Friday, February 04, 2005

I'd just like to thank ...

First of all, a big thanks from Ali and myself to all our lovely friends who have been in touch to share their thoughts about Ben passing away. It is really nice to know that so many folks loved and will miss the little fella. Also to my many colleagues who have expressed their sincere condolences. My friend and colleague Derek wrote "...Sorry to hear about your cat, people trivialize the loss of a pet, at least those that never had one do...". I know that it's really hard for folks who have never lived with a pet to understand that they really become a part of the family and their passing is a bereavement just like any other.

Mentioning Derek as a friend and colleague makes me worry. I read so many Web Logs that refer to "my friend and colleague" that I think perhaps it is a waste of bandwidth. So may I suggest that folks who you work with but are also friends should from now on be called Frolleagues. It just saves space.


Whilst I'm handing out the gongs, many thanks to the folks who have added links to "Ports Thoughts" from their sites. My frolleague Rob 'Choddo' Hayden used to be my boss but he seems to have recovered now. Aside from writing about his lust for the latest gadgets and gizmos, he has also written some brilliant guides to building a PC from bits and perhaps more importantly securing your wireless network. (If you have wireless you must read this unless you want your neighbor's reading your email).

Tony 'Woody' Cocks is one of the cleverest dudes I've ever worked with, and when he left my current employers to work for a competitor I really worried that he would turn to the Dark Side, but we bump into each other suprisingly often when he is walking his cute dog Izzy in Richmond Park and despite the efforts of Mr Gates, Tone is still the same open minded, wise and witty dude that he always was and his Web Log always reflects this.

Frolleague Ed Brill is quite rightly becoming a legend on the internet. His Web Log reflects his interests in Travel and Technology. But more so, it also reflects his desire to point out the realities of the messaging and collaboration market despite the lazy journalism that so often incorrectly implies that Microsoft is the only player in that space. But Lotus Notes and Domino is doing very well and Ed spares no blushes in telling this truth.

Finally, my great frolleague Darren 'Daz' Adams has one of the greatest sites on the Interweb. Quite aside from the fact that he very generously wrote an article welcoming 'Ports Thoughts' to the Web, his site is just stuffed with entertaining content. 'Daz Says' is packed full of common sense while 'Hall of Shame' is packed with grumpy moaning (normally justified) but so wittily written you almost ignore the bile. I could go on about what you can find at www.dadams.co.uk but you should go there and explore. You will not be disappointed. I should also point out that the design of the site is effortlessly beautiful. Working in the software industry I am really consciously aware how difficult it is to create something so clean and simple.

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