Micha's Homepage

Introduction

Welcome to Micha's corner of the Internet. In these pages you can discover a little about myself and what I get up to as well as some details about my favourite hobbies and past-times.

News

(not necessarily new news, news nevertheless)

2023

• Feb 2022 - started a new job at Woven Planet after 20 years at Sony PlayStation.., scary and exciting!
• Feb 2022 - moved house, I now live in Koto-ku.

2022

• Dec 2022 - Christmas break in Australia.
• Oct 2022 - Home Company visit back to the UK; catch-up with friends and colleagues.
• Aug 2022 - Motorbike weekend with Ben, Wilson, and Stefan. Thanks again to Edith for once again lending me her KTM790 Adventure! Had a blast!
• Aug 2022 - Got the Lego 10497 - a remake of my childhood 928 for which I had spent an entire year saving my pocket-money.
• Jul 2022 - Got Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!!! Lego model as I just discovered it existed outside the movie. Cool!
• May 2022 - Dive trip to Ishigakii with Edith and her colleagues. Rented an eScooter which was fun.
• Apr 2022 - Motorbike trip around Izu/Fuji area - thanks again to Edith for lending me her KTM790 Adventure.
• Feb 2022 - Camping weekend on Bribie Island with the guys - FiSH, Mark, Richard, and Glen.
• Jan 2022 - FINALLY able to get to Australia. Work let me go on an extended remote-working trip. Catch up with friends, family, and finally met my grandson Lucas!

2021

• Dec 2021 - Became an SDI Open Water Scuba Diving Instructor - SDI #33477. Come and learn to scuba dive with me to experience a fantastic new world!
• Dec 2021 - Became an ERDI First Response and O2 Administration Instructor.
• Nov 2021 - Sold my Suzuki Bandit to Chet.
• Oct-Nov 2021 - Home-country visit to UK, catching up with work colleagues, friends, and Leelou and Tanya.
• Aug 2021 - Motorbike trip through Nagano and Niku; thank you so much to Edith for lending me her KTM790 Adventure!
• Jun 2021 - CCR Tech diving trip to Okinawa; awesome dives on the USS Emmons.
• May 2021 - Joined Haruki-san and Masahiro-san's Triton mCCR course in Osezaki.
• Apr 2021 - DZT golden week trip to Ishigakii.
• Apr 2021 - New toy time - bought a Triton mCCR and did a Triton CCR course with Kurashina-san, culminating in a personal record depth of 54m.
• Mar 2021 - Skying trip with work colleagues.
• Feb 2021 - Tech-diving weekend in Osezaki.

2020

• Dec 2020 - Home-country visit to UK, catching up with work colleagues, friends, and Leelou and Tanya.
• Nov 2020 - DZT crew trip to Hachijoujima, DPV Exploration Edition.
• Nov 2020 - PlayStation 5 is launched! Congrats to everybody involved on the culmination of all their hard work. And Micha has a new toy :)
• Nov 2020 - DZT and Tokyo Frogs combined scuba trip to Oshima.
• Oct 2020 - Graduated as a PADI Divemaster to help out with DZT. Thanks Ben!
• Oct 2020 - New diving toy - a Blacktip Tech DPV.
• Sep 2020 - Okinawa 2 - return to the USS Emmonds and exploration by DPV.
• Aug 2020 - Divetrip to Hachijoujima.
• Aug 2020 - Biketrip around Izu with Ben and Wilson - riding a BMW R1200 GS
• Jul 2020 - Divetrip to Okinawa - diving the USS Emmonds and more.
• Jun 2020 - Biketrip around Izu with Ben - riding a Ducati Monster 1200
• May 2020 - **CANCELLED DUE TO COVID** Golden Week trip to Palau.
• Apr 2020 - Daytrip visiting Enoshima to escape the house.
• Mar 2020 - Covid Pandemic begins spreading in earnest; early lockdown by Sony, and starting to work from home.
• Mar 2020 - Kyrcee visits Tokyo!
• Feb 2020 - DZT trip to Yonaguni, diving with hammerhead sharks!
• Jan 2020 - Scubatrip to Atagawa, but no diving due to weather; visited the Crocodile Zoo instead (dreadful, please don't go).

