Donal Higgins
Biography # 282 email: donal@pentrace.com

I'm the father of two, son Jack and daughter Aoife who was announced on the Pentrace message board backin December 2000. I've been married to Brenda for 15 years and I am the Software Dvelopment Manager for an IT company. I live in Dublin, Ireland. I have a BSc in Information Technology from Dublin City University.

In addition to the last 15+ years in IT and the previous 8 with the professional body for Engineers in Ireland, I have worked as a photographer and in a photo lab, crewed for some rock bands like U2 and Clapton and played guitar with a band when punk was cool (one of our tracks was used as the theme tune on a radio rock show for years; still waiting for royalties!). So it was a few years after college before I gained any direction!

I joined the snail group fairly early on, and it was this along with the unselfish imparting of information from the group which now forms the core of pentrace that led me to think about setting up a web site to hopefully ensure that some of the knowledge could be recorded for the future.

My pen collection is very modest, 1935 Pelikan 400, 2 Pelikan Green Demos (one with a Cathedral Overlay), a 1927 Big Red Duofold Senior (what else!), Bexley Zoss LE, Mont Blanc 149 (older one, still intact) and a newer 75th Anniversary silver and rose gold 146, US and UK Parker 51's from 1947/48, a copper Estie (sorry Esterbrook, didn't we establish that Estie was rude somewhere?) which was a welcome gift from Randy Clifford, Waterman Kultur Translucide from France and various Sheaffer calligraphy/no-nonsense, one with a stub ground by David Mason. I am still reading the literature and planning how to fill the remaining slots in my pen case!

I also have some vintage cameras (1930's Leica, early Linhof 4x5 and Rolliflex) in addition to my Nikon and Hassleblad gear. I haven't really used this stuff for a while, I must try some pen photos! Finally I have my treasured Fender Strats, a Clapton Blackie type and a Stevie Ray Vaughan signature model with inverted left hand trem, I bought in the U.S.

Links:

http://www.emplive.com/
http://www.kennys.ie/
http://www.wired.com/

http://www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/portal.html
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