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Feels like Sunday »

Some of the money left to me by the fine folks at the old dotcom I used to buy some Turner Classic Movie Poster Postcards - although I haven't found a suitable location for them yet Im sure they'll be lovely. So, its the night before the big day and I feel like a man about to face an angry jury rather than an adventurer about to face his latest challenge; so much intrepidation! Its ridiculous. Tomorrow will be shits & giggles. Afterall, no more office politics, no more commercial pressure, no more witch-hunts and an extra £70 (or so) in the monthly pay packet. Easy street. As well as buying a kitchen this weekend, I also managed to finish John Grishams The last juror as well as his latest hard-back, The Broker; both were excellent and where enjoyed in the beautiful sunshine beating down on my back garden. No more talk for now; early to bed.

Numb »

So thats it. All done. Its strange in that I don't feel like I thought I would. I mean, theres no joy, no sorow, just ... well nothingness. When I first got back I had an overwhelming urge to email folks at the old dotcom to ensure they enjoyed the leaving lunch and to make sure they stayed in touch; I think I was in a bit of cuture shock - the sudden realisation that the people I have seen practically every working day for the past three years Im not going to see anymore. So I sent off a few emails and then went into the back garden. The cats were huddled around the new bench (or love-seat as Clare likes to call it) we had delivered today so I huddled up with them and before I knew it I was sound asleep. I woke only a few moments ago to the sound of one of the cats throwing-up. As I type this I look out onto what will either be a humid night or a storm in the making; think I should bring my sneak's in from outside.

Yeah, we know »

The role I am vacating was advertised on the internet. The recruitment consultant said for that much experience and for those skillsets the salary should be at least 20% higher than it currently is; tell me something I don't know.

Check-in »

And so another wonderful, productive weekend draws to a close. In no particular order this weekend was great because

• We completed the front room to such a degree that it finally feels homey and the only thing missing is art for the walls and a cushion or two
• We spent time with the cats
• We watched the Ladykillers (better than I thought)
• We had a lovely meal at wagamama
• The house is nice and tidy
• The weather was glorious at all the right times and stormy when we were safely inside

Whilst eating our japenese meal we decided that now is a good time to actually start concentrating on loosing weight. In a fit of the moment I decided to loose 14 pounds by the time Batman hits our screens in the UK; June 24th. Its a lot to ask but Im determined to finally shed some pounds and make better use of my gym membership. So I've setup a sideblog to track my progress towards the attainment of the BATBODY.

Humbridge »

On my way out of the office tonight I stopped by the desk of my 'equivalent' for the travel team; I head up the insure team. He'd started his ILM course today. This was the training they'd been promising for months & months. The training I never thought Id see and, ironically, the training I never will; at least, not at this place. So we talk a little and then he makes an off-the-cuff remark that festers with me until I get in my car for the drive home

I've been trying to drum up interest for your role on my team but you've put everyone off it

Bullshit! (I exclaim whilst gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly) If anyone has been put off the role its because the role itself is rubbish. Had someone have told me, like I tell whoever asks me nowadays, that you will not get a chance to develop code, you will not be given training for the role, you will be poorly paid (considering you manage seven developers), you will manage a team of developers responsible for very little actual new development and the commercial and administrative pressure is immense; I would have thought twice about excepting it aswell. I look over occaisonally at the Analyst Programmers on a splinter team of my overall team (did I mention the hierarchy was a little messed up?) and think of where Id be had I have taken that role instead? Developing new and exciting code all day. Very little Commercial pressure. Very little administration. But thats something which I can move on from in time (read nine days). So have I put people off of the role? I don't think so. Im simply telling the truth. Besides which, he (mr.equivalent) can hardly talk. If anyone has been shouting from the roof-tops about how dissatisfied and unfullfilled they are its him ... anyway ... Im clearly still not quite over it so Im going to recouperate over a vege tikka massala.

Back »

A little over two hours ago, with a yelp and a meow, Badger walked back into our lives. At 4:34am Clare and I were awoken by the sudden flurry of activity as a stampede of cats came rushing up the stairs. A loud "Meow" and a flash of black and white furr

It's the boy!

I exclaimed. It was the most heroic three words that have ever been said in such a sleep-induced state. Smelling a little funny and clearly not having eaten for 48 hours we watched him gorge on Iams biscuits before he later joined us on the bed for a well earned cat-nap; I stroked him for what seemed like an hour. I then decided the only responsible thing to do, as well as emaling the RSPCA and council, was to walk 'round to all the LOST CAT posters and amend them to let the interested people of Wallasy/New Brighton know that may boy had returned. So now that happiness and a sense of calm has returned to the household Im going to make some changes.

