Thank you, and goodbye. Obviously my current team also marked the occasion of my leaving, too. This is another geographically dispersed team, and my manager visits our site roughly one day a week.

He was down on Thursday, and after dealing with the administrative side of my leaving he called the team together for a little gathering. They gave me a leaving card and gifts, and I felt quite emotional as I said a few words of thanks.

We got together for a few drinks on Thursdayevening and Friday lunchtime, and I managed to catch up with people I have worked with at various times.

I have had some great times, met some great people and learned a lot at Sun. Although it is the right time for me to move on, I won't forget the times I had there.

A Cyber Hug. One of the interesting facets of life at Sun was the way in which international teams can be created and people work together who are based in different locations and timezones. The teams keep in touch via conference calls, instant messaging and e-mails. It is possible to build quite close working relationships over a period of years with people whom you never meet.

I have been part of such teams for several years, and the team I was in until a few months ago managed to build quite a remarkable team spirit. Thursday was my next to last day and one of my colleagues from the old team arranged a conference call for the former team members to get together and share reminiscences about our time working together.

We had a good old chat, and after it was over one of my old colleagues referred to it as a "cyber hug".

This morning's big news story in my corner of the world is that Scott McNealy is to step down as Sun Microsystems' CEO. I'm sure the news will be the talk of the office when I go in this morning. I'm trying to imagine what Sun will be like with a new man at the top. I will be watching with interest, from the outside.

Not long now. I leave my current job with a major computer manufacturer at the end of next week. From May 1st I should have more time on my hands to pursue my interests, and to try to make my living teaching English to adult learners.

The change should give me an opportunity to catch up on my backlog of books. Sitting at the top of the pile at the moment I have "Scoop" by Evelyn Waugh, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth" by Malcolm Pryce and "The Pity of War" by Niall Ferguson.

I will record my opinions here as I read each of them.