Does anyone know what I want to work as?Id

If you’ve read my previous posts you may well know I am studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Engineering is something that has always interested me. My mind tends to work in some fairly odd ways. I could grasp the concepts of a subject such as English fairly easily. And I did quite well in it. But does that mean I should study something which follows this?

When looking back on the choices I have made in the past, I don’t feel as though I’ve made any mistakes. But I do however feel as though as I may be using this degree as a stepping stone. Is that a bad thing? I know people who are studying what they are studying so they can go do that, and be that…forever!

So can you help me? I don’t know what I would do when I finish this course. From a young age i’ve been inventing all sorts of concepts. I’d like to see myself as an innovator. Looking at what there is now, and seeing what its missing. Or what people would like to have which they don’t currently have. I also like to look beyond what there is, and what think what there needs, or should, be. 

However, I think we have gone too long as people accepting the design of products we everyday. Why should someone have to learn how to use something the first time they use it. Would it now be better if the system worked of intuition? Now I’m not talking about scrapping the features of a product which allow people to customise a product to their own needs, but I’m talking about the making the product being intuitive at face level.  Pressing buttons should feel like the right thing to do. There shouldn’t be any doubt in how someone is controlling something.

Now is that design or is that innovation. At some points in my life I have been interested in design. Heck, my Father and one of my Brothers are Graphic Designers. But it never really took off with me. I’ve always look beyond something at face value. I’ve always wanted to know beyond the face value of something. It weirds me out that someone would not want to know how something they regularly use works. 

So what would my job be? I don’t think it would be designed because thats more aesthetic, in my opinion. I want to innovate, create, invent! But seriously, are there even jobs like that out there? Would someone pay me to tell them what I think they should do next? Is that R&D? Engineering? … Marketing?

I suppose this topic slightly freaks me out, but its some time until I graduate, so I guess at the moment I should be ok!

Any advice, suggestions, and ideas are very warmly welcomed.

Satriani & Gilbert

Last night I traveled through to Glasgow with a good Uni mate to see Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani in concert. It was quite possibly one of the finest musical performances I’ve ever seen.

Sure, I’ve a seen a few big bands in my time. But theres nothing like sitting listening to one guy and his band play for almost three hours. But it wasn’t just a concert. It was seeing these guys really connect with the music they were playing and connecting with the crowd. I’m just used to seeing musicians play because the crowd is there and they have to. It really was an experience to remember.

It’s made me think about music in a completly different. In much more of a connective way. It really was inspirational.

Long live music.

The Home Straight

4 down, 1 to go. Exams that is. This morning I had my Informatics 1B Object Oriented Programming exam. Which unsurprisingly was fairly difficult. It does however end the set of exams for this semester which I’d rather not do!

Each year I’ve gone through school I have celebrated no longer having to examined for certain subjects. First it was French. I struggle enough as it is with English and French (which at the time was mandatory) I did not enjoy. At that point in time I was sitting eight different subjects. Those were my Standard Grades and Intermediate 2’s. The next step was my Highers which only consisted of 5 subjects, which was much better. It did however still mean I had to take Geography! Social Sciences were never really my strong point either. I could see reasoning behind things but it was all far to slow. I liked to get into the thick of things. I wanted to feel and understand what was going on. Thats why I’ve been doing Technology from the beginning.

I’m now studying Electronic and Electrical Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. It’s a great course and it’s what I’ve wanted to do for most of life…I reckon its the closest I’m going to get in finding my ideal Degree in Inventing! However, as always, the good comes with the bad. This year I had to choose an outside course to accompany my Engineering Degree. I’ve also had very keen interest in computers and tech for quite sometime so Informatics seemed like the right idea for me. I’ve been experimentally programming for a few years. I even taught myself how to program in Texas Instrument Language! What I knew of ‘Computing’ from school though, was very different to what I am studying hear. I find it very interesting, but also very perplexing sometimes…Logic isn’t so Logical after all!

As part of main degree I also have to take two types of Mathematics this year. Applicable Mathematics and Mathematical Methods. Both very useful courses. Which I do find challenging, but once I get a principle it pretty much sticks. As apposed to trying to solve problems in an effort to learn methods, which I know works well for some people, I just need to see a full example of what is happening in a solution and I can reverse Engineer the question. Thats what I love about Maths. That you can do that. Not so easy in Informatics however. Anyway, my point here is that even though I didn’t come to University to read Mathematics I fully understand that it is going to become a rather significant part of my life. That I respect a lot, and is therefore one of the few things I am very passionate about.

