Head of Margaret Thatcher - plus a few others

Do you want to buy 3D models of the head of politicians? If so, click on the image below...  

$70.00

Yup, you can buy 3D models of the heads of politicians. The lack of reviews kind of indicates that it isn't exactly flying off the shelves at the moment, but that isn't really surprising, considering not many 3D artists have a need or desire to use models like these in their work.

About turn.

I was recently reminded of why I was so willing to hand in my notice at my last job, before my boss beat me to it and sacked me for running his business badly while he was away for three weeks visiting his family...

I'll spare you the details, but essentially, I had a client who was a real nightmare to deal with. Not only were the deadlines stringent, but he was far too aggressive with the haggling. At that point, I just gave up and told him I wasn't going to work for him anymore and gave him a refund.

I guess I should expect no better since the client came to me through Fiverr, though I did make it clear in my gig description that I charge by the hour and I even told the client this was how I operated.

I was also honest in quoting the number of hours taken to do the work, but he wouldn't have it, despite having agreed in principle that it was going to cost a certain amount per hour.

So it ended up being a complete waste of time. The good thing to come out of it was that I realised I really needed to take my business in a different direction.

Rather than work as a freelancer and getting paid occasionally and only for the job that I do, I need to find ways to make my business sustainable. Freelancing is really no different to a full time job and a salary. You still need to work for someone who is effectively your employer. The biggest difference is that the pay is sporadic.

Rather than earning income, I need to build an income stream. I realise that no business can ever be considered completely hands free, but I need to build something that can sustain me and run on it's own for a little while, even if I become ill or simply want to slack off for a week or two.

There is an idea that I am considering at this moment in time. I'm not sure if it's going to be the 'Holy Grail', but I'm willing to at least dabble a bit with it.

The worst is that I fail utterly and completely, but that is probably not much different to my current situation so I really have nothing to lose.

After one year playing badminton

Badminton was excellent today. I think recently I've really gotten back into the groove. I don't think I've recovered my ability, technique and most things I learned from my old coach (put the sport down for four years because of work), but I find I'm playing with a much greater freedom than I ever did - psychologically and physically. I think the tension I used to get after work contributed to my stiffness and immobility as well as poor movement technique. Now I'm far more relaxed and maybe the time out of badminton has helped my body recover. I'm now able to move around a lot better, I'm less tense and less wary of 'doing it wrong' with regard to technique, movement, etc. 

I also used to be afraid of cramping up my calf muscles as have often happened in the past. Now I've been playing for almost a year non-stop, stretching, moving, twisting and there hasn't been a hint of it happening again (a few bruises, though, but that's neither here nor there). I think it had been a psychological thing as well - the more I thought about it, the more likely it was going to happen (that's what it seemed in hindsight). I also used to do a lot of warm up routines in the hopes it'll eliminate the chance of injury entirely - which it didn't. Now I don't think about it and I find I'm moving around a lot better and more freely. I don't even bother warming up beyond an initial knock up.

Truly, my shackles are off.  

That said, warming up is beneficial, if only to give you a great head start in games.

Anyway, I had a lot of very well contested and very close games. The first one I never really expected to win cos I was playing against a guy I usually have a lot of trouble with, but somehow I did. Not bad considering it was my first game and I'm sure my opponents have played one or two games already before I arrived on court. It went right down to the wire.

Next game, I played against two strong players alongside the weakest of the four. Won that one, though we were in danger of throwing it away.

Third game, I lost 22-20. The set up was a bit more balanced this time round.

Fourth game was another game I won. Had to come from quite far behind to win that one.

Fifth game was the pick of the bunch. Really went down to the wire. We were never more than 2 points away from each other, but eventually lost it 25-23. I could have finished it much earlier, but a critical miss on my part when it was match point meant I threw it all away. Better not think about it too much, I think.

And then there were one or two other games, with the last one being an anticlimax. Losing by a large margin in a game that was largely one sided.

And finally, I wonder if it's because I'm playing in a more leisurely environment that I am able to express myself better. If it's a league club, sometimes you feel the wrath of your partner after one mistake. But I think it's cardinal sin to take it out on your partner. It's easy to take it out on someone because of your own inadequacies half the time.