… you’ll probably won’t be surprised to hear. However, I’m enjoying reading the Tag blogs that are floating around the Oracle blogosphere, not least because I think the things I’m learning about others are as important, if not more important, than their technical credentials. As long as I don’t have to pass on some pointless homily or superstitious nonsense, I’m game! So thanks to Chris Muir and Eddie Awad for ‘tagging’ me (despite my instinctive aversion to receiving emails with ‘tagged’ in the subject line). I’m ‘it’, then … Here are a few things listed in vaguely chronological order.<\/p>\n
1. My dad was in the Royal Air Force which meant a new house, new friends and a new school every two or three years. I still find it hard to stay in one situation for too long, so contracting is a blessing. <\/p>\n
2. I was a big hit in one of my Primary School plays (aged 7 or 8), playing one of the Ugly Sisters. Brought the house down, I’m told. <\/p>\n
3. Although I narrowly failed to be accepted for an exclusive Flight Systems Engineer apprenticeship in the RAF, my first job was working on a YOP scheme (Youth Opportunities Program) as an office junior in the smallest carpet shop in Edinburgh. I lasted a month. My second was another YOP position in the Department of Building at Edinburgh University, where I helped mix concrete cubes and crush them before cleaning up the mess afterwards. Fortunately there were more interesting sides to building so I had the opportunity to work on a DEC PDP 11 running Bell Labs Unix that some architects were using to write a CAD system. I liked the anechoic chamber, too. Everyone should take the opportunity to experience an anechoic chamber at least once. <\/p>\n
4. I love watching sport – almost all sports, although I struggle with Baseball.<\/p>\n
5. In 1989 I worked as what was referred to as a Light Jockey at The Amphitheatre which was probably Edinburgh’s premier nightclub at the time. This involved pushing buttons to control the intelligent lighting, smoke machines and lasers and, at around midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, ‘performing’ a 5 minute light-show to instrumental music. In fact, the job largely consisted of being paid \u00a335 per night, cash-in-hand, for having a few pints of lager and people-watching. Unfortunately, I was also the only incumbent who managed to avoid any romantic pay-off from the undoubted status attached to the role. <\/p>\n
6. Early public speaking engagements included a reading in York Minster when I was 13 and a contribution to a debate at the Banking, Insurance and Finance Union’s national conference when I was 26. Couldn’t shut me up, even then. I remember wearing a ‘Free Tommy Sheridan’ t-shirt at the union conference.<\/p>\n
7. I pretend I can play guitar, but I can’t really. I know more chords than most accomplished guitarists do but I just can’t play them very well. <\/p>\n
8. I’m obsessive about sound engineering, even though I’ve never had a job doing it. I had quite a lot of recording gear in my house in the mid-90s, but don’t any more. No-one is likely to have to listen to the results again. <\/p>\n
I’m sure I could have come up with another eight, but that’s what springs to mind at the moment.<\/p>\n
I’ll try to avoid those who have already participated or I’ve noticed have been asked, so time to pass the baton on to Paul Vallee<\/a>, Peter K<\/a>, Dominic Delmolino<\/a>, Jeff Moss<\/a>, William Robertson<\/a>, Lisa Dobson<\/a>, Frits Hoogland<\/a> and Nuno Souto<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"