Big Red Blog

Blue teeth and good music

2014-05-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

Like millions of other squeaky clean individuals, I like to sing in the shower. What makes this aquatic opera more enjoyable and probably a whole lot more bearable for others in the vicinity, is music to sing along with.

My usual set-up was an iPod dock, an Auxiliary cable and my Samsung Galaxy Note2. A little tricky as the auxiliary cable didn't fit the headphone port when the phone case was on, so it did involve removing the case every time I wanted music in the shower, not a huge problem but it was a bit of a pain to do.

Today I got a solution to my cable-heavy set-up, in the form of a small blue speaker. Introducing the Bluetooth Splash Speaker.

Purchased from IWOOT for £22.99, (Originally from Thumbs Up UK) this handy little gadget:

Lets you listen to music in the shower (It's splash-proof, NOT water-proof)
Is rechargeable from a Micro USB, the same most modern smartphone chargers (Supplied)
Can also be used with an 3.5mm Auxiliary cable if bluetooth is not an option (Also supplied)
Has up to 5 hours of music giving life
Has an impressive range of up to 10 metres (May differ depending on walls and doors)
Has a built in microphone to let you take hands-free calls (May not be recommended while showering)
Four nice big rubber buttons on top for Power, volume up & down and answering/ending calls.

A handy little speaker, with a tough, rubber case as well. Not just for showering, it's great for outdoor use too.

It was super easy to connect and start using, my phone found the speaker immediately and after 3 seconds of pairing, was sending my music to it. Even turning the bluetooth off and on again, my phone automatically reconnected to the speaker. This may of course vary depending on phone model and manufacturer.

It also has a series of fun sounding noises along with a red/white LED to let you know what it's doing; from "Your phone is ringing!" to "I need a charge!" to "I'm dead now!"

The volume and quality it pumps out music is incredible as well, I tried to stress test it to see if there was any crackling with louder songs, but couldn't get so much as a snap. The hands-free mic is a good quality, not crystal clear, but for a hands-free, splash-proof shower speaker, it's nothing I'll complain about.

The only thing I dislike (And this is serious nit picking here) is the strap, it doesn't have a clip to allow you to hang it up in the shower unless you have a hook available. The rubber does come away from the metal stud, but getting it back on is a pain.

I'm really happy with this product, definitely something every shower Soprano needs!

Paper scribbles & Digital doodles.

2011-12-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

I've owned 3 Graphics tablets in the past, my 1st was what looked like a bog standard 11" x 7" Wacom tablet; it was blue and generally blank but it was good.

My 2nd was a much nicer black Wacom bamboo, the same size of the previous but has an added bit on the side for scrolling which was a nice novelty.

Unfortunately, they both broke during house moves. My fault as I didn't keep the boxes for them. And not a tablet was had since then.

Until earlier this year after a generous American customer got a bit tip-happy at the Casino and inflated our paycheques something rotten, I splashed out £400 for my significantly bigger Wacom Intuos4 Wireless (Bluetooth) tablet.

The wireless is a definite help, being short of USB ports and desk space, also having a Bluetooth adaptor already in place, it was meant to be.

Strangely though, I've always worried about running out of paper while sketching, I like to use my sketch pads for my leisure sketching as opposed to using it for something requested/commisioned. It was only shortly after buying the tablet that I was told that using something like Firewors or Photoshop as a digital sketch pad is úber handy.

So I gave it a go and, by God, is it a lifesaver.

The benefits of sketching digitally rather than on paper is that I can practice as much as I like on as big a canvas as I want; and if I make a mistake I can delete it with the other end of the Stylus without wearing a massive hole in the paper or degrading the paper's quality.

It's not that I'm saying Digital is better than paper, Both have advantages and disadvantages.

For instance: I wouldn't teach someone to draw on digital, I would use paper, learning the original way is always best, also a graphics tablet can really only be used on a PC, for outdoor drawing; a laptop could be used but in my experience, tablets don't transport well.

