Too much

I have too many websites on the go, too much going on in my head, too much to do and last night I had too much to eat!

Check out music from Isolation Division

Dangerous Aces Album and Solo project

So my band The Dangerous Aces finally released our first album 'Deny All Responsibility'. You can check out a couple of songs below...




... and you can get your copy from www.thedangerousaces.co.uk at only 4 quid plus postage or 3 quid for the download!

I'm also working on a my own project with the intention of releasing a CD some time in early 2011. You can check out a couple of tracks below for now. It's completely different from the Aces stuff, somewhat mellower and maybe a little too introverted... But if you know me, you'd expect nothing less:-)

Repost from my WGW related site tea-not-included.co.uk

I’ve not given up on WGW! But I have stopped taking photos. I love dressing up as much as the next person, but when Fancy-Dress and Roleplaying takes over from the Music, it makes me sad.

Living an alternative lifestyle, looking different from the norm, never quite fitting in with the mainstream… this is how I have spent my life. As a result I have been physically and verbally abused regularly throughout my life. I’ve been declined entry to public places, treated as a second rate citizen on many occassions and even been rejected for jobs specifically because I ‘have funny looking hair’. I have fought to gain respect in my workplace for the work that I do rather than for the way I look. I think i’ve just about got there after 20 odd years.

… So for me dressing and looking different is not a twice a year thing. At the end of WGW i don’t return to the mainstream world… What you see me wearing in Whitby is what I wear throughout the year… Granted, I don’t get dressed to the nines to nip down to the supermarket, but dyed, mohawk’d hair, black jeans, black shirt etc are my day to day clothes…

Wear this during WGW and you will probably go unnoticed in the main, but wear it back in your hometown and you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. You’ll get verbal abuse, you’ll be treated differently in shops and possibly worse… try it some time:-)

For this reason I am no longer inclined to take and publish photos.. WGW is not a freakshow, it’s a music festival, a twice yearly chance to hang out with people, from across the country, in a similar situation to yourself… For a few days a year Alt/Goth people have the chance (in the main) to get away from the onslaught of abuse and prejudice displayed in their hometown, listen to some (sometimes) good music, have a drink or three and relax… This is what WGW is about for me and I hope it remains that way for a long, long time! See you in March 2011

Pinball machines, Video cabs... and a double bass

So based on my interest in Pinball machines and my partners involvement with the up and coming sport Roller Derby, I decided to buy this machine. It was sort of working when I got it, but needed a fair bit of work to get it back to its former glory. Only one the alpha-numeric displays was working, so I replaced the resistors on the power board... This had worked well for my Funhouse machine, but obviously not for this one! I now have no displays working!

While checking connections and voltages in the backbox, I managed to short something out on the CPU board, so the game no longer boots at all. After emailing Phil from Pinball Heaven, I have removed the power and CPU board and am taking them to him on Monday... He's confident that he can get them working again:-)

Once these are fixed, I have a reasonable amount of work to get all the General Illumination working again. Playfield needs a bloody good clean and the flippers rebuilding. I also have a new set of rubbers to fit.

Last night I played on Funhouse for a while just to make myself feel better. And started work on converting my Cocktail video cab to have 8way joysticks and more fire buttons. I seem to have alot of things on the go atm as I also need to get my Mr Do! PCB working in my upright cab.. but first I need to get the monitor working again, which just decided to fail... again.

Oh, and I'm still trying to get to grips with playing the Double Bass.

On a positive note, The Dangerous Aces (the band I play with) have just finished recording our debut CD. It should be released shortly.. fingers crossed!

My new toy....

Nationwidehire4u.com .... Fucking rip off

I wouldn't normally hire from an online company like nationwidehire4u.com. but after phoning and emailing round I was getting desparate to find a minibus to hire... they were, quire literally, my last resort.

Oh how I wish I hadn't bothered. Within an hour or so of making the booking, I had an email confirmation stating that there would be two charges made to my bank account... One from them for 107.99 and one from Southmids Hire... So, nationwidehire4u are not a hire company. they call themselves a broker, but in reality they are simply taking bookings then finding a hire company to book a vehicle on your behalf. But, unlike a professional company, they are passing on your credit card details to a third party... I'm beginning to wonder who else they are passing my details on to.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I had not had a confirmation of my booking from Southmids hire, so i contacted them. They informed me that they had been contacted by nationwidehire4u, but that they had told them that they did not have a vehicle for hire.

So here I am on Tuesday without a minibus for friday... Obviously anyone who might have a bus for hire has now hired to somebody. I have 12 people to get down to London on friday and because of this pathetic excuse of hire company, I have no way of doing it.

In case I haven't made myself clear, nationwidehire4u is a scam and a rip-off, do not use them. They will take your money knowing full well that they do not have a vehicle to hire to you.

I am awaiting a full refund... I'll also be in touch with Trading Standards... I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: I have received a partial refund a few days after the bus was cancelled. After a further email, they have finally refunded the full amount.. At least they had the decency to give a full refund without too much persuasion... Still won't be using them again tho'