Linnhe Web Site for Mark S Baines and of Linnhe Observatory, Highlands Scotland
Copyright © 2002-2007 Mark S
Baines All Rights Reserved
Last Updated: 26 11 2007
Hi, I'm Mark S Baines - I'm the one on the left!
Mark, Katie & Jane, December 2001
I trained as a teacher of secondary school Biology and obtained a Certificate of Education, BEd Honours degree in Biology and Educational Psychology, and a MA in Educational Psychology. I worked in Hertfordshire for 12 years teaching Biology for most of that time, then I moved to Computer Studies and Information Technology where I became a Head of Department and Network Manager. I was also a school administrator (timetabler, exams officer) for most of this time. It would seem that I have a particular facility for administrative work.
In 1989, thoroughly disillusioned with the Thatcher regime and its systematic destruction of the education system and the profession itself, I left teaching to move to the Highlands of Scotland to pursue a more relaxed and healthy lifestyle. I live with my wife and daughter in the Highlands on a bay, with the sea and mountains, the ospreys, sparrowhawks, buzzards, red kites, rabbits, seals, dolphins, bats, swans...
Not counting attempting to program my County Council mainframe in Fortran at school, I've been using computers since the early 80s starting out in CP/M-based Research Machines, Sinclair Spectrum and Acorn BBC. I moved on to Atari ST, Apple Macs and PCs and now exclusively use the latter. I developed a deep hatred of Macs and now would have to be forced screaming and kicking to use one.
I am interested in all things computing and used to program exclusively in C but don't do much more than the odd command batch file now. My interests lie mostly with the 'textual' side of computing (word processing, databases, spreadsheets) rather than graphics and music.
In my Atari ST days I wrote and published a book "The Atari A to Z" which was an encyclopaedia of all that is Atari and which is now out of print but I have released the ASCII files.
I am the author of many PD and shareware programs for the Atari range, including PROFILE 2 which is the system analyser for Ataris. I wrote for several magazines over the years including regular contributions to ST Applications, ST Review, Atari World and Atari Computing. I have no links to the Atari world any more and do not support any of my software.
I now build my own Windows-based Athlon PCs networked with my laptop.
Science, nature, evolution, medicine, psychology, astronomy and space exploration, second world war, aerospace, science fiction, environmental conservation, motor sport, and reading.
I have a deep love of 20th century British 'classical' music especially Walton, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Arnold, Bax, Britten, Bridge, Bliss, Nyman but also including Puccini, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Gershwin, Weill. Also jazz, in particular big bands - Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and of course Count Basie, and be-bop - Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Miles Davis. And rock, in particular Marillion, Genesis and Pink Floyd.
My lifelong interest in astronomy blossomed in December 1997 with the purchase of a Meade 10" f/10 LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, I had waited a long time for that! Accessories include Tele Vue 2" diagonal and Big Barlow and Pentax SMC XL eyepieces as well as the usual stuff. I built my observatory in 2001.
I hate most sports especially those with one or more balls in it :-). And those in which I have to participate. I like motor racing in its various forms, in particular rallying but fall asleep watching F1 - yawn!
I am an active member of Greenpeace and a more passive one of WWF, RSPB, The Woodland Trust and The National Trust for Scotland.
I don't need to.
This is not a job résumé/curriculum vitae!
Mark
