Memories of Working With My Dad in the Highlands

Looking back, I can also see how many of those experiences influenced my own career. Whether it was running cables, building systems, solving problems, or helping customers, there was always a practical challenge to overcome and a sense of satisfaction when everything finally worked.

I probably didn't realise it at the time, but those weekends and holidays spent helping my Dad taught me lessons that would stay with me throughout my working life.

So my Dad had his own business when I was growing up. Tuckwell Cable Vision Enterprises. He worked for British Telecom and left to start his own business. Inspired by a cable television system he installed in our village he set up on his own to bring TV signal to other villages in the highlands.

This was back in the late 70s and many villages did not receive a Television signal. Our village North Kessock was no exception shielded from the local transmitter by the hills behind.

Bringing Television to Remote Highland Communities

Dad came up with a plan to put an Ariel on the hill with a good TV signal and through a distribution network of cables and amplifiers pipe the signal down to all the villagers. A lot of work, cables, and amplifiers gave North Kessock 3 channels to watch. My claim to fame is pulling the main feed cable under the newly built A9 dual carriageway. A small child-size pipe carried the Drumsmittal burn under the road. A lot of head-scratching on how to get the cable to the other side till I piped up “I’ll crawl through it”. Wet and muddy I appeared from the other side triumphant with cable in hand.

Dad went on to do other systems all over the highlands bringing TV to places that could not get a signal.

One of the First Satellite Dishes in the Village

Boxes of equipment would arrive at the house all the time. Mainly amplifiers and reels of cable. One package I clearly remember arrived containing what appeared to the giant metal flower petals.

I was set to work with the petals, a bag of nuts and bolts, and a spanner. The result was a 1.8-meter diameter satellite dish. Massive by today's Sky and Freesat offerings. We sunk a metal pole in the garden concreted it in and along with a polar mount, a receiver, and LNB we were one of the first to have satellite TV. The polar mount had a linear actuator that would rotate the dish and point to different satellites.

This became a new way of bringing TV to remote locations and providing much-needed extra channels. One I do remember helping to install was on the roof of a nightclub in Inverness.

The client wanted to play music videos via Music Box, a channel that I think pre-dated MTV or was the European version. This was a large parabolic dish made from fibreglass with a copper coating. The focus point for the LNB was towards the bottom rather than in the center. It looked a bit odd as it stood almost vertical to aim the signal at the LNB.

Travelling the Highlands for Work

In addition to TV, my dad also specialized in intercom and background music systems. We would travel all over the highlands bringing music to pubs, hotels, and supermarkets.

I remember not long after I passed my driving test being sent to Portree on Skye with the mission to install an intercom system in the local supermarket. Having the keys to the van and a tank of diesel gave me a new sense of freedom and we were now multitasking. I had a great day spent with a friend driving to Skye and installing the system. 2 core wires to each till and then back to the main back office.

This carried on and when Dad went on holiday I spent a few days in the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness. We had wired in a TV system to each room the week before. What was left to do was to add a new TV to each room. My job was to un-box, add a plug (TVs came without a plug), make a coax lead add batteries to the remote, and tune in over 60 TVs before carrying them to each room and testing. It was a great little job and I was a dab hand at manually tuning in the 4 channels by the time I finished.

Working Alongside Dad and Learning New Skills

When I went off to university in Aberdeen I would carry on helping out Dad during the holidays. Although one job I remember doing during term time. Dad had won the job of putting TV signal to each unit in the new Bon Accord shopping center. Dad brought down all the bits needed including lots of cable drums, plans and explained what needed to be done. I and some University friends made quick work of running in all the cables and getting the system ready for my Dad to come back and commission it before handing it over. We were under strict instruction not to crawl along the cable trays hanging from the ceiling. Instead, use the scaffold trolley climbing up and down and moving a couple of meters at a time. This was soon abandoned in favour of crawling in the cable trays. As it was the weekend there were few people working on-site and we were skinny students. It was a great couple of weekends spent working with my friends and sharing how I worked with my Dad, They were happy for the experience and the additional beer money.


