and then there was none

drinky winkys

2007-03-18T14:54:48Z

Hello everyone and especially london based people!!

This coming friday I am passing through london on my way to see the world, unfortunatly I don't think I will have much time to stop and see people, however (and this is were it gets exciting!!) I am returning the weekend after and I have the evening of friday the 30th free!! Huzzah!! so, if anyone fancies meeting up for a drink let me know, I am staying at Chez Turnbull so suggestions for a location (and directions!) are very welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you all

Matt

mattling @ 2006-07-11T20:08:00

2006-07-11T19:57:32Z

hey, hey!!

went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest" and what fun it was, I think queenspanky covered most of what I have to say, although I would say that too much time was spent rolling down hills, also there is an awful lot to be tied up in the next film, but thats just me.

found this today, shiny

days off?? what days off?

2006-07-01T18:57:03Z

I was working last night till about 5am, the last hour of which I was packing more kit into a van than really possible, it was a fine pack. Anyway, during the pack i noticed that there was a note on the kit reminding my driver to pick up four DI boxes from the warehouse, the note was written on a purple piece of tape and I left it stuck across the delivery note clipboard in the cab. There was no possible way in which he couldn't have seen it, if not when he got in the van when he delivered the kit, so you would have thought he would have either have picked the DI boxes up or he would have called me to say he had forgotten. You would have thought.....

No.

Sometimes the people I work with are so unbelievable dumb. "Common Sense", "Initiative"? Foreign concepts.

So I had to drive to Dunfirmline. On my day off.

mattling @ 2006-06-25T21:24:00

2006-06-25T20:25:24Z

TELL me not, in mournful numbers,: Life is but an empty dream!--
For the soul is dead that slumbers,: And things are not what they seem.

mattling @ 2006-06-10T12:08:00

2006-06-10T11:14:49Z

you know when, after hearing some news , people say " i just felt numb", well I never believed them until now.

life is a bitch.

someday I suppose

2006-06-04T18:03:20Z

Today this post is broken down into bits, feel free to miss out any you like or all of it.

Music

Recently I have gone on a bit of a spending spree on the music front, during this I have bought the following albums:

Dirty Pretty Things - "Waterloo to Anywhere", like many of my albums I bought this because of one song, in this case it was their first single "Bang Bang, You're Dead", which is tres good.

The Band - "Remasters", apparently The Band are an incredibly well known group from America in the sixties and seventies, I only heard about them as one of the guys at work lent me "The Last Waltz" which is a film of their last concert, it was filmed by Martin Scorsese and guest starred such performers as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Neil Diamond and a host of others. Anyway, its a great film andif you ever get the chance to see it I would and after watching it I decided to buy an album by The Band and...

Neil Young - "Greatest Hits", who knew this guy was still producing albums? the man is unstoppable. This is one of those albums I have seen several times in music stores and felt I should buy but never really had a reason to, now I did and that is why the lyrics to "Helpless" appeared in this journal recently.

Leonard Cohen -"Greatest Hits", does it annoy anyone else that there are so many albums called "Greatest Hits" or "Best Of..."? Its really starting to mess up my Itunes ordering. Needless to say Leonard Cohen is a genius and if you don't know the man you will know his songs as they have been covered by pretty much everybody, my favorites include "Suzanne" (on this album) and "Dance Me to the End of Love" (not on this album).

Jose Gonzalez - "Veneer", hopefully you will have all seen the Sony BRAVIA tv advert by now, I was recently told that they actually filmed that live with all those bouncy balls, this pleases me (please don't tell me if this is wrong, I like to think of someone in the street one day being confronted with 10, 000 or so day glow bouncy balls coming towards them), anyhow, the soundtrack to the advert, "Heartbeats", is taken from this album.

Shoes

I finally got round to buying a new pair of walking trainers to replace the pair I lost in London in the "Endless Shoe" saga. this has pleased me muchly as it means I don't have to wear my steel toecaps all day and, as my job now pretty much consists of being in an office most of the time, this is good.

