Mark Middlebrook

I'm a rabid liberal artist in sheepish techno-geek clothing. After a brief fling with engineering followed by a 15-year committed relationship with computer consulting, I've recently developed a promiscuous working life which includes wine, teaching, and Web development.

I got the liberal arts religion at St. John's College in Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM and there found an educational home for the first time - a place where a small community of learners takes seriously the asking and exploring of important human questions through conversation. I remain involved with St. John's College through its alumni community, including the local alumni chapter, and by serving periodically on the college's Board of Visitors and Governors and the Alumni Association's Board of Directors. I also teach St. John's-style literature and philosophy seminars at St. Mary's College of California.

After St. John's, I earned a Master's degree in structural engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Thus began my masquerade as techno-geek. The structural engineering luster wore off quickly, but my tour of duty at U.C. Berkeley during the late 1980s did introduce me to microcomputers and my brief sojourn as engineer introduced me to the world of Computer Aided Drafting (CAD).

In 1988 I started Daedalus Consulting, a.k.a. www.markcad.com. My work in that guise has included CAD consulting to engineering and software companies, developing custom software applications, teaching computer classes, and writing computer magazine articles and books.

I began working part-time in the wine industry in 2001. While I'm convinced of the truth of the well-worn dictum, "in vino veritas", I'm still laboring to prove the corollary, "in vino pecunia". I am fortunate indeed to work at Paul Marcus Wines in Oakland, California, where I sell wine, write the newsletter, manage the Web site, and draw wine maps whose amateurishness some people find charming.

My newest (and still incipient) business endeavor is CruForge: an attempt to marry wine, computers, writing, and - who knows - maybe even some of those maps.

My other avocations are music and languages, both modern and ancient. Team Rioja provides much of my inspiration for pursuing those callings.

If you need to get in touch with me, here's how.