Expert computer technician SpiralX joins antheamcgibbon.com

You’d never know how talented and skilled Jamaicans are until you get involved with them. Here Spiral X, an expert computer whizz, artist and more joins and advises on www.antheamcgibbon.com!

After special requests by clients seeking a website builder, and questions posed about the internet world, a computer technician has come aboard the write lovers’ team to offer unique services on www.antheamcgibbon.com. He is Kevin Bailey, otherwise known as Spiral X. As Spiral X he will
– answer questions about internet and computer technology
– fill client needs through contracts
– share from his own experiences as a computer whiz and artist

Here are a few questions asked by site owner Anthea McGibbon to assist you to more about SpiralX. If you have more, please send them in…. but either way STAY connected as we explore cyberspace through Art of SpiralX.

kevinbailey_selfportrait — Kevin 'SpiralX' Bailey 'Self Portrait'

AMcG: FOR THE RECORD, HOW ARE YOU INVOLVED IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY?
KEVIN: Primarily, I’m an artist- using the computer is just the next step in the creation of my art. Aside from that, I do computer maintenance and repairs, which was my main source of income for a good while.

AMcG: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY?
KEVIN: Informally, since the early eighties, when my cousin got a Timex/Sinclair 1000 computer(how many people remember those?). That gadget had to use a cassette tape as the main storage and to run programs. Those were the days… I have been involved formally, since 1987, when I did a course in Electronics and Computing, and then in 1992, I got my first job as a Computer Graphics artist. So – more than 20 years now.

AMCG: HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY?
KEVIN: Like I said before, that Timex/Sinclair that my cousin got for his Christmas present was the start of it all; I remember having to sit and wait for what seemed like forever for the software to load up. In ’85/’86 he moved up to an Apple II which was little more than a dos box (Apple DOS) with games and graphics, but I was already hooked by then.

AMcG: DID YOU DO ANY SPECIFIC TRAINING? DID YOU GARNER ANY AWARDS FOR YOUR WORK?
KEVIN: Not aside from the course I mentioned before. It has been mostly hands-on since then!

AMcG: KEVIN, YOU STUDIED AVIATION DIDN’T YOU, HAS THIS INFLUENCED YOUR CAREER IN ART OR COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY?
KEVIN: Not really. Any influences present were there before the aviation – namely, my love of science fiction, which led to everything else. That was in 1982. At that time computers were used essentially only for movie props, despite what they were being marketed for.

AMcG: AS AN ARTIST, HAS YOUR WORK BEEN COMPUTER FOCUSED OR BASED? DO YOU HAVE STOCK IMAGES TO OFFER, AND WHAT ARE THOSE SUBJECTS?
KEVIN: My work, while long digitally enhanced is becoming more and more computer based. Stock images are in the works. And as anyone who knows me can tell you, the subject matter ranges from women to nature to… women. I’m also working on a range of motivational posters () with women as the main focus.

AMcG: WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU HAVE WORKED?
KEVIN: The Ministry of Education’s Secondary Schools Textbook Project (photography, layout and illustration), Dunlop Corbin Compton (graphic design), Rotoflex Jamaica Limited (design, photography, computer/ network maintenance, pressman), Jamaica National’s Graphics Unit (graphic design), some other short term or freelance jobs. A few of them had me both doing artwork and hardware related work.

AMcG: HOW MANY AREAS OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY DO YOU EXPLORE/WORK IN?
KEVIN: Too numerous to enumerate(!)

AMcG: SUCH AS?
KEVIN: Building, repairs, graphic design, website building and maintenance, networking, computer technician etc.

AMcG: ARE YOU INVOLVED IN ANY OTHER FIELD OTHER THAN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY?
KEVIN: Let’s see… drawing, painting, photography, some welding, some woodworking, bit o’ plumbing here and there, wee bit of aviation maintenance… you know, the usual stuff.
See links to my artwork including my designs, drawings and paintings at THIS LINK

AMcG: HOW INTEGRAL IS COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY TO THE UNIVERSE?
KEVIN: Absolutely irrelevant – the universe goes on regardless. Comp tech does make things a little more bearable, more fun.

AMcG: YOU MEAN YOU DON’T SEE WHAT THE HYPE CREATED AROUND THE WORLD IS ABOUT? YOU ARE AWARE THAT MANY PERSONS SEEM TO NOT BE ABLE FUNCTION WITHOUT A COMPUTER?
KEVIN: I see that relying more on computers/technology is causing people to be less able to think for themselves or develop critical problem-solving skills outside of the workplace. What if all technology crashed tomorrow? Would we all starve to death? There needs to a balance between relying on the convenience of tech, and knowing how to do things for yourself.

AMcG: QUESTION THEREFORE – HOW WOULD YOU ADVISE YOUTH OR ENQUIRING MINDS TO USE THIS TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE, IMPROVE, BETTER THEMSELVES?
KEVIN: Find a balance. Open your minds; technology is a tool for you to use. Make the most of it, but at the same time don’t make it your boss. Get skills outside of tech; you’d be surprised at how those skills affect your perception and appreciation of technology.

AMcG: WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON TODAY’S SOCIETY?
KEVIN: Going to hell in a hand-basket. Society is going to get worse before it gets better. Needs a radical change in mental perspective. People need to begin thinking about how their actions affect others around them, and behaving accordingly.

AMcG: IS THIS APPLICABLE FOR THE WORLD, OR JUST JAMAICA?
KEVIN: Worldwide.

AMcG: A WORLD WITHOUT COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY – WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THAT?
KEVIN: As unlikely as that might be, I think such a world would have more people using more of their mental capacity and doing more to help themselves, rather than relying on an electronic crutch to keep them from straining themselves mentally.

AMcG: DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS HAVING A ROLE TO EFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE? DO YOUR SKILLS OR PERSONS WITH YOUR SKILLS HAVE VALUE IN EFFECTING CHANGE FOR A BETTER AND MORE PROGRESSIVE WORLD?
KEVIN: Yes

AMcG: HOW DO YOU COMBINE YOUR VARIED COMMITMENTS SUCH AS YOUR ART, PLUMBING, AVIATION AND EVEN YOUR FAMILY LIFE ETC? DO THEY INTERTWINE OR DO YOU OPERATE SEPARATELY IN DIFFRENT FUNCTIONS?
KEVIN: Separation is an illusion; everything affects and influences everything else.

AMcG: DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF CREATIVE?
KEVIN: Mildly. Other folks’ opinions may vary…

AMcG: ANY LAST WORDS OF ADVICE?
KEVIN: Learn from the past, but don’t live there. Don’t be afraid to fail; that’s how you learn how to do things right.

More at Art of SpiralX website

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Anthea

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