raw code

Nearly a decade ago I wrote a series of now-long-lost articles that I had intended to turn into a whole thing. Y’know like maybe a book or blog or a video series. It was on the topic of technology and was called something along the lines of “the perks of being a nerd” wherein I (humbly) bragged up all the tiny, nerdy things I could build (usually in code) to automate my tasks or share my creativity through the digital realms.

Ultimately I realized that this is basically the whole internet: nerdy people using nerdy skills to show off what they can do. My project got a little too meta, I got flustered, so I dumped the essays I’d written onto a long decommissioned blog and then got on with the aforementioned making of tiny, nerdy things.

Yet, I continue to find myself driven by the knowledge that I have this underused skill always on the lookout for a problem to solve, that I can write computer software reasonably well. This notion is often tucked into my back pocket like a oil-stained shop rag dripping with raw code, waiting for an idea or opportunity to strike so that I can pull out said rag and wipe a few of those ifs and thens all over the—well, let’s just say this metaphor is starting to unravel here and go back to the point, huh?

The point is that being a nerdy guy who can write code means that frequently I find myself in a situation where problem arises in my life and the solution (good or not) is one where there exists an option to write a piece of software to address the problem. Need to track my fitness goals? Write an app.  Want to stop wasting food at home? Build a meal planning and shopping list tool?  Find yourself wanting more control over your photo collection? Code an online gallery to share them without ads or limitations of a paid service.

Inasmuch, it becomes a challenge for a creative guy to use this beige-coloured superpower wisely, and this little blurb of text might be the opening argument in what may likely become a regular collection of analog thoughts on this digital subject of the perks of being a nerd, and the inevitable temptation to use that skill to the point of detrimental distraction.