With over 20 years of experience in advanced technology marketing and communications, Isaac Lopez is the president and co-founder of OmniScale Media. With a lifelong passion for understanding technology and its impact on humanity, Isaac has been involved in virtually every aspect of communications and marketing for advanced technology companies, including strategic communications, writing, campaign development, events management and even a stint at technology journalism. Isaac enjoys breaking technical concepts and information down into easy-to-understand terms. In addition to love of technology, Isaac has spent almost a decade coaching youth baseball in Vancouver, WA, where he lives with his wife, two children (a son and a daughter), a dog named Chico, and two cats.
What is a food that you loved as a kid but thought otherwise as an adult?
Honestly, I can’t think of anything. I pretty much like all the same foods that I always liked. I guess if there is anything that’s changed it’s that I like seafood much more than I did as a kid. I really hated seafood as a kid – especially fish and fish bones and all of it. But as an adult I’ve found that I love crusteaceans. Lobsters and shrimp and even oysters. I don’t eat them all the time or anything, but I will eat shrimp fajitas, or a surf and turf – or slurp down an oyster on occasion.
If you could know the answer to one question about the future, what would you ask?
I could go in two directions – personal path or humanity in general. I guess the obvious answer is that I would love to know what my kids are up to in the future. But working in the high tech industry doing marketing and strategic communications, we get exposure to a lot of advanced technology that is literally changing the world. When you look at things like AI, and cloud and edge computing – and then technologies such as what Elon Musk is working on with his neuralink – computing going directly into the brain. It feels to me like we’re on the leading edge of fundamental change to what it even means to be a human. What does it mean when people can augment their brains and bodies with the capabilities of supercomputers? What does that society look like? Is it peaceful? Or is it at war with itself? I’ve always been a fan of scifi, so ideas like this are fascinating to me. I find myself thinking about what this world looks like and what my kids and grandkids will experience – and not to mention myself for that matter. It’s really not that far off. I don’t know, is this too heavy for this feature?
Cook or be cooked for?
If I’m being honest, I’d rather be cooked for. I do enjoy cooking, but I’m very into experimenting with flavors and quantities in my cooking with a good dose of sodium and when I can get away with it, even MSG. Not everyone in my family appreciates this experimental side of my cooking – and honestly, I don’t always get it right. I’ve screwed up my fair share of meals. So I’ll answer that I’d rather be cooked for. Unless I’m making Fideo – which essentially is Mexican spaghetti. It’s my favorite comfort food and these days the only way I can get it is if I cook it myself.
Are you an early bird or night owl?
I’ve always been a night owl. When I was a kid I had a clock radio at my bedside and I would turn on the AM radio and with my ear to the speaker and a fingernail on the dial I would travel across the western united states in my mind as I listened to broadcasts from all over the place. So from a very young age, I have always been a night owl – though the older the earlier I find myself wanting to go to bed. But, of course, I end up with my fair share of phone scrolling on Twitter before bed.
After traveling, do you unpack immediately, or do you wait until later?
I wish I could say I unpack immediately – and it’s something that I do sometimes. But if I’m being honest, I have a tendency to unpack as need dictates – and sometimes that won’t happen until I’m looking for clothes that are in my bag. I’m worst after the Supercomputing conference in November. Once I get home, I will leave my suitcase next to the dresser until sometime in December when my wife Erin shames me for the length of time the suitcase has gone untouched. But there are other times when I make it a point to do it immediately.
Kids these days will never understand _____________.
I hate to be that “kids will never understand XYZ” guy. But it’s true that there are some things that I think a lot of parents lament about the modern day for kids. When I was a kid being on my bike until it was dark was a regular thing. And sometimes it was aimless… I was just out riding around, exploring the little farmer town I was raised in. I don’t think that there is any dad today that is happy with the amount of time their kids have spent on their bikes. It’s just not like it used to be. The other one that I can think of – and it’s a bit less dramatic – but the joys of a weekend video game rental. I don’t think a kid can really even conceive of it today, but going to the rental store, shopping for a game, and having your parents even encourage you to binge play that game because you rented it and it cost good money… And then going until you beat the game… Kids today will never understand that.
What is one cool feature you would add to your dream home?
This one is really easy. I am in love with the game of baseball. I feel like it’s one of the most beautiful sports there is. The year I signed my son up for tee ball, the coach, who was a reservist, got called into service. So I ended up raising my hand and coaching the teeball team. I ended up bit by the bug and coached for the next 9 years and making strong bonds with several of the kids and people in the community. I have a great time working with kids and going to battle in these games so the cool feature I would add to my dream home would be a large shed for some batting cages and pitching mounds. I plan on staying involved in baseball for the long haul, so having something like this would be a cool feature to add to my dream home.