I normally don’t do memes, but I figured [this one](https://blogs.msdn.com/markjo/archive/2006/12/28/5-things-you-didn-t-know-about-me.aspx) from my friend Mark Johnson at Microsoft may be interesting. So, I have been trying to think of things you lot may not know about me, and I have come up with the following:

* **I am related to [Ronan Keating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronan_Keating)** – My nephew Jack (the inspiration behind the LUGRadio theme music tune [Jacks Playing Ball](https://www.recreantview.org/blog/?page_id=8) is the second cousin of Irish pop legend Ronan Keating. Albeit blurry, that technically makes me related to the foppy haired crooner. Thats right, metal meets Boyzone is a clash of pure glory.
* **When partying/drunk/social I take photos of myself with people** – I like to work, and I like to play, and when I play I often drink beer and if there is a camera handy, I take photos of myself with the people I meet, many of which are complete strangers. I don’t think I have been out on a night at conference or at a gig and not met a bunch of people who I look at the following day on my camera and wonder who the hell they are. There is plenty of evidence in [my photo gallery](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/gallery). [EuroFoo](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=595&g2_page=7) was a particularly crazy example – I woke up the following morning in my hotel room with wet feet, not remembering a thing – it turns out that after the hotel bar shut, I ended up in a University freshers foam party. Each disastrous memory was refreshed a I flicked through the photos on my camera. If you are at a conference, you are not safe – be warned. 😛
* **XInit systems gave me my break** – When I was 17 I set up a website called linuxuk.co.uk. Back then it was a statically updated site, but pretty unique for the UK Linux community. Rafiu Fakunle from [XInit Systems](https://www.xinit.com/) got in touch and offered to help me by giving me a laptop, web server and funding. This was a big deal for a straggly haired youth with a Slayer t-shirt. That was my break into the Linux world and I will always be grateful to Rafiu.
* **My writing is filled with in-jokes and personal references** – Of particular note is my latest book, [Practical PHP and MySQL](https://www.amazon.com/Practical-PHP-MySQL-Building-Applications/dp/0132239973/sr=8-1/qid=1167440596/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1977198-6274851?ie=UTF8&s=books) which is jam packed with references to many of my close friends in the examples. There are also many in-jokes – the calendar example is *James Hillchin’s calendar* which when shortened, the name would be *Jimmy Hillchin* (a reference to chin/beard humour in the UK), and I also mention *Jinny* in an example, referring to *Jinny Reckon* (similar to Chinny Reckon, yet another chin/beard British schoolboy reference).
* **Someone took a shit on my Fiat Uno Van** – When I was about 19, my band (Seraphidian) had done our second gig to a packed out venue that went completely nuts, and I was awake all night listening to metal with sheer excitement. At about 8am I got dressed to go to work, got in my crappy student Fiat Uno van (rather ironically known as the ‘stinkmobile’ back then), and drove off. Bleary eyed from tiredness, I pulled up at some traffic lights and out of the corner of my eye noticed a big brown jobby on the car bonnet (the ‘hood’ for my American friends). Stunned, I tried to drive fast and brake in the hopes that said jobby would fall off, but it clung on for dear life. As such, I pulled over at the next bin (outside a school, which retrospectively was a bad choice as the kids were walking to school at the time), and wiped it off with a newspaper. I hope it would be a clean break, but the jobby left quite clear tanlines, so I needed to stop at a service station and get the car washed. I arrived at work 20 minutes late and my boss did not believe a word of my story – ’twas all true though. And yes, it was not from a cat or dog, it was a proper human log. Questions on a postcard to the usual address…

More pointless facts in the [FAQ](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/?page_id=774), as usual.

I want to see the same from the following carefully selected victims:

* Luis Villa
* Daniel Holbach
* Laszlo Pandy
* Jen Phillips
* Ted Haeger