Category: My Life

A Summer Not Wasted

Last weekend I spent the weekend in the Lass o’Gowrie for In Da 80’s, a classic gaming event featuring much alcohol and game playing. As the weekend was wet, I didn’t mind spending it indoors, plus I get to speak to many people I’ve gotten to known in the year or two I’ve spent going to these events. But one thing I’ve yet to do is win a tournament.

This changed last weekend.

You see, when I was the tender age of 10, my favourite item I owned was a Commodore 64. For those who don’t know, the majority of the games came out on cassette tapes, which was played into the machine with a tapedeck. In the summer of that year, my tapedeck’s eject button broke, leaving one game in there – Buggy Boy.

Being my favourite toy, and an alright game stuck in the tapedeck (which I could still play), I played it religiously, getting pretty good. Mum thought she wasted my summer. I proved her wrong this weekend.

You see, one of the games in the 80’s Pentathlon was Buggy Boy. A few pints and large swathes of hogging the system, and this was the result (I use my online handle “retrogarden”).

Winning!

I won a free pint and £20 gift vouchers (in the raffle), and is a rare highlight in what has been a bit of a down month! Damn post holiday blues!

What’s been your best gaming moment?

Honoured and Humbled

Last weekend at Think Visibility, as well as the merriment at the bar and the great sessions put on by the speakers, there was also an air of sadness. Between this conference and the last, one of the speakers and somebody who I got to know pretty well – Jaamit Durani, was tragically lost in an accident.

Jaamit was such a huge influence on my career when I was starting out on SEO (I wrote about it on my old blog), and to say his loss saddened me and the SEO community as a whole would be a gross understatement.

As part of the celebration of his life, the Jaamit Award was created by The Hodge and his team, and the award was decided by the first (or best, I’m not sure) solution to the questions located in the Think Visibility Robot.txt file.

I was surprised and honoured to be named as the winner.

As Dom said in his speech, it will hopefully grow into an industry recognised award (in an industry that badly needs one), and although I don’t profess to know everything that is known about SEO, I do try and “Share it like Jaamit”, with what I do know with my peers (cheap plug – my Thinkvisibility notes will be on Winwar when I’ve finished typing them up). After all, I’d like to think I’m approachable at the very least.

What was incredibly humbling was reading back the twitter stream of the #thinkvis tag with all the messages of congratulations. Likewise all those who spoke to me in the bar with all the messages of support. As somebody who suffers quite badly from Imposter Syndrome (see Peter Cooper’s notes on his talk), it was very humbling. I wish my dodgy neck didn’t mean that I had to leave the party early, as there was so many people I didn’t get the chance to speak to.

So to all those who congratulated me in person and on Twitter – thank you. To Dom for the Think Visibility September ticket & hotel, A4UExpo for the A4U ticket, Dixon Jones for the Majestic SEO year pass and Gadget Glamour for the iPad skin – thank you!

But most of all, thank you for Jaamit. He had such an effect on my career and on the SEO community as a whole. Just wish that he was still here to see it all.

Get Less For Murder

What have I, Kenny Dalglish, Vivaldi & Lolo Ferrari from Eurotrash got in common?

celebrate little things
Creative Commons License photo credit: Shandi-lee

They all celebrate their birthday today! (Well bar the last two, as they are sadly no longer with us).

Yes I reach the ripe old age of 27. 3 years away from 30, and had a conversation with Mel last night when I realised that dying alone isn’t that bad.

Anyway, bar my own morbid fascinations, I’m looking forward to it! I’m off to Thinkvis this weekend (threatening to live blog it on Winwar!). I thought I’d do something fun as well:-

If you’re going to Thinkvis, I’ll buy a pint to the person who gets the most impressive celebrity to wish me a Happy Birthday. It’ll be judged by me at 7pm.

Yes self indulgent, but I don’t care. Get spamming Twitter your twitter followers!

Go!

Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus! Cwtch a Welshie Sore Today

Happy St Davids Day..!

Creative Commons License photo credit: Watt_Dabney

Happy Saint David’s Day! Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus i ti! Yes, today is the day that Welshies around the world celebrate like they do any other day & have a few drinks, wear their rugby shirts and genuinely singing hmyns & arias all day. Maybe that’s just me.

Welshies are ace and if you are blessed enough to have a Welshie in your life, show you’re appreciation for them by a way that Welshie’s are most receptive.

Give them a cwtch to end all cwtches.

You see, a cwtch is a hug, and although nobody can give a cwtch quite like a Welshie, they are notoriously receptive to other nationalities to attempt a cwtch.

So give a cwtch to a Welshie today!

Have a special Welshie in your life? One that’s yours and yours only? Give them a great big sws (kiss) as well!

Anybody doing anything special today?