We’re back round to that time of the year again, and I’m not getting any younger at that, the complete opposite you could say! It’s almost half-way through 2012, and quite frankly, I’m not quite sure where the time went?

So if you’ve not figured it out already, it’s my birthday today. Not just any old birthday though, it is in fact my 21st today, and the plan is to celebrate it in style!

Now where did I put the keys to the Lamborghini again? ;)

It might not have been the easiest 21 years of my life, and it’s certainly not going to get any easier, but the only way you can eat an elephant (so I’m told) is one bite at a time. Take everything as it comes, even when it’s a challenge at first.

As you’re probably aware, I bowl quite a lot, and we made it through the earlier rounds on Monday and Wednesday. Semi-Finals are later today, with a possible Final to play after. What better way could you spend your 21st birthday doing something you love?

I genuinely have no idea if anyone has planned anything else for me today, I’ll just go with the flow, but having a few drinks throughout the bowls with my mates anyway.

There may be some chocolate cake in my future! :D #yum

I’m not exactly a party animal, and the hardest person to buy for (just ask the rest of my family), so that makes the day exciting already! Anyhow, I have a few presents to open, so I’m out of here.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at Google, yeah, if only it was that easy! Gideon Sundback, the man who invented the zip, has his very own Google Doodle. I actually quite like what they done!

Never throw away code. The grand, unfinished project you abandoned can always be stripped for useful parts later. – Ryan C. Gordon (via Twitter)

I’m not one with a lot of code, but never a truer word spoken. Setting up a section to share all these useful snippets not only benefits yourself, but other people too. Just make sure you document it well though, so everyone understands what it’s doing.

When I heard Series Eight was going to be the last, I was completely devastated, I still am in fact. It was one of a handful of things I watched, but now it’s been snatched from right in front of me. It’s like someone taking your favourite toy and not bringing it back!

I would be lying to say the Hustle Team didn’t go out without a bang, having caught a glimpse at some of the spoilers floating around online. Could it all just be part of the master plan, keeping the public in suspense? We filmed alternative endings said Kelly Adams, who plays Emma. It just makes it even more exciting right? :)

To all the cast and crew, both on and off the screen, you’ve done a wonderful job over the past eight years. Without your work, we wouldn’t have been able to watch what we did. I only hope the rumour of “Hustle: The Movie” becomes a reality.

Before I finish up, I leave you with Mark Wilson and his adventure following the film crew round Birmingham for 15 weeks while they shot the last series and ending up as an Extra in the last episode. Well worth a read I tell you, how I’d have loved to have been in his shoes. Great stuff Mark, and well deserved!

So grab yourself a beer (or two), sit back, relax, and enjoy the last of Hustle!

Where on earth did 2011 go, one day it’s January, and the next you know we’re back round at December. Time really does fly when you’re having fun it’d seem! Can we get all of that again in 2012 please, but with the addition of even more achievements?

What Happened In 2011?

Nothing sticks out like a sore thumb, so just a few things from the past year! ;)

January: The new computer I’d been waiting on finally arrived. I still laugh at the story that goes along with the purchase, but I never did get round to blogging about it here.

February: I bought myself a bike, I should really try to use it a little more in 2012!

March: Had my arm twisted into writing for WPCandy.com — So far it’s been a rather interesting experience to say the least. While I’ve not written hundreds of articles, I’m not that far away from my 50th, so maybe some party celebrations might be in order?

April: I got a reply back with regards to a recent application for a Happiness Engineer at Automattic, which I was pretty excited about. In terms of progress, I thought things were going alright, even if I’d have liked some better communication at times. I felt there was a point when I was just left hanging, knowing nothing, but more on that further down!

May: It was my birthday, another year older, but still young at heart! :)

August: I reached the Championship Final at Haddington Bowling Club for the first time, and ended up getting beat by a guy a year younger than me; who said this was an old mans sport? While it was a shame to lose, the better man won on the night!

October: It was about time I faced my fears attended some kind of WordPress meetup, so what better than WordUp Edinburgh? As explained in my thoughts after the event, I loved it, and would do it all over again! (Also happened to help sponsor the event too!)

December: Ended up working Hogmanay again, like last year.

Sounds like an interesting year when you look at it that way! :)

If we go back to the Happiness Engineer application, I did get a reply in June saying my email(s) had been caught up in email filters, therefore obviously ended up in the wrong place. In August, I (maybe stupidly) reached out to Toni Schneider, Automattic CEO, to check if the Automattician was alright or not and say we’d lost contact somewhere.

When we eventually spoke again, it turned out I’d potentially be a good fit for a trial, but I would need to shape up on my written English first! :( ME NO HAZ GD ENGLSH SKLS

What’s 2012 Going To Bring?

I predict some exciting things, if only I knew the answer(s) in advance though! ;)

Other than that, I’d like to take the opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year, and all the best for what 2012 brings. I’m definitely planning to blog a lot more around here, throw in a picture or two, even tempted with Project 365 366, but I’m just not sure?

Today's lunch, a Chicken Tikka Baguette!

It all started quite early on Saturday morning, too early for my sleep pattern, but I had something like 30 minutes to get ready. Taryn Wallis and her husband Allen had kindly agreed to come and pick me up, they also had Martin Young too. I still can’t thank you enough for that! – Next stop was Surgeons’ Hall to get setup for the day ahead.

We arrived in plenty of time to get things sorted before registration, so I took the chance to get connected to the WiFi, and charge my phone up too. I’d need some kind of power if I was going to Tweet during the day, not that I ended up saying much anyway.

Before long, people started arriving and taking their seat; I recognised a few faces!

Still don't remember Martin Young taking that picture!

I met some fantastic people throughout the whole day, Mike Little, Kevinjohn Gallagher, Donnacha Mac Gloinn, Michael Kimb Jones and Andy Gilpin, really just to name a few.

Having never attended an event like this, let alone a meet-up, and you can just forget about a WordCamp, you could say I was a little outside my comfort zone to start with!

So what did I think about the WordUp event itself? …

The Good

Without a doubt, the main event of the day was the sessions!

• Learning CSS Using WordPress
• WordPress In The Enterprise: Can It Work?
• WPTRT: How The Theme Review Process Can Benefit Custom Theme Design
• Panel Discussion: WordPress In The Voluntary Sector
• How Did You Do That?
• Managing Large Networks Of WordPress Sites
• Responsive Design
• How WordPress Themes Changed The World: Updated

I really liked Kevinjohn’s round-up, he summed my thoughts up nicely. For the first two sessions he did miss, I felt like I learnt something new. CSS is a wonderful thing, that I already knew, it’s quite powerful when you know what you’re doing. When you’re using WordPress in the Enterprise on the other hand, you get a whole new kettle of fish.

Did anyone mention the pizza we had for lunch, it went down a treat! While not all the toppings were right up my street, it was still pretty cool for that time of day. This was in part thanks to all the kind sponsors, of which I was one of them! :)

It was about 5PM before WordUp Edinburgh finished, we headed straight to Brewdog (which was only about a 10 minute walk away if that) for some socialising. I see what everyone says now with regards to this kind of event after, the different topics you talk about and food-for-thought conversations/observations; it’s crazy but in a good way!

The Bad (Improvement/Idea For Next Time)

I’d have liked if we’d went to a restaurant for a meal before hitting Brewdog. While yes we got a bite to eat in the end, it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. Going somewhere with more of a menu might have been a better idea; maybe something for next time?

The Ugly

Well that’s a good question, but did you see me in the photo above? ;)

Overall I had a blast at WordUp Edinburgh and would jump at the next chance to attend a similar event again. For anyone who’s never been to something like that before, you really need to get yourself along. My first time and I really would recommend it!