thoughts and things

politicisation....

2011-01-28T22:46:00.002Z

So the student are revolting - yes aren't they... boom, boom. But seriously, I am really pleased to see the student up in arms against some of the injustices imposed on them, and Britain, by the firmly Eton/Oxbridge middle-class twits that are forming the backbone(?) of this Thatcherite government.

Government is possible an misnomer, as this would suggest some form of control by this disparate or desperate group of adventurers. One thing's for sure, this crowd don't understand the basics of economics - imagine any business buying 4 billion pounds worth of produce, deciding they don't want it, and then paying someone 200 million pounds to make the problem disappear.

Pretty poor marks for basic arithmetic and business sense..... or will some close friends make a killing (sic)

fire, flood and pestilence...

2011-01-22T14:42:00.002Z

That was the name of my Christmas... car intercooler almost went on fire (cost a bomb to repair) on Xmas eve at 3.30pm, my neighbours flooded my storage cupboard (several hundred books went to pulp) and I got this dreaded flu-like lurgy that everyone's had (or got).

Having said that, it was a really laid-back Christmas as I didn't have the car to be able to go driving round to family and friends.

And so to work....

chinese curse...?

2010-10-17T00:27:00.002+01:00

The one I'm thinking on is 'may you live in interesting times' .

We've just spent a bomb on upgrading servers, new gear in the form of workstations and screens, tablets etc. So what happens?

We've just had a couple of weeks of technology problems. Super duper (hideously) expensive printer decides to throw a wobbly, our new servers didn't want to talk to each other and lastly, our broadband went down with the outage last weekend that hit 500 or so companies all over the UK. So we reconfigured our router, then discovered that the local area workgroups (3 of them) had also lost their settings. Ahh the joys..

All fixed now however, and no clients affected.... but we are looking at a dedicated leased line...

easy eizo...

2010-10-17T00:25:00.001+01:00

I was persuaded to try out the new Eizo screens, so I got a 24" one. Very nice... it even senses if you are there and switches off if you aren't....

iPhone -uPhone...

2010-09-06T00:18:00.002+01:00

I've talked to 3 people recently that are all getting rid of their iPhones... why?... they're brilliant at doing everything (there's an App for that) except being a phone. Poor reception, tinny voice reproduction etc are starting to piss people off.

Interestingly enough, business people are looking seriously at windows mobile and android phones.

Pourquoi... because 'there's an App for that' has been around a LOT longer for windows than the Mac ones. I've used HTC's and iPaqs for almost 10 years and been using many of these interesting functions - such as restaurant finders, travel planners etc, email etc.

I think Apple will have to look to their laurels when people realise there are many other better options out there - especially with the new samsung phones.

rounded or square...

2010-09-06T00:00:00.003+01:00

I'm amazed at how many of the people coming into the industry have narrow minds. The lack of roundness in their education astonishes me. I recently had a placement tell me that they had applied for a high-end job (50k level) and hadn't received a reply. This from someone with NO industry experience. They really thought they were worth that, yet this person couldn't use illustrator or half of the other industry standard programmes.

further gadget thoughts...

2010-06-26T23:35:00.002+01:00

I'm a bit unusual, in that, I don't see the use of iPhones. There's an App for that , to me, is quite funny, as most of these 'Apps' have been available for Windows Mobile phone for many years, and in addition, Apple products are notoriously a pain at integrating with PC's and PC software (Outlook?).

However, as per usual, Apple make some pretty slick interfaces for their products, and it is good to see Apple doing something better than some of the Windows interfaces around, with one exception - the HTC 'cube' on my last HTC phone... very nice... Maybe the other windows and android phone manufacturers can get a handle on better UI's...

gadgets, gadgets everywhere...

2010-06-26T23:26:00.002+01:00

I decided I needed a new mp3 player, so looked at the new iPods, but discovered that they've dropped the sleep timer, which is a shame as I really need this due to falling asleep listening to music.

So I decided on the new Samsung YP R1 16 gb player,a lovely bit of kit and reckoned to be as good as the iPod , but with a better interface .. well maybe.

Then I realised I have a state-of-the-art phone with mp3 player (good sound as well) with an 8gb hard disk.So I treated myself to a top-end pair of in-ear headphones, and hey presto...

how the other half live...

2010-06-03T19:13:00.003+01:00

My partner and myself were at her sister's wedding last week at Gosfield Hall . Very beautiful place and amazingly well run by Jen and her staff.

