The nickname MP3Monster (real name Phil Wilkins), came about some years ago as result of the combination of my passion for music and technology. As you may have noticed, from the rest of the website, music is a big passion of mine and is reflected the number of concerts I go to and a decent collection of vinyl etc (or physical media in geek speak).
The logo and nickname evolved as joke inspired by Sesame Street's Cookie Monster - that constant consumption of round things (any audiophile will tell you the best sources of music are circularv in shape). The MP3 bit is easy - as its probably the most portable digital music format there is.
Of course, MP3Monster is a bit of a mouthful to say, so the nickname has been worn back down to Monster, and this is how I now sign my blog entries.
When I'm not working (for SeeWhy Software) as a Development Project Manager and Software Architect I'm persuing my love music and photography, from gigs to galleries - you get the picture.
I also try to do my bit for the community by apply my technology skills to support a local Dance Company (Basingstoke Tappers with whom my wife dances), this mainly through the development and maintenance of their website, produced using a CMS product and PHP and using Gradwell’s hosting services. This has included development of bespoke functionality, some of which I may make available through this site.
The Basingstoke Tappers perform shows several times a year, and for the last few years I've been working behind the scenes as the Stage Manager (an strangly punishing but rewarding role - you get trampled & kicked (by the dancers as they arrive on and leave the stage); shouted at the show director as new tweaks are added and deafened by the PA and trying to hear the messages coming from the other parts of the theatre).
As a software architect I feel that it is important to try and keep abreast of technologies and methologies (as well as aspects of management) so I give time over to reading books (by authors like Gamma et al, Norman, O’Connell & Weinberg), papers, podcasts and articles such as those published the BI Journal (now called Align), The Server Side etc. My core focuses are around integration and interface design (and the Psychology associated with this).
This site exists for primarily to act as a starting point for my web content. Some of the content is directly hosted by my service provider (Gradwell) such as blog and technical notes. But other sites provide better solutions than I can host such as Flickr so I have linked them into this site.