Monthly Archive for January, 2009

I’m Qyper of the week!

A while ago, I signed up to review site Qype, but it was only last week that I really started using it. So it was a really nice surprise when today I got their weekly email newsletter (which, I have to admit, I normally kinda ignore) and saw that I’d been made Qyper of the week.

Here’s what they had to say about me:
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ITV gave me my BBC Micro

Last night, I was reminiscing with a BBC colleague about the UK micro-computer boom of the early 80s, and it struck me: like many programmers of my age, I cut my programming teeth on the BBC Micro (and also the ZX81). But unlike many, I got my BBC from the ITV.

bbc micro ITV gave me my BBC Micro

BBC Micro


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2008: Life

In part one of my “2008 and thereabouts” retrospective, I talked about what I’d been up to work-wise. Now I’m going to focus on my personal and family life. I find this side of things a little harder to talk about, and recall, if only because for most of the year, I spent five days per week at work (usually in London, away from my family) and the other two days recuperating. But here goes…
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Friday nights at the Washington

Since working full-time in London, I get precious little time to spend out-and-about in Sheffield. As you may know, for the last few years I’ve been a regular fixture on Sheffield’s social scene, out with my camera documenting the night-life. I really miss this, and I miss Sheffield’s wonderful people.

Thank goodness for Friday nights, and London-Sheffield trains which arrive at the perfect time, around 10.30pm. And thank goodness for The Washington, around halfway between the station and my house, and usually throbbing on a Friday night, especially when there’s a good DJ night like the Record Hop, Plan B, El Jackster or Banksy’s Fragrant Garden. Here’s a few photos from last Friday night at the Record Hop.

3203708614 6980e43e4a Friday nights at the Washington

Working Nights photobook

Six months ago, I published a book of my photos. Then I got caught up in a whirl of job-change-commute-business, and for six months most of the books remained in boxes in my hallway.

Well, I finally got around to putting up a web-page where people can order copies of the book. Please buy Working Nights here.

162072209 aa72279746 Working Nights photobook

Link-poetry

I love that whenever I write London on this blog, SEO Smart Links auto-links it to one of my favourite little blog posts. London.

2008: Work

Like I said, I’ve been meaning to post a summary of my last 18 months. Perhaps easier if I split it into two: work, and personal. So, work: I started freelancing in the middle of 2007, and I’ve done a whole bunch of interesting jobs since then (see my CV for full details).
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social networking

For almost 18 months now, I’ve been meaning to blog about my “current situation” (admittedly a moving target over that period). But my blogging has gone stale: I only wrote 8 posts in 2008 – in the distant past there have been single days when I’ve almost managed this many (the period leading up to September 11 2001 seems to have been particularly fertile). But what’s even more obvious to me is that I didn’t write anything of substance in 2008, just quick status updates and links to photos I’d taken.
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New beard

As it’s a new year, I decided to go to town on my beard:
3167056148 ba0dec50ae New beard

Dave’s birthday party

After a Christmas and New Year period spent almost entirely at home (I needed to recharge my batteries after 6 months frantically commuting backwards and forwards to London), I thought I ought to have at least one night out in Sheffield before returning to the smoke. So glad I did. I went to Dave (Attwood – drummer from Rumpus & Baby Long Legs)’s birthday party, and had that kind of wonderful time which always seems to happen when I hook up with the Shefferati.
3165142027 701e836aff Daves birthday party
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