With paper, I'm restricted to the size of the page, the kind of Pencil I use or how much of said pencil I have left. With digital those worries don't exist, but paper drawing is by far better feeling. You wouldn't be too excited to see your favourite artist at Comic-Con using a graphics tablet to do a sketch, it just doesn't feel the same.

Also a nice sheet of good quality paper with your own personal sketch on is yours, a digital copy can be duplicated, but that sheet of paper is the only one and it's yours!

So in closing, paper sketching is good, but digital sketching is always worth a look.

Karate kick to the entrails

2011-12-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

So work's been slow but I blame that on nightshifts at the Casino were I used to work.

Now, after a move to Glasgow I'm without work but it's all good, I can survive for the time being. Job hunting commences in the New Year.

Just before moving I was asked to help out with a project my friend is working on, he was asked to build the website for a startup Martial Arts school and asked me to do the graphics for it.

Score!

This could be the project that gets me into the Professional lanes of graphic work, ooooh sounds delicious!

Anyway; back to work!

Ciao.

"Satan's Furry Jamhats!" - Bill Bailey (Tinselworm)

A wonderful Shoppe!

2011-06-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Our shop has grown into a wonderful little store for T-Shirty artworks! There are only a few designs available, but it's still young days, we're still growing!

Have a look [HERE]

-Ciao

Internet Irritations

2011-04-16T08:29:00.001-07:00

New work! Once more; Not a Penis! ^_^

-Ciao!
"I baked you a Pie! What flavour? Pie Flavour!" -AsdfMovie

Manchester 2011

2011-02-01T15:05:00.001-08:00

Last night I got back from Manchester (8.5 hours on a bus, nae fun!)

All I can say, from the Thursday afternoon that I arrived to the Sunday lunchtime that I departed, it was probably the best 4 days of my life so far.

The people I met, the banter that was had, the random 5am pillow attack, the getting banned from the Chinese Buffet, the trouserless photo shoot, the drinking, the last night of the meet, EVERYTHING!

Sunday was hard, made no easier by the raging hangover, but that wasn't anywhere near as painful as leaving was, I honestly wanted to just miss the bus and stay.

But it's not all sadness, we all had a fantabulous time and are all eager to meet up again, in fact, I'm already looking at flights to Malta. =D

And as a result of spending time with BodyModders such as the crew I was with, I'm now stretching my ears, only going to 4mm for the month, then I'll go up by 1mm or 2mm a month Til I have the size I want.

Not gonna get really big ones, just somewhat medium, ones. =D

Chest offing time

2011-01-25T10:34:00.001-08:00

(I wrote this on my DeviantArt page a while back, just felt like getting it a bit further out).

YOU ARE NOT RANDOM!!!

Simple as, neither am I. At least, not in the way that everyone who claims to be 'random' goes around babbling about.

RANDOMNESS: Having no definite aim or purpose; not sent or guided in a particular direction; made, done, occurring, etc., without method or conscious choice; haphazard.

When you think of random, you would probably think of something happening that you weren't expecting, like a Random number generator.

Unless you know someone so much that you are able to predict every single action that person is going to make down to the detail, then that person will be creating movements and actions that are 'random'

However, when you see people running around going "I'M RANDOM LOL!" what does it make you think? That they'll then proceed to shout "WHALES! CUSTARD! CHIMPANZEES!" to me, that's not random, that's just vocalizing basic human thought, if you really listened to your thoughts, that's what they'd sound like;

"It's cold in here I'm really hungry the sofa is kind of uncomfortable still hungry are there crisps left I think I left bathroom light on"

That's how we think in our heads.

So shouting 'random' words out isn't 'random' it's just shouting words that happen to flow in this stream of thought, most of the time, put there yourself deliberately, thus eliminating the 'random' part.

So, in short, Everybody and Nobody is/are random.

Next person I see saying "I'm a bit random, lol" I'm gonna punch them!

Scruffs

2011-01-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to increase my artistic range somewhat, I took to trying my hand at Cartoon Kitties again. I had already tried some different and unique Kitty styles, the following is not really what I was trying, but he emerged from the Ether:

His name is Scruffs (Yes I know it's a stupid, cliche name for a Cat).

