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January 23, 2004
Finding your Mark on the Internet
It's a scary thought to think that someone on the West Coast, as well as anywhere in the world from Nuku'alofa to Ouagadougou could be reading the sometimes, seemingly, senseless ramblings in my columns, typed on a computer late at night. After getting over the initial shock and a few wasted minutes of "how you doing?" "What have you been doing?" and so on, we talked about our childhood days on our paper routes in Milwaukee and wondered whatever happened to so-and-so and so-and-so. I decided, just for the heck of it, to see what would come up on the Internet, doing a Google Search for Mark Waite. It's one of those search engines that seem to be a godsend for us journalists seeking background information on any subject. I was the fourth Mark Waite on the list. They had my smiling face from the Pahrump Valley Times with a list of 20 columns the reader could click on and read. There were a handful of stories in the queue as well, a write-up on the annual convention of the Phoenix Exotic Wildlife Association in Pahrump Feb. 28, 2003; a story on a benefit for Marta Becket in Death Valley last November; the awarding of a contract to ITG Enterprises for the town of Pahrump website; an Oct. 3, 2000 article in the Pahrump Valley View on an attempt to ban brothels and a story on an attempt to locate a homeless shelter in Pahrump. Why these particular stories ended up on the website under my name and no others I have no idea. I found I was in good company, with some high profile corporate types, and enough British Mark Waites that I wondered if I should be speaking the Queen's English. At least it's better than living in Elko where there was a Mark Waite with the same spelling who had been in and out of court frequently. At the top of the list, there's Mark Waite, director of business services for the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Va. His resume, next to his mug shot, mentions he was formerly employed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Bechtel Power Company. Then there's Mark Waite, an engineer turned entrepreneur who knows how to build high-technology businesses and market complex, innovative products, according to the Internet site. It says he co-founded Launch Momentum with Dan Martin to help the Maine technology community transform ideas into successful businesses. I'm apparently well represented in British law enforcement circles. The Surrey, England Police Authority, has PC Mark Waite, of Horley South, posted on its website. The Internet address suggests readers contact their neighborhood specialist officer for pub watch, shop watch and a riverside cleanup, in which Constable Mark Waite helped youngsters collect over 40 bags of rubbish. There's also a Mark Waite listed under the Ministry of Defense as a constable. A sports write-up by the BBC on the Division I Under 13 English football league notes the Whitley Bay Boys Club Rovers were pushing the North Shields Juniors back and deservedly added to their lead when Mark Waite beat his marker and sent a right foot shot past the keeper. Some entries were less interesting. A web site for Simple Tractors, a store for Allis-Chalmers and Simplicity tractors, suggests Parts Manager Mark Waite in Pontiac, Mich., is very knowledgeable about old tractors and helpful in providing information to the website. The Lexus website notes Mark Waite was recently named corporate sales manager. The official athletic site for the Old Dominion Sports program lists Mark Waite, formerly of Grimsby, England, back for his sixth season as assistant coach with the Monarchs men's soccer team. The Federal Emergency Management program lists a photo of five members of the 434th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom Air Reserve Base, among a handful of write-ups on award winners. Mark Waite, pictured last at right, is part of the group that made top-flight progress in implementing the policy and directives of Executive Order 13123 during FY 2001, whatever that is. Then there's Mark Waite's home page, a personal web site that has recorded 949 hits since Dec. 3, 1999. This Mark Waite lives in Gosport on the south coast of England. He apparently has a sense of humor. Mark Waite says he was born Feb. 21, 1969 in Gravesend, England and he's "neither tall, dark, nor handsome, hair none (as bald as a coot)." For any of those almost 1,000 readers who may be interested, he states that "nightlife is pretty crappy in Gosport but that's no problem because you have the surrounding areas to go to for all the action like Fareham, Portsmouth, Southampton and not forgetting Bournemouth." Waite leaves some pictures on his home page, and invites readers to "chat with me live if I am online or just leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can." Mark Waite is also an actor in Singapore. A column called "Thespian talk" by Dr. Seet, notes "Escape Productions brings quality plays to Singapore, but re-staged with local talents, even though the two people at the helm, Mark Waite, better known as the English teacher at Moulmein High, and Samantha Scott Blackwell, are foreign talent and foreign trained respectively." Then from down under, the bibliography for one publication notes a report by Mark A. Waite, on neuro-pathological injury in child pedestrians, for a Conference on Pedestrian Safety at the Australian College of Road Safety. It's always unusual to see your own name, unless it's a real common one. It's also a bit humbling to think some Internet scanner in Timbuktu may be reading about exotic cats and cathouses in Pahrump by this Mark Waite. Write to Mark Waite at mwaite@pvtimes.com |
