About me
By Mark Czerniec
October 31, 2006 11:59 PM

[Updated April 3, 2008] I pronounce my last name "SER-nick." Speakers of Polish would say something more like "CHAIR-nyets," but I don't speak Polish. I'm just following what my parents taught me.

I'm a 47-year-old guy living with my wonderful wife Amy (no kids, no pets) in Racine, Wisconsin — about 25 miles south of Milwaukee and 60 miles north of Chicago, where I was born. Most of my life was spent just south of here in Kenosha. My mom still lives there, and three of my sisters also reside in the area, with a fourth now living Ohio. My dad died in 1980.

My day job

Working from my home in Racine via Internet, I monitor news and search the Web providing research support for The Steve Dahl Show, heard 5:30-10 weekday mornings in Chicagoland on 104.3 Jack FM, and all over the world via live streaming and podcast. Legendary broadcaster Steve Dahl gave me my start in radio in 1981 when he added me to his show to provide a daily "All My Children Update." After a number of other radio jobs, I returned to work for him on the afternoon of September 11, 2001.

Other work

To keep myself busy during afternoons and weekends, I also freelance as a Web designer. I have been programming computers since 1975 and creating Web sites since 1996, and I still haven't formally learned how to type.

Interests

In general, I love culture. I enjoy music and food and movies and literature from all over the world, and I want to be Anthony Bourdain or Michael Palin or Burt Wolf when I grow up. I'm intrigued by the rustic and the traditional, and by folktales, customs, religion and mythology. I have learned a lot by reading and re-reading the work of Joseph Campbell, the single greatest teacher I have had in life.

At home

Amy and I became first-time homeowners in August, 2005. Since then, we've been spending less time dining out and going to movies and more time planting shrubs, watering tomatoes, feeding the birds, and smoking chickens on the Weber. We haunt The Home Depot, garden centers and furniture stores, and we come home with exciting goodies like caulk.

We are especially interested in food and cooking, and we watch a number of the TV cooking shows. Amy's chef skills have become pretty impressive, and she's a devotee of Marian Burros, who supplies many of our nightly dinner menus. I can at least follow most recipes without too much blood loss, and I'm happiest when we have family and friends gathered around our table for a nice meal and some wine. Our favorite cookbooks are listed in my Amazon.com store.

Guitar

I have been playing guitar since fifth grade and I'm still not good enough to entertain others, but at least I entertain myself. I play a Martin D-1. I also have a beat-up 1975 Fender Telecaster that I played a lot more 20 years ago.

Travel

We enjoy road trips, and have been lucky enough to go along on some air travel adventures as well. Our journeys have included tent camping at Wisconsin's Wyalusing State Park, Badlands National Park in South Dakota, and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado; getting married in Quebec City; road tripping through Washington D.C., Arkansas (Scenic 7) and Louisiana (Layfayette, Avery Island, New Orleans), Tennessee (Memphis), North Carolina (Asheville, Mount Airy), South Carolina (Beaufort), Georgia (Savannah); dining on whitefish livers in Bayfield, Wisconsin; driving from Frankfurt to Paris to Strassbourg and back to Frankfurt (see photos); driving again from Frankfurt through Switzerland to Tuscany (Florence, San Gimignano, Colle Val d'Elsa, Volterra, Siena, Greve in Chianti) and back again (see photos); two trips to Mexico (Playa Del Carmen and Los Cabos), and four trips to Hawaii (once to Oahu and three times to Maui — see photos).

Activities

I walk fairly regularly, and I ride my bike when the weather is good — usually between 20 and 30 miles. I have really enjoyed the little snorkeling we have done. I like to throw a Frisbee around when I get the chance.

Radio, TV, movies, books

My favorite radio and TV shows are listed above at top right. Lists of my favorite movies and favorite books can be found in my Amazon.com store.