About Me
Family
I am married to Jennifer and step father to Regan and Alex. Jennifer and I also have two children of our own, Ryan Matthew and Luke Denver
Career
Could probably best be summed up as "IT Security Consultant" but specifically focused on identity management consulting with as smattering of programming (Java and C mostly), unix system administration, LDAP, PKI, cryptography, and anything else that needs done. In the past I have worked as a systems programmer on IBM Mainframes, a job that to this day sometimes haunts me. For more details see the resume.
Music
I've been playing guitar as long as I can remember, and someday intend to actually get good at it. I've been trying to emulate Gilmour, Knoffler, and Buckingham for a long time now but I also like to think I've developed a bit of my own style along the way. I also am very much into the electronics of guitars, effects, and amplifiers and enjoy tinkering around with that as well. See my guitar effect building page here.
Search and Rescue
For several years I was an active member of the Centre County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team and acted as the team commander for one year before moving away from the area. That was a very rewarding experience (both in the "service to the community" aspect and the "I'm having fun training the woods with some good friends" aspect) that I regret I do not have the spare time anymore to be involved in. I did however manage to come away with some good memories, various certifications, some medical training, and several hundred dollars in ropes and rigging, survival, and camping gear that I hope to someday use again.
Amateur Radio
After making many half hearted attempts over the years in my youth, I finally decided to focus and get my Ham Radio license while in college. This led to an epiphany that I didn't really enjoy the "talking to strangers over the air" part as much as the building of equipment. I suspect if I were better at math and not so obsessed with computers I would probably have been an electrical engineer but as it stands my urges will have to make due with the guitar effects I build and the many ham radio kits and such I build over the years. Someday I plan to spend some more time developing a page on this topic alone.
People I am not
- Mark Earnest, Author - I've always enjoyed writing and someday would like to write a book (probably sci fi related), until then I recommend people buy this Mark Earnest's book. It looks like a cool story and I would like to get people used to reading books by Mark Earnest. I ordered this book and will report back when I have read it.
- Mark Earnest, M.D., Ph.D. - This is also not me, as evident by the advanced degrees and ability to grow a good beard.
Those two are really the only other Mark Earnests I see on the internet with strong web presences. I am pleased to be sharing the name and google search results with an author and doctor as opposed to a serial killer or disgraced public official. At this point any mistaken identity probably works in my favor :)