ChrisPointon
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Posts posted by ChrisPointon
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Well at least this time around the industry can't keep the drama to themselves, its affecting pretty much every industry globally with potentially 3 - 6 million jobs said to be on the line once the Furlough scheme ends in a fortnight. Although suffice to say missing out Entertainers in the support packages earlier in the year was a massive kick in the teeth for those who do this full time, but I guess also shows where we sit in the grand pecking order of industries - clearly we don't produce enough tax revenue to qualify for any support.
As I mentioned on Robsters post yesterday, of the full time DJ's I know, all but two have gone back to working in full time employment quite early on in the Summer, the other have diversified into completely different markets, I think its the ones sitting around, hoping that the Virus will just vanish and that the next day will bring a complete return to normal who will shortly find themselves in trouble.
I can't see the mobile disco trade getting back to being anywhere near busy again; ever.
I would agree. In fact I can see a complete change in the landscape of how people socialise and spend their free time in the future. I think we will see a return to holidays taking place within the UK, once a year, similar to how families spent their holidays in the 1970's, and I think events such as Weddings will start taking place outdoors and be restricted to the Summer Months. But what I haven't figured out, is how millions of working people will survive when their jobs effectively become seasonal.This blog on how the virus spreads, and where are the most likely places to get infected is by far the most well written advice i've ever read, written by an expert who has done the research and knows his business, its certainly better than any Government advice leaflet or anything published in the media. I use his findings, as my own template for keeping safe and the places to avoid!
https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them
But from the advice he gives it seems that the greatest risk by far, is from Strenuous group activity (Dancing, Exercising, working out etc) and from Singing - largely as both of these activities project virus particles from an infected person further. Straight away both of these pretty much put our industry right at the back of the list for getting back to normal, and it may also herald the end of Nightclubs as we know them, and also Karaoke etc.
Outside activities are considered to be the safest, especially during the summer hence I think in the future these will be the only outlets licensed and permitted to hold Events with more than 30 people attending.
I think the last lock down proves that we can't out wait this Virus nor kill it off with time, it will just come cheerfully bouncing back at the first sign of normal activities returning, and eventually I think its just going to become just another killer disease that we have to learn to live around, but it will result in us all having to radically change our lifestyles in order to protect ourselves, and others as best as we can.
Unfortunately, I think in order to keep what could become yet another ever present virus under control and below pandemic levels for the years to come, are where the changes are going to have to be implemented, especially during the Winter months, which is when these cases surge, and we may actually find ourselves living very boring and restrictive social lives between October and April, with only certain 'normal' things permitted again during the Summer. As Depressing as that sounds, its actually the most plausible.
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Nobody has said Happy 2020 yet.........probably for the best!
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Since the last meaningful discussion here was around a decade ago, I would be stunned if anybody in ANY industry had predicted what would be happening in 2020 with any clarity, certainly they could earn a decent salary as a Government 'expert' if they could, because ultimately they would be much better prepared than the Government!.
So to continue this theme.......
More to the point, how many of those doing this full time had the foresight to save up a buffer for a rainy day? - a disaster recovery fund?. Disaster planning and having the means to fund your survival for a prolonged period if you are unable to work is Business 101, because disasters are far more common and easier to predict than pandemics but the effects to the self employed are pretty much the same. Disruption of self employed income and not being able to work can occur from anything ranging from a car accident to terminal illness diagnosis and of course, Pandemics. I guess from what I read from the hand-wringing on social media from week one of everything shutting down, not many in various self employed roles had the foresight to predict for a week ahead, let alone a decade.
All but two people I know who were full time DJ's, for decades have ventured back to the 9 - 5 quite early on in the Summer, they seem to have predicted correctly so far and nobody should feel, or be belittled into thinking that there is any shame in that. The other two are still self employed but have diversified into other businesses, serving markets which are still in demand during a pandemic. If things ever get back to normal, they potentially now have two successful businesses.
Some, I hear, are still sitting around, watching their savings dwindle or living off one income hoping that the next day they will wake up and things will magically go back to normal, not sure that will turn out to be the right decision to be honest.
Anyway, best of luck to everyone who reads this, and stay safe whatever you decide to do.........
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No, there was never any upgrade - the forum was deliberately closed by Dan in late 2010 / early 2011, when he stepped down from the role of Admin as he was the last to go, he turned off the lights, i've no idea who put the upgrade message up I suspect it was just left from the last time the forum was closed and nobody had any reason to change it. Since I was originally going to close it before I left, I had absolutely no problem with Dan's final decision as Admin as, in my opinion, it was always going to be a stay of execution and keeping it going had only delayed the inevitable in the first place, as I say I knew exactly how this was going to end, two years earlier in 2009.I don't see the forum as having closed its doors as you can still post. I think it's more that it was 'upgrade in progress' for ages and people were driven away.
