George Mandis is a Google Developer Expert, freelance developer, traveler, writer, speaker and yet so much more. George is arguably better known for his work outside web development more so than his work as a full stack web developer. At wwktm2019, he will be serving his rather quirky and unusual take on the 1983’s MIDI – More Than Music with WebMIDI & JavaScript. Find out more about our curious George in our Q-n-As with him.
One adjective to describe you: Curious
Favorite OS: MS-DOS 6.2
Most productive time of the day: “Later”
Go-to drink (to work and to twerk): Black coffee or lapsang souchong
Never have you ever: Owned a car
Programming pet peeve: As soon as I’ve figured out one wheel there’s a new one being re-invented
Tell us one fun fact about you?
I once accidentally cheated when running a marathon in North Korea.
What keeps you going in life?
Learning, traveling and resting.
What can we expect from you at wwktm2019?
A low-key magic show as I repurpose an older technology for something it was not intended for.
Why is the topic relevant today and especially for wwktm2019?
Sometimes we can learn things from older technologies. Also: it’s good to play. We learn through play and fun. It makes us better developers in the long-run.
What is the best and worst thing about your career so far?
Best: I’ve been independent for my entire career which has allowed a lot of flexibility and unique opportunities.
Worst: Probably the same thing! I don’t think it’s the easiest or fastest path, or even the right one for most people. Still, I’m happy enough with where things have taken me.
What is your advice to people wanting to be where you are in the industry?
When you have questions, ask them. Of anyone, about anything. Nobody has all the answers. Also: try new things, often as you can, and know it’s okay to fail. Failure isn’t really the end of a process—it’s just a step in a bigger learning process. Everyone on earth does this and it’s really okay.
What are you most excited about for wwktm2019?
Meeting the developer community in Kathmandu and hearing from the other speakers!
