Where were you born? Where did you grow up & what was it like there?
“I was born in the United States, but I grew up in several parts of the world, namely the USA, Russia and the Philippines.”

What types of activities did you enjoy as a kid?
“Most of the things I did when I was younger, I still do (though less reading and more drawing.)  When I was younger, I played in a junior soccer league, but that was the only regular outdoor activity I did.  Through middle and high school I played the oboe seriously, but I dropped it during college for time and money reasons.”

Have you gone to college, if so, where? And how far did you go?
“I’m currently attending the University of Central Florida.    If I play my cards right, I’ll be done in a few years.”

What was your first job?
“My first job was being a summer clerical worker for the school board in my county.”

What got you into computers?
“I was exposed to computers at a very young age, so they are very familiar to me.  My first exposure to programming was in the 3rd grade, where I started programming in a simplified form of C for a computer game.  It also helps that I’m constantly on the computer, and it’s natural that I eventually learned more about them.”

What have you liked most about working at Cloudspace?
“It’s laid back and friendly.  That’s a great environment to work in.”

What do you do for fun?
“I play board games, do various forms of art, read stuff on the internet, and I travel from interest to interest.”

Favorite way to relax?
“Peppermint Tea and Oolong Tea mixed together.”

One thing you could not live without?
“My hands and eyes.  Everything I do revolves around using them.”

What is the last book you read?
“Maus by Art Spiegelman”

What was the last movie you went to see? What is your favorite movie?
“The last movie I actually went to a theater to see was Coraline (good stuff, very surreal, everyone should watch it.)  My favorite movie is Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, since I have a thing for British humor.”

What is your favorite drink/food?
“Filipino green coconut, and the coconut water that is in it.  (That’s ‘buko’ in Tagalog.)”

Have you traveled out of the country? If so, where to?
“I’ve been across Europe, mainly in Russia.  I’ve also been to India once, and the Philippines several times.”

If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?
“I wear more or less the same outfit every day, so I’m already pretty close to being a cartoon character myself.  I guess I’d just be Jacob, but more heavily inked.”

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
“Life in a Red Sweatshirt”

What sound or noise do you love?
“Rain on a window and thunder (while I’m inside.)  Also, white noise, for similar reasons.”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
“I’d actually like to try several professions, just to get a perspective of how it feels.  If I were to pick just one, I would want to try construction; weird, I know”

Do you currently belong to any social networks?
“I’m on Facebook, but I don’t use it seriously.  I’m a fan of more personal forms of communication.”

Thanks for doing the interview Jacob!  It is so true that you rarely see Jacob without his red or now blue (a gift from Scott) sweatshirt on.

Next week I will be interviewing Dave Geffken, our non-profit website and application specialist.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up & what was it like there?
“I was born in Port St. Lucie, FL. At the time there wasn’t much there, now there are a bunch of houses, a beach and no self-sustaining economy. So, it’s pretty dull unless you like the beach, houses or a job in the service sector.”

What types of activities did you enjoy as a kid? What is your favorite outdoor activity?
“I used to build forts as a child. I like camping currently, though I don’t go very often.”

What was your first job?
“I worked at a car wash.”

What got you into computers?
“Video games got me into computers. Ironically I don’t play them anymore.”

What was one of the first online projects you worked on?
“A website for swing dancers.”

What attracted you to working for Cloudspace?
“I was interested in web development and some of my friends told me good things.”

What have you liked most about working at Cloudspace?
“The group atmosphere/dynamic. Also, I feel like I am able to grow as a developer here.”

What do you do for fun?
“I swing dance about 3 times a week. So I suppose that makes me an avid dancer.”

Do you have any pets?
“I have a fish in a television fish tank.”

What is the last book you read?
“I am looking through a Rails book. I last read a book called Nada which in certain ways can be compared to The Sun Also Rises”

What was the last movie you went to see? What is your favorite movie?
“Let the Right One In (Swedish Vampire Love Story); Pulp Fiction.”

If you were car what kind of car would you be? Why?
“If I were a car I would be the type of car that is smaller, most likely a two-seater. I would be one of the newer cars which are partially electric as to not emit too much greenhouse gasses but since everyone knows that cars live in the ocean, my electric car motor would kill me. Consequently, I am happy I am not a car”

What is your favorite drink/food?
“I like beer. I make beer. It is interesting. More regularly, I just drink water though. I like salsa and also make that. Home-made salsa is almost always better than store-bought.”