Like most blokes, I don't particularly like weddings, however, this was different. Everything stunningly well organised, with no pressure to move from location to location (as with some other weddings I've been at), and every one was laid back and happy.

Well done Jen and staff...

plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose..

2010-06-03T19:07:00.002+01:00

For those who don't speak french, basically it means - always change, but always things remain the same... I understood how wise the French were to come up with that saying when I realised, during a week off last week, that myself and the whole team are working flat out, and have been for several years now.

So to cheer them up, I'm a) looking for some new people and b) taking them karting in a few weeks (this is before their sky-dive for charity)...

Should be fun...

addendum...

2010-04-17T13:09:00.002+01:00

We've been keeping an eye on the AIFF website to ensure that it's behaving properly (in SEO terms), and it's now number 2 in 'international football festivals' on Google after 2 weeks.

Needless to say, the whole team's chuffed...

mad few weeks...

2010-04-04T18:05:00.004+01:00

Well, we did the international football festival branding, and were bowled over by how well it was received. Working right up to 15 minutes before the launch party, we actually managed to get a 40 page website up and running (though there will be a lot of content amends coming due to a lack of time to produce this by the content providers) . It was a buzz seeing our work going out, yet again, to the international market.

And to cap it all, we got this incredibly nice email from the chairman, singing our praises and complimenting the team.

football... mad?

2010-03-18T18:25:00.003Z

We have had quite a few interesting briefs recently, not least being the Aberdeen International Football Festival. We've been asked to come up with fresh branding, printed products and a website.

What makes this quite ironic is that, this is the 2nd football branding in a month, and I have never followed the game, yet, a junior I had a number of years ago was football-crazy and would have given his right nut for a job like this.

Weird how it works...

other things...

2010-02-20T00:08:00.002Z

I received a pair of Nikon binoculars for my Christmas (no, no, not for anything like that) because I want to go twitching again (bird-watching) . However, with the amazingly mild winter (sic) and flat out working, they are still sitting in the drawer.

As the Scots Bard said 'the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley'

I'll get round to it...

lovely technology...

2009-10-24T19:07:00.003+01:00

I realised that, even though I always been up to speed with technology, I hadn't treated myself to anything new in months (due to never having time to shop as I'm always working at Rocket). I thought about the iPhone 3G and discounted it as its not nearly as business orientated as the HTC I have (and is a bit gimmicky (never thought I'd say that about Apple gear), and thought about one of the new Bang and Olufson Media boxes (didn't want to get a mortgage to buy one (but might yet ... and soon)) and then decided on a Sony Touch Reader as a mate of mine has the earlier version and swears by it.

Since getting it, I can't figure out why I have real books ... ok slight exaggeration! But seriously, what a machine! Light, easy to read in almost all light, and thousands of books at the touch of a finger. I did think about the Kindle 2 but decided against it as it hasn't the same range of file type.

Money well spent....

forgot to say...

2009-08-27T18:49:00.002+01:00

Have just started a small specialist branding and pure design company, to enable me to get 'back to my roots'. Called The Sugarhouse Collective, we are a small group of designers who have decided to get back to pure design... If I ever get time, the website should be live soon..

cobblers....

2009-08-27T18:41:00.002+01:00

just had a look at some of my ramblings... take time off to smell the daisies... haha! No Chance! Just had a day off after a 3 week stint doing 8am - 9.30pm 7 days a week. Have to reassess...

On a more sombre note, many people including some friends and aquaintances, are having difficulties in this recession. Not good for a smooth life! Some people have been daft and over-extended in the 'boom' years, but even though, no one deserves to go through financial difficulties, no matter how silly they've been.

Good friends...

2009-05-17T12:23:00.002+01:00

I recently received a present of a painting from a mate of mine, and I realised how lucky I am to have such really good solid friends. I have friends all over the place, and, even though I don't see them sometimes for long periods of time, I know I can just pick up the phone and talk to them as if we were just picking up on the last conversation.

I've decided that I am going to actually take time off and start smelling the daisies, including taking up some of the offers from all around the world to go and stay with friends.

Will this happen?I think it really has to. Business is getting busier and busier, and I have to start enjoying some real time off.

great technology.......

2009-04-08T21:23:00.002+01:00

We've been considering a CAC for ages, and we finally bought one, a Verevide Colour Assessment Cabinet. What a great piece of technology! Transmissive and reflective work can be assessed as a comparison on the box or cabinet. That combined with our Pantone Two reader means that our colour reproduction accuracy is going to be higher than ever, and our artist clients in particular will be happy bunnies.

