Do something else.....

Those people that have known me for quite some time, know that I don't just do work-work.  I used to.  Oh, yes....I used to do that a lot.  I'm probably from the generation of IT guys that screwed it all up for the newer generation.  Why's that?

Well, IT was fascinating in the late 80s and all the way through the 90s....the possibilities, the basic-ness of it all.  Yes, you as a single person "could" do it all.  you could be the person that knew about hardware, knew about infrastructure, could make your own 10-base-2 (or was it 10?) cables (the one's that used TV aerial cable), before cat5 cables took over - but hey, you still did that too.  You knew how to network PCs together, different network cards, token networks connecting to the 10-base-2/10/T (whatever), how to configure Windows or even Novell Netware (wow, there's a blast from the past for you) to use that networking....and you even knew how to write code, so you could write the applications that people could use on those PCs... and being able to have a printer setup on the network so everyone could print via the network, well, my friend, you had hit the pinnacle of knowledge.  You were awesome.  You could then extend and expand your coding capabilities to now write software applications that would enable you to exploit that networking capability, client/server apps were born, oh the heady heights of more possibilities....and then....and then...wow, the network expanded, it grew from just one office to multiple offices being connected via dedicated ISDN lines to then divisions of offices across countries, how we skipped and revelled in our greatness...and then, the ultimate....the "internet"came along and that required expanding the mind to cater for more higher level thinking and approaching software applications in a different paradigm.  Different coding software was required, using the traditional 'C' code, whilst it did work for a while, (who remembers cgi-bin dll's!!!) need to evolve, then "internet" coding languages started to grow... JSPs (yeurgh...but they did the job) and Micorsofts version ASPs (Active Server Pages) now let you basically write client/server apps but now going across the "internet" rather than just local networks.... and then things ballooned.

Where was I? oh yes, we were the generation that screwed up IT for you lot.  Because we had some a wonderful time of gorging on the bliss of new innovation, we, and I mostly cast that as guys in their 20s, dedicated our lives to this stuff.  We spent work time doing the work that was needed.  We spent the evenings trying more things out, learning what would and wouldn't work.  We spent weekends building PC towers, installing Windows NT onto them, learning how to setup IIS so we could serve up web pages and web applications, that we would then use this knowledge back in the work place (or get new jobs), where we could apply this new found wisdom....

and that was the good and bad.  we dedicated our lives to this work.  What is the end result?  Where did it get us?   well, most, either became socially isolated (some still are), divorced (or equiv.), single, y'know all those views of negativity that society will throw at you.  But, we were and mostly still are happy.  Then the 2000-2010 period of IT hit.  That sucked.  You had to be a specialist, you had to focus on a single area of expertise, you could no longer be "the IT guy", you needed a whole team, in fact that team was then out-sourced because it all go so complex (I'll save that rant for another day) and well, most of those original IT guys, well, they go moved into management.  It's a very slippy slope to then drift into Sales...and well, that's the death-knell right there.... you then sit back and look at your life, whilst sitting on the park bench feeding the ducks bread (even though you know that is bad for them) (if this is in 2020, then you will be social distancing / self isolating, so you'll be in your back garden or strolling along a canal/river) and wonder, "where did it all go wrong?", "it used to be fun, I used to enjoy IT, I used to enjoy what I was doing, was it me or was it the Technology?"...

As someone, who spent 3 years dedicated to working for a specific Pharmaceutical company whilst working for a rather large IT company (iAnywhere/Sybase - who then got bought by SAP), I mean dedicated. 90-100 hours per week.  In France, Spain and Italy. Every week, for 3 years.  Just myself & 1 other guy (RIP Colin), we built the impossible, okay, "I" built the impossible, but I don't invent, Colin was the visionary, but not the doer, so I was the doer, the Pf.... company were happily paying for our services time, they were getting something way ahead of the competition, our company loved us, they could just ignore us and they we're getting paid several million $$$s per year for our services..and then that project came to a natural conclusion.  We finished.  I was exhausted, it was like a non-stop marathon, that was originally meant to just be a stroll in the park.  I learnt a lot.
And then the lovely Sybase company made the both of us redundant.  They had chosen to shut down the Professional Services part of their organisation and were just going to sell the products and provide support only.  WTF.  No discussion, no nothing, just finished.  We approached the Pf.... company and they were willing to take us on for a 6month contract, but they had just got a new IT Director involved who had a "new" vision and was going to shelve on existing projects and go in a new direction with different technologies and skillsets (It was much later that I got to know, he only last 6 months after screwing everything up and I could have gone back to them, but hey-ho, I'd moved on by then).....It was after this event happened (2008, I think, when the financial crisis hit, oh yeah that was fun!), that I did the retrospective thing and looked back at what I used to enjoy... of course I went through all the stuff from above ^^^^^^ and then I realised....that was ALL work based.  Where was the stuff that "I" used to like doing? what happened to the "hobbies" / "interests"?  I'd sacrificed them all for the job(s)....

