I remember 2011 like it was only last week

Ah…the obligatory end of year, start of year post!

This time last year I was writing about how challenging 2010 had been.

I’m pleased to report that on the whole 2011 didn’t throw up as many major problems as the previous year.

We’ve settled quite nicely into our new house, Bryony’s hearing didn’t get any worse and I managed to start playing football again after recovering from my knee operation as well as losing a couple of stone in weight as a by-product of that. (Christmas may have undone a little of that work though!)

On the geek front I purchased an Amazon Kindle, a HP TouchPad and a Windows Phone.

I also expanded my collection of retro games and consoles alongside visits to Replay Expo and the Retro Computer Museum. 

On the gaming side of things Portal 2 was without a doubt the highlight of my gaming year. I’ve not played as many games on my Xbox as in previous years on account of spending so much time on the retro stuff but Portal 2 was so refreshing and entertaining I’m glad it had some of my attention (taking nothing away from Arkham City which I’m thoroughly enjoying at the moment!)

On the personal front I stepped out of my comfort zone and spoke at a Pecha Kucha event in Coventry as well as realising the writers block I had was actually a symptom of not spending enough time resting and thinking about something other than work. I celebrated 10 years of being with my significant other, Bryony and wrote all about how the Internet changed my life!

In sadder news, Tony Sale passed away. I visited Bletchley Park the weekend beforehand and as ever it was great to see the fruits of his labour. He’ll also have been pleased to know that Bletchley Park’s future is safe.

On the business side of things 2011 was also much better than 2010. The second half of the year was one of the busiest I can remember for some time and this in conjunction with my decision to make sure I spend enough free time “not working” meant some things had to be dropped down the priority list – this blog included – but I’m happy that I’ve learnt my lesson from the summer.

One of the things that also dropped off quite badly in the second half of the year was the amount of reading I did for the same reasons outlined above. It didn’t stop altogether but the pace with which I was getting through books at the start of the year was totally different to the end of the year. My reading tracking experiment showed between the start of 2011 and May 3rd, I’d read 18 books – the final total for the year was 26. A much slower pace! I’m happy with my experiment though. It’s been good to look back and see what I’ve actually read this year which also makes recommendations to others easier too. Richard Tubb wrote a great piece recently about why reading is important which is worth a look.

Christmas always reenergises me when it comes to reading though. My family always know that books are a good choice when it comes to gifts and I’ve got some excellent ones again this year!

So 2011 was pretty decent – I’ve met some great people and done some really interesting things – thank you to everyone that contributed to my year whether that was virtually or in person.

Bring on 2012!

How The Internet Changed My Life

The phrase “life changing” is used an awful lot when talking about technology and the Internet in particular seems to get this more than any single item of modern technology.

I for one totally believe technology can change lives.

When using the the phrase “life changing” in this context though it’s usually meant in the collective/global scale.

It’s not something you can dispute. Children growing up now will have no concept of what an encyclopaedia is. If there is something they want to know everyone’s first instinct now is to look it up online.

Media and entertainment as we know it is totally different to where it was ten years ago in that it’s not limited to radio, television or the cinema. We now consume media on a multitude of devices and screen sizes whenever and wherever we want. 

So how did the Internet change my life specifically?

While it may sound a bit extreme everything that’s good in my life at the moment I have the Internet to thank for.

This.

My family.

So how do I have the Internet to thank for this?

I’m writing this post to mark a bit of an anniversary. It’s 10 years since I met my significant other, Bryony.

A big milestone generally, but when we met there was about 200 miles between us.

That’s because we met online.

What’s really interesting about that is that anyone reading this will probably think,  “so what?” as it’s not really that big a deal anymore.

It happens all the time and people get married and have children after meeting on the Internet so often now it’s just one of those things. But remember i said this was 10 years ago. There was no Facebook or Twitter and actually just chatting to someone on the Internet was still quite a big deal for the average computer user back then. There was a real taboo about it and for some time afterwards we didn’t tell the entire truth about where we met when we were asked.

But we finally met in person and found out neither of us was a crazy lunatic (well she wasn’t anyway )  and the rest is history! We got married, bought a house and had a couple of children just like any other couple who may have met through more conventional means.

I’m very thankful to the Internet for that!

I’ve also met lots of other great people virtually and in person via the Internet. Considering there is a stereotype of people who spend a lot of time behind a computer not being all that sociable I’ve met a lot of people entirely because of the Internet.

