Posted here mainly so that I have a reference: Improve photography skills to the point where I can take half-decent photos of trains. Start selling licences for KAM Tools (software startup with a colleague from a previous job). Finish and deliver training courses on Configuration Management with Ansible and Version Control with Git. Read The […]
Winter clearout
Over the years I’ve accumulated lots of books, maps and DVDs which I’ve rarely used. I don’t have enough space to store them all so I’m looking to sell them on at a significant discount. All items are in very good or excellent condition and most have only been read/watched a couple of times at […]
Where to from here?
Today marks the one year anniversary of me leaving full time employment and starting my own business—something I’ve wanted to do since high school (in primary school I had slightly unrealistic ambitions, including World President). So far things are going well, I am ahead of my conservative forecasts, have regular work from several clients, and […]
November is Will Aid month
If you’ve been thinking of getting a will, November is a good month to do something about it. Will Aid is an annual scheme whereby participating solicitors have agreed to write basic wills for no fee, on the understanding that you make a donation to charity (£95-150). A basic will covers the vast majority of […]
Life update
Four months in and freelancing is going slowly, though I’ve picked up another regular contract and received a few more enquiries now that the quiet summer holiday season is over. I’m also in the process of getting a custom design for my PHP Developer site, as I don’t think it sells me as well as […]
CV feedback request
As I’ve recently picked up a few new technical skills (e.g. configuration management with Ansible) and started freelancing, I’ve updated my CV again and would be grateful for any feedback, either via the comments or email. HTML and PDF versions can be found at pwaring.com and the Markdown source on GitHub. The CV is intentionally […]
Freelancing so far
I’m now half-way into my first month of freelancing and I think things are going reasonably well. I have regular work for at least one day a week, plus a few other potential projects lined up, which is more than my initial pessimistic forecast. I also have dates for my two financial adviser exams, at […]
The long road to freelancing
I’m roughly half-way through my notice period at my current employer, which feels like it is going very slowly. I’ve got one big project to finish before I leave—processing, registering and labelling the Raspberry Pies which we give out to new undergraduates—but other than that things are fairly quiet. Officially my final day is 30th […]
Full time freelancing
Most people will have seen this news already on social media: earlier this week I handed in my notice at the University of Manchester and will be leaving at the end of June. I enjoy working there, but sadly there isn’t enough work to keep me busy, and whilst the department I work in does […]
Manchester Geek Socials
I haven’t posted about these for a while, so here is a reminder of the geek socials I’m running in Manchester this year. Geek Walks: Monthly walking group which takes place on Saturdays based on an availability poll. We get a train and go to somewhere within an hour’s journey of Manchester, which takes in […]