Post One – Why I Shall Blog

First let me introduce myself.  My name is Randy Bell and among many of my interests, I have a strong passion for great software engineering practices.  I love being in this industry because it is constantly evolving – too fast for some.  But it is this evolution that keeps me excited.  If it were an industry that was stagnating, I would be board.

I started programming on computers way back when I was in 4th grade.  I consider my first experience with computing on a TRS-80 but my first brush with programming was on a Commodore 64 using BASIC – creating simple programs that did essentially nothing at all.  My first real programming, however, was using Borland’s Turbo Pascal which turned into money when I started my first programming job at the data processing center at Southwestern Adventist University when I started college.  While working there I also had the opportunity to work on a project where all the systems on campus were converted over to a VAX system using a 4GL by Cognos called Powerhouse.  With a team of 5 developers, we successfully converted every system over in one summer.

After graduating with a degree in Computer Science, I worked at several positions where, over the years, I gathered experience in developing using Microsoft development tools with a strong emphasis in C#.  Although I have come to like the Microsoft development platform very much, I recognize that there is a value in having experience in other development platforms as well.  Throughout my career, I have personally dabbled in other languages such as Prolog, Java, and Ruby.  Although my employers have not leveraged these languages directly, they have benefited from my experiences with them.  Each language / platform has different ways of solving and relating to the solution of a problem.  Because of this, I strongly believe that it is important for any developer who is passionate about what they do, to have experiences with other systems.

So why should I blog?  If everyone in the world thought just like me, the world would be a pretty stupid place.  I truly believe that the strength of any solution, viewpoint, or opinion is in its critics.  I have a close circle of friends of which I highly respect because I know that on any subject, they can debate the benefits of the opposing viewpoints, and often during such a debate we will switch sides half way through in an effort to better both of our understanding of the problem and the presented solution.  Debates can sometime become passionate, but never personal and are always personal.  The only time it comes personal is when someone says “whatever” because they have lost interest in contributing to the solution or viewpoint.  We all understand that a channel to personal and professional growth is through listening and responding through professional and respectful challenges.  It is my hope that this blog can widen that circle of influence for me and those reading this blog.