Darker Waters

Home of Cognitive Scientist, Engineer, Author; Douglas Brain.

Software

I have been writing software since I left University in 1999 and started working at BAE Systems as a lowly graduate software engineer. Almost 25 years later and I am still learning, developing, adjusting and creating. It's something I really enjoy and am very good at. Early in my career, I realised that how I thought just matched how one should code. Engineering patterns and designs just fall from my brain, letting me code instinctively. Seeing a problem, or needing a solution, I can just tell what needs doing and do it. It helps, of course, that I was taught to type at school - an underrated skill really worth investing in.

I have travelled around large firms, medium consultancies, and helped little startups, building my skills and knowledge the entire time. I have worked with various clients and organisations while being employed by BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Risk Aware (for DSTL), General Dynamics again, and Boeing Defence UK. Each project, each employer, there was a new programming language, a new technology and a new challenge. Each learned, each met, and each completed.

More recently, I ended up creating my own consultancy firm (Darker Waters) to help whoever needed help. Darker Waters has worked for a number of people and done a lot, again learning new skills and technologies along the way. While helping startups and non-engineering firms write code and set up software groups, I have helped even more people not do that. There are a lot of ideas out there that are technically impossible or so expensive the person shouldn't try - I see these as my greatest successes as have saved a number of very nice, well-meaning people, from wasting their hard-earned money.

If you have any interest in creating software or want to talk through your idea, or anything else, please do contact me.

Software Examples

Because most of my career has been spent working for defence and intelligence clients, there isn't much I can show here. I have provided a few links to some articles about the things I have worked on and links to some of the many apps I have created. MapMyMatch is the exception; being the sole creation of Darker Waters as a learning experience and Flutter experimentation.

Writing

I have written a number of novels that are in various states of completion and publication.

As I write there are some themes that seem to be appearing in my work:

• Keep the story moving, let the writing flow and edit down later.

• People in the books should be real, perfection in a hero is just annoying.

• Violence and sex have their place, add them for excitement but don't overdo it.

• Emotion and tragedy are all well and good but my books are supposed to be fun to read, don’t dwell.

This appears to be my native style and, I think, results in some good books. There are some technology references, some rants about things that annoy me, the politics are liberal but not rammed down you and there is no swearing or blasphemy.

I am a man, but I hope they are readable by women too, my wife and mum enjoy them, removing anything too techy or boring as they edit them.

Why not read one, I am trying to keep them well priced and available to everyone I can reach. I want people to read them rather than make money. I don’t really expect to make any real money anyway (O;

Planned or in-progress...