I was born on October 13, 1952, which means I turned 50 years old in 2002 and I retired in 2007. How time flies when you are having fun! I'm pretty well preserved for my age. I weigh 170 lbs or 78kg and stand 5'10" or 178cm tall. My passport says I have hazel coloured eyes - which means nobody can decide what colour my eyes actually are - they are blue, green and grey. I have a full head of graying brown hair (cut moderately short), and I'm a white-skinned Caucasian male. Those are the cold, hard facts.

I am fairly healthy for my age, with only minor aches and pains cropping up now and then. My main health condition is my allergy to tree pollens, which rears its ugly head every Spring between March and June. I suppose I can be thankful that I don't have allergies that last all year round. I take over-the-counter antihistamines during my allergy season, as well as using HEPA filters while I am in my house. I also use a corticosteroid nasal spray (Nasonex™), which allows me to lead close to a normal life during my allergy season.

I am otherwise in better physical shape than most men my age.

I started going to Gold's in June of 1995 because my doctor told me that I had been gaining a pound or two for each year that I had been going to him for checkups. He didn't have to tell me that - I had to buy new pants because my waist was spreading out. So I motivated myself to get in shape, and I'm proud to say I did it! I lost 15lbs in the first four months of working out at Gold's, and I also lost 2" off my waist. 

Five years later, I quit going to Gold's.  I had slowly gained back the 15 lbs over that time, but now that I've quit the gym, I have lost 10 lbs.  I suppose that's due to decreased muscle mass. I'm still a couch potato at heart, but I enjoy walking and hiking regularly. It's the least I can do, given my advancing years. I plan to fight this aging process every step of the way!

Gold's offered a Yoga class, which I found very good for maintaining flexibility and reducing stress.  Yoga allows you to push away current surroundings and problems, and concentrate on tranquility and restoration.

I walk the dog at least once a day, and since there is no way to walk in my neighborhood without going up and down hills, this means I get an aerobic workout every day.

In 1996 I decided to have some bumps and moles taken off my face. During three sessions with a plastic surgeon, I had 8 moles/bumps taken off my face and upper body. I haven't turned into a fashion model, but I'm very happy with the results. If you are like me and have put off this type of thing, screw up your courage and get it done.I can assure you that you won't be sorry, and it presents a whole new you to the world.

My mother lived in Nanaimo until 2006, which is about 140km north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. She now lives here in Victoria at an extended care facility.  My father died in 2000 - see: Joseph Cecil Carr, 1910-2000 - Obituary and My Memories and Tribute to my Dad. My parents were in their early 40's before I came along, so they lived a full life "before child", as it were. I was adopted when I was a few days old, and I have chosen to not seek out my birth parents. I see no benefit in confronting a decision which was made on my behalf so long ago. I have terrific parents - so the decision has worked out well for me. I am an only child, but I like to think I'm not totally spoiled!

Kirk is my partner in life, and we have two "kids" -  Tucker (our Jack Russell Terrier), Sheba (our black longhair cat).  Kirk and I have lived together since August 1997.

I was raised in the Cowichan Valley near Duncan, which is located half way between Nanaimo and Victoria, on Vancouver Island. We lived on five acres of land in a semi-rural area. I had a terrific childhood. Lots of playing with friends down at the local creek - catching tadpoles and fish, building dams and forts, cowboys and indians, gangs (the nice kind -Robin Hood and his men, etc.). We lived on one acre of the land, and rented out the other four acres to local farmers. So I experienced haying, raising cows, horses, sheep, chickens, bantem chickens, guinea fowl, rabbits, wild birds, dogs, cats, etc., etc. I rode horses at a local dude ranch when I had the 35 cents it cost for an hour of time on some old plug.

We saw the Forest Museum being built, and had the inside track (pun intended) with the engineers and workers. My Dad and I built a kayak out of plywood, and I happily paddled it in the flooded fields in front of our place (the flats, just north of Duncan, adjacent to Somenos Lake). During those paddling trips, I got to see Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, various ducks and herons and their young up close. My mother was (and still is) a great animal lover, and reserved a special spot in her heart for the Red-winged blackbirds, which used to arrive every year in our feeders, while they raised their young down in the flats in front of our house. Have a look at the Nature section of my Interests web page for more info on this part of my life.

