Moving on, moving up

I think I can finally say that I’ve finished working at Aspective and will be starting my new job at Venda on Monday 13th of March!

I’d been seriously looking for a new job since the start of January and had been generally unhappy since at least the last quarter of 2005. But I had thought it best not to rant about it in public too much for fear of getting really worked up and saying things I either didn’t mean, or would regret, or both.

Even now, when I’m out the door at Aspective and ready to start at the new place I think it’s best not to dwell on the negatives but instead to talk about some of the high points.

Continue reading “Moving on, moving up”

Lack of activity

You may have noticed there has been a lack of posts here recently, and might be thinking this is the typical slowdown that happens when a new blogger loses interest.

Well, I can’t promise I won’t ever lose interest, but I’m not done yet!  It’s just been a very hectic period of my life which I haven’t yet had much chance to blog about.  More to come!

Podcasts I listen to

The Ricky Gervais Show ^

All the cool kids have been listening to this one. If you like Gervais or his sidekicks Stephen Merchant (co-writer of Extras) and Karl Pilkington (their producer from Xfm) then you’ll certainly like this. It’s outrageously funny, though I still can’t work out exactly how much of Karl Pilkington’s insanity is scripted.

They’re up to episode 11 of 12 now but I’ve kept them all, so drop me a line if you’d like them.

LUG Radio ^

I’m sure this one needs no introduction. Linux news, reviews and interviews from some large Midlands gents with a humourous bent. Will also broaden your usage of the words “chin”, “beard” and “bald”.

If you have any interest in Linux and you haven’t yet listened to this one then do give it a go.

More? ^

Those are the only two I listen to right now — I just can’t find the time to listen to more, as it’s mainly only on my commute. When I start my new job in mid March with its longer journey to Leicester Square I may have to add something new to the list though. Got any suggestions?

Under the gun

Last night was my first game of “proper” friendly poker, specifically Texas Hold’em.

I’d been wanting to try poker for a while so we’d tried to organise a Strugglers poker night, and in the process I also got invited to one with people from work. As it turned out, Strugglers poker got postponed, leaving me a little worried that my first experience would be a bit more stressful than I would like — it would be with people I knew a little less well and for slightly higher stakes.

Continue reading “Under the gun”

A grainy greyhound video

A grainy shot of Chalky, my father's greyhound The other day I got this strange text message on my phone saying I’d been sent a video message, from a phone number I didn’t recognise, pointing me to Orange‘s MMS site. Thinking it was spam I forgot about it for a few days, but then as I was sending a text message today I noticed it again.

On checking it out, I found it was a short and grainy video of Chalky, my father’s new greyhound. It must have been taken by his partner’s son, which was why I didn’t recognise the number.

Front cover of Adopting the Racing GreyhoundIt just makes me wish I had a greyhound as well now. Especially with the Adopting the Racing Greyhound book I got for Christmas.