I am 42 years old born 5/13/64 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring Maryland. At birth I was named Mark Charles Brown, I legally changed my name at 21 to reflect my preference for the name Charles as opposed to Mark, and to give me the same last name as my great and brilliant maternal grandfather Robert Clayton Carroll (or Bob Carroll as he was referred to by most).
I maintain a home in South Carolina (near Spartansurbg,SC and Charlotte, North Carolina) and also wherever I am working I maintain a second home. Professionally I travel around US and world to consult as an ASP.net Team Leader and Architect, and occasionally present private classes in ASP.net. I lived in Montgomery County Maryland most of my life. I did briefly live in Denton North Carolina (1.5 years) and in Charlotte, North Carolina (1 year). I travel to Tokyo Japan often. Admiral Dr. Roger Gilbertson is the person who convinced me to enter the computer field at age of 20, and is also my closest friend and confidant and for all practical purposes my "father of choice" for the last 2 decades.
I have 3 children:
- Cameron Phillips (14 years old)
- Hitoshi Yoshitsugu Carroll (7 years old, pronounced Hee-toe-she)
- Michiko Yoshitsugu Carroll (5 years old, pronounced mee-chee-koh)
Michiko and Hitoshi go to school in Japan most of the year and visit the USA on school breaks. They will attend school in the US as well later. This site has Photos of me and children. I have several websites:
These sites are designed to enhance my teaching repuation worldwide and give away information to help the people I can't physically visit and teach.
My best friends from the AspElite.com and WinProTeam include Alberto Mujica, Carlos Meghales, Chris Hynes, Dave Wanta, Doug Nelson, Felipe Coury, Gary Pupurs, Jeff Schoolcraft, Joao Paulo Carreiro, Luke Hammond, Manu Dumetri, Mohammed Mudassir, Paul Chu, Peter Brunone, Rob Pfefferkorn,Ryan Olshan and Steven Walther.
My best friends from childhood/early adulthood include David Melton, Erik Gilbertson, Eugene Cole, Gerold Bosch, Greg Stafford, Norm Eaddy, James Hill, Randall Hennion, and Amy Ionita.
Good friends met during my career as a teacher and computer programmer include Chris Taylor, Steven G. Berry Esquire, Shabaz Khan, Eugene Cole, Jeff Schoolcraft, Woody Lons, "Doc" (Richard Baum), Steven Walther and Luke Hammond.
I love gadgets and computers. I have a home network of several computers (typically 2 gigs of RAM in each and 2 or 4 monitors on each) along with webcam, double-sided Tektronix DX840 color printer, and a hp 1320 double-sided printer. My cell phone is a Samsung i-500 (Palm OS cell phone with graffiti) and I love my Vonage home phone. I own several Tivos, a 50" + Sony TV, and an Optoma projector. I use a Dvorak keyboard see http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/layout.html for more about the Dvorak layout. Here is my computer advice.
I love to read. I read books on programming marketing, sales, management, psychology, many kinds of fiction (horror, modern, some sci-fi and fantasy if it is VERY good). Steven King,Dan Simmons, Preston & Childs, James Rollins, Scott Turrow, Ayne Rand, and many more... I also read a loft of UFOs and Fortean books. I loved the book "Atlas Shrugged" and it was my inspiration for creating the AspElite.com. Here is list of an extensive list of my favorite books.
I am a huge fan of Marvel Comics in 60s and 70s. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, et al. Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Defenders, Liberty Legion, Invaders, Eternals, Guardians of the Galaxy, Original Xmen, Captain America, etc. The bonus section (Fun) has my Comic Book/Graphic Novels links but you must register for the site to see that section.
In the 80s as a teen I played a lot of board games and RPGs I hope to play with my kids as they get older: Steve Jackson Games like GEV, Ogre, The Fantasy Trip and Illuminati. Metagames like Hitlers War and The Invasion of the Air Eaters. AH games include Up Front and Civilization. Loved Eon games like Cosmic Encounters and Borderlands. The bonus section (Fun) has my 70's and 80's games links but you must register for the site to see that section.
I watch tons of movies. Everything from "Chick flicks" to action-adventure to foreign Films, etc. Here is list of my movie DVD collection -- I think they are great movies crossing a lot of genres.
I love music. Favorite bands include Queen, Roger Taylor, Billy Joel, Don Henley, Eagles, Pete Townsend, The Who, Suzanne Vega, Roger Hodgeson, Old Supertramp, Cheryl Crow, Sundays, Tatsuro Yamashita, The Kinks. Here is list of my music CD collection -- I am a lyric fan more than melodies but like a lot of different musicians.