. However wasps are mere amateurs compared with hornets as this attack in Yorkhire states, when some runners had the temerity to disturb some hornets. Hornets can be up to 2.2" in length , so that's a big aggressive insect you don't want to get on the wrong side of.

Anyway I have been wasp and hornet free, so I chose a Jonathan Richman song to soundtrack this post, so life is good for me.

Thursday 29 August 2013

Going Down



Enough of these positive vibes , people really don't like them. Only joking , but lots of people really don't . Yesterday I had a shock when I weighed myself on the Wii and it told me I had lost 13 lbs since I was lost on (admittedly a while back) but it's  the biggest loss I've recorded on there. I'm still lardy as hell and the Wii reckons I should be 11 stone , but that's more than a way off yet.

This is coinciding with a dramatic reduction in my insulin intake which was ludicrously high at one point , nearing 200 units a day.  I'd got it down to 150 a day then someone put me onto to some positive thinking stuff, and the insulin has come down to 100 a day now , that's a 33% reduction , which in turn stops you from putting lots of weight on. So the two are working in tandem , losing weight means lowering insulin intake which in turn helps you lose weight.

So basically weight is going down and insulin requirements are going down. I cant see that I've lost any weight but some people have said they have noticed. However tomorrow is a moment of truth when the hospital weigh me and hopefully I don't find the Wii is faulty.



Can Negativity Be A Positive Experience?


I feel that I'm getting like a stuck record , but woke up early and this phrase  / posit came to mind. The sayings "Some people are only happy when they're miserable" and "A pessimist is never disappointed" come to mind ,  and given the success of Eastenders ,Coronation Street and Emmerdale you can see why . People enjoy at least seeing and sometimes causing other peoples misery .

Comedy is very close to tragedy , the old banana skin joke requires (literally) a fall guy. It's difficult to come up with comedy that doesn't involve someone elses misfortune or putting them down.

Anyway it's back to my previous post , where a negative statement would be "don't cross the road without looking , you might get knocked down by a car" , whereas a positive statement would be "Look before you cross the road" . Possible pitfalls are implied , but don't need explicitly stating, if they do , your subject is in need of help.

The word STOP is actually a positive statement , it is telling you to take an action, which is probably for your own good and will at least allow you to take stock of the situation.

However really I cannot see negativity as being a positive experience , in any circumstances. Yes be prepared , yes be sensible , but always stay positive, and that will keep you spirits up and keep you happy as a bonus side effect. Anyway I promise my next post will be technology or music related and not full of my cod philosophising and analysis.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Positivity


I don't know if it's a real word , but if it isn't it certainly should be. And it certainly is a way towards finding true happiness, if someone is positive they cannot be miserable. I was watching a TED talk about creative genius today and learned quite a lot from it , one of which is to seize the moment when something comes into your head . And this is what happened with this post. I hadn't thought about posting but something just sparked it off. This is the talk , it's about twenty minutes from Elizabeth Gilbert where she talks about coping with the success of "Eat , Pray, Love"


It is amazing how some people can always put a negative spin on great success. Great success should be celebrated. It's irrelevant whether you do it again , firstly you HAVE done it , secondly it gives you something to aim for in the future and you can always say I did that. Having a success like that you make the rest if your life something to be enjoyed.

I would love to write a book , but as yet haven't come up with an idea , maybe one day I will , I certainly have a long way to go and have no intention of taking my foot of the pedal for many years yet.

Anyway basically if there are setbacks learn from them , go on further and just do better next time , and when you do succeed , enjoy the moment and you will have set your marker for the next time.

Focusing On The Good - Don't Stop Believin'


I always to try to write posts with a positive spin , because always try to look for positives however bad the situation. It's the easiest thing in the world to find fault with things. I've known people who when they couldn't find fault would criticize a person for being "too perfect" , or who's measures consist of "not enough" or "too much" ensuring things can never meet their expectations.

The thing is life is what it is and is complicated beyond belief , but is easy and rewarding beyond belief if you look for the good and positives in situations. Take the two statements "Remember" and "Don't Forget"  , the first is a forceful positive one the second negative and implying that you may be at fault. They both mean the same thing but negative words can have negative effects.

If I just miss a bus I use the opportunity to walk to the next stop and in theory reduce my lardiness, I don't stress about it , and sometimes things like that open up new opportunities.

Sometimes in the world there are great tragedies, which the only positives I find that at such times people are willing to help those affected by the tragedies , restoring faith in humanity.

