Thunder Parley

Title: Software engineer

Career: Hewlett-Packard Co. from 2000 to 2005, starting as an intern; joined Google in 2005

Education: Bachelor's degree in computer science and math from Pepperdine University, 2001

Favorite club: An unofficial bacon lovers group at Google that inspired trucker hats that say "Vive el tocino!" ("Live the bacon!" in Spanish). The exclamation point is a bacon strip dotted with a fried egg.

Culinary feats: Made dinner for the entire Pepperdine women's soccer team after a big win. Placed third in a Google-sponsored chili cook-off with a dish that included bacon, three types of local organic beans, ground sirloin and mushrooms reduced in Jack Daniel's whiskey and Cabernet. He topped the chili with avocado, horseradish, grilled lobster and mozzarella.

Claim to fame: Won $25,000 in 2003 on the NBC reality show "Dog Eat Dog," in which six contestants compete in physical and mental challenges.

Los Angeles Times