I did help out Dad with other jobs on and off after I graduated up till he retired a few years ago. It was good fun and he loved his job, he got to travel all over the highlands and islands and met so many interesting people.

Looking back I am glad I had the opportunity to work with him. At the time I probably did not appreciate it enough having other plans for my working life. I realize now loving your job is something to aspire to.

Anyway, Dad wrote a book about his experiences. It's full of pictures and stories of all the places he worked, so if you want to know more check out his book here. A massive fanfare goes off back in North Kessock every time a copy of his book is sold.

I have had some positive comments about my ramblings this week and I really appreciate it. I started this blog as part of my CodeClan Journey and now that has finished for some reason I feel the need to keep it going. I really enjoy spending the week planning and thinking of something (this week especially) to write about so I'm keeping going. Thanks for reading and your support. Big Thumbs up!

The Year I Took Back Control and Changed Career

THE BUZZ OF BUSINESS GATEWAY

So this week I had a couple of meetings at the Business Gateway Hub in Aberdeen. A cool and trendy place for business startups. Bright colours, breakout spaces, hot desks, a cafe, and a real buzz. It's a fun place to visit and network with like-minded people.

I spent quite a lot of time there last summer before heading off to Edinburgh. But now I'm back and ready to do my own thing I can go back to attending the business startup seminars. These are great and free to attend in subjects related to setting up and running your own business.

The first one I attended last year was Business Startup Awareness. A very open and informal group of about 15 people was instructed on best practices on how to set up and start their own business. Lots of practical tips and hints starting from the minute you enter the room. Kickoff was a quick round the room with each person doing their elevator pitch. “Hi I'm Adrian and I'm a software engineer and I am going to change the world”

Other courses I attended were Business Planning, Marketing, Finance, Digital Marketing, and Bookkeeping. All super chilled, free, and really helpful.

So I was back to have a meeting with my Business Advisor about actually setting up on my own. A few key things to think about are whether to be a Sole Trader or a Limited company and whether to be VAT-registered or not.

First up, the initial plan is to make myself a Sole Trader as it is just me (for the moment) however there is one contract that I have discussed that will require me to be limited. If this does not materialize there seems to be little point in the expense and complexity at the moment.

The other VAT registration. If I have a turnover in a year of greater than £83,000 then yes I will need to register for VAT. However again it seems a long shot at the moment so best avoid the complexity for now.

So it will be me, Sole Trader, and not VAT registered to start.

Oh, and to keep my personal tax simple my first invoice date can wait till next tax year which starts on the 6th of April. It's good as I will be due a refund from the HMRC and will be claiming this back pronto in April. Having been a student for 4 months and not earning for some of 2016-2017 means that I have overpaid in the first 8 months of the year.

Udny Designs and Udny Solutions will be my trading names.

With matching websites:

www.udnydesigns.co.uk
www.udnysolutions.co.uk

(the second is still a work in progress).

Udny Designs will continue as a craft side hustle making things to sell to help pay for therapy for Thomas (my youngest son who has CP). I'm waiting to hear back from an accountant on this to see if there is any way that this could be in Thomas’s name and use his personal allowance to prevent paying tax on any income which in effect goes directly to his therapy.

Udny Solutions will be my main business offering freelance software and web design solutions. This will be me, my laptop, and my knowledge.

My second meeting at Business Gateway this week was meeting a business advisor who specializes in online presence for businesses. This was a great discussion and I showed them what I have been working on, discussed my time at CodeClan, and what I plan to offer as Udny Solutions. Positive points were using well-known online website builders is a valid solution to offer small companies, and the skills I have learned with JavaScript and Ruby on Rails means I can offer additional functionality above and beyond flat HTML and CSS if required. A critical point also discussed was to ensure I do not forget about Search Engine Optimisation and to include this in any estimates that I make.