So today if something goes wrong in life learn from it , and take the opportunity to see if you can benefit from it. You may be surprised by the support and kindness of others and always take help if it's offered and it will benefit you , and if you can't take it then still engage with the offerer.

I don't know if this post has been positive , I didn't know what I was going to write about when I started it , but hope that someone enjoys it and finds some empathy.

And remember tomorrow is your change to improve on today. I chose the final scene in the Sopranos with Journey's  "Don't Stop Believin'" soundtrack because I love that scene so much , it's just perfect . Have a totally brilliant day - I know I will.

Monday 26 August 2013

Birthdays and Bank Holidays

I can't remember so many birthdays coming in such a short period of time , starting with my sisters on Thursday and my friend Claire's today. On Saturday was at a surprise party for my friend Sheelagh's 60th which she was lured to under the pretext of Theresa (the fantastic organiser and host) had broken her ankle or something. I'm sure no one will mind me mentioning them in this context , and lets face it with the internet and Facebook , privacy is at a bit of a premium these days.

Yesterday was another great day at The Schooner with Big Ray and The Chestwigs (see here) and today we have a High Bridge Quarter Festival again , which will mean street food and great music.

It's amazing that although I've had a three day weekend , I haven't had a second to relax , and enjoying yourself is the best form of relaxation possible in reality and I've certainly enjoyed this weekend.

Started on Friday with a great night in The Stand , then Saturday's party , Sunday's gig as well as a stop off at the Stateside Diner for a five dollar shake. All in all a brilliant weekend and looking forward to an even more brilliant week even though I have to go to wok.

The video is Big Red and The Grinners covering Aerosmith at a previous High Bridge gathering

Saturday 24 August 2013

Unlimited? Really?

un·lim·it·ed  

/ˌənˈlimitid/
Adjective
  1. Not limited or restricted in terms of number, quantity, or extent.
  2. (of a company) Not limited.

Synonyms
boundless - unbounded - limitless - infinite


One of my biggest annoyance is the number of phone and broadband companies who offer (in usually BIG type) UNLIMITED* services , the in small type somewhere on the page or brochure often in type that is unreadable to me (I am old and decrepit)  a *subject to fair usage policy which may imply that that they will limit or stop your plan if you exceed that amount.

The problem is that texts and voice time minutes are now almost not bothering about and can be made truly unlimited , but if your text or minutes limits are say 5000 why not say that?   Companies should not be redefining language - that is a euphemism for lying.

I am not going to mention any companies by name , though everyone knows who I work for , and am pleased that at least they are showing plans with defined data amounts that are in your face when you buy it. I admire honesty.

One thing I've recently learned is that 15 minutes browsing on Facetime will use 20MB of data , that's a short time on one app , I could to three or four times that amount on my way to and from work . You can see how that mounts up. People often just see their plans in terms of minutes and texts, not realising that they are actually using data.

Lots of friends including people going abroad (where data can cost £8 a Mb ! 15 minutes of Facetime £160 !! - Downloading a film you'll pay for the rest of your life :) ). Fiona just uses Facetime and The Guardian yet is racking up 1.5 GB a month - in certain countries that would cost  £12000 if my maths is correct.

So next time you see someone offering UNLIMITED* subject to fair usage policy , check it out or ask the person in the shop what it means and get them to put their signature on it.

I think Eddie Izzard's rant on iTune's Terms and Conditions is very pertinent here.


Thursday 22 August 2013

Blue Sky Day and Data Usage


Today started grey and rainy but things took a major turn for the better and by the time I left work it was actually very hot . I don't know if feeling good in myself affects the weather or it's the other way round , but a very difficult day  was dealt with and things just improved and got better throughout the day. So this is one of those blog posts which actually about nothing , there will probably be no tags unless it's about the terrible phone signal I had on my journey from Darlington to Newcastle, quite often dropping out making things unusable. It was a Cross-Country Train and some people hve said that they scramble the mobile signal so you have to use their extortionate and flakey wifi , though I'm sure that is just some kind of urban legend.

On thing though is that a signal along a main railway line should be reasonably strong , although ironically it does disappear as you approach London's Kings Cross station. These days Mobile Phone companies are heavy on the data sell , but if are going to use data you need a signal. My first desk top PC had a hard drive capacity of 10 Mb , that would store a pop song these days. My phone , a Samsung Note 2 has 48 Gb of memory and you will use 20Mb of data browsing Facebook for 15 minutes. You're gobbling and you don't realise it.

