FIRST, an explanation. The name of this site comes from the literal translation of our family name. The first appearance of our family name is recorded in Ireland as O'Dubh Dhaboireann (literal translation “Black of the two burrens”). Over the centuries, this has been shortened and respelled several times and ways until, in our family line, it came to be spelled “Daverin”. Since this version of the family name is an obvious respelling of Dhaboireann, we decided to use the “two burrens” translation as our domain name.

SECONDLY, we'd like to orient you as to where The Burren is in Ireland (and the source of our family name). The Burren (always capitalized) is a large area of rocky ground in the west of Ireland in the Kingdom of Munster in the modern county Clare. The region is known to have the oldest dialect of Irish in the country which may contain traces of the language used in Ireland before the advent of the Celtic language we know now - if not in any words, then in the way the words are pronounced. If you are interested, more information about the area can be found (among many other places) at these three sites.

On to the current family stuff - NEWS:

Dec. 30, 2004 - Bob received a job offer for a job he would have liked - but with a schedule that was untenable. We're still looking at all the options that are available to us, and are still able to handle things as they are now. This site update will also include setting up a photo gallery index page under the Art category.

Dec. 22, 2004 - The job prospects are still running low, though I have scored a (low-paying, but still paying) webmaster gig for a friend who found himself in need of help. Broken Hexagon Studios is still up and running and we even sold several pieces at the art show for a local convention.
      In other areas of family life, we went to the old stomping grounds (Bay Meadows racetrack) of my maternal grandfather (Pleasant Earl Bickers) earlier this year and took a number of photos of the area. The high-rises you can see on the far side of the track were where the training area and stanbles used to be. The racetrack is likely to be closed within the next two years as the last efforts to save it appear to have come to naught.

Feb. 9, 2004 - Defiant in the face of nineteen months of unemployment (thank you, Mr. President), Bob has started the process of transforming his Photoshop art experiment into an small-time art studio with the redesign of the website and URL. Broken Hexagon Studio opened at it's new URL with an updated site on Feb. 6, 2004. Bob has been producing new pieces of art at an average rate of 5 new pieces every week since the end of October, 2003. He will be showing his artwork in public for the first time at BayCon this year. If you are in the area, you are encouraged to visit the convention and see what the pieces really look like (as it has been noted by more than one person that the printed pieces have a much different impact than the computer images do).