Darrell Russell. A Software Contractor with over 10 years development experience. He is an experienced Microsoft .NET software developer specialising in C#, VB.NET, SQL Server Databases, ASP/ASP.NET web sites, XML, Web Services, WinForms, WCF and WFF development and consultancy work on a freelance basis. Based in the South West of the UK (Tetbury, Gloucestershire) and available to do work within South Wales, the M4 corridor, Gloucestershire, Dorset, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Somerset including Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Salisbury. At the moment he is particulary interested in Agile Software development methodologies including Test Driven Development (TDD).
Went climbing last night at the Link .. probably over did it a bit on the 6b (6c?) routes cos my shoulder started aching (fine this morning but I think it’s a warning). Must calm down and keep the intensity of the routes lower and just do more of them. Had a go at some speed climbing at the end on an easy route just to wear myself out (cheers for belaying Rhys) but didn’t let it get to the point where the moves were uncontrolled (been there, done that, damaged my shoulder). Seemed to work and was a bit of a laugh too.
Got home and discovered I was down to 12st 12lbs - not a “true” weight but still pretty cool
The family and I went for a Father’s day meal at the Dragon Garden Chinese Restaurant in Cirencester last week. They run a “eat as much as you can” buffet on a Saturday and Sunday which means that the girls can pick and choose which food the’ d like to try without us breaking the bank buying a full course that they decide they then don’t like.
Went well - I ate too much, Sharon ate too much and the kids eat a reasonable amount of lots of different things - I’m hoping it’ll improve their range of food they’ll try and it seemed to do the trick .. Yasmine’s favourite food is now Chinese
Next week .. Indian currys
Dragon Garden Details:
1 Farrell Close
Cirencester GL7 1HW
Tel. 01285 659089
I’ve just started trailing both Resharper (VS 2003 compatible version) & dotTrace from JetBrains.
I’ve heard a lot about Resharper and, infuriatingly I’m still using VS 2003 with a lot of my work, so I reckon it’s a good buy especially since I’ve really switched my development around to use TDD (or - even when I can’t run in TDD mode with existing, legacy .NET 1.1 code - I’m just writing a helluva lot of tests) .. I’ve read some of their documentation and it looks impressive so far. Can’t wait to dive in.
I’ve a bit of a bee in my bonnet regarding performance/profiling of apps, ie it doesn’t happen anywhere near enough, so I’m also really into trying out their dotTrace offering. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be attempting to optimise performance - better to get it right and maintainable first - but I think it helps a developer understand what’s really happening when their code runs. Information is power and all that. Also load testing an application is a completely valid test too especially those systems that then go onto form building blocks for other systems (SOA anyone).
Just found a very usefull site that lists job advert details. Not sure how accurate, or what should be read from the figures just yet but interesting non the less.
OK I probably wouldn’t like the amount of mud and rain the’re going to get this year but I would have loved to have see Kasabian live on the Pyramid stage tonight .. reckon it’ll be a real hum dinger
BBC Kasabian Page .. just have to try and catch it on TV instead .. ho hum.
Climbed at the Link centre on Tuesday and the Warehouse on Thursday evening. Tuesday went well .. overhanging routes and a bit of bouldering too. Felt it on Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday also went well though really off the pace on endurance .. technique still there though
No running or biking for the last week .. just too much going on in other parts of life (eg looking for a new school for Yasmine) and busy at work. Also the weather over the last two weeks has been atrocious - lots and lots of rain.
Into week 2 of a diet, I’m attempting to just drop down into the 12 stone range .. lowest weight so far (after climbing so not a “real” value) has been 13.02st .. so very close. Not starving myself, just restricting the calories a bit .. so no snacking and very limited alcohol. The last time I weighted in the 12 st range was probably 10-20 years ago (Bloody hell fire! I’m getting old).
Target weight is around 12st - 12 1/2 st range but that’s probably a year away at least. Considering I was 14 1/2 st January last year I’m very happy with my progress on this front.
Opening at the start of November 2007 in Bedminster, Bristol, UK
The Worlds biggest and best dedicated bouldering centre
Over 1300m; of climbing surface
5 graded circuits, each consisting of 40 colour-coded boulder problems, reset every month
50 colour-coded problems of all grades set on our competition wall. Reset every month by some of the best and most notorious guest route
setters in the UK and Europe
The Cheddar wall, specifically set to help you train for the delights of climbing harder routes in cheddar
The Climbing Works will be able to have the longest, steepest and most sustained routes of any climbing centre in the UK, without the hassle of ropes, climbing partners, harnesses or any of the associated iron-mongery! We aim to provide a number of very long and sustained routes, graded from F6a to F8b. these will be set around the centre and on our huge stamina wall along side 3 graded stamina circuits to test and improve your route fitness.
Huge/steep dedicated training board featuring fixed holds (left permanently on so you can gauge your strength and fitness year round) and an atmosphere conducive to specific and focused training.
Dedicated/separate kid’s bouldering area
The best campus and fingerboard facility
Regular winter competitions
Host venue for International Master competitions
Sunny/warm Café area
Covered and secure bike parking facilities
Our own large dedicated parking area
Chill-out and spectator areas
Stretching and warm-up areas, including some weight training facilities
Sports massage and crèche facilities to be provided on certain weekdays
Climbing classes for children, beginners and improvers.
One-to-one training by some of the most respected climbing coaches in the UK
Modern conferencing and training facilities including a first aid training suite.
.. just too much going on in other parts of life (eg looking for a new school for Yasmine) and busy at work. Also the weather over the last two weeks has been atrocious - lots and lots of rain.