My involvement with AMITPRO and the SBSC community came through this blog. This still has a massive influence on my professional life and I’ve met some amazing people who I’m lucky enough to call friends as well as business acquaintances.

It’s hard to believe that this picture – the very first time I met anyone from the SBSC community – was taken in August 2007!

I’ve also had some really great times all in the cause one of my favourite pastimes – gaming!

I was in Cambridge for the first ever UGVM meet. I was pleased to get an invite even though I’m more of a UGVM lurker!

I was in Blackpool again recently for Replay Expo.

and at the Retro Computer Museum

All this as well as trips to Bletchley Park which in turn led to my recent involvement in Pecha Kucha.

Every single one of these things came about because of contacts and communities I’ve been involved with online and it’s difficult to picture what my life would look like if it wasn’t for Tim Berners Lee!

So I have the Internet to thank for having a huge impact on my family, friends and career.

Life changing enough?

I wouldn’t change a thing!

Do Something That Scares You

Has it really been a month since my last blog post? I seem to be in one of those busy periods at the moment where days and weeks seem to fly past!

I’ve had this post written in my head for a while but not actually typed it up yet but since it’s Friday afternoon and I’m wrapping some things up before spending a couple of days with my family I thought I’d knock this off the to-do list.

The advice “do something that scares you” and variants of it come up an awful lot and the reasoning behind it is sound.

By doing something that takes you way out of your comfort zone you’ll learn an awful lot. That may be about yourself, your ability to do something or even that you can overcome a fear by facing it head on.

This doesn’t mean you need to go and jump out of an airplane every weekend!

I’m obviously going somewhere with this….I wanted to share something I did recently that scared me.

I’ve been a visitor to the Pecha Kucha nights in Birmingham ever since they launched.

I heard about the format many years ago and as soon as I found out it was coming to the region I’ve been attending ever since.

The concept is simple. Someone presents on a topic using only twenty slides. They also only get twenty seconds per slide. That in itself doesn’t really sell it as interesting but it does make for really focussed and passionate presentations and since they can be about anything I’ve learned lots about topics I normally wouldn’t have an interest in.

You can see videos from previous Birmingham events here.

A few months ago I was at a Pecha Kucha night and was having a conversation with Richard Tubb about how brave the presenters were for getting up and doing it. We’ve both presented to groups of people in the past but agreed that the strict structure of Pecha Kucha could make it very difficult if you got your timing wrong or lost your train of thought through nerves or whatever. In a regular presentation style you can “fill” or explore a different avenue before coming back to the point you were on previously.

We both laughed about how we’d never do it and ordered another beer.

However, the organiser of the event Jo Hardy had asked me a couple of times if I’d present since I was such as regular to the group and in the interests of doing something scary I finally said yes.

I put together some slides and was all set to do it but the event had to be re-arranged. Have psyched myself up to do it I was a little disappointed. However, the Coventry event was the week after(their videos are here). I’d never been to the Coventry event as it’s normally on the same night as AMITPRO but this time around it was on a different evening and they were short of speakers so I offered to help out and took my presentation there.

Some of you may be thinking, “that’s not scary”.

I guess it depends on your point of view. Growing up I was very shy and the thought of standing up in front of a room of people filled me with dread. It’s something I’ve worked on as I’ve become an adult. I was going to say “as I grew up” but you need to have grown up for it to become past tense  

In recent years I’ve presented at various user groups and I’m also expected to speak in front of a group at the BNI group I’m a part of and while it’s still something that doesn’t come naturally I don’t dread it in the way that I used to. In fact when it comes to talking about a technical topic it’s something I’ve come to enjoy.

Doing this was a little bit of validation for that there are always things to learn and if you want to change something about yourself you’re perfectly capable of doing it. If you’d have asked me five years ago if I’d be talking to a group of people about anything I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet I now seem to be doing it with an increasing regularity.

Do Something That Scares You – you don’t know where it will lead.

Almost forgot….Did I mention they filmed it?

Video should be below or behind this link.

I’ve not actually watched it though as listening to the sound of my own voice is definitely something that scares me.

Pecha Kucha Coventry | Vol.5 | Andy Parkes from MINDRIOT PRODUCTIONS on Vimeo.

When did you last have a real break?

