Meet Alex! He is an English teacher turned web developer. He also has more energy than a power plant! In this installment of Behind The Coding, Alex talks about why he never Googles, what happens when two guys named Shakespeare and Dostoevsky walk into a bar with a guy named Freud, and how he got over his fear of horror movies.
Hi Alex! What are the last 3 things you Googled and why?
I never Google Sajeel. I can’t answer this question.
Ok, what is your favorite search engine?
I don't Google. I "Brave" the internet.
Ah! So you like Brave.
I don't find Google gives me good answers! I use Brave as my search engine and I like the open-source world.
Ok. What are the last 3 things you Braved and why?
One was screen-casting.
You want to extend your tablet or phone’s display to your TV?
No not me. My aunt needed some help so I Braved some answers for her.
Ok, what else?
I was also browsing for a Custom ROM for my phone. Got a new phone when I renewed my telecom subscription, so I want to remove stock Android.
Any reason?
Yes, just to get a better version without too many bloated pre-installed things.
What is the third most recent thing you Braved?
Other than that, probably something related to Linux. I always search for new packages to test out. Or, maybe it was something on ChatGPT. I have been playing with it recently and find it somewhat useful.
Are you not sure what you searched for?
Hahaha! Yes because Braved doesn’t keep a search history.
That makes it hard! Who are 3 people you'd like to have dinner with at the same time and why?
Apart from my family, there are 3 people from the past that I would really love to talk to.
Who?
First one would be Sigmund Freud.
Why Freud?
Hahaha…let’s just say I have some questions for him!
Ok, who else?
2 people who Freud wrote a lot about. Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky.
That could be an interesting meeting!
I think Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky would get along well! I think Freud would be the problem!
I agree. Two writers and a neurologist.
Absolutely.
When did you last work after hours to solve a hard problem?
Well, relatively recently, actually, as in this week. I've been working on a website with some performance issues. There were a lot of videos and images loading on certain pages of a HubSpot site. I was adjusting the images and modifying them to be in Webp format. It was a "fun" experience burning the midnight oil.
When was the last time you cried tears of laughter?
I watched a video recently, some old country "singer" and I don't remember his name...and not sure if I can call him a singer. He had one of those gray beards I like to call "wisdom beards." He wears glasses and has that scruffy jazz/blues voice.
I think I know the type!
You know! He was overconfident about his musical skills and had a character to match. He picked up his guitar, all cool and sly. Then he started playing, and it went south really fast.
Where is the humor in that?
Wait, I’m getting there!
Ok!
He started just beating on the guitar strings like a 3-year-old child. Then he interspersed the senseless whacking with a deep utterance of something that sounded like a word every 15 seconds. I was laughing so hard I almost had to change my pants.
Hopefully, you answered nature’s call in time
Just barely!
What do you love about Coding?
The adventure. You never know where you will end up. But mostly, it's the sheer ingenuity of other engineers. I love being part of the community. It just brings me some joy, something like a kid role-playing with toys.
Very true, Alex! When was the first time you saw a computer?
The Commodore 64! I played Batman.
Is a Commodore 64 even a computer?
Come on! Of course it is.
I agree with you, but I know that’s always up for debate.
If we are talking PCs, that was in 1995 and was in my cousin's room. She had a Pentium 3 PC, which would still work if I replaced the capacitor on its motherboard. It had one of those old Packard Bell monitors, but it's broken now, unfortunately.
You are a fan of retro technology. You remember this machine really well!
Because I still have it! I took it for sentimental reasons and painted it black.
That definitely shows a love of retro tech. What is something your teammates don't know about you?
I'm a pretty open book. I'm really not sure what to say. When I was around 14-15, during the summer break, I binged about 30-40 of the most horrific, terrifying and gruesome horror movies I could find. I was pretty scared of horror movies back then, so wanted to overcome that fear. By the end of the summer, I was not only not afraid of horror movies, I was sick of them. It takes a really good jump scare to scare me these days.
So you immersed yourself in your fear to get rid of your fear?
Yes! Exactly.
Just like Batman!
Hahaha! Sort of.
