Some 3-in-1 on that career there

I've been learning - or re-learning for the umpteenth time - that it pays to stick one's head up over the parapet once in a while. There's other cliches that say the same thing such as 'the squeaky wheel gets the oil'. But essentialy, if  one wants attention or wants something done then it's necessary to let people know what's needed.

This became clear in two ways, one trivial, one less so. On the trivial side, I participate in stock trading game called Empire Avenue and at one point there ewas a lot of retaliatory selling when I sold some stock. I made a comment about this on a forum and within a day my stock had been repurchased and more.

On the more important side, I'm looking for a new contract and things have been a little 'dry' shall we say, over the past few months. I posted a comment on LinkedIn about seeking help on getting my CV brought up to speed and I got a lot of advice from people. More importantly, someone emailed me to say that had they seen my CV just a day or two earlier, I would have been a great fit for a particular role. Since then, that same person has taken it upon themself to nag/mentor me and to provide advice and support, and I hope I'm responding accordingly. As well as shrpening up my LinkedIn profile, something they've made clear is that I'm not going to see a role calling for a Pete Chilcott, and that I have take a punt at a role I like and sell the brand 'Pete Chilcott'. I heard much the same from a speaker, Tobias Mews, at the Liquid List networking event. One must be the brand and thats what should be sold and sold hard.

Weekly Bin Collections

And time for a minor rant regarding weekly v fortnightly rubbish collections. I fail to see the big deal about reverting to weekly collections. From my rather poor recollection and research, once a bi-weekly service has bedded in people are generally content with it. In Gosport, we have alternate recycling/waste collections and this works very well. And it should work anywhere provided the council provides proper bins rather than depending on black bin bags or small boxes for recycling.

The £250million that Pickles and ConDems are allocating to to councils has to come from somewhere and in this period of cutbacks one wonders why such a trivial thing is being afforded such expenditure, and where this money comes from. The money would be much better spent elsewhere (clichéd I know) and I for one hope that Gosport Borough Council retains its current service. 

Gosport is so frustrating

Let me explain why. Yesterday, I went out for a ride around the periphery of this old maritime town. My ride took me through the town to to Portsmouth Harbour at a spot called Monk's Walk, down through Hardway, Clarence Yard, Haslar, Gilkicker, and Stokes Bay. Once I got out of the first built-up part I was into some woods that led down to the water's edge and I had great view across to Whale Island and Fountain Lake, that view only disturbed by the sad sight of 3 Type 42 destroyers out on the trot, awaiting disposal. As I cycled on a bit further I passed both The Jolly Roger and The Old House At Home pubs, and both good looking pubs, unlike some of the dives in Gosport, both busy, both with people sat outside enjoying the sun.

From there it was along the water's edge to Explosion! and a little goofing as I cycled through. I was a little taken aback by the sight of a 4.5" Mk 6 turret, something I'd not seen so close since I trained on one in HMS Cambridge in 1974. Explosion! is yet another old Naval site where some of it has been refurbished and revitalised and opened to the public whilst other areas have new houses built on them. It looks good and reassuringly intact.

Leaving the old munitions site, I was able to look across to Portsmouth dockyard and see HMS VICTORY standing out in her historic, unique colours against the modern grey of  our most modern warship, a Type 45 Daring class destroyer. My journey then took me over a bridge and into Clarence Yard, which was the old victualling yard for the dockyard. It's now a collection of apartments but its origins are still evident by such names as The Old Bakery and The Slaughterhouse. Again, there's been a lot of refurbishment here but many apartments and the shops are still awaiting occupancy. Nonetheless, its another pristine and tastefully preserved area. I cycled on in to town and along the seawall looking over to Portsmouth. Passing the Falklands Gardens I rode along past the marinas to Haslar Bridge where, once I passed the family fishing at the water's edge, I seemed to leave people behind. Over the bridge, I could see that the Submarine Museum car park was very busy but saw no pedestrians. The headwind down the road between the old Naval Hospital and the Marine Technology Park made me puff but it didn't stop me hoping that the plans for Haslar come to fruition.

On to the sea front at Gilkicker, the Victorian fort, to see HMS ILLUSTRIOUS anchored out in the Solent, as guard ship for the Clipper Round The World Race, Ensign and Jack flying at each end. The shingle was  busy with people, the bushes and brambles busy with different fruits, the whole sea front busy with so many different plants. Once over the shingle and back on the tarmac, it was clear that so many people take the opportunity to walk along the whole promenade enjoying the wonderful views across to the Isle of Wight. From there it was ride along Stokes Bay, seeing a couple of swimmers, a windsurfer, hundreds of sailing craft, and a busy crazy gold course. Once clear of the bay, it was into Privett Park to see cricketers playing, on a beautifully green pitch, the pavilion with a few sat outside with pints. And then home.

There are so many little corners of Gosport, that are green or full of flowers and all well-tended. It has a some great waterfront areas, a lot of history and a lot of lucky people.

And yet, the town centre is dying. Estate agents, pound shops, gaming places, charity shops and little else. It's such a shame.

From the Submarine Guide of the Year, as voted for by readers of Bunty (Google it)

I know you all like to keep up to date with the comings and goings of the visitors to HMS ALLIANCE, so here's today's report.

A really busy day today with the Waterbus bringing over loads of folks on the Big Ticket, even though the Submarine Museum gets very little of that ticket price. The cosmopolitan crowd today included Germans, a German doctor and his family, more Germans a family from Cape Town, the father of which has done the Comrades Marathon in about 7 hours, some French folks, a colleague from work with his family, inclusive of fun and extrovert daughter, ex submariners from the Amphion class and the Oberon class, a guy who had been on the Port crew of HMS REVENGE (my boat and crew) but a couple of years after me, and 6 US servicemen from RAF Molesowrth, who seemed jolly nice chaps. Oh yes, and lots of other people.

