Meet Chase Ewing, Server Support Engineer

 

Chase Ewing is one of the elite Server Support Engineers at FastServers.Net. A consumer of caffeine in large doses, usually through Mountain Dew, Chase gets his caffeine from just about any source he can find. "I've tried them all. Sodas, energy drinks, mints, even caffeinated soap (Tingly!), but nothing beats good old Mountain Dew." Currently he's attending the University of Northern Iowa, working towards his Bachelors of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. "I believe the extra math courses couldn't hurt my CS knowledge so I'm going for it." His main areas of concentration include Operating Systems, Networking, and Administration.

When Chase is not studying or providing customer support, you can find him watching one of his favorite television shows, Eureka Seven, on Adult Swim. Like most of the techies at FastServers.Net, anime and Adult Swim are very popular. "At first, I didn't think much of Eureka Seven at first glance. Many other anime fans, including myself, were quick to misjudge it based on the initial previews (like mechs surfing through the sky? C'mon!)." Chase said it was elements like that and the series' sheer sense of style and aesthetics that carried the show further than any other anime series. "I was drawn in by the awesome storytelling and character development of the members of Gekko State." He also explained that there are a bunch of nerdy computer and music references in the show. "Two of the characters in the show are named after the founders of Apple, and many of the mechs are named after techno or electronica albums or bands."

Like most techs at FastServers.Net, Chase enjoys gaming. His favorite game is Secret of Mana 2, which was never released officially in the US or Europe. "The game had an enormous following and is the only unreleased game to have such an excellent English translation." Chase said the game itself is one of the few Role Playing Games (RPGs) that appeal to an over-caffeinated, short attention span, individual such as himself. "The top-down real-time combat and class development makes it very fast paced and action oriented. Plus the multiplayer feature is great too."

Chase has a dream to one day shoot a real Tommy gun. "Actually, it's something my girlfriend wants to do, being a Chicago native and all, but I admit I would find it interesting as well." The Tommy gun weapon is one of few that almost had a two faced image, associated with crime and the Chicago mob in the prohibition-era 20s and also as a liberator against the Axis powers in the 40s. Until the day comes when he can shoot a real Tommy gun, Chase said he dreams of "one day unracking a server, taking it apart, yelling at it, then re-racking the server and have it start working." To date, FastServers.Net does not endorse this type of behavior, nor will we ever support this in our technical procedures. But Chase, you are welcome to keep dreaming about it.