This is a personal post – if you’re looking for something technical feel free to move along

I wrote a post recently complaining of writers block. I wrote the post as a way of giving me a kick. It didn’t have the desired effect in the way I hoped it would but it did get me thinking in more general terms.

I mentioned in the post that it wasn’t just blog writing that was suffering, but writing in general. I realised that there was actually more to it than that.

My productivity has also been through the floor. Tasks that I should be getting through easily (personally and professionally) were dragging on and I’d been putting off anything that required extra effort. After a day at work I’d get home and my normal routine is to do something. It doesn’t matter what it was and could be reading, gaming, spending time with Bryony, whatever – the point is it’s doing something with my time at home. Instead my routine was replaced with collapsing on the sofa and channel hopping for the whole evening which is something I rarely do as I usually only watch TV when there is something specifically I want to see (Dr Who being a current example!)

It was only on the run up to some time off work I realised I was burnt out.

I had two weeks off work organised for the start of August and I realised it was the only time I’d taken off all year. I then realised that babies and knee operations aside since the business started the most I’d ever had away from work was a week.

I’m dreadful at booking time off work and if my good wife didn’t give me the occasional reminder I probably wouldn’t have any! It’s not an intentional thing. I’ve usually got so much going on elsewhere I don’t think far enough ahead to next break.  

You do need to switch off some point though and I think I’d gotten to the point where I had nothing left and was “running on empty”.

One thing people talk about is work/life balance and while I know mine needs some improvement I thought I was doing ok.

A typical work day for me looks like this:

Get up between 6am-7am  (depending on how I’ve slept! A topic for another time.)

Arrive at the office between 7am-8am – getting to the office early generally means I get lots done while no-one is around.

Lunch – no fixed time. 99% of the time involves sandwiches at my desk

Leave work between 6pm-6.30pm

This is an average day. For example, If I have a BNI meeting I’m up around 5.30am and on AMITPRO nights I’m not home until much much later.  

That’s actually quite a long day when you write it down, especially since lunch usually means eating sandwiches at my desk. When I think about it there have been particularly busy days where I’ve not moved from my desk at all!

So that’s work – where is the life balance?

On an average day I make sure I’m home to put the children to bed as a minimum. We chat about their day while getting changed, brushing teeth, etc and always read bedtime stories together.

I rarely ever bring work home of an evening and ActiveSync (push email) is actually off on my phone by default. I don’t need it on when I’m in the office so I specifically turn it on during work hours when I’m doing something away from the office. This means I should the evenings to do whatever I want.

Again, just an average. There are some occasions where I do work at home but I do keep it to a minimum.

Weekends are also work free. This is family/personal time. Email rarely gets checked and it’s common for me to leave the office on a Friday and not check it again until Monday morning.

I thought I’d got a reasonable balance. I thought I’d got enough time away from work of an evening and weekend to keep me fresh and make sure I was splitting my time time between the business and my family.

I was wrong

We don’t really switch off properly during those evenings and weekends. Modern working life blurs the lines between where work starts and stops and while I may not be checking email of an evening and weekend that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about stuff I’ve got to do the following day, ideas to flesh out or solutions to problems. In the same way while I’m in the office I’ll be thinking about that dripping tap in the downstairs toilet when I’m supposed to do doing a quote or how much new school uniform is going to cost while I’m looking at a PC that won’t boot.

Both areas of our lives are fighting for attention and you need to make an effort to stop and have some time where you’re not thinking about your work or your home life.

As I mentioned earlier I had two weeks away from work arranged so made sure I used that time as well as I could on relaxing, spending real quality time with my family and taking a proper break.

A week in Center Parcs followed by a couple of days in Wales was just what I needed.

It was great seeing so much of the girls and Bryony for an extended period of time and I came back refreshed.

I am a realist though. My phone wasn’t off the entire two weeks. For a start I’m a geek. I can’t do without my Internet connection – in my work life and my personal life but email stayed off and everyone in the office were told I was only contactable as a totally last resort. Everything else would have to wait.

However, I made one small adjustment that had the biggest impact.

I turned my “out of office” auto-reply on.

I’ve never turned it on before. Normally if an email comes in when I’ve been on holiday I’d either reply to it or delegate it to someone in the office.

This isn’t really switching off from work is it!

