About Me

I am a geek…….. BUT my background is not constrained to technological pursuits; prior to my specialization in IT and various contributions as a Microsoft MVP, I served as a Medic in the UK Royal Navy from 1989 to 1996.

Got my first internet connection in late 1995 – yep pre-Google.
(Did you know the first search query on the search engine was the name: Gerhard Casper, the then president of Stanford University.)

In 2000 I was employed by a UK charity to setup the IT infrastructure for a brand-new training center. A 50 seat Windows 2000 server network with Microsoft Exchange and one of the first 8Mbs ADSL lines in the city… I then spent 4 years as their IT manager… fun times!

In 2004 I was recognized for my contributions and expertise in the realm of the Windows Desktop, for which I was awarded the status of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) from 2004 to 2010. During my time as an MVP, I maintained the popular website called updatexp.com, which served as a valuable resource for Windows XP users, attracting over 500,000 unique visitors a month (a lot back then.)

I also created the popular Windows XP app called “SHERLOCK the CODEC Detective” , in 2005, which had over a million downloads. Basically, a tool that would check your PC and report back on every audio and video codec installed. A great utility for troubleshooting audio/video issues.

When Amazon launched its Amazon S3 storage service, in Europe 2007, I co-created an app that easily allowed Microsoft Windows users to upload their files and manage any associated security settings.

When Google introduced their Website Video Sitemaps feature, back in 2007, within 24 hours I had co-created a Windows app. Essentially using the Microsoft Windows desktop you could create a Video Sitemap that created a correct file to upload – using the official XML schema to define the elements and attributes you wanted to appear in your Video Sitemap file.

In 2013 I created the world’s first 3D printed ink cartridges. It was whilst working on this project that I came across the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Being a “techie” I now had a new world to discover, one that involved new tech called Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers. I was hooked.

Then in 2021 I stumbled upon “Generative AI” – first text-to-text LLMs and then in 2022 text-to-image LLMs. I disappeared down that rabbit hole for months before I came up for air…

I am married to an amazing woman whom I first met when we were teenagers in a local church youth group. She went onto study Physics at University and is now the Managing Partner at a very busy medical practice.

I am now writing a series of books on Cryptocurrency and Generative AI.