diff --git a/public/post_images/server-guts.jpg b/public/post_images/server-guts.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7183843 Binary files /dev/null and b/public/post_images/server-guts.jpg differ diff --git a/src/content/blog/2023-08-25_capstone-series-1.md b/src/content/blog/2023-08-25_capstone-series-1.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c117e72 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/content/blog/2023-08-25_capstone-series-1.md @@ -0,0 +1,45 @@ +--- +title: "Capstone Blog Series #1: Introductions" +description: "First of four posts that I wrote for my OSU Capstone Project" +pubDate: "Aug 25 2023" +heroImage: "/post_images/server-guts.jpg" +--- + +_Originally posted to blogs.oregonstate.edu on Apr 6, 2023_ + +To begin my inaugural post in this series I’d like to tell you a little bit about myself. My name +is Andy, and I’m excited to have you all with me as we navigate the next three months. I was +interested in computers at a very young age, and I went on to build my first desktop when I was in +high school. Since then I’ve built many more as well as a few home servers to host my own cloud +services. Despite my interest in computing I had always considered it a hobby, and my first degree +was in Ethics, History, and Public Policy. I thought I wanted to be lawyer (I didn’t). Instead of +continuing my education I went to work for an insurance company. While I wasn’t sure whether +insurance would be my career, I liked the people I worked with and it paid the bills. I ended up +working in claims processing for seven years until, unfortunately, I experienced some health issues +that forced me to leave the workforce altogether. It was not a happy time, yet as with any +life-changing event it also brought new perspective. As I began to recover I realized that, despite +the setbacks, I had a very rare opportunity to pursue an entirely new course in life. Where I had +previously only considered tinkering with computers a mere hobby, I became determined to leverage +my skills and start a new chapter. + +I have taken on many roles in both my work and personal life. I’ve led projects, participated in +teams, collaborated in multi-disciplinary settings, and worked alone. One thing I’ve learned about +myself is that I am adaptable. I honestly don’t know what role I might settle into as a programmer +in a room full of other tech people because it’s a new experience for me in many ways. However, I +am becoming increasingly confident in my ability to rise to a challenge, and I suspect that my +flexibility will continue to be an asset in this new setting as well. I am not particularly nervous +about working in a group, I’ve done it many times before. That’s not to say I don’t have concerns +though. Namely, group work is rarely fair. Different people have different talents, expectations, +ambitions, and the list continues. It is my hope that my teammates and I are able to communicate +well enough that our contributions are equitable, even if they can’t be perfectly equal. + +I was actually quite overwhelmed when I first browsed the list of projects that are available for +this term. Did I want more experience with low-level programming? Embedded systems? An industry +project? It was a lot to absorb. I gradually began to narrow things down and, to speak plainly, I +selected the projects that sounded like the most fun. I have no doubt the process will be +educational too, but considering it’s my last term at OSU I also wanted to create something that +would be meaningful to me personally. To that end, I focused on projects that would allow me to +enhance my skills with operating systems/computer architecture, graphics, and games. In addition to +learning more in those areas of personal interest, I also hope to gain a better understanding of +what it’s like to work collectively on a codebase. My previous classes have prepared me with theory +and isolated exercises, now it’s time to put that knowledge to use.