Bumph Box

The latest monster egg from Gladys. We thought these had stopped and that she’d found her laying feet. We’ll see what tomorrow (or the day after that) brings.

So, The wife returns from a hectic night’s work. Me and the boy need something to do on what plans to be a reasonable day, weather wise. He needs new sand for his sand pit and we need something for dinner later. So there’s a bit of a plan – tie in a visit to the park and I think we have the makings of a day. Just occurred to me, as I don’t really use this blog for that much – maybe I can use it in this way? Just as a daily or so, place for gubbins and ramblings – actually, that’s exactly what it was intended for!

Me and the good wife were browsing the delights of B&M Bargains and the usual piped in tunes were on. It was The flame haired minstrel of soul himself, Mick Hucknall and Simply Red – Holding back the years. Strange I noticed a few pensioner types singing along, wondering if they really like the band or whether it’s the sentiment of the lyrics that hit a chord. The thought then mutated into an image of a massive Simply Red concert full of pensioners all singing along. Heh.

I was in a large computer store just before Christmas browsing through the latest laptops and something really got to me. There was a pensioner looking a tad confused at all the different makes and models. One of the staff went over and offered assistance. Well, you couldn’t really call it assistance when he pretty much shoved a laptop down the chap’s throat without even discussing his requirements. Obviously, the old fella had to put his trust into this assistant because he really didn’t know (thing is, there’s so much you can do with technology that it’s difficult to know where to begin).

It reminded me of that feeling when you take your car into the garage and you need it fixing but you don’t know what’s wrong with it (because you don’t know how cars work) and you put your trust in the mechanic and hope they don’t rip you off.

Anyway, this bloke was flogged some machine that he didn’t know anything about along with anti virus software and office products. Then I heard it reverberate around the store…”anti virus…office, protection, spreadsheets, norton, office…” Like some crazy conveyer belt.

I did buy my laptop and when the assistant turned to grab the additional items I was like..

‘No thanks, don’t need them’ – he smirked and carried on putting the items through the till…
‘I said no thanks’
‘But your computer won’t be protected’
‘Yes it will’
‘You need office for….’
‘No I don’t’

So what’s my point? Well we look at the problems when faced with digital inclusion and to be honest, I seem to be seeing a whole load of different problems compared to the kinds of problems that seem to get the most attention (and money spent on them). This is just one instance. Where people who are willing to get digitally involved are not getting the support and motivation they need.
We need to get a proper digital mentor scheme out and about, in the stores, on the streets, in the schools, in the libraries, in the community halls, in the Mosques… you know… Outreach.

OK, here are some the things i’m doing leading up to the festive period. Hoping to get a few weeks break before cracking on in the new year.

First up, the Digital Inclusion stuff i’m doing with We Share Stuff has given birth to an unconference which we secured funding for. Very chuffed we pulled this off and i’m looking forward to sharing tips and stories with folks doing similar stuff.

Signed up for the 4am project which is taking place at the Bodies Revealed exhibition in Digbeth. Looking at the subject matter I thought it would make some great TTV so I’ll probably go with that format. However it might be a chance to try some other similar techniques. If I have time tonight to come up with something that is.

Plenty of other things on the go but nowhere near enough time to talk about them all!

Salute!

Just to keep the content flowing. Been a tad sick over the last few days, reckon it’s that noro virus or whatever it’s called. Nasty thing, violently sick on a few occasions. Glad it’s passed. Been thinking about what I want to do photography wise and I think I might get back into the experimental stuff. The Birmingham wheel is back and that gave me a great subject to try some stuff. Thinking i’m gonna revisit very soon.

Here’s what I did with it before

The We Share Stuff is moving along, probably not as quick as i’d like but that’s to be expected with the time that me and Jon can put into it. We’ve been working on some good projects and making good links along the way so it’s good progress.

I’ll leave it there for now but really need to post more often (note to self: even if you don’t write for others, do it for yourself as a reflective diary thang)

So I don’t see a movie in ages then fit two in the space of two days. We used to watch films back to back but I don’t think I could that anymore, plus I wouldn’t have the time. Anyways, the two movies in question were Harry Potter and The Wrestler. I wasn’t too fussed about watching the Potter movie but found it pretty enjoyable. Whether it was because I hadn’t visited the cinema in ages and had a comfy seat and ice cream.. I don’t know, but fun nonetheless. The second film, The Wrestler, was one I’ve been keen to see for sometime. One of my fave directors, Darren Aronofski, and Mickey Rourke as the lead role. While it was along the lines of what I expected, a kind of grittier ‘The Champ’ (although not really) or along the lines of the Rocky idea (without the happy ending), It didn’t quite bite deep enough for me. The kind of thing that would make a great series or 3 part feature thing. Anyway, good to see a few films and I hope I don’t leave it too long next time.

I swapped my cartridges on my turntable this morning. Silly things really, just to hear a difference in sound quality. Anyhow, it gives me a good excuse to put a few records on. So, I opens up the record cupboard and have a quick browse, only to stumble on a few all time classics. Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey and Afghan Whigs – Congregation. Pure joy in some classic music which still gives me the same buzz after all of those years. Hüsker Dü’s ‘Sorry Somehow’ will always be in my top 5 favourite songs… not sure what the other 4 are…hmmm, must have another browse…

putting a record on on 12seconds.tv

Cheeky Bum Parks from Stuart Parker on Vimeo.

I recently did a spot of mentor training and found it pretty useful and enjoyable. It got me thinking about something that I’d like to try and set up. Speed mentoring – like speed dating but for small businesses, sole traders, trainers etc who might benefit from a bit of a sounding board. The way I see it working is you’d have a group of mentors (volunteers in the first instance). and a group of mentees. Then you have 15-20 minute sessions where the mentee would start talking about a problem, issue or something related to work that they may (or may not) want to address. See what comes out, then move onto the next mentor.
I’d see the mentor role for such small sessions, as little more than a sounding board. Maybe with an opportunity to develop something further should the mentee feel it would be useful. Anyways, it’s just an idea right now but I may follow it up soon.

Could this in some way become Digital Mentoring?