Meet Nick Shreders, Server Support Engineer

 

Nick Shreders is one of the latest additions to the FastServers.Net support team. As a Server Support Engineer in Chicago, Nick's primary tasks include researching and fixing servers that could have a multitude of issues and monitor customer equipment connections to help prevent any issues before they escalate. What's more, Nick has all good things to say about the company's atmosphere. "The work environment here is great. It reminds me of my old job in Kansas - laid back, yet we work very hard to make sure everything is up and running properly."

Prior to starting at FastServers.Net, Nick worked at Sunflower Broadband, an independently owned and operated video, voice, and data provider in northeast Kansas. "It was exciting to work there because they are on the cutting edge of deploying new technologies and are often ahead of the bigger players such as Comcast or Time Warner." Now he feels very fortunate to be working for another great company. "I left my job at Sunflower Broadband of six years to relocate to Chicago. I am thankful to have gotten on board with FastServers.Net."

During his childhood years, Nick started playing pinball. As he got older he won organized pinball competitions. "Get me on an Addams Family pinball machine that is in decent working condition and I may be on the same 50 cents for the next couple of hours." Nick said he managed to "tour the mansion," the game's final objective, on the first ball several times. Apparently it's very tough to get to that stage according to the pinball enthusiasts. "In high school I found myself spending more time at the arcade than going to class. It's hard to return from your lunch break on time when you have a shot at getting the highest score on the board."

These days Nick enjoys listening to music. "I absolutely love music. I mainly listen to punk rock, post-punk, some new wave, and a little indie rock." He said that's the type of music he grew up listening to, thanks to his brother, and learned to appreciate it more and more over the years. If his older brother listened to elevator music during those days, he probably would have listened to elevator music a lot. Nick quickly stated that he would have eventually stopped listening to elevator music once he got older. "There are way too many bands to list as my favorites, but lately I've been listening to Gang of Four, Iggy and the Stooges, and Joy Division."

In his free time you can find Nick at the local record stores or on eBay searching for rare vinyls. "I don't have a turntable yet but I am slowly building a decent vinyl collection. Everyone should have a vinyl collection; you can gain a lot of information about a person's music collection." He also spends time reading and learning about the latest Linux/Unix administration and security news. And he spends a great deal of time with friends exploring the city. When local bands are playing in the city on the weekends, Nick is usually at a hole in the wall bar somewhere throwing back a few Pabst Blue Ribbon beers. "PBR is definitely an acquired taste. I think I first started drinking it because it was real cheap and when I was 21, I didn't have a lot of money."

We asked Nick if he's a sports fanatic like a lot of the staff here at FastServers.Net. "I am a huge fan of the University of Kansas Jayhawks basketball and football teams. I also follow the Kansas City Royals, even though they have not fielded a team that's any good in the last decade. Nick said he does not consider himself a fair weather fan. Maybe the Chicago office sports fanatics will initiate Nick as a Bulls, Bears, or Sox fan.

Doctor Zhivago, The Deerhunter, and The Pope of Greenwich Village are some of Nick's favorite movies. "Omar Sharif and Alec Guiness are amazing in Doctor Zhivago." He also enjoys watching the hit television series, The Sopranos on HBO, and Masters of Horror on Showtime. Nick said Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri is his favorite character on The Sopranos. "He reminds me of a kid who lived in my old neighborhood where I grew up. I love how he occasionally goes behind Tony's back and does something he shouldn't be doing. Anyone familiar with the 'Pine Barrens' episode will understand." Other hit television shows Nick enjoys watching includes Miami Vice and M*A*S*H.

If you are a fan of Miami Vice and followed the episodes during the 80s (you can watch reruns on the the Sleuth channel), you probably already know that Don Johnson's character, Detective James 'Sonny' Crockett, drove two different Ferraris during the show's run. First he drove a black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4 (really a Corvette with Ferrari panels) until it was blown up. After the car was destroyed, Ferrari North America donated a black 1986 Ferrari Testarossa which was painted white for the show. We asked Nick which car he likes the most. "The white Ferrari is my favorite. It matches Crockett's style so much better." Excellent choice Nick. We agree too.

So far Nick appears to be enjoying his environment at FastServers.Net. "I knew I had opportunities to advance my career in a large city, especially Chicago. I have friends that live here in town so I scheduled some interviews with local companies. Since I was going to be in town to see Bloc Party, I figured it was the right time. I had such a great time seeing Bloc Party and hanging with my friends, I submitted my two-week notice to Sunflower Broadband and moved here without formally accepting an offer yet." Nick said he did some research on FastServers.Net before sending us his resume. "I noticed right away the company gets a lot of respect in the industry and the web hosting community. It was a no-brainer to send my resume." Welcome to Chicago, Nick.