Forem: Nathan Tamez

Programming guilty pleasure

Nathan Tamez — Sat, 05 Oct 2019 01:19:06 +0000

We all have a favorite language (C#, Java, can pick just one 😅) and one we hope to never see in a million years (VB.net for me).
But what that one language you love but hate to admit?

Bugs on the wall

Nathan Tamez — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 13:40:49 +0000

There’s 99 bugs in the repo
Take one down, patch it up
1099 bugs in the repo.

I am sorry but I forgot the original source for this joke but here you are.

My First Year of University - My Classes

Nathan Tamez — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 20:17:29 +0000

I was asked in this comment on my first post in this series to expand on what classes or courses I took this year.

Lorna • Jun 2 '19

Nathan, could you tell us what courses you took this year? Were any of them easy from your past experience or was it all brand new knowledge?

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I thought this answer was better placed as a post in its own right rather than a comment reply.

This year, I had to do a foundation year in engineering and technology as didn’t have the UCAS tariff points need for direct entry on to the Computer Science course. Because I dropped out of sixth-form my second year, so I had no A levels qualifications.
The foundation year course was made up of 5 units. These units were Engineering Mathematics, Engineering Design, and Materials, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Principles, and finally Intro to Use of Computers.

Engineering Mathematics was one of the most intriguing units of the year, and arguably one of the most important for computer science. I was under pressure to do well in this unit as the Computer Science course requires a pass of 60% for this unit. I did, however, find most of the material easy to get to grips with. Despite most of the content being new but lucky, it built on my knowledge of maths from high school.

Engineering Design and Materials was the one I need to do a retake for. as this was the most challenging as the first haft was Engineering drawing, and I can't really draw that well. The second part of the unit was engineering materials, which was easier to understand but still quite challenging due to a lack of interest in the subject.

The Electrical Engineering unit was another exciting unit. It covered both digital and analog electronics. I did, however, find the analog side of this more challenging than the digital stuff. That said the whole unit was made easy as I have had previous experience this many of the concepts introduced during the unit as either in my previous study of computer science at high school or stuff I learned my self playing with electronics as a bit of a hobby. The exam for this unit is tomorrow.

The content in the Engineering Principles unit was new but easy to understand partly due to the lecture slide on the principles. This was an enjoyable unit as well; I like physics a lot anyway. I even picked physics as a backup course to Computer Science if I fail to gain the 60% grade in maths.

The last unit, Intro to Use of Computers, was by far the easiest as I have a lot of experience using computers. But did get an ECDL out if it.

I'm working on more post's and projects, including a computer science podcast with my friend Henry. To stay informed sign up to my email list here

My First Year of University

Nathan Tamez — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 01:25:40 +0000

My first year at university is just about to finish; my last exam is tomorrow. This first year was both harder and more comfortable than expected. I found I already knew or understood many concepts and found more than a few harder to understand, but I have enjoyed this year of university. I have learned just as much outside the lecture hall as in class. I don’t regret leaving my job as a trainee software engineer, despite being on track for a promotion to junior software engineer. I feel I will go so much further than I would have otherwise, I have gained so much from the first year.

Being a developer/software engineer is so much more than being a good programmer. Almost anyone can write code, but it takes an engineer to design and build a system. An engineer needs to be able to design the system as a whole, from the user interface to the data processing algorithms. As system design is vital to the success of a project; a poorly designed system will lead to poor implementation.

During my six months working in the industry, I began to understand my deficiencies; I lacked some vital skills and knowledge. I know I could have gained this knowledge during though experience. But I felt I would have been held back, as many companies ask for degrees. That said I’m aware that lack of experience is just as much a setback maybe even more so then lack of education. To solve this, I plan to work in the industry over my summers. I’m also working on a new CS podcast and blog with my friend Henry, where we plan to talk about CS and build cool and exciting projects.

I’m so glad life has led me to this place in life. I have had a few setbacks, including dropping out of sixth-form college (post-secondary education), but these setbacks help prepare you for the future. There is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Let’s end this with a message to high schoolers starting College or University this fall. It may be weird, strange, and even scary to live without your parents, who may make sure you’re up for school in the morning or cook dinner every night. And it may be sad to leave friends behind. But remember this experience will help you provide to your self what you’re capable of. Use it to grow as a person, explore new ideas and help humanity progress as a society.

I'm working on more post's and projects, including a computer science podcast with my friend Henry. To stay informed sign up to my email list here

Photo by Gabriel on Unsplash

What’s your Computer Environment?

Nathan Tamez — Fri, 24 May 2019 20:21:48 +0000

I have worked on both OSX and Windows, and enjoy both environments. I currently use OSX on a 2018 MacBook Pro as my daily computer, but have a custom built Windows 10 desktop as well. I have also duel booted my MacBook Pro with windows 10.
I spend most of my time in OSX though as I like the unix-like environment more then windows. But both have there uses.
Please share you basic computer environments below, others will certainly be interested in your experiences.

My struggles designing a personal website

Nathan Tamez — Fri, 24 May 2019 09:36:24 +0000

Hi, everybody. I have been making my website and have been struggling with the general design of it. As a developer/software engineer, my design skills are limited. I try a few things, but I can't get a design I'm happy.

My biggest issue seems to be picking a good color scheme. I wanted a dark theme, but I'm not sure if it works. Another problem is if I should have a header image or not. What should I have for my hero image(I can be camera shy)?

I wonder if anyone else has/had similar issues when designing their website and if there are any tips, they could give me. Also, if there are any other issues, people had, please share them below as well.

Here is the like to my current personal website if your interested in looking and leaving some constructive feedback 😃. nathantamez.me.

Enjoy the rest of your day. 😊

What do you wear to work?

Nathan Tamez — Thu, 23 May 2019 13:23:56 +0000

The company I worked for before starting university have a casual/smart casual dress code; shorts, jeans, hoodies, and t-shirts. that sort of thing. which was good as that summer we were hit by a heatwave and the office had no air con. but when I went for the interview I did feel awkward as I was wearing a suit.
I was just wanted to ask the DEV community about there experiences with different companies dress codes.

Explain User Token Authentication Like I'm Five

Nathan Tamez — Mon, 13 May 2019 06:00:55 +0000

Am I the only one, that can’t stick to one stack?

Nathan Tamez — Tue, 07 May 2019 09:34:29 +0000

Hi, Dev.to this is my first blog post. But I wanted to ask a question.

Is it me or Am I the only one, that can’t stick to one set of technologies and languages?

I seem to want to try and play with almost every cool new technology or language; I know this is not productive. But, I can’t seem to settle on one main stack. I am also aware that a broad set of skills are vary-useful and can be sort after by employers.

At the same time is it not also essential to be very skilled on one main stack or set of technologies? I am new to software engineering and web development. I spend about six months working as a trainee software engineer before starting University in the separate of 2018. I assume once I spend a full year in industry full time, this will change. Well, I hope so.

I wonder what your opinion is on this, am I just some weird people or are there some others like me.

As I have already said this is my first blog, please let me know about my silly mistakes, and I do hope you’ll comment in answer to the main question. Thank you for reading this. I am working with a friend to produce a collaborative blog and podcast in the future, and I am sure to announce when it goes live here or on my social media.