Van

WE GOT A NEW VAN FOR WORK!!!

This is hugely exciting as Simon has been promising a new van since before I started (15 months ago), I think what tipped the scales is when the lock on the rear door broke so you had to kick the door from inside the van to open it. So we have a new van (well, second hand, but the rear door works) and this was good, then this became funny when we realised that Simon had locked the keys in it as soon as he had parked it for the first time, well, it turns out that breaking into a van, without damaging it, is really easy. Which is mildly concerning.

Right now

I am currently listening to "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" by Rachmaninov, this is a fine, fine piece of music, at 8pm Rachael and I are going to watch "Top Gear".

Relationships

Oh the tangled webs we weave. At least in my mind.

so long kids.

mattling @ 2006-05-27T09:36:00

2006-05-27T08:40:34Z

There is a town in north Ontario,
With dream comfort memory to spare,
And in my mind
I still need a place to go,
All my changes were there.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless
Baby can you hear me now?
The chains are locked
and tied across the door,
Baby, sing with me somehow.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless.

"Helpless" Neil Young

one week on

2006-05-21T18:53:39Z

Ruth and I broke up.

This happened last Sunday. Sorry for not telling you all until today.

mattling @ 2006-04-30T14:37:00

2006-04-30T14:03:51Z

Once again I have failed to keep this updated in any way shape or form. oh well.

Work News:

we have had several new people start at SKL recently, Tim Barker and Matt Thompson have started as project managers, and there is a guy called Paul Conner who has started as an installation/repairs technician. This (briefly) brought our number up to twelve, unfortunately one of our guys was called away to do national service, in Poland, because he is Polish. Which is quite cool for him but not so good for us, however, hopefully he will be back and if he still wants his job we are keeping it open for him. Having all these new people meant that we had to move our offices, we were lucky enough to get access to the building opposite our old one which meant we had more office and warehouse space (we now have 11, 000 square feet of warehouse space, which is nice). The other thing about the new guys is that, while theoretically my workload has decreased, I seem to be doing alot of helping out and showing the guys the ropes etc. Obviously this will quieten down soon but for the moment it seems to take up much of my time.

On a brighter note I was able to go to a small trade show on tuesday in leeds which was really fun (apart from the fact that we had to get a 7am train, urgh) but it was good to see some new kit and meet some of the dealers.

However, it has been really hectic since then.

Other News:

I got to see my sister twice recently (unheard of) as she was passing through on her way to and from the north of Scotland to go walking with my brother, so that was nice.

Ruth is pissed at me again.

Its something unpredictable, But in the end is right

2006-04-02T10:18:58Z

I find it interesting that in the world of online publishing of journals, blogs and diaries where do you draw the line between pouring your heart out onto the digital page or retaining what you feel to spare a friend.

I have always felt that a diary should be for personal viewing only, it should be a place where you can air your troubles and grievances, celebrate your victories, mourn your defeats and speak of your innermost hopes and fears without censorship or the fear of offending anyone. With the increase in computer literacy it seems only natural that diaries and journals move onto computers and even into the internet. But therein lies the problem.

If the people mentioned in your diary can, and do, read it you feel the need to temper your writings, self censor sections which, if allowed to be written down would be a way of dealing with them. The irony of the ability of near unlimited communication and yet self censorship is striking, but then, some people say the internet is a bad thing...

tuesday news

2006-03-28T20:25:36Z

So, recently work work has been busy, very busy. As I feel that you all would benefit from hearing about it I shall tell you all about it here.

Stephen started in January as our sales and installation manager and was instantly really busy selling and installing things. All the way over in Ireland no less.

Dave is leaving SKL, the news was announced in Februrary, he had told Simon back in January but was asked not to spread the news until Simon had had a chance to tell everyone else at SKL.

Dave has now, not only left (apart from when we drag him back to do certain projects) but has taken about a third of our kit on a jaunt to Athens and has lit a conference event where one of the evenings entertainment was Girls Aloud.

