10 Things About Me

I’ve been sucked in. Kas Thomas seems to know me too well already, I won’t back away from something like this when there is so much fun to be had.

Kas already seems to have done my dream, learning to fly and seems to have suffered what people learning to fly or just flying have a lack of – money. I have no money either and no pilots license… I’m doing it all wrong!!

1.    I grew up in Knutsford, England
Quite a nice small town in the North of England that seems to be the home of footballers and radio DJs. Nothing really to recommend it other than being the former home of Elizabeth Gaskell, noted author and Henry Royce (of Rolls Royce fame). I now live in Arnhem, the Netherlands which is close to the German border and moved here about 10 years ago. I do speak Dutch although nearly all my business work is done in English.

2.    I have a degree in Computer Science
I am not sure it really ever helped me directly in what I do, it just taught me to think about what I am doing and be creative with solutions.

3.    I have worked in IT for my entire career
…except when I worked as a chef to earn money for university. I have worked for Oracle, SDL Tridion and a number of small start ups all on with a strong connection to the Internet. I almost became a Landscape Architect but I choose IT, not sure whether or not that was a good idea. However, I am always looking for new challenges (write me!).

4.    I have two children; Iris, 5 and Lucas 3 and a girlfriend, Sonja plus two cats Lilly and Eddie
Eddie’s fully name is Mr Edmund Blackadder after the Rowan Atkinson character but it is a bit long to keep calling him by it. But it is still used when he is in trouble.

5.    I have a sports car for the weekends
A 1971 MGB Roadster which is in pretty good condition. I won’t start half the time but that is because I don’t keep the battery on charge the whole time. I don’t get to drive it very much but hopefully now that summer is here I can.

6.    I used to hill walk and mountain climb for a hobby
Since I moved to the Netherlands there is not much chance due to a lack of my desired altitude. My record altitude is 22,500 feet which is pretty cold and pretty lacking in oxygen. I did this in the Indian part of the Himalayas.

7.    I am addicted to Diet Coke

If people are addicted to coffee, I would be addicted to Diet Coke. Like most people, I can’t work until I have had a bit of caffeine in the morning. Problem is I hate coffee.

8.    I am an avid online gamer
I’ve been part of gaming clans for many years and even led successful teams in competition. I play First Person Shooters (so no World of Warcraft here!) and nothing gets rid of the stress of the day like throwing Molotov Cocktails at your enemy.

9.    My reading passion is the history of World War II
I am somewhat of a specialist on Operation Market Garden due to living in Arnhem but I read about anything. It has given me a much greater understanding of myself and the world around me as well as helping me understand leadership and the qualities that people possess than enable them to do extraordinary things.  There is so much to read here I will never read or understand it all but it has inspired me to do a degree in Military History at some point in the future.

10.    I am a huge Formula One fan
I watch every race live on TV and have done for the past 14 years. I have also travelled to some races. I not only like the new racing but also the retro stuff going back to the 70s and beyond. My favourite photos I have are of Sterling Moss and Fangio. I also took a nice photo of Hakkinen and Schumacher at Spa in Belgium which hangs on the wall of my house.  To add to all this, I ran a Formula 1 site together with a friend that even made it into a top 10 of F1 websites by the Daily Telegraph newspaper (United Kingdom). We made the list right next to the McLaren F1 Team website.

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