One of the main reasons I never use out of office is that I feel uneasy with email automatically responding for me. Susanne wrote a very good piece about it recently, she said

Having led a life in sales, I have always loved receiving out of office messages – they are typically a wealth of information such as mobile and landline numbers, job titles, and correct spellings of names that I can access should I be looking for ways to get a foot in the door to your business. You tell me that Janice Jones is in charge in your absence and hey presto, I have another contact to add into my CRM system… very useful if I’m being told I have to have at least 2-3 contacts per company on file.

And if I’m a spammer, well, all I need is your out of office to kick in and I know you’re there. Which suits me fine since I can sell on my data to someone else knowing that your email address is live. Maybe in this instance it would have been better to have not activated your out of office in the first place?

People always look me like I’m a lunatic when I say I consider out of office messages a security risk. What Susanne said feeds into that for me and have a look at some of the results of this search. I’ve always been sufficiently paranoid to leave them off.

However, I bit the bullet and made use of the out of office feature and it worked exactly as it should. I received several emails that didn’t need my specific attention. The auto responder let that person know I was away and they got their problem sorted by someone else in my absence.

I’ve been back in the office a couple of weeks now and I can report I’m feeling much better about things. Writing has come back to me (if you’re still here after the length of this it won’t be a surprise!) and the inclination to plonk myself in front of garbage TV has gone. I’ve gotten into some bad habits during my “rut” but I’ll get those kicked into touch soon enough.

I hadn’t placed enough value on taking a real break.

I was at a Comptia meeting recently and we were all invited to suggest a idea for “best practice”. Something we’ve done to improve our business.

Jat Mann from PC Pal simply said “take a holiday” – he told me afterwards he was joking as he couldn’t think of a suggestion but it’s no surprise that after the voting his suggestion came second!

Rob Franklln from JPT Solutions also wrote a post called “Downtime is good” which is about taking a break. Rob talks about making use of his network so that he can have that downtime.

It’s not just me then!

So after all that waffling my message in short is.

You can get more done by stopping once in a while.

Whether that’s taking two weeks off or getting away from your desk and having a proper lunch break it’s worth doing. 

Tony Sale–Thank You-RIP

It was my birthday on Saturday and in true geek style I decided the perfect way to spend my day would be to pay a visit to Bletchley Park.

This blog post was intended to be all about my visit but unfortunately I heard some bad news this morning so that’s on hold.

Tony Sale passed away on 30th August 2011 at 80 years of age.

He was the responsible for the rebuild of Colossus, the first modern computer and if it had not been for his efforts details of Colossus would have been long forgotten as it disappeared after the second world war. The rebuild project was a huge accomplishment and is even more impressive when you consider how little documentation was left behind. He was also a major driving force behind the work in getting Bletchley Park to where it is today and held roles such as Secretary of the Bletchley Park Trust and Museums Director.

I was fortunate enough to meet Tony on my first visit to Bletchley Park and he was a perfect gentlemen and happy to spend time chatting about Colossus and Bletchley Park.

Tony had his own website www.codesandciphers.org.uk which is a mine of information about everything Tony was involved in and it’s worth taking the time to have a look as it covers a variety of topics including details of how Colossus was used to break the Lorenz cipher, the Colossus rebuild and videos of some the talks Tony gave at the National Museum of Computing.

Details of Tony’s life are well documented elsewhere on the Internet so I’ll just finish by saying

Thank you Tony.

Every visit I make to Bletchley Park is better than the last and I’m grateful of the contribution you’ve made to the history of computing in this country.

Weight Loss For Geeks

Last time I talked about my recovery from my knee surgery I mentioned I thought I’d gained about a stone in weight.

Losing weight is never something I’ve really had to worry about before. Despite having a predominantly desk based job for most of my working life my weight has always stayed pretty constant.

Growing up I’d always figured I was one of those lucky ones that could eat whatever they wanted without fear of gaining a pound or two. Turns out this was very naive of me. It’s mostly down to exercise.

In basic terms we all pretty much know if we consume more calories than the body needs it will store the excess as fat.

It’s no secret I love to play football and up until my mid-twenties this was two or three times a week as a minimum. As I’ve gotten older there have been various factors that have reduced the amount of times I play in any given week (children, work, etc) and over the years my weight had gone up some but nothing to worry about. Once that stopped altogether because of my injury the pounds have piled on at a faster rate. Turns out all that football was what kept my weight in check!

So in preparation for the new football season and the on-going recovery of my knee I’ve been running and cycling to get my fitness levels ready for pre-season. Pre-season training is hard enough at the best of times so I wanted to give myself a head start!