1. Increase the cat's insurance policy
2. Increase my own insurance policy to include redundancy pay
3. Actually set-up that standing order to WaterAid (like I promised to last year)
4. Stop investing so much in my pension fund and start using it to save for items for the house, items for Clare, items for the cats ...
5. With regards to the above, stop wasting so much money on eBay

Some would say that Insurance is a bet that something bad will happen to you. From now on I've decided to consider it more as a back-up should something bad happen to me, because if the past 48 hours have taught me anything, its that bad things don't just happen to other people.

Badger »

My beautiful baby boy, Badger the cat, has gone missing. My heart breaks a little more each passing second. I called in sick today and explored the neighbourhood three times over the course of several hours, hoping to spot him. I've handed out flyers and stuck up posters; these have already generated three possible leads but I've yet to see sight of my boy. I've just finished emailing some mug-shots of the handsome devil to the council and RSPCA so that he can appear on their websites. Each time I look into his pale green eyes my pale blue eyes well with tears and sadness swells inside me. I must be strong for Clare and Boo. I keep myself busy by painting two walls of the front-room in Walnut.

Yawn »

Having enjoyed some fantastic weather yesterday todays taks include looking 'round some newly developed houses so as to get a better idea on how to decorate ours, actually putting some colour on the walls of our front-room (it's a bit of a beige box at the moment) and thinking about what we can do in terms of decoration/modernisation of the kitchen. For some reason Im feeling a bit down at the moment. I think it might be business worries. Not worries about the new job, but worries about the side-line Im thinking of starting. More details when I can be bothered. Damn lackadaisical attitude.

True to form »

Zoiks! What a day. Two more people resigned today from the team; one for professional reasons, one for personal reasons. Developers are dropping like flies. Im starting to feel a small bit guilty for all this. Im not really too sure why, they would have left with or without my presence, I guess its just because they were both from my team and so feel I should take some responsibility. But then I start think that I'd be stupid to accept any responsibility. If the company treats its staff badly (reneges on promised bonuses, reneges on promised training, actively creates a blame culture, fails to stamp out witch-hunts, generates huge profits but doesn't share the wealth in annual bonusses or salaries) then this is bound to happen. Even if the staff feel as though they are being treated badly ... its a recipe for disaster. So anyway, the team is now 20% lighter (or at least it will be in one months time) and Im trying to stay positive about my new job; Im still getting "that'll be a nightmare commute" comments from almost everyone I tell. I've now adopted a policy of "Blah, blah ... this is my new job ... blah, blah ... I know it'll be a bad commute but at least its experience ..." In a week or so's time I may just resort to "... bad commute you say, Fuck you!"

Tag Clouds »

Jefferey doesn't like them but Im intrigued by them. I actually find them quite nice to use. What intrigues me more, however, is how to create them. Half way through this walk-through the logic clicks and all is clear:

• Count up all the words
• the (10) big (15) cat (20)
• Find the smallest amount and subtract from the others
• the (0) big (5) cat (10)
• Add each of these figures to a 100% font size
• the (100%) big (105%) cat (110%)
• Set these, via CSS, in <span/> tags
• Badda-bing; Tag Clouds

At least I think thats how it will work. Ill need to toy around with a Movable Type template first.

Star Wars Episode 3 »

The first two films stank. The only part of either film I truly enjoyed was that of the lightsaber battle with Darth Maul in Ep.1; everything else was boring pap (George even admits as much). So the news that Episode three was everything that Id longed for in the first two (according to Kevin Smith at least) was welcomed but I was still dubious. Then, the present dotcom announced that it would treat all staff to a free viewing of Ep.3 (with buffet thrown in) on the 26th. A free buffet. A free cinema viewing to a film I almost have to see (having committed to watching five of the six). Cinema within walking distance of a few beer-selling restaurants. Outing planned on the night of my penultimate day. How could I refuse? The irony is that Im now actually looking forward to it which means that Ill hate the film and my prophecy of wasting another 2 hours of my life will come true. Still. Free buffet.

Whats on the box »

This appears to be a cool TV guide service; Until I stump up the cash for a TIVO, onthebox.com will serve my needs nicely.

Holy Smokes, Lois »

I've just spotted a former school friend on the box in a docu-soap no less. Lois (I forget her last name) is 'the new employee' in the solicitors firm featured in the BBC's No Win No Fee. Her boss is a prick and she was late on her first day due to ".. the Manchester traffic .." I hope that isn't a tale of things to come for me.