2019

• Dec 2019 - Christmas back home in Oz with Tanya and Leelou
• Mar 2020 - Ingo visits Tokyo!
• Nov 2019 - Stephan visits Tokyo on his way to Australia!
• Nov 2019 - DZT trip to Hachijoujima.
• Nov 2019 - TDI Advanced Nitrox and Deco Procedures courses with DZT
• Oct 2019 - New scuba toy - a drysuit from Seaskin UK.
• Oct 2019 - TDI Sidemount and Solo diver with DZT.
• Sep 2019 - DZT Kumomi and Toi diving weekend - dive #200!
• Sep 2019 - New diving toy - Shearwater Perdix AI dive computer.
• Aug 2019 - climbed Mt Fuji!
• Aug 2019 - Jürgen visited me in Tokyo, sight-seeing and scuba-diving.
• Jul 2019 - First-Aid refresher and Rescue Diver course with DZT in Osezaki.
• Jun 2019 - New diving toy: XDeep Stealth 2.0 sidemount BCD.
• Jun 2019 - Last-minute dive trip to Hachijojima with DZT.
• May 2019 - Golden Week dive trip with DZT to Malapascua (Philippines) to see thresher sharks.
• Mar 2019 - Annual "home company" work-trip back to UK.
• Mar 2019 - Ski trip with FiSH and colleaguea to Yuzawa Onsens
• Feb-May 2019 - FiSH visited me in Tokyo :)
• Jan-Mar 2019 - Elite:Dangerous "Distant Worlds 2" expedition

2018

• Dec 2018 - Finally got to dive the HMS Brisbane with Tatiana!
• Dec 2018 - couple of weeks back "home" in Oz over XMas.
• Nov 2018 - Atagawa/IOP "santa" dive weekend with DZT
• Nov 2018 - Osezaki dive weekend with DZT
• Nov 2018 - Atami dive with TED
• Oct 2018 - Atami dive weekend with DZT
• Oct 2018 - Atagawa dive weekend with DZT
• Sep 2018 - New toy: Mavic Air drone.
• Sep 2018 - Danni and Lyn visited me in Tokyo :)
• Sep 2018 - Koganezaki dive and camping weekend with DZT.
• Sep 2018 - Mikomoto dive weekend with DZT.
• Aug 2018 - Mum visited me in Tokyo :)
• Jul 2018 - Kumomi Dive weekend with TED.
• Jul 2018 - Hachijojima Dive trip with DDT.
• Jul 2018 - Kumomi Dive weekend with DZT.
• Jun 2018 - Miyakejima Dive trip with DZT.
• Jun 2018 - Osezaki dive weekend with DZT
• Jun 2018 - Tateyama "shark dive" with DZT
• Jun 2018 - Back to Diving! Got a full set of Scuba gear now and starting to explore the diving around Tokyo.
• Apr 2018 - Work-trip to New York. Unexpected catch up with Emmanuel!
• Mar 2019 - Last-minute ski weekend joining FiSH at Shiga Kogen (Nagano)
• Mar 2018 - move to Tokyo, Japan, for a secondment with Sony. Contact me for updated address and phone number details.
• Jan 2018 - New Toy - a QNAP-T453A NAS.
• Jan 2018 - Weekend to Cologne

2017

• Dec 2017 - Work-trip to Tokyo
• Sep 2017 - Work-trip to Tokyo
• Sep 2017 - Wakinyan Rally with the Silverbacks
• Jun 2017 - LaveCon 2017
• Jun 2017 - WSFH Rally in Holland
• Feb 2017 - 3 weeks in Australia looking after mum in hospital after her operation.