I hadn’t given any thought to losing the weight I’d gained. My initial expectations were that all the extra exercise I’d be doing would take care of it by the time the season started. However, after a conversion with some friends on Twitter I was inspired to put a little more thought into it.

Considering the stereotype of people who work in IT (see the image above!) it’s amazing how much technology can help with fitness and weight loss so I thought I’d list some of things I’ve been using.

Tracking

Myfitnesspal is where I started. There are lots of similar websites but this is the one I was pointed at and it works just fine for me. The idea is simple. Enter your height, weight, age and a goal (i.e lose one pound a week) and the website gives you a calorie goal for the day. You then track all the food you eat and the exercise you do. This is basically calorie counting. If you stay under your calorie goal you’ll lose weight! Adding some exercise will give you some more calories to work with. I actually added an extra mile to a run as in the mood for pizza!

The site has a massive database of food which in my experience matches up with the nutritional information you get on most food packaging. The site is of a Facebook style in that you have a profile and you can update your status with thoughts that other friends can comment on. Activity on the site also updates your status and friends can offer words of encouragement.

This has been really great for motivation as it helps to keep you from feeling isolated. There is a very strong community around the site and there are various forums where people can ask for advice or share success stories.

Finally there are also mobile phone apps to help with tracking food and exercise. This particular site has support for Windows Phone which has been great for me!

Running and Cycling Routes

Gmap – Pedometer.

I love this site as it’s so simple. It’s a Google Maps mashup that allows you to plot running and cycling routes. Once you create a route it creates a unique URL so you can refer back to it as needed.

Again there are lots of other websites that do similar things. Some of them come with companion apps that use the GPS in your phone to track the distance you cover and how quickly you complete the route as well as sharing with friends. Runkeeper is an example and I’ll be taking a look at that more closely as I’ve recently purchased a sports armband for my phone. If you have an iPhone/iPod and are willing to invest some money the Nike+ system is very slick.

That said gmap was the first mapping tool I found and it’s really simple and quick to use hence why I’m mentioning it here.

Heart Rate monitor.

The only thing about using a tracking website such as myfitnesspal is that it can only guess at how many calories you burn during a particular exercise. Everyone is different and perform certain exercises at different intensities so any figures you use are only a best guess. You can get around this by using a heart rate monitor. I managed to get a cheap chest strap and watch in a sale in a local sports shop. I’m still getting to grips with it but the two work in tandem and give you various stats such as your average/max heart rate and calories expended. As you’d expect there is a very wide range of these!

Apps

There lots of apps that will work with your smartphone to help with exercise and weight loss. Other than myfitnesspal and runkeeper I’m not using any at the moment but I wanted to mention and give an example of how your phone can help exercise.

One thing that people always worry about when starting to exercise is actually starting! If you want to start running but haven’t done any for years the thought of trying to run even a small distance is very daunting.

There are tons of apps for just about every platform around for the “couch to five k” concept. The idea here is that you follow a set program where you start at short distances and gradually build up to five kilometres. The apps help as they will tell you when to run, jog or walk via voice prompts or making your phone vibrate.

While I didn’t use an app I followed my own informal method and I built up from running one mile to three miles and I recently completed a five mile route and I can certainly see how having a virtual jogging mate can help!

The Internet

Ok this is a little broad but like most geeks I want to know as much as possible about something I’m interested in and the Internet provides a vast amount of resources on exercise and nutrition. I’ve learnt more about BRM, BMI, VO2MAX and the like than I really need to know! You can find fitness programs, workout videos and as much detail about how the human body works than you can handle!

The only downside is sometimes there is too much information and there is so much conflicting information about what does and doesn’t work it can be difficult trying to figure out what you should believe.

In Summary

There are lots of gadgets and tools available to help get fit or lose weight. You can even buy a set of scales that automatically tracks your weight via wi-fi! I can report using the things I’ve mentioned above has worked for me and other than the heart rate monitor, which is a luxury – I would have been fine without it, the whole thing has cost me nothing. 

MyFitnessPal reports that I’ve been using the site for 70 days and in that time I’ve lost 16 pounds. That’s also taking into account a two week break I had for a holiday where I put some of that back on I’m so pretty pleased with it. 

So what did I actually do?

Diet – I didn’t make any drastic changes in terms of what I eat but did change the amount. It was only though tracking the calories that I realised how much I eat and how certain foods can have an effect. At the moment breakfast from a well known fast food chain is pretty much half of my calorie goal for the day!

