[On Mark and Carol's homepage, you will find a playground filled with sports, entertainment, WebTV tools, HTML and a super f-key saver with over 1000 links for your favorites. There is also a "Progressive" site for newbies! How about gifs, midi f-keys, beanie babies and airline links? And for the golfers, a "Mecca" of links on stats, lessons and even jokes and games.--ck]
Have you ever thought that you have found your soulmate? Well, these two people have. Mark is 51, the elder, and the spokesman of this duo! "Carol is just a few years younger, but she looks like a 'Covergirl' for Cosmopolitan." And is a "Goddess" in Mark's eyes! "She supports my WebTV addiction most of the time," said Mark. For Carol and Mark have been fortunate to find each other, as they are well aware that to find one's soulmate is quite rare. "When the magic strikes, don't ignore it...pursue it!" They said that their love today is as strong and as passionate as it was years ago when they met. They are best friends and they always place each other first.
Mark and Carol met at work in New York where they both worked in the airline industry and have since moved to Grosse Ile, Michigan, where both continue to work in supervisory positions with a Major Airline Carrier. Carol works as a gate supervisor, coordinating her staff in handling between 40-50 flights on a shift. "A huge task and no one does it better then her." Mark works at the same airline, at the same airport, in the Airline's Tower, overseeing the staff that mans the gates and the ramp that load the aircraft and ensure a timely departure. Tower responsibilities entail decision making and communications with all involved and dealing with variables such as weather, maintenance, crews, turntimes, etc., according to Mark.
Because of their association with the airlines, they both have a passion for travel and Beijing, China, has been their focus the past two years. They have made five trips there in that span and each trip has been exciting and rewarding. They usually travel with an entourage consisting of 8 to 10 friends and family. Mark and Carol are planning a trip to Shanghai this spring and Rome or Milan this summer.
I asked "SoulMates" Mark and Carol why they purchased a WebTV unit. Mark responded, "We purchased a WebTV Classic in February, 1997 primarily because the sales representative at Best Buy demonstrated the ease of surfing the net and showed us how easy it would be to set up favorites and send e-mails. We have never been disappointed in its easy use and marvel at how quickly we were off and running. Where else can you sit back in an easy chair, click on and view the Internet via a color "32" screen for a very reasonable price. Since that initial purchase, we have upgraded to a 'plus' and sent the 'classic' to Carol's dad, who is 80 years old and whom we correspond with on a regular basis. He gets a kick out of viewing our website and any other website attachment we may send him." (I bet Mark and Carol will be sending him this article. ;-) )/P>
Mark told me that, in the beginning, they used WebTV to send and receive e-mails and to search the web for things that interested them. It didn't take long before they ventured into newsgroups such as Programming Newsgroup, HTML Newgroup, Homepage Newsgroup and
Homepage Opinions.
Mark and Carol lurked in these newsgroups for a long period of time and didn't reveal their presence until their "HOMEPAGE" reflected a fairly decent appearance and contained useful information.
I asked Mark and Carol how they learned HTML when they remained lurkers so long. Mark replied, "We used the greatest tool out there... that being Madrabbit's source, the validator and our HP 694 printer. We surfed all the great WebTV webpages created by skillful webmasters and then bounced their codes. We were amazed on 'How Did They Do That?' Then once the codes were printed, we spent hours breaking them down in every aspect possible and then filled 20 looseleaf folders of webpages & codes to be used at a later date. Why go through all that trouble, you ask? Learning from the BEST by example seemed the best route for us. When we didn't understand a code, there was always someone in the above NG's who had an answer to our thoughts. Now with codes in-hand, we looked and devised a 'theme' that would carry throughout our domain."
As mentioned earlier, Carol and Mark are known as true soulmates in every sense of the word. Not only do their "souls" connect, but they are both young at heart and enjoy having fun. Which brings us to a PLAYGROUND, a meeting place where youth enjoys entertainment, games, and sports. A few months after their WebTV was purchased, SoulMate's PlayGround was born. These are webpages created with "Heart and Soul" that have served two purposes, according to Mark and Carol. "It is a place where we gravitate to...to locate sites and links we have collected over the years. We see it as 'A One Stop Shop,' and a place where 'others' will find it comfortable enough to visit and use our site as a special way of THANKING all those who have helped us through their posts and tips in assisting us in the creation of 'SoulMate.'"
Their most successful undertaking has been SoulMate's Super F-Key. Contained within these pages, you will find 43 categories with over 1000 links to everything imaginable relating to WebTV. Another page, that Mark and Carol are proud of, is Progression Factor which is a site that will help a newbie from day one with the thought process and the ultimate goal of producing a "WEBSITE" that they will be proud of. While you are there...don't miss their Midi F-Key and, if you're a golfer, SoulMate's MegaGolf Mecca is a must to visit.
In closing, Mark and Carol had a few comments. "Net4TV, you pretty much know what we like about WebTV, but you don't know what we dislike. Actually, not too much except a few "BUGS" and its snail speed at times. Smash the bugs and give us jet propulsion and we'll grin from ear to ear. We can't tell you enough just how proud we are to have been selected for being considered for this interview. We view Net4TV as the 'Johnny Carson' of the WebTV community. When Net4TV Talks... People Listen! Your format at Net4TV is a sound platform for your staff members that make webtvers' like Carol and myself proud to carry the torch to build quality homepages that everyone can be proud of. We salute your efforts and extend our 'Best to You' in your future endeavors. 'THANK YOU' Net4TV for this honor!"
[Community Editor's Notes: And the Net4TV staff wishes to thank you very much for your kind and gracious words. Your pages reflect the twenty plus notebooks of selfless time to teach others! What can we say but a big thank you for those helpful pages for newbies and the seasoned user!--ck]
~SoulMate's Mark & Carol~
