I was bought a VIC-20 as a child and was hooked from day one. So a career programming wasn’t a complete surprise. Then I moved to project management. Bleurgh.
Thankfully I’ve managed to move back towards tech - I’m now a Lead Solution Architect.
For anyone not in the IT industry that means I’m paid to persuade people to write applications the way I think they should be written.
But I don’t get to write any myself. I think that’s a shame as I enjoyed it and has reasonable success whilst doing it. Colleagues may disagree ;-)
I do still get to play with tech though. Generally it’s on my own time although occasionally whilst at work. I’ve been learning javascript and serving pages via node.js recently. There’s a lot I like. And a fair bit I don’t.
In reality almost any gadget is a target. Elite:Dangerous has brought back memories of playing as a child. But now there are all sorts of HOTAS setups to dribble over.
As is virtually mandatory for techies I’m a bit of a trekkie. Star Wars also enjoy I do.
Dr. Who is also marvellous. But Tom Baker will always be the best. The assistants have improved over the years though…
A whole host of more modern stuff that’s not necessarily sci-fi but is definitely eye / ear candy. And daft. Shows such as Arrow, Fringe, Warehouse 13. The Librarians is particularly silly.
Films along the same lines: Iron Man (any of the comic-based films really), Bond, really anything that requires my home cinema setup to stretch its diaphragms.
Similar to many tech-based hobbies this is seemingly designed to part the folds of my wallet and extract all cash. I’ve resisted a few temptations. And given in to too many.
For some reason I haven’t taken many photos recently. Must remedy that…
I’ve recently got into woodworking in a small way. Some sort of reaction to typing all day with only virtual results I guess.
I’m enjoying it. But there’s a non-trivial amount of wastage.
The first car I owned was an MGB GT V8 which I loved (the fastest car I could afford to insure whilst 21).
There was no looking back after that - a Corrado VR6 followed (but sadly spent more life with VW than being driven: great when it worked by that was all too rare).
An Impreza Turbo followed (well, c’mon, that was a required drive in the ’90s a bit like a Capri was … ermm, never). The Impreza only lasted a few months because I upgraded to the toy I’d always wanted.
A TVR. The Chimaera 500. Fabulous car and I loved every minute of the five years I had it.
But marriage loomed so it had to go. It got replaced by a V8 M5. A decade on and it’s still going strong.
Amongst all that I had a CBR600 for a brilliant ten years. An ar*ehole in a VW put paid to that. I knew my marriage would never survive any accident no matter how slow. Bruised and battered the (written off) bike had to go.
I’ve got an electric toothbrush (ok I like gadgets, but this actually seems to work better than the non-gadget alternative). Its battery ran out. The manufacturer say I must either buy a new one or send it to them to have the battery replaced. Which would cost about the same as it cost in the first place.
I gave them the virtual finger, bought a replacement from eBay (about eight quid) and followed a YouTube video. Some minor soldering involved (but I’d learnt to do that a year or so earlier) and we’re back in business. I’ve done it a couple of times since (batteries last a couple of years I reckon). Up yours <manufacturer I prefer not to mention for fear of giving them advertising space … but their name begins with B. And ends in raun>.
My kids are my priority. People told me life would change as a result of having kids. I knew that. Of course I did.
Umm. No, I didn’t. It’s changed beyond all recognition. Almost all of it in a good way.
Obviously I like motorsport (see petrolhead). I watch F1 on the telly because … well, that’s what’s on. I’d love to see more coverage of BTCC or rallying (those guys are insane). It’s a shame MotoGP moved off free TV as that was bonkers too. Where’s rallycross gone too … anyone remember Will Gollop?
I love a good run around a squash court too. Pretty much always up for a game.
People getting in my way. Literally (I mean, wtf are you doing stopping dead in the middle of the damn pavement?) and figuratively (no, you’re not allowed to use that splendid tech here).
Tech that doesn’t work. Or only sort-of works. Man that’s a wind-up. So I’m often wound up. Which reminds me. This laptop should really be replaced by a top end Macbook (shift and space don’t work well). But how much!