Just as I planned »

I phoned my new boss, as instructed, and it turns out he had some good news for me - he wants me to start one day later than planned! This now means that I've got a four and a half day holiday from old dotcom before starting with the new dotcom; how cool is that?! Whenever folks leave my current employer I always ask them if they are planning on taking a short break before starting their new jobs and then, nine times out of ten, ridicule them for not scheduling their time better; looks like I now get to practice what I preach. Im writing this from Clare's iBook. Its actaully pretty cool as it gives me the opportunity to browse the net and feel more a part of our lounge-based social scene. Clare, Badger & Boo my get to see more of me from now on - with laptop on knee or course.

Daddy wants a superDrive »

Pimp my goods

Upgrading to the SuperDrive »

So Im thinking of buying a Superdrive from eBay. Clare and I signed up for Tesco's DVD Rental plan and, with all the discs coming through the door, I think it might be nice to keep a copy of one or two of the best. Im anxious though about the upgrade process. The iMac, or any mac for that matter, I always imagine to be filled with a glowing, bright, white light; a world away from the wires and whirring peripherals of a Windows box. So Im wondering whether I should invest in a iMac upgrade book or whether I should just wing it? Speaking of Windows boxes I finally finished upgrading my Mum's machine. The Virus was found by AVG and the XP firewall is now on - preventing further unwanted intrusions. I installed Picasa, more through curiosity than anything else, and have found it to be a fabulous bit of kit. I really can't recommend it enough. Its a wonderfull tool that allows the rookie and expert user alike to organise and amend their photos on their machine and gives the option to easily publish photos online. It's great, really; you should try it.

The Best Man's Speech »

Crikey - what a day that was! Mart's big day was lovely. A beautiful church service, a nice wedding reception and, thankfully, the weather held up. As the Father of the Bride concluded his spech I could feel myself getting warmer and warmer - the persperation starting to collect on my forehead. Then it was Mart's turn. As he rambled on for about six minutes I could feel myself getting increasingly more and more uncomfortable; especially a he was starting to use some of the lines Id planned for my new Best Man's speech. My original speech had highligted some funny stories about Mart but finished on a pleasant toast to the Bride and Groom. As the day wore on I started mentally changing the speech to be shorter and more concise so by the time it was my turn on the microphone (infront of the hundred strong reception party) my speech was about one minute long and contained three jokes (one of which I forgot to use and one that was picked up by only a few people) and segments were repeated from the Father of the Bride's speech and the Groom's speech. So, in summation, it didn't go well. But once it was over and we'd moved away from the top-table I started to feel much better. So much so, in fact, that the rest of the night was wonderfull; talking to friends, talking to strangers, dancing with Clare and drinking copious amounts. Actually, having met so many nice people I was wondering whether I should invest in some business cards? I know the Japenese are big on business cards and I can certainly see their appeal. Having spoken to dozens of people last night I would have liked to offer the olive branch of further contact on several occaisons but no-one ever has a pen and beer-soaked memories at close to midnight are not to be trusted.

Martin's Big Day »

Today my friend Martin is getting married and I am filling the role of Best Man. Im surprisingly calm considering I have virtually no idea what the sequence of events will be and that I've only rehearsed my speech in front of the cats, Badger & Boo. Still, we'll see. I've just re-sorted the car insurance payments as the first time they tried to take payment the cupboard was bare; damn finances. Another job on my plate is that I have to call my new boss to confirm my start date and computer requirements. When I first learned of this I was struck by how odd it was; me, a new employee having a pow-wow with the head-honcho of a successfull dotcom - but then, the Manchester outpost is only 25 strong so perhaps Ill have to get used to these close-quarter relationships.

Finances »

Clare and I have just finished rejigging our household finances; its scary how quickly things can get out of hand. We're either living recklessly or its hard making ends meet in the househld department. Even with my future payrise, things are still quite tight although we are now putting away close to £100 a month for long term savings such as car insurance, holidays, DIY projects ...

Commute »

The guys in work, on learning of my new position, continually bitch about how bad the drive will be. "Manchester" they say "don't fancy the drive much" or "wow, hope you're prepared to sit in traffic for hours" or "I wouldn't fancy making that drive" or other similarly negative comments. Which, to be honest, pisses me off! Here I am trying to be positive and all I get is negative vibes about how bad the drive will be. Grrr! As each day counts down my enthusiasm for the job dwindles.

Samsung DVD R100e »

Its early days, but I dont suppose anyone knows of a multi region hack for the Samsung DVD R100e?

