A Quiet Watercourse

Well, what can I put here?  I could do an Arnold Rimmer, write “I am a fish” a few times and pass out I suppose.  Nah, I’ll be serious……….

I grew up the the area of Britain known as “The Black Country”, it’s an industrial area with a rich history, we don’t do much in the way of airs and graces and I love it that way.

During my teens I started to question some of my assumptions about the world. I also wandered off to college and later university, gaining some good friends and drinking a LOT of beer.

After drifting in and out of a few temporary positions, I landed an IT support job at a local air conditioning firm, I spent several years there, learning and growing and during this time my interest in Free Software started and I never really looked back.

During this time, I started to learn to dive, I got close, but never did finish the qualifications.  I’m not coastal so I suppose I needed to get a more suitable hobby, but I did get some good spiritual insights from it.

As my diving was winding down, I moved to South Birmingham, my experiences here really helped cement my dislike of large cities.  During this time my interest in Taoism, Tai Chi and Eastern thought really took off and I started experimenting properly with meditation. Eventually, I got a job with an IT services firm in that area, it’s provided a huge opportunity for growth and learning.

Eventually, I returned to live in The Black Country.  I’m still there now, practising Buddhism and eastern philosophy, and also writing the odd program for GNU/Linux on the side.

I can also be found in the virtual world of “Second Life”, which I’m finding to be one of the most rewarding things I’ve been involved with.

If you’d like to contact me directly, send email to: “richard.barker@spamfree.quietwatercourse.co.uk”.  Just remove the “spamfree.” from the address, I’m sure the various pharmaceuticals are very useful, but I’m rather not get the spam in my Inbox as well as my blog comments.