Mike and Joan Barkman

In response to many requests, here's a little bio about us and the family.

Mike and Joan Barkman live in Rotorua on the North Island of New Zealand. This is a second marriage for Mike and Joan, having both lost their partners years ago. Mike is a long-retired pharmacist who spent his working life of 33 years in Wanganui, now aged 70, who bought his first computer in 1980 (remember the Commodore Pet?) and has been a closet techie ever since. He has two children: Sue is married to Jeremy and lives in Wellington; and Ross who lives in London with his partner Madeleine. All are having most successful careers in computing and allied fields.

Joan has one daughter, Joanna, and three lively grandchildren (Rebeccah, Ethan, and Eli). All of the above creep into the Kronikles from time to time, in between tech doings and work stuff. Joanna's late husband Don was a graphics and web designer [http//www.cox.co.nz] in Rotorua, and Mike has had to take over the business to keep it running. Sandy (from the USA) is now our resident designer, and does most of the web site and design work .

Joan is 65 (Mike fancies younger women) and is able to indulge her passion for gardening; the results can be seen on the web site. Mike has been a photographer for 50 years, and still keeps his hand in, taking pictures for Camera Club competitions. He also assesses photos for other Camera Clubs as a Photographic Society of New Zealand panel selector. He has now almost totally converted to digital photography -- apart from the very occasional slide film.

Confessions of a Daynoter

I have always been aware of words. Maybe it is the inheritance from a grandfather who owned a daily newspaper. My mother was probably New Zealand's first woman Linotypist -- during WW1 when all the men went off to war and women discovered they could do more than housework. Her brother came back from the war and took over the newspaper as manager; but he was never to be found in the office -- he was usually down in the basement pounding a Linotype. An early memory of the family newpaper was getting my name set in a lead slug.

In the 70s, I took up Karate, at a time when instructors in anything but Judo were non-existent, but fortunate to have training from a Japanese master who came to NZ periodically. I also trained in the style now known as Kyokushin. I eventually wrote an instruction manual for beginners' induction and training, and mass-produced it on an old electric Gestetner duplicator. It sold by hundreds through other affiliated dojo.

In the late 80s I edited and largely wrote a photocopied newsletter for the Camera Club. I was involved with the local asthma society through my profession as a pharmacist, and inevitably started producing a newsletter after software for DTP became cheaply available. I still do that newsletter three or four times a year.

These days, I oversee the graphic and web design business founded by my late stepson-in-law Don, who passed away suddenly in April 2003. I really love getting into the text editing and preparation for brochures etc. and I have done extensive work setting up and maintaining client web sites. I have also edited and published a 220-page family history of which details are elsewhere on the site. So is it surprising that I have taken to daynoting with gusto?

I look forward to intelligent discourse with like-minded people, and our personal doings seem to be of interest to those who are interested in other countries and cultures. Being 'retired' (or is it just 'tired'?) means I usually have the time to sit for an hour or so each morning answering emails and reading the other daynoters' sites.

If there's anything that you would like to comment on, your contributions -- or just a hello email -- are welcome. Click here to start email.