So Udny Designs and Udny Solutions will be included in the Business Gateway startup list for 2017. Very exciting and I am among many others that are forecast to start this year. Apparently, the downturn in Oil and Gas has led to a boom in Startups in Aberdeen which is brilliant.

Anyway till next week, Best be off as I have a couple of Quotes to do… Watch this space.

>> My boys are making their own AWPR in Moonsand, a great sand-based indoor toy product that gets everywhere >>

IM GOING TO BE A CEO

So a job title describes someone’s job or position in a company.

I have had quite a few over the years.

My earliest job title was when I was 15 as a Sales Assistant in Boots the Chemist at the Eastgate Center in Inverness (and yes after playing havoc with their computers I went on to work there) I worked on the record and photography counter. I had a name badge with my position on it. Check me!

Next up I started working with my Dad in his own business (Tuckwell Cable Vision Enterprises) fitting TV and background music systems. I didn't have an official title but was an Apprentice Engineer. I learned a lot about running cables, using tools, and connecting and commissioning systems. We installed some of the first satellite dishes in the highlands, and at the time they were 1.8m across and came in petals.

I then went to University and became a Student, 2 summers were spent working with my Dad and I continued to be an Apprentice Engineer gaining more hands-on skills.

In 3rd summer I was offered a job in the Highland Council to be an IT assistant where I was responsible for maintaining network backups and doing print runs working on a shift rotation. I also became an expert in fixing the pole tax collating machine, which took ordered forms folded them, and put them in envelopes. It was temperamental, to say the least.

I left the Highland Council to work with Shell UK Exploration and Production and was lucky to get a year's contract as a Technology Advisor working in a new technology department. I would produce PowerPoint presentations for my manager and test and advise people on new technology, mainly multimedia and video animations. Towards the end of the year, I had my own office with my name and job title on the door. Not bad for 20-year-olds. I was creating training videos using the multimedia equipment that ran on the department's Apple Macintosh II, and yes the technology of the day was to record computer animations I created onto VHS tapes that could be played in the office and offshore.

My manager offered me an extension to create some additional videos, I was due to go back to university to complete my honours year. But a chance to make some additional money as a student was too good to miss. To work as a contractor for Shell I needed to create my own company so I could invoice them so I formed EngTech Enterprises, Just me making videos so I guess my title was Boss or Managing Director. I made a couple of training videos during the year and supplied Shell with a couple of hundred copies on VHS.

On completion of my honours year, I graduated and took a job with Aquidata Aberdeen. A small software company and I was employed as a Graduate Software Engineer. I worked with a Vax VMS and Visual Basic Systems.

The following year I left to join Kvaerner FSSL as a Junior Software Engineer. It was not much of a jump in the title at the time but my options with Kvaerner seemed better and I was able to get more exposure to industrial controls.

I worked my way through the ranks at Kvaerner FSSL as it became Kvaerner Oil Field Products, then Aker Kvaerner, and then Aker Solutions.

I progressed from Junior Software Engineer to Software Engineer dropping the Junior bit.

I went on secondment and became a Test Team Leader working shifts to test the Norsk Hydro Troll C topside control system.

I became a Commissioning and Support Engineer for BP Andrew topside control system, working in Middlesbrough and offshore.

Back to being a Software Engineer, I was promoted to Senior Software Engineer, From memory, I think business cards were all the rage in the company and I received business cards with my name and job title on them.

I progressed from Senior Engineer to Team Leader to Lead Engineer, and latterly to Principal Engineer. The last 3 were much and much the same just a different grade and standing in the company.

I spent a number of years trying to persuade my manager to change my title from Software Engineer to Systems Engineer, as the reality of what I was doing was more related to the design and implementation of topside control systems than it was to software. It didn't happen though as I was not in charge...

I have had a number of non-work-related titles also. I have been a Community Councillor for Foveran Community Council, I have been Secretary for the Hill of Fiddes Wind Turbine fund, oh and I guess Marshall for the Aberdeen and District Motor Club.

So yeah I have had plenty of titles over the years. Normally given by someone or a company.

