Employee Spotlight: Paul O.

Lampix would like to introduce Paul Olteanu, one of our Frontend Developers! Paul joined the Rosoftlab Team in 2012 and has most recently been working on the PIX Trainer and Restaurant Experience. We thought we would share some fun facts from our Q&A with Paul.

Ella: Hi, Paul! Can you tell me a bit about working in the PIX Trainer here at Lampix?

Paul: Working on the PIX trainer is intriguing because it combines the commercial element of the app and the unique user interaction that comes with all Lampix apps. And, all of that within the web area of technologies used. I find it challenging to build something using just web technologies for something that's completely different from what those technologies were designed for.

Ella: When did you become interested in tech?

Paul: Maybe a dozen years ago – I wanted to figure out how the internet works.

E: Is that what you went on to study?

P: I've always been interested in how things work. I've opened up all of my toys as a kid, electronics as a teenager, everything had to come apart for me to see how and why it works. I've 'acquired' the ways of the internet by attending online courses and web tutorials and blog posts and videos. There wasn't any formal education on web tech when I started going to a university, that was the main reason I quit, they were trying to teach me what I didn't want to learn. I wanted to learn how to build a website.

E: Wow . . . so what would your favorite invention/innovation be?

P: Medicine? Refrigeration? Favorite . . . the bicycle.

E: What makes the bicycle stand out for you?

P: The bicycle? Historically, it was easier to build and use by almost anybody to expand their range. Gave a lot more mobility than other contemporary ways of transport. Now, globally, it's fun, cheap, efficient and healthy for everybody, even if they're not the ones doing all the riding. It's a great invention that gave a lot of people a better way to move around. There still are parts of the world now in which a bicycle that works can save a family from dehydration, but that's a minor detail in the grand scheme of the bicycle.

For me, the bike is a ... weird friend. An object that brings people together. Builds friendships. But not just that. I've tried, over the years, to describe what the bicycle is for me and every time I stumble over my own words and thoughts. I use the bicycle to get away, to keep fit, to play and get dirty and to have a sense of accomplishment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TBUdFDu13s

E: While I don’t think you’d be trapped on a deserted island long – I’m sure you’d manage to build a bicycle-boat and pedal into the sunset, what 10 songs would make up your playlist while you were building?

P: Eminem - Brain Damage, Jedi Mind Tricks - A Storm of Swords, Pantera - Work, The Beatles - Come Together, Godsmack - I Stand Alone, Buckethead - Revenge Of The Double Man, Bonobo - Ketto, Mr. Scruff - Kalimba, LOOPTROOP - Long Arm Of The Law, The Black Keys – Thickfreakness – wait do I really only get 10???

E: Only for the purposes of this exercise. These choices don’t strike me as being connected musically, but emotionally, viscerally.

P: I like to describe the music I like as having an attitude, balls. And this way of describing it transcends genres. Ballsy music doesn't have to be blues rock, rap, heavy metal or punk rock. I like music coming from artists that did whatever the f*** they wanted to do at that time. I like music that sounds as if the artist enjoyed doing it that way. Also, I found that I enjoy music coming from women with strong voices. Storm Large, China Forbes, Alice Russell, Otep Shamaya, Sa-Roc, Sandra Nasic and many more. You're not wrong about my choice of music being more of an experience but it's more than that. It's the energy the music tries to convey. Try to listen to the beginning of the album Magical Dirt by Radio Moscow, to me that sounds like pure energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBGhw1fdOCA

E: What about your 5 favorite films?

P: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Fight Club, The Illusionist, Dunkirk

E: I’d say those films follow the same theme as your music choices. I heard that people who were at the Battle of Dunkirk told Christopher Nolan that his film was even louder than the actual battle.

P: Here's a video explaining why the music in the Dunkirk film sounds the way it sounds: link I find that explanation fascinating. Finding out why the music makes you feel tense is like a knowledge drug. The same thing happens in the song Kashmir by Led Zeppelin.

E: Lastly . . . what was the first concert you ever went to?

P: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKX4qQOO7C0 Machinehead!

E: Anything else you’d like to share?

P: Well, I have a little side project. I've had to learn a few useful web technologies to build it and keep it running on a Raspberry Pi from my home – but it may break a few rules here or there, so I’ll keep it hidden for now.