November 26, 2023
Introductions
Hey, Welcome to my blog! In this post, I’ll tell you briefly about my background and interests. I figure you might be interested in knowing a bit more about the person behind the blog. As a bonus, I’ll introduce you to my cats at the end!
Table of Contents
Background
My name is Louis. I graduated in Physics with a concentration in mathematical physics and computational science. My main area of interest in physics is non-linear dynamics, fluid dynamics and chaos theory. I did some preliminary research on the orbital stability of the solar system, and also on the fluid dynamics of certain types of supernovae.
Near the end of my bachelor’s degree, I became involved in running simulations and data analysis. Up until that point, I had learned Python, Julia, and a bit of Fortran (Fortran77, no less! Surprisingly common in physics.). That said, I had no real expertise in computer science. I was just scripting away and hoping for the best!
Working on larger simulation projects made me realize two things:
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I enjoyed working on software development projects: I wanted to do more of it and do it better.
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In my experience, a lot of researchers treat software development as an afterthought. As long as it runs decently fast and gives reasonable results, anything goes. I felt like this resulted in a general disinterest in easy-to-use and maintainable software.
So, I enrolled in master ‘s-level computer science courses. With this newfound interest in computer science, I got interested in the Rust programming language and began making some humble contributions to the open-source ecosystem. That was the turning point in my journey from academia to software development. I still have a deep interest in physics and mathematics today, but at that moment I knew I wanted to pursue a career in software development.
Interests
My main interests in computer science are:
- Programming language theory, type systems, compilers, and interpreters.
- Database implementations and query optimization.
- Software design.
- Development tools and operations.
- High-performance computing.
- Retro-computing and software emulation.
In terms of programming languages, Rust, C# and TypeScript are the ones I have the most experience with. I also occasionally use C++ and Julia.
Outside of programming, I’m a cat enthusiast as you may have guessed already. I’m also a fan of retro gaming and speedrunning. My favorite game of all time is Paper Mario 64. I love cooking, and board game nights, and I’ll never turn down a hike or a camping trip.
Meet the cats
Alright, as promised, it’s time to meet the cats! Hazel, Edgar, come meet our reader!
Hi! My name is Hazel. Nice to meet you!
What! You don’t already know me? Grr… I’m Edgar, the smartest cat ever!
Hazel is a bit shy, but she’s the sweetest cat you’ll ever meet. Edgar is more… seasoned, let’s say. He’s sharp and witty, but he might come off as a bit arrogant.
I’ll bring them out occasionally to add some commentary and some much-needed interactivity to my posts. Hopefully, this will help make the reading experience more enjoyable.