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Hobbies
I have many hobbies that I engage in routinely. Well, at least as often as I can while keeping my home life in order and not impeding my professional life. These hobbies are presented in a nice list here with a blurb about why I enjoy them and how, if at all, they have helped me expand my professional experience.
- Electronics Engineering
- I enjoy working with electronics. Whether I'm making circuits and sketches for the Arduino or taking transistors and making a binary adding circuit; I have always found working with small electronics to be an amazing amount of fun. This has lead to an in depth understanding of computers at a theoretical hardware level. I have designed schematics for adding machines and built small calculating machines and output devices with the Arduino.
- Electrical Engineering
- This is highly related to Electronics Engineering above, but more than just semantically different. Working with electrical circuits I have found just how much understanding the flow of electricity, voltage, wattage, and amperage effects how a computer runs and how important it is to properly connect all components in a computer. This has also lead to an understanding of the very real dangers of Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) and electrical interference and the effect these have on computers.
- Programming
- I love writing programs. When I was younger I got a Commodore64 from my grandfather and it lead me to a detailed understanding of how programming worked. Many of the programs I used on that computer were type-in programs from old magazines and books from the library. Reading these programs and transcribing them helped me learn how programs were written and why they worked. Over time I expanded my programming repetoire to include Java, C++, Python, HTML, PHP, CSS, Visual BASIC, Visual C#, as well as good principles of GUI and Text-interface design.
- Reading and Linguistics
- A lot of people wonder why this is grouped as one hobby. I find that reading both fiction and non-fiction can teach you a lot, whether that is a moral, information about a culture, or any number of idiosyncrasies. I find that understanding a culture and the morals they teach in their stories integral in understanding their language. Understanding a language unlocks more works that you can read, and from that you can gain more knowledge; as they say "Knowledge is power!"
- Server Administration and Computer Problem Solving
- This is one hobby I have that many people find strange. I actually enjoy digging into a server and configuring it to run optimally. In addition, I love causing network, software, and even hardware problems on computers. This is pretty self-explanatory in how it has helped my career expansion.
- Tabletop Gaming
- Board games, minature games, roleplaying games, you name it, I'll probably enjoy a game of it. Gaming is a good way to unwind and get away from the troubles of the real world temporarily. These have been proven to improve critical thinking skills. Depending on the depth of the game you are playing the game will help to learn resource management, mathematics, decision making, rapid analysis, troubleshooting, and tactial placement.
- Video Gaming
- I enjoy playing all manner of video games, from the casual side-scrolling platformers to the more "hardcore" games. Video gaming has given me an appreciation for video quality and it's effect on an experience (something that has greatly helped with setting up tele-conferences.) In addition to quality I have reinforced many of the skills and abilities that tabletop gaming teaches in addition to dexterity and situational awareness.
- Woodworking
- I enjoy making small pieces of furniture and trinkets in my wood shop. I make brainteasers, animal housing, little toys, picture frames, and things of the like. Even going back as far as the days when I would work with my dad in our garage when I was younger, woodworking teaches a very important skill to have in all fields, maybe especially information technology: Patience. I have learned more patience from woodworking than any other thing I have done in my life. It has also taught me that it's much better to make sure you have a plan of action and all of the materials you need to complete the project this helps to eliminate unforeseen circumstances and unnecessary downtime.