About

Me

My name is Simon Elvery. While I might attempt to be witty or interesting here, it’s quite possible you’ll end up finding me a little boring. If you happen to be an investigator of some kind with an assignment to find out all about me, then Google would be a good place to go from here because it has lots of stuff on me[1].

I am married to this lovely girl named Laura whom I have been with for 8 years, 11 months, 14 days.

I am qualified with bachelor degrees in Information Technology (Information Systems) and Business (Banking & Finance - Funds Management). That gives me a total of seven letters, more would be nice, but further formal study isn’t my thing right now.

Some of my major interests are web design, web development, (amateur) photography with my Nikon D70s, indoor soccer and mountain biking.

sw’as

It took me a very long while to write an about section for this site[2]. I guess the reason it took so long is because when I started I had no idea what the site would really be about and how long it would last. I’m now fairly sure that it will last because I really enjoy maintaining and experimenting here, though I’m still not really sure what it’s all about.

One, might wonder where I got the name sw’as, and you need wonder no longer. Sw’as is a word (more correctly a contraction) devised, originally by Tony Simpson[3]. It is a combination of the words “sweet as” and has the definition displayed below.

sw'as

A quick look at my tag cloud indicates that at the moment this site is mostly about Laura (what else would it be about?). I have also written a lot about music, the site itself, university and WordPress plugins.

Other things about me

  • I really like weather, especially summer storms.
  • If you offer me coffee I will politely decline unless I’m fairly sure it will be espresso…good espresso. I love Merlo coffee and on average drink around 2.5 cups per day.
  • Despite not usually working very hard at school, I’ve always liked (and been able to get) good grades, except for a brief lapse in concentration around grade nine or ten.
  • I’ve never been able to choose a favourite band because there’s so much good stuff out there that’s different from anything else. Despite this, the Eels come very close.
  • I don’t believe in God or any variations thereof.
  • For a long time I’ve wanted to start my own business - that might happen soon has happened.
  • The internet takes up a lot of my time.
  • I will choose a movie with subtitles over a scary movie almost every time.
  • The contest for best radio station in the world is a non-contest in my mind. If you like music, listen to triple j and you’ll never turn back.
  • I’m a tad pedantic when it comes to correct use of the English language. For that you can blame Laura. And I won’t be offended if you point out mistakes I have made, because although I’m pedantic, I’m not perfect.
  • I’d like to have a touch more artistic ability - I’m working on it.
  • I’m geeky enough to want to be recognised by Googlism.
  • I believe in the ideas of a liberal democracy and free markets.
  • I am a member of the Australian Democrats.
  • I like making lists even though I’m not very good at it.
  • I don’t drink enough water or eat regularly enough.
  • I am not all that well travelled, having left Australia on only two occasions. The first on a holiday taking in Tokyo, the UK (less Ireland), Paris and Singapore. The second was a work trip to the US where I saw a fair bit of Philadelphia.
  • I’m a big fan of Sweden even though I’ve never been there. This is because I passed up going there on exchange in highschool, mostly because of Laura.
  1. Google has only ever shown up one other Simon Elvery who now seems to have disappeared from view. If I recall correctly, he lived in the UK somewhere and got married some time in 2004. [↩]
  2. Nearly a year, in fact. But who’s counting? [↩]
  3. Although he insists it should be spelt sw’az - and that’s just stupid. [↩]