2016

• Dec 2016 - Jürgen's wedding and New Year in Berlin
• Dec 2016 - Bought a Suzuki 650 Bandit, The Blue Devil.
• Dec 2016 - Hells Bells concert and spa weekend with Joanna
• Dec 2016 - Nocturnal concert
• Sep 2016 - First Aid Course - thanks to work.
• Sep 2016 - Tubby Orpe's wedding
• Sep 2016 - A week in Italy with Mum - Rome, Pisa, Pompeii, ...
• Aug 2016 - Long weekend to Paris with Mum.
• Jul 2016 - LaveCon
• Jun 2016 - "Dolomites" motorcycle tour with Stu
• May 2016 - WSFH Star Party Holland
• Jan-Mar 2016 - Elite:Dangerous "Distant Worlds" expedition

2015

• Dec 2015 - Christmas back in Oz; Tatiana learns to Scuba dive.
• Nov 2015 - quick trip to visit Microsoft in Seattle for work.
• Oct 2015 - 20th Anniversary PlayStation Party
• Sep 2015 - Wakinyan Rally
• Aug 2015 - Birthday with uncles in Cologne
• Aug 2015 - Black Forest motorbike trip with Martin Orpe
• Jun 2015 - Star Riders Germany Party
• May/Jun 2015 - Poland Tour
• May 2015 - WSFH Star Party Holland
• Apr 2015 - Weekend trip to Germany for Annemie's birthday
• Apr 2015 - Weekend motorbike trip to Germany with Abbas
• Apr 2015 - Bought a "new" motorbike - a Yamaha Wildstar
• Feb 2015 - Weekend to Germany for Sebastian's shop opening
• Jan 2015 - Camping weekend in Byron Bay

2014

• Dec 2014 - Christmas in Australia
• Dec 2014 - Scuba Diving in Cairns with Julie Comatsu; NOX Course
• Nov 2014 - Charlie Bear in London
• Oct 2014 - Business trip to Tokyo.
• Sep 2014 - Weekend in Berlin - Dana's Berlin Marathon and visiting Juergen.
• Aug 2014 - Wakinyan Rally
• Aug 2014 - Germany with Mum; RIP Fritz Leyer; RIP Opa Bonn.
• Jul 2014 - Rock'n'Blues Rally, Ripley.
• Jun 2014 - Unwanted Rally, Burton upon Trent.
• May 2014 - LSC Calais Rally.
• May 2014 - Inga's Birthday walk.
• Mar/Apr 2014 - Business trip to Tokyo.
• Mar 2014 - Glen in London.
• Feb 2014 - Early birthday present for Dana - a trip up the coast of Norway to see the northern lights. [Diary] [Pics]

2013

• Dec 2013 - Christmas in Germany at Dana's parents, including a fantastic daytrip to Bad Wilznack.
• Nov 2013 - 10-Jahre DIL
• Nov 2013 - PS4 Launch in UK!!
• Oct 2013 - Weekend in Germany
• Oct 2013 - Spaldings in London
• Aug 2013 - Wakinyan Rally
• Aug 2013 - Get trailer for bike; meetup with Silverbacks.
• Jul 2013 - RBLR Rally - South Wales.
• Jul 2013 - Mum in London.
• May/Jun 2013 - Work trip to Tokyo. [Pics]
• Mar 2013 - LSC Easter Rally with Inga.
• Feb 2013 - Completed Dan Boneh's Cryptography I course on Coursera.
• Jan 2013 - visited Sarah and Lionel in San Francisco.