And FaceBook REALLY sucks with its image compression and upload quality.

-Ciao

2010-12-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Lo Harken and behold! Mein booty list from xMas of 2010!

-A rising drawing desk with drawers and a stool.

- A belt with a Bottle opener on it (Engineering Genius!)

- A chilli mill (Like a tall Pepper mill, but with mixed chillis, garlic and peppers in it.)

- T-Shirts

- Munehz (That's "Moneys" for the uneducated).

- Motorhead T-shirt (From Secret Santa @ Work)

- Origami-a-day 2011 calender (From Zsuzsa @ Work)

- Some fancy 'Ted Baker' smellies (From Mary @ Work)

- A big ol' tub of Jelly Belly beans

- Fancy boxorz

- "The Mens Cookbook" (From Paul Taylor)

- Urban UK fancy Aftershave

- And Ple-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-enty of Chocolate!

I'm sure I've left some stuff out of here, if I have and you're reading this going "He forgot to mention MY present" I do sorely apologize, please inform me of any missing listings.

Happy New year to everyone!

Ciao!

Radiohead are (Apparently) conspiracy theorists.

2010-12-13T09:39:00.000-08:00

So a rummage online has brought to my attention something entertaining about Radiohead, it also showed a lot of stuff about how Thom Yorke likes to absolutely lace the albums with cryptic messages and the like. But what I found more than interesting is this.

'OK Computer' was released in 1997 and 'In Rainbows' was released in 2007, that's 10 years apart.

Now, the number 10 plays a massive role in the whole list of conspiracy theories that include these 2 albums.

I'll let you read it all [HERE]

Continuing:

Open Windows Media Player > set the crossfade to 10 seconds (10 again) > now, starting with 'OK Computer,' alternate between the 2 albums like so for 10 tracks (10 again).

-Airbag
-15 step
-Paranoid Android
-Bodysnatchers
-Subterranean Homesick Alien
-Nude
-Exit Music (For a Film)
-Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
-Let down
-Karma Police

Now, listen. Despite the 2 albums being 10 years apart, the songs flow together seamslessly.

And apparently it's entirely intentional.

Conspiracy theories and cryptic messages aside, it's a great little playlist.

Have fun.

Ciao.

"I don't belong here" - Thom Yorke (Seemingly lost)

Because...

2010-12-12T01:38:00.000-08:00

...if there were no Penis-Monsters in the world...What kind of world would that be? ATROCIOUS!

This is Phallu'penrath.

IT is a SHE.

Don't let the height fool you.

It should probably be noted that had I stayed in my bed for an extra hour or two, She would not have been born. Funny, Eh?

Also, that stuff she's lying in? Not saliva.

Ciao!

"This is for all the wimps and posers...And Women!" - Tobias Sammett

Radioactive People-Cutter

2010-12-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

This is my Brother, Richard. He guts Nuclear Reactors, which if you didn't know, are Radioactive and evil!

He then guts people, which if you didn't know, don't really like radioactivity all that much.

I hope he washes his hands...

Chrimbo Wishlist

2010-12-04T04:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa.

This year my behaviour has been within or outwith the boundaries of good and/or acceptable. And as such have rightfully earned the title of "Good Little Boy."

Your contract as 'Annual Gift Giver' states that any individual that holds this title must, without fail, have their Christmas Letters read and fulfilled.

Your cooperation on this matter has been...Questionable in previous years and we implore that you fulfill the following list to the maximum of your ability.

The list is as follows:

A Wacom Cintiq Graphics Tablet.

A drawing Desk

An XBOX Kinect

A Blackberry Torch

[EDIT]
And this

Gretsch G6073 Electric Bass Guitar

This concludes the Special request section. Please fill all remaining allocated spaces with Various clothes, chocolate, DVD's and other surprise pressies.

Yours

-Daryl Wright
(Good Little Boy #85027592)

Ciao!

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" - Me, driving around Aberdeen Harbour

Naked Time!!

