I have sadly broken the Jerry Seinfeld chain and my New Year Resolution to do something career related every day. On the other hand I have on several occasions carried out two or three tasks so I could use those days to compensate. Last night my body decided that it wasn't playing any more so I stocked up on various medicines and went to bed at half past seven determined to sweat it out. Apart from waking up around half past ten (and wondering if I was well enough to do some work and keep the chain going, before deciding against it) to drink another Lemsip and take more tablets I slept right through. I was a bit groggy in court today and at one point my left arm went numb and I had pains down my left side. This prompted me to do something I haven't done for a long time, I went to see the doctor. Actually I went to the walk in centre because my doctor is a nightmare to get seen in. Straight after work I kept an appointment with Lee for a drink and a discussion about Saturday and then I met Mandi as she wanted to accompany me to the doctor.

Part of my problem seemed to be my determination to fight through and carry on with life rather than malinger, I thought this was a good thing to do to build up strength but apparently I am not doing myself any favours. The left arm business was a result of stress (not a stroke as I worried it might be) and my intake of cold cures was a pointless exercise because I don't have a cold, I have a chest infection.

The doctor checked my blood pressure (perfect) and my heart and lungs (also perfect - bizarrely) and prescribed me a course of antibiotics with a terrifying list of side effects including diarrhoea with bleeding, because sometimes diarrhoea just isn't enough. I also have vomiting and yellowing of the skin to look forward to so if someone is looking to form a Simpsons tribute act in the next seven days then I'm your man. If this was written in the 1970s I might have taken the yellowing of the skin reference down a different path but we live in more enlightened times now.

Two things struck me as strange during this visit, the first being that at no point during this episode was I asked if I smoke. Usually this is the first thing a doctor asks you regardless of the reason you are visiting. Maybe he took my perfect lungs and heart as a sign that I couldn't possibly be a smoker, or maybe he just wasn't that bothered. Secondly, there wasn't a single person in the waiting room with a saucepan stuck to his/her head or a bath tap on a toe. Are these things not everyday occurrences any more?

Listen to this week's edition of The Sunday Alternative here.

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March housekeeping 

To purchase my audio books, albums, and books, please visit my Shop & Donations page.

I am trying to raise the money to extend The Sunday Alternative, read about it here.

We also need to fund a pilot episode of a new music and cookery show, read about it here.

Every penny that I receive via the PayPal button will be used to fund future projects such as podcasts, short films, comedy sketches, documentaries, and more. They will be made available for free online and I will not personally benefit financially. All help is greatly appreciated.

steveEoliver@gmail.com

@SteveOliver76 

Not the most productive day on record although I managed to write a couple of blogs and listen to some music for the podcast (only new music champion in Nottingham who actually listens to the music I am sent) so I haven't wasted the day and have kept my New Year's Resolution chain of creativity going, Jerry Seinfeld would be proud that at least one person was sticking to his method. Although I will be pushing my luck to fulfil this, I would like to record the podcast in the week in order to free up the weekend as I have things to do on Saturday and don't want to have to record The Sunday Alternative on Sunday as it can be rather stressful. What I would like to be able to do is record several podcasts in one block so I don't have to worry about it for a while; it might seem like cheating but as I get music sent well in advance of the release date it would remain fresh. It is unlikely that I would get enough time to do that though, as something always seems to get in the way. Tomorrow evening I have a meeting after I come out of court, Wednesday evening sees me doing an interview for the paper, I'm at a gig on Thursday evening (a Nottingham music champion going to gigs? Why don't you just sit at home liking bands on Facebook like the other guy?), and possibly another one on Friday. On Saturday I am planning to put my journalist hat on again for a side project, so hopefully you can understand my reluctance to work on Sunday - especially as self-employed people don't get double time, unless you wish to make a donation of course.

