A Short Intro

• Located in: Quebec City, Canada
• Occupation: Numerical simulation research professional, Chemical engineering researcher
• Nickname on IRC: In real life, not really. People call me Cristian. On IRC "Inorog" (when I'm at work) and "dochia" (when I'm at home)
• Claim to Fame: Personal: making my family's life easier (by leaving Romania); Professional: not getting killed by overwork yet
• Claim to Shame: Personal: Having to leave my country and my parents; Professional: letting my employers overwork me
• Fav. KDE applications: KMail, Konqueror, ... all! :-)
• Hardware: PII-533/128MB RAM - 17" screen (will improve it soon, I hope, I *adore* huge screens :-) NetWinder

The Interview

What is your role within KDE?

On scripts: official representative for Canada. In reality: too much blabla and too little coding. Part of the core team. I'm a programmer.

How and when did you get involved in KDE?

I was on the lyx lists when Matthias Ettrich started it in October 1996. His ideas caught me bad. After finishing some exams at beginning of 1997, I got involved with coding (kwm's smart placement and magnetic borders algorithms) and I started to do a lot of users support on the mailing lists.

How much time do you spend on KDE?

Too much. 3-4 hours a day? And more on saturday and sunday.

What is your favorite tool? (for developers; what is your favorite editor?)

XEmacs

Is there a process you follow when you code?

Yes. The scientist's usual wire:
a) mental conception
b) crystallization on paper
c) documentation
d) first version, proof of concept code
e) only now compare with existing coded solutions (if any)
f) second version, improved code
g) consultation with peers
h) third version, good-to-release code

What was your first computer?

At university, a huge VA-like industrial process controller, programmed in FORTRAN with punched cards. At home, a Spectrum Sinclair clone 1.38MHz, 64K RAM, incredibly badly built (especially the built in keyboard), that was reading its programs from tape and had to be hooked to a normal TV, in which displayed 320x200. Amazing enough, I still have it (back in Romania) and it still works. I had hundreds of games on tens of tapes and I learned on it the principles of assembler hacking, the use of word processors and got the training for sleepless nights. I also wrote the programs for my chemical engineer State Diploma on that tiny plastic bunch :-)

Which program would you say every KDE user should have?

Konqueror :-)

Where do you see yourself and KDE 5 years from now?

I really can't imagine. Probably it will become flexible and performant enough to allow me to seamlessly compute on all my machines from my (to be acquired :-) handheld to my (to be acquired :-) 8-processor home server. Componentization will go way up. Most important, the componence of the developers team will change drastically.

Are you being paid to work for KDE and if yes by who?

Not regularly. I had tiny (really tiny) consultance contracts and I got paid for presenting KDE at one show. At least up to now.

Where and when were you born?

Iasi (NorthEastern Romania), one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. 11.11.1967

Which University/School did you go to?

Industrial Chemistry Institute in Iasi (RO) for my engineer diploma
Laval University in Quebec (CA) for my M.Sc. and Ph.D.

Personal Questions

What's your status, are you single and up for adoption?

Married

If married/girlfiend/partner(m/f), how does he/she cope living with a KDE addict?

I really wonder. I believe Carmen-Michelle just loves me too much :-)

Do you have children?

Yes, my boy Alexandru is 6 years and a half now. He's a great child.

Do you have pets?

No.

What is your favorite food?

A traditional romanian food that I can't even translate :-) Something equivalent to the french "chou farci a la viande" with some special corn pudding. Really hard to describe :-)

What is your favorite vacation spot?

Bucegi Mountains in Romania. It's one of the most beautiful place in my country

What do you (and your s.o) like to do in your sparetime?

Conversations with my boy (this is absolutely amazing for me) Listen to polyphonic jazz (Bobby McFerrin) and classical music. Ride my bicycle. Read SF and history (didn't do this anymore since 1996 :-(( )

What was the last movie you have seen?

Ugh! Don't remember. Disney's Tarzan? "Little Stuart"? Ask Alexandru :-)

What was the last fiction book that your have read?

I really forgot. Perhaps the tribute to Asimov's Foundation, written by his friends. It was way back in 1995-1996.

What songs do you sing in the shower?

Whatever I listened to before :-) Quite often, jazz.

You are having a BBQ in your backyard and you're allowed to invite 3 famous people who would you invite and why?

Hmm! I really don't know. I'd rather prefer friends. My father and my mother, my KDE friends. My professors from Lyceum and from University.

Is your best friend (no family) a real person or an on-line one?

My wife is my best friend. But for "no family", my long time (since childhood) friend is a real person and he's back in Romania. His name is Marian and he also has a boy called Alexandru, 2 months younger than mine :-)

Did you ever met a fellow KDE'r in person, when and where?

Yes, Chris Schlaeger (and his girlfriend) on June 1st, 2000. I really long to meet the others ASAP.

Name your favorite quote/saying.

The wise lets it go (yields) (I don't know the english translation)