Please pronounce “makz” so that it rhymes with “rocks.”
Yes, it's an internet handle. If we meet in person some day, I'm sure I'll ask you to call me by a slightly different name.
I was born in the southern United States on an island known for snakes, mosquitoes, and crime. Much like my beloved hometown, I, too, have positive qualities in addition to those listed. Thanks to many happy hours spent at the local geek store, I somehow emerged from the environment in which I was raised as a productive member of society, retaining much of the good and overcoming a lot of the bad.
I taught myself the basics of IT by repeatedly reinstalling Windows from a stack of floppy disks, then learned the basics of web development by building increasingly elaborate Sailor Moon fan-sites. As the first in my family to hold a college degree, I majored in music and then quickly picked up a supplementary education as an audio engineer. Now I mostly train network switches to pass Dante signals around large conference rooms. Sometimes I help design and build racks, machine panels, and gear packaging.
Back in my home state, I made props for small theater skits, operated the live sound equipment at karaoke events, went on tour with a choir to Carnegie Hall, ran spotlights at a rodeo, and was the frontman for a rock band.
Since moving to Los Angeles in search of work, I've polished my Japanese language skills, learned an instrument, become proficient in at least four programming languages, worked as a camp counselor, ran radios at big name awards shows, used CAD/CAM and CNC machines to cut big things into smaller things, and helped develop broadcast systems that have transmitted audio all over the world.
First and foremost, I'm a big fan of Japanese animation and used to be very active in the Texas convention scene. Secondly, I am a beast at karaoke.
My current interests are translating novels, writing songs, DIY coding and self-hosted server software, and reading up on technology law (from a layman's perspective). I don't have enough time to watch TV shows or movies anymore, but I still read comics voraciously.
There will be something of substance here eventually, but for right now, you should probably look at my pre-pandemic website over at Neocities. You can also find me on Bluesky, the platform that's proving the viability of the atProto federated network protocol.