What is the best trip you’ve ever taken?
“It is a yearly trip to Asheville, NC. Each year, five days before New Years, dancers come from all over the country to this event to learn and dance. It is awesome.”

Name three people you would like to meet?
“Chaplin, Kid Koala, The person responsible for making Java Stout”

If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?
“Captain Tyler from Irresponsible Captain Tyler (without the spaceship)”

Why are manhole covers round?
“Because round covers use less material than square ones and the triangular ones killed too many people and were recalled.”

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
“Arnold Schwarzenegger”

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
“Teleportation!”

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
“Teleportation!”

How would you describe yourself in three words?
“Enthusiastic, Awesome, Modest”

What is your favorite word?
“Disestablishmentarianism, or Estacionamiento”

What sound or noise do you love?
“Jazz”

What sound or noise do you hate?
“The sound that modems make.”

You can find Austin on most social networks as ctrl4ltdeleteme or MrAustin.

Thanks for doing the interview Austin!  I hope you have enjoyed getting to know him and take him up on those dance lessons.  Next week I introduce you the CEO at Cloudspace, Michael Orr.

Where did you grow up & what was it like there?
“I grew up in Tehran, Iran.  It’s not like what you see on TV or the news, it’s a different culture.  It has a big city feel like NYC.”

Did you go to college, if so, where? And how far did you go?
“I graduated from high school in Iran. When I moved here I had to go back to high school since we graduate in three years in Iran. After that, I attended college and graduated from UCF in December 2007 with a Bachelors in Digital Media. I am looking forward to getting my Masters in Business sometime in the near future.”

What got you into computers?
“I got into computers when I first came to the states. My uncle had a computer which I used to play video games on.  From there I got more and more into it. I started messing around with the software and hardware and learned some basic programing languages.  I took some classes and everything went forward from there.”

What was one of the first online projects you worked on?
“Personal Portfolio, my goal was to learn everything by myself without going to school/taking any classes. I still can remember the first HTML page I created using tables (OLD SCHOOL)”

What attracted you to working for Cloudspace?
“When I moved to Orlando I was getting more into web design and I was putting more time into designing web pages. As part of one of my classes, we had to do design analysis, web design, creation and problem solving. I enjoyed it a lot. Then I saw the ad for Cloudspace at UCF and gave them a call.  I showed them my unfinished portfolio plus other visual things I had done; such as illustration, graphic design and photography. I got hired and it felt great.”

What have you liked most about working at Cloudspace?
“Laid back and friendly environment. Good people. Great knowledge.”

One thing you could not live without?
“iPhone and my Mac, happy attitude, goals in life, good people around me.”

What is the last book you read?
“I’m not a big reader but the last book I read was a week ago and it was called “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be” by Paul Arden.

What was the last movie you went to see? What is your favorite movie?
“The Spirit was the last movie I saw.  I have way to many favorite movies.  Some recent ones that I can think of are Sin City, Wedding Crashers, 300, Life of David Gale & Lucky Number Sleven.”

If you were a car what kind of car would you be? Why?
“I would be a Lamborghini. It’s different, innovative, fast and sexy.”

What is your favorite drink/food?
“Adios MotherF8888, Martinis, steak and pomegranates”

What is the best trip you’ve ever taken?
“Vegas, NYC, Toronto and Europe. I enjoyed each one for different reasons.”

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
“Music, good scenery, browsing peoples’ work, chatting with knowledgeable people & researching.”

What sound or noise do you love?
“Thunder, wind, dry leaves breaking when people walk on them.”

Is there any profession you would not like to do?
“Everything helps you become a better person, and learn from it. I’ve kind of done anything that came my way and I learned from it and I think I’m a better person from it.”

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know Roozbeh.  Thanks Roozbeh for doing the interview!  You can see some of Roozbeh’s work at www.meghdadi.net.

Stay tuned next week when I introduce you to one of our newest engineers, Austin Flores.