2010-11-21T12:15:00.001-08:00

There is a forum I am a member of called 'NeoSeeker'

There, there is an art forum in which is a thread called 'Art Central Popcorn' in which users post comics in a continous story line, each user adding a comic adds him/herself into it as well as all the previous users.

Now, it had stopped for quite some time, but it had recently been revived, I decided to do a recap comic:

See that guy? Sephiroth his name be. He became naked earlier on in the comic.

In a fit of absolute madness, I enjoyed the little naked Sepphy a bit too much and decided to Vectorize him.

And then in an even greater method of Madness, I did the same to myself, see the header bar? Yeah.

In other news, I have started creating graphics work for the Magazine guy in the North, I'm still trying to churn out work for him, we'll see what happens.

And I also have a DeviantArt profile, I WILL TELL YOU RIGHT NOW" There is stuff on my profile that is not on FaceBook for a reason, Peruse at your own peril. -DeviantArt

For now, I leave you and your sanity.

Ciao!

"Resistance is Foreplay!" - Sexulus of Borg

Things happened...!

2010-11-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

Right, Well, Cameron Bakewell's story is coming along nicely, the written part is done, and the illustrations are flowing, I've done 8 so far (Drawings on paper, colouring will happen when they're all drawn).

Recently a friend of mine who did some programming work for an advertising magazine publisher in Banffshire showed off some of my work, the editor liked it and gave me a call (My friend gave him my number, otherwise I'd be worried) and asked me to do some colourful graphics for his magazine.

The magazine is called 'Knock News' and is a large collection of adverts, local news and reviews. It would all be for free but it does give me an invaluable opportunity to get my name out there, my work noticed and a very shiny addition to my portfolio.

So yeah, although Cameron Bakewell's adventure is still continuing, This new venture will be taking priority as this is probably the Gateway that I need. I really don't want it to go to waste.

So that's what's happening now, Everything is still going, Cameron will be with you all soon, you may see my work in magazines and for the people of G Casino Aberdeen, I still have my mass colleague caricature on the cards...Damn! A Casino pun...

That's all for now.

Ciao!

"My favourite colour is Giraffe!" - Neil "Sunny" Strachan.

Cameron Bakewell (Sneaky Peaky 1st Drafty)

2010-10-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Page - 1
The sun broke the horizon, a new day had dawned over the valleys of Little Bluebell. The warm wind gently brushed through the trees of Silverwillow forest, softly rustling their limber branches.

Page - 2
The sound of the trees in the wind stirred our little friend from his slumber. Snuggled tightly in his bed, Cameron Bakewell, the Dapper Field Mouse, Stretched his arms and legs and climbed out of bed.

Page - 3
"Yeeeaaaawwwnn" Went Cameron, as he slowly pulled back the curtains, the warm sun kissed his fur and Cameron smiled. "What a lovely day it is" Cameron thought to himself. "I shall go for a swim in the lake."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll just have to wait for the book to read the rest. =D

Until then,. My friends.

Ciao.

"I got to second base with your Mother" - Barney Stinson

BUMS!

2010-10-18T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends.

Remember Salvidor Dali? No, neither do I. But apparently while falling asleep he imagined the world of Melting clocks that we all know and love.

Well, in the same vein, I was falling asleep and this little monster popped (Pooped?) into my head.

I call him 'The Bottom Feeder' Because he's a bum and it's witty.

Also, I don't know how he 'feeds' maybe he conceals a long tongue between those cheeks that he pulls his prey in with, whatever his prey may be, perhaps nuggets.

Anyway, before I ramble on longer about backsides, I will depart.

Ciao.

"Bums! Ha ha, Bums!" - Me (About 5 minutes ago).

Europe Endless

2010-10-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone should listen to this song. =)

Damn fine happy song.

Political Satire!

2010-10-17T04:44:00.000-07:00

Good Morning my friends.

I would like to share with you some Politically Satirical art. David Cameron is a purple, tentacled monster. So I drew him rather spot-on.

I've submitted this image to several newspapers, including 2 local ones (Press & Journal, Evening Express).

