About

Hello, I’m Mark Nichols. I’m from Manhattan Kansas and I’ve been a nerd since before being a nerd was popular.

Technology

I have been fascinated with technology since my first exposure to computers in 1976. One night a friend’s father brought home a suitcase sized thermal-paper terminal, complete with an acoustic coupler into which you plugged the phone handset for the remote connection. Once he was finished with his work, his son and I played a text-version of Star Trek in to the wee hours of the night. I was hooked.

In college I studied Applied Computer Science and I’ve worked in the information technology field since it was called “data processing”. Today I happily work at Kansas State University and, after having lived in larger cities, wouldn’t give up our small town life.

Music

Starting in the late fall of 2009 I’ve been playing the violoncello. Ever since I was a small boy I’ve always loved the sound of cellos, and as an adult I always wanted to learn to play. When I met my wife, in 2006, she had her son’s cello leaning in the corner of her studio. In November 2009 I screwed up my courage and started taking lessons. Daily practice is now a part of my routine and I am thrilled with playing and learning. That there are many studies and reports showing increased mental function and reduced loss of mental ability among aging musicians is icing on this already delicious cake.

Life

I share my life with my wife, Sibylle. Our home is filled with books and music, two grand pianos, a viola, two cellos, a mandolin, various computers, and lots of natural light. Sibylle and I met and married as a result of using eHarmony. We are exploring the world as partners, lovers, companions, best friends, and husband and wife, and are finding that two lives shared are truly greater than the sum of the individuals involved.

I hold a nidan or second-degree black belt in karate-do, I can juggle, iron a shirt, and know how to sail a boat. My interests include cooking, travel, reading, software, movies, and computers. I am increasingly fascinated by processes and language, and someday I’d like to make a cello.

I was born in Brooklyn New York, stayed in Pennsylvania during my parent’s move to Illinois, and since then have lived and worked in Indiana, Washington (state), South Carolina, and Kansas.

About this site

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