I re-opened it a year or two later (or rather I re-enabled it in the same Status and Member permissions as it was left by Dan), largely out of respect for those who had contributed so much information in the early days, as it was still a valuable archive of online information. I haven't seen nor had any contact with either Paul or Dan for several years, but I'm happy to say that i'm still in touch with several of the first members to register here and the original moderating team, although the forum is never discussed.
Like I say, the forum was brought back in exactly the same state as it was left when it was closed and I see that a number of members had voluntarily left the forum or had requested their accounts to be de-activated in the months prior to Dan closing its doors, so I suspect only a minority of registered active members can still post and I see that a handful of members did post for a while in 2012 - 2014 after it was resurrected but the forum wasn't actively being run by anybody during that period, it was always a "ghost ship" and I see that most of those posts during that period were in relation to that!. There are also over 4000 pending new registrations in the validation queue dating back to about 2012, so new members can't post either, and of course there is nobody here to approve them, so with no new input you aren't ever going to replace the natural turnover of members.
I was approached a few years ago by an individual who wanted to open its doors and give it his best shot again, reluctantly I agreed but I see nothing came of it and it doesn't appear much attempt was made and in all honesty I think that is for the best. Some things are best left as they are.
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yet the forum keeps up on the web
I was always surprised at how much of a mystery this always was. Although I stepped down as Admin and from all active roles in 2009 and had no active day to day interest in its final few years, I was still the owner and I still bankrolled the cost for those running it once I had left. Admins come and go but Ownership of the forum has never changed since it was started in 2003.Does make you wonder though who is covering the costs and how long it will last.
In relation to how long it will last?, well a lot of DJ's, spent a hell of a lot of their time here in the early days, freely volunteering information and offering advice and although the technology has changed and many DJ's have either moved on or have had to diversify into adding other services etc, the nuts of the bolts of the business, starting out and more importantly the right way to deal with clients remains the same so there is still plenty of useful and helpful information here. When I was originally marched to the pub and talked out of immediately pulling the plug on the forum back in 2009 by my Co-Admins, they asked how long they could have to continue to run the forum after I stepped down and walked away, and I jokingly replied "10 Years". Well, even though it didn't survive as active forum for that period, as you can see i'm a man of my word, so it will remain online until 2019 at least!.
After that?, well if it still draws interest from the Search Engines and as long as guests are still reading the threads, then i'll continue to leave it online as it is currently - a kind of DJ Wiki. At the time of typing this there are 82 Guests online, and it still pulls in between 400 and 700 unique visitors every day which given its now almost 7 years since the forum closed its doors, and the last on topic post was made, is quite phenomenal and again a testament to those who originally typed up those posts here over many years and of which guests are still clearly finding to be of use today.
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Strange, how I always knew that it would end like this......
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For information on games for this age group, have a read of the following thread
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Hi Paul,
Sorry to hear the sad news. Sincere condolences to you and your family.
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20% Biodiesel blended with 80% Regular diesel with a dash of millers power plus in the car.
100% Biodiesel in the Van during the summer - 50/50 in the winter months.
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56?? - What? - Again? :dan+ju:
Happy Birthday, have a good un tongue out icon
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dont need one. Biodiesel at 69p per litre - duty paid
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Doesn't JBL stand for
Junk
But
Loud
I remember you saying something similar on a BOSE L1 / PAS discussion thread, 12 months later you'd bought one yourself.
Does this mean that in about 12 months time we'll be seeing a JBL addition to the Harris family?? tongue out icon
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AAAhhh, a well packed kebab!
So thats what it is, I thought it was something that he'd hit in the Car :scared:
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I've never heard of the company that you have mentioned, so I am unable to comment either way.
I would recommend that you take a look at the Thomann website, as several members have bought items from them before. Thomann are based in Germany, but ship goods all over the world at Reasonable shipping rates
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pitty because Range Rover are Part of BMW
German engineering isn't all its cracked up to be either. I've spent far more on a German Engineered car in the past 12 months, than I ever did in total during 4 years of ownership of a British Built Vauxhall. I've also just found that this particular model, and year has two very well known documented faults, namely Turbo (£2500+), and the Engine Manifold breaking and falling into the engine resulting in total engine failure, something to look forward too.
In twelve months i've spent £600 on a Catalytic Convertor, £500 on Brakes, £180 on rear springs and £150 on a new MAF sensor. I've also just fitted a new intercooler costing £110, which okay, was due to rock damage as a direct result of the state of Croatia's minor roads rather than poor engineering, but it was twice the price of the same part for another similar car.
Like any other cars, and wherever its built, its a 50/50 chance whether you buy a peach or a lemon, and all cars have their problems. In the UK, a 3rd party warranty bought online, is also a good idea when buying a 2nd hand car / van privately, for a £285 outlay I had £700 worth of the above repairs done for only a £25 excess.
My first van cost £500 from an Auction and was 8 years old, and in the next three years it was ultra reliable and cost little to maintain. In the years that followed I paid more than ten times that for a car with 27k miles and the mechanic was in it more than me!.
If you want true reliability, buy a Honda!.
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I think it will be playing on the minds of a lot of people tonight, so expect various emotions through the entire evening. Yes, there will be some emotion because people deal with things (or aren't as good at hiding them) as others. It is difficult, but try and use the toast as a celebration of his life, rather than dwelling on the circumstances of his death.
I think you should do it at 12.00, at least it gives you the opportunity to try and detract a little bit from the emotion of the actual toast in the following hour. Nothing worse than ending that way and letting people drift away lost in their thoughts, and dwelling on things.
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Alfie - The indoor league
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Yeah but then you'd have to change your name from Mike Moore to Jed Clampett tongue out icon
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Banner Images in sigs are limited to 468 x 80 pixels, if your banner is greater than these dimensions it will be rejected. This limit applies to everybody, including me.
As Paul says, there are obvious reasons as to why we do this, but If ever accessing the forum from a PDA, Mobile device or dial up connection, you will see another example!.
However if your image is inside of these dimensions and you are still having problems, a link to the actual image and a copy of the error text which you are actually getting would help a great deal.
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I really do want to stop smoking, and would love to have quit by 1st July when my employer (The Local Council) is going mental with the rules and regs against smoking during works time.
I might be wrong here, but I believe that the flip side of the smoking regs is that your employer supports you with not only with support but also some limited financial means to help employees to quit. Of course how much and how far will vary from employer to employer, but I think at the very minimum they have to contribute to the cost of patches and such for a certain period. It may be worth speaking to your supervisor / occupational health department to get the facts, certainly worth asking the question.
Another area which is overlooked, are the non medical / non intrusive means of support and therapy to help you to quit. Don't automatically dismiss alternative medicine such as hypnosis or homeopathy as 'mumbo jumble' until you have actually tried and researched it because you don't have to believe in it for it to work, in fact if you don't, then often the positive results can be more evident, as they can't be dismissed as imagination or mind over matter! tongue out icon .
I know its been mentioned before about something called EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) which basically involves stimulation of the acupuncture points - those scared of needles take note that this does not involve traditional acupuncture needles, but simply pressure and stimulation of various pressure points relating to given problems. This has many documented success stories ranging from treating depression, stress, stage fright, bereavement / loss, Migraines, Obsessive Complusive Disorder, IBS and also helping people quit Alcoholism, Smoking etc. It also often costs less than other similar alternative treatments and has a faster response time with each consulation costing £30 - £60. Many people report positive results after just one or two consultations.
Like all alternative therapy's, it isn't always a magic bullet, and the degree of success varies from patient to patient. but the success stories seem to outweigh the criticism and there are no risks to health from side effects. EFT is also practiced by those involved with hypnosis, including high profile hypnotists such as Paul McKenna, who has treated several celebrities and as such, it has had some favourable TV coverage as to its benefits.
Certainly if I was serious about quitting and was willing to try anything within reason, for the cost of a couple of packs of nicotine patches, then I would at least be making enquiries, and asking the right questions to the right people before the law came into force.
EFT Related Info
http://www.advancedtherapies.co.uk/
EFT Practioner Directory Search
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Whilst this of course is beneficial from some points of view, I wonder where the tax revenue loss from fewer smokers and less cigarette consumption is going to be recovered from?.
Higher fuel tax - the £1.10p litre?
More duty on beer?
A new entertainment licence?
An increase of VAT from 5% to ?% on heating bills / utilities?
Higher overall VAT Rates, Higher Taxation etc
You can bet your life that the venue air may be cleaner, but we'll all end up footing the tax bill and you can look forward to making up the shortfall - smokers and non smokers, meekly united in lifes great taxation!!. Smote it be!
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Hmmmmm, will there be a power socket nearby?
Why?, does Mihu Moore need to be plugged in these days tongue out icon
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Karen (Kazzachi) had some very serious family problems.
She returned briefly in May 2005 Here
Then she left to spend more time with her family, i'm not even sure if she is still involved with discos or not. I believe Andy - ADS has been in contact with her since.
Hope retirement in Sunny Portugal is treating you well
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The way in which the laws of this country are prioritised is a big joke.
Sure, stopping smoking saves lives, but so do child car seats.
The above headline was published on the very same day that the police announced that it wasn't actively policing the laws on missing or incorrectly fitted child car seats.
Not long ago I saw the typical Chelsea tractor driving the school run with two kids climbing all around the back of the 4x4 - no car seats not even a seat belt. If the driver had been in a head on collision or had to have stopped suddenly it doesn't even bear thinking about. I was in a head on accident at around 55mph, and the reason why I escaped uninjured was because I wore a seat belt.
If £29.5 million is available to police anti-smoking, then its only fair that a similar figure should be used to prosecute those parents who casually and routinely risk the lives of their children through not ensuring that correct seats and belts are fitted, not to mention those driving around still with mobile phones glued to their ears, an action which is still just as frequently observed and as much of a manace as it always was.
No One Predicted This Year!
in D.J and Karaoke Chat
Posted
We still have a valid license so I took the opportunity to upgrade the Forum Software from V3.4.7 to V4.5.3.
For the first time in ten years..