Full time staff hack job at the Reg has now turned into being the editor and running the show, to the extent anyone does. Which was fortunate as the shoe budget (see below) was frankly out of control. We had an ABCe audit last month and on some good days, daily uniques were comparable to - or better than - the Independent or the Mirror Group. Not bad for a small outfit.

Running Reg hacks is a lot like running mine-clearance divers in some ways. Both groups are rugged individualists whom you must send out (or down) with some basic instructions and hope they will do something good or anyway plausibly deniable rather than causing some sort of non-survivable disaster.

Only another 4 years until I've been out of the mob as long as I was in. I expect I'll forget about it all sooner or later.

Full time at the Register

Freelancing at the Reg has turned into a full-time staff job, which means my nippers can have shoes (you wouldn't believe the number of shoes they need*). Fortunately, the madness of military kit often crosses over into techno-news, and the cheery Reg style and probable readership of cynical, beer-swilling scifi-fans and IT types suits me very well. A fringe benefit may be that the world will be spared my planned series of 800-page science fiction/special-forces operas, at least for the foreseeable future.

Reg pieces available, as ever, here.

*Maybe you would. But blimey, my youngest is only one and she already has more shoes than me. Explain that.

Paperback up on Amazon at last

After a massive struggle, the paperback of Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs is finally listed on Amazon, so that people can order it instead of paying massive prices for secondhand copies of the original trade paperback and me not making a penny. Which apparently many have done over past few weeks. (Oh the pity of it all.) Orders will actually be fulfilled next month. Or you may care to head down to Waterstone's: I'm told it will be part of their 'three for two' list next month.

About Lewis Page

Writing Career:

Cover article, Prospect magazine, February 2004: "Wasted Warships". Several articles since then for Prospect on defence matters, which can be seen at the link on the right.

Also the author of Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs

Published by Heinemann in January 2006. A paperback edition is forthcoming in April 07.

Other articles of mine have appeared in RUSI Defence Systems, the Naval Review and the Daily Express. I have appeared several times on BBC Radio's Today programme and Radio Five Live, and also on regional and British Forces broadcasting.

Armed Forces Career:

University Air Squadron, RAF 1988-91

Royal Navy officer 1993-2004

• Navigator, HMS Quorn 1994-96
• Long Mine Clearance Diving Officer course 1996-97
• Ops Officer, HMS Middleton 1997-98
• All-arms Commando course 1997
• Executive Officer, HMS Bridport 1998-01
• Officer in Charge, Southern Diving Unit One 2001-04
• Joint Improvised Explosive Device Disposal No. 1 Operator course 2001

Education:

Cambridge University (Engineering degree 1988-91, St John's College)
Islington Green Comprehensive