Which has meant that we can buy a Jands Vista T4 lighting desk. Oh yes.

However it has meant that the amount of work which we have that would normally be spread between three people (and even that was a strain) is now divided between Simon and myself. Fun.

On the other hand in the next three weeks we have three more people starting: Tim who is going to be our main project manager, Matt who is going to be our backup project manager and Paul who is going to be helping Stephen.

So there will be will be twelve people working at SKL, which is quite impressive when four years ago there was only two.

But it has meant that we have been very busy, with kit in Athens, at the Glasgow Art Fair, the Grolsh Green Light District and, next week, going to the Edinburgh Science Festival it means that kit has been rather, limited.

But we still have jobs going out. Woo!

I saw various London based people a couple of weeks ago, we did much stuff which was good.

I saw "V for Vendetta" on Sunday which was rather enjoyable. I liked it.

Heres to....

2006-03-24T14:44:15Z

Absent Friends,
Lost Loves,
Old Gods,
New Beginnings
and remembering to give the Devil his due.

where are you oh missing 8%?*

2006-03-01T19:11:25Z

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (26%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain.
Left Brain (66%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

*it promised to come back when I let it wander that time...

much cool-nes

2006-02-28T20:50:20Z

Just found this on Neil Gaimens' journal and I have to say its possibly the best product I have seen in a long while.

I have to say I have enormous respect for Neil Gaimen which is mainly down to his ability to look at well known stories or situations, or even individual names or words, in a different way, at a slant as it were. Which leads to some wonderful stories (his re-writing of the Snow White story in "Smoke and Mirrors" is a perfect example). Added to this his ability to take situations one step further than most people think (what happens to Gods when people stop believing in them) and you suddenly have a writer who rarely fails to encapture your interest.
I think, in many respect his approach to a story is very similar to Terry Pratchets, but while much of Terry Pratchets work is written in a fantasy world that approaches reality Neil Gaimen writes about the real world approaching fantasy.
Obviously there are exceptions to this but thats life.

the colour of the web

2006-02-27T23:33:16Z

So, I have just finished editing the settings on my lj so it looks like the way it looks. This is Good and Proper.

Also have just switched to "Rich Text" mode thus ensuring that the rollercoast of my life never ends.

more importantly I have just learnt that "Mirrormask" is finally going to be released in Britain on Friday!! I have been looking forward to this film since the summer (especially as I was given the script by anthea25 for my birthday. Go and see this film.

the calming influence of leaving work

2006-02-22T20:00:21Z

its true, it really works

city colours

2006-02-22T18:03:05Z

if anyone ever has a problem with a city colour not striking (ie not turning on) then open up the unit and check the pressure switch just inside case. or stop pretending to be a lighing designer/technician. either way.

mattling @ 2006-02-21T20:47:00

2006-02-21T21:41:37Z

so, the follow up post from Saturday, well I wasn't in the best of moods then was I? Those comments were written after what wasn't the best couple of days and I wasn't looking forwards to the Sunday.

Without going into details basically I am tired. Tired of having to get up in the morning and rush out to work, tired of working till late every night, tired of not knowing for certain when I am going to be finishing, tired of not having a day off, tired of not getting a lie-in, tired of driving a crappy van, tired of falling asleep in the pub or wherever.

I want a day off.

the trouble about being me

2006-02-18T17:42:07Z

The problem with updating ones Live Journal infrequently is that things can greatly change between entries and so reading it back seems rather like a roller-coaster of emotions.

I wouldn't say the weight of the world was on my shoulders but it is getting rather heavy.

But there we go.

I would explain but I have to go out. Hopefully I will find some time later this weekend.

I am he as you are me

2006-02-08T22:05:24Z

As I have a number of things to say and no real way to string them together I am going to bullet point them, for those of you looking for well written prose try Blake, or Kipling.

For everyone else who is interested....