Another new service we're offering is a 4000 dpi scan up to 6 x 7 transparencies on a Super Nikon scanner.

Time to start looking for our next premises at this rate :)

twitter - whoo...

2009-04-08T20:32:00.005+01:00

I was sent a link from a friends Twitter page. I was interested as I hadn't really looked at this before. Ye gods! What a waste of time. I've seen some stupid nonsense as part of the web revolution, but this is the complete nadir of the technology....

I seriously expect some people even tell you when they are in the toilet. It really is that trite a concept. Who is interested in every little detail of someone elses day? Don't they have a life of their own.

I suspect that this is aimed squarely at people who can be called the first 4 letters of Twitter.

a smile...

2009-03-10T20:44:00.002Z

Just read ' a smile in the mind' again. It really is one of the definitive design books around. I was totally amazed when some of our staff said they hardly ever read a book, instead getting all their information off the web.
What's wrong with that I hear you say.... it's something like the way that all the news programmes report the same events in the same way. Why? because they're taught to go online in their comfy warm office, and Google for information. Of course, they are using the same search terms so they end up with the same results.
So much for journalism degrees. I think that the media was better served by having people learn their trade (or profession) in the field, which lead to widely varying news coverage instaed of the current myopic view we all have now.

catching up..

2009-03-08T21:29:00.003Z

Been a while since I put anything on this blog. I just haven't had the time, but I'm going to do it regularly now... a belated New Year's resolution.

So what's been happening? ....

I sold a few prints after my exhibition last year, and am just away to launch my personal site on boxorange, our new service to artists.

Anything else? So much I can't even think about it. I've finally put together my (hopefully) next book of poetry....

da baby thing.....

2008-06-01T12:06:00.003+01:00

got a shout from a mate of mine in Londinium asking if I could build a site for his new baby. Y'know, all that sort of thing...baby photos etc. So i've said yes, and have made up my mind it's going to be about the adventures of 'superdev' (baby's name is Dev btw), and how he's conquered the world etc ...... watch this space.

times they are a changin' .....

2008-05-11T13:14:00.004+01:00

Sorry about that. I've always had a slightly strange sense of humour. Well, where do I start ...... a friend and business associate has suggested that we share a lve-work space in central London (not at the same time...I'm not that sort of guy and neither is he :) to enable a proper presence in the City for both of our businesses. Sounds very interesting, as we only have a non-official presence there at the moment.

Add to that the sudden influx of database job enquiries, both here and in London, and it looks likely it will happen.

However, do I commute or do I go down for a week at a time or what?

living in interesting times ......

2008-04-25T18:47:00.002+01:00

Slightly sick title, as this blog is about death. In the last 5 weeks three people I knew have died - one was in his late 80's so he had a good innings, however the other two were the same age as myself (52) and died from illnesses. Sobering thought!

However, a friend is due to have another small human soon and my business partner's son has his 8th birthday this week, and so there's always a positive to balance against the negative.

poetry stuff.....

2008-04-22T13:55:00.003+01:00

I've had an interesting chat with a sculptor mate of mine. Basically it's a bet that my 2nd book of poetry (which has taken 27 years to arrive at) won't be ready before the book that he's writing is finished. The bet is 2 tickets for the RSO later in the season, to an opera of the winner's choice.

I'd better get working......

hehe..me and technology .....

2008-03-16T12:21:00.003Z

I love technology. I've been used to using it, in one form or another for most of life. However, this new all-singing all-dancing pda / phone / swiss army knife device is driving me mad. Unlike the last one, this one has to be actively plugged in, and I constantly forget to. Upshot? Two hour-long (plus) meetings 15 minutes apart, one for Empire HR's new multimedia project and the other for Aberdeen College. Needless to say, Ian Caie, my co-director in Rocket, took one and I took the other.

I missed my friend's leaving do in London. AH well, I'll hopefully see her later in the year when I go on holiday. After all I got 1 week in Florence last year, that's a sign of things to come ....... time off. Hopefully the 70 hour weeks won't keep going for another 18 months.

It was brought to my notice by designer friends, that a couple of design companies are being hit with the closure of all the shops and offices on the south side of Justice Mill Lane, due to a new hotel development. The Bonaccord Swimming Pool next door is also closing due to council cutbacks ..... is this a coincidence? I don't think so. We've been hit by this as well, as we had a small shareholding in a Chinese Takeaway in the same block, and our lease has not been renewed. C'est la vie.

growing up ......