Now I am starting my own business I need to give myself a title and this time I get to choose. I need something cool on my new business cards.

What title should I give myself?

Should I call myself CEO or should I make up my own new title that relates to my work as Director of Awesomeness?

Is it silly for the owner of a one-person company to use the title CEO? I guess as it's my company and an exciting new project it may change as I grow. So for now however pompous it may seem I'm going to be CEO of my own company.

>> So that's 21 different titles above I can count...

I AM ADRIAN TUCKWELL AND THIS IS HOW I WORK

Adrian Tuckwell is a freelance software engineer in Aberdeenshire Scotland. As the owner of Udny Solutions, Adrian can provide bespoke software solutions, web design, and engineering services. A recent CodeClan graduate gaining a Software Development Award and with over 20 years in the controls industry, Adrian is uniquely equipped with the skills to offer quick and quality service. Adrian also owns and runs Udny Designs a craft business raising money to provide therapies for his Son Thomas.

Location: Udny Station, Aberdeenshire

Current Gig: Freelance Software Engineer and CEO of Udny Designs and Udny Solutions

One word that best describes how you work: Systematically

Current mobile device: iPhone 6, iPad mini retina

Current computer: MacBook Pro and 27” desktop Mac

First of all some background and how I got to where I am today.

I grew up in a small village of North Kessock across the firth from Inverness. I have always been destined to be an engineer, loving to take things apart, mend bikes, and build contraptions with technical Lego.

Some time in the 80’s I was lucky enough to get a computer from Santa. It was a Commodore VIC-20, with a whopping 3.5k memory. I remember my Dad and myself turning it on for the first time and waiting for it to boot. When complete it displayed a start screen, We looked at each other and the best we came up with was to type ‘Yes” which gave us an error.

After a few months, I gained a tape player and a 16k RAM pack and started to learn to program in Basic.

One of the programs I was most proud of back then was a small 10-line script that I had memorized. When set running it would count down for a minute, play an alarm sound at full volume, and then disable the keyboard. My friends and I found it hilarious to go into Boots the Chemist Inverness (yes they sold computers once) type in my program set it running and wander off and hide. We would wait for the alarm and an assistant to come and try to silence the computer and fail. The computers were in lockboxes so could not be turned off locally and someone would have to go get a key and open the cupboard below to find the master power switch. We thought this was brilliant.

I grew up and enrolled in Robert Gordon’s University Aberdeen to study for a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. I liked soldering circuits so this seemed a good fit and it had some computer programming too. Three years in I took a year out on an Industrial placement with Shell UK in Aberdeen. Here I got my first introduction to Apple computers and multimedia and started my first company (EngTech Enterprises) making training videos using multimedia for Shell. The irony was that the videos were providing training in using Microsoft Windows, but recorded on an Apple.

I went back to Uni to complete my honours year and then became a controls engineer working with SCADA and PLCs in oil and gas for the next 20 years. Then last summer I enrolled in a Software Development Bootcamp in Edinburgh wanting to relearn coding and this is me back to the present day.

What apps, software, or tools can't I live without.

My favourite app is probably boring and non-business related, but I love Instagram. I've been using it for years now and have a whopping 8173 pics uploaded. I love nothing better than taking pics of my boys in everyday life and applying filters and playing with colors and uploading them for a restricted list of family and friends. I actually have two accounts, I have one installed on my iPad too and this is dedicated to my Udny Designs Instagram account. Here I love seeing other crafters and engineers and what they have created and used this for inspiration in my work too.

What is my workspace setup like?

I mix locations where I work. If I'm out and about I have an EDC (Everyday Carry) office that keeps me working wherever I am, assuming I can get Wifi. Here I have my MacBookPro, various cables, and PSU kept in a smart cable carry bag. I have a Moleskine notebook and a Maxpedition mini pouch which holds a few pens, a screen wipe, and my Leatherman Wingman.