1. The 1/4 of the weekend I wasn't working was rather nice, I got to see Ruth Friday and Saturday evenings and I had lunch with Sarah on Sunday. This was all good.

2. The rest of the weekend was less good (as I was working) but had its comedy moments, these included
a) projecting "Aileen will you marry me" onto the side of a building, I have to say, despite it being rather a nice way of proposing the lack of grammar/punctuation hurt me.
b) dave managing to run out of diesel in the truck on the Forth Road bridge coming back from Fife at midnight Sunday night. This, while being rather funny now, was quite dull at the time, and cold.

3. It is annoying me how extreme people are being about the pictures of the Prophet Muhammad, and I don't just mean the Muslims who are threatening to kill those who publish the pictures (what a great way to show you are not an extremist eh?) nor the newspapers who feel the need to re-publish the pictures (great way to diffuse the situation). No what annoys me is the calls for laws to ban the publishing of similar pictures, I mean, why not ban all work which is negative towards religion? or ban all work which is negative towards the government? hell, lets just live in a police state.

4. Yes I realise the above is rather an exaggeration of the situation.

5. Work is pretty good at te moment, having managed to sort out a number of situations that have been bugging me recently.

I have a good job, a wonderful girlfriend and my hair looks great.

My life is Awesome.

mattling @ 2006-01-31T20:53:00

2006-01-31T20:54:04Z

I have finally got round to creating some userpics.

go me.

Lone Wolf and Cub

2006-01-29T12:16:00Z

I HAVE FINISHED!!!!

after several years (4 maybe) I have finally obtained and read the final volume of "Lone Wolf and Cub", a graphic novel by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. Twenty Eight volumes of epic samurai battle, tragedy and revenge. The artwork is stunning, stark black and white, an involving storyline and a wealth of information about the samurai way of life, the code of bushido and japanese history. I strongly recommend it to everyone who enjoys japanese fiction (and lets face it, who doesn't?), the only problems are that a) it is 28 volumes long and b) each costs about £7, which is partly why it took me 4 years to get them all (you do the maths). As you can imagine I am quite glad to have completed the set.

I also picked up "Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?" which is a very interesting comic on the detectives who investigate crimes involving super heroes and villains, in this case the murder of one called "Retro Girl". I found it to be a really interesting slant on situations in a world populated by people/beings with super powers, similar, I suppose to Gotham Central. Anyway, it is well worth a read.

now thats what I call democracy '06

2006-01-29T11:46:17Z

Its 7:30 ish and I have been up since 1:30 as I had a strike at the Sheraton this morning. Its over and now I am watching "The Warriors", which is a fine film.

I probably should go to bed.

My dad just sent me a very interesting report on the recent change of succession in Kuwait. The old Amir died about ten days ago, normally the Crown Prince would become the new Amir but the Crown Prince is about 75, is infirm and has Alzheimer’s so couldn't really take power. The problem is that these two roles, while not being hereditary, are shared by two branches of the same family with the roles alternating between branches, the Al-Jabers and the Al-Salem’s. The recent Amir was Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince was Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah (I kid you not). The Al-Salem's obviously didn't want to give up the opportunity to have an Amir from their branch of the family so there has been an amount of backroom negotiations as to what was going to happen. The result was achieved without demonstrations, without, unrest and interestingly in this democratic world we live in, without a public vote, it was very much kept within the family.

Anyway, it has taken me the best part of an hour to write this, so I am going to stop.

moody blues

2006-01-24T21:39:09Z

Today feels like it should be Friday.

Its weird, the last few weeks I have lost all feeling of what day it is, I mean, I know perfectly well *which* day it is, they just they all feel like they should be friday. As you can imagine this can get rather depressing when you remember that it is, in fact, only tuesday.

On the other hand I had a rather nice weekend, much of it was taken up with a stag weekend which involved much partying, quad biking and little sleep.

But there we go.

The Raven

2006-01-17T17:58:15Z

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door-
Only this, and nothing more."