Mark is the father of two children (Logan - age 2.5, and Piper - 11 mths) and has been married for 4.5 years. In their spare time, his wife, Frankie, and himself enjoy playing several video game series such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Mortal Kombat. They are also avid comic book readers, movie, music, and pop culture fans/collectors. For fun, they like to indulge themselves in trivia games such as SceneIt!, Cranium, and Trivial Pursuit. Whenever possible, they like to catch the latest video game or comic book adapted movie in the theaters or on DVD.
He got his start in IT at a very young age, 13, and has been doing it ever since. All of his experience is from hands-on, self-initiated learning. In high school, Mark helped maintain the school's infrastructure, lead the design and maintenance of their web site, lead various clubs, and has even taught various IT and web design topics afterschool (and in some of his classes). Later on, Mark refined his skills through his various jobs over the years, which eventually led him to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Management from DeVry University.
Throughout the years, he has held various leadership positions and consulting roles, including working as a lead web developer on a project for a local Harley Davidson dealership, and being a former Geek Squad lead technician & assistant supervisor for a local Best Buy store.
Currently, Mark is employed as a professional IT contractor for a Fortune 50 global organization in a systems administration role. In this role, he manages the IT infrastructure (including Blackberries and other mobile devices) of two local locations in the Chicago-land area, and performs various administrative roles/duties for sites scattered throughout the US (centrally from the Chicago offices).
In his spare time, when he is not being a father or a gamer, he enjoys reading about the latest technologies out there, watching television networks like G4 (a.k.a TechTV), contributing on various forums, and gaining new knowledge from his pool of industry contacts that he collected over the years.
I currently write articles for the following channels on this site:
- Bachelor of Science in Technical Management - DeVry University - Addision, IL
- Concentration in Computer Information Systems and Web Development
- CompTIA A+ Certified Technician - 2001 Test Objectives
- 10+ years - industry experience in IT
- 9+ years - industry experience in Web Design & Development (HTML, DHTML, XML, CSS, ColdFusion, ASP.NET, etc).
- 6+ years - industry experience in retail with consumer electronics, media, and video games (console & PC).
- 10+ years - clasically trained in the fine arts (in high school & college) - Experience with anything from drawing to painting to the digital arts.
- Knowledge in most Microsoft operating systems and server technologies, including: Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000 Pro, XP (all editions), Vista (all editions), and Server 2003 & 2008 (enterprise).
- Knowledge in MacOS (legacy through OS X).
- Knowledge in Linux (specifically Ubuntu, Sabayon, gOS, Linux Mint, and Gentoo).
- Knowledge in Google Products/Technologies (such as Gears, Talk, Picasa, Reader, etc).
- Computer multimedia experience with: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Acrobat Pro; Quark Xpress; Gimp; Inkspace; etc.
- Mobile phones and fleet administration, including platforms: Nextel (iDen), Blackberry (BIS & BES), and Windows Mobile (ActiveSync & Exchange Server). Carrier experience with: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.
Google,
XBox 360,
360,
Blackberry,
Linux,
Windows,
Adobe,
Web,
Web Design,
Web Development,
IT,
Information Technology,
Server,
Networking,
Video Games,
Games,
CompTIA,
HTML,
ASP,
ASP.net