2012

• Dec 2012 - Christmas & New-Year's in Brisbane.
• Dec 2012 - Dana's sisters wedding in New Zealand.
• Nov 2012 - Scuba Diving on Heron Island with Jürgen.
• Nov 2012 - New Toy! A Sony NEX-6 camera.
• Oct 2012 - Roadtrip to Cairns with Mum and Tatiana for the Solar Eclipse.
• Sep 2012 - Richard's 40th Birthday party in Hong Kong.
• Jun 2012 - Shoulder of Mutton's 30th Cowpat Rally with the Silverbacks! [Pics]
• Jun 2012 - Guns'N'Roses concert at the O2.
• May 2012 - Motorcycle tour through Germany with Dad, Stu, and Dave. [Pics]
• Feb 2012 - Completed my RYA Day Skipper Practical course at SeaJay's Solent Sailing School. [Pics]
• Feb 2012 - Completed a SCRUM-Master training course.
• Jan 2012 - New-Years concert at the O2; Kasabian.

2011

• Dec 2011 - Christmas in Germany at Dana's parents.
• Aug 2011 - Holiday to Greece with mum and Dana.
• Aug 2011 - BREAK IN! Lots of (uninsured) stuff stolen, but we're ok.
• Jul 2011 - Motorcycle tour around Spain for the Faro 2011 rally.
• May 2011 - Graduated the RYA Dayskipper Theory course.
• Apr 2011 - Little Ship Club rally to Portland Harbour. [Pics]
• Apr 2011 - Motorcycle tour around northern Wales with Marcus and Dana. [Pics]

2010

• Dec 2010 - very snowy christmas in Germany at Dana's relatives.
• Aug 2010 - motorbike trip to Wales with Markus and Dana. [Pics]
• Jul 2010 - my cousin Annika's wedding in Germany.
• May 2010 - ride-outs to Valley Gardens ([Pics]) and Pevensey Castle ([Pics]).
• Feb-Mar 2010 - extended working holiday to Australia to visit family and friends. [Pics]

2009

• Dec 2009 - snowy christmas in Germany at Dana's relatives.
• Dec 2009 - Got a new toy - a Nokia N900. Debian-based phone goodness!
• Aug 2009 - Completed a RYA Competent Crew practical course with Dana at Sea-Jay's on the Solent.

2008

• Jul 2008 - Work-trip to St. Petersburg. Had Olga's sister Lena show me around a bit - awesome!
• Jun 2008 - Motorcycle Tour with Stu to Germany. [Writeup]
• Jun 2008 - Got a Nokia N95 as an (almost) free upgrade. More about it here.
• May 2008 - Great Bears Pizza Rally - Motorbike camping trip to Bakewell in the Peak District. [Pics]
• Apr 2008 - Got the all-clear from the Leukaemia, woohoo!
• Apr 2008 - Started back at work full time.
• Mar 2008 - Trip to Australia to visit friends & family after being given the ok to travel by the doctors.

2007

• Dec 2007 - Christmas in Germany with Dana's family.
• Sep 2007 - Finally repaired my guestbook which I hadn't realised was broken ever since upgrading the server to Debian 4.
• Aug 2007 - Moved into my own flat in West Ealing due to the Leukemia - if you want the details, send me an email.
• Jun 2007 - I got diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and will be treated at Ealing Hospital over the next half-year or so. Visitors welcome!
• Apr 2007 - Easter and an uncles' silver wedding anniversary party near Bonn/Cologne in Germany.
• Mar 2007 - PLAYSTATION®3 is finally launched in Europe! My PSN nick is, surprise surprise, “Micha”.
• Jan 2007 - I finally treated myself to a new laptop, my trusty Dell I8100 finally starting to show its age after 5 years of round-the-world service. It's being replaced by a Sony Vaio TX47, nice and small for future motorbike trips!

2006

• Dec 2006 - Holiday in Australia with Dana. [Diary]
• Nov 2006 - Work-trip to Shanghai and Australia for Game Connect: Asia-Pacific.
• Oct 2006 - A week in Paris with Dana followed by Sarah and Lionel's wedding at the Chateau Brecourt in Normandy. Nice. [Pics]
• Aug 2006 - Camping trip in Wales with the Great Bears
• Jul 2006 - Meeting in Paris and 1-week motorbike trip to Lake Constance and Germany. [Diary] [Pics]
• May 2005 - CANCELLED Euro Star Days 2006 - Motorbike Trip to Germany and France
• May 2005 - Trip to Prague and Czech Republic with mum [Diary] [Pics]
• Apr 2006 - Bugger It RC's The Poo of Doom Rally at the Three Horseshoes near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Weekend of camping with motorbikes.
• Mar 2006 - revamped the Motorbikes section of my website somewhat.
• Mar 2006 - bought a bike-lift to start doing services on my bike.

