h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, that went fast!

I think most people will remember 2013 as quite a good year, weather-wise. We had a severe cold snap in March, but following that was one of the mildest and warmest summers on record. The dry period held sway nearly until November, when bad winter storms spoiled all the fun. (Personally, I love storms and gales - theres's a sense of coziness about being inside a warm house when the elements are hurling themselves against the windows).

Professionally, it wasn't a bad year. I got a small promotion at work, having acquitted myself well on a number of big projects over the last 2 years. This also lead to some travel for me - going to California and Singapore during the year, as well as smaller trips to the Netherlands and London.

I loved Singapore. An exotic, clean, friendly city, smack bang on the equator. The few days I spent there went by far too quickly. Looking out on a wild lightning display on my last day there is a memory I will cherish.

My sons are turning into quite good athletes. My youngest two won All-Ireland medals for the U-11 relays and my eldest lad (who is now quite a bit higher than me) is the current Munster Champion in the long jump. I don't think they quite realise yet how big this is. Nobody can ever take these accolades away from them. They are also very handy at hockey and winning games all around them. I'm fascinated to see how well they can do.

My daughter is getting more creative by the year. She's into writing stories, composing poems and songs, and anything else that captures her attention. In particular, she has a natural eye for photography, so I picked up a camera for her this year. I'm interested to see what she can do with it.

A few trips to the hospital: one lad got his thumb stuck in the car and another fellow got a painful groin injury resulting in emergency surgery. Lots of fun indeed.

My big holiday this year was back to C's parents in Germany, taking a road-trip through France. We brought my eldest with us. He enjoyed his stay, but it had to be cut short because of an All-Ireland Athletics tournament back home. While there, we visited Lake Constance, Ulm and Stuttgart (Wilhelma and the Mercedes Museum). I also flew on a glider and took day trips to Tübingen and Nürnberg. I was particularly taken by Nürnberg, having had a chance to see the Nazi Rally grounds and the law courts where justice was finally handed down. That's only part of the story of the city though - it's history stretches way back to the early days of the Holy Roman Empire. I definitely want to go back.

I bought a new car and a new bike this year too. Surprisingly, I'm getting a lot of use out of the bike. I have big plans to lose weight next year, since I have regained everything I lost in 2012. It's like starting all over again.

C is delighted about her new house. The downside of living in such a beautiful place is a regular 7 hour commute to Dublin that leaves her wrecked tired. One of the big loves in her life these days is Molly, a 17 year old cat with one eye and no teeth. She's quite a character - liable to lash out at the slightest provocation and frightening all the other cats, but she's a solid part of the family. Speaking of cats, we now have one more - Miranda. She was found as a kitten - almost dead - but she was restored to health by a local animal care centre. I had little choice but to accept her into the family. Pressure from all sides, you see.

On the scepticism / skepticism front, I put my Skeptics in the Castle meetings into something of a hiatus. Work pressure, reduced attendance and a nagging thought that it was all going stale helped me with my decision. It's not all over - I hope to have a few meetings again next year and I'm still active on the web - however the energy I once had for it has reduced a bit. I went to QEDCon again in Manchester and enjoyed it possibly even more than the first time, if that is possible. My claim to fame is asking Richard Dawkins a really stupid question about memes. After the conference, I met up with Phil, Metal Chicken, Ben, Z and Pastey. Unfortunately it was all too rushed. I'm planning to stay a bit longer next year. Let this be an advance warning to you.

I don't know what to make of next year. Still a couple of things to sort out with kids getting older and lots of worries around the corner. You forget how expensive these young humanoids are...

Best of luck to everyone for 2014. I hope it's a good year for you.

Sounds like a pretty good year all told!

Was great to see you, and definitely stay longer next time

I'm going to make it my mission for 2014!

There is a h2g2 meet planned in Manc in June... just saying