Old Man Newbie Programmer

Sometimes you need so little to be happy. Even on a Friday when the rain is battering against the window and cars and taxis rush the young and excited off to drunken liaisons in the thunderous clubs all it takes is a small act of generosity from a loved one; a small loan of money to pay for the electricity to power your lights, a small bottle of whisky to power your thoughts and some diet cola to wash it all down.

That and some rolling tobacco, and I am sat here in front of my computer king of my universe and strangely, although poor and desperate for money, I am much happier than I ever was when I was living the high life of 5 star hotels and world travel.

Experiences without soul are frivolous and fade like drunken memories. For a decade i sold my soul piece by piece to experience these things and it was only when broken and shivering in the cold light of a new morning in my life that I saw them, and myself, for what they were and for what I had become. And I did not like either.

So I sulked for about a year desperate to return to creating things. I played about with writing but the skills I had in my teens and twenties were rusted like old steel works. I couldn’t get the cogs to turn. I wanted to get back to writing music and songs, my core passion, but that was too painful, at least for the moment.

So in a fit of madness, I have now got into coding/programming call it what you will. Here, I have found a generous community of people on the web worldwide who share their time and effort and knowledge freely with others. I have found endless possibilities for creation and expression in so many different mediums. Not only is there a core beauty behind the whole design and implementation of a piece of software, there is also purpose in the wider sense for the user, whoever they may be. To create something that simplifies someone else’s life feels, at least to me, great and uplifting.

This is why I am really behind the whole drive at present in the UK to re-invigorate the next generation with a passion for technology beyond the current “learn to use office” mentality and push these kids of the future into designing the ACTUAL future in which they will be living and interacting.

Science and technology are important. They are sexy and creative and open up a universe of possibilities. If I can still feel that way in my mid forties then surely a wide-eyed lass or lad should be able to do the same.

Let’s bring up a generation of Steve Wosniaks and Alan Turings and not another generation of Jersey Shore and the Kardashians.

Now back to my whisky and goodnight sweet folks x