Exercise – I started off with a bit of cycling to get me back into the exercise habit but since then my exercise has pretty much consisted of running.

I run pretty much every day where possible as I can do a couple of miles in 12-15 minutes. This means it’s easy to fit it in before or after work. On days where I’ve got a little more time I’ll stretch it out to three miles (and more recently I’ve completed that five mile run which I’ll start to throw into the mix)

Motivation – Unfortunately all this talk of technology can’t escape the fact you have to actually execute this yourself. This isn’t easy and no-one else can do it for you but the things I’ve mentioned are really good support tools to keep you on track.

I’ll be honest and say I still hate running. This obviously becomes much easier if you enjoy the exercise you’re doing and lots of people do get the “fitness bug” once they start to see results. Luckily I do get this with football. I love doing that so coming back from training or a game totally shattered is fine – I just can’t do that every day!

I’ve only touched on some of the things that are available if you’re serious about changing your body. Do you have any tips or tools you’ve used yourself? Comment welcome below

What do you do about writers block?

Genuine question!

My last post on here was June 22nd and the last one before that was May 23rd. I had gotten into a nice rhythm with posting after wanting to be a bit more consistent in 2011.

However, at the end of May I was writing up a book review and had a really hard time trying to explain the book. The words just weren’t there and since then I’ve found it really hard to write ANYTHING. By that I mean blog posts, emails, proposals, meeting requests, service tickets. As soon as I open the editor I just go blank. My twitter usage has been up and down too and generally anything I add on their at the moment is in response to something else.

The problem isn’t inspiration, I’ve had plenty of ideas and I’ve started lots of things, restarted and then given up. For example, my “first week with Windows Phone” post will now more than likely be called “my first month with Windows Phone” ! That should have been an easy one!

I mentioned it on Twitter and had a couple of suggestions.

First was to create a structure and then fill in the details. That could be a title for each section or just a bullet list of points you want to cover. It’s a really good way of writing but unfortunately that’s generally how I write all my blog posts normally.

Second was to just write. Get it onto the page and you can turn it into something more meaningful afterwards. Also a good idea and in part it’s the only real point of this post.

I’m just writing something, anything and getting it finished.

I’m kind of brute forcing my brain in an attempt to get over whatever hurdle it is I have in front of me at the moment.

Fingers crossed it works! I’ve got to do something about it not just for the sake of this blog but for getting me back on track. You’ll notice the AMITPRO blog and anything that goes with it has gone quiet at the moment too (apologies to anyone who is a member if I haven’t done something you’re waiting on yet – I’m trying!)

Now I’ve written four hundred words and given myself some therapy in public I’ll throw it open to comment – what do you when you hit a wall like this?

My Knee–the end is in sight!

My one and only blog post specifically about my knee was on 17th February 2010. I’d intentionally not talked about it all that much here as I try to stay around a techie theme (not always successfully) and didn’t want this to turn into a knee rehab blog. It’s been hard enough for me to think about it without projecting it onto anyone else!

In case you missed the first post on September 20th 2009 I caught my studs in the ground while running and twisted my knee really badly. Five months later I was told I’d need an operation to rebuild my torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament and to tidy up a tear in the medial meniscus which happened in June 2010.

It’s been a long slow process with some ups and downs but on Friday night I played 30 minutes as a substitute and a full 90 minutes on Sunday.

We won both games and like some weird scripted drama we won a penalty in the last minute and the captain graciously decided it would be a good idea if I did the honours. This was very brave of him as he knows my penalty taking record is patchy at best but thankfully it hit the back of the net!

So 1 year, 7 months, 2 weeks, 4 days after hurting myself there I was completing a full game. It was hard work and I’m suffering for it today!

This isn’t quite the end though. I’ve still got work to do as my quad and hamstring muscles on the left side could be stronger if I’m going to avoid a repeat occurrence, my lack of fitness showed in the last 15 minutes of the game and while I haven’t been specifically tracking it I know I’ve got at least a stone to lose that I’ve put on during all the inactivity.

I’ve learnt an awful lot about motivation in the last 18 months.

For someone that plays so much football it’ll probably be a surprise to hear I’m not a fan of general exercise. By that I mean things like running and the gym. Staying fit has always been a happy by-product of playing football. I’ve never had to think too much about my weight or my general fitness as it’s sort of looked after itself.

