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Hello! Is this thing on? Great! If you’re reading this, you’ve stumbled across my blog! You’re probably asking “Who are you?”, right? Well I’m glad you asked!

My name is Russell, but most people tend to just call me Russ! I am a software developer by trade, and if you’re reading this, you probably know what that is… but in case you don’t, let me give you the quick run down…

Basically, software developers are the folks who are responsible for ensuring that whatever device you’re reading this on, can actually be used! Whether that’s a traditional computer, like a desktop or laptop, or a mobile device such as a phone/tablet - if it has a processor in it, we create the software that runs on it. That might be an over-simplification but that’s the gist of it.

I’ve been doing this for quite a while, I started learning how to code at the early age of 13 (I’m 25 now, in case you’re curious) and… it’s quite an interesting world! There are a lot of people who, for lack of a better term, struggle to understand how to use a computer - and that’s completely understandable! Computers are incredibly complex pieces of technology, as I’m sure you’re aware. At their core, they’re basically machines that are really good at math! Just as you were taught how to use a computer, developers “teach” computers how to do the things that we tend to take for granted. Whether that’s storing data, running a game, or even just displaying some text (or images, but that’s more complex) at some point a developer had to “teach” your device how to do this. We (software developers) tend to call this programming though, instead of “teaching”.

There’s a lot more to me though than being a software developer, as you’ll come to see by reading my posts here. For example, I have an auto-immune disease called “Crohn’s Disease”, and I was diagnosed with it at around the same time I started programming - so it’s definitely… “colored” my life, just as much as being a software developer has changed my life.

Now, a very long time ago, I used to blog (or at least I tried), but unfortunately back then I had the attitude of “Who cares?” (surely that sounds like something a teenager would say, so no surprise there) but nowadays I’ve moved past that. I’m sure there are still tons of people who couldn’t care less about what’s written here, but I’m not doing this for them - and it took me quite a while to realize that sometimes you just have to embrace the attitude of “Who cares what they think?”, and do what you want to do. Who knows, maybe someone will find this whose going through the same hardships that I am, and see that they’re not alone. If that is the case for even one person, then that’s enough justification for me!

I’ll just note here for the record, that while tech is a huge part of my life, tech probably won’t be the only topic that I write about here. There’s more to life than your profession! If you’re here looking for the latest and greatest news about what’s occurring in $SOME_TECH_SUBJECT then I’d recommend looking for a place that is dedicated to said subject. That’s not to say that this blog won’t contain some tech related content, but I like to operate in transparency when I can.

… Speaking of transparency, I generally consider myself an “open book” - for the most part I am happy to any questions that you might have! If you head over to my homepage you can find quite a few ways to get in touch with me. So long as I’m not prohibited from discussing something (such as $COMPANY related topics, sorry!) then it’s highly likely I’ll discuss it with you!

On that note, as a general disclaimer, anything posted here by me are my own thoughts, and do not at all represent $COMPANY whatsoever.

I don’t have a schedule that I’ll adhere to when it comes to making new posts here, and further down the line you’ll most likely understand why - but by all means, feel free to check back here every so often!

Okay - now that this is all out of the way, I’ll try to give you a few more insights about me, in a Q&A type of format (plot twist, I’ll ask the questions and answer those questions, just for you!):

Question:

You mentioned that you’re a software developer, is that the only thing you do in the world of tech?

Actually, no! I’d consider myself someone whose in the general “IT” (information technology) industry - I will say that programming was the catalyst that got me into the world of IT however. I do a lot of Systems Administration work for example, and I have a lot of respect to those who administrate systems professionally. After all, what use is “teaching” computers how to do something if there is no one around to make sure that those computers are all able to work together, in unison? Part of my job does include systems administration, but it’s by no means anywhere near what your local System Administrator is tasked with.

Question:

Well okay, how about “non-professional” tech stuff? For example, do you play any video games?

Yes! When it comes to games, I wouldn’t say I have a major preference on what types of games that I play - however some of my favorite games are the Portal series (pretty much wherever you find me, you’ll see the Portal 2 logo as my avatar!) and the Destiny series. And of course, Minecraft will always have a special place in my heart!

Question:

I imagine that since you’re into programming and computers in general, that in school you were into the “STEM” related subjects, such as science and math?

So definitely yes to science, but absolutely a hard no on math haha! I’ve always loved science, and figuring out how things work - I’m told this goes all the way back to when I was a little kid! Science answers so many questions about our place in the universe, and how we got here. Physics and biology would probably be my favorite topics under the science umbrella. Physics defines the “rules” of our universe, and biology answers the questions of how living things “work”.

I heavily considered getting into genetics, as it’s quite literally the “programming” of life, and additionally Crohn’s Disease is said to have a genetic component to it (most of the auto-immune diseases have a genetic component, as far as I’m aware) so it would’ve helped me better learn “why” I and so many others have this condition, and how to cure it.

When it comes to math however, I’ve always struggled with fully understanding most of the more advanced concepts of mathematics… It just doesn’t “click” the same way that programming does though, for me. Though as I mentioned earlier, computers are just systems that rely on math to do anything - so I do find mathematics to of course be important, and I try to familarize myself with as much of it as I can! Math also is also how we’re able to quantify/express how physics works too, so you tend to find that math and science have a symbiotic relationship.

As an example, we know how gravity works, and we prove this with equations such as “Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation” (F=mg). Science allows us to discover something, and mathematics allows us to prove it. You can’t have science without math, as otherwise, how do we know that we’re sure something actually works the way it does?

Question:

Ooh, I like how you described genetics as the “programming” of life!

Correct! Though, not surprisingly, as a kid it’s infinitely easier to create and modify programs for a computer, than it is to modify your own genetics which probably explains at least part of why I went down the path of software development instead of biology and genetics. I do try to keep up with some of the research in these fields, but admittedly a lot of it goes over my head due to lack of experience with it.

Question:

Here’s a curve-ball for you! How do you feel about music?

Of course! Music, like math, can be considered a universal language. Personally, I am a huge fan of Rock and Metal, however I don’t mind occasionally listening to other genres. Music is one of the reasons I’m able to get through the day - whether that’s just getting me through a shift at work, providing some background noise while programming, or even putting my mind at ease when struggling with mental health issues. I truly think there’s a genre of music for everyone! In middle school, band class was one of my electives and I played the trombone - though I can’t say I was a “prodigy” by any means. I wanted to be in percussion, however sadly all of the spots were taken by the time I got to registration :(

Question:

Well, you’ve certainly given a lot of information to work with here…

Ha, yes - I think I can safely speak on behalf of pretty much anyone who knows me well, when I say that I tend to write massive walls of text… I was always taught to be thorough, however I’m sure the folks who taught me this would probably say that I tossed “thorough” out the window about 1000 words ago - that’s okay though, at least I wasn’t vague! I could go on and on, but at this point I should probably save the rest for future posts… If you made it this far (regardless of whether you read this whole thing, or skipped to the end), thanks for reading!

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