Nigel
I've put lots of work into designing and coding this site but as you will probably realise not too much work on producing any content. Anyhoo, here are a few words of introduction to my favourite subject - me.
I live in a house full of girls, but then they are the best girls in the world -- Emily, Lucy, Georgina and Jan.
I’ve never really been sure what I wanted to do with my life, but I’m now quite happy being a Unix and firewall systems administrator and a husband and dad.
If you're thinking do you know me ? ( because there's a lot of Nigel Barkers out there on that Internet ) then my life has gone something like this:
Born in 1967 in York, lived first ten years just outside York, attended Bishopthorpe infants and junior schools. Then moved to Doncaster, attended Saltersgate Middle and Ridgewood Comprehensive Schools. Went to Adwick School to study A levels. Took University place at Imperial College, studying Physics. Lived first year in Garden Hall in beautiful Princes Gardens. Student cleaner between first and second year. Lived second year in Holyport Road, Fulham. Started work at Forbidden Planet, Denmark Street over Christmas 1986. Dropped out of Imperial to work full time at Forbidden Planet - it seemed like a good idea at the time and I was having a lot more fun selling comics than I was studying physics. Drank vast quantities of Hobec at the Cafe Munchen.
Left Forbidden Planet in August 1988 and started work in the computer section of Titan Distributors Ltd in October 1988. Moved to Martineau House, Churchill Gardens, Pimlico. Typed a million comics invoices for Titan, but also started to learn about Unix and SQL. Met my wife to be while she was staying in the same flat in early 1989. Moved to Plashet Grove in East London. Stayed in Forest Gate for the next 12 years, finally buying a flat in Neville Road. Studied maths and computing with Open University, attended summer schools at Durham and Brighton and obtained a BSc in 1998. Was a founder member of SAGE-WISE, the SysAdmin group who met at UCL. Stayed at Titan Disributors when they were taken over by Diamond Comic Distributors. Briefly worked at Diamond's Warrington site ( seven weeks ) but moved back to London and finished my comics career at the office in Bow House, being made redundant in November 1999.
Started teaching maths part time to children from seven to 17 at Lyceum College in High Street North, East Ham. Did this for about a year. Got a Unix admin job at the Institute of Cancer Research in March 2000 and was very happy to be back in Chelsea, drinking at the Zetland and Anglesea Arms. After 12 years apart Jan and I started exchanging emails and got married in East Ham registry office in December 2002. Moved to Prestonpans thinking I would get work in Edinburgh straight away. A little over a year later I did and have worked at Telephone House in Gorgie since February 2004, starting ten days before my daughter Lucy was born. My second daughter Georgina was born August 2005.
As you might guess from the above, I'm not a fashion photographer or a judge on America's Next Model or a brilliant scientist and I've never worked for Hewlett Packard. I'm not the guy who thinks its funny to send prank letters under the name Nigel Barker, though I have sent a few prank letters in my time and I don't think I'm that guy's enemy who inspired him to start sending out letters with my name on.
I haven't smoked since the early 90s, I hardly drink these days and I'm not really a vegetarian any more. I like fish, bacon rolls and haggis.
I'm rubbish at getting up in the morning. I have tried everything, including going to bed at a reasonable time and now use a £60 natural light alarm clock. Update – I am much better at getting up in the morning now I share a house with small children.
One thing I would like to try doing more of is writing. I don’t really believe I’ve got a great novel in me, but I like writing documentation and chatty stuff like this so think I should be capable of writing for television or magazines.
In 2003 I attended a screenwriting course at Scottish Screen in Glasgow on the subject of writing drama for television. Ironically I don't really like television drama.
My wife’s writing has been published in the New Dictionary of National Biography. My writing has been published in Comics International and Encyclopedia Psychedelica.
I'm really proud that I have overcome my squeamishness enough to visit the dentist regularly and to give blood three times a year.
The mutant power I would choose for myself would be teleportation. Imagine never being late again, just so long as I was awake and dressed.