The road to recovery has meant I’ve had to do things I don’t really want to do.

Reminding myself of the end goal has kept me going and the last couple of months I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so driven in pursuit of something I wanted to achieve.

So when I’ve been cycling at 6am or out running after a days work when all I wanted to do was collapse on the sofa a quick reminder of why I was doing it helped keep me going.

It’s something I’ll try and use in future – “keep your eye on the prize”

My Geekmas 2010

In an attempt to get back into the blogging habit I’m writing posts as soon as I have a few minutes to fill so this is a little “off topic”. I’m also experimenting with the Amazon associates program so if you like any of the things detailed below please click the links if you fancy buying any of them. The 2p commission I’ll probably get will come in handy!

I’m very lucky to have generous family and friends when the festive season comes along. They are also switched on enough to know that like any self respecting geek I’ve got an Amazon wish list so I always receive gifts that I’m going to like! That said they also know me well enough to get some cool things that I haven’t listed as well. 

So what did I get this year that fed my inner geek?

FreedomTM

I was really pleased to get this. It’s the sequel to Daemon that I wrote about last year.

Having enjoyed the last book so much I’m eager to get started on this one.

I’ll report back on this one as soon as I’ve read it!

Star Trek Scene it?

This wasn’t on my wish list so it was a great surprise.

A twist on the classic “Scene it?” DVD game with a Star Trek theme.

Having given it a quick test run while at my parents though I’m going to struggle to find anyone that will play it with me!

Biggest downside is a lack of subtitles.

The Tardis Handbook

This is brilliant! A book focussed around the Tardis that dips into episodes from the original series as well as the more recent ones.

There isn’t any wasted space on the pages as it’s packed with character and episode details as well as lots of trivia tidbits and tons of photos.

A must for any Who fan.

Star Trek The Original Series

The picture makes this look like a small book but it’s not. It’s very hefty and with good reason. The book details every single episode from the original series! I don’t plan on reading this cover to cover but it’ll be great to dip into.

Windows Command-Line Administrator’s​ Pocket Consultant 2nd Edition (PRO-Administra​tor’s Pocket Consultant)

I saw the first edition of this years ago and realised what a great resource it is. That said I added it to my wishlist and promptly forgot about it!

The book does exactly what it says on the tin.

A pocket guide with just about every Windows command line you could possibly need.

Chapters are grouped so it’ll be easy to find what you need.

This will go in my laptop bag so it’s always at hand.

50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know

Another item not on my wish list and while it’s not in the same vein as the other items I’ve talked about it’s right up my street.

The book is essentially 50 mini essays around six broad topics

Philosophy, Religion, Politics, Economics, Art and Science.

It’ll be great to dip into and think about one idea.

Circuit Board Coaster

Again this wasn’t on my wish list. I’ve got a recycled circuit board business card holder which is very cool so this is a welcome addition. I’ll be taking it to the office where it’ll get plenty of use!

Eden Trigger Torch

Picked up by my in-laws on a recent trip to the Eden Project, this is an LED torch powered by hand using a trigger which disappears into the body of the torch. It’s very bright and is really compact and the trigger is much easier to use than the wind up varieties I’ve seen

I’m dreadful with torches. I use them so little that whenever I need one the batteries are usually dead. I’ve got a mag-light in my laptop bag that I can never use for this reason so this will be replacing it!

I’m very grateful for all the gifts I received, what did you get for Geekmas?

A date with charity

How about 365 of them?

Last year my sister-in-law Hannah spent the summer in Newquay. She fell in love with the place and had such a great time she went back for new years eve.

As is usual for just about everything there is a Facebook fan page for Newquay.

They ran a photo competition in October where people from all across the country (and in some cases the world!) entered photos that they had taken of the beautiful sights and scenery that the Cornwall has to offer.

Hannah decided she wanted to do something a bit more than enter the competition so took the top 12 photos from the competition and turned them into a calendar to sell.

All the profits from selling the calendars will be going to the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust

Hannah has done a great job in organising the everything and finding some local businesses who contributed to help get the whole thing off the ground.

I helped with some web hosting and getting a website together so I also wanted to try and help promote it.

If you visit the website www.ourcornwallcalendar.co.uk you can get a look at the pictures that have been used for the calendar as well as order one.

Since it’s the start of a new year a new calendar for the office wouldn’t go amiss surely?