Yeah great »

I should have known that setting up a windows box wasn't going to be easy. Having lugged the monitor and box down the stairs and plugged in all the dozens of wires and cables the damn modem wouldn't fire up. So I opened the old box and removed its modem and slotted it into the new machine. Then, having connectd to the internet, I start getting crazy error messages. A quick check on Google and the box has a worm. Dammit! The worm automatically shuts down the machine every five mins so downloading anything is out of the question. So Im back at home, back on the mac, back downloading all the things I want (my mum's) new machine to have

• AVG
• Firefox
• iTunes
• Picasa

In about 1 hours time Ill head back to the frontline; freshly burned CD in hand

Then the rains came »

Today Clare and I met up with some pals and walked up Moel Famau (again). At the top we enjoyed glorious sunshine and a few cooled beers that I brought along in my rucksack. We headed back down via a small footpath that runs alongside a wooded area - its pleasant, leafy and the hordes of people that enjoy the walk up and down the mountain on a bank holiday Monday dont know its there so it was quite quiet. As we neared the bottom of the hill the weather began to turn and large grey clouds loomed in the distance. We stopped for a coffee on one of the many picnic benches and chatted some more about my new role in Manchester. Pit-pat. Pitter-patter. The rain drops came slowly at first and so we decided to call it a day and head back to out respective vehicles, but before we could get half way to the car it started coming down in buckets! Clare and I took refuge under a Tourist Information sign as sheets of rain bounced all around us. We then made a mad dash for the car and were totally dreched by the time we arrived - what a rush! Driving back, still drying off, we headed over to my Mum's house for some late lunch/early dinner - vegetarian chilli. Whilst waiting for the food I was volunteered to replace my mums old computer with an older, but more powerfull, spare machine that was sitting unused upstairs (since I got the mac). I thought it was only right to blog from the thing one last time before it was given away; so here I am, blogging. Boy have we eaten well over these past few days. Indian Saturday night, pub lunch midday Sunday, fish & chips Sunday night, vege-chille Monday afternoon. I hate to think what all this grub is doing to my wasteline. Speaking of which, Matt's new Fitlog should be inspiration enough for me to set some of my own (fitness) goals. I won't start a new blog Ill just incorporate them into this one - I am, after all, not known for my blog-longevity so if I can use one blog for great period of time its better then splitting my attention over two/three/four ... Actually, one thing before I do sign off, this looks like a lot of fun.

When in Wales »

Girlfriend Clare & I went down to Rhyll (in north Wales) to see my buddy Ben today. He showed us 'round his new flat (which was extremely homely - much more so than my house), introduced us to some of his friends, introduced me to a new fad and took us on a wonderful drive around north Wales - stopping off at a very pleasant pub on the way. But Im already getting ahed of myself. So, soon after arriving we went down to a quiet alcove of Rhyll beach to watch a few of Ben's friends battle with their new 4 metre stunt kite. I was instantly hooked. The power of the wind was dragging the... errmm .. kite-controller across the sand. At times they were able to actually take flight if the wind caught the sails in such a way - bounding across the dunes like jackrabbits. Within about ten minutes I was at the helm of the beasty. For the first minute or so I controlled it expertly, Clare later told me that the term 'natural' was even bantered about by the onlookers, but then a sudden gust of wind lifted me off the floor and, all I remember, slammed me down into the sand about 10 feet away. Lying on my back, concussed but in good humour, I still had control of the kite in the air above; its immense force still pulling on my now weary forearms. Approximately six/seven minutes of hand to kite battle followed; the kite, victorious thanks to mother nature's unceasing gusts and thermals. Heading back to the camp I was exhausted. With sand covering almost every square inch of my body I collapsed sat back down next to Clare and tried to recover. I had a distinct taste of iron in my mouth and developed a cough which felt as though it rumbled each time I breathed in/out heavily (needless to say I've already consulted my doctor). After a bit more banter, of which I partook little due to my state, we said our goodbyes and Ben drove us into the hills for lunch. Having been fed, watered and had a chance to change my tops so the sand stained 'I heart NY' tee was now hidden beneath a black vest tee, I began to feel better and it was time to start the tour. Ben drove us over to Swallow falls, a beautifull waterfall located just outside Bets-Y-coed. Having walked a little down river we paddled in the icey cold fresh water and skimmed a few stones before returning in a leasurely fashion to the car. We then took 'the scenic route' through Bets-Y-Coed and Snowdonia back to Rhyll and back to chez-Ben. Clare and I were both exhausted but piled back in our car determined to make it back in time for a late dinner with the cats. Needless to say, I've already started researching what looks to be a fantastic new hobby - what with me living 5 minutes from a windy, invarialby empty, beach.