Where were you born? Where did you grow up & what was it like there?
“I was born in Washington D.C. and grew up on Merritt Island, FL.  There was lots of water and I was able to go fishing a bunch.”

What types of activities did you enjoy as a kid? What is your favorite outdoor activity?
“Fishing Fishing Fishing Fishing!!!”

Did you go to College, if so, Where? And how far did you go?
“Yes, UCF, about 3 miles to and from. Graduated with a BS in Computer Science”

What was your first job?
“Trapper – I worked out at a shooting range and launched the clay pigeons. I only got shot once.”

What got you into computers?
“A scholarship at UCF”

What attracted you to working for Cloudspace?
“My Brother”

Do you have any pets?
“3 cats”

One thing you could not live without?
“My health”

What is the last book you read?
“Florida Sport Fishing magazine”

What was the last movie you went to see? What is your favorite movie?
“Batman – The Dark Knight. I really don’t have a favorite movie but I like comedies.”

If you were car, what kind of car would you be? Why?
“Pickup truck – its a work horse”

What is your favorite drink/food?
“Mom’s spaghetti and Old Faithful Golden Ale.”

What is the best trip you’ve ever taken?
“Honeymoon to Yellowstone in the middle of winter.”

If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?
“Elmer Fudd”

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
“The best man he could be.”

How would you describe yourself in three words?
“Going fishing again”

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
“The outdoors”

What turns you off?
“Sitting in traffic”

What sound or noise do you love?
“Waves crashing on the beach.”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
“State Park Officer”

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know my bro, Scott. It has been great getting to work with him and all my brothers over the years. It truly makes our company one of a kind because we take pride in treating our employees and clients like family too. Thanks for doing the interview Scott! Next week I introduce you to our Agile Team director, Tim Rosenblatt.

Did you go to college, if so, where?  And how far did you go?
“I graduated with my B.A. from USF Tampa in December of 2007.  I got my degree in philosophy.  No, I don’t know what you do with a philosophy degree.  I plan to go back to school for something, but I’m not quite sure yet what that something is.”

What have you liked most about working at Cloudspace?
“I’m always doing something different, and talking to awesome people, and Cloudspace is the right sort of company for me – agile and socially aware.  I LOVE that we’re participating at Kiva, and I love that we’re just a big family that laughs at each other all the time.”

What do you do for fun?
“When I’m not knitting and watching the Golden Girls, I’m riding my motorcycle with my turn signal on or philosophizing very loudly in coffee shops.”

Do you have any pets?
“Two cats, one female tortie named Ashnod (after a Magic the Gathering card I HAD NO PART IN THE NAMING OF THIS CAT), and one male tux named Tobias Fünke  (he’s really big and dumb, but so cute :3); they were both strays I adopted.  I love animals, so if I could, I’d have like a bunch of pets and be a crazy pet  lady.”

What was the last movie you went to see?  What is your favorite movie?
“I love movies!  The last movie I saw was Australia, which was only decently good considering what other movies Baz Luhrmann has directed.  My favorite movie  is like a 4-way tie, but if I HAD to choose one it would be Being John Malkovich.”

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
“Jenna Fischer.”

What is your favorite drink/food?
“Irn-Bru!  It tastes great by itself, but it’s even better with vodka.”

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?
“Flight, because it is totally useful and fun at the same time.”

How would you describe yourself in three words?
“Robert Downey Jr.”

What is your favorite word?
“Shadenfreude, not because I’m mean (although I do enjoy it a bit), but because it’s a well-known example of how German has an awesome way of expressing  things in one (albeit long) word that take an entire paragraph to explain in any other language.”

What sound or noise do you love?
“I like glitchy computery noises, and also cat purring and chirping noises.”

What sound or noise do you hate?
“Cat screeching noises are never good, especially when they happen at like 4am.”

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
“I would love to be either a private or commercial airline pilot.”

What profession would you not like to do?
“Hairdresser.”

Have you enjoyed getting to know Dixie? 

Thanks for doing the interview Dixie!  It’s been a lot of fun for me introducing the people behind the scenes at Cloudspace and I’m just getting started.  Next week I introduce you to Scott Sampson.  Not only is he my brother, if you didn’t notice the last name, but one of the first engineers at Cloudspace.