2008-03-16T11:57:00.004Z

We have had to make some mature decisions for the various businesses recently. Not as much fun as usual, but it still has to be done. We've actually put a formal HR protocol in place, complete with contracts and all the gubbins, and actually employed an external service to administer it. Scary! We've also had to seriously look at setting up a holding company for our various interests. This may be getting too serious. While I enjoy business, and largely treat it as fun, I've had to make some hard decisions recently regarding expansion, particularly of Rocket. While Paradox has clients all over the world, Rocket is also now getting more and more work from clients in other countries. We've supplied to Switzerland, amongst other places, and have just completed a new site for the Amber Trust in Rajasthan.

so it's happening ....

2008-02-25T19:54:00.002Z

Looks like we've got agreement on a new place where the eight of us can work together. Definitely bigger, and as per usual, a bit off the wall (who me? never!) but is a lot bigger with much light (the existing place only gets the sun in high summer). London is going to have to wait a few more months.

The new service which accompanies Rocket Print will shortly be in place all ready to service our ever growing client base. It should be fun (business really should be about enjoying yourself, no?) and may make our clients even happier.

Had a shout from an ex-workmate who is soon going back to the Antipodes, asking if I want to nip down to Londinium for the leaving bash.... I'm trying really hard to make that one...or do I want to wake up face down on the pavement at 8 in the morning :) Oh yes!

hmmm...should I ?.....

2008-02-04T20:32:00.001Z

Well that was really surprising. Fifteen years after laying down my camera, professionally, I suddenly realised how much I'd missed it. Cause of this? This shared exhibition that I'm doing with Jonathon Holt. Though it's not a big deal in the scheme of things, I really enjoyed putting together this one, with completely fresh images, and without being tied to what the Times and Telegraph want to see. However, just as I get back into a bit of fun photography, a large local company wants me to shoot all of their properties for a new brochure. Do I want to do this...I think so, but time will tell.

On the design side of things, I have to go off to London again shortly to see some more clients ..... the opening of a (part-time) studio down there has been discussed and discussed, but now it's time to make the decision.........

ever had that feeling ?

2008-01-27T12:35:00.000Z

My life is just getting faster and faster. I have a pile of work on my desk that would scare a platoon of workaholics, and just to make life really easy, I'm assembling a small, shared, photographic exhibition which has to be ready for framing in days, not weeks. Add to this the formation of a new company, and I'm having some sleepless nights at the moment.

I'm sure this is supposed to be the quiet time of year for our business........

I'm amazed .......

2008-01-24T15:18:00.000Z

Well that was an education for me. Here's me, thinking that no one read my blog and it was just an opportunity to get some of the crap out of my head and ....... bingo! I've had a number of responses today from graphic designers and web people. Thanks for your responses, it will take us some time to look through them and get back to you, but we will be in touch.

Re. the 'cyber-squatters', wow! Didn't know there was anyone else out there with similar tales of woe, let alone the many that have been in touch re this particular problem. We'll keep you informed as the legal process progresses. Though it will probably take time it may be of use to you in your battles.

Thanks once again, and if you want to contact me you can at davexmachina@yahoo.co.uk instead of through the various sites at the bottom of the page.

silly tactics for silly people ......

2008-01-23T18:31:00.000Z

It's been a real, heads-down, flat-out swine of a month. Paradox, both here and in London, is snowed under with work....branding, websites etc...now getting quite scary with our workload (and we're looking for talented designers btw), and Rocket Print has attracted a lot of new clients this month, probably due to our guaranteed service, but, and this is a tiny but, the "cyber-squatting" opposition are not amused .... see www.rocket-print.com ....... How not to win friends and influence people :)
The owners of this website are our ex-suppliers... read the old, old, story here .... who were, like us, late arrivals in the online print market. However, they are under the impression that they were the first. Tell that to the true inovators of this idea ......

For general consumption a) the studio was painted (bright red) by handyman Mark some 5 months ago, and b) we're in the process of moving to bigger premises so that all the parts of the business in Scotland can be together. This should result in some further serious savings for clients, and a new range of products. We're hoping this will be in the next couple of months.......

So ignore the the "We are painting our offices in the Castlegate, probably move in in next couple of weeks" and pop in by for a coffee if you're in the area. If you're one of our international clients, it could be an expensive coffee ... so we apologise in advance :)

You should have seen him Rocket - Print him a ticket now!!!

2008-01-04T11:26:00.000Z

Ahhh... It's boring ... The 'ethical' ones have struck again ..... Not content with cyber-squatting one of our domain names, they've started the old 'we've been bad-mouthed' routine. Get a grip! The only bad-mouthing has been by these ex-friends against myself and my studio partners. Shockingly poor form. Especially in light of the fact that they tried it on with some of my clients ... unsuccessfully, I might add, as my clients were on the phone immediately to me to tell me about this piece of nonsense.

