Brian D Steel - 22 Jul 08
	Phone	+44 (0) 20 8871 2016
	Fax	+44 (0) 20 8874 0449
	Mobile	+44 (0) 7774 211281
	Email	brian@solanum.org
	Web	http://www.solanum.org

Who I Am and What I Do

I am the Technical Director of Logic Programming Associates (LPA), where I design and implement Prolog compilers for Windows and DOS. My programming is done mainly in 32-bit assembler, Prolog and C, and I have developed a library of some 250 or so utility programs in my spare time, many of which I have published as freeware.

As well as programming, I design and create the artwork for most of LPA's advertisements, brochures, stationery and Web pages, using CorelDRAW!, PhotoShop, and a collection of my own graphics utilities.

If Music be the Food of Love ...

In my other job I am a musician, mainly performing in the theatre as a Musical Director. In addition, I play synth/piano and drums/percussion in shows, as well in the occasional classical concert. My Trad Jazz band, "Woody and the Nightshades", plays at receptions, barbecues and pub gigs, and together with my wife Barbara on violin, I also perform in the more intimate surroundings of restaurants and private parties.

Combining computers and music, I use Finale and Encore to arrange and compose music for some of my shows, and occasionally undertake copying/typesetting work for third parties.

... Play On!

In the few moments that I grab between computing and music, I enjoy a number of other hobbies and interests, including food and wine, travel, photography, botany and boomerangs. I speak reasonable French, and combine most of these interests in my regular visits across the Channel.

Some Like it Hot!

Over numerous trips to the Caribbean, I have been exploring one of my pet loves: why not share it with me? Find out all about St Lucia's best known hot sensation, the wonderful Scotch Bonnet Pepper; and if you find all this a little too mild, then brace yourself for the discovery of something altogether more powerful: St Lucia's best kept secret, the devastating Piment Ma Jacques... yeah, hot!

Shock Horror! Well, Waves ...

Could it have been the Gin and Virgin Tonic? Or perhaps the mingy glass of dodgy wine that came with Virgin's "award winning" cattle-class lunch? No, it was really there, plain to see: what a shock. It was hovering above the engine cowlings of a 747-400 at full cruising altitude and speed. Was this Twilight Zone? No, but it was a real Supersonic Shock Wave!