About Mark

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions – expressed or implied – of my employers both past and present.

Last Updated: May-24-2024

I was born at St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, August 27. I attacked attended elementary school at Longfellow Elementary in the Houston Independent School District up until 4th grade. Our family moved to Northwest Houston and I transferred to E.S. Post Elementary in the Cy-Fair Independent School District. Dean Jr. High and then Jersey Village High School soon followed where I perfected multiple skills (ninja, rooftop leaping, telephone dialing) until my eventual graduation at the impressionable age of 17. By the age of 19 I’d become a master and commander of Add/Drop while attending University of Houston. I then wisely transferred to Houston Baptist University where classes were smaller and organic chemistry professors weren’t as lazy. At the age of 25 I eventually graduated from HBU with a double degree in English and Biology. Put down the calculator because, yes, it took 7 years to get through college. After college I briefly worked for the local paper The Houston Chronicle. Upon my escape, I got a job at the school district of my youth — Cy-Fair I.S.D. My first assignment? Torture Teach the student body as a substitute teacher. I was later promoted on to be shackled to the same desk, day in and day out, where I taught 7th grade Science and English. I soon grew dissatisfied and escaped (again). A friend from my time at HBU hooked me up with an eBusiness technology and consulting firm. And the rest, as they say, is history.

My official job title is usually a variation on Solutions Architect or User Experience Architect. I also have hobbies like restoring vintage arcade games, creating alter-egos, collecting movie cars and whatever else I find the time to do.

My first pet was a basset hound named Chew Chew. He was very good at making people go ”Awwwww… Lookit the dawggy!!!” as we went on our daily walks in Olde City Philadelphia. My time spent watching a TV show called ”The Dog Whisperer” and using new behavior management techniques annoyed Chew Chew to no end. My current canine group consists of King Charles Cavaliers who live in the Hall of Justice and are always plotting ways to trap squirrels, birds and general wildlife.

I’m married to the sweetest blonde ever whom I met in Minneapolis and eventually married on the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood literally on the steps of the real Back to the Future courthouse / clock tower set. We signed the contract on Back to the Future Day, October 21, 2015. Yup.

My interests as they used to be listed on MySpace (what’s that?) include photography, programming, movies, healthy eating, fitness, music, and the occasional ride in a weird car. I have since added a love for restoring vintage arcade games of the 1980s and 1990s to that list.

Music that I liked (as I’d listed on MySpace back in the day) included A-ha, Aerosmith, A Perfect Circle, Alanis Morissette, Annie Lennox, Art of Noise, Barenaked Ladies, Beastie Boys, Beatles, Big Country, Blink 182, Butthole Surfers, Chemical Brothers, Colin Hay (Men At Work), The Byrds, Chicago, Coldplay, Crystal Method, The Cult, Depeche Mode, Echo &; The Bunnyman, ELO, Elton John, Eminem, Enya, Fatboy Slim, Fischerspooner, The Flaming Lips, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Garbage, Gary Numan, Guster, Heart, Howard Jones, Huey Lewis, Incubus, INXS, Journey, The Judys, Loretta Lynn, Madonna, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Moody Blues, Morrissey, Nitzer Ebb, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Murphy, The Police, Prince, Psychedelic Furs, Pushmonkey, Queen, Radiohead, Rammstein, Rob Zombie, Rush, Seal, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Smiths, Skinny Puppy, Soft Cell, Stevie Nicks, Sting, Thompson Twins, Tears For Fears, Tori Amos, Tubeway Army, U2, Van Halen, Velvet Revolver, Violent Femmes, Weird Al, White Zombie.

Movies that I like include Back to the Future, The Wizard of Oz, Donnie Darko, Spider-Man 1 and 2, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Empire Strikes Back, Office Space, Matrix Trilogy, A Clockwork Orange, Star Trek II, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2, Career Opportunities, The Breakfast Club, Highlander, Batman Begins, Sixteen Candles, ALIENS, ALIEN, Barbarella, Napoleon Dynamite, The Quiet Earth, Bill &; Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Black Hole, Buckaroo Bonzai, Candy, Close Encounters, Flash Gordon, Grease, Halloween, Heaven Can Wait, Indiana Jones &; The Last Crusade, Innerspace, Jaws, The Jerk, Joe Versus The Volcano, Logan’s Run, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Beetlejuice, Popeye, Raising Arizona, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, Escape From Witch Mountain, The River’s Edge, The Shining, Slaughter House 5, Three Kings, Boogie Nights, Used Cars, When Harry Met Sally, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Me on the phone [213k]
Respectfully,
The Super Genius