Paj's Home: About Me

About Me

So, you're wondering who I am? My real name is Paul Johnston. I live in Leeds, the UK's fourth city. It's a good place here, there's lots of social life nearby, as well as easy access to the countryside. I often go running along a canal just by house. Only problem is all the bloody traffic. I'm in a relationship with a hottie who's got a PhD, lucky man me. Not living together yet, I'm still hanging on to the student life, in a house share with four lovely people.

I work for HBOS, one of the major banks in the UK, better known in England as the Halifax. I'm in information security, where I have a varied role, with a good chunk of penetration testing. I think HBOS is a great employer; I'd recommend the company to anyone who gets a chance to work there. I've had quite an eventful IT career already.

I've got a bunch of hobbies. I like keeping fit with cycling, running and the gym, all with varied frequency. I've done some long rides, including cycling all the way across Europe - from Amsterdam to Barcelona. I like Salsa dancing, you may find me at Salsaholics or Fuego Latino. And I'm a juggler - more on this below. I used to train Jeet Kune Do, although I've not kept it up recently.

Generally, I've not been big on the online social networks. But I am now on Facebook and LinkedIn, although I usually only accept friend requests from people I know in real life. For the wider community, I have created a Google group for discussion of this site.

I quite like reading, although it comes in bursts. I like fast paced, action books authors like Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Robert Harris and Chuck Palahniuk. For a long time I really liked Isaac Asimov, and I still think the ideas in his books are just about the best around, although his writing style isn't quite as gripping as the others I've mentioned.

For music, I am a bit "homeless" at the moment. For years, I listened to really heavy dance music - techno, drum & bass, all that, writing off everything other kind of music. At some point I realised heavy dance music does my head in, I mean, it's got its time and place, just not often. Nowadays, I like some stuff, mostly individual songs more than groups, although REM, Kosheen and Queen are usually good picks. If you've got any ideas for stuff to soothe my ears, give me a shout.

I've been juggling for about half my life, a bit on and off. I can do lots of three ball tricks, including Burke's Barrage and my favorite, The Machine. My four balls aren't as steady, but I can keep shower going for a while now. I've got clubs as well and have almost mastered four count passing. In my time, I've been involved in a few juggling clubs, including Passed Imperfect and CUJA.

The Juggler on the left is a modified version of Juggle Master, performing The Machine. This is a fantastic, free program that can juggle all sorts of patterns including many beyond any human. I've hacked out lots of the program to embed it in this page, which isn't a violation of the license. I recommend downloading the full version; it's an excellent piece of software.

Paj - that's not a name!

It often surprises new people when I introduce myself this way. My full name is:

Paul Andrew Johnston

or PAJ for short. It's pronounced "Padge" but not spelt that way. And NO, I am not Raj, Patch, Podge or Hedge and certainly not Fadge!