At home, I work from my study. I have a desk which I have made myself from two US Pro-Tools roller toolboxes with a top made from an Oak kitchen worktop. I love how it looks and functions. It's really chunky has loads of storage and is really sturdy. It also has hidden storage for my backup drives (1TB and 2TB Western Digital my books) On top I have my 27” Mac and a slide-out drawer for my keyboard.

I quite like the clutter in my study and have a number of toys and tech items displayed on a full wall of Ikea Billy boy bookcases.

What's my best time-saving shortcut or life hack?

Stop procrastinating and just get on and do things. Someone asked me when I was at CodeClan, how I managed to get so much done. I’d be finishing my lab, doing my homework, writing my blog, keeping my personal website up to date, or fulfilling orders for Udny Designs. They asked how I managed all this? I guess the answer is just to get on and do it? Use the spare moments to do something. I have two young boys so my daily routine revolves around their minute-by-minute demands. But in the small breaks, I just get on and do something.

What is my favourite to-do list Manager?

My favourite by a long way is Trello. It's free and so easy to use. The best feature for me is the ability to forward an email to Trello and it will create a new Trello card in my to-do list. I actually have many Trello boards set up and use them every day. When I read an email containing a vacancy for a job I fancy applying for I just forward it to my job hunt Trello board and then forget about it. When I have a few accumulated or I plan to do some applications I just go through my Trello board and apply for the jobs that are on my list. I move the card over to the applied list and set an alarm on it (yes I am still applying for work and setting up a company).

Besides my computer and phone what gadget can't I live without and why?

I love tools and gadgets. So I always need to be carrying some form of LeatherMan multitool. I have two sets of keys and each has a LeatherMan mini tool on them. As discussed above, I also keep my LeatherMan wingman with me most of the time. You never know when you need a tool yourself, or you need to help someone. Walking past folks trying to set up a PA system in CodeClan a few weeks ago. They were struggling with the setup as the phono jack had snapped off in the socket and the remains could not be reached. LeatherMan to the rescue. I failed with the pliers to reach the bit, but using what I imagine is a tool for cleaning horses' hooves I managed to hook the bit that had snapped off and removed it.

What everyday thing am I better at than everyone else? What's my secret?

I'd like to think I have the knack. I seem to be able to quickly diagnose an engineering problem and come up with a solution or alternate way of doing something. I think my secret is I have been desert engineering (making do with what you have) for a very long time and find great reward in fixing and making something broken work again.

What do I listen to while I work?

I'm not that big a music fan, but I quite like listening to podcasts when I'm working. However, if I'm really in the zone, I can get to the end of a podcast and have no idea what I have just listened to. My top 5 podcasts I like to listen to are:

• Making it With Jimmy Diresta, Bob Clagett, and David Picciuto,
• Ted Radio Hour,
• The Infinite Monkey Cage
• Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project
• Learn to Code With Me

What am I currently reading?

Since watching the movie Cocktail many years ago I have always been drawn to entrepreneur books. So it's no surprise that the current book I'm working my way through is “Build a business from your kitchen table by Sophie Cornish and Holly Tucker”. I also like to listen to audiobooks when I'm going to sleep and have been through most of the Bill Bryson collection.

How do I recharge? What do I do to forget about work?

My favourite place to recharge is my shed. It's quite a large shed and has been set up as a woodworking space. It has a large bench with table and band saws, pillar and cordless drills, and many hand tools. It's where I like to escape to.

What's the best advice I have ever received?

Keep being yourself. When I worked at Shell many years ago as a Junior Technology advisor, someone I worked with said to me after meeting with some managers, to ‘Keep being yourself. When asked how, I was told that I came across really well, been polite and open and just to keep doing that.

Anything else?

I borrowed the idea for this blog post from lifehacker.com. I have read similar posts from other people and have imagined myself answering such questions. Who knows one day maybe I'll answer them for real For now thanks for reading and if you have any questions just email me.

And now that I don't see Edinburgh Castle every day, not to be outdone. Here is Udny Castle. Yup, we have a castle too...