The Engineer Behind the Solutions
Hi, I’m Bernardino Palma. I’m much better at configuring servers than writing biographies, but here goes: after years working in hardware engineering and systems administration, my focus is solving complex problems with simple, reliable solutions that do not create headaches. My work has taken me through high-performance infrastructure for professional studios, and I had the privilege of being part of the team that designed custom cooling systems for global AMD launches. I build technology designed to last, with transparency, technical discipline and a friendly attitude.
I also maintain a few side projects and experiments outside Bancada Digital, including thesenuts.org. Not everything needs to be too serious: sometimes a good idea starts as a joke, an experiment, or simply an excuse to test something new.
A special note of gratitude goes to Professor Fernando Caldeira, one of the teachers who left a lasting mark on the way I think about technology. I remember him as an extraordinary technical mind — brilliant, generous with knowledge, and able to make complex systems feel alive. I was never able to properly trace his story afterwards, but the impact he had on me remained in my heart.
The Beginning: Curiosity as the Engine
My path did not start with manuals; it started with curiosity and the habit of taking things apart. By the age of 7, I was already opening cassette players, even if I was not yet very good at putting them back together. I carried batteries, wires and a small bulb in my pockets — not to build complex circuits, but simply because I loved having my own little light. At 12, I built an aluminium-foil satellite dish with an external power supply, and by 14 I was learning how the school network worked, much to the IT team’s despair. Tinkering, breaking things and rebuilding them is how I learned how technology really works.
The Evolution: From the Garage to Engineering
What started as childhood curiosity became a serious technical passion. I built servers, immersed myself in open source and cybersecurity, and at one point, together with a close friend, cut and polished a copper block by hand in a garage to create a custom liquid-cooling system. That constant drive to improve took me to England, where I joined the Armari team and saw my hardware engineering and systems administration skills take a huge leap forward.
The Philosophy: Radical Honesty and Real Solutions
My approach to IT is simple: be friendly, direct and radically honest. I refuse to charge for something simple. If you need five minutes of advice to decide between Solution A or Solution B, I will gladly help without surprise invoices. I believe a good relationship is worth far more than a quick bit of money. I hate the culture of selling unnecessary solutions, and I follow one unbreakable golden rule: family is always more important than work. Technology should make daily life easier, not steal time from the people we love. I solve IT problems robustly and efficiently so that, at the end of the day, the technology simply works and everyone can go have dinner in peace.