I've let this whole thing go past me, without response, for over a year, but 2008 is the time for change! I'm starting a legal action against them for cyber-squatting, helped by one of the main government-funded business agencies. Check it out at www.rocket-print.com then look at the original www.rocket-print.co.uk. They're trying to make it look as if we're recommending or commenting on them......sad, yet funny.

In addition to this, they've constantly had a 'potshot' at us in blogs etc.

Wish I had the time to spare, like that... I'd go to the pub and relax for half an hour instead ......

My partner (life, not business) told me not to bother getting worked up, as companies that depend on slagging others off tend to be doing that due to fear, and I suppose, with our cheap prices, that's where it's coming from... just straight fear that we are beating their prices all the time

old faithful

2007-12-06T22:04:00.000Z

I had one of those days...you know..the type that you run like a fool the whole day and get almost nothing done.

Why? We are currently running 3 businesses in our premises (and 2 outwith) with a very bare minimum of staff (just 5.5 in our studio). One of the services we offer in Rocket-Print is a large format fine art reproduction service for artists using the giclee method.

This was installed a few years ago at the urgent behest of the youngest studio partner who said he would look after it......so of the original four involved in the project, I am the one left running it, and I was the one who didn't particularly want it. Haha..typical !

However, after the oh-so-insistent one, who had so desperately wanted it, had left the studio for yet another venture, I was still left with this expensive bit of kit and a growing client list for it. Solution! tag it onto Rocket-Print as an added service, with a couple of people running it.

But really! I must give off this signal! Every time I'm alone in the studio, with everyone off at lunch or even at 3 in the morning, the phone rings..sucker here picks it up..and behold....it's an artist wanting some work done. Not one of the eccentric, fun, ones, or any of the good friends I have in the local art community .....oh no no...it has to be the semi-depressed, introverted ones. You know..the ones that having a conversation with is like sandpapering your eyeballs ...and STILL i can't get them off the phone '

Today I came up with the solution - 'sorry' says I, ' must go..I'm smelling something really hot here, I think I'm on fire' Would she take the hint? Like hell! This woman kept on asking inane questions about this and about that. I just let nature take it's course, kept muttering 'hmm' in the right places, and eventually the ordeal ended.

My day hadn't though, and with concentration shot to hell, I once more cursed, silently, the ex-designer who had started all this.

Serves me right for not sticking to my guns!

business is business and all that - an addendum

2007-12-05T00:41:00.000Z

So irresponsible blogging will not reign. Shortly after my last post the offending article was taken down, and replaced with a short diatribe about high ethical values, and how sometimes people will get hurt 'but the truth must out'

How many times has this been said in history?

business is business and all that

2007-12-04T22:35:00.001Z

Cause and effect - a practical example. A person was recently almost sacked as a result of someone else writing lies on their blog.

How did it happen? I used to consider this blogger a friend until he attacked me in a personal manner on his own blog. I was accused of bad-mouthing him and the company he worked for, and apparently, while he worked with, and for, me, he heard me regularly backstab and generally 'do down' clients, business rivals etc...... I saw red and decided to fully investigate. I discovered that this piece of nonsense came from a new employee of one of our associate companies, who regularly plays football with said blogger. Apparently, he decided that the said blogger's boss (oops sorry, co-director) was being maligned and that he would report the (coloured) nuts and bolts to his mate. The only problem was that he seems to have embelished what was, basically, a strategy meeting, and decided to 'big' the whole thing up to his mate. The blogger (renowned for exageration) then wrote said nonsense on his blog and 'hey presto' this man's boss carpeted him for being unable to keep confidentiality ...was this fair? Unfortunately, I think so, especially as I just recommended this blogger's company to one of our clients that very day ... no more, for sure.

Problem is - morals and ethics go out the door when a good profit is sniffed. For our part, we try our best to be straight-forward and honest in our dealings - even when we are falsely accused... especially when it's by the same company that hit our website over 5,000 times an hour, with a testing script, when we first launched rocket-print.

So where does the 'business is business and all that .....' come from ?

Apparently this is something that I have regularly said - in fact for years (so the magical blogger says) .....the only problem is that NOT ONE of my family, staff or friends has heard me say this, ever. It's true though 'the internet is shit' or can be .... especially when it's used as a device to blacken peoples reputations unnecessarily.