We did start doing tours but we became overwhelmed by the numbers coming off the Waterbus, so ran a free-flow system to allow people to see the boat but still be able to chat to a guide if they wished. That works well to 'break the back' of the numbers, and allows us to revert to tours if we're able.

Oh, by the way. Harbour Stations, the onsite cafe, does a mean mocha

Mark, Amy and 74 Norwegians

I must admit I've found it difficult to match the displays of sentiment shown for Ms Winehouse in these past couple of days- but then it seems I'm so often out of step with others! With her death coming on the same day as  the deaths of 74 Norwegians I tried to balance the two but was unable to find even an ounce of sympathy for AW. Her death was of her own choosing, no doubt originating in her choice to take drugs and to drink excessively. And it IS a choice. It's a choice made of free will that takes people along a treacherous path, often to self destruction. There are those who see no problem with her becoming a drunk and a druggie, rather seeing it as a sign of her independence, as a symbol of her creativity and the bizarre thing is, people are leaving vodka bottles at the streetside memorial.

Compare her death with that of those who were simply going about their daily lives in Oslo, looking forward to the weekend, or the young people gathered together for a summer camp on Utøya, no doubt also having fun and enjoying the association with like-minded peers. It's impossible to imagine the terror that must have gone through the minds of all those involved but for those young people to lose friends, to see them being killed in such a callous way and with such terrble ammunition, must surely damage them for life. On the plus side, what Anders Behring Breivik seems to have done is bring the nation even closer together, rather than eschew the multi-culturalism and plurality that this hate-filled Christian (explain THAT one) wants to see disappear.


Oh, and Mark? That will be the late Corporal Mark Palin of the 1st Battalion, The Rifles, killed in a bomb blast whilst attempting to neutralise near complete IEDs. He leaves a son and a pregnant wife. His funeral will go unremarked by many bar his family, his colleagues and the residents of a small market town in Wiltshire.

Facebook Video Chat

Hallo guys,

Facebook has just added a new feature, and unless you're fellow minor-geek, you may be unaware of it.

They've added video chat to your chat window.

Facebook has done this in association with Skype which is probably the biggest name in video chat/messaging. If you want to use it, it's dead simple.

First, click on the name of the individual with who you wish to chat.
At the top of the Chat window you'll see the little camera icon.
Click on that.
You'll now get asked if you want to install and use the that feature so accept that and a download will start.
Just let that run and accept the default options that pop up.
There will be a small file installed and Hey Presto, you're up and running.
Comb your hair, check your teeth for cabbage and chat away,

On Facebook you can only videochat to one person at a time but the new Google+ allows you to chat to up to 10 people at a time. I should point out that Google+ is still only open to a few testers at this moment. On that point, you'll notice that many of the Google products are being redesigned with a cleaner, simpler look, and the latest to undergo  amake over is Youtube, although you have to opt into it at the moment. If you'd like to have a look at it, follow this link. You can always change back to the old format.

http://www.youtube.com/cosmicpanda

Skype for Beginners

My old friends Jim and Craig both asked me on Facebook what Skype might be.

Well, boys, at it's simplest very simply Skype is a way of being able to talk to people across 'tinternet for free if they both have Skype and a microphone.

There are other things that can be done with it:

One can 'chat' in text a la IM or FB Chat.
By loading your account with some pennies, it's possible to call phones in the UK and when calling abroad, at much cheaper rates than.
With a live call/chat,  files can be transferred.
One can subscribe to a Skype In number so that it s possible to be contacted anywhere in the world on one number.
Craig may find the conference call facility useful - that's not to say Jim doesn't only have one friend or colleague :)

I hope that's a simple but sufficient description for Skype newbies.

I would recommend Skype to anybody - it's a really useful tool, which, if on an unlimited data tariff, can even be used on mobile phones, thus circumventing phone charges. It's simple to download and set up.

Skype me at petechilcott

www.skype.com

Are YOU a collaborator?

Google has just announced it's to stop supporting Wave. I suspect few were aware of Wave but some websites felt that this was Google's attempt to usurp Facebook but flunked it. trouble is, this is like comparing apples with oranges. Facebook is a social tool whilst Wave is a collaborative tool, with a place in the corporate/enterprise world rather than in the wider public domain. The geeks amongst us (what is a nice way of saying 'geek'?) will know the difference and more than likely be exploiting that difference.

Thing is, Facebook provides an awful lot that Wave doesn't but what Wave does do, it does miles better than Facebook. Elements of Facebook do require collaboration; games like Frontierville and Cafe World all require the assistance of players for the games to progress. On another level MMORPGs like World of Warcraft can be played individually but when working as a group it's possible to raise the game to another level (a WoW pun there) and to be able to achieve more and to complete tasks so much more easily

Collaboration is an important part of all our lives and extends from home to work, from childhood to adulthood. Many of us find that we just can't get on in our daily lives without some collaboration, whether it's with work colleagues or with family members. As someone with a background in the Royal Navy, I found collaboration was exppected and vital. Submariners, Royal Marines, driving around Iraq, all required collaboration to ensure the safety and security of one's peers and friends. Nowadays as a project manager, I need the collaboration of all those connected with a project for it to succeed.

Consider how much more difficult your life would be without other people's collaboration. Better still, consider how much effect your collaboration can have on the lives of those around you.