2005

• Dec 2005 - Christmas with Scott and Judd near Manchester.
• Sept 2005 - Week bike trip to Wales and Orkney's from 2nd Sept to 10th Sept. [Pics]
• Aug 2005 - Another year older.. 33 this time. [Pics]
• Jul 2005 - 1 week holiday to Rome with Morgen and Dana to catch up with Glen and Karen again.
• Jun 2005 - weekend to Paris to catch up with Glen and Karen.
• Jun 2005 - a 1-week conference to (mostly) sunny Malta, where I managed to squeeze a couple of dives in in-between sessions.
• May 2005 - Great Bears bike rally to Dent - [Pics]
• May 2005 - Weekend bike-trip to Exmoor with Dana - [Pics]
• March 2005 - Weekend to Germany for grandad's 90th birthday party! [Pics]
• February 2005 - Group Conference in Brighton via Motorbike.
• February 2005 - Motorbike trip to Manchester for Scott's birthday.
• February 2005 - A quick 1-week surprise visit to Washington DC for morning's birthday. Also squeezed in a road-trip to New York to visit Olga.
• January 2005 - Visited Richard and Melissa in Singapore on the way back from Australia.

2004

• December 2004 - Christmas / New Years in Brisbane.
• December 2004 - Motorbike trip with Angy from Melbourne to Adelaide. [Pics]
• December 2004 - AGDC 2004
• November 2004 - surprise visit to my uncles party in Cologne, Germany
• September 2004 - long weekend camping in Wales with the Great Bears. [Pics].
• August 2004 - bike-trip around Cornwall, here are some pics.
• August 2004 - a short holiday to New York and Washington DC - here is the diary.
• July 2004 - I got my tongue pierced.
• July 2004 - A daytrip along the southeast coast of England. Pics!
• July 2004 - I finally configured all of my domains to point to my server - go me!
• June 2004 - I got a gmail email account thanks to the bestest flatmate ever: Sarah!
• May 2004 - long weekend to Paris! The trip report is here, pics to come.
• April 2004 - morning visited London for a day-and-a-half. Here are some pics.
• March 2004 - 4-day trip to Mallorca, the pictures are here.
• Febuary 2004 - 3-day team conference in Edinburgh
• Febuary 2004 - Long weekend in Germany for Aunt Walli's birthday party.
• January 2004 - Long weekend in Holland for Kimmie's birthday and work.

2003

• December 2003 - Ski-holiday to Meribel ski resort in France is booked! Going on the 26^th with Scott and Justin, whee!
• December 2003 - I built myself a Guestbook! Everybody go and sign it :)
• November 2003 - long weekend to Germany for my uncles 50^th birthday party.
• August 2003 - long weekend trip to Budapest (via Vienna) with Mark for the Formula 1
• August 2003 - 1-week trip around Great Britain with my mum. Read the Travel Report or take a look at the piccies.
• July 2003 - I got my left nipple pierced.
• July 2003 - 2½day weekend to Liverpool and Wales with Isabel.
• June 2003 - 4 day holiday to Ireland with Mark and Jenny.
• January 2003 - I got my right eyebrow pierced.

