the HOFIT: November 1999

Tuesday, November 23, 1999

The SATCO Era

The SATCO villa at Khamis Mushayt (1991).

Monday, November 22, 1999

Coding the SATCO system in dBASE IV at Al-Baha (remember the mouse?). This was in November 1991.

Sunday, November 21, 1999

"Al-Jihaaza Al-Worshah". The equipment workshop (Al-Baha 1991).

Saturday, November 20, 1999

It was all too much for Mr. Rao (Al-Baha 1991).

Monday, November 15, 1999

Making a visit to the PHC at Rijal Almal (1991). The nurse was trying to chase the goats out as I was trying to get in!

Sunday, November 14, 1999

The workshop at the old hospital in Abha (1990). That's Magdi Hassan with the regulation blue coat, and a younger Greybeard in the white shirt!

Saturday, November 13, 1999

Ramadan Yanuz, probably the best HOFIT I've ever met. Here he is checking out a circuit diagram over breakfast at Najran in 1991.

About Me

After forty years working in the engineering support of medical equipment, and in new hospital projects both in the design office and "at site", I now consider myself semi-retired. Following army service in Hong Kong, UK, Germany and Saudi Arabia, I worked in Saudi Arabia (a further four times), Nigeria, Jordan, Oman (twice) and the UK Health Service. My earning skills have included hands-on installation, repairs, maintenance, inspections and technical support of medical equipment. Together with advising on biomedical engineering generally, planning equipment layouts, producing equipment listings, writing specifications, and assisting architects etc. These days I live as simply and cheaply as I can, and (as far as possible) on my own terms, keeping my hand in by repairing or refurbishing medical equipment or doing inspections and maintenance work, sometimes for charity groups. But what I enjoy most is developing computer software, as a quirky and obsessive coder happy to be immersed in thorny problems for months at a stretch. "Free as a bird", and without any permanent address (generally moving on from time to time), I still jog as often as I can.

the HOFIT