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Thanks to Nat for the photo
 		Yep, that's me, Mike Hughes, licensed to handle 95% of the UK's Internet Traffic, and guilty as charged M'Lud.
Born: 13.15 GMT, 8th March 1972
Where: St-Annes-On-Sea, Lancashire
Astrological: Pisces, Leo Ascendant, Moon Sagittarius
Height: 5' 10"
Hair: Falling out :-)
Profession: Internetworking Engineer, currently for LINX


OK, that's the boring stuff over with...

I loikes:I don't loike:
  • Thunderstorms
  • The seaside
  • Roller Coasters
  • Theatre and Cinema
  • Good company
  • Music (I used to be a DJ - keep meaning to get going again)
  • Food and Cooking
  • Real Ale
  • Belgian Beers
  • A good cup of coffee in the morning (and any other time!)
  • Motor Racing - mainly Formula 1 and Touring Car
  • Internet and Computing (but I'm not a total geek, honest :-)
  • Star Trek
  • People who don't have a clue what they are doing
  • Pedanticism
  • Liars
  • Potatoes
  • Cabbage
  • Ignorance
  • Drum and Bass and Jungle music - it's cack
  • Bacardi
  • Cheap lager
  • Cheesey Feet
  • Too much sport on the telly
  • Anne Robinson


I'm currently reading: "The Dilbert Future" - Scott Adams, have got Will Self's "How The Dead Live", and Mervyn Peake's "Gormenghast Trilogy" waiting to be started.
I'm listening to: "Play" - Moby, "Behind the Sun" - Chicane, "Onka's Big Moka" - Toploader, "Music" - Madonna, "100% Colombian" - Fun Lovin' Criminals, and some Ministry of Sound thang
I'm watching: EastEnders (this is a Religion, not a TV programme), Casualty, Holby City, Cold Feet, and still a good dose of The Simpsons now and then.
I'm driving: a Saab 93 Convertible, very nice :-)

A quick history...

Raised in Blackpool, went to Roseacre Junior School, Highfield High School, and Blackpool Sixth Form College (a.k.a. Collegiate Sixth Form). Worked port-time at Safeway to earn a bit of extra money. Went to Leeds University in 1990 for a year, studying Chemistry - didn't like it, and left. Went back to work for a year.

1992 - I started studying for a BSc Degree in Transport Management at Aston University, Birmingham. I have to say, that these were, so far, some of the best years of my life. Worked for what is now North Western Trains during my vacations - great fun! Got involved with the Students' Guild at Aston, especially the Entertainments side. Helped Stage lots of famous(-ish) people: Louise, Rolf Harris, Clock, Kenickie, Billie Ray Martin, Utah Saints, Blur, and Chester Harriott (Ainsley's dad - he's a Jazz pianist) - I realise that apart from Blur and Rolf Harris, that reads like a list of "Where are they Now?" :-). In between all this, I even managed to do enough work to come out with a 2(ii) Degree in the Summer of 1996.

Went straight into a job, and on the 4th July 1996 is started "Bobbing" (Tech Support) for an ISP called Direct Connection, based in Blackheath, South East London. Worked my way up, becoming their (only!) Network Engineer in early 1998. Two years, 11 months later, I left Direct Connection behind for the London Internet Exchange. I now look after the switching equipment which carries about 95% of internal UK Internet traffic. You could say I'm a professional geek.

I've recently been re-bitten by the travel bug, and in the past year travelled to San Francisco, Washington DC, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, Budapest, and travelling to Amsterdam is like hopping on a bus for me. Besides more Amsterdam, I'm hoping to visit San Francisco again in February, plus Atlanta and Bologna.

Home is South East London. I've become settled in this Tube-less corner of London, and I'm in no rush to move away, unless the property prices keep going barmy. But, you never know what's around the corner. That's my view on life. Very little is certain.


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