Our Mum

Happy Sunday to mother’s everywhere today. To celebrate (in a probably than likely artistically cheesy way), here’s some rhyme to give out my message this year to all the mums around the world:

Those that carried us from the start and carried on since then.

Those that fed us and kept us clean, changed, rearranged and many things unseen.

Those that paid out and others made to ensure we had what we needed over the decades.

Those that helped us walk, speak and play both physically and socially for the everday.

Those that bailed us out or listened to what we had to say.

Those that looked after our friends in sometimes when told “Muuum, go away”, but carried on all the same and let us have our way.

Those that may sometimes boss us around and tell us about our wrongs and how to come around.

Those who helped to pave our way and those who support us even when things fray.

And for those that maybe don’t get to say this to your mums all of the time, use today to celebrate be it in gifts or actions or rhyme.

Because whether she’s in the next room or looking down from ‘out there’, no matter your age, your place, your time, your mother will love you and always be there.

Hope you have a wonderful and blessed day wherever you and you children may be and remember that one wouldn’t be without your other.

 

Mike


Compressors, Gates & Filters

So as a follow up in some degree of my musings a few weeks ago inĀ  “Dear World…”, something has been stirring in the various universes of Social Media again. It’s always been there, but many people don’t usually notice it. Now people do know about it though, it’s interesting to see the exposure of people covering stuff up recently. What I’m talking in relation to is the discrimination of people based on race, religion and sexuality.

Politically, it’s hard to ignore the way the American border is under question with the Trump administration threatening to close it off to anyone whom happens to be from a certain country with a certain faith. It’s happening the other way too, particularly with every other conflict mentioned in the middle east at the moment being based around faith. And I can’t fail the mention the controversy on both sides surrounding the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.

Entertainment and the media (our supposed means of escaping our current world) aren’t safe either. The recent exposure of YouTube with it’s ‘Restricted’ content filter removing a lot of LGBTQ+ content has hit blogs and social media around the web recently and for film, music and book buffs in the last couple of years, it’s noticeable that artists of these fields are seen to be really pushing their inclusion of diversity to noticeable levels (often counteracting the point) such as pointing out characters as homosexual or a specific gender in films or overdoing/poorly planning characters in books and films. Now, whilst it’s great that people are being more inclusive with their work, it’s not something to stick a neon sign on as if you deserve a reward for doing it. The whole idea around diversity settling issues with gender, race and religious equality is that it is just that, equal. Holding up metaphorical neon signs to go “Look, my film has all female main characters!” or saying things like “in my adaption, I made sure that X was bisexual and reinterpreted Y as an Asian person” isn’t really going to do anything other than shine a light on them because of the features and barriers you were apparently trying to remove and provoking the argument back again for your audience.

Everyone is entitled and everyone has the right to an opinion, even if you don’t agree with it. But if you differ, it doesn’t give you the right to go forcing yours upon them. Many people believe that by enforcing their broad opinion, they’re doing good in the world (such as blocking Muslims from entering your country, banning sexuality because you thought it wrong or persecuting your own people for not following your particular strain of the religion). Let me ask you this honestly, just how is that benefiting? How does that solve the problem you think you’re having.

Neutralisation follows a number of definitions. The greatest one though, means nobody against anybody, rather than merely eliminating those who might compete with your interests.

But that’s just my opinion and if you have a differing one, that’s totally fine. Just don’t force me to change mine is all I ask as I would say not to take my post as fact either.

Whatever you think, just sort yourselves out world. I’m tired about hearing all this globally childish playground bullying in my news online, on TV and on radio (so much so ironically I’m almost relying exclusively on my curated RSS feeds in feedly to let me know the going ons in the world). Get your *ahem* selves together, grow a pair of your respective genitalia (whatever you identify yourself as) and keep the concept of Compressors, Filters and Gates in mediums such as video and audio production for processing data rather than trying to use those tactics in the real world and learn to negotiate rather than dictating who you think is right (because who in reality can moderate the moderators?)

I’ll let you figure that out.

 

Mike


Head DeskĀ 

That’s not much to say this week since Technology seems to have formed an alliance of gathered again me,  from my desktop environment flipping or and wiping the equivalent of a start menu on me,  to trying to reinstall and the getting corrupted,  to the new OS installing but won’t boot,  to the boot repair fixing the startup but again corrupting an important role that caused the new OS not to boot and also how ignore the USB drive I need to ‘rescue’  the system and the raspberry pi u have upstairs for backup refusing to install extra software that might help make aforementioned USB force the laptop to boot it  on account of an ‘unknown error’.

So this week I’m writing this on the WordPress app (which only just runs ad my running low on memory due to LG and Android’s bloat ware hogging about 65% of capacity after updates).

That’s probably the most extreme thing that’s happened,  but it’s situations like this  you just want a hand grenade to throw  arms walk away slowly with a fresh start. 
Who knows, the week might pick up if I commit enough good in the world. Maybe. 

Happy Sunday. 

Mike  


Suspend

As humans, we all need a break sometimes. I don’t like to admit it sometimes, which can only be backed by the terms often used to describe me: dedicated, a workaholic, a machine, sad or passionate. As much as it’s great to keep churning though, it’s good to know when to stop before you body decides to do it for you and after a week of battering followed by an amazing leaving do for my good friend and former colleague (in the same place of work that is) on top of working on my hobby of these blogs as well as doing the everyday tasks of looking after myself and my flat (which when you live alone you realise how much you’re responsible for).

Given I had a pretty busy Thursday and a long Friday, plus the outing and my body now had the fun job of picking up the pieces, I was quickly put into Maintenance mode for the day and whilst this hampered many efforts for what I wanted to achieve for the weekend and went against my former uni self’s prophecy that “sleep is for the weak” and that lazy days were a waste of time, I certainly feel a lot better for it and if anything have more drive to achieve what I want to achieve this week and further forward!

So, I know it’s a little short this week, but if I have any advice to anyone who’s reading this week, it’s if you feel great, keep going and if you’re feeling tired, take a break. It doesn’t feel like it at first but you’re body will thank you when you’re raring to go again. And for those outstaying their welcome in chillandia, get back to it! There is such thing as too much of a good thing and if you overdo the relaxation, you won’t appreciate it as much anymore and if anything it may start to undo your motivation to keep moving forward!

Happy Sunday all of you and once you’ve had some time to reflect, go get em for next week, even if it’s just a single step!

Mike