About the Author

This site is written and produced by Buddhist geek Carl Fooks.

The Geek

I have been developing software for over thirty years; since the age of eleven when I started programming on a borrowed Sinclair ZX81 that I had to use ice packs to cool!

Since then, I have worked in a wide variety of industries, from gaming to banking and communications to insurance. I started one of the country’s first ISPs and was responsible for designing, developing and implementing technical innovations and new services including the UK’s first co-located server service and the country’s first fully automated user-installed software.

I now work for a small software consultancy that is contracted in to various organisations to provide a range of software development services. As part of that, I’m currently helping a large loyalty management company deliver a world-class loyalty platform that will spearhead their strategic drive into new and expanding markets worldwide.

I am an agile enthusiast and evangelist and have been employing (increasingly more) agile practices for approximately fifteen years, although I didn’t realise it when I started! I don’t claim to have originated any of it, but things like pair programming, short iterations and close collaboration with your users or customers is just common sense and/or natural.

I am an accomplished architect (of the Architectus Oryzus type) with nearly two decade’s experience designing well-factored, highly maintainable, DRY software employing SOLID principles and patterns and Domain Driven Design. As the grassroots meaning of the Oryzus epithet implies, I continue to actively develop software, and because not all opportunities afford me the same luxury, I keep my hand in with personal projects (for my other companies, as well as actually personal projects!) and constant reading.

Professionally, most of my work is in Java. My personal projects are typically in Ruby or Objective-C for the Mac and iOS platforms.

The Buddhist

I have been practising Buddhism since 1989. I was introduced to Buddhism by a friend and found its simple approach to a happier life direct, refreshing and achievable.

While I started with Rinzai Zen, I’ve been practising Vipassana (insight) meditation since December 2007.

In November 2011 I completed a teacher training programme with Bhante Bodhidhamma of Satipanya and have been helping out with sitting groups at Jamyang in London. I started a successful weekly sitting group at my current client’s and will be starting one in my hometown soon.

The Human

I live in Kent with my partner (‘girlfriend’ seems odd for women over 30!) Renate, a cat named Betsy and a dog named Rebel!: