Not your typical IT guy
Meet Chad Quesenberry, Director of Client Services for Claris Networks. Before he joined Claris, Chad developed the support structure for multiple billion-dollar enterprises from the ground up. So he knows his stuff. But he’s not your typical IT guy.
Chad is what you call a “Hi-Tech Redneck.” Or at least that’s what his friends have called him ever since college. “Growing up on my grandparent’s farms in Indian Valley, Virginia and Jonesboro, TN and always having a knack for technology probably has something to do with it,” he says. Or maybe it’s that he’s rigged up his barn with off-grid solar electricity, a full bathroom supplied by a rainwater collection system, and watches movies by the campfire, streamed via Mi-Fi wireless hotspots projected on the side of his barn.
Like other Claris employees, the Hi-Tech Redneck doesn’t exactly fit the typical IT-guy mold. Take his ideal day off for example. “To me, the best day off is spent on heavy machinery, moving trees, boulders and making roads around the farm. There are no worries there. When you solve problems for a living, anything that allows you to clear your mind of it is relaxing. The farm is hard work, but sometimes it’s nice when your only concern is where to put the next scoop of dirt.”
Not your typical minerChad’s also a miner. Granted, the Hi-Tech Redneck puts his own spin on mining as well. So what kind of mining might a guy like Chad be inclined to? The kind that involves using a high-powered computer to scour cyberspace for a limited number of undiscovered digital encryption codes that function as an anonymous online currency. That’s a mouthful!
Chad explains, “Back in March I heard about a new type of cyber currency called BitCoins. A BitCoin is a 256 bit encryption code that starts with 12 zeroes. Basically it’s a long string of numbers, which can be sent back and forth across the internet to people anonymously. Some have called it the “perfect” currency since they can be used globally and are not subject to inflation. There are a total of about 12 million, so once they’re all found, that’s it. I read about using CPU power to generate this currency, so I built a computer to “mine” them and have found about 800. From when I found my first few, their value has gone from $4.00 up to $35, but hovers around $17. My goal isn’t to make money off of them, but just to see what happens with them in the future.”
Not your typical vacationer, either
Chad’s taste for adventure goes beyond taming (often scary) server rooms and high-level technology implementations. He and his wife Kimberly have begun to do things differently when it comes time to cash in on vacation days.
“Bored with traditional beach resorts, we started going on Adventure Vacations. We would go to places that aren’t visited much, places that still have their own culture and way of life. We get to go and be a part of that culture, learn about its people and help the people there. We’ve been to Nicaragua, which was beautiful, but we had to be escorted by armed guards. We once did a 10 day kayaking excursion in Alaska. We kayaked for three to four days in the ocean and camped somewhere along Prince William Sound. Then we did some whitewater rafting, and climbed a glacier.
“Everywhere we go, we try to do something “missional.” Like when we went to Nicaragua, we got to take gifts and supplies to schools and work a day at a medical mission. We have a trip to Vietnam planned this fall, and we’ll be taking a couple suitcases of supplies to give to the people we meet over there, too.”