For most of my adult life I have worked in IT for business, all kinds of business of all kinds of sizes. But more and more the focus has been on the I rather than the T, and it’s the T that drew me into this as a career choice (and degree choice) in the first place. My little mid-life crisis has been to get honest with myself about my dissatisfaction and do something about it. An opportunity arose for me to step out of full-time, corporate, not-really-technology-roles (at which I am pretty good btw), and instead work part-time (nominally 2 days a week) and pick up some of the domestic/family slack (now there is a subject of an entirely separate blog!), but more importantly, to reconnect with my passion for technology.
I didn’t really have an agenda, or a specific aim to be come expert in something. I just knew I was increasingly distant from the constant and ever-more diverse and exciting leading-edge of technology (generally). So I started, in September 2012 with a false start, and again in January 2013 the University of Dave (UoD). This means that for at least 10 hours a week, more when I can, I study ideas, specifics and implications of current and emerging technology.
Where to begin? I have started with the web. Why the web? Web technology, and software generally have been a blind spot for me in my IT career. And the greater my ignorance grew, the easier it was to ignore. I will document here what I am learning, and what I think it means, but for now I will just say this.
However significant you think the web is, you are not even close, and by a couple of orders of magnitude. I am not sure what that means but I believe it all the same. I don’t mean the way you access websites and apps (though that’s in there too), but websites, machines, data and logic talking to each other and automating what you eventually see or experience. So I am tinkering with new skills and concepts, sometimes hands-on, while my eyes pop out of my head considering the potential of it all.
Like most blogs, I am setting out from my need to write, rather than a need to be read. My posts will certainly not be enlightening to existing developers or webonauts of any description, but may be of interest to others who are afraid and trying to find a way in.
What this is (and what it is not)
This is a public journal of what I discover, and how I feel about it, as I drag my brain back to understanding and prodding great technologies and their implications. There will hopefully be some good technical discussion in here, but bear in mind I am consuming the expertise of others and digesting it. There are likely to be better sources, and I will share these here, rather than attempt to be one myself.
I am likely to contradict myself. I am not attempting to predict what will be big, or champion any particular technology or philosophy.
A Note for vegetarians
The use of bacon as an emblem should not be taken as an attempt to offend or discourage you. I Just like bacon.
A Note for the fearful
Making any kind of lifestyle or career change is massively scary. It may feel irresponsible, risky, but you know what. It feels great.
A Note for zealous and talented developers with massive brains, and maybe with chip on their shoulders
I know that it probably annoys you that people like me are coming along later in life and jumping on your bandwagon. I know that you are probably more gifted than me, and I had my chance and I blew it, and I should probably leave it to you boys and girls to get on with. The thing is, it’s a pretty cool bandwagon, so tough – I’m getting on. There’s room for everyone, and for every one of you, there are dozens of bad developers, and time wasters and overblown marketing fluff-ateers, so please tolerate me. My point is, I don’t want you to waste any time flaming me for an incorrect, naive or dumb observation. You never know, people like me might even have respect for people like you, who I’ll never catch up with. No, really – I think you’re fabulous!
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