Anywa I am home now and probably have about a thousand time more processing power than what they used to  put a man on the moon. We live in privileged times and it's only going to get better. The music is appropriate and Nazareth cover of a Yardbirds song. Ended up rambling on and managing to fit one or two tags in.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Chestwigs in the Night


This morning was the first time for months where when I got up it was still dark . Admittedly it was 5am and had not slept well due to a very mild tummy upset , but it's still a bit disconcerting to think that the days are drawing in once again . Not that it stops you doing anything and it does mean you get to see the sun rise.

Also it means I get to write this blog post and have a look see what's happening in the world today before I make my way to work.

I am looking forward to this weekend with a great gig on Sunday with The Star Spangled Chestwigs supporting Big Ray and The Hipthrusters at The Schooner and lots of other secret Bank Holiday fun. Enjoy their version of By The Rivers of Babylon (s Burning)

Anyway time to do what I need to do before another day doing what I do.

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Blue for You

This morning one of my favourite albums came into my mind , and I fancied posting a music video on Facebook. I thought a quick youtube search would return one of the songs I wanted , but no , no sign. Maybe it was because it was ten to seven and my bus was at seven. Then I got to thinking how much in life gets taken for granted. We expect the sunto rise and set , that's a given. We expect the light to come on when we press a light switch , we expect water to flow when we turn on the tap, we expect our buses and trains to turn up and deliver us safely to our destinations , when we get in our cars we expect it to fire up and go in whatever direction we point it. Anyway that the sort of deep stuff.

In relation to the internet we are used to searches returning us what we want , or at least something relevant (unless it's Bing or Ask,com). Then I remembered certain bands such as "A" and "!!!" (pronounced chk chk chk apparently) who are unsearchable on most search engines so you need to know exactly where you are going. The song I was thinking of was "Another Night Time Flight" from the eponymous album by Blue . You can sample it here. I was listening to the album on the way to work and posted a couple of comments asking iof people could get what I was listening to. Despite a few clues and one fairly close guess no one got it so I will be making a donation to St Catherine's Hospice unless someone has worked it out while I am writing this post. Their Wikipedia entry is here fronted by ex Marmalade guitarist Hugh Nicholson , so the answer is out . One of mine and the late John Peel's favourites. Well worth a listen.

No one guessed so , St Catherine's Hospice will get the donation.

About The Weather .. And Newcastle

I seem to have been posting a lot about the weather recently, mainly to report biblical deluges. It's funny how the bad things usually get people's attention, while the good stuff is taken for granted and not remarked upon. We've had an excellent summer, plenty of sunbathing opportunities and I haven't needed a jacket to go into work. When you point this out the good summer seems to have passed people by. It's the best we've had for years .

I've been to several music festivals and all have had great weather . Not only that we've had overnight rain which has meant that the hosepipe has not come out for the garden. This morning the sun is shining again boding well for another great day.

Last night Newcastle started their season with a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City. The result was not unexpected , but Newcastle fans see it as a disaster. They were playing a team who are tipped to win the Premiership , on their own home ground and due the Stephen Taylor's red card played half the match with ten men. I didn't watch it , but don't see it as a disaster either . Write that off and start with the next match at St James' Park against West Ham.

Sunday 18 August 2013

Don't Give Me Space(s)



There is one thing , well there are a lot of things , that so called data suppliers and system designers seem unable to grasp. The one I'm on about is the processing of leading and trailing spaces in data strings. While this may be required for data formatting in say a Word document or on a web page , it should never be treated as an integral part of the data. At this point to have to remember that computers are essentially dumb and just do what they are told ...... perfectly  ..... too perfectly at times.

So at work I find that on certain systems , searches and comparisons are unable to take into consideration spurious leading and trailing spaces , when the simple application of the trim function (preferably on data entry , but also in the actual search / comparison)  would save a lot of messing about. To me FIVE = FIVE  . Doesn't it? Oh no the second on has an extra trailing space! The n there's also case sensitivity which should be i the control of the user but often isn't.

Anyway the thing that got me going on this was the changing of my iTunes id. Fairly simple I though, until verification of the new email. Then I kept getting password doesn't match error. Tried the old . the new and my nick name. Nothing worked. Then thought , no , it can't be , there was a space at the front of the email field but because of kerning it was hardly noticeable. Removed it , and it worked. Why couldn't Apple trim the input ? Or are leading and trailing spaces allowable in a name?

