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Leaving the good ship Pod1…

I’ve been bloody terrible about updating my blog of reason, and by way of lame excuse, here’s why…

After 2 1/2 long years at Pod1, I’ve decided to move on. Aside from the general craziness caused by my resignation, I also thought it best to make sure that the information about my departure was disseminated in an official capacity before I blurted it out online for all to read. Thankfully, that time has come…

In a little over 3 weeks I’ll be donning a new cap for Publicis Modem (of the world-wide Publicis Groupe). It’s a big move, and I’ll be flexing my technical muscles for one of the biggest agencies in the world - hopefully in a way that will assist their growth in the digital market.

Of course, my decision to leave Pod1 wasn’t an easy one - having spent 2 1/2 years eating, sleeping and breathing Pod1 (I kid you not, the sofa’s are damned comfortable), I was reluctant to leave its comfortable bosom. I’ll also be leaving a great number of friends behind - although thankfully I’m only a 15 minute tube ride away, so will no doubt be back on a Friday night.

At this point, I’ll leave with the email I wrote come the official announcement of my departure - hopefully supplying some insight to my daily workings…

A few things you may not know about me and my time spent at the pod:

• I moved to London to work at Pod1 on the sole merit that Fadi made me a cracking cup of tea (a first… and last?).
• I’ll have been at pod1 for 926 days (79945200 seconds!) when I finally get booted out the door.
• In that time, I’ve written over 100,000 lines of code.
• My longest working week was a whopping 122 hours, my shortest just a measly 4h.
• I’ve managed to go 24 hours without leaving the second floor of the building, and 36 hours without leaving the studios.
• I’ve discovered that the red sofas make awesome beds. Conversely, the old designers couch (which I believe has now left the pod) is way too small for me, and covered in spray mount - not a good sleeping experience.
• By rough calculation, I’ve drunk around 1,400 pints of flat Japanese lager, Guinness and mojitos from the bar downstairs (OK, maybe from the surrounding pubs too).
• By rough calculation, I’ve drunk a ludicrous 4,820 cups of tea. (Milk and two sugars please)
• I’ve “broken” 6 contractors - including the “ginger magician” and “moon-thunder river” (his real name, I kid you not.)
• I’ve helped in the launch of over 25 sites, and had my sticky fingers in dozens more.
• I’ve made many good friends in my time here, and thankfully, not lost any.

Bye for now…

beer leaving pod1 publicis tea

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London Eye (Gay Pride)

Last Saturday I was over East for Paul Lomax’s engagement party in Canary Wharf. After a great time (thanks Paul), a group of us headed back towards central London to continue the partying - with the Jubilee line undergoing weekend maintenance, we decided the fastest (and easiest) way to get back would be to take a water taxi to Embankment then wander until we found somewhere suitable to continue drinking.

After the initial excitement of taking a clipper wore off (a first, despite living in London for a number of years), it was quickly replaced by the excitement of seeing the BA London Eye “dressed up” for Gay Pride.

I’d have taken a photo if it wasn’t for the fact that I was sans phone/camera, however, if somehow to make up for it, I managed to find a video of the Eye, in all its multi-colour glory.

Truly awesome. My respect for the Eye just keeps on growing.

gay pride london eye rainbow water taxi

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Dexter - Season 2

My most recently favoured series, Dexter (based on the novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” - also worth a read), is back for its second season in the UK. I’d highly recommend a look if, like me, you’re a fan of dark humour, intelligent plotlines and a cast worth their weight in gold.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the series, Dexter, named after the program’s protagonist Dexter Morgan, is based around the life of a blood spatter pattern analyst who, in his spare time, doubles up as a serial killer. Of course, there’s always a twist - in this case, Dexter is a “conciencious” serial killer - only killing people who he classifies as evil - and proceeds throughout the series to silently remove murderer, after rapist, after psychopath from the streets of Miami.

As always, I won’t give too much away - other than to say that the series dives straight in and continues the pace of the first series perfectly. Be warned - the series isn’t for the faint of heart, especially those who find the sight of blood disturbing, and the humour can be incredibly dry - if you’re easily bored, you may find the effort a little much at some points.

Dexter starts on FX on the 6th July - if like me you can’t wait that long, I’m reliably informed that there are torrents of the season available across the internet.

enjoy.

dexter serial killer tv

Posted in other, tv by nathan bentley | 1 Comment »