Shockingly, it's been over six months since I last posted to this blog. But this isn't because I've been lazy, uninspired or disillusioned. I've just been extremely busy through a combination of a new job, moving abroad and getting caught in a hurricane.

In April, I took a new job at a New York based startup, spotflux. spotflux (lower case 's' intentional) provides a free VPN service designed to protect your privacy and security. All you need to do is download and launch the app, and it will encrypt all your internet traffic, block ads, malware and tracking code and provide you with an anonymous, US IP address.

We're rapidly approaching a million users, who use the spotflux service for a variety of reasons, including:

• Peace of mind when using public wi-fi
• Bypassing blocks imposed by governments
• Getting more stuff on Netflix

We provide one-click applications for Windows and Mac, and I've recently been flexing my objective-c muscles to put together an iOS app that we currently have in beta (so perhaps the iOS shooter project won't be such an uphill struggle when I get back to it). I've even had chance to toy around with the Android APIs - keep your eyes peeled for an Android app early next year!

Alongside all the extra responsibility and technical challenges, there was also a move to New York to contend with, which required almost 6 months of back and forth with immigration. Most important thing I've learned: working from home can get sufficiently lonely that you find yourself going to the shops to buy stuff you don't need just so you can see a human face. Still, all sorted now and I'm in currently sitting in my new place in Manhattan.

Unfortunately, not long after I moved to Manhattan, this happened:

I was pretty lucky, living on the 6th floor so there was no real damage or danger for me, although there were a few hairy moments. My heart goes out to all those who were more severely affected.

So there we go, my excuse for not blogging since March is a combination of a new job, an international move, and a shedload of river water. But I'll be back! Soon as I've put those shelves up.