Fraser MacInnes - Jack of all tirades

Four months later...

Typically, I have not kept up with self-imposed format for blogging about my career. In fact, I've dispensed with it entirely. But I did run the format from April to March, so I am going to see that as a solid 12 month stint and leave it at that.

So what's new with me? I'm now a resident of the eminently hip and funky Berlin. It's a fantastic town, but strangely, despite the fact I have always wanted to move here, I think I miss the UK more than ever. Perhaps after my wife finishes her PhD we'll move back to good old blighty and have a tonne of kids.

In the meantime, as ever, I intend to be unreasonably busy, all of the time. Moving into a more fluid (READ: precarious) freelancing situation, I'm going to be stepping back from Steel Media slightly, in order to concentrate on other things. I'll still be a regular fixture on Pocket Gamer, but hopefully, I'll be a regular fixture on several other sites too.

Choice Cuts - March 09

 OK, so I know the point of maintaining a blog is that you are supposed to update it regularly, but 2009 has been an exceptionally busy year for me so far.

The podcast has been going from strength to strength, commanding ever more of my time, keeping me peering into this little screen into the small hours on many a winter's night. But spring is in the air, signalling a bit of a sea change in my work situation.

Some of my better games concepts are really starting to take shape and as I delve ever deeper into the beguiling mysteries of C-based programming languages, I have one in particular that's really beginning to shine. But all that's for another blog which I will be starting very soon. Not before I get out off this island (Orkney - long story) and go to New York to visit friends and take some time off though.

In the meantime, here is a snippet of work I have actually been paid for over the last few months of this fine year we call 2009. In fact, I have somehow found the time to start turning in written reviews of iPhone games and applications for both Pocket Gamer and Pocket Picks, the very best examples of which are listed below.

Pocket Picks
Review: Papers (iPhone)
Review: Photo fx (iPhone)
Review: AppSniper (iPhone)
Review: Air Mouse Pro (iPhone)

Pocket Gamer
Review: RastaMonkey (iPhone)
Review: Eliss (iPhone)
Review: Ancient Frog (iPhone)
iPhone gaming podcast: Episode 15
iPhone gaming podcast: Episode 16

Choice Cuts - December 08

Over the last two months I have been in no less than fifteen different airports and god knows how many different beds. Hopping between friends and family on this extended trip has been fantastic, if a little stressful at times, but as I write this, I’m sitting in the very comfortable attic room at my in-laws' house in Uelzen (just South of Hamburg, Germany).

It seems that due to a lucky dip of circumstances, Berlin is where my wife and I are ultimately going to end up in 2009. Nothing’s set in stone yet, but seeing as it’s my favourite city, I am determined to move there… We’ll see.

Besides circling the globe and claiming a serious advance on my carbon footprint allowance, I have been working on an iPhone gaming video podcast for Pocket Gamer and it’s finally out the door. We’re up to episode four now with episode five set to arrive early in the New Year.

But it’s Xmas eve and all that’s left to do for now is turn my laptop off and ignore it for at least a week while I set about inhaling heroic quantities of festive cheer - it’s going to be a very busy 2009.

Pocket Gamer

Pocket Gamer iPhone podcast Episode 1
Pocket Gamer iPhone podcast Episode 2
Pocket Gamer iPhone podcast Episode 3
Pocket Gamer iPhone podcast Episode 4
Loose Threads - What does the future hold for the N-Gage?
Loose Threads - How powerful does the next PSP have to be?
Loose Threads - Are tilt controls a fad?

Pocket Picks

Is the T-Mobile G2 set to land in January?
Nokia pulls flashy touchscreen UI out of its crystal ball
Nokia completes Symbian buyout

Stop Press! Nokia announces touchscreen N97
Will Nokia enter the laptop market in 2009?

Lune de miel...

My new wife (Kat forthwith) and I have just returned from the South of France where we had a cracking honeymoon. We rented a little cottage with its own pool about 10K outside of Avignon which is just about the most beautiful city this side of Olympus.

The food was great, the people were charmingly rude and the landscape was simply stunning (not cut your ear off stunning, but stunning nonetheless). We took in some museums, some relics, and generally relaxed by the pool doing some reading and sipping some delicious French wines. A better honeymoon we could never have hoped for.

Hit the jump for some pics.

Da da dada, da da dada...

Nearly two years ago I got down on one knee (on wet pavement in the grounds of Edinburgh Castle) and asked Katharina Pfeil to marry me. She said yes and now finally after a wait that I dare say was longer than either of us expected, she is Katharina MacInnes.

It was an excellent day with exactly the sort of down-to-earth vibe that we were hoping for. We sipped champagne in the park before dancing the night away in front of the Chinesischer Turm with some of our friends and family (which had come quite a distance to be there).

We couldn't be more pleased... All I can say is roll on the honeymoon (next week, can't wait!)