About Me
Hello! And welcome to my little slice of the interweb. My name is Bob Barcus and I'm a web designer from Argos, Indiana. For the past six years, I've owned Apheus Solutions, LLC and I work from my home office. I've learned that web design is the perfect home-based business - although most everyone in my family still doesn't understand what it is that I actually do for a living.
I've always had a deep passion for computers and related technological gadgets. I've been online since 1993 and I joke that I was online before the internet had pictures. My first computer was an Apple Macintosh Performa 450 (which I still have) with a whopping 4 MB of RAM (I eventually upgraded to 12 MB). I built my first PC in 1997 with an Intel 166 processor - what an upgrade! However, it wasn't until 2007 that I was finally able to get high-speed internet.
I'm a 1993 graduate of Argos High School and I've lived in Argos since my family moved here in 1978. I've worked in several jobs since high school:
- Forklift Driver
- Small Business Owner
- School Bus Driver
- Substitute Teacher
- In-School Suspension Instructor
- Census Enumerator
- Restaurant Manager
I love living in the country and I don't think I could ever live in town and I most definitely couldn't live in a big city. I'm a country boy at heart. I've always been around farm animals - my family has raised chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, rabbits, cattle, hogs and more. Plus, I love my "Turbo" kitty, even though he doesn't always return the favor.
I have a very small group of people that I really consider my friends. I try to keep in touch with them as often as I can. Now that I work from home, finding time for social interaction can sometimes be difficult. I know that sounds hard to believe, but its true. I never realized that being a web designer would require 24/7 attention to my work - some of my customers think that I apparently don't require any sleep. In some ways, I have probably neglected my friends over the years because I work so much. Thank goodness for Facebook and text messaging!
I'm a pretty humble person and I try to live a good and simple life. I don't think that having a big car or an expensive house make you any better of a person. Unless you have the money to afford such things, you're just fooling yourself into thinking that you're rich.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. - 1 Timothy 6:10
Now you might think that I'm a Bible-thumper from the above passage, but I'm really not. There are lessons to be learned from the Bible. I don't think that my faith can be easily categorized. However, I am a spiritual person and I have personally experienced things in my life that have led me to form my own opinions about faith and religion. I do consider myself a Christian. Along those same lines, I am ordained minister - through the Universal Life Church Monastery and the American Marriage Ministries. I was ordained through both groups on July 23, 2012 and performed the wedding of my brother and his bride the next day. So I guess you can just call me "Reverend Bob."
I usually try to keep my political beliefs to myself. It seems that people often have very strong feelings about politics. I'd just rather not get into a long, drawn-out discussion where they reveal just how much they really don't know about our country. I have never served in the military but I am very proud of my friends and family for serving their country. My dad was a veteran of the Vietnam War and was awarded a number of medals and citations during his service as a member of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He passed away in 2011 and I deeply miss him, even though we didn't always agree on every subject.
One thing that Dad and I did share was our love of trains. Him and Mom got me my first train set when I was only six months old and I've had a certain admiration for them ever since. So much so, that I've immersed myself in railroad history - I collect photos, timetables and rulebooks. I'm a certified and qualified conductor and I'm currently the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Indiana. My family has a long history with trains going back over the last century. I still have Great Grandpa Howard's rulebook from the Pennsylvania Railroad that he got back in 1925. While I consider myself a "railfan" some people may also call me a "foamer," even though I don't think I deserve that moniker.
I also love family history. While I don't consider myself a full-fledged genealogist, I guess I'm the closest thing we have in our family. I have done some serious research in basements and I've taken the time to talk to older family members over the years - knowing full well that once they're gone, their knowledge of family history will be gone with them.
That's about all I have to write right now. I'm sure I'll think of some more stuff as time goes by. I wish I was better about describing myself, but unfortunately, I'm not very good at it. I definitely don't want to write my "About Me" section and make it sound like a suave personals ad. In fact, I don't think I'd be any good at writing one of those either. By the way, if you need something notarized, I can do that, too! I'm a notary public and a member of the American Association of Notaries.