My interest in computers began at 13 years old in 1981 when I was introduced to programming via a Sinclair ZX81. Although I could see the limitations of such a basic machine straight away, I could also see the potential of this new technology and thanks to my Grandfather who set me programming challenges - I was coding within hours of getting the thing out of the box. The peripherals I added included the thermal printer, 16Kb memory pack and new programming languages including Forth and Logo. I first dabbled in low level assembly language & machine code on this computer, for the power it afforded me.

The next big thing for me was the Acorn BBC model 'B'. At the time I felt like I had a vast amount of power at my fingertips! The programming language was second to none, in fact some still regard it as a definite version of BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code). My programming skills began to develop beyond anything my family were expecting and I was soon developing text based adventure games - using two five and a quarter inch floppy disk drives which I was using as dynamic storage for data during gameplay. I particularly enjoyed the sound and colours this machine was capable of, archaic at the time of writing, but innovative at the time. I was an avid follower of the TV series that accompanied this computer and was soon debugging listings for apps & games that appeared in magazines.

After the BBC computer came a period where I decided I was going to work in hardware and after working my way through a couple of PCB surface mount companies I eventually ended up working for Dell, in Bracknell, assembling PC's which were at the time 286 , 386 & 486 based processors. I was also installing software, ie windows to the client's requirements. Within a year I was promoted to motherboard re-working. After being promoted into shipping (an unusual promotion by anyone's standards) I therefore left Dell to pursue personal interests, which included music performance, and I became a respected bass player. During this time I owned an Amstrad CPC6128, but the less said about that, the better! I had already decided that IBM based PC's were the future, for me.

After returning from touring in Europe I decided that I couldn't leave computers alone and, after studying via a fast track correspondence course, became a qualified C and C++ programmer. Since then I have learnt Visual Basic (version 6 up to .NET) and have worked as a freelancer and for various media companies developing everything from search engines and a Biorhythm calculator through to word processors for the dyslexic. However, once I had volunteered for Reading Single Homeless Project, developing their website I got the bug that instant results delivers and have decided that websites are my future, most of which can be viewed on this site.

In conclusion - I take a great deal of pride in my work and that is something that continues to reward me daily.