Matthew Slater's home page

[email protected]

Matthew Slater's
unofficial work history follows, in reverse order.

mobile number
07952 783389

2005: Voluntary work, computer training
	sheltercentre.org is a non-operational NGO based in Cambridge providing consultancy to the shelter sector. starting gradually, I now preside over their computer systems and develop software for in-house and perhaps field usage. In return I've been privileged to attend three sheltermeetings in Geneva hosted by the UN. One day I shall be an aidworker.
	Presently I have one main source of income. Providing training to students with learning disabilities, (usually dyslexia). Once assessed, these students are kitted out by the government with state-of-the-art computer systems, software and training to use it. My speciality is training on voice recognition software, and mind-mapping software (see pic)

2004, various
	Worldwide Glass Resource is a small business selling NMR tubes to the biotech industry, run by June whom I met at a new Years party. Working one day a week over several months, I've worked on the data and website to make the business more efficient and attractive.
	For a year or so, I was secretary for my friend, Joseph, International escort. I built a web-booking system and plush website, and dealt with phonecalls providing a buffer between him and his public. Eventually he tired of the whole thing and reverted to being a 'normal' young person.

2004, Fabian Society Internship
	In an attempt to folow up on the antisocial behaviour white paper response, I worked in Westminster over three months in the offices of this prestigious membership based think tank. However my range of skills, and their requirements for empirical research and grunt work, didn't really tally. And I left early feeling a little unappreciated and underemployed.

2003, ATD Fourth World, London
	The experience of working alongside people blighted by poverty was very valuable but ultimately the work wasn't sufficiently rewarding. What I enjoyed most was drafting a response to the antisocial behaviour white paper. After the three months I did continue with the policy side of work, and lead two policy forums to promote understanding and participation of poverty by the poor.

2002-3, India
	When I found myself with enough money, I went to India and stayed there for 15 months. I spent a lot of time on the beach, and in McLeod Ganj, the home of the Dalai Lama, and biked 5000 miles. Also spent time in mediation, massage, reading, programming and partying! As I went, I produced a travelogue.

1999-2003, Freelance programming, Cambridge and elsewhere

Working with a graphic designer and a project manager, I programmed these games and several others, working remotely in Cambridge, Serbia and India.

Experimentation

Betweening freelancing jobs I was able to indulge in free experimentation. Here is a juggling program I created using Macromedia Shockwave and two dancimations built in 3D Studio Max. Click on them to download

2000, Radio Free B2-92, Belgrade
	In Serbia I worked for the last national radio station over which Milosevic didn't have control. Just after I started, the police raided the offices and confiscated all the equipment so broadcasts continued online from a secret location and the news team worked from their computers at home. Here is an archive of the some of the news I subedited and read out on-air for Radio Free Europe

1998-9, Multimedia programming (employed)
Crashplane Studios	This ill fated company was one of a string of ill managed and failed businesses doing the same thing in the same premises. Shortly after I had finished their demo CD-ROM, the business collapsed.owing lots of money and soon emerged as a partnership. I put it all down to experience and considered myself lucky that my freelance career then took wing.
Cloudscan services	I was employed mostly to do batch production work for large multimedia projects. The company was run by a retired BBC producer who seemed to have such impressive contacts that to this day the company cannot be found on the web. Back in the days of videodisks they produced The Joy of Sex for Philips and I contributed to work for Mars, Swiss Re and BBC. I left because the work wasn't stimulating or challenging and spent the next six months practising in poverty.

1998-9, Internet Tutor, Cambridge

Having hung around CB1 Europe's fastest cyber cafe (as it was at the time) for the best part of a year, I inherited the role of internet tutor. Every week I ran two, hour-long classes introducing one or more people to the internet, email, searching. Some people who came had never used a computer before.

1998-9, Cambridge Trishaws

I became friendly with the very vocal Simon Lane, who was being very vocal at the time about his business, Cambridge Trishaws, which was being undermined by city council and the opposition from taxi drivers. In a supportive role I worked though legal arguments with him stood by at the Royal Courts of Justice. Later, he found a loophole in London law and successfully transplanted the operation there. I was amongst the first to ride a rickshaw in London, toyed with a web design but then Simon managed to sell the whole thing. Since then, the London pedicab market has successfully defended a case brought by London taxi drivers, and become very lucrative.

1996-7, Plastic Injection Moulding, Cornwall

My father was looking for someone to help with his business and, ideally take it over so he could retire. I committed to a year of running the factory for him, starting the machines, maintianing them, and managing production. The work lacked intellectual challenges and I didn't like getting my hands dirty. During that year though I did a multimedia course and resolved to build a computing career in Cambridge.

1995-6, PGCE, Cambridge
Homerton College	Needing to progress, I followed my instructive urges again, and landed myself on a PGCE course, to become an RS Teacher. However, I wasn't suited to the secondary school as an institution, or to children that didn't want to learn, and I withdrew from the course when I failed the teaching practise term.

1994, TEFL, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Language Foundation	With a strong feeling that I wanted to do lots of travelling in subsequent years, I did a CTEFLA (Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults) in a dingy Edinburgh February. I passed with a C and hoped that teaching would be easier abroad and unsupervised. I found language teaching, on the whole, uninspiring, except in an informal setting.

1993, Kibbutz Revivim

Conceived as a soft initial travelling option, an opportunity to practice my ancient Hebrew and visit the Holy Land about which I had read so much, I headed for Israel and hitchhiked my way to random kibbutz. My work there ranged from egg collecting and irrigation to factory work. After a couple of months I moved to Tel Aviv with another traveller and lived in a Youth hostel, getting kitchen work from day to day.

1992 (Summer) Electrical Contractor, USA

I did Bunac and got a 3 month working visa for USA. Somehow wanted more than fast food work in an Ohio rollercoaster park, so I wandered into an Amish visitor centre and asked if I could join in for a while. Got passed around and ended up living with a Beachy Mennonite family in Paradise, PA and helping out with electrical work with "David Nissley Electrical" (Beachy are technologically reluctant and this business has no web page to date) This life was a welcome escape from the falseness.

1990-93, BD Theology, Cardiff

Not having gained a drama place at university, I got a theology place through clearing, to pursue my new found evangelical faith at a serious and academic level. By the start of the second year, I decided to try moving my faith to the left. By the start of the third year I had decided that post-Nietschian theology was nothing more than a comforting discussion for intellectuals who persisted in unjustifiable beliefs.