The main lesson Mark Noack gained from college was that he was too technical to be a creative writer, but too creative to be a technician. Journalism has been his mission in life ever since.

He has written for numerous newspapers and publications in California and Oregon, including the Eugene Register-Guard, the Willamette Week and the San Francisco Chronicle. He cut his teeth as a news reporter covering politics, crime and the occasional giant pumpkin weigh-off for the Half Moon Bay Review. He now covers government and technology for the Mountain View Voice.