Then there is the Engineering. Something I think I’m really studying due to my huge respect for the subject, and what it entails and has done for our species. Electronics are crucial to every Technological advancement in this day and age without doubt. Electronics have provided man kind with the ability to understand the world around him in phenomenal detail and the ability to reach out to the planets in our solar system, in an attempt to better understand of where we came from. Electronics and Electrical Engineering underpins so much of the human civilization, and the networks between us. Business world wide can take place at mind blowing speed because of the interconnection of our race through our information highway.

Everything around me contanstly reminds what Electronics and it Engineers have done for us. And it is this which inspires me continue working towards my degree and to some day contribute something to this mass of information.

Year 2008. 1st of University.

4 Years To Go

Two Down, Three To Go

It’s exam season for us University Students. Works hard, but thank god for internal phones! It’s quite nice having a panel of Mathematical Experts waiting to except my endless annoying questions about the inter workings of Mathematical Methods…namely Integration and Differentiation! It’s the night before my third exam and i’m feeling as about confident as I get. But i’m craving music! I’m really missing grabbing my guitar impulsively and trying to out new ideas. I’ve had enough time in my breaks to get a a couple of video‘s out which is quite nice. I really like hearing what people have got to say. Its strange though. As soon as you put something out there on the web it seems that people start trusting you straight away. I often get questions on my video’s, and a few emails, about what I think people should buy. Feels like a lot of responsibility to me. I’m often not too sure what to recommend as I know my personal preferences are probably very different to others in terms of guitars, tech, things like that.

Ach well, I can’t say I don’t enjoy it. Whenever I see that you YouTube email come into my Inbox I have to click straight away! But then again though, if someone leaves a question in a comment but gives me a thumbs down I do reconsider why I’m replying. I always do though.

SPAM though….last place I thought I’d get spam would be UStream….Apparently someone wants to be my friend and they are awaiting my ‘lovely reply’ . . . . . .

Anyway, exam tomorrow morning. I’m off.

In the words of SpeakerJak . . . ‘Hold On Tight’

Finlay

New Song Idea

This is a short video of a new song which i’ve been working on.

Any body have any thoughts, suggestions, musical ideas?

I love reading people’s comments so please feel free.

Thanks

F

Wecome to my Blog

Geography never was something that I found to exciting. Maybe thats why it started there

Due to mandatory class reshuffling I was assigned the seat next to a curly haired boy I knew little about. I’d seen him around with his guitar. Thought he was one of the ‘Musical’ kids. Time past and we conversation become exciting, discussing what news songs we had heard, or something we’d both just learnt to play on guitar. Wait, why didn’t we start a band!…we thought to ourselfs. So we did!

Next we needed to recruit people. Fortuatly our luck we inches away. Right infront of us sat a drummer. I already knew who he was. We would struggle through painfully long Physics classes together, exchange values and ideas! So we asked. And he accepted. At this point finding a name for our new band seemed to be the top priority. However the Geography textbook was showing few signs of co-operating. As more time passed we realised finding a name really did make difference to who or what we were. How someone could incapsualte the endless AC/DC and School of Rock covers in one snappy word or phrase was beyond us!

I was 15 then. Now i’m 19. How time does pass when your having fun!

Playing in this band has without doubt been the corner stone of my coming to adolescence. The determination, self belief, and companionship is something I don’t think I would have found anywhere else.

No longer is it just 5 guys in a basement throwing out thrash riffs and meaningless lyrics. It’s become more than that. The mutual connection between the members is something I don’t think we could describe. School ended Summer 07. But for some reason band never finished for anyone. We didn’t even talk about it. It’s almost this ‘thing’ thats holding us together.

We give everything we can, and only give our best. For all the friends, family and fans who have supported us we are unimaginably grateful. But this is just the beginning.

We are striving to get out and interact with as many people as possible. We want to be able to hear, see, know what people think of us. What the love about us, what they hate about us. The pure human truth. We have tried to facilitate as many ways as people want to get in contact with is, and ways we can get it contact with people.

We’re on MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, Weebly, YouTube, Ustream. If you think you know something which we could use please let me or the band know. speakerjak@gmail.com

Music is who I am. And here we come.

F