I read today that a new radio station is being set up by a Nottingham music promoter that presumably showcases the local music scene. In my opinion I doubt that this would be a twenty four hour operation if they are sticking to local music only because they would really need to plunder the archives for this, if only they knew someone with an extensive collection of Nottingham music and knowledge of the scene who also happened to have experience and pedigree in the fields of radio and podcasting with a sizable reputation for supporting new artists. The problem with a Nottingham only music show is that you are playing to a fairly limited audience unless you invest in advertising in other parts of the country to capitalise on the little pockets of interest in Nottingham music. It is for this reason that I made The Sunday Alternative a universal show when it first started on radio, I did play Nottingham bands and had them in for live sessions, but by keeping things open I was able to build up a safer (and bigger) audience and even get a band from California to perform in the studio.

Having said that, since NottinghamLIVE ceased as a radio show there has been a huge hole in the local media that hasn't been filled. Although there is a BBC radio show and two podcasts, we are short of an honest music outlet that is headed by someone on the front-line who gets out and about rather than just publishing 'gigs of the week' lists that they aren't going to attend. With that in mind, I hope that this new venture is a success and look forward to listening as well as seeing the presenters watching live music.

Listen to this week's edition of The Sunday Alternative here.

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March housekeeping 

To purchase my audio books, albums, and books, please visit my Shop & Donations page.

I am trying to raise the money to extend The Sunday Alternative, read about it here.

We also need to fund a pilot episode of a new music and cookery show, read about it here.

Every penny that I receive via the PayPal button will be used to fund future projects such as podcasts, short films, comedy sketches, documentaries, and more. They will be made available for free online and I will not personally benefit financially. All help is greatly appreciated.

steveEoliver@gmail.com

@SteveOliver76 

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said that he marks a cross on the calendar for every day that he writes, and that he doesn’t want to break that chain. This became known as the Seinfeld Productivity Chain, which was what inspired Richard Herring to write a daily blog at a time when he wasn’t working, as a way to combat writer’s block. This in turn is what gave me the idea to do the same, this time last year I recorded an audio book version but it proved to be far too time consuming. The nice thing about the Productivity Chain is that you can assign yourself any amount of time you desire to carry out your chosen task, and once you have carried out that task you get to mark the calendar. I don’t have a calendar to motivate me, I have a week-to-view pocket diary that I always carry about with me (if you want proof of this, then stop me in the street and ask to see it). In my diary I make a note whenever I do something productive regarding my work. Wednesday is taken care of because I do a radio show, as is Sunday so I simply write that I have done those shows, also writing whom that week’s guest was. When I record my American show I write ‘Robin 73’ (this week’s number on Sunday’s entry. Even if I don’t necessarily write or film something, all I aim to do with each day in my downtime is to cross something off my tasks list.

I was up most of last night faced with the job of uploading every single edition of The Sound of Nottingham UK to Mixcloud, including the track listing. This week’s show is the 73^rd, and I had started the Mixcloud with good intentions but didn’t continue to upload after 31. Every time I start to do this I maybe upload one edition before finding something else to do. However, I decided to knuckle down last night and complete the Mixcloud profile for the show and bring the whole thing up to date. The two cups of tea I made for myself was all I was allowed until the job was finished. Once I found where the shows were, (spread over several memory sticks) the job was a piece of piss. I applied myself to it and by the time I was getting fed up of the job, I was finished and able to cross something off my list.

It was interesting to see how many different artists I have played in such a relatively short space of time, some names only appear once but others appear again and again so I guess I do have my favourites. On the other hand, if people don’t send songs in then I can’t play them can I?

Crossing ‘bring USA Mixcloud up to date’ off the list of annoying jobs was a good feeling, especially as I had stayed in my office and not left until it was done. I kept telling myself that I only had so many left to do before I could reward myself by going downstairs to make myself a cup of tea and nipping out onto the porch for a cigarette, as I’d usually go and do that halfway through the job and lose interest. Hopefully I can continue to keep up this level of discipline and bring myself up to date a bit more.

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