Education – Technikal Mind

Starting Computer Science program

Posted on August 23, 2015 - May 27, 2022 by technik

The time has finally arrived. Tomorrow, I finally begin my Computer Science program. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time this summer studying CS-related topics, diving into data structures and algorithms (which happens to be one of my first CS classes this semester), practicing coding, as well as brushing up on mathematics.

This semester, in addition to the DS & Algorithms, I’ll have a Database Concepts class as well. I’ve had some exposure to it from my AAS degree, but the material appears to go a bit more in depth. The other classes are general education requirements: precalculus and intro to sociology.

Being that I’m a little bit older than most students, and having actual work experience (in the IT field), I feel as though I will have a different perspective on the program than most. Either way, I’m looking forward to meeting and networking with new people, and excited to start.

JavaScript and friends

Posted on February 10, 2015 - May 27, 2022 by technik

I’ve been working my way through the JavaScript track on Codecademy for the last several days and have learned quite a bit.

Although I’m already somewhat familiar with OOP from taking Java as an elective in college, it has been a while so it was a nice refresher. In all honesty, it’s like riding a bike. I was a little wobbly at first, but after a few minutes it came back to me.

On another note, I’ve also been hacking away at a small project intended to help me learn a few new things. For instance, JavaScript itself, JSON, jQuery, node.js, Cordova and MongoDB to name a few. I don’t necessarily know that I’ll need to use all of them, but as of right now those are the items I expect to use.

And as a last note, I plan on developing a portfolio section with some of my work.

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Posted on January 2, 2015 - May 27, 2022 by technik

My lovely girlfriend surprised me with a copy of Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software for Christmas! I’ve been reading it over the past week or so, and have really enjoyed it.

It’s very similar in scope to Nand2Tetris, but with more of a guided tour through the nuanced history of computing. It starts by discussing the logical structure of codes such as product codes (UPC), Morse code, and Braille. Then it moves into a study of basic electrical circuits and eventually into building a calculator (well, a theoretical one, at least – it’s much too large to physically build).

Overall, it has been a great read thus far and I look forward to finishing it.