So, I made a decision in late 2008, to make sure I ALWAYS MAKE TIME TO: 


"Do something else..."


and that is something I really hope that during the 2020 lockdown IT people decide to do -- don't think to yourself, oh, I now seem to have this time int he evenings and weekends, where I cannot go out or do things, therefore maybe I should just work 7 days a week.... or do work/work related things.

No, "Do something else..."

So, what do I do, then?  Well....as some of you may (or may not) know, I've been building a custom car for the past 10 years, why so long?  well, there was no rush and well, it's more about the journey isn't it really!  I've also had 3-4 other cars I've acquired and worked on during that time.
Am I a fully qualified mechanic?  No.  Do I have a degree in auto-electrics? No. Do I know what I am doing all the time? No... but I have a methodical & logical mind... it can be applied to all sorts of problems and challenges.  It's also a great feeling to look back at a solid / real thing (not something within a black LCD screen) and say, "Hey, I made that / I did that,...okay, it's not perfect but have you ever had a go?..No?...well, maybe you should!"

I also dabble with a little bit of electronics / robot / arduino / raspberry pi stuff too - except, that is usually my autumn/winter time focus - it's cool to see what you can do with these things nowadays - their usage is only limited by your imagination and their specs are awesome, the RPi4 is as powerful as an Apollo 13 computer that went to the moon (or something like that)....


Well, as it is 2020 and working on the cars has been great the past few years, I have those vehicles sitting in the garage or on the driveway, unable to drive them because of COVID-19....


Well, it's time to catch up on some YouTube videos!!!  Whilst it might not look like you are "Doing something else...", actually you are, you can learn quite a lot and have some fun along the way.

I've been watching these guys since about 2012, they have grown quite a lot since the very early days when Marty used to work on cars on his mum's driveway (he now has a dedicated garage with a proper hoist and everything - am very jealous).  As you can tell, they don't take life too seriously - but they do enjoy "Doing something else...".  Their day jobs are music orientated, nothing to do with cars - and that's the thing that I think I really like about them, they do the day job, but they find time for an outside passion.  They're not experts, but they are willing to give it a go and have fun learning along the way.  sometimes good things happen, sometimes not.  but, when they're sitting at the riverbank feeding the ducks in the future, you just know, they'll have a smile that they spent their spare time "Doing something else...."

CHECK THEM OUT HERE:   https://mightycarmods.com/

and watch their latest YouTube video : MightyCarMods




I had to post a few photo's as I can empathise about the wiring on a car - here's a couple of photo's of me having to wire my custom car from scratch - it's mind bending:


after figuring it all out above and getting it all working...... I then had the car painted....and the painter just chopped through all the wiring and ripped it apart, he assumed that as it was a mess it wasn't working and was going to be re-done!!!! ahhhhhhh!!!!  well, I did have to re-do it all again and it took me twice as long



I can also feel the pain of working in a tight space for a rear/mid engined car.  my MG F is a nightmare to work on.  You have so little access, you almost have to work by touch & feel to get anything done on it.


I decided (a while back now) to fit a new 52mm throttle body to the car and to have a silly air-pod filter (no it doesn't make it quicker, it just sounds much better!)


 look at the restricted space you have to work on in there!  would I do it again? sure thing!  So whilst everyone is in lockdown and it's really tempting to spend your time, like we did back in the 90s, but for different reasons, please consider what you are doing and why you are doing it.

"Do Something else...."



 As to me, what am I about to do....well, I've just been up in the loft/attic and I've dug out a PS1, PS2, XBox 360 (I skipped the PS3) and a mini-PS1 and have just hooked them all up to the 55" TV in the spare room to re-kindle some Laura Croft, Parappa the Rapper, Tekken 2, Destruction Derby and GTA: San Andreas playing.... again, I had these things in the past, but never really took the time or allowed time to enjoy them.  Now is the time.


UPDATE:  btw - just because I've shown interests in cars and "other technology", that doesn't mean that I'm saying you have to stick close to your field of work interest.
You could easily take up learning how to do crochet, get yourself a pottery wheel (Amazon will still deliver!), learn pilates, decide to take an online course in "how to read aramaic", so that you can read really old biblical-era documents, or study all about the "occult" - there's 1000s of books to gorge your interests there, or if you're more of a physical focused person look to do things in that respect.

All, I'm saying is, just because you do work/work with a particular thing, doesn't mean it has to be your life - your job doesn't have to define who you are.  Which is an interesting quote as I was watching an episode of "Dirty Money" on Netflix, the Wells Fargo episode, and there was a quote from a guy who said that actually was how most Americans perceived themselves.  They were defined by their job and what they did for work, that was "them", which was why when they were unfairly fired from their jobs they mentally collapsed and were in turmoil.

Maybe that's the point I'm kind of making here, leave yourself some room to not be 100% dependent upon a definition of a job/role/work, if that goes away, you should still be able to be "you".  There should still be a "you".  So, get thinking, get pondering and start "Doing something else...." ;-)


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