Time Out
Posted: Fri 20 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Business, Domestic, Getting Organised, Health, Own Business, Project 42, Travel, Work-related, Writing | Leave a comment »From the end of today, I’m finished with work ’til a week on Monday. Ten whole days off.
Of course, being a contractor, it also means I don’t get paid for them – but that would’ve happened for the Wednesday and Thursday anyway.
Besides, for once I don’t mind. I’ve pretty much burned myself out this year – and the last couple of months in particular – so it’s going to be quite nice to have some downtime.
I’ve still got stuff that needs doing – Slab’s booked in for it’s 100,000 mile service on Monday, and Christmas Day on Wednesday with its associated travels – but for the most part it’s going to be time for relaxing a bit, catching up on sleep, and generally sorting my life out a bit.
Should be good – and right now it feels like it’s much needed, a battery recharge before the start of 2014.
Marketing/Branding Bollocks
Posted: Fri 13 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Advertising, Charm School, Creativity, Cynicism, Design, Marketing, Sweary, Thoughts, Work-related | Leave a comment »According to this article, Pantone (they’re ‘the colour people, don’t’cha know?) have decreed that this purple is “the colour of 2014”. (And fuck off, Americans, it’s ‘colour’, not bloody ‘color’)
Now, I like purple as much as the next person – I’d go so far as to say it’s probably my favourite colour. But
- This is not proper purple. It’s a kind of wanky lilac, at best. Hell, they’ve not even called it Purple – it’s “Radiant Orchid”, which might as well be a name made up by Dulux.
- You know, there are people who get paid for coming up with this kind of shit
- And there are people whose job it is to come up with names for paints. I truly hope they feel fulfilled and happy in their work. I’d want to be killing people.
- How the blue, blazing, fiddly fuck do you have a “colour of the year”, for shit’s sake?
All told it’s just marketing bollocks of the highest order.
Bad Habits
Posted: Thu 12 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: People, Thoughts, Work-related | Leave a comment »At the moment, I’ve got a colleague whose bad habits drive me crackers. It wouldn’t normally bother me, but he sits diagonally opposite me on the desk pod, which means I can’t help but be aware of them.
I know, we’ve all got colleagues that annoy, there’s things that bug everyone. Equally, I’m quite sure I’ve got habits or whatever that annoy others.
However.
- This particular colleague seems to spend a good 90% of his working day picking his nose. I don’t know why – I suppose there may be some underlying medical issue to it – but it’s vile to have to sit and watch it. Well, not watch it as such, but definitely to be constantly aware of it from the corner of my vision.
- When he drinks from a cup of tea/coffee, he slurps it up the sides. Every. Sodding. Time.
- And finally, as if constantly rooting around up his nose isn’t enough, he also then hawks back snot on a regular basis, with that lovely snotty death-rattle as it bounces round the tonsils.
There are other oddities and weirdnesses, but they’re the main ones that are currently driving me mad. If I’m not careful, I know I’m going to yell at him to just stop doing it. For now though, I’m counting the days ’til the end of the month, when his contract expires…
Considering Cameras
Posted: Wed 11 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Own Business, Photography, Project 42, Thoughts, Work-related | 6 Comments »One thing I’ve stopped doing as much over the last couple of years is taking photos. I miss it, but more and more I’ve been finding that taking the SLR camera out with me is more hassle than it’s actually worth.
I’ve had the SLR for a long time now – since roughly this time in 2005, in fact – and it’s still a great camera. Worth fuck-all now, mind you, but that’s the way of the world. But it has issues that I hadn’t really considered when I bought the thing, and as time goes on I’ve found they’re becoming more of a hindrance.
In short…
- The SLR plus lenses is bloody heavy. It’s not something you can easily carry freehand all day, and that means it’s rarely actually available when I want it
- The SLR is slow. S-L-O-W. Not when it’s powered up, with the correct lens attached etc. – then it’s great. But for a quick shot of something fleeting? Bobbins.
- Unless you know you’re going out with one specific shot (or set of shots) in mind, you need all the lenses, and most of the kit.
- As a result, it’s a faff.
It’s a great camera, but with all those points in consideration, I’ve found this year that I just keep leaving it at home. I still love taking photos, but all that extra faff is becoming limiting, it’s making it so that taking photos becomes work, rather than fun.
I was talking about all this with a friend over the weekend, and as a result, I’m currently considering getting a smaller camera, of the sort I used to have in my bag all the time. Decent long zoom, good lens, good image quality, light(ish) weight. Everything that takes it back to being easy and fun again.
It won’t happen just yet, it’s most likely something for the new year.
Pre-booked
Posted: Tue 10 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 2013/14, Business, Domestic, Driving, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Getting Organised, Gigs, Own Business, Project 42, Travel, Work-related | Leave a comment »Next year is already starting to look busy for me, which is quite fun (and somewhat back to ‘normal’ after a couple of much quieter years)
Right now I’m already booked in for :
- At least one meeting in Jan (as well as probably getting a new contract)
- Setting up new company / business
- Attending an exhibition/conference in Feb
- A wedding in Derbyshire in March (not mine, of course!)
- One concert in April in London
- Two concerts in May – one in London, one in Manchester
- A food festival in Manchester in June
- Another conference in November (although that’s not yet 100% confirmed)
Of course, that’s not including the usual sociable stuff which’ll definitely involve trips to Manchester, Bristol, Somerset, Kent and others. Plus the other business stuff, work, writing, and a bundle of other bits.
So 2014 is looking nice and quiet…
Clearing Down
Posted: Mon 9 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Cynicism, Domestic, Getting Organised, People, Work-related | Leave a comment »Following on from last week’s “Neighbourly” post about people getting rid of rubbish as part of the communal set-up of where I’m living now…
Normally on a Friday someone will empty the bins in the office, make sure it’s all sorted and ready for Monday morning. We don’t have cleaners etc., it’s supposed to be a team effort. So – who does it?
Put it this way. I wasn’t in the office on Friday. My bin – and all the others in the office – are overflowing with rubbish this morning.
Thanks guys, way to build a team…
(And yes, when I got home at 10pm-ish last night, I was the one putting out the bin at home, too. *sigh*)
Displaying Ignorance
Posted: Wed 4 December, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Cynicism, Education, People, Stupidity, Sweary, Thoughts, Work-related | Leave a comment »In my current workplace, there are a couple of people who seem to be almost proud of their general ignorance – which drives me crackers.
I don’t care if you don’t know something – even if it’s something simple – but don’t wear it as a badge of pride, for fuck’s sake. We’re an IT company, you should know at least how to Google stuff and find out – rather than broadcasting round the office that you don’t know (as per one recent example) what a mouth ulcer is.
The only thing that drives me more mental is when these people – so happy to show that they don’t know shit – then feel the need to talk bollocks about something other people in the office are discussing, even though they so blatantly know fuck-all about it. It’s funny in a way (and sad in many more) when they start spouting stuff that (again) a simple Google or Wikipedia page will tell you is wrong.
I don’t get why anyone would want to broadcast how little they know about something/anything. Sure, I will always say “I don’t know”, when I don’t, but that is usually followed with ” but I’ll find out”. I know, I’m an info-geek, I want to know about stuff, and I know lots about a whole range of useless shit. I know that, and accept it about myself.
I realise other people aren’t like that, and I get it. What I don’t get is why, if you don’t know something, you don’t look it up online – in an IT company, don’t forget – rather than making yourself look/sound like a total ballbag to everyone in the company.