2002

• December 2002 - Went to Australia for the AGDC in Melbourne where I gave a presentationfollowed by a roadtrip with my flatmates and then christmas in Brisbane with friends and family.
• November 2002 - moved to Ealing.
• August 2002 - took advantage of my birthday (which I celebrated with relatives) and work (attended the Leipzig Games Convention) to go on a roadtrip through Germany for a week - Cologne, Black Forest, Nuremburg, Leipzig, Berlin.
• March 2002 - Got a job! I'm now working for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Technology Group in London!
• April 2002 - Did the typical aussie thing and got a flat in Earls Court
• April 2002 - long weekend trip up to Aberdeen via Edinburgh with a side-trip to Loch Ness.
• Febuary 2002 - moved to London.
• January 2002 - Visited Washington D.C..

2001

• November 2001 - Start of 2 months holiday in Canada with Nadine.
• August 2001 - moved back to Mum's to get ready for the trip to England. This also means that my home-server is no longer online, and some links may be broken until I get around to fixing them.
• July 2001 - Weekend dive-trip aboard the Esperance Star, working on my Wreck Specialty certificate.
• June 2001 - Long weekend dive-trip aboard the Esperance Star, earning me my Advanced Diver certificate. Writeup coming..
• May 2001 - First business trip to the Evolve 2001 conference in Sydney.
• April 2001 - Short camping trip on Moreton Island. And here are some piccies!
• February 2001 - Bizarre! My webcam got linked by about.com. Doubly weird because it's been offline since the beginning of Feb due to mum unreasonably wanting her video-camera back in time for the birth of her second grand-child.
• February 2001 - I'm an uncle! My sister had a baby girl at 10:28, 22-Feb-2001, GMT+10. Her name is Hannah Veronika Ford, and she weighed in at 3,520gm (7lb12). And, as promised, the pics! Here are some more piccies.
• February 2001 - Moved to Paddington! I'm now about 25 minutes walk away from work, yayy!.
• January 2001 - Long weekend down to Sydney to visit Faelix and to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge! Lotsa fun, and some pics are here! Writeup to follow.
• January 2001 - Nothing big here, just a new email addy with start.com, an Australian freemail site which is nifty because you've also got a http-based icq-like system. Check it out :)

2000

• November 2000 - Job upgrade - I now work for the R&D section at CITEC!
• October 2000 - It's toy-time! At the Gartner Conference I pounced on a good deal and bagged a Palm IIIc - much nifty :)
• August 2000 - I'm off on my Europe 2000 Tour, see what I get up to with my diary.
• June 2000 - Java WebCam
• May 2000 - Third time lucky: Finally managed to go skydiving!
• April 2000 - Added a page about my motorbikes .
• April 2000 - My Calendar is now online.
• March 2000 - Major reorganisation of my web pages, warning : bookmarks may no longer work.
• March 2000 - Yayyy, I _finally_ got my graphics card, an Asus V6800 Deluxe.. The Deluxe bit means it has video in/out, and as result I'm playing with setting up a webcam. Check it out :)
• February 2000 - Holiday with Dini, whee :) Some sort of holiday snaps page will get done, I'm sure. Eventually.
• February 2000 - I got my new PC!! An Athlon 500, which is decked out with a host of goodies. I'll put up a spec page of my various computers sometime soon (hah!).

1999

• October 1999 - I've finally gotten around to converting my Resume to html, and putting it on the web.
• August 1999 - Holiday in Canada! So if I'm not around, you now know why not...
• July 1999 - Brisbane AuroraMud-Meet! (No piccies yet, hold your horses..)
• July 1999 - Kinda got off my butt a tad and did a bit of work on this here homepage thingy of mine... As a result you get this nifty news section. Enojoy!!
• May 1999 - I (finally) graduated for my Master of Information Technology at QUT!

1998

• December 1998 - New job!! December 7^th I started working at CITEC, which is the (privatised) information technology branch of the Queensland Government. Impressive title too - 'Senior Analyst/Programmer'.
• August 1998 - Ok, so I liked diving so much I booked onto a short diving holiday to Indonesia.
• August 1998 - A holiday in Darwin got me into SCUBA Diving after getting a taste of it earlier that year.

Top