one man and his laptop

Humans weren’t destined to fly, nor were they destined to eat or urinate in the process. But, since we chose to sidestep evolution, can’t we watch TV whilst we’re at it? Apparently not – Thai Airways offer just a faulty projector for entertainment.

At this point we’re but a speck in the sky to the world’s population, and, to us they’re but a shadow below a cloud.

Aeroplane weight redistribution has taken place, in the form of lunch (evidence attached). We expect to pass North of India in a few hours, at which point we’ll be offering a wave to my parents.

Hindsight seems to cause some morning events to stand out more than others – the first thick frost of the year, the new passport holder costing £6.66 exactly, the Italian gentleman at the airport who ever so politely muttered something of the form ‘Asian girls are so quiet’ and, not to forget, being mistaken for Thai three times before even arriving at our destination, Thailand.

Over the past 23.9 years I’ve accumulated some knowledge which may be worth sharing. I’m sure a lot of this is very obvious to you, but I hope you’ll find something of use!

• A break from the screen to look around the room for a minute every 10-15 minutes is beneficial.
• Wearing a back pack on both shoulders may make you look like a tourist, but it’s worth it.
• Drink plenty of water – it’s good for your kidneys and teeth.
• Floss every day.
• Don’t eat tuna more than twice a week.
• Be honest – 9 times out of 10 it makes life a LOT simpler.
• You are not invincible, bones are breakable.
• Some lucky people are gifted with natural talent. For those who aren’t, determination can more than up for it.
• Don’t panic. Beet-root may make your poo turn red. It’s normal.
• Love means putting someone else first continuously.
• Wear sun tan lotion.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
• Try something new every now and then.
• Don’t let emotion overtake logic – but don’t forget your feelings.
• If your pees very yellow, drink more water.
• Be careful of STDs and accidental pregnancies – no glove, no love. 
• We all make mistakes, learn from them and move on. If you keep thinking about the mistakes you’ve made, you’ll make more.
• Don’t be afraid to show your feelings, especially towards your family. A hug never did any harm.

Finally, I’ve updated the gallery to handle videos – and added a few too! They’re the pretty ones with the arrowed play button on them.

Yippee Kay Yay, my brother from another mother.

Wow. I am an employed person. With responsibilities.

Managed to upload a few photos from the ‘induction’ event, which was great fun – lots of funky people.

This weekend, attending a ‘Video Games Live’ event.

Next weekend, the world [insert evil laugh]. Oh, no, wait… ^.^

Wow. I’m officially Simon BSc (Hons), isn’t that scary? People like me shouldn’t be allowed to have a degree, there’s no knowing what we might do with it.

The next step is a job starting in September with British Telecommunications as a Developer/Consultant, although I’m yet to find out exactly what I’m doing and where I’ll be based. However, before that I’ll be relaxing for a month, having a short cruise on the Mediterranean and generally catching up on sleep.

My Java SMTP and POP3 interfaces as well (as well as other JavaBeans) are available if anyone’s feeling like a perusal They’re fully Javadoced and allow you to easily integrate them into your own applications to allow you to send and receive emails (as well as other nifty stuff). There’s a demonstration included which is a very simple Java gmail-esque email package.