Oh, you want to know about me and GeoMark don't you? Apparently there's a
rumor going around that he and I are best buds. What can I say? We've been
caught. Now, it's time for the truth.
Mark Loundy and I grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where we attended
East High School. He was the leader of the computer club, and I was the defending
champion of the regional chess tournament. We spent four years together at
East High, and we got to know each other well. I hung out at Mark's house
everyday. He had a Commodore 64, and we'd be awake well into the night programming.
As we chugged down our Max Headroom Coca-Colas, we created a friendship that
we knew would last.
But high school doesn't last forever. I accepted a scholarship into Penn State's
program for advanced students, but Mark decided he wanted to head to California,
where his big sister was attended UCLA. I pleaded with Mark to stay in Pennsylvania.
We walked the campus at Penn State, probably one of the most beautiful campuses
in the country, and I asked him why he'd want to leave this beautiful splendor
for the dry expanse of California. But he wanted to join his sister, and while
my passion for computers was simply a hobby, he wanted to make his into a
career.
We kept in touch over those few years. I dropped out of Penn State and started
a rock band named "Chess Pawns". We played a few clubs, but after
a year I called it quits and got a job at Taco Bell. About the same time I
became assistant night manager, Mark had crossed the border into the computer
world, and got a job with Beverly Hills Internet, which would soon change
it's name to GeoCities.
Soon I realized my mistake. While Mark was working in the future of something
called the Internet, I was slopping together burritos for $5.25 an hour. I
begged Mark to get me a job, but he wouldn't. I understood, I didn't want
my best friend to get in trouble at work for me. Over and over I applied for
work in the technology industry. I moved to Washington State so I could try
to get a job with Microsoft. I so badly wanted to be like my friend Mark.
About this time I discovered the internet, and I created a website at Paris/1284
called AlterIcon. We displayed nice little graphics for Geocities users, and
in August of 1997, Mark sent me an e-mail saying "Your buttons at (AlterIcon)
are hilarious. We all got a big kick out of them here. I particularly liked
the MMMM! LIVER!
one. Major kudos from us here. Mark."
It was nice to see that Mark remembered me. I hadn't talked to him for over
a year! After AlterIcon was "forced" to move PicketFence, I discovered
the watermark issue. It was at this time that Mark began sending me secret
information... regarding his pregnant wife. It was a shock to me to learn
that he was going to be a father. It had been only a few years since our days
at East High, programming our Commodore, playing Legend of Zelda on our NES,
and hanging out at the WaWa out on the Pike. At least that's what it seemed
like.
And now, the CLs have figured out our secret relationship. Now the world will
know about the friendship that will last for all time. Mark, you don't have
to defend me anymore. I'm okay. I finally left my job at Taco Bell last month,
and now I'm pushing DIVX at the Circuit
City in Tukwila.
------
For christ's sake, where do you people come up with this stuff. I've heard
it all now. Among the best :
My girlfriend is a liaison.
I'm secretly an employee of Geocities. (This was in a post called AlterIcon
= AlterEgo? stating that I was really the AlterEgo of a Geocities employee.
Oh, if they only knew.)
I'm secretly a CL
and now... Mark Loundy and I are best buds. All because someone read
that I knew about Mark having twins... something that was posted in the Help
Forums!!!
If you really want to know this stuff, e-mail me at michael@melvindesign.com.
I'm not going to lie to you, whether you're a CL, a Liaison, or a Geocities
employee. Quit speculating about the truth and ask me. Hell, it's funny to
watch you spout off rumors and the like, but it's disconcerting as hell to
hear about how I'm a rogue CL or creating pornographic hoaxs.
And Mark, if you happen to be reading this, I hope you're taking this all
with a grain of salt. They attack you because they have no one else to attack.
What they really should be doing, is clicking
here.
