Personal Details

Well: I'm called Dave Wylie, I currently live near Rochdale in Lancashire, England, (Europe, Planet Earth, Sol System, Western Spiral Arm, Milky Way Galaxy etc., though I'm not entirely sure which universe I live in...). I don't have a digitised photo to stick on this page, which is probably a good thing, as you won't have to wait for it to download, and it will save your screen from cracking.

Originally I came from Maryport, on the coast of West Cumberland (which was renamed "Cumbria" in 1974), just outside the beautiful English Lake District. The house in which I was brought up was in the family on my Mother's side for over 120 years, and you can take a virtual tour of Alba House if you wish.

My initial education was at Camp Road School (infants and primary) in Maryport. I then went on to Keswick School for my secondary education, where I had my initial exposure to computers - particularly the Commodore PET. At university, I studied Electrical Engineering (specialising in "Computer Systems and Electronics") at King's College, London University.

I've been a professional Software/Systems/Network Engineer since 1985. I am a member of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (formerly the IEE, the Institution of Electrical Engineers) and I am registered as a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council. So if you want to get formal about it, I'm "David J. Wylie BSc(Eng) CEng MIET" - but most people just call me "Dave".

At work I am the Principal Engineer for Zen Internet in Rochdale. I am in overall charge of the technology making up the network, manage internal projects, drink coffee (Did you know how toxic caffeine is?) and generally pretend to be a guru. If you really want to know the details of what I've done in my past career, have a look at my CV.

At play, I spend a lot of time rock climbing, and I am a very active member of the Manchester based Karabiner Mountaineering Club. We have an excellent club hut in the old slate quarries above Llanberis in North Wales, and I've been one of the team that looks after it (for well over 10 years, with three of these as Hut Manager). I'm also an individual member of the British Mountaineering Council. To be honest, I'm never going to be a "rock star". On a really good day I have led British HVS 5a (which is about equivalent to American 5.8), but this year I really WILL lead an E1...or maybe next year...

I also sometimes look up at the night sky, being a member of the Astronomy Centre based in Todmorden. I was one of the team that built the observatory dome and brought some hi-technology to the telescopes. [Hmmm, why do I always seem to end up getting dragged into the building work when I join an organisation?]. I own a second hand 8" Meade telescope and, when it is clear at home, I try to get a bit of observing done as well as just being interested in the science behind it all. My best observations to date were actually in the daytime, when I took some photographs of the 1999 total solar eclipse. I've always been interested in science and technology, and try to keep up to date on the latest developments.

If I'm not doing any of that, then I might be listening to music (classical, rock, pop, electronic, folk, wierd stuff, very wierd stuff and "don't ask"), reading Science Fiction, juggling (up to five balls - if I cheat!), or helping someone do their DIY (one day I'll do some on my OWN house).