How Will You Start 2012?

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With everyone in the midst of the festive season, it's easy to get 'too' involved in the goings-on. Many people get so tied up with the countless deadlines that rather rapidly impinge upon the whole idea of this time of year; namely enjoyment. I'm part of this sort of scenario but not by choice.

The hustle and bustle form both sides of the family has left me sitting here on the afternoon of New Years Eve with part of the family going out to a full-throttle booze up while the other side of the family (myself included) shall be celebrating quietly at home. The fact that I'm a recovering alcoholic led me to the decision of staying at home. Getting drunk doesn't appeal to me. Neither does having just the one drink. If things go according to my own plan, I'll be woken at midnight to 'see in the New Year' and return to bed shortly thereafter.

As boring as this sounds, the lead-up to it is already causing some angst. My cousin is playing in a band at the full-throttle drinking event. I'm taking him out there and will be picking him up tomorrow at goodness knows what time. This may not sound stressful as such but he's still making phone calls, organising this, that and the other. Just to put the icing on the cake, his kids will be staying here but are already asking if their Dad can stay at home. Even I can't pin him down to a departure time.

So....for the afternoon I envisage two ratty kids. Tomorrow will be the same until my brother arrives home sleep-deprived at best. All of this comes at the end of a great Xmas and busy but enjoyable five days with my children.

As you can imagine, my lack of sleep has to be caught up on. I was hoping that it would be some time tonight or even tomorrow. Evidently I was wrong. Despite any urge to consume alcohol, a series of unexpected changes to the routine of a manic depression have a more severe impact than those who don't suffer from the condition. In my case the symptoms are constant lethargy and higher than normal anxiety levels.

Having said all of this, it will all pass very soon and I have promised myself to get back into the recording studio early in 2012 as it has been very 'patchy' in 2011.

I'd like to wish you all the best for the New Year and thank you for your ongoing support.

Related articles

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• 3 Things to do Instead of Going Out on New Year's Eve (collegecandy.com)
• Carpé Diem 2012 (hopenrecovery.wordpress.com)

Internet Vanishing Act

Image via CrunchBaseWith the ever-increasing rate of Xmas approaching, it's time to prepare for an extended absence from both my internet activity and recording activity. At this point there are few certainties time-wise. What I do know is that my children will be spending Xmas day with my ex-wife. Due to the fact she's a Nurse and works shift-work, this will be the first time in quite a few years that they will spend with her.

On the flip-side, at this point it is unsure if my younger brother has his kids Xmas Eve or Xmas Day. If he does have them Xmas Eve and Xmas Day, this will entail myself and my parents spending Xmas Eve at his house. (How this works out is a mystery to my brother and I).

The aforementioned activities were to put you in the picture for the real purpose of this blog.

Between now and Boxing Day when I pick my children up to have a 'second Xmas' at my place there are quite a few 'plans of action' to put into place online which will allow me to skip the internet for the entirety of my children's visit. When my children are here for 2-3 days, it's no big deal but their trip up on this occasion will be an extended one and I don't want to be feeling the need to update anywhere.

After my recent highly successful and rapid-fire 'Xmas Shopping Blitz' I had a day messing around with a few tracks from my upcoming. On paper the the album looks half-completed but in reality I would say that it's about one-third of the way through. The album, when it eventually surfaces, will be initially released on Bandcamp where I currently have two albums and three singles. Bandcamp will always be the cheapest online store for my releases. Two-three weeks after this, the new album will be released on iTunes and then Amazon mp3. The only major reason that I have my material on iTunes and Amazon is purely for their 'reach' as far as searchability is concerned.

As far as Facebook is concerned, I shall simply be leaving a Xmas greeting on both my profile page and the Bob Findlay Music Page.


The most pre-Xmas work regarding my online presence will be getting my Twitter page 'loaded' using Hootsuite. With a Klout score of 51, I'll be interested to see how successful my pre-scheduling will be. There is one thing that I do know, it will have no effect on Tasmania Today. I have now got "Tasmania Today" running smoothly and enough 'backed-up' material for it to run for some time on its' own. It can be viewed at the bottom of this entry.


I have between now and Thursday to make these preparations but having said this, who knows what 'surprises' may appear by the deadline?


This may be last blog entry before Xmas so I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your support, friendship and laughter in 2011 and wish you and those close to you a fantastic festive season.

Related articles

• Facebook Ticker Vanishes Due To Inactivity And Bugs (allfacebook.com)
• Does Canada close up shop for the holidays? (ask.metafilter.com)
• Take Back Your Internet, Leave Klout (techzulu.com)
• Bandcamp's New Facebook Page Tab App Lacks Features But Makes Selling Music Cheap and Easy (insidefacebook.com)
• Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp? Which platform is best for bands? [Infographic] (thenextweb.com)

Internet Vanishing Act

Image via CrunchBaseWith the ever-increasing rate of Xmas approaching, it's time to prepare for an extended absence from both my internet activity and recording activity. At this point there are few certainties time-wise. What I do know is that my children will be spending Xmas day with my ex-wife. Due to the fact she's a Nurse and works shift-work, this will be the first time in quite a few years that they will spend with her.

On the flip-side, at this point it is unsure if my younger brother has his kids Xmas Eve or Xmas Day. If he does have them Xmas Eve and Xmas Day, this will entail myself and my parents spending Xmas Eve at his house. (How this works out is a mystery to my brother and I).

The aforementioned activities were to put you in the picture for the real purpose of this blog.

Between now and Boxing Day when I pick my children up to have a 'second Xmas' at my place there are quite a few 'plans of action' to put into place online which will allow me to skip the internet for the entirety of my children's visit. When my children are here for 2-3 days, it's no big deal but their trip up on this occasion will be an extended one and I don't want to be feeling the need to update anywhere.

After my recent highly successful and rapid-fire 'Xmas Shopping Blitz' I had a day messing around with a few tracks from my upcoming. On paper the the album looks half-completed but in reality I would say that it's about one-third of the way through. The album, when it eventually surfaces, will be initially released on Bandcamp where I currently have two albums and three singles. Bandcamp will always be the cheapest online store for my releases. Two-three weeks after this, the new album will be released on iTunes and then Amazon mp3. The only major reason that I have my material on iTunes and Amazon is purely for their 'reach' as far as searchability is concerned.

As far as Facebook is concerned, I shall simply be leaving a Xmas greeting on both my profile page and the Bob Findlay Music Page.


The most pre-Xmas work regarding my online presence will be getting my Twitter page 'loaded' using Hootsuite. With a Klout score of 51, I'll be interested to see how successful my pre-scheduling will be. There is one thing that I do know, it will have no effect on Tasmania Today. I have now got "Tasmania Today" running smoothly and enough 'backed-up' material for it to run for some time on its' own. It can be viewed at the bottom of this entry.


I have between now and Thursday to make these preparations but having said this, who knows what 'surprises' may appear by the deadline?


This may be last blog entry before Xmas so I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your support, friendship and laughter in 2011 and wish you and those close to you a fantastic festive season.

Related articles

• Facebook Ticker Vanishes Due To Inactivity And Bugs (allfacebook.com)
• Does Canada close up shop for the holidays? (ask.metafilter.com)
• Take Back Your Internet, Leave Klout (techzulu.com)
• Bandcamp's New Facebook Page Tab App Lacks Features But Makes Selling Music Cheap and Easy (insidefacebook.com)
• Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp? Which platform is best for bands? [Infographic] (thenextweb.com)

Fatherhood And Music In 2011

My musical reality checks come in the form of my two children who are in their early teens. In many ways it's a two-way street.

My daughter, the youngest, is well into all of the internet gadgetry and keeps me up to date on what's "fully sick" and what these new iphones can do. I was just starting to get my head around the iPad when all of a sudden there's a second version(!). My rather simplistic take on the iPad is that it must be a hassle to carry. Let's face it, in todays' era of nano-technology the iPad isn't exactly as portable as the pundits claim it is. In defense of the pundits I'm not 100% sure of what the iPad is capable of doing....and don't really need to know.

Recently I was browsing a brochure from an electronics shop and had to get my daughter for some assistance. Once I got past the huge televisions and computers I was confronted by four pages of an vast array of iphones....in all of their different forms and names. The phone that my daughter is keen on for Xmas (I forget its' name) has a 3.2" touchscreen and slides out to reveal a tiny keyboard. Whilst I sat there nodding mindlessly I calculated that in order to use this particular iphone properly, the user would have to be about 7 inches tall. Failing that, they would have to have their fingers whittled down to the size of toothpicks to use the keyboard and a set of binoculars permanently fixed to their heads in order to see the screen.

As if to add insult to injury, my daughter wants a pink or purple one. I suppose they must be better(!).

My son, on the other hand, is at the opposite end of the techno-world. No mobile phone, no Facebook, no Twitter, etc. He's more into hands-on, old-fashioned creation. He's content to go into his Grandfathers shed & create some amazing things from pieces of wood, metal...pretty-well anything that Dad isn't using. He' currently planning a miniature magnet-driven car!

When it comes to music my son & daughter consider my music 'old-fashioned'....and they're quite correct. I have, however, managed to show my son some tricks on the guitar. I did this by showing some old rock classics that he had heard before but hadn't 'listened.' The first was "Alright Now" by Free. I told him to really listen to the verses and tell me what he noticed. half way through the first verse he said; "There's only one guitar and drums playing." I did the same with "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones. I went on to show him a few 'tricks' based on the Eric Clapton 'less-is-more' theory. He is now applying it of his own volition. Something that can only be done if one actually 'feels' the music.

So....between iphones, musicians like Katy Perry, Lady Ga Ga, and All That Remains, this middle-aged musician still maintains that there is still something to be gleaned from the past.

"It's only rock and roll but I like it."