Thought this gave me an excuse to post Space Is Deep by Hawkwind , featuring one of my favourite saxophone solos of all time, starting with some brilliant drone guitar about 3:20 , though listening to this it sounds more like a synthesiser , but who cares it is brilliant.


Saturday 17 August 2013

Early Morning Rain

Well a trip to Penrith today , and hope the weather turns out better that it is looking now. Yesterday was like that a deluge during the night followed by early morning rain and then by home time blue skies. Check out my Instagram feed here . Hope the light will be good enough to take some photographs and I'm takeing both my cameras and my iPad just in case I get the opportunity for some good shots.

I will be traveling along the route of the River Tyne from Newcastle parallel to Hadrians Wall , which I helped light up in 2010. Check the link above and you will find some video . One thing about taking photographs and videos is that you never actually appear in them , although then again I could not afford to keep replacing the broken lenses, I think I've only seen a handful of acceptable photographs of me and the current profile pic is over five years old , so need to replace that soon .

Anyway , I know today will brighten up , there are lots of good things happening , and I will see some wonderful scenery, but will leave you with the excellent Gordon Lightfoot song eponymous with this post:


Friday 16 August 2013

More Rain


Last night at 2am I was woken up by a huge downpour. The upside is that I don't have to water the garden , but as my contact lenses settled in my eyes , focusing slowly on a magazine ensuring the right lens in the right eye, I could still hear the rain coming down , admittedly not as bad during the night. I had been tempted to video it as deep rivulets streamed down the road outside, but decided not to (it was 2am).

Hopefully the trains will still be running on time and the tracks haven't been washed away. We shall see. Not sure if the song is appropriate as it's now after the deluge, but there's still a lot of rain in the sky , so who knows I may be boating home and it's and excuse to play the wonderful Jackson Browne. 

Oh I managed to export a picture from Artrage, amazing how an unconnected event can stimulate the mind into working out how to do things. It's definitely not intuitive , but that's down to Apple's super intuitive interface. Thing is generally iPads are mostly for looking not doing , but I can actually start working on pictures in Artrage. It's very primitive but this is the first one I've done , mainly to test that I can actually get stuff out  of it!

Tara

Thursday 15 August 2013

Blank Canvas and Saltires

It's funny when you want to really do something but every time you try , it just doesn't work out. I'm working with a program called Artrage and am amazed how counter intuitive the software is. Basically I what to draw a picture , and it gets part of the way the screws up my picture. I'm having similar problems with Garageband. Have my first completed piece but it won't export to iTunes, I've just removed all the music and it still seems to hang.

 Having said that the pict, is getting better each time so, who knows it may turn out OK in the end.

The thing this calls to mind Robert The Bruce and the spider which  I thought was immortalised in a poem by Robert Burns . I must have been imagining it . So we'll just go for this Eddi Reader singing "Ae Fond Kiss" , and why not:

Monday 12 August 2013

Three fingers , Left Hand and a real Bass Guitarist

The little finger is slowly improving , I think , but still waiting to see a neurologist. The muscle wastage is visible , and not sure what that will mean in the future, I've been playing about with Garageband on the iPad and still trying to extricate my first (very basic) composition out of it. Each time it just stops working but it's great to play with . Anyway, I'm still having difficulty with guitar , though I've taught myself a rudimentary "Smokestack Lightnin'" m but still trying .

So I thought I'd maybe try the Tanglewood . I still can only use three fingers, but thought I'd try a bit of bass improvisation . Just recorded this too iPad so not trying to impress anybody , but it's ages since I even held a bass and so just did a little two minute improvisation , on quiet so not to annoy the neighbours too much. Stanley Clarke it is not!

I'm happy with the first try as nothing was planned and only just decided to do it now. So it's just a progress report and the hand is doing OK!!

Here's some real bass playing !!

Sunday 4 August 2013

Impatience and Doctor WHo

Why is it that people can't wait for anything these days. I'm made up that we have Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor , but couldn't they have kept it under wraps until the next generation. I've loved Peter Capaldi  from his role in the funnily atrocious Lair Of The White Worm , a Ken Russel excess fest full of single entendres , then Local Hero , and his probably crowning character as the swearily inventive spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It.

So we now know robbing Matt Smith's exit of a huge chuck of suspense. If I were to choose some music to play it could be the Theme from Local Hero but instead I'm going to post Brian Eno#s "This" where the word this is repeated as the rhythm to the song. Has no bearing to what I'm talking about but I dont really care,