16 July 2010, 11:07 by Lykle de Vries

A message from Mark's family: Geektechnique.org will turn static

It has been almost two years since our beloved Mark was struck by a cruel stroke and passed away a few days later on september 20th 2008. There’s hasn’t been a day that he was not in our thoughts, in our minds, in our feelings. The sorrow wears only al little, and the scars of the loss of our son, our brother, brother in law, our friend wil remain for the rest of our days. We will miss his presence, his lively conversation and his bright ideas.

The months after his death were hard and painfull. But the support of all of you, especially his direct friends, the folks of Nieuwe Garde, the guys of his jaarclub in Rotterdam, and the Pecha Kucha-people were a great help to get us through this period.
We also mention Marks girlfriend Victoria, who had to bear the loss in Argentina, far away from everything that was connected with Mark. It is hard to imagine how difficult it must have been for her.
We want to thank her once again for being such a source of happines for Mark in the last months of his life. Hold on girl! And stay in touch.

This website is the virtual reminder of Mark and his projects and ideas, a virtual tombstone that should remain. Until now all of you could place your thoughts and comments on the site. Soon, Marks site will be static. This means that it will be no longer possible to comment on his ideas and projects, but that we all can continue to cherish his creativity.

And for all of you who worried about Bates, Marks’ black cat with the little tail, she lives with Marks’ sister Liesbeth and her family. It’s nice to have her with us. It feels like there’s a little bit of Mark with us every day. And as far as we can judge Bates is happy as she can be.

permalink - add to del.icio.us

  1. Matt Williams @ 16 July 2010, 18:06 :

    Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been two years. So sad. I’m glad that you’ve decided to keep the site up. He did so many great things. It’s a fitting tribute to who I’m sure was a fascinating man.



  2. up0 @ 20 July 2010, 02:11 :

    this site was an inspiration for me since 2006. Thank you for allowing this site to remain…



  3. Jesse @ 23 July 2010, 16:37 :

    While I never knew Mark, I was a dedicated reader of his blog. From what I gathered in his writing, he always had a positive attitude and a great outlook on everything that most of us could only hope to maintain.

    I’m glad to hear that you’ll be preserving his site. I hope that it will continue to inspire positive contribution and experimentation in a world that tends to be so negative.

    My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

    Rest in peace, Mark.

    -Jesse



  4. Katy @ 27 July 2010, 08:28 :

    I want to let you know that a few months ago my 14 yo son and his two friends were looking for a team name for their school robotics team and they decided upon “the geek technique”. It was only after they had chosen their name that we realized it had already been in use (and their team is defunct now anyway). Just now I stumbled upon this same website while looking for cool gadgets to amuse my son who is away at camp – I found the post about hand cranking your ipod. People like Mark are an inspiration to kids like mine, and I am so glad he had the chance to share his creativity and I’m so sorry his life was cut short.



  5. sacc91 @ 27 July 2010, 08:49 :

    I have once again succumbed to nostalgia and came back to browse the site, It’s great news that It’ll continue to stand as a tribute.

    You will always be missed Mark.



  6. Matt Sowers @ 4 August 2010, 01:16 :

    Mark was always an inspiration. He inspired me to be a better geek. He will be greatly missed. I still spread the word about his work and his site as often as i can, so that others can be inspired by him too. Thank you for letting this site stay open.



  7. Nate @ 5 August 2010, 03:50 :

    Even after two years I still visit to re-read some of Mark’s computing adventures. I followed his blog intently while I never had the funds to tinker with as much technology as he did. Now that I am expanding in my abilities and knowledge I’ve come to be even more appreciative of his work and knowledge.

    Mark was a devastating loss to the hacker community and I still tell people to read his articles now. Mark will live on through not only this site, but the minds and hearts of those his words have touched.



  8. tk @ 8 August 2010, 02:49 :

    Mark was a great man and always an inspiration. He will be missed but he will never be forgotten. All the best to his family, Victoria and his relatives. Rest in piece Mark.



  9. Gray 'Ferret' Simpson @ 11 September 2010, 13:53 :

    Thankyou for keeping this site alive, and for making it a permanent archive. Mark, we all miss you – Best wishes to all who loved him, knew him or followed him as I did.

    Gray.



  10. mas @ 25 September 2010, 00:23 :

    I miss his great posts. This site is still an inspiration.

    Rest in peace, Mark. Love and good wishes to your family.

    /mas



  11. max @ 25 September 2010, 16:26 :

    the best blog ever. still



  12. dave M @ 2 October 2010, 21:45 :

    RIP mark. My condolences.



  13. Sam @ 13 October 2010, 18:45 :

    As Max said. ‘The best blog ever. still’.

    I used to get really excited every time Mark posted a new project.

    Thanks for keeping the site up.



  14. mc @ 20 October 2010, 15:35 :

    RIP Mark, from Italy



  15. luis @ 18 December 2010, 22:35 :

    for whoever reads this, Mark was my only and best pal in groningen, while i was there doing a residency at e wallhaus, I will never forget that crazy biker, ever, might u rip… besos



  16. Ian @ 11 January 2011, 23:22 :

    Gosh, I’ve only just stumbled across Mark’s projects and I’m so grateful that he had the knowledge, ability and inquisitive nature that he demonstrates with such enthusiasm on his pages. Such a sad loss to his family, and I am humbled by the courageous decision by you to keep this site live as a testimonial to his life. He lives on through his projects and is inspiring so much discussion. Thank you and hack the clouds Mark – I reckon they’re ripe for investigating a means to charge your ipod in double-quick time…



As mentioned in the Message from Mark's family this site has been made static. This means that it will be no longer possible to comment on his ideas and projects, but that we all can continue to cherish his creativity.

previous: Mark Hoekstra PechaKucha Award

next: