Meet the Team: Ivan Turk

Ivan Turk, Senior SysOps Engineer

Hi, Ivan! 

Let's start with an interesting one: What would people never guess you do in your role?

Swear at the printers and the computers.

We wouldn’t guess it, but we can imagine. :) 

Regardless of swearing, you probably enjoy working on projects. Which one is your favourite here in Base58?

Automation of deployment of hundreds of servers using Ansible, Terraform, etc. Repetitive tasks are

mind-killers, and seeing them automated and working fills me with joy.

You know what cannot be automated? People! 

And working with them can offer many lessons. What is the most important one you’ve learned from working with the team?

Sometimes it is faster to do everything by yourself. On the other side, different approaches to the problem sometimes yield the best results and solutions.

Fair enough. When it comes to the Base58 team, what would you say to someone who wants to join it?

Just do it.

Glad to hear. :) So, which Base58 advantages are closest to your heart, and why?

Flexible working hours, 3-ply toilet paper, and fine coffee. Because I deserve it.

We are with you on that one. Priorities must be set right. 

Speaking of, what is one thing you can’t live without?

Coffee. 

Time for embarrassing stories - share one!

When I was a kid, my older sister constantly teased me with words I could not pronounce or could not understand. She used to tell me " You are normal, you are normal". I thought that meant something bad and frequently yelled "I'm not normal!!!" in front of the guests, in the street, in the shop. She had a lot of fun…

:D Well, what is normal, anyway? Now that you are older and wiser, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

Thinking - nice, overthinking - not nice.

Is there a TV show or movie you’re ashamed to admit you watch, but just can’t help yourself?

Bridgerton.

What are some books or articles that you’ve read recently?

Atomic habits by James Clear, Origins by Lewis Dartnell, Scar Tissue by Anthony Keidis, and “Saturn’s Moon Enceladus could support species similar to Earth” via engadget.com.

And if you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?

Hulk Turk and the Chamber of Introspection

There is a child in front of you and it asks you: “Hey Mister, what is SysOps?” 

Your simplest answer is?

We make sure the Internet and the applications you are using work without problems, and that your data is safe and everything is fast and nice to use.

How does one become a SysOps, anyway?

By learning basics about networking, hardware, virtualization, containerization, operating systems,

databases, …

Sounds like a career with a lot of challenges.

Ughhh…more than I would like to remember. Fast pace, mad working hours, constant learning, bad or

broken software not working as advertised, people not understanding how stuff works.

This thought you which important lesson?

Sometimes you have to take your mind off the problem to solve it.

If you got a year off with full pay, how would you spend it?

Is that an offer?

Funny. And no. :) But we can give you an opportunity to tell your colleagues which 3 words would you want them to describe you with.

So damn cool.

Since we are in the area of wishful thinking now, our last question will be: “What is on your bucket list?”

Composite bow, telescope, …

Thank you, So Damn Cool, for sharing a bit about yourself with us!