God knows what they'll say, even a polite "Thanks but no thanks" would be good, at least they would have looked at it.

I 'PLAN' to do 2 or 3 of these a week, maybe even one, we'll see how it pans out, but I will upload them to here and hope that someone takes notice. =)

Political cartoons aren't as easy to do as some of the big artists let on, It's not just drawing a politician and having him say a joke about his current predicament, it has to have some sort of graphical representation of other recent predicaments that are somehow related. I think I managed to pull it off just in this one, we'll see how future cartoons go.

For more experienced Political satire from CANADA, have a mosey on over to Filibuster Cartoons and see how a pro does it. =)

Until then, CIAO.

"STOP EATING MY MONEY" - Nick Clegg (Apparently)

The rubiks cube of life and the undies of fate.

2010-04-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

So here's what's happening as far as I'm aware in my life.

Leaving the flat, it's too expensive and is just a pain to be honest. Applying for the same HND but down in Falkirk as well as Aberdeen, may also try and apply to a college far west that my mother showed me, Gaelic speaking area, would do wonders for the language-learning.

Falkirk is a different location but hey it's a change of scenery and it's much much much cheaper than Aberdeen, which to be honest, doesn't have a lot going for it.
Falkirk is, in my mothers words, "Slightly better than Kirkcaldy" which is fine for me, I spent years living in KDY so anything better is heaven in comparison.

The other plan was to sign up to Canvas Holidays or Keycamp to be a Courier for a few months, but they're all fully booked, the other problem there is my dear sister is getting hitched in August so I'd either have to cut it short or ask for a break in between, so that probability is low, however it is something I'd like to do now, it's one of these life changing experiences and I'd also get a tan.

That's it for now, there'll be a short period in-between where nothing'll happen but it'll only be a short period...Unlike most females I know.

"What a terrible thing to lay on somebody with a head full of acid." - Raoul Duke, 'Fear and loathing in Las vegas'

Life is an ever changing rubix cube of custard and emotion.

2010-03-26T06:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the hospital leg stabbing division informed me greatly that it was not a cyst in my leg, but an infected Bursa (That's a small sac of fluid that prevents wearing in your major joints) which could possibly have been treated with antibiotics. Aside from the leg, my foot now has some form of hurtingitis, possibly a pulled muscle, a small broken bone fragment or even arthritis, who knows?

I'm planning on going back to college, my job has been the cause of me being injured or rather aggravating the already existing injury, plus I want to go into graphics design and not having the bit of paper to say I can do the job is a major face-kick. So the next few years will be hard work and drawing, sounds fun!

"Nobody won a war by dying for his country...You win a war by making the other poor bastard die for his!" Gen. George S. Patton

The difficulties of being awesome

2010-02-20T16:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been off work for 3 weeks and go back in just over 24 hours, however, during the 3 week sabbatical / sick period my sleeping patterns have gone askew. Some nights I've been up 'til 5am and waking 12 hours later, so some nights I've been staying up all the way through so I'd be tired enough to sleep whenever I wanted, in theory it would work but in practise you end up sleeping from 9pm to 3pm because of the subsequent exhaustion.

A vicious cycle I assure you.

Got an appointment with the Hospital leg-stabbing division in March who will at best; Cut the cyst out or drain it, but hopefully not rub it gently and tell me everything will be alright. So long as it's done by a buxom 6' redhead who produces a suitcase full of money and 2 tickets to the Caribbean afterwards it'll be fine.

I've still got a lot to learn about Graphics Design and to be honest, I'm not even sure what discipline I'd be good in, I'm trying a mixture to see what I fit into. I just wish I had done this all about 10 years ago, then I'd have a bit more flexibility to go for further learning.

Ach well. I'll sort something out.

Wilkommen tu der Bonkaloid!

2010-01-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hooray for fake German! Right let's see, this is a blog of some description (Firefox doesn't like the word blog).

I'm going to put some random photo's and drawings here from time to time. Like an unofficial Devart or something.

With that being said, let's see how it gestates.