Oh, so you want to know all the gory details? Well for starters, I'm gay. I think I've found the right guy for me (hi Kirk!), and we love each other very much. We've exchanged rings as a symbol of our commitment to each other, and are serious about working at making our relationship flourish and last for many years. In 2003 the laws of Canada redefined marriage to mean the union of "two people".  Formerly, this read "a man and a woman", so now legal same-sex marriages are happening in Canada.  This is being phased in throughout the country.  Since we live in British Columbia, Kirk and I could legally marry if we wish, however we don't want to marry at the moment - preferring our common law union status.  That said, it is very reassuring that should we change our minds, we can marry in the future.

Being gay isn't a big part of my identity. If you have questions, or need more details, I have prepared a Question-and-answer format web page to, hopefully provide some answers to questions you might have. If you need more info, or simply need to talk to me about this one-on-one, please contact me directly (friends and family only, please!).

I was an unremarkable student in public school. In Grade 6 I was given the Merit Award, which means I was the best all-round student in my class that year. In high school, my interests were in math and physics, and due to some excellent teachers, I achieved quite good marks in both subjects (B averages). During my final year in high school, we had a "Career Day" presentation from the BC Institute of Technology. The Surveying Technology appealed to me, so I applied and was accepted.

My specialty at BCIT was Photogrammetry, which is the science of making maps from stereo photographs (usually aerial photos). I went straight from high school at age 17 to BCIT, and graduated two years later with a Diploma of Technology. In 1972 at the tender age of 19, I was out in the work force on my own in Vancouver, and living in the West End in my first apartment.

My first job after graduating from BCIT was with McElhanney in Vancouver. For four years, I was making maps from aerial photography, and doing advanced computer-based adjustments using the old IBM 360 mainframes, as well as Digital's new PDP-11 minicomputers. That taste of using computers proved to be valuable experience for subsequent career choices. I learned that having computer skills combined with focussed career training was a good combination - this holds true, even today.

After four years of living and working in Vancouver, I moved back to Vancouver Island in 1976. The provincial government was hiring photogrammetrists, and the pay and benefits were much better than those offered by McElhanney. I joined the Surveys and Mapping Branch (now called Base Mapping & Geomatic Services Branch). I was employed by the same Branch for 25 years! My job changed significantly in the ensuing years. After a few years of being a photogrammetrist, I was assigned to another unit of the Branch which was more of a research and development group. I stayed in this job for over 20 years - working with the same basic group of people all that time.  The work was interesting and ever-changing. My skills and interests were utilized with almost every project, and even my photogrammetry skills were called upon once in awhile!

With the change of government in British Columbia in mid-2001, two new ministries were created out of the old Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks.  Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch (formerly called Geographic Data BC) was placed in one of these two new ministries: Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management.  A few weeks later, I was reassigned to a new branch within the same ministry - the Information Management Branch.  Half of my responsibility is for two ministries' web presence and the underlying infrastructure. The other part of my job is to provide some web-based mapping services to the public and our strategic partners.  I can honestly say that I look forward to going into the office every day.

If you are interested in what I do, feel free to browse the following websites. 

2007 Update - I have retired from government service! See: Joe's Retirement

Where We Live

I have lived in Victoria, the City of Gardens since 1976. Victoria is located in the Province of British Columbia, in Canada. Victoria is the provincial capital, and is a tourist town located on beautiful Vancouver Island, just a few kilometres offshore from the west coast of Canada (and Vancouver, our largest city).

We live in our wee house (under 1,200 sqft) -  Kirk (my partner in life), Tucker (our Jack Russell Terrier), Sheba (our black longhair cat), and I. The house suits us perfectly. Our neighborhood is very quiet, has nice tree-lined streets, and We have very nice neighbors.