Niall's virtual diary - biography

Well, there's not much to say about me. My name is Niall Douglas, I'm twenty six years old and I'm currently living in Cork in Ireland. In a month's time (I write in August 2004) I shall begin another degree at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Since I was fifteen, I have lived in Germany, United Kingdom, Holland, Canada and most recently in Spain where I worked for two years on EuroFighters. Rather interestingly, my bloodlines (genealogy) can be found both here and here (the former is better as it doesn't have the christian names blanked out) in "The Royal And Noble Families of Britain" though I am very, very distant from anyone important.

I am a software engineer by trade, having graduated from Hull University in the UK in 2000 with a degree in Software Engineering. Needless to say, quite a lot of my interest falls in that area and I am a computer programmer of some capability - you can see that from the programming areas in this site on the left. Despite this, I recognise that the long-term trend does not look good for computer programmers and hence my desire to retrain and do something which will definitely be in demand in the future, hence my choice of Joint Honours in Economics & Philosophy for my next degree which should prove in demand when the Bretton Woods system collapses.

While for the last two years especially my life has consisted almost entirely of writing one of the things I'd like to contribute to mankind before I'm dead, I also have a number of other interests. At Hull University I used to be a social demon, constantly at parties, meeting people and socialising but upon arrival in Spain a quieter period began.

My diary, throughout the last four years, has swung from bad times to good, sad times to happy, intellectual times to well, pretty humdrum ones. Essentially it's an outlet for whatever I feel like writing about myself or what I'm thinking. What that may be, varies considerably. It can range from heavyweight topics such as philosophy, geopolitics, psychology, quantum mechanics and politics to what I had for breakfast. There is a good percentage though exclusively about women troubles, mainly because I have no idea how to form a stable secure and lasting relationship and every time I get involved with a woman, it goes horribly horribly wrong and I sink into year long depressions. Yes, this is not always a fruity and happy diary!

Mostly though, I look at the diary as the method most of the people I have met around the world throughout the years use to check up on how I am, what I'm up to and so send me a reproachful email when I'm being excessive . But whether I know you or not, everyone's welcome to read!