I’m Mark, a full-stack software engineer. I build web apps with Ruby on Rails. I’ve been writing software for too many decades and still get a kick out of shipping things that solve problems.

I started by typing BASIC programs from the backs of computer magazines. That curiosity turned into real-time C and assembly for data acquisition systems in oil and water plants. Tight loops. Hard deadlines. Fun problems.

I worked on early mobile phone software too. Charging logic. Ringtones. Infrared and Bluetooth comms. I even built apps that let you read and reply to email on a number pad, before phones had QWERTY keyboards.

On the web side, I’ve built tools that generate legal documents. I’ve also helped grow e-commerce sites to many millions of dollars in annual sales. Reliability and simplicity matter when money and operations are on the line.

I’ve run an on-site data center for a mid-sized company. We self-hosted websites, shared drives, email, and credit-card processing. I built internal tools, including sales-tax calculation and reporting. I also designed and managed an internal IP phone system with ring groups and failovers, and kept it humming once it was live.

I was born and grew up in the UK. I spent over fifteen years living and working just outside Dallas, Texas. I’m back in the UK now and building the next thing.

Today my focus is greenfield app development with the latest Rails, Turbo, and Stimulus. I’m exploring how AI can speed up software development and help me ship better products.

My current project is a car dealer management system. It’s in active development. I’ll share notes as I go: what worked, what didn’t, and the little tricks that make a big difference.

If you’re curious about this journey, stick around and explore the site, my latest status will be on my Now page. I’ll keep things practical, honest, and to the point.