Who is Jamie Phillips

Software Engineer / Techie / Geek

My name is James Phillips, but my friends and family call me Jamie (Jimmy, Jeremy and of course other names, which would be inappropriate to put on this page.). I was raised and educated in the Cayman Islands and return to visit my friends and family when work will permit. I recently re-located to the Boston area (Massachusetts - U.S.A.) following 5 years of living in Barcelona, Spain. As this was the fourth major move in my life, I decided to startup a blog which can be found at the following web site:http://caymaniannomad.blog.com.

I have also started a professional blog that I write about my musings in software development: http://devblog.petrellyn.com.

Previous to my relocation to Boston I had moved to Barcelona, Spain, for employment reasons and to enjoy the quality of life that existed there. Prior to that, I had been living in the UK since the 8th of September 1988 and had studied in the Southampton and Portsmouth area since 1989. One of the major benefits of living in Barcelona is that the climate is much milder than what I had experienced in the 14 years I had lived in the UK where I found the weather bitterly cold during autumn, winter and spring (sort of narrowing down my outdoor activities to a single season). Although I am most at home on the sandy white beaches or crystal clear blue waters of Grand Cayman, I will readily admit that I have found the lifestyle and climate of Catalonia very much to my liking.

My hobbies and interests encompass a wide range of water sports and EATING! I enjoy nearly all types of cuisine but I have a special weakness for jerk chicken / pork, rice 'n' beans, curried goat and stewed beef. I also enjoy many Spanish delicacies such as CHORIZO - a cured Spanish pork sausage seasoned with paprika really nice ;-) (buenísimo). My favourite beverages include assorted rums (West Indian of course), good wine such as those from La Rioja, bourbon whisky such as Jack Daniel's, stout ales such as Guinness(preferably draught) and my most favourite beer has to be Caffrey's, a very smooth Irish Ale. As far as mixed beverages goes I can take or leave them - I do like a nice Long Island Iced Tea now and then though.

As for water sports, I go scuba diving whenever I return to Cayman, but I was reluctant to dive in the UK for obvious reasons (tooooooo cold!). Regrettably even though I lived on the 'Med', I didn't take full advantage of the warmer climate and clearer seas to do some scuba diving nor even any spear fishing. In my adolescent years growing up in Cayman, I worked for a short time at a water sports centre during my school holidays, where I learned about parasailing, jet-skis and a small amount of seamanship (tying knots, splicing ropes, etc.) as well as gaining a healthy respect for the sea and other natural elements. When I was living in the UK I was a member of an underwater hockey club (Southsea Octopush Club) and had a great time swimming with mask, snorkel and fins after a hockey puck on the bottom of a pool. You can read all about my exploits in this fantastic game by going here. During my time in Barcelona I had been the National COach of the Spanish Women's team and the Chief referee. Following my son's birth, Underwater Hockey took a well-earned back seat. I have recently revived my involvement in the New England area, by turning up to training sessions at MIT, Framingham and Lowell.

As I stated earlier I grew up in the Cayman Islands, Grand Cayman to be exact. I attended the local Catholic school, Cayman Islands Preparatory School and later the, then, Cayman Islands High School (CIHS). I moved to the UK in 1988 with the intention to further myself at the 'tender' age of 17. My first job was working as a cocktail bartender and then as a design draughtsman where I studied electrical /electronic engineering. From early on in my 'career' as a draughtsman I had aspirations to become a design engineer and so I strove to attain a degree. I entered the University of Portsmouth in 1994 after five years of attending the local technical college and technical institute on a day release basis. I finished my studies at Portsmouth in July 1998 and received a Masters in Electronic and Computer Engineering (MEng) degree with distinction. As I stated earlier, I am now living and working in Spain, in the beautiful city of Barcelona, capital of the autonomous state of Catalonia. I work for a local company as a Senior Software Developer and have maintained my membership and association with the Institute of Electrical Engineers. But enough about me, here's a little piece I wrote on those beautiful islands that I miss and adore dearly.

Grand Cayman is the largest of three islands making up the group of the Cayman Islands. The sister islands, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are situated approximately 60 miles east of Grand Cayman. The three islands were originally discovered on the 10th May 1503, during Christopher Columbus's fourth and final voyage to the New World. Ferdinand, Columbus's son, recorded seeing an abundance of turtles in the waters around the islands and so the name initially given to them was Las Tortugas. Columbus and his crew never landed on the islands but claimed them in the name of Spain nevertheless. As the name of Las Tortugas had been assigned to other islands, the name was changed to Los Largos apparently for the native iguanas, which were also in abundance. The name was changed for a final time by 1527 to the current name The Cayman Islands. Many believe that the name originates from the species of tropical American crocodile, the Caiman, similar to alligators but with a more heavily armoured belly. Although there are no 'surviving relatives' to vouch for this theory, various skeletons have been discovered to indicate that perhaps such animals did inhabit the islands. The Cayman Islands are historically famous for their frequent visits by buccaneers and privateers such as Blackbeard and Henry Morgan and we actually celebrate our swashbuckling heritage with a week long carnival in the autumn of every year -! This is only a very brief history of the islands of course, a more in-depth history can be found at the GO Cayman web site.

The numerous faces of Jamie Phillips

Some readers make come across the name "philljam" or "petrellyn" on various forums, possibly even associated with one of the following:

What / Who is Petrellyn?

Over the years I have become accostomed to the strange looks when someone asks for my email address:

"Jamie at Petrellyn..."

"P-E-T-R-E-L-L-Y-N..." 

Which is quickly followed up by:

"What the heck is Petrellyn?"

It is the name of the house I used to live in many years ago on the south coast of England on the edge of the New Forest.