Things I like: Neale Mathieson-Welcome To The Solar System

Firstly, I seem to have lost the ability to create anything legible, so this post is over a month late. There has been about 4 drafts, which made no sense what-so-ever. This is the problem when you have problems with your brain and your body, with both causing me issues. Anyway, enough with the excuses, let’s get down to business.

Neale Mathieson has started 2023 with the release of his new album Welcome To The Solar System. Neale is a self-published singer-songwriter based in Dunfermline, Fife, and also performs in the band, Segadeth, who do heavy metal video game songs. Which is as great as it sounds. The album, itself, is a great listen, with metal and punk influences, mixed with the sometimes humorous lyrics.

As a fan of music with a ska beat, thanks to my Dad, I loved Going Nowhere. A ska beat, a bit of a synth sound, and lyrics going through how the line between work and play seems to be getting thinner. A problem that came to the forefront as many of us were forced to work from home, and social lives became non-existent. Adulting is another highlight for me, with a heavier, more raw sound, talking about the crap-ness of being a functioning adult. Something that I can definitely resonate with. Of Mice and Madmen, is another highlight. This song is slower, more guitar-driven, showing Neale’s range when creating music. The different sounds that make this album one, creates an experience which surprises the listener.


New year, new… computer.

It’s 2023. Surprise surprise.

Bet you didn’t see that coming. I hope that you have a good festive season, and are all ready to throw everything into making 2023 better than 2022. It is okay if you are going into the new year with a roll of your eyes, and a sigh of ‘here we go again’. I don’t know if it is my age, or if it is purely that the last few years have felt so long and full of rubbish. But, I am here. As are you. And that is something worth celebrating.

So, how to celebrate. I will be honest, I haven’t really got the stomach for drinking a lot these days. A beer or two is okay, but not at every opportunity I get. So, I had to think. What would be helpful. Ideally, it would be a new car, as my old car failed its MOT last year, but life isn’t that straight forward. Something else always comes in the way. For me, it is that my old computer packed in, with the screen getting dead pixels, and now the screen is flickering constantly. So, I decided to order a new laptop, a MacBook, using a payment plan on Amazon. Which is a great way to get things, as you can pay the item up over 5 months, interest free.

It sounds really stupid, but since I used a Mac at college, when I was studying Art at college, I began craving a Mac computer. They don’t seem to be ‘bogged down’ as much by operating software issues. That is maybe just me, but I find Windows as a software gets quite clunky, and uses up a lot of memory by simply running. As said, it is maybe my own stupidity which caused my computer to run slow, but I did have it for almost 10 years, so it was on its last legs. It’s also maybe what I get for not spending a lot of money for a computer that I use for studying a lot. Anyway, I feel happy that I have something that I have wanted for years, and that it works like I hoped.

Now it means, I get it on with studying for my degree, without having to fight with my computer to run everything I need. As, I sometimes need to jump between different bits of software, and that seems to work great on my new computer. So, because I find it easier to run, I hope that means my productivity will be better. But, we shall see.

I hope you have had a great start to 2023.