In this episode of Nerd Show and Tell, host Matt Johnson interviews Alex Poiry, Head of Security at Font Awesome. After Alex gives a rundown of what he does in his job as Head of Security, things get really fun. Alex explains how he found his way to tech after getting degrees in history and German, and explains his love of early 2000s memes. He also talks about his interest in historic European martial arts and how it ties into virtual reality. Alex also mentions how he gave himself tennis elbow using a longsword. As a fun aside, Alex explains the origin of his nickname “ Alex Yellow Dart Poiry”, which comes from a classic web video series called Homestar Runner. ---------------------TIMESTAMPS0:00:08 Interview with Alex Poiry, Font Awesome's Head of Security0:03:44 Alex's Professional Background and Connection to Font Awesome0:07:56 Security Considerations for Font Awesome0:12:30 Conversation on Technology and Data Privacy0:14:42 Exploring the Benefits of Analogous Circuit Systems and Metaphors for Learning Technology0:18:42 Conversation About the Klingon Language, Lord of the Rings, and Internet Memes0:21:30 Reflections on early 2000s Memes and Unusual Jobs0:23:26 Unusual Computer Repairs as a Geek Squad Tech0:25:20 Conversation on Computer Repair and Virtual Reality0:27:25 Exploring the Possibilities of Virtual Reality and Historic European Martial Arts0:33:22 Exploring the Impact of Technology on Storytelling0:39:15Discussion on the Power of Storytelling in PR and Marketing0:41:24 Conversation About Redemptive Storytelling----------------------HIGHLIGHTS At what point in time when you get to a certain age, how do you tell if it's you getting old or if some things actually are worse? Because there's a definitive period in American cinema that's not as good as some of the other periods.  There's a fantastic storytelling section of American cinema that starts in the 1970s and kind of goes into the it goes into the then you start to hit that era of the blockbuster.The MCU is great. It's fun, and it's nice to see all this expansive stuff. But I wonder, are we going to look down the line in, like, 30 or 40 years and we're going to be like, these movies were fantastic storytelling, or if it's just going to just kind of be, like, fluffy. Almost all of the effects in The Wizard of Oz are practical effects. I don't even know if there's a special effect in the whole thing. And the beauty part is you can put The Wizard of Oz on for a kid, for an adult. It's a good story.It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to basically take those devices, put a solid stick between them, and basically be like, all right, now, what is your form like when it comes to historic European martial arts? And then you could do like a super hot thing where you just put a character up in front of it and just like whack him with a sword and he breaks and falls down or he blocks and you can try that stuff. So then you can actually work on your form without getting sword elbow.-------------NOTESSpintronicsThe Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (original narration by Randall) G.I. Joe PSAs The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!