Following Saber's lead I thought I'd give you a peak into the world of Hooty and see 'where the magic happens'. Not exactly magic per se but more like a nerd with a laptop writing about video games thinking that using the term 'where that magic happens' would be amusing...

Read on to see where I rest my sack when podcasting and see what I see when writing.


1. First of course is my Apple laptop. I've always used Apple computers for my work - except that one time when I worked for HSBC. We had PC's that seemed to hate me and the programmes I was using. Many a crashes took place. Many a swear words I uttered. One particular programme was ToolBook. Oh how I hated ToolBook. It was almost like a love child of Flash and Dreamweaver but only if both those programmes were bother and sister resulting in a digital offspring that walked in circles desperate to bite it's own ear.

2. Then comes my 4ft vivarium, home to a couple of lady leopard geckos; Elliot and Ali. Heco once lived in there but she sadly passed away not long ago. I got her when I was 15 and 12 years later was naturally quite upset that she died. Thankfully Elliot and Ali's tomfoolery entertains me daily especially how they climb up to their perch (far right), watch TV for a bit then jump off like crazed reptiles. Elliot was named after a character from the TV show Scrubs. The lizard Elliot is bright yellow and the character Elliot is blonde, sometimes known as blonde doctor on the show. It seemed a natural fit. Ali was named for simpler reasons. Being a darker shade with big eyes she looked a little like a baby alligator. And thus a name was born.


3. There's the digital photo frame that, although cool, is rarely used. I bought it for wifey one Christmas but due to it's position in the room, the frame isn't cycling photos like it's maker intended. True we could move it but then I wouldn't have written about it and you'd never of known it's tale giving it more fame than it would of had displaying images of my ape-like self.

4. These are various things to keep Elliot and Ali happy like meal worms and wax worms. They seem to enjoy the taste but I care little for it. Elliot is very sociable and likes attention making feeding a little difficult. When sliding open the viv, Ali would get excited for the food she's about to receive but Elliot always tries to jump out. If you let her walk over your hand for a bit that seems to do the trick and she goes back inside the viv happy that she had a stroll on flesh.

5. I am a huge sucker for limited edition things. Only recently I bough the prequel to an awesome series of books which cost me £25. I didn't have to buy the limited edition but like this Spartan Helmet from the Halo 3 legendary pack, I felt I must. It serves no purpose and was once thought to be a lamp but to me it's pretty cool.

6. To the side of the sofa would normally be a glass of soya milk or other such drinks and snacks suitable for a vegan. For I eat not meat, fish or cheese. No eggs, honey or milk. So what do I eat you ask? I'd like to say I'm fueled by the warmth of a smile but that would be crap. I eat lots of things.

Now for a view from my seat:


7. My CD case proudly (well...kind of) displays a small collection of Transformers; a toy that I loved as a child and still love as a man with a child's mind. May favourite of all was the amalgamation of the Constructacons known as Devastator. In the Michael Bay film, Devastator was a tank which angered me greatly. Devastator is a green mass of construction vehicles and the one seen here is only a small replica of the original toy. When I was a kid I went to a second hand shop and inside was an original box-set of the Constructacons for £30. I so desperately wanted it and saved up all my pocket money to get it. But of course my pocket money wasn't very much so £30 took quite a while to accumulate. Once I had the money the box-set was gone and there stood a sad boy.

8. Other items include a photo frame housing a picture of me and wifey plus a photo album she made for me before I temporarily moved to London for a job. I was only there on week days but it still was fairly boring. So naturally my time was spent playing the Xbox and watching Anime. GTA3 and Shemue II consumed a lot of hours and so did classic films like Ghost in the Shell and any of the Studio Ghibli movies. When I picked up a copy of Half Life 2 however, I barely played anything else even calling in sick one day just so I could continue Mr Freeman's quest.

9. This odd looking thing is a frog made of material and stuffed with something squidgy. I've always liked reptiles and amphibians hence my two pet lizards. When I was younger I would keep newts and frogs and every march would go to a near by pond and collect frog spawn to raise an army of tadpoles. Once I owned a Albino African Clawed Frog that lived more like a fish than a frog. These never left the water and had tiny forearms that were purely used to shovel food in their mouths. I was fond of my little slippery chum (aren't we all...) but due to instincts of the mating kind, he would keep me up very late by making a loud continuous noise. The aim was to attract a lady frog but instead pissed off a hairy teenager.

10. Next is my Canadian flag and Snoopy toy dressed as Mountie. I was born in Canada and moved her as a child but still refer to myself as Canadian. True I'm more English than Canadian now but hey. I still remember the days before we moved. My parents held a garage sale and sold a lot of my treasured possessions. Not because they were bad parents - far from it - but because we couldn't bring everything over. Still, seeing another boy walk off with my Darth Vader mask-shaped carry case home to most of my Star Wars figures cut deep. There are a few clues to my Canuckness by the choice of words for certain things. For example; Boot is still a trunk, trousers are sometimes pants and a shirt is still